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Entrance (Picture courtesy of http://www.mcafedechaya.com/ ) Upon leaving The Liquid Muse's cocktail event at BOA Steakhouse , H.C. of LA and OC Foodventures , Maya of Shopeatsleep , Esther of e*starLA , and yours truly decided we needed a post cocktail snack. What's better than some "healthy" food to finish off the night? At the experts' suggestion, we decided to get some grub at M Cafe de Chaya. kale with peanut dressing H.C. went with a salad platter that included an order of kale with peanut dressing. As a fan of kale, I knew it's something that I'd enjoy. With the sweetness from the peanut based dressing topping the fresh kale, it is something that I'll definitely come back for again. Delicious, especially on a hot summer day. Bi Bim Bap The two lovely ladies decided on two items: A tasty lotus root and corn soup (not pictured) and the bi bim bap (shown above). Although I'm more familiar with corn soup being in a chowder form, the lotus root...

Recently, I was lucky enough attend a cocktail club event hosted by Natalie of The Liquid Muse at the BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood. After some initial introductions amongst the guests of the event, we were given some passed hor d'oeuvres courtesy of BOA Steakhouse From Top Left Clockwise: (Cream Cheese Puff, Shrimp Tart, Bleu Cheese Sliders (2 pics)) Along with the snacks, we were presented with 2 types of cocktails special for the evening. One was a gin based drink with rhubarb and strawberries, while the second cocktail for the evening was a Manhattan (whiskey based) with cherry liqueur and dark tea. Left: Manhattan with Cherry Liqueur, Right: Gin with Strawberry and Rhubarb Personally, I preferred the gin based drink as I'm more familiar with this type of cocktail compared to the Manhattan. I have to admit, it was the first time I've tried the Manhattan, and even though I'm not a huge fan of whiskey based drinks usually, I actually enjoyed this concoction. The t...

Recently I was invited to a tequila tasting event at The W Hotel in Brentwood hosted by Tres Generaciones Tequila. Although tequila isn't a favorite liquor of mine, probably due to some low quality tequila consumed over my lifetime (*ahem* Jose Cuervo? *ahem*), I was ready to change my perception of tequila. We were given a series of 3 cocktails for the night: Cocktails (Picture courtesy of Gourmet Pigs ) 1) L.A. Love : Tres Generaciones Reposado , Basil, Granny Smith Apple, Fig, Orange Marmalade & Vanilla 2) Obama-Rita : Tres Generaciones Plata , Brandy, Lime, Fresh Lemon Sour & Triple Sec 3) Bells Will Be Ringing : Tres Generaciones Anejo , Ginger, Fig, Fresh OJ & Vanilla The cocktails were made from a series of 3 different Tres Generaciones tequila. The Plata (unaged), the Reposado (aged ~4months), and the Anejo (aged 3 years). My 2 favorites of the night were Obama-Rita (influenced by President Obama), for it's "citrus" and sourness flavor, much simila...