Food, Wine, Good (and Evil) Spirits

Anyone who has known me longer than he’s willing to admit will tell you that there’s one grim subject that haunts my waking hours, a capricious and terrible bitch that lurks constantly on the outer ridges of my consciousness, ready to leap to the fore at the sound of a sniffle. What provokes such cathexis, you ask?  It’s the state of my perpetually fucked sinus cavities.¹   I’ll avoid the details, just know pollen is my nemesis, Kleenex abound, etc.  Electric conversation really, sure to win many admirers.

The logical response to these histrionics should be, “go see a doctor, son.”  But you see, the thing is, I already have an allergist and an ENT and to whatever extent they’ve helped—and they’ve helped a lot—I still don’t breathe right.²  So I started seeing a Chinese physician whose holistic approach relies largely on acupuncture and healthy eating.  My allergies, I was told, would be much less of a noticeable intrusion if the following things were cut back on/removed from my diet: red meats, dairy products, wheat, potatoes, sugar, caffeine, everything created for human enjoyment. 

Though I love wine, I don’t own much wine paraphernalia. Good glassware and a sturdy corkscrew is pretty much all anybody needs. Carafes are nice for entertaining. Aerators a possible necessity if you’re drinking a lot of young red wine, but I generally spend my wine dollars on wine. We have a fairly large cellar and once people find out how many bottles we have - enough to survive a year without buying more, not so much we couldn’t drink it in our lifetime - the first question is always “how much do you drink?” Let’s just say there are two of us, usually one bottle a day…you can do the math.

Leftover wine is rarely an issue in our house. Yet not everyone has a nightly wine buddy and some people just like to have a glass with dinner. Others like to try several different ones at a time. How do you make sure the wine stays as fresh as possible? Once you pull that cork oxygen begins it’s hack job trying to turn your luscious vino into vinegar. I’ve found the “re-cork it and refrigerate it” method works pretty well with most red wine, since - except for very old ones. Most reds could use a little opening up and many are better the next day doing this. However, if you’re not going to get to the wine for a few days you’re really taking a gamble. Especially if you really LOVED it the first night. (Our advice when that happens - drink it all. Seriously.) When it comes to white wines or rose, you’re pretty much guaranteed to be disappointed the next day if you don’t take some precaution against oxidation other than refrigeration.

When I got the chance to try the Savino, I figured why not give it a spin?

"I think the increased number of 1920s themed parties caused the current economic crisis. There I said it." - Alexis Brodey

I love old timey things. I even love the term old timey. Whenever I hear it, everything turns into sepia tone and rag time music starts playing. Then my iPhone rings and I realize I need to update my blog and twitter. I'm happy I wasn't born in the 30's but I enjoy many things about it. Mainly the influx of bars that seem to embrace that old timey feel. Did Mad Men have something to do with this? Probably. I'll be the first to admit prior to watching Don Draper I never had an Old Fashioned. I now love Old Fashioneds. I even make a really good Old Fashioned.

Since I'm not the biggest drinker,  I never really want to visit a random Hollywood bar and order a gin and tonic that tastes generic. I tend to stick to very specific bars that do very specific things. Let’s say I want a tropical drink. Easy, I go to Tiki Ti in Los Feliz. The bar’s been open since 1961 and challenged Trader Vics for the best tiki bar ever (and won). Currently I’m really into bourbon. This led me to the great bar SeVen Grand on 7th and Grand downtown.

SeVen Grand is a mix between an old timey bar, a hunting lodge, a gentleman's club and a place where stockbrokers hang out after ruining peoples lives. They have over a hundred types of whiskey and really great bartenders. My favorite bartender is a guy who I refer to as "Last of the Mohicans" because he has an indie mohawk.

My tea of choice is neither herbal nor green, but classic black tea. While I can be quite content with a cup of Lipton’s, my preference is for the English brand PG Tips, a strong black tea in a pyramid shaped bag.

I’m thrilled when I can find a box of 80 in LA for $6 or 7.5¢ a bag, but on my trip to London last month, I found a classic BQ Bang for the Buck that ensures I’m going to enjoy great iced tea all summer long…and hot mugs through the fall and winter too:

At Marks & Spencer, 80 PG Tips were £2.49, which is $3.86 or 4.8¢ a bag.