Bar Hopping in Downtown Los Angeles!

On Friday I finally went bar hopping in Downtown LA! Hanging out with my twin, we took the streets in pursuit of celebrating life. Our first stop was Las Perlas, this Mezcal bar. I had been wanting to come here for awhile, and finally had the chance to. First thought was this place is pretty small! I ordered 4 drinks: Poblano Escobar, Spicy Margarita, La Muchacha, and El Sueno. Out of all the drinks, I liked the Spicy Margarita the best. The other drinks were pretty strong, and just didn't taste good to me, maybe it's an acquired taste. Confession: I'm not a tequila fan in general, so I know I had no business going to Las Perlas, but I'm was being open minded. For 4 drinks, it cost me about $60 with tip. At least I can finally say I went to Las Perlas.

Across the street, we then went to The Association. Behold for right when you walk into the door, DARKNESS. There were chandeliers on the ceiling that reminded me of those in Chinese restaurants. Overall I liked the vibe of this place, they were playing like old school music, even disco! I definitely want to go back there.

A few minutes later, we hopped on next door to go to Varnish. The name sounds enticing right? NOT. To get to Varnish, you need to walk through Cole's and head straight to the back. When you open a secret door that's unlabeled, it's this very small room that has tables of people just drinking and talking. Very very plain, so we headed out after a few minutes.

Next stop: The Perch. I heard great things about this place so I was looking forward to it. It's a French place that located on the rooftop. Following "the bird", we made it to the roof and enjoyed the beautiful DTLA views for a little bit. I also want to go back there and lounge around for a bit with a larger group of friends.

Fifth destination: Salvage. This definitely had a rage name, so I made sure before we stopped over if there were some beats and yes there was. Finally a place that has some tunes! All these bars don't! We stayed for a little bit sipping, talking, and doing some damage on the dance floor! Just kidding...there was this maniac on the dance floor though if I do say myself who was going all out! Haha.

So my first official night of going bar hopping in DTLA was definitely fun! Not only did I experience new drinks and places, but the great thing about it over there is that everywhere is right by each other MINUS the Hollywood traffic! We only had to pay $4 for parking for the first 3 locations, and nothing afterward. What's also great about the bar scene is the NO COVER POLICY! WOOHOO! I totally recommend bar hopping there when you have a chance, there are so many low key spots that need to be explored!




You Just Do You, Imma Do Me

Camille

BOTTEGA LOUIE - ITALIAN CHIC

So today, my godsister and I had the pleasure of going to BOTTEGA LOUIE in L.A. I heard of this place before but never really got around to looking it up enough to go there. Well thank you godsister for giving me a reason to actually explore new things.

I think the one reason why I don't necessarily like to go "exploring" is because of the parking situation! Not only do the one-way streets make this task more difficult, but how can anyone regularly find parking? One place had $6 for only 2 HOURS, even metered street parking costs $4 FOR ONE HOUR! Eventually we settled at a $5 spot and walked 2 blocks. Walking those two blocks felt so much like NYC for me, with all the high buildings blocking out the sun and the liveliness of the streets. Too bad Downtown Los Angeles doesn't get a great rep when the sun goes down...

So arriving at this place looked super fancy. The decor was so clean with all white marble/stone and dark brown seating. What I loved was the openness of the place and the high ceilings. It definitely brought a lot of light into the space, though I think the "open" effect of Bottega Louie contributed to the really high volume of noise throughout the restaurant. It was pretty loud in there, where you basically have to speak up, maybe even yell a bit to get a clear message across.

We ended up ordering the pizza which we halfed Pepperoni/Mushroom, then also shared the Orecchiette pasta. The pasta was okay, but the pizza was on a 'WHOLE NOTHA LEVEL'. I think I have an idea why the pizza was pretty bomb...THE MOZZARELLA. If you haven't tried this type of cheese on a pizza, then you are seriously missing something in your life. I could've just settled with a just a plain Mozzarella pizza, but the pepperonis and mushrooms gave it that extra flavor. With those two entrees, we were pretty stuffed by sharing the pasta, and eating one slice of our pizza only! There are six slices in pizza which are pretty big to say the least.

At the end of our meal, we of course had to make a stop in the dessert section where Bottega Louie is known for their macarons, but actually all their desserts looks DELICIOUS!!! I WANTED ALL OF THEM but couldn't really afford to get a lot so I managed to get 3 macarons: Vanilla, Salted Caramel, and Rose, in addition to the Beignet filled with chocolate! Each macaron cost $1.75, while a Beignet is between $1-$1.50, so I had to take it easy the first time.

[Photo Credit: http://tastingsf.blogspot.com/2011/05/bottega-louie-los-angeles.html]

I will definitely come back to Bottega Louie for it's beautiful atmosphere and food, especially the pizza! And now that my mom liked her Rose macaron, I guess I shall go back and get some for her. From the small taste I had today, I will come back to this place for sure.



You Just Do You, Imma Do Me
Camille