The Parlour: Leave Your Issues at the Door

Food is typically a source of comfort for me so it’s rather surprising that I haven’t eaten anywhere special lately. From career changes to personal disappointments to a car fire (seriously), it’s a wonder I haven’t sought out solace through my stomach.

Sharing a meal with friends offers more than merely gastronomical digestion; it’s a way to digest life’s events, to commiserate, celebrate, communicate and connect with those you trust. But lately, I think I’ve wanted to trudge through the mayhem instead of dwelling on it. Get past the bad so there’s only good news to share. It’s not to say that I’ve been avoiding opening up to the ones I love, it’s just that after a while, I started to feel like a Debbie Downer. 

Besides, who can really enjoy a great meal when you’re having a tough enough time appreciating anything else?

In my typical fashion, however, a sports bar is a FANTASTIC place to go to with friends when you don’t want to talk seriously. It’s loud, you’re drinking and everyone’s focus is on the game — not your issues. It’s a welcome reprieve.

Last Friday, we went to The Parlour in Santa Monica on Wilshire Boulevard. As the restaurant-formerly-known-as-Cinch, it’s a beautiful space thanks to it’s original Dodd Mitchell design. I find it amusing that they just hung up some flatscreens, sports banners, posters and paraphenelia in this budget-busting designed place and called it a sports bar. Kinda sad, really, but the food at Cinch was a disappointment anyways. 

The bar food at The Parlour, however, YUM! In particular, the nachos that are loaded with cheese, chili, jalapenos, sour cream and pico de gallo. Gets a little soggy toward the end but it’s still yummy and messy enough to demand a fork from your server. The sweet potato fries with garlic ranch are pretty good, too, although not as good as Father’s Office. A nice addition to the menu for ladies (or men — no judgement!) is a plate of fresh veggies with ranch dressing. Nothing special and only $7 but, if you pretend to ignore the ranch dressing, you almost feel less guilty about all the other fattening finger food and alcohol you’re pouring into your body. 

All-in-all, a fun, relaxing night out with the girls at a hip sports bar surrounded by a good-looking crowd, good bar food and stiff drinks. 

Word to the wise, though: On game night, get there early. 

 

The Parlour
1519 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA
(310) 395-4139

Mambo in Chicago

Is it so wrong that I spend my first morning back from Chicago’s cold winds curled up on my couch watching the New Kids on the Block on NBC? It’s 80+ degrees outside already and I wasn’t even that big a NKOTB fan as a teen, but I can’t peel my eyes off the TV…. Joey is so damn cute! Lol…

Anyhow! Now that that’s off my chest, let’s talk Chicago. Usually when I’m in a new city, I dive right into its signature cuisine but my schedule was so structured that my ONE chance for Chicago’s deep dish pizza was squandered. I’m severely disappointed and plan on going back for at least a week to experience the food and see more of the city. It really seems like a place I could really enjoy, with its architecture, beauty, people and promise of good eats. However, in the few days I was there, I managed to find a few yummies to munch on…

• I took in a Cubs game from the fourth row above the dugout and devoured a Wrigley Field brat loaded with onions, peppers and sauerkraut. Soggy but delicious! Beers, expensive ($6.25) but necessary to stay warm. Can’t say enough about Wrigley Field… great ol’ fashioned ballpark. No jumbotron, fancy food court or hard alcohol. It reminded me of growing up in Toronto watching the Blue Jays play at Exhibition Stadium. I love baseball and always will.
• Before exiting Wrigleyville, we stopped into Goose Island for a drink because I heard good things about the pub. Would love to grub there next time and try their local brews.
• Gained 5 pounds eating dinner at Mambo Grill, a Latin American restaurant. I could eat a bajillion of their chicken empanadas, which had a delicious buttery crust and tender shredded chicken, cheese, onions, cilantro and tomatoes inside. Its cream sauce was to die for. Seriously, if I was really rich, I’d have them overnight some of those bad boys to Los Angeles!

Their barbecue baby back ribs were really, really good and tender, the BBQ sauce had a nice, spicy, Latin kick to it. It came with sweet mashed potatoes, which helped balance the flavor. The waitress recommended their chicken fricassee, which is a chicken breast marinated in lime juice served with a stew of vegetables over a bed of rice. It was really flavorful and light, but completely overpowered by the BBQ sauce from the ribs. Note to self: Make sure that when you split dishes with friends, one does not overpower the other. Their top-rated mojitos are really good if that’s your thing… I just don’t care much for them that much in general. All in all, make Mambo Grill one of your stops if you’re ever in Chicago. You won’t be disappointed… or leave hungry.

Pictures to come!!

Goose Island
3535 North Clark Street
(773) 832-9040

Mambo Grill
412 N. Clark
(312) 467-9797

Vinoteque in a Sec!

Cheesy title, I know.

I was so pleasantly surprised with Vinoteque and it was exactly what I needed after two really, really loooooong, BAD days! God, make that a bad month. Here’s to hoping May brings a much needed turnaround!

Anyhow, I told my friend that I wanted to go somewhere that was like a coffee shop with alcohol; live music minus a loud bar scene. My head was already pounding with noise from the day’s events so I just wanted to relax, lounge, decompress. The result? Vinoteque, a wine bar/live music lounge in Culver City.

The place is small, somewhat loud and bustling with an afterwork and date crowd. The wines were amazing and available by the bottle or the glass. I’ve drank a lot of different wines and I think I only recognized a handful of selections on the menu. Go here to discover new wines and vineyards from around the country! Flatscreen monitors around the room flash a running list of the bottles that are already open and, to simplify matters, glasses are priced at one-third the cost of the bottle. I ordered a $12 glass of vouvray (white), which had a sweet taste and aroma, and medium-bodied, I guess. I also got an $8 muscato d’asti, a bubbly dessert wine, which was light and refreshing. My friend ordered a $15 pinot noir (red) that was to die for.

They had a jazz duo — piano and bass players — performing on its small stage, which added the perfect ambiance. The host (and owner, I presume from the way he floated around the restaurant and greeted customers firsthand) was warm and friendly, and our server was really personable. The overall service was really, really slow considering it’s not even really a restaurant.

While I would definitely come back for the wine, music and ambiance, I probably wouldn’t bother with the food (I’d maybe a cheese plate). Vinoteque really isn’t a place to go if you’re starved. They offer a variety of cheeses and appetizers but that’s it. I don’t understand why it took at least 10 minutes to get our wine, longer for our appetizer.

We ordered their tapas special, which included three different appetizers. Small portions but I wasn’t expecting to get full. One was small piece of toast with fennel and chives on top. It was crispy, mildly flavored and not overly onion-y, if that makes sense. The second was a peppadew spear, which combined a veggie, meat and cheese on a kabob stick. A Peppadew is a pickled, spicy South African pepper that looks like a cross between a cherry tomato and a red pepper. It added a great kick to the Portugese sausage and cheese cube. I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t remember the type of cheese, but it white, hard and mild — kind of like parmigiano reggiano, which I know it wasn’t. The third ap was dates and blue cheese wrapped in prosciutto, which I usually LOVE. Unfortunately, I think we waited too long to eat them (I wanted to eat it with my second glass of wine, which took forever to come) so they weren’t warm and just not as good as the dates I had at Minotaur, a wine and tapas bar in Playa del Rey. I definitely recommend Minotaur if you want great food, great wine and ambiance with a Spanish flair!

Back to Vinoteque: It’s great for groups and for a nice, relaxing night out although I’d recommend making a reservation if you plan to be there before 9:30 p.m. Eat before you go though.

Vinoteque (their website is useless so click here for more info)
4437 Sepulveda Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 482-3490