SIP/SAVOR: Belly Up to the Bar!

HAPPY HOURS are suddenly the “talk of the town,” but on any given night in Los Angeles, there are literally hundreds to choose from.  While there are literally hundreds to choose from on any given day, these FOUR are OUR PERSONAL PICKS and where you’ll usually find us schoomizing with WHOMEVER is nearby!

BOA
Burger Sliders topped with crispy onions are THE absolute most BABULOUS in town at this meat lover’s paradise.   HAPPY HOUR runs from 5-7 and trust us, it’s one NOT TO MISS.  Not only is the $5.00 BOA TINI (with Gin or Vodka and even a few OLIVES for that price!), the people watching both inside AND out (on the magnificent patio) is another TREAT in itself!
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CECCONI’S
Get there no later than six-thirty to snag a seat at the luxurious bar.  The Tapas menu is awesome, but the complimentary flatbread pizza is a nice little “touch,” to say the least.  Make sure to ask (time and time again!) for the super skinny breadsticks while sipping away on your cocktail of choice.  Hell, it’s always so nice, we usually decide to hang out for hours, thrilled we found a place to call “home” for the night. However, IF we decide to grab a real dinner, we always opt for the grilled calamari or the divine chicken salad (a healthy but sumptuous option).
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CUBE APERITIVO
One of our most favorite little neighborhood haunts, this cool little place always “hits the spot.”  It’s great for dinner with friends, especially in the private dining room, but sometimes we like to get there a tad earlier for sipping half-price glasses of Rosati and savoring $5 Pizzettas on house-made crust OR even a wide selection of fine fromaggio. This, only at the stainless steel wine and cheese bar, but hell, we often wind up staying in the exact same seats for the rest of the night. Shhh, it’s a secret spot for celebrity sightings!
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BASTIDE
Hidden away on super luxurious Melrose Place, this divine and sexy hideaway has come up with a chic and unique two-hour cocktail hour of its very own! Each and every MONDAY from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., $15 gets you a glass of wine or a choice of two mixed drinks, BUT it’s the UNLIMITED appertizers that made us SMILE with delight! Now HERE”S a Private Party-esque Happy Hour that we WILL be frequenting week after week.  Join us…but tell only your coolest, closest colleagues!
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SIP/SAVOR: Little Next Door

If you are looking for an AUTHENTIC French Cafe in Los Angeles, HERE is your place. Known for its ROYAL BLUE interior and romantic patio, LITTLE NEXT DOOR is the place we choose to stop for a little European WINE AND DINE with the girls.  Although you may go in with the intentions of only ordering a glass of vino and the BABULOUS ARTISAN CHEESE PLATE, your taste buds and senses will guide you through the courses in the blink of an eye. The chef specials are ALWAYS the best way to order for dinner, and we recommend the pita with hummus and ahi tuna for lunch! If you are left with even an INCH to spare in your stomach, DO NOT forget dessert; it has made them one of the sweetest spots in town over the years. If you want to taste France with out cruising over seas, LITTLE NEXT DOOR is your one-way TASTE FILLED ticket.

8142 West 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
323-951-1010
www.thelittledoor.com

SIP/SAVOR: Birds Hollywood

For over 15years, BIRDS on Franklin Ave has been a local favorite of all ages. While known as a “family restaurant by day”, this HAPPY HOUR HOT SPOT is also the home of much, much more. In need of a WILD girls night out?  With a BIRD CAGE and STRIPPER POLE (the classy kind, of course) enclosed in a PRIVATE section of the bar for girls of all kinds to come and have a BLAST, this is THE place to bring out your inner Single Lady, as Beyoncé would say. By the end of your night, most likely spent partying with owner, MARY PRESTON, you’ll DEFINITELY want to purchase one of BIRD’S SIGNATURE “I know Mary” tees. Trust us, we’ve taken this one for a test run and IT ROCKS. OH, and we forgot to mention, Happy Hour starts at 4pm, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. Let the “hen fest” begin.

SIP/SAVOR: Downtown Los Angeles’ Best Restaurant

Call it a bar, call it a restaurant, hell, call it a charcuterie… whatever you call it doesn’t really matter because the food speaks for itself. There are very few words than can define the ambiance and flavors tacked to this downtown hot spot. Try the Portobello Fries and the Modena Salad for lunch and their famous Pizza for dinner. If sweets are your thing, have no fear there are enough Macaroons, Tarts and Pastries to make you need your dentist on speed dial.

Sip/Savor: Los Angeles Trucks…The Spiel on Wheels

Yummy. Savory. Delicious. Orgasmic…just a FEW words to describe some of the most BABULOUS cuisine on… (HARK!!!) wheels! Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, dinner or desert, here are some of OUR favorites. For those of you who have “heard” about these tres- nouveau FOOD TRUCKS but don’t exactly know the HOW or the WHERE just quite yet, here’s a BIG HINT. Go to TRUXMAP, click on YOUR CITY and boom, you can finally INDULGE until your heart’s content!

DON CHOW TACOS.
Here’s the perfect blend of Latin and Fusion. Sure, they have all the traditional Mexican classics (from tortas and tacos to burritos, but the STANDOUT DISH is undoubtedly the Don Chow Fun, is a noodle concoction made with thin, flat rice noodles, stir fried with onions and the meat of your choice. OMG, once you’ve tasted THIS masterpiece, you’ll be yearning for another round as soon as you finish the very last bite!

THE SOUTH PHILLY EXPERIENCE.
As its name suggests, the South Philly Experience specializes in meatball subs, chicken cutlets, pulled pork with broccoli rabe and, NATURALLY, cheese steaks made on authentic baked bread shipped from The East Coast. NEWS FLASH…as a LIVELOVESHOPLA cardholder, BUY ONE, get one FREE!

COOL HAUS. 
makes serves up architecturally-inspired ICE CREAM sandwiches that will IGNITE if not EXCITE the senses!!! Young and old alike (from 2 to 102) relish in the joy of “self creation!” THIS truck is the one you want for BIRTHDAY PARTIES that are sure to be the “talk of the town!” The equation is simple brilliant and tasty, just pick your icecream, your cookie, and your EATIBLE wrapper and you are good to go!

And Boy, do we have even MORE GREAT NEWS!…
Experience them ALL at the FOOD TRUCK fundraiser/cook-off
Saturday, May 15 from 4-7pm in MacArthur Park.
For a mere $50, it guarantees to be ONE hell of gastronomic adventure!

SIP/SAVOR: In a New York Minute

WHEW…we just returned from a whirlwind two-and-a- half-day trip to New York. Luckily, we went right to sleep on the Red Eye from LA and arrived fresh and ready to not only attend a business conference, but also to HIT both the STORES and the STREETS running!
Needless to say, we wanted to do it ALL…since SHOPPING, SIPPING and SAVORING are our FAVORITE PASTIMES; we had only so many hours to cram everything into brief New York stay.

After a long and full day doing business (stay tuned for the exciting updates!), we continued the meetings at THE ROYALTON for a drink, or two, in the lobby lounge. Then, we schlepped all over the famous Meatpacking District, photographing like crazy where we found the cover shot at DVF for our upcoming APRIL issue of TRENDS WEST L.A.’s RETAIL NOTEBOOK. At 10:00 PM, we headed to LOCANDA VERDE for a fantastic late supper…what to order and what NOT TO MISS… to start, the platter of assorted Crostinis (our favorites were the Mushroom and the Sheep’s Milk Ricotta) followed by My Grandmother’s Ravioli, Roasted Sea Scallops and the Garlic Roasted Chicken for two!
Day two and we are ready to rock and roll. We were staying at the YALE CLUB, conveniently located just next to Grand Central and great for walking the city. We spent all morning shopping on the Upper East Side before having lunch with friends at Le Bilboquet.
Not quite satisfied with our little French salads loaded with goat cheese, we decided to have coffee and a glass of Rose at AMARANTH.
Our retail expedition continued until we deemed that we had, indeed, seen everything there was to see and ran to meet another group of friends at THE SOHO HOUSE. Though we had dinner reservations elsewhere at 8, we ended up staying until almost midnight. When we realized we were starving, we limped over to BUDDAKAN for some edamame dumplings!
Next day we made sure to complete just about ALL of SOHO, but not without having lunch at MERCER KITCHEN (an always in NYC!) where we couldn’t get enough of Barry’s famous Tuna Wasabi Pizza. Lindsey preferred her Truffle version, but we both knew the BEET SALAD was also the other declared winner.
More shopping, of course, and finally a last-minute drink at the BALTHAZAR BAR before heading off to the airport for our 9 o’clock flight back to Tinsel Town! Do you think you can keep up with our next BABULOUS adventure as we SHOP, SIP and SAVOR all over the world?

SIP/SAVOR: Culina at The Four Seasons

Chef Victor Casanova is creating quite a buzz at CULINA, the recently renovated space located both inside and outside the Los Angeles Four Seasons Hotel (Doheny and 3^rd).  No more stuffy bar lounge or out-of-date restaurants here! This LA hotspot has taken its cue from trendier places in town and is now a modern space with a menu that will excite the palettes of gourmands young and old alike. Sample tapas items like the formaggi, salumi and thin-crust pizzas or mix it up a bit and mozy on over to the Crudo Bar before giving in to the sumptuous cotton candy topped Affogato… who could resist?

SIP/SAVOR: Happy Hour at The Palm

Well, how BABULOUS is THIS… The Palm has introduced new weekday BAR MENU called “Prime Bites” and BOY oh BOY,  Tte “Prime Time” Happy Hour goes from 5-7pm and then again from 9 til close. There are some great food deals to be had here. For just $3.50, one  can choose from Kobe Beef Sliders, Filet Mignon Capri Sandwiches, Chicken Strips, Crab Cakes, Veal Parmigiana Sliders, Calamari and a Prime Cheese Steak. We know THIS group will be heading here for PRE-GAME sips and savors at either the DOWNTOWN or WEST HOLLYWOOD location.  GO LAKERS!!!!!!

SIP/SAVOR: Impromptu Brunch

While many websites only focus on the NEW, we also and always want to call your attention to our PERSONAL FAVORITES, the TRIED and the TRUE.  We are talking about a store that’s, no doubt, one of EVERYONE’S favorites…TRADER JOE’S!

Here are some of the SECRET ITEMS that we find HERE and cannot LIVE without!

For an IMPROMpTU weekend BRUNCH without going crazy thinking about it…TOP the PITA BITE CRACKERS (which are usually SOLD OUT, hence the reason we buy dozens at a time!) with CREME FRAICHE a dab of PACIFIC SUPREME SALMON and a pinch of red onion! Serve plenty of PROSECO mixed with DIXIE PEACH juice OR bottles and bottles of super-chilled Cold MARQUES de CACERES, a Spanish ROSE (only $6.99). Luckily, the label is so cool; you won’t even “think” to hide it.

The big eaters will love the Lingonberry SCONES (that are best served TOASTED) and the TWO-BITE THREE CHEESE SOUFFLES.

BABULOUS Sundays at HOME are here to STAY!

A BABULOUS Escape

With every new launch, it’s appropriate to start out with a big HELLO.  Before we ask you to TRUST me, BABS, my team and this awesome new website, we realize you probably have to RELATE, right?!!! So…to get to know us even better, we thought we’d invite you INTO a little portion of our world.Though most of us reside in the greater Los Angeles area, in the HEART of the action, we often escape to one of our favorite getaways, our home away from home…MALIBU…and guess what; it’s only a 20 minute ride from home!

Pictured here is where we go to UNWIND and usually just CHILL with a huge STACK of “reading material”…. WWD’S, The New York Times, People, Us, Newsweek, The Globe and The Enquirer (WHICH, by the way, may just win a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting of the John Edwards cheating scandal!)Ok, so that’s not chilling to many of you, but to us, it’s HEAVEN, especially if we’re sipping either a 64- calorie Miller Light Beer from the bottle, loaded with limes, or a Bellini made with Proseco and Fresh Peach Juice. Top that off with a few friends over for dinner, sunning on the glorious decks and having LAURA, the traveling masseuse work her magic as we fall into a deep snooze overlooking the magnificent Pacific Ocean.

AH, the beauty of a BABULOUS LIFE at the BEACH!

ART BY:ORLANDO SORIA
ORLANDOSORIA@GMAIL.COM
www.orlandosoria.com