I'm not a fancy writer... just a girl that likes a good drink.
Showing posts with label Hollywood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hollywood. Show all posts

12/20/2011

Next Door Lounge


I've already been out to Next Door Lounge when it first opened, but they invented me back to try their new happy hour menu. At first glance, we were pleased to see there was more food items compared to the old menu. There weren't as many cocktails choices compared to last time, but I'd rather have more food than drink options. Even though I love my cocktails, it's really the food that brings me in. After all, don't we all need good food to absorb the alcohol??? Another plus is that their happy hour cocktails are just $5-6. Definitely a good deal.

Next Door's happy hour is Tuesday through Friday from 5-8pm. I LOVE that it goes till 8pm!! And they also have a late night happy hour Tues.-Thurs. from midnight-1:30pm.  

click to enlarge

So between our two trips, here's what we ate. And there wasn't one dish we didn't like. Definitely good quality food for happy hour!

Shrimp Ceviche - $5
spinach, walnuts, roasted apple, mozzarella, goat cheese, fresh herbs
Loved it! Very tasty.

 Crostini - $3
Roasted red and white beets, carrots, parsnip, 
turnip, celery root, and goat cheese

Spinach and Goat Cheese Flatbread - $6
spinach, walnuts, roasted apple, mozzarella, goat cheese, fresh herbs


Heirloom Tomato and Spinach Flatbread - $6

Smoked Pulled Pork - $6
with guacamole and srispy onions - served with apple coleslaw (not shown but it was GREAT!)


Sliders - $6
served with Sweet Potato Fries
YUM!

And they even have dessert on the happy hour menu. I definitely preferred the Creme Brulee over the Pumpkin Pie. It was a bit flat.

Creme Brulee - $6

Pumpkin Pie - $6

For happy hour drinks, NDL offers $4 beers and wine, and the following cocktails:

Whiskey Sour $6
Old Forester Bourbon, lemon, sugar, egg whites

Moscow Mule - $5
Vodka, ginger beer

 Daiquiri - $5
Matusalem Plantino, lime, sugar

I just LOVE the drink prices!

So between the low drink prices and great food... Next Door Lounge has won me over compared to the last time I was there. I will definitely be back.



Happy Hour
Tues-Fri 5-8pm.
Tues-Thurs Midnight-1:30pm


Next Door Lounge
1154 North Highland Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90038
(323) 465-5500

nextdoorhollywood.com
facebook.com/nextdoorlounge 
twitter.com/nextdoorlounge

Next Door Lounge on Urbanspoon

11/15/2011

The Fat Dog

I don't get over to Hollywood very much, but I'm so glad I got turned on to The Fat Dog. We went for happy hour and dinner and I was WOW'ed by the food. Sooo good!

The Fat Dog's happy hour is daily 4-7pm and offers a $3 beers, $4 wine, $5 well drinks, and $3 Shot of the Day. But the food (which runs $3-6) was real the star of the show.

Since we were having dinner, we only ordered 4 appetizers (see below) off the happy hour menu. And yes, we got four appetizers for two people. What I can say??? We were hungry!! hehehe. The Sweet Potato Fries and cheese plate were fine and dandy, but the Swedish meatballs and the Potato Skins were out of this world! The Swedish Meatballs were the best I have ever had and the Potato Skins were stuffed with crab, bacon, and asparagus and topped with Hollandaise sauce. YUM. The next time I go in, I might even just order those two items and make that my dinner.
:)

Sweet Potato Fries - $3

A Cheese Bite - $5

Swedish Meatballs - $5

Potato Skins - $6

Happy Hour Food Menu

For happy hour drinks, Fat Dog offers $3 cider and beers, a $3 shot of the day, $4 wine, and $5 well drinks. I ordered the Shot of the Day plus a drink off their cocktail list, The Mutt (not happy hour), which contained Rye Whiskey, Absinthe (love), simple syrup, Peychaud's and lemon. My second drink was The Fat Mary (Bloody Mary). I love Bloody Marys and this one made me quite happy. My friend got the Tailwagger (Stoli Raspberry, sour, Triplesec, and lemon).

(L-R) The Mutt $11, The Tailwagger $9, 
and the Shot of the Day (Pink Lemonade) $3


Fat Mary $9 (not on HH)


Happy Hour Drink Menu




 
Their signature cocktails aren't discounted for happy hour, but here's the menu just in case you were interested.












Now you would think two people sharing 4 appetizers would be sufficient but since I'm a little piggy piggy food connoisseur, we ordered dinner too. And thank god we did because it was sooooo good. We started with the Jalapeno Mac and Cheese and it was made to perfection. Perfect amount of jalepeno and the cheese blend was spot on! My friend got the French Dip Sandwich (which was really good) but I got the Roasted Organic Chicken which was UH-MAZING!!! I swear I think they put crack in it or something. It's THAT good. Now this stuff isn't on happy hour, but you have to try the Mac and Cheese and the chicken. You won't be disappointed.

Jalapeno Mac and Cheese - $9 (Not on HH)

Braised Short-Rib French Dip 
$14 (Not on HH)

Roasted Mary's Farm Organic Chicken 
$18 (Not on HH)

So Fat Dog definitely gets my stamp of approval. And if you are ever in the Montrose area, you should check out The Fat Dog there.

Happy Hour
daily 4-7pm
Small Plates $3-6
$3 beers, $4 wine, $5 well drinks, and $3 Shot of the Day.


The Fat Dog
801 N. Fairfax Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90046
323-951-0030




The Fat Dog on Urbanspoon

*food and drinks were hosted

8/16/2011

Saint Felix


Old films play above the bar
I used to not be a big fan of Hollywood and the happy hours it offered, but it's definitely getting better in the last year. Recently, Saint Felix opened a second location on Cahuenga Blvd in the old Citizen Smith location, and it gets my stamp of approval.

Saint Felix's happy hour is daily from 5-8pm. I love that it's daily AND that it goes till 8pm.  There is a large selection of drinks and some delicious small plates, too!

Let's start with the most important part... the cocktail menu.  I tried four different drinks and the Stockholm Syndrome was my favorite. A couple were a bit sweet but I'm not much of a martini girl, either. If you are in the same boat, no worries... they offer any drink at half-off (like a Whiskey-Coke, Vodka-Soda, etc).





Pear Manhattan $6.50

Cucumber Dilettante $6.00

Stockholm Syndrome $6.50 *My fave*

Desperado $6.50

And in case you aren't a cocktail-lover, it's half-off wine and beer, too!


All beers during happy hour are $3.50 
except Miller Light ($3) and Guinness ($4)

And now on to the food!! The happy hour menu is small but offers quality food.  We tried everything except the Chopped Salad. Our thoughts were that The Chicken Cups were good but the Kobe Sliders, Ahi Sliders, and Cubano Tacos were the things to order! Yum! 







Now if you are like us and stay way past happy hour into the wee-hours of the night and want some other tasty eats, I highly suggest the Steak Skewers and the Goat Cheese Gratin. Both are amazing and worth their price.

Steak Skewers $13

Goat Cheese Gratin $12


The place is big too... here's the back bar.

Some nice seating in the back...

And then of course there is the front bar. Pretty nice size crowd for happy hour, right!?

Another bonus is that it's really close to the Metro. So I will definitely be back for happy hour!

Happy Hour
Daily 5-8pm
1/2 off all drinks
$5 Food items

Saint Felix
1602 Cahuenga Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028
323.469.5001

saintfelix.net
facebook.com/saintfelixhollywood
twitter.com/SaintFelixHwd

Saint Felix Hollywood on Urbanspoon


*food and drinks were hosted

7/06/2011

Next Door Lounge


Next Door Lounge just opened in Hollywood last week and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they have happy hour. Yay! Being that I'm from the Valley, I was a bit confused because there is a "Next Door Tapas Lounge" in Studio City but they are not related at all. Next Door Lounge in Hollywood reminds me of the Edison with its speakeasy vibe from the 20's.  When you first arrive, there is a doorman in front to greet you and to inform the host you are there so he can seat you. I chose to sit at the bar, but he even walked me there and grabbed an extra chair needed for a friend arriving soon. That was kinda classy. But enough of this chitter-chatter, let's move on to the food and drinks!!

Next Door offers happy hour daily from 5-8pm. At first they were advertising that HH went until 7pm but have since changed that. Let's hope that sticks!
 

For happy hour drinks they offer 5 different specialty cocktails, 2 craft beers, and 4 types of wine.
Definitely a nice selection.

We tried all five drinks and my favorite was the Whiskey Sour. It is my favorite drink in general so no big shock there. $8 for the Whiskey Sour was a decent price but the others would be better at $6. (Regular prices are around $12) The only drink I didn't care for was the Daiquiri. It was just kind of bland. But the rest were fair. I wouldn't say they meet the same quality as the drinks I've had at the Edison or other bars known for their mixology.

**Good to know: If you order the Whiskey Sour, make sure to tell them you don't want it on the rocks. The picture below is my drink, but when a friend ordered it later from a different bartender, it was with ice. #NoIceInWhiskeySoursPlease


Whiskey Sour $8
Old Forester Bourbon, lemon, sugar, egg whites

 Tommy's Margarita $8
Blanco Tequila, agave nectar, lime

 French 75 - $8
Gordon's gin, lemon, sugar, prosecco

 Daiquiri - $8
Matusalem Plantino, lime, sugar

 Moscow Mule - $8
Vodka, ginger beer


For happy hour food there is a small but tasty selection.  There are four items which are all shown below except for "The Sheik" which is a Greek salad with cucumber, red onion, tomato, and Greek olives served with Chipotle hummus and pita ($6). I liked all three dishes we had.


Los Federales $6
Tortillas filled with grilled lime free-range chicken, caramelized onions, 
roasted peppers, black beans, cheese with a Chipotle drizzle

Spinach and Goat Cheese Flatbread - $6
spinach, walnuts, roasted apple, mozzarella, goat cheese, fresh herbs

 The Darb - $4
Roasted red and white beets, carrots, parsnip, 
turnip, celery root, and goat cheese
Very tasty!!!

And they even have dessert on the happy hour menu. Love!!!

Creme Brulee - $4

Overall I liked the food more than the drinks, but they are still in their opening stages so hopefully some of the bumps will be smoothed out down the road.  Joe Brooke (former cocktail director of the Edison) does have a role in making some of the cocktails and he told us they are still working on the final cocktail menu so a revisit is definitely in order.

Happy Hour
Daily 5-8pm

Next Door Lounge
1154 North Highland Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90038
(323) 465-5500

nextdoorhollywood.com
facebook.com/nextdoorlounge 
twitter.com/nextdoorlounge

Next Door Lounge on Urbanspoon

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