Tag Archives: Food

Hatchi Mix Series at Breadbar: Rum Amok with Caña Rum Bar

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Events and tagged with , , , , ,

The carb-crazy restaurant Breadbar in Century City has been hosting a bunch of pop-up foodie events over the past year, including the “Hatchi Mix” series where mixologists concoct a one-night-only selection of eight cocktails priced at $8 each.

Each of these nights features a theme/liquor/bar, and in June it was “Rum Amok” with Joel Black from Caña Rum Bar in downtown LA. I wanted to try something not normally offered there, so I ordered the Blood & White Sand, which was made with white rum, pineapple, Cherry Heering, Carpano Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth and The Bitter Truth lemon bitters.

Also not part of the regular menu were four “mixo” pizzas, again $8 each. The mushroom, asparagus, caramelized onion and blue cheese pie made me swoon. My buddy got the kale, fennel and ricotta cheese one and it was also delicious. They really need to serve these all the time!

I knew my dining companion would be intrigued by the Bellini Le Fleur: Luksusowa vodka, lavender peach purée, and lemon verbena oil, topped with Champagne. A unique, less sweet version of the brunchtime staple.

Breadbar’s desserts sounded too tempting to resist, and the chocolate bread pudding and affogato (vanilla ice cream topped with espresso) were both wonderfully indulgent.

I found it amusing that when I asked for the Mai Tai, the server felt she had to warn me that this wouldn’t be your popular orange/pineapple juice affair. I told her I definitely wanted the real deal. Black’s recipe featured Neisson Eleve Sous Bois, Appleton 12 year aged Jamaican rum, lime, orgeat and curaçao. After such a promising preview, I’m excited to go try these cocktails in their natural habitat.

My First Trip to the Tiki-Ti (and the Ludo Truck)

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Bar & Restaurant Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

It’s shameful to say, because it shows just how much of a newbie I am, but Saturday night was my first visit to the Tiki-Ti. Mr. Hockey was surprised that I hadn’t already been, considering I have six years of drinking eligibility under my belt plus a year and a half of tiki fandom. My poor pseudo-excuse is that we’ve been visiting so many other tiki spots near and far that I didn’t want this experience to get lost in the shuffle.

I’ll go into the significance of this spot at a later date, for now I’ll just say that of the few drinks we tried that Ray’s Mistake was the clear favorite, followed by the Pearl Diver, with Rum, Gum & Lime bringing up the rear. (Hmm, kind of sounds like I’m calling a horse race.)

After Mr. Hockey’s fateful spin of the wheel landed on Stealth, an “ass-kicker” of a drink that masks the multitudes of liquor involved with a splash of Baileys, we decided that we should probably walk around for a bit before trying to head home.

Apparently, neither of us was hip enough to know that it just happened to be the weekend of the Sunset Junction Festival (so that’s why it took us half an hour to find a parking space…) And where there’s a fest, there’s food trucks! Mr. Hockey pointed out the LudoBites truck, the ever-elusive stand that inspired foodie fanatics to wait in line for hours upon hours during its debut.

I got the two-piece combo ($6) of the Provencal Pepitte “Chicken Balls”—they were perfectly crispy and juicy and dusted with herbes de Provence. And the lavender biscuit drizzled with honey was divine. Southern food infused with the South of France, and best of all, no line!

Hopefully, this was the kick-start for many more visits (and less logistically cumbersome ones) to the Tiki-Ti. Yet another sidenote: all those fried foods and rickety rides did get me looking forward to the L.A. County Fair…

Ludo Truck on Urbanspoon

The Blue Hawaiian at Yummy Cupcakes – Burbank, CA

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Other Tiki Topics and tagged with , , , ,

For many foodies, the cupcake craze has been overtaken by a food truck frenzy, but I still keep coming back to Yummy Cupcakes in Burbank. For one, they’re located on a neat stretch of Magnolia Boulevard right by Halloweentown and the sadly soon-to-close 8-Ball.

And they also get bonus points for creativity. Yummy has a roster of more than 200 flavors, and every month they feature a few dozen of them as rotating daily specials. I’ve been wanting to try their cocktail-inspired offerings (Mai Tai, Pina Colada, Strawberry Daiquiri, etc.) and finally got the chance when they put the Blue Hawaiian on the menu for July and August.

The Blue Hawaiian cupcake ($3) is made with rum, blue curacao and bits of shredded pineapple, and then topped with whipped pineapple buttercream frosting and a tropical drink umbrella. It didn’t really remind me of the drink, but it was delicious! The flavors are actually very subtle so the pineapple stands out, although one from our batch did have a distinctly boozey aftertaste.

Not all their concoctions are winners in my book (see: Pancakes & Bacon) but the Blue Hawaiian definitely is. (I also can’t leave without picking up a Peanut Butter Cup or two.)

They have a monthly calendar on their web site so you can find out what will be available each day, and you can also vote on the flavors for the next month. Who’s with me on a campaign for Mai Tai?

Yummy Cupcakes
2918 W. Magnolia Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91505
818-558-1080
(There’s also a location in Santa Monica)

Yummy Cupcakes on Urbanspoon