Since my last post, 1886 has become my favorite Pasadena bar and my go-to whenever a wedding ends early (there are A LOT of weddings in the spring and summer. Also, why waste a good outfit?). I love the food, cocktails, bartenders, atmosphere, and ease of parking. So naturally, I was thrilled to reunite with HC and Fiona to try 1886's new summer cocktails.
Vacation Cocktails:
La Brigada - spicy chicharrón, smokey mezcal, homemade agave liquer, fresh pineapple and lime served over crushed ice with a shard of frozen coconut water. When Lacey vividly described the inspiration behind this drink (a family trip to La Paz), I was instantly transported to Hawaii and all I could think was "this tastes like a luau..." and extra chicharrón please!
La Brigada / Tranquilizer (this cup is larger than it appears)
Tranquilizer - overproof rum and Batavia Arrack with coconut and pineapple. HC calls it a boozier piña colada.
Not for Kids:
Strawberry Paleta - "pop shot" made using -300°F liquid nitrogen, fresh CA strawberries, cream and rum. I love this alcoholic dessert. I'm glad we each got our own.
BBC - Bols Genever Basil Collins. Reminds me of a soda...with my one of my favorite spirits.
Drinks on the Porch:
Rosebud - homemade hibiscus liqueur, Benedictine, fresh lime juice and Reposado tequila, topped with Fever Tree’s lite tonic water. Everyone likes a pink cocktail, says Brady. After having this and his version of a Cosmo (with hibiscus liqueur, people!), I concur.
Pimm's #6 - Karlsson's potato vodka and their summer Pimm's recipe topped with homemade sparkling lemonade.
Pimm's #6 / Southern Belle Whistle
Southern Belle Whistle - hand-crafted soda pop with fresh yellow peaches, floral, sweet black tea and 1886 Buffalo Trace bourbon. Sealed with bubbles in a bottle and served with a wedge of lemon. There's a time and a place for this and it's a warm late afternoon on 1886's patio.
Something a Little Stronger:
Xocolate - Reposado tequila, Italian vermouth, crème de cacao and a hit of Mexican mole bitters. I was impressed by how chocolatey it tasted even though I knew it was all alcohol.
Dutch Kills - Bols Barrel-Aged Genever, Italian vermouth, bitters and a dash
of apricot liqueur.
Bites:
Yellowtail Collar "Hamachi Kama" - miso glazed, soy sauce to dip, roasted shisito peppers. We've
had this before, but I don't know what they changed because this time it was downright addictive. We were trying to pick every last piece of meat off the
bone.
Crisfield Bay Soft Shell Crab - crispy blue crab with jerk sauce and seasoning.
These are the songs we heard every day on Oahu's top 40 island station Island 98.5. I have to say, island music is instantly relaxing. This mix always puts me in a good mood.
It Will Rain (reggae remix) - Bruno Mars
So he usually sounds like he's crying when he's singing, and the chorus sounds like Adele's Chasing Pavements, but for some reason I never get tired of this remix. He should really put out a reggae remix of his greatest hits. I would buy that.
Pumped Up Kicks (cover) - Cris Cab Just when I thought this song was overplayed, Cab put a twist on it and I actually like this version better. I wish he would release an album of cover songs.
My first time in Hawaii was filled with eating, beaching, and exploring. I was surprised by the Japanese influence on architecture (some of those apartments and houses looked like they were imported from Tokyo), the lush vegetation (Oahu felt like buildings and streets were just plopped down into plant life, whereas LA has always felt like greenery was struggling to survive in the city), the strong sunshine (I got sunburned sitting in traffic on the way to North Shore), and the beautiful, blue, smog-free skies.
Here are some of my fond memories of full bellies:
Breakfast:
Coco Puff (Lilha Bakery) - I'm not usually a fan of coconut, but my friend said this bakery was famous for coconut cream puffs and, I have to say, they were deliciously sweet with a chocolate surprise in the center.
Right: Coco Puffs. They are larger than they appear
Portuguese Sausage Breakfast (McDonald's) - after my first time having Portuguese sausage, I instantly became
Top: McDonald's. Bottom: Sunny Side Bakery
a fan. I still can't decide which I love more: SPAM or Portuguese sausage. Unfortunately, I accidentally ordered the meal without SPAM, but it was still good. I love how rice is offered almost everywhere on the island. The included soy sauce was great on the eggs!
Fried Rice Special with Vienna Sausage, Portuguese Sausage, Scrambled Egg; Pear and Peach Combination Pie (Sunny Side Bakery) - 3 of us shared this. I can't even imagine one person finishing the Fried Rice Special alone. In hindsight, we should have ordered the egg fried instead, but the scrambled style didn't detract from the tasty fried rice. Surprisingly, it was the first time we had seen a different preserved meat on the menu: Vienna sausage. The bakery is known for their pies and no surprise, we ate it all in its flaky goodness before I could snap a shot. First time having Hawaiian Sun (I tried Passion Orange drink). I'm officially addicted.
Lunch:
Udon with Okra, Curry Udon with Chicken & Eggs (Jimbo's Restaurant) - friend
Top: Udon w/ Okra. Bottom: Curry Udon
loved her cold thin udon (first time I had ever seen thin udon). The simplicity of my Udon with Okra allowed me to appreciate the fresh noodles (made daily, says their sign) although it would have been nice if the okra pieces were cut bigger or left whole. Jennio's Curry Udon was divine in scent and flavor.
Poke (Tamura's Fine Wine & Liquors) - not only do they have a good selection of wine, beers, and liquors, but they always have delicious poke! Wish we had had more time (and stomach space. This was pre-lunch) for a rice bowl.
Long Rice Chicken (Helena's Hawaiian Food) - one of my favorite Hawaiian dishes. I could eat a huge bowl of it and have this as a replacement for chicken noodle soup.
Shrimp Scampi (Giovanni's Shrimp Truck) - best shrimp scampi I've ever had (so good we ate this at both locations) and loved how they topped the rice with garlic. We could have scared off vampires after this meal.
Dinner:
Steamed Ahi Belly (Sushi Ten) - never seen this on a menu in LA before. I was unused to the
oily sauce the fish was sitting in, but by the end, I wish I had more belly and sauce.
Hula Dog (Hula Dog, formerly Puka Dog) - they were very friendly there even though we rushed in 10 minutes before closing. How did I order my dog?
Taro and bacon bread: this was a special. I don't usually like taro, but for some reason I loved taro everything in Hawaii, especially this bread with bacon bits!
Polish sausage
Garlic lemon secret sauce - mild
Pineapple (love pineapple anything!) relish, lilikoi mustard: sweet and tangy sauce that burst out with the first, and ensuing, indulgent bites
"Award Winning" Side Style Famous Fried Rice, Pan Fried Island Pork Chops (Side Street Inn) - a mountain of delicious fried rice with char siu, Portuguese sausage, bacon, and veggies. I regretted not ordering the "Works", which included lup cheong and kim chee. Ketchup seemed out of place on the pork chops plate, but worked surprisingly well with the crispy chops.
Dessert:
Dole Whip (Dole Plantation) - wish Disneyland served whips with fresh pineapple pieces and in a pineapple cup / coin bank!
great flavors and loved that some of them were dipped in chocolate. Don't know why I haven't seen that here.
Pineapple, Coconut, Lemon Flavor with Azuki bean, Vanilla Ice Cream Shave Ice (Matsumoto Shave Ice) - cute shop (yes, we all bought something there. Great merchandise!) and featherlight shave ice with flavors you can actually distinguish, so it's not just coloring.
Drink:
Mai Tai (La Mariana Sailing Club) - lovely tiki hideaway that made a great Mai Tai. Luckily, they start serving drinks early (11AM). Unluckily, they close early (9PM).
Glee's music choices of late have been pretty off, but I highly enjoyed Boogie Shoes. The dance number was really well-choreographed and Alex Newell had a great voice.
Again Doug will be providing his colorful commentary in purple with elements of moi.
So I have to say, usually when I go to Coachella I am wishing for
the sweet release of death by the time Sunday rolls around, but I don't
know what it was this year in my old age, but I just had more energy by
the 3rd day. Go me. Let's get right to it. Once more into the fray...
FAIL: It started to feel like a desert... So
I guess I got spoiled from beautiful breezy Saturday, but by Sunday it hit
the mid-80s, and getting there at 3:30pm lead to the first feelings of
heat stroke I had all weekend. Stupid sun.
Felt like past Coachellas, but at least all the sweating allowed us to avoid the frightening porta-potties.
FAIL: We missed Band of Skulls. They were playing a bigger stage this year, but come on, 2pm?! They were on WAY too early to be properly appreciated.
WIN: I had actually
seen Santigold once before by accident and she was really fun. We walked
right into LES Artistes and she played some songs from her new album.
She had her usual two dancers by her side keeping it funky; and, at one
point, she invited about 30 people from the crowd onstage to dance with
her. Good times.
I was surprised at how early they had her on the schedule because she definitely packed the....lawn with sweaty dancers. Great show. Loved the outfits. Music was extremely danceable.
WIN: Fitz, ofFitz & the Tantrums,
had great hair (and wore an amazing tomato red suit). I have one song of theirs on my iPod I got from some
magazine promotion, I think, but their happy blend of soul and indie pop
made the sun tolerable.
The live Amsterdam version of Don't Gotta Work it Out (original here) (OK and maybe the awesome band tee) made me fall for the band. Not only did Noelle Scaggs have an amazing voice, but she also had an amazing stage presence and knew how to stir up the audience. I loved how humble the band was about being there and, honestly, I don't even know how they got a better set time than Santigold, but I definitely can't wait to see them live again.
And immediately after listening to a YouTube playlist of their top tracks, I ended up buying their album.
WIN: We decided to half nap on the grass duringWild Flag'sset, but I managed to stay awake to witness their awesomeness. Girl power RAWR.
I was surprised they didn't have a bigger crowd (Hello Portlandia?), but they still rocked out.
WIN: Now I haven't heard anythingThe Hiveshave done
since Veni Vidi Vicious came out when I was a senior in high school, but
I have to say frontman Howlin' Pelle was the consummate showman and had
the crowd eating out of his hand. Decked out in a suit and top hat, he
was having some real fun out in the desert. They played songs from
their new album along with their more well known stateside hits like Main Offender (I play that song in Rock Band!) and Hate To Say I Told
You So.
Loved how Pelle was cocky as hell and knew it. He sounded like an old-timey traveling salesman.
Too many wins so far, I need a fail to spice it up...but the day is going so well...I'll dig deep.
FAIL - The Beats by Dr. Dre tent. I
guess as a headliner, Dr. Dre got a deal to pimp out his
overpriced headphones. Now I'm not just saying that to be snobby, they
really do suck for the money you're paying. I have a pair I'd like to
get rid of if anyone wants to buy them. I bought a pair of Solos a
couple years back and they sounded mediocre. Weeks later I bought a pair
of the cheapest headphones imaginable from Koss. They were formed
by a thin metal band and had foam over the cans: straight out of the
80s. They looked like headphones you used to have with your Walkman when you were a
kid. And THOSE sounded better than Dre's headphones. Also, to even
try the newer models in the tent, you had to give them your ID. So
we just sat there on this vibrating couch like dummies. Yeah, they had a
vibrating couch.
FAIL: Missing The Weeknd. EVERYONE was talking about how amazing he was and where were we? On a vibrating couch, watching him on a big screen in the Beats by Dr. Dre tent, waiting for Gotye (waste of time described below) to come on.
FAIL: I'm already pretty
sick of Gotye's one song and his non-pronouncable name. He had a CRAP TON
of people spilling out of the Mojave tent he was in, waiting to hear how
they were "just someone that he used to know..." We gave up after 10
minutes and left. I'm calling him a one-hit wonder right now, along
with that other band Fun., with the song about being young and setting
shit on fire. Why? Because shut up, that's why.
Apparently, Somebody that I Used to Know was the most played song by DJs all weekend, so why did they put him in the second smallest tent?! Plus the audio was terrible, so you couldn't even linger outside the tent. I overheard someone saying it sounded like a terrible YouTube video. Maybe it's because I don't really listen to the radio, but I didn't even realize he was that big a deal. The only reason I recognized the song was because I heard it covered on Glee (I know I must be the only person still watching the show...) and Jennio loves it. I agree with Doug about Gotye probably being a one-hit wonder since I heard Jennio and someone else describe the rest of his album as eclectic (plus everyone immediately left after he played his hit song halfway through the set. Bad decision), but Fun. doesn't deserve to be compared to him. Luckily, We are Young hasn't really been overplayed for me yet (it's so anthemic!), but I did get a little sad when I heard it in a commercial once and then as a rude girl's ringtone. :\ Anyways, I have listened to both their albums and there are a lot of fun, catchy melodies. Nate Ruess has got a Freddie Mercury / Mika -ness about him. I just wish his second album didn't have so much auto-tuning. Why couldn't THEY be at Coachella instead of Gotye??
WIN: I only knewJustice's
one songD.A.N.C.E.and for some reason I thought they'd be black because
of this. But they were white and French and one of them looked like
Jesus. Their stage of a big computer set with a lit-up crucifix took a
bit to set up, but man they actually sounded really awesome. Pleasant
surprise, I don't typically like this type of music, let alone in a live
setting.
Yeah, I admit to being a little embarrassed that I only knew that one song, but I was pleasantly surprised to find two DJs putting on an amazing stage show with great dance music.
WIN:At the Drive-Inwas the
MAIN reason I came this year. They were awesome. From the drum-pounding that opened Arcarsenal to the haunted sounds of Napolean
Solo, these guys delivered. Cedric Bixler Zavala was his usual
frenetic self, hopping all over the stage and humping amps and spitting
at the cameras. Omar Rodriguez Lopez looked like he was taking a rare
backseat and let his old bandmates handle it. He had a workman-like
performance on guitar, just making the weird guitar noises he's known to
come up with, while Jim Ward took lead and backing vocals. The rhythm
section of Paul Hinojos (on bass) and Tony Hajjar were f'ing amazing. At
times they dominated the sounds pumping out into the desert air. The
only downside was that it was only 50 minutes when a band this good deserved
to headline.
Okay, so next came Dr. Dre and Snoop, but for me to
quantify their whole set into a simple WIN or FAIL would be stupid, as
it had waaaaay too many guest spots for someone to call it purely Dr.
Dre and Snoop. So let's divide these up into a series of WINs and FAILs.
The entrance. Sorry, if you rose up out of the stage with a grim look on your face, you're awesome.
Deep Cover. This song's a classic.
Wiz Khalifa's performance of Young, Wild and Free was the most feel-good moment of the set. What a fun happy track.
Eminem. I was a HUGE fan of his in my youth so it was great seeing him show up for 3 songs.
Overall, the whole set was just an amazing spectacle. They
literally turned the whole stage into a giant screen and had various
CGI and film images projected onto it: from some hot women I wouldn't
bring home to my mother to pictures of Nate Dogg during his tribute. It was really cool. Add the aforementioned cool entrance and bevy
of guest spots and you got more than your money's worth. Good times
had by all.
FAIL:
Snoop Dogg dominated in
what would become a running theme. Even though Dr. Dre's name is on the
set list he really took a backseat to Snoop and all their guests. They
didn't even go back to anything from The Chronic, choosing, instead, to focus on
his many duets with everyone in this century and tracks from 2001. If you liked the soundtrack to Training Day, you'd be
satisfied.
50 Cent forgot the words to his own songs and mumbled through them. His hype man was also annoying.
Again, Dr Dre disappeared. He spent probably half of the set time backstage.
Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar. I guess their one song is off Lamar's new album. I wasn't particularly impressed.
WIN / FAIL: The Tupac Hologram was at first cool; then when they put it on the screens it looked like a
cutscene from Def Jam Vendetta on PS2. And then when you looked on
stage it looked like a real person was up there. It was frightening, and it felt wrong in some way, like when Kurt Cobain was in Guitar Hero
5 and you could make him sing songs by No Doubt. It was like a morbid
Weekend at Bernie's. At the end, after he exploded into some sparks
and went back to the dark realm from whence he came, Dr. Dre came out
and nonchalantly asked us to "give it up for Tupac" like this was the
most normal thing ever. Just really weird.
When Doug told me he had heard there was going to be a hologram, I imagined something straight out of Star Wars. I didn't know it would be so lifelike. I was shocked when Tupac came out, but I wouldn't say the entire audience was horrified. It looked technologically impressive, just kind of creepy when I saw him interacting with Snoop. It was definitely an amazing end to Coachella and had people talking the entire week until Weekend 2.
