LA this week

It was a week of old favorites. How apropos it was that I began with what has quickly become my favorite drink in town, the Rye Manhattan, at Seven Grand (see video). With only one drink we were off to the The Royale. They'd emailed us every week about how great their Monday nights were. I had the ribs with mac and cheese. The ribs were breaded and deep fried while the mac n' cheese was plentiful. We were the only ones there but when the decent jazz band started playing we decided to split. Our last stop for the night was La Cita which I would like to say was great (like everyone else) but for some reason certain bars just jerk us around and are a dud...a couple of wrinkly, old man regulars at the bar had us leaving without a drink.

When friends come to town I often rack my brain for the hottest, hippest new spot in town. Maybe it's me trying to impress my friends but they seem to love places I consider "hum-drum Hollywood". So this week when great old friends from Cleveland came and hit and me up because of my status as LA BARHOPPER, the #1 guide to bars, clubs and restaurants in town I decided to give myself a break. I'd show them around the standard hot spots. Not unlike tourists we headed out to Yamashiro. I've been there plenty and it's always a crowd pleaser. The views, ambiance and food all deliver solid returns to natives and tourists alike. I couldn't help thinking this has to be the best place in town for a little pre or apres dinner romance, what with all the secluded Japanese gardens surrounding the place. Unfortunately I was there with my old high school buddies and not any one I'd want to sneak down the garden path with. From there we headed out to The Derby for a little split personality night. Metal on the main bar and open mike comedy/whatever (see video) on the other every Tuesday. Saturday nights the same promoter goes off! Forget not that this city thrives on the latest and greatest but old Hollywood favorites are what make this city famous around the world.

Best Bar in Boise

After I cleared the slopes in Ketchum I headed back to the "BIG" City, Boise. Proudly touted as the 3rd largest city in the Pacific Northwest, "it's lots bigger than Tacoma or Spokane" they boast. Well I guess that settles that. My job was to find the best bar in town. Boise on Monday and Tuesday night does not exactly offer the hottest nightlife around, but I guess it does beat the action in the tri-city area (Richland, Pasco and Kennewick, WA in case you didn't know). So based on the information I was able to gather in Sun Valley I headed out to what was clearly considered the best spot in town, The Red Feather Lounge. Though some locals say it's to "shishi" for them I liked the hip spot with its 3 story glass wine cellar. It was Oscar night and I was the only one in the place. The space is actually split in two, with The Red Feather occupying the left side and the Bitter Creek Ale House to the right. There were plenty of folks enjoying Brews and Burgers at the Ale House but it was just me and Boise's Best Bartender Mark next door. It was all good when he put on a cocktail clinic for me and one of his friends that came in a bit later.

I had the grilled lamb with mushroom risotto and a superb Malbec for dinner. Dessert was a classic whiskey sour and watching his buddy down an 8 layer shot which took about 15 minutes to pour (no one was in a rush). Check out the managers blog Save The Drinkers (time to update guys!).





Tuesday night was another fine night out in Boise. Having already established myself as a regular at the best upscale lounge & eatery in town, I headed out to what was widely proclaimed to be the best Pizza in Boise, Guido's. Three slices and a couple of beers and I was a regular there too. I even ran into the Manager at my next stop, Lush. Lush was interesting, lots of very comfy leather couches filled the place. Four regulars were at the bar watching Crank. I found it odd that there was a very good looking woman at the bar who sat at there without as much as a glance from any of the guys there. Whats up with that? It's also where I came to learn that Idaho really isn't all that, not the potato State, not the place trends come to life or die and the only state still using the firing squad for death sentences. Oh and I got a speeding ticket for doing 38 in a 25 which was only $75. But hey I must have missed out on all the ragers for The Special Olympics which was just about the only thing going off in town when I was there. All in all Idaho had some very friendly people but go for the snow during the week and Boise on the weekend.

Ketchum piles of Sun Valley fun...never mind what Heminway did there

Hemingway blew his brains out there but honestly I liked Ketchum. Maybe a big, old, gruffed soul found it peaceful or aimless enough to end it all there but I didn't realize he had done it there it until after I had left the place . I noticed the run named for the ex -pat, Lincoln Brigadeer, Cubano, come tragic, literary, figure. But it was not until long after the turns ached in my legs had I had come to know the truth about exactly where he'd done him self in .

After I secured a killer spot at a local house via craigslist for only $75 a night I ventured to Ketchum, Idaho. I was warned to not speed through the little towns on the way up and sure enough dismissed myself in to a 38 mph in a 25 mph zone ticket 50 feet from a 40 mph sign. The Hailey cop asked me where I was from just before I handed him my CA DL. After he gave me a ticket ($75) he reminded me to be grateful for not being sited for my bent CA drivers license. I returned from Ketchum and Sun Valley in 2nd gear with no further police action.

I believe I was able to visit every bar in the town of Ketchum, Idaho. Whiskey Jacques, Casino, Pioneer Saloon, Michel's Christiania, The Cellar Pub, Lefty's Bar & Grill, Buffalo Bites and the soon to be closed Dirty Little Roddy's. The Casino won for my favorite bar and Pioneer the best restaurant. In any case it was a 2 hour jaunt from Boise, ID and Saturday I was fortunate to have had about 5-6 inches of fresh powder, the first snow in about a couple of weeks. Sun Valley is a family oriented, expensive, skier dominated environment. There were not a lot of 15-28 yr old snowboarders so I felt comfortable leaving some of my gear to dry unattended for some time during the lunch rush at one of the many stoked fireplaces.

The powder 8-12 inches deep on Sunday mooring was nice and the back bowls were epic thanks to a local guide I met on the first lift up.

The Pioneer Saloon is the most popular and supposedly only profitable restaurants in town. Replete with big game trophy's mounted up and down the length of the establishment. I never even made it past the bar. The steak and potato were some of the best I've had and the berry cobbler was too good to be true. Best service, food and drinks ranked in order as finest I had in the entire city.

I thoroughly enjoyed Sun Valley and Ketchum Idaho for the long runs, deep powder, friendly town folk and relative value. The lift tickets are pricey but over all it was a value. I strongly recommend you contact Rex for lodging, lunch at Buffalo Bites and dine at Pioneer Saloon. They say summer is even better and believe it and will make sure to reserve it as a multi seasonal destination location.