Love Happy Hour - Perch - Happy Hour - Downtown LA Happy Hours, "Dear Love"

Perch - "Aperitif Hour"
by Tara Redfield

Dear Love,

Sometimes I wish I could fly. Just grow some wings, fly up, and escape the city. I'll never be able to fly like a bird, but, this week I at least wanted to go to a happy hour that was different and a little out of the way. I wanted a new and unpredictable experience to get a new perspective. I was feeling bored and out of the loop. Research led me to Perch, a new rooftop bar and French Bistro downtown. It sounded like the perfect place to stretch my "wings."

I met Brooke at her apartment in Los Feliz, then we took the metro downtown. We got off at the Pershing Square stop on the red line and didn't have to go much further from there. We found the tall 448 South Hill Street building and read "Perch" on a bronze plaque next to the doorman's square shoulder. "All the way up to 13, then up to 16" he answered before we could even ask.

We hopped off the second elevator and there it was, a truly stunning view of the downtown bouquet of lit buildings that was LA. The bar hadn't filled up yet, so we found two stools and looked over our happy hour menu options with our beaks pointed down.

The edible menu options were not abundant. Listed were mixed nuts, chicken cordon bleu poppers, rabbit rillette (a fatty meat spread), and buttermilk marinated frogs legs. Nuts were not exciting, chicken was a sure bet, rabbit would be interesting, and frogs legs were just not for me at this time. So that was it, the cordon bleu poppers and rabbit rillette were to be sampled!

The beverage list was more expansive. There were selected wines, flavored liqueurs that could be added to champagne, such as Crème de Peche Peach and Crème de Cassis, cocktails, and beer all between $5 and $7. I ordered the French 64: Cognac, Elixir Ginger Syrup, Peche Lambic and Kronneburg 1664. My weeks-worth of worries evaporated with every gingery-crisp sip. It was one of the best cocktails I've had in a long time and I have a feeling I might start to crave it from time to time.

We were starting to feel the alcohol and the heavy eyes of the men next to us when the dishes arrived. I couldn't wait to try the poppers. They were round and crispy. I imagined them hitting my tongue and melting into my throat then falling, soft as a feather, on the floor of my stomach. My imagination had proved slightly better than reality. The meat was not as juicy and moist as I was hoping for, it was tough, maybe a bit over cooked? I was a little disappointed, but ate them anyway. The rabbit rillette was good I'm sure, as far as rabbit meat goes, but I had nothing to compare it to. I also had terrible thoughts of little Peter Cottontail being made into dinner, which kept my fork from taking more than a few bites.

After a final lap around the luxurious outside deck, complete with fireplaces, and as mentioned before, a magnificent city view, we called it a night and flew the coop...or Perch rather.

xxoo,

Tara

Perch

448 S Hill Street

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) 802-1770

DOWNTOWN LA HAPPY HOURS

LOS ANGELES HAPPY HOURS

Love Happy Hour - Bao Dim Sum Happy Hour - West Hollywood, CA

Bao Dim Sum - Happy Hour Dear Love, How many times have I been asked, “Who does all night happy hour?” Let’s just say that is the MOST popular question people ask me when they know that I work for a happy hour website. So when I heard the rumor that Bao Dim Sum offered all night happy and it was down the street from me, there was no stopping this lady! Bao Dim Sum is a fairly new dim sum joint in West Hollywood located on the corner of Sweetzer Avenue and Beverly Boulevard. The Asian décor inspired restaurant offers happy hour Monday through Friday from 11am-7pm and Saturday and Sunday, 5pm-7pm in the bar and main dining area. Recently, Bao has revamped the happy hour menu and now offers all night happy hour in the lounge (insert silly happy hour dance)! The new Power Hour has $1.99 Sapporo Drafts, $5 Large Hot Sake and an assortment of reduced prices dim sum and appetizers. The bar had only one seat open when my friend and I arrived, so the hostess offered to prop up a side-rail table for us to place our drinks on. We politely declined. Happy hour was about to end in the dining room, so I was willing to wait and hold out for an all-nighter seat at the bar. Luckily, some Telluride transplants slid down to make us room. Round of inexpensive beer on us! The friendly group thanked us and highly recommended the egg drop soup – they swore it was the best they’ve had. The bartender was nice, but he was clearly slammed considering the rest of the place was bombarding him with last minute happy hour drinks from the main dining room. We had to wait for awhile and ask a couple times before we got our drinks, so I started to wonder if the lure of the $1.99 Sapporo was worth it? But once we were attended to, the food and drinks came at a steady pace and we began to relax. The mushroom dim sum dish was my least favorite; the doughy exterior was too thick for my taste and the center mushroom filling lacked seasoning. Otherwise, the calamari fries were fun and flavorful and we devoured chicken gyoza, too – both were cooked up crispy and hot! We also enjoyed the simple potato pancakes with scallions and the shrimp stuffed eggplant. As we were about to make one of those “I need a wheelchair” comments, the bartender could tell we needed assistance and came over to check on us. He apologized for the delay on our drinks earlier and told us to hold still while he whipped us up something. No problem - we were too full to move. Shorty after, he presented us with 2 cocktails combing mystery alcoholic ingredients and garnished with plum-salt-coated raspberries. Sexy garnishes that taste like secret recipes stolen out of the Willy Wonka Factory are one of my weaknesses. I instantly felt like kid in a candy store, but this “store” had booze and I was over 21. SWEET. My booze-cruiser friend and I were satisfied. Overall, Bao Dim Sum was HH friendly, tasty and a little sexy. Our tip: don’t worry about rushing in at 6:45 to throw your laundry list of HH items to the bartender. Relax and enjoy yourself, feel transported to a foreign city, nibble on some small fare and forget about the time. Bao Dim Sum (new Bao Dim Sum site) 8256 Beverly Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90048 (323) 655-6556 WEST HOLLYWOOD HAPPY HOURS

Love Happy Hour - The Whisper Lounge - Thursday Happy Hour - LA Happy Hours - Los Angeles Happy Hours, CA

The Whisper Lounge at The Grove - Thursday Happy Hours

I love going to dinner and a movie, but of course I’m down for happy hour and a movie! The Whisper Lounge at The Grove now has a regular and late night happy hour on Thursday nights. The convenience of having an outdoor mall, a nearby Movie Theater and happy hour may sound too good to be true, but let me tell you – it is. So now, in addition to the 4pm - 7pm happy hour, you can enjoy a late night happy hour from 9pm to close with $3 beers, $6 well drinks and wine by the glass. Food specials are $5 and include: crispy calamari, mac n’ cheese, wild mushroom and truffle flatbread, whisper fries and Caesar Salad. My boyfriend and I stopped in last Thursday to check out the HH enticement with an added DJ bonus. The crowd was cool and the prices were sweet. Four words: wild mushroom and truffle flatbread. The dish was a serious F.I.O. (Food Induced Orgasm); it was loaded with wild mushrooms, truffle oil, goat cheese and I could clearly see the fresh herbs sprinkled on top. I kid you not – I daydream about that flatbread. The mac n’ cheese was no joke either; the 3 cheeses melted with shells and plentiful chunks of crispy pancetta made me melt, too. I sipped on my big glass of Chardonnay and grinned with delightment for the entirety of our night. I’m not sure how long this deal will be going on, but I definitely give The Whisper Lounge my happy hour approval. Wheter pre-movie or post-shopping, my idea of date night just got a whole lot better. November 7th, 2011 The Whisper Lounge (The Grove) 189 The Grove Dr # F90b Los Angeles, CA (323) 931-0202 LOS ANGELES HAPPY HOURS