Garter

Posted on September 12, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

How’s everybody’s weekend going? Mines been pretty good so far but very busy. It all started last night with another ABC University outing with Adam, Leanna, Catie and Emily. This time we were going to Bar G, Garter.

Garter is located in Venice and has a really cool vibe. As the name suggests, the bar is 1920’s retro with red walls and black chandeliers. Because we were some of the first ladies to arrive we got free garters!

Everyone with skinny jeans, put your leg in! The bar filled up fast with ABC Students. Its no wonder. There were so many great drink specials, like $3 shots!

I’d like to tell you what this shot was, I have no idea what it was…

After shots we signed up for a beer pong tournament. Catie opted out, beer pong is a bit germey.

Adam and Leanna made up one team:

Emily and I were another:

Both teams made a strong showing but unfortunately we were not successful…

Can you see the look of defeat on my face? The other team were total show offs, they even did push ups while playing. Ugh. We only lost by two cups. I felt it was a valiant effort. After beer pong we had more drinks including a “Cape Coddah” (vodka cran).

And there was dancing. Lots and lots of dancing. They played lots of hip hop which is always fun post beer pong and post shots. Overall it was a pretty fun time. ABC University always provides a good time! Cannot wait to go to bar H!

Big Foot Lodge

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

After the beach we all headed back to the apartment in Glendale. On the way home we stopped at Fresh and Easy. We grabbed a frozen pizza and some ingredients to kick it up a little bit and make it special.

Once we got home, everyone prepared for a night out and I prepared dinner!

Cooking mayhem, as per the usual.

I added salt. pepper, garlic salt and prosciutto to the pizza:

It turned out pretty good! The little added punch really made it so much better than your typical store bought pizza.

After dinner my friends and I went to the Big Foot Lodge. As you can tell from the name, we were working a wilderness theme.

Yep, there was a mechanical bear peeking his head out of a log. It was amazing. Love love love a theme bar.

There was more taxidermy on the walls and smokey the bear signs. There was a fire place and lots of seating. Overall, it had possibly the perfect bar layout. Lots of space, places to sit and not too large. Plus, I’ve been to three bars this week with taxidermy on the walls. Apparently I have a thing for it.

We had heard about the toasted marshmallow cocktail and we knew that we had to try it. It featured vanilla vodka, butterscotch liqueur, Frangelico, and Bailey’s. The crowning glory is a toasted marshmallow which they torch in front of you.

Finished product:

It was pretty good, although very sweet. The Bailey’s was the main flavor that came through. I could also sense the vanilla. The marshmallow was like wise good but very sweet. It was also pretty affordable, in my opinion, for a specialty cocktails ($10). I couldn’t have more than one of these.

My second drink was St. Germain, gin and lime. It was light and delicious. Having St. Germain is major points in favor of the Big Foot Lodge in my opinion. I like a bar that appears dive-ey but in reality can mix a killer drink.

BFL also gets major points for playing good music. Lots of oldies. I danced and sang along. I was in a happy place.

Friends equal happiness. Hope you had a great long weekend!

Thirsty Wednesdays

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

Last night Catie and I said goodbye to Kat by bringing her to one of our favorite bars, Thirsty Crow. The first time Catie and I went to “The Crow” we looked at each other and said, “Kat would love this place!” Of course she did.

Last time I got a whiskey cocktail, but this time I ordered a Violet Vapor.

The violet vapor is a combo of creme de violet and champagne. I know we were at a whiskey bar, but what can I say, I’m a champs girl. We had a great time reliving college memories. Lets just say I learned some interesting facts about my trash can last night. I got home late and woke up at 6 am today to go to court. Revelation of the day: I really, really want to be a litigator. Ah, we learn something new everyday. It’s nice to have some direction.

Back to reading and then a run. What is everyone doing for the long weekend?

Friends and Cupcakes and Cocktails, oh my!

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

There was no blog post yesterday because I was hanging out with Kat! Kat is one of my besties from Simmons. She and I met First Year during a program at Simmons called the “Emerging Leader Program”. We had to do an ice breaker together and she said that makes awesome home made pie crust. Is it any wonder we’re still friends? Then we lived together Sophomore year. She is a left coaster too, but a little further north. I was so excited to see her yesterday.

I grabbed her at the hotel and took her on a driving tour of LA. When we got to Beverly Hills we ditched the car to stretch our Boston legs.

To have a full LA experience we had to stop at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf for ice teas!

We walked up, down, and all around Rodeo and then ended up at one of my favorite 90210 hot spots… Sprinkles Cupcakes.

So many choices and so little time.

Then there was a cupcake photo shoot, obviously.

Love Kat’s new cute hair cut!

We picked a good one: carrot cake!

I have to say that I really loved this cupcake! The frosting was not the traditional carrot cake frosting. It was like their other frosting but with coconut-ish flavor! The cake was also very moist and delicious. Overall, it is my favorite Sprinkles cupcake thus far!

We headed back to downtown and had a sushi dinner with Catie. 3/4 of the firm was reunited! Then we went to Seven Grand, where I went for birthday drinks earlier this month, for whiskey drinks.

For some reason my camera was super blurry during this part of the night. Not sure why…

I love the interior of Seven Grand.

Nothing is cozier than taxidermy:

Check out the fresh ingredients… the bartender even gave me a small cup of raspberries. They looked that good.

Having sampled several of their cocktails the last time I was there, I knew exactly what I wanted to order, a Whiskey Sour.Watching them make it was like watching a chemist.

Frothy!

My friends and I had a great time catching up. Its sad that we don’t live across the quad from each other anymore but I look forward to getting together, making new memories, and reliving old ones for years to come.

Love my ladies!

It’s Cocktail Time!

Posted on August 29, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

Oh my friends, I have had a day.

My beloved iphone was snatched out of my purse while I was perusing heirloom tomatoes at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market. After panicking and running back to the last location I remember having it (JCrew, obviously) I realized that it was really gone. After a trip to the AT&T store I realized that there was no way to get another iphone. There were no iphone 3gs’ in LA. I ended up with a HTC Aria, which is a smart phone that operates on the andriod system. It’s not my iphone. The idea of my baby being violated by someone that isn’t me makes me sad but new year, new hair, new phone I suppose.

I rallied this afternoon with an amazing 7 mile run. I felt incredible and strong. After running and getting treats at Cheesecake Factory with Danielle I decided it was time to make a cocktail with my St. Germain. I decided to make a French Gimlet.

First things first, collect your ingredients.

St. Germain is a made from Elderflower in the French Alps. The blossoms are taken down from the hills on bikes by 50 men. This is the entire collection for the entire year. The flavor is kind of fruity and floral but not at all sweet or sour if that makes any sense. It is used in many cocktails and is exquisite.

You need one parts St. Germain.

Two parts dry gin.

and lime! I used a new instrument to squeeze them…

My mom sent this to me. Love that she is always looking for new bar ware.

Combine all the ingredients in the martini shaker and mix it up. Pour into a martini glass.

Mmmm. I love a twist on a gin cocktail. Adding St. Germain only makes gin more delicious.

Crisp cocktails are amazing. Study up on St. Germain here. There will be more cocktails to come, and possibly a pop quiz on St. Germain’s many uses.

Return to the Crow

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

Last night Catie, Emily, Leanna, Leanna’s boyfriend Adam, and I returned to the Thirsty Crow in Silver Lake. We went to the Thirsty Crow in July to celebrate Emily’s birthday. Last time we were there we had a great time so we decided to go back yesterday night.

We started off the night with a round of their signature drink, The Thirty Crow.

The drink is a mix of citrus, whiskey, bitters and ginger beer. I’ve had so much whiskey the past few weeks. Who am I?!

I had a sip of this drink the last time we went to the bar. This time the drink seemed much more ginger-ey which is good because I love ginger. Its one of my favorite flavors. I really liked this drink and I would recommend it. Honestly if I were to go back I would probably try their mint julep because they have a killer cocktail list.

After a considerable effort we managed to wrangle a booth for the night. Leanna is a master booth wrangler. She literally stormed the booth!

Hey girls.

The crowd at Thirsty Crow last night wasn’t as fun as the last time we went but its still a great bar and I imagine we will be back. I got home at a reasonable hour because school is in session meaning I actually have to work on the weekends. I miss the summer already!

How are you spending your weekend?

Piece of Cake

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

One year in California? I think that means I should have a treat.

There was only one place to go…

I celebrated last night because I have dinner out planned for tonight. On the way home from yoga I stopped at Susie Cakes and got a slice of cake which I enjoyed with an adult beverage.

I love prosecco.

And then, there was cake.

Susie Cakes’ marble cake was everything that I wanted it to be and more. Moist cake, perfect frosting. I do have to admit that it took me about an hour to eat. I am not sure if it is a reflection on the cake or the reduced size of my stomach. And yes, of course I licked the plate. It was just that good! One year in LA never tasted so sweet.

Don Julio

Posted on July 31, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

Last night Catie and I had an impromptu meet up at The Griffin.

The conversation went like this:

“Let’s do a shot”

“Ok, but I don’t like vodka”

“I don’t either… humm… no one really does gin shots. What else can we do?”

“Tequila!”

And that is how we end up with this:

Better picture:

Happy weekend! Hit the FM this AM, cleaned the kitchen, and now headed out for a fun day of pool hanging. Love summertime!

Taylor’s

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

Tonight I met up with my Uncle for dinner at an old school steak house near my work, Taylor’s. Taylor’s is a great place to go if you want to go to an old school steak house. There are no windows so the restaurant is super dark. The booths are red and they made a decent martini:

Yes please! There is no pairing better than a steak and a martini!

For an appetizer we had bacon wrapped scallops and a cream of mushroom soup which was pretty good. Have I ever not appreciated something wrapped in bacon? Forgot to take a picture of the bacon wrapped scallops but they were good. The scallops were cooked to perfection. I never liked scallops until I moved to Boston and they always remind me of my “other” city.

For an entree obviously I had the “Taylor Special” which was a filet with onions:

I chose mashed potatoes on the side, always a good choice. It also came with a side of spinach which was good. I only managed to have three bites. I would totally live off of red meat and potatoes if I could. You just can’t go wrong. The steak was perfectly cooked exactly to the level of rare that I like it.

Unfortch I did not save room for dessert. I couldn’t even finish the steak and potatoes before I was stuffed! That’s what I get for scaling back portions for the past 7 months. I just can’t thrown down like I used to.

Overall I really liked the vibe of Taylor’s. I can always go for a martini and red meat. The atmosphere is very old school and more “Old LA” than most of the places that I frequent. The change of pace was delightful and I always love having dinner with Joe.

In other news: Tomorrow I am going to happy hour at a bar that has a bacon and egg martini. Yep, bacon infused vodka with a quail egg. Should I be adventurous?