G. Snyder

Tequila + Sangrita

Glendale's Neat Bar, a bare-bones watering hole located in the shadow of the Verdugo Mountains, serves what could be best described as the anti-cocktail. Sure, the bar's well-lit back wall is filled with an impressive selection of spirits -- the variety of single-malt scotches alone is enough to make Don Draper swoon -- but you won't be having any of them mixed up into, say, a Penicillin or a Blood & Sand.

That's because the booze here is served straight up. It arrives poured into a small rocks glass and is paired with a bespoke, non-alcoholic accompaniment, anything from a frothy egg white mixture to a bitters-spiked tonic. The two glasses sit on a small wooden board like yin and yang, joined in theory but distinctly separate.

On a given night, the bartender could pour you a bit of Black Maple Hill Small Batch, a dry and oaky bourbon with a sourdough twang and a spicy chest-filling finish, and serve it next to a glass of bubbly lemon-ginger soda sweetened with honey. If you prefer a Moscow Mule, you'll have to be content with having your vodka and ginger beer separate.

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A. Scattergood

cappuccino-vanilla shake at Orean

A missing comma and a forgotten "p" in the word "cappuccino" aren't the only omissions from the drive-thru menu at Orean the Health Express on Lake Avenue in Pasadena. While the menu itself says the vegetarian fast-food joint serves shake flavors such as chocolate, vanilla, chai, peanut butter, cappuccino and something called "strawbwerry," the most obvious error is not telling customers just how much better these soy-based vegan shakes taste when you add vanilla to every order.

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S. Bonar

the orange blossom

There is another LA, one where the restaurant food is phenomenal. The flavors are exquisite, the portions proper (neither "bite-sized" nor spilling over the edges of the plate), the prices reasonable and the settings glorious. Further, it is a place where you may get a gourmet meal accompanied by a bottle of beer (no glass) served on a table covered in a garishly flowered oilcloth, followed by a gratis creme brulee, and where mixologists still call themselves bartenders.

We are talking, of course, about Louisiana, New Orleans to be precise, where we had the titanic misfortune to spend five days at an editing conference recently. But, in between heated arguments about the Oxford comma, we managed to find the time to discover an exquisite cocktail called the Orange Blossom in a picturesque 150-year-old-courtyard eatery in the French Quarter called Café Amelie. Sparkling, light, citrusy and slightly floral, made with Prosecco, West Indian orange bitters and St. Germaine elderflower liqueur, the Orange Blossom ($10) makes for a serene summertime cocktail.

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A. Scattergood

Dodgerata at Guisados

Maybe the folks at Guisados should get out the blue dye number whatever more often. In honor of opening day at nearby Dodger Stadium, the jar of horchata at Guisados taqueria in Boyle Heights was a lovely shade of Dodger blue last night. It was only for the evening, a walk-off win if you will, but with new team ownership making everybody far happier than usual about baseball in this town -- and with Andre Ethier driving in the game's winning run, a home run, on his birthday no less -- maybe the contents of the jar will find itself this shade more often.

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S. Bonar

Koi's cucumber martini

Koi's Rockin' Cucumber martini is the perfect spring cocktail. Somewhat reminiscent of a Pimm's Cup, it's made with vodka and sake in place of gin, with lime juice instead of lemonade. It also has a stronger fresh cucumber flavor, as the cucumbers are added before shaking and straining, rather than simply placed as a garnish. Ken Whang, Koi's bar manager, says his inspiration for the drink was the cucumber water he was served at a spa a few years ago. "I thought that it would make a great drink and started making it as a special for VIP customers," he told Squid Ink. "I fully developed it when I came to Koi and realized sake was the missing ingredient, and then it became the drink it is today. I used the Rock Sake so I could call it the Rockin' Cucumber."

Warning: The drink does go down as smooth as cucumber water, so be careful. Turn the page for Whang's recipe.

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D. Solomon

strawberry magic milk straw

Just when you thought nothing could be as simple and plain (or boring) as unflavored milk, Magic Milk Straws come along. While the magic is debatable, we can imagine that the straws enchant calcium-conscious parents and their kids. Stuffed with tiny candy-like pieces in pink, brown and white, the straws look cool and almost futuristic. (Imagine Dippin' Dots, but smaller, and encased in a narrow tube.) The flavors -- strawberry, cocoa, vanilla, banana, orange cream, berry, cookies-and-cream plus others -- ease milk's ho-hum quality. The point isn't to flavor the entire glass, only your sips through the straw. As you drink, the little pieces gradually dissolve into the milk, until the straw's empty.

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T. Nguyen

A flat white at Two Guns Espresso

If you walk into almost any coffee shop in the city and order a flat white, you'll most likely be steered towards ordering a latte instead. Sometimes, you'll be refused the flat white but offered a foam-less cappuccino to compensate. And while these may be acceptable (if even noticeable) substitutions for some, others may consider these sorry bastardizations of what they're really looking for: a lovely, creamy espresso-based drink smaller than a latte without the foaminess of a cappuccino. At Two Guns Espresso in Manhattan Beach, there is no need to settle for the next best thing: a flat white is a flat white is a flat white. The first choice is all yours.

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Joe Scarnici/WireImage

HBO is hosting its 10th annual Luxury Lounge at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills on January 13-14 to ply the stars of its hit shows, plus all of the Golden Globes nominees who deign to show up, with gifts, services and booze. Basil Hayden's Bourbon, one of the event's sponsors, asked hot L.A. mixologist Joel Black (Black Lab Ventures, The Three Clubs, Doheny, Les Deux) to create exclusive signature cocktails for the event inspired by HBO's GG-nominated series, miniseries and films. (Basil Hayden's is made using twice as much rye as traditional bourbons, a family recipe that dates back to 1796.) See what he came up with, plus a recipe, after the jump.

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B. Mesirow

Firestone Walker XV from box to glass

The enlightened readers of this blog should be well aware by now that great beer is just as complex as wine. However, in the off chance that you have yet to ascend to the craft beer plane of being, we've found you a shortcut to Nirvana: Firestone Walker's XV Anniversary Ale. The Paso Robles brewery is known for the quality of their barrel aged beers, including the Imperial Stout Parabola and the Barleywine §ucaba (formerly known as Abacus), and XV bolsters that reputation even more. This blend of barrel aged beers (which includes Parabola) is powerful and intense, with layer after layer of rich flavors, and is a unique, challenging, and truly stellar palate experience.

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Guzzle & Nosh

Two cocktails from Oldfield's Liquor Room: The Oakshade (left) and Dauntless (right).

After a radical overhaul, the bar formerly known as Saints and Sinners reopened last month as Oldfield's Liquor Room. Same owners, very different atmosphere. It now feels less like a1990s-esque party bar and more like a vintage, low-key cocktail hangout.

Compared to Little Cave, Thirsty Crow and both locations of The Bigfoot Lodge (Culver City and Atwater Village), Oldfield's is, by far, the least theme-heavy of the 1933 Group's bars. Nominally inspired by Barney Oldfield, a famous speed racer of the 1900s, Oldfield's has the calmness of pale white tiles, a small (usually more quiet) backroom with a handful of tables and a lovely bar that curves prominently into the main room without dominating it. There's still enough of the "neighborhood watering hole" vibe, especially in the early evening, to make it a palatable happy hour destination, but it feels snazzy enough for date night.

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