Hotel Shangri-La - Late Night

*no longer offered*

Me and Hotel Shangri-La are old friends. I've been there for their Friday Ditch Days and I frequently go to their rooftop bar, Suite 700. And now Shangri-La has a late night happy hour. Nice! 'Cause there have been many nights where this 'ol girl needed some meat in her belly after 1 or 2 cocktails. Okay, more like 4.

Shangri-La's late night happy hour is called "777". You can get seven drinks and seven sliders or sandwiches for just $7! And there is 3 sliders per order. And I have to tell you... Shangri-La is in my Top 5 for best sliders. Check out the menu above for all your choices!

Here's what we had:

Short Rib with Horseradish Cream
It's one of my faves!

A closer look at the Short Rib.
Mmmmmm.









Sirloin with Caramelized Onions.
My second favorite.






Crabcake with Caperberry Tartar Sauce









Maple Glazed Bacon with Jalapenos and gruyere cheese.
Bacon AND Cheese?? Hell yeah!



I'm wondering if these are the wonderful creation of Chef Dakota Weiss. She is one hot tamale in the Shangri-La kitchen!  Now on to the drinks!!!

Sorry, I had too many to remember their names. :) But I do remember that I liked them.  So if you are looking for a late night happy hour and you are near Ocean... this is a nice one.

Late Night Happy Hour:
Tues-Sat 9pm-12am
$7 Cocktails, Sliders, & Sandwiches
(in the lobby bar only)

Hotel Shangri-La

1301 Ocean Ave.
(cross street: Arizona)
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310.394.2791

shangrila-hotel.com

Palomino

So I have this super-duper long list of happy hours and Palomino has been on it forever. Recently, some friends mentioned I should try it because they have good drinks. So since I was headed out to Westwood, I thought I would finally go. I was actually pretty excited to finally try it.

We arrived around 5pm, and the place was pretty packed. This is always a good sign. We browsed the happy hour drink selection and were pretty disappointed. For $4, they offered an Apple Martini, Cranberry Mojito, Pomegranate Margarita, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, or Coor's Light. First of all, Coor's Light??? BLAH! And $4 for it??? NO thank you!! And my guy friend noted that other than the Coor's, all they had were "girly drinks". We asked the waitress if they also offered well drinks, but they don't. So we went with the Pomegranate Margarita. It was kinda small, really sweet, and not very strong. I didn't even finish mine. So no bueno on their drinks.

 Pomegranate Margarita - $4

I heard their pizzas are a great deal, so hopefully they could redeem themselves with their food. All of their pizzas are only $5 and are quite large. So we ordered the Prosciutto and Roma Tomato Pizza along with the King Crab and Artichoke dip. We started with the dip. I didn't like it. It was very mayonnaise-y. The pizza was also a bit of a let down. The prosciutto was good, but the pizza had slices of raw garlic on it. It made the pizza very bitter.

King Crab and Artichoke Dip - $7.50

 Prosciutto and Roma Tomato Pizza - $5

So why was the place packed??? Well, Palomino is walking distance form UCLA and they do have happy hour everyday, all day so I guess if you are a starving college student or aren't too picky about the quality of the drinks, you may like Palomino. But for those who are not staving college students, go across the street to the Glendon Bar and Kitchen. Their pizzas are much better and are about the same price. And they also have a much better drink selection and again for also around the same price.

So, I wasn't a fan but I do know others who really are. So, the choice is yours. Hopefully you'll like it more than me.

Happy Hour:

Everyday, All Day

Specials:

Selected Drinks $4
Coor's Light $4
Pizzas $5
Selected Appetizers $4.50 - $7.50


Palomino
10877 Wilshire Blvd.
(Cross Street: Glendon Ave.)
Westwood, CA 90024
310-208-1960

www.palomino.com

The Glendon Bar & Kitchen

 

 Photo Credit: The Glendon

We recently heard about a great new bar in Westwood called The Glendon Bar and Kitchen, so yesterday we gave their happy hour a try. Christopher, Amber, and I all arrived separately, but each one of us was warmly greeted by one of the bartenders, Chris, and he went over the happy hour menu with each of us. Now service is a huge deal to me, so this was a good start.

First, we started with some drinks. The Glendon's drink specials are wine ($4), well drinks ($5), and selected Martinis ($5). We ordered up a Lemon Drop, a Dirty Martini (both $5), and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.  Now of course, I tried everybody's drink... you know, for research! I'm not a huge fan of Dirty Martinis but Amber's was well-made. We were also impressed with Christopher's wine being that was nice AND it was only $4 (Major deal, there!), and my lemon drop was perfect.

Martinis $5

Then we ordered some food. Their food happy hour prices are 50% off most items on the Bar Menu which comes to $2.50 - $6. Some items on their menu include Garlic Fires ($3), Cajun Calamari ($5), and Black Bean Hummus ($4). We thought we'd start with the Glendon Pizza and the Mac And Cheese with bacon, and then maybe get a third item after that and then some dessert. (We were hungry!) But thank God we just ordered those two plates because the servings were HUGE!!! The Glendon Pizza ($6) was topped with mozzarella, gorgonzola, caramelized onions, and an applewood smoked bacon. The crust could have been a bit softer, but the combination of toppings was a good combo. I would get it again. Now the star of the night was the Mac and Cheese made with three cheeses. It had a crunchy Panko breadcrumb crust and we chose to add bacon. For happy hour, the Mac is $4 (great price!!) and an extra $2 for the added bacon. Damn, it was good!

Glendon Pizza- $6

Check out the size of it compared to my Martini!

Mac and Cheese with bacon - $6

So after finishing our food, it was time for dessert. This was our favorite part of the evening. The desserts were made by pastry chef Renee Faris of TLC's Cake Boss. We had the Apple Cobbler (only $4 during happy hour) and the Cheesecake drizzled with caramel and garnished with raspberries. Christopher was "nice enough" to give each of us one bite of his Apple Cobbler but one bite only. After that, he inhaled that cobbler in less than two minutes. My "one bite" was delicious! Amber and I, of course, ate the Cheesecake. Mmmmm, the consistency was perfect...rich and creamy. 

Apple Cobbler - $4

 Cheesecake drizzled with caramel - $8

Another thing I like at The Glendon is that one of the owners, Nick Jacobs, is also executive chef. You know the man behind the food is striving to make your meal the best it can be. Along with our food being good, we really appreciated two things at The Glendon: the food portions and the service. Exceptional service is key for any business. If I don't get good service, I don't come back even if the food is good. But we had good drinks, good food, and very friendly, attentive service. Well done, Glendon. We'll be back! (Christopher said it four times during our meal.)

Happy Hour:

Daily 4-7pm

Specials:

1/2 off most Bar Menu items
Selected Martinis and Wells $5
Wine $6

The Glendon Bar & Kitchen

1071 Glendon Ave.
Westwood, CA
310-208-2023

*Parking can be expensive. If you park in the parking structure after 6pm, it's a flat $6 fee.
If you arrive before 6pm, try to find metered street parking because the structure is pricey!

www.glendonla.com