All Hail The Hatchet Hall!

The wait is over ... Hatchet Hall opens tomorrow! We celebrated that fact over the holiday weekend with a friends and family dinner that was one for the ages. We ate. We drank. And there was no way to not be merry.

Co-owners Louie and Netty Ryan (of Temple Bar, Townhouse, Menotti's fame), and Owners/partners from the beginning, Jonathan Strader and Chef Brian Dunsmoor took over the old Waterloo & City space, and it has been beautifully transformed into the place that we're going to constantly be hanging out at. I was in there just about a month ago when it was completely gutted inside, and the incredible amount of hard work, elbow grease, and evident labor of love that has happened is truly impressive. The place is simply gorgeous.

From the airy entrance and outdoor patio that greets you, all the way to the back bar (our new headquarters) where the wooden walls and floors are so cozy and inviting, you will never want to leave. And that's without even talking about the food yet.

The FOOD. Chef Brian Dunsmoor is back with his Southern home cooking, and it's seriously ridiculous. Plate after plate of delights would show up, and disappear before I could even do that foodie take a picture of your food thing. We ate so many perfect and delicious oysters that one in my party said, "Uh oh, this is going to make me randy." Ha! True though.

As it was the friends and family opening, we just kind of sat back and let the kitchen bring out whatever they wanted to. The menu is big, and every last thing sounds eye-rollingly delectable, so we could not go wrong. In fact, in the partying that ensued in the back bar after dinner, when comparing notes with our fellow diners, almost all of us had a different favorite. Some other peoples' favorites were things I hadn't even tried, so there will be more than enough to keep each visit interesting to the palate. Oh my goodness, is it all so good.

Highlights for me that night were the dandelion salad, super flavorful and not at all just a boring salad. The chopped steak on grilled bread ... delish. The grilled octopus was one of the best things I've ever tasted, right up there with the ridgeback prawns with carolina gold rice, oyster mushrooms and bacon. WHAT?! Yep.

The skillet rainbow trout was perfection and made you feel like you were truly in the hunting lodge that the back bar feels like, complete with antler and taxidermy decor. The grilled carrots were among the best carrots I've had prepared, and the roasted game hen with bread salad was top shelf. That already sounds like so much food (we were sharing) but we hadn't even scratched the surface.

Other friends' faves were the lamb sausage ("My favorite thing BY FAR" - Nicely), the tea smoked duck, and the beef fat potatoes (simply an ecstatic groan from our friend who had them). Maybe the top best thing I had though was when Dunsmoor came out of the hectic first night kitchen to greet us, and bestow upon us thin, delectable, melt in your mouth like cotton candy slabs of country ham, followed with a bourbon chaser. Ham and bourbon! It was pretty decadent, and I instantly felt like a smooth old man ... in the best possible way. YUM! There is even a cocktail on the impressive drink program that is called the In Fashioned, and that one has ham bourbon and pecans going on, about as Southern as you can get.

Then we got to drinking ... and forgot about dessert (But I heard the blueberry peach crisp was Summer itself). Oh well, another among a million other reasons to go back. This is going to be our SPOT.

It's just so great, I can't say enough about how wonderful it all turned out, and how happy I am for the Ryans, Dunsmoor, Strader, and all the excellent Hatchet Hall staff (many of whom have come along from other the Dunsmoor collabs: Wolf In Sheep's Clothing, Hart and the Hunter, and The Ladies Gunboat Society). It's a hot spot before it even opens tomorrow!

Lacey Kay Cowden is also back with her exceptional art, adorning the walls, menus and the sign out front. Her whimsical animals are seen fishing and hunting and wielding their hatchets, all the better for us to eat with.

As the night wound down in the wooden bar, we all just went nuts. Laughing and celebrating and rejoicing in the fact that Hatchet Hall is open, and couldn't be more awesome. There is soul in this place, from the old tile ceilings laid in the walls from Menotti's, the taxidermy from The Townhouse, and the hearts of all the longtime Venice residents who all came together to make this a clubhouse for great food and great times, for years to come.

All Hail Hatchet Hall!!!

It all starts tomorrow.


Hatchet Hall
12517 Washington Boulevard
Los Angeles, 90066
310-391-4222

The 2nd Annual Venice Sign Holiday Lighting!

You could have almost mistaken Venice for Bedford Falls last Friday night. As the community gathered on Windward Avenue to celebrate and behold the second annual lighting of the Venice sign for the holidays, there was such a small town, cozy vibe permeating the festivities, it did almost feel like George Bailey would come rushing through at any moment.

But then you looked around and saw Tree Man, Juan in a Santa sombrero, dreaded hippies and dogs in outfits, and you knew exactly where in the world you were.

There were booths set up above the Windward Circle for different organizations around the neighborhood, friends and families mingling, and lots of "Coffee" cups being carried around to combat the sudden chill that settled over Venice, brisk but adding to the holiday feeling. I don't think I've ever seen so many Santa hats being sported, so the people were feeling it for sure. Holograms of snowflakes were projected on the buildings, so we even kind of had snow. Faux flakes.

First Fridays was going on over on Abbot Kinney, but it looked like all the locals knew what was up and headed over to Windward instead, as I felt like I knew just about everyone I saw. That NEVER happens at First Fridays anymore, so the night felt extra special, and for US.

We enjoyed cups of egg nog courtesy of Menotti's and The Townhouse, and then it was time for the Venice Symphony Orchestra to entertain the crowd (and by now, it was a CROWD!) with holiday songs and contemporary jams alike. I love it SO much that we now have the V.S.O., and it was the first time even knowing about it for many in attendance (that must not be regular readers of this blog). Judging from the warm reception, they're here not just to stay, but to grow.

I mean, how great is a holiday concert that goes from "A Few Of My Favorite Things" to "Black Hole Sun" to a medley of "Here Comes Santa Claus/Silent Night/Light My Fire/Hava Nagila"?! Something for everyone, and they were a huge hit. Conductor/Founder, Wesley Flowers exclaimed, "I LOVE this!" to the crowd as they roared for more, and I think everyone there was in total agreement.

New Councilman, Mike Bonin, took the stage to shout out thanks to everyone involved in creating such an adorable community event - especially Danny/Santa Samakow, who is tireless when it comes to making sure Venice has fun. A female police officer (I didn't catch her name) was given a certificate of Venice thanks or something, and there were some LAPD jeers from the crowd, prompting Bonin to say, "With Venice, we have our peanut gallery right down front". Yep. She was a good sport, coming over to hug a heckler, which was pretty cool, and how we should ALL react to animosity, really. She said, "Venice is where everything happens." Good and bad, but tonight was all about good.

Bonin then introduced the celebrity light switcher for this year, Angelica Huston. She (also in a Santa hat) remarked that moving to Venice 20 years ago was the best decision she ever made. She had been "behind her walls in Beverly Hills" and now is surrounded by friends, community and diversity, and "that's what it's all about." True story (though she's still behind big walls in the giant house on Windward that took out historic arches and columns, but that's a topic for another day). She added that her late husband (sculptor Robert Graham) always said that Venice was the one place that is unpredictable in Los Angeles, "Outside the limits, where you're allowed to be who you are." Amen, Sister.

With that, it was time for the countdown and the flipping of the switch to turn our Venice sign to its holiday red and green brilliance. The lights came on and the people of Venice cheered the arrival of another beautiful holiday season. Suddenly, way up on top of the Bank Of Venice rooftop, there was an illuminated sighting of Santa Claus (Samakow) himself! Kids went nuts pointing and yelling for him - and then he was gone. He reappeared at street level soon thereafter, and all the folks in Santa hats (or Norwegian sweaters) lined up to be photographed with him.

After some tunes from The Dustbowl Revival, the crowd dispersed to take advantage of all the different options going on that night.

As everyone spread out and shouted their greetings/plans to friends and neighbors, you got that almost giddy feeling that comes with evenings like this (and egg nog). That everyone was having a good time, and all was well in Venice, on a not even close to silent night.

Gratitude to everyone who put it on, and to everyone who went. What a beautiful time. May these holidays be merry and bright for us all!

Repeal Day At The Townhouse!

Yesterday, December 5th, marked the 80th anniversary of the ending of Prohibition, and The Townhouse/Del Monte Speakeasy celebrated in high style. What a blast!

Proprietors Louie and Netty Ryan hosted the party, which featured a pig roast meal upstairs- FREE to ALL! - courtesy of Oscar's Cerveteca.

They blew through two whole pigs (and a spread of delicious sides, all set up on the pool table) before the lecture downstairs was even through.

Yes, the lecture. A standing room only crowd (of a much greyer demographic than usually packs in, with lots of mountain men chapeaux, suspenders and ironic mustaches) filled the downstairs Del Monte Speakeasy to listen to cocktail historian, Richard Foss, hold court about the history and good times had with liquor over the centuries.

It was very informative and entertaining, made even more so by the fact that the staff was delivering theme drinks that corresponded to the slide show throughout the talk. We were greeted with a glass of a whiskey-based Repeal Day Punch (delicious). That led to the Pisco something, the French 75 and The Last Word. I couldn't always hear the stories behind everything, because I had squeezed in right by the bar where the tenders were shaking up all those cocktails. It kind of added to the experience, actually.

By the end of the lecture, people were feeling pretty good. When the last slide proclaimed "Prohibition OVER!", it was met with rowdy cheers, while the fact that Foss told us there was still a Prohibition Party (that received like 536 votes in 2012!) was shot down with jeers. I mean, really. If you'd like to know even more, there is a Museum of the American Cocktail! Good stuff.

After some mingling, it was back upstairs for a good old fashioned Old Fashioned. Brad Kay played era-appropriate jazz downstairs, while the upstairs bar got more and more crowded as drinks were 1933 priced at $1 from 10 - 11 pm. (As were coffees next door at Menotti's). Yowza.

Many thanks once again to the Ryans and the entire staff of The Townhouse/Del Monte Speakeasy for a stroll back through time, done up beautifully and generously for our whole town to enjoy. As Mr. Foss said at the end of his program, "Come back. This place is always this fun!" True story ... then AND now.

The Townhouse and The Del Monte Speakeasy - True Venice Hangs

There has been a bar operating out of 52 Windward Avenue continuously since 1915, even when it had to be disguised as a grocery during Prohibition. Today it is The Townhouse and The Del Monte Speakeasy, and both tip their hats to the venue's past, yet keep it modern with the entertainment and good times of today.

Owners Louie and Netty Ryan took over the space in 2007 after having their eyes on it for years. Louie is from Dublin, Ireland and Netty is from New York, which is where they fell in love on a dance floor, when Louie was running a place out there called the Scrap Bar. There he learned the ins and outs of managing a bar and booking music acts. After that became stressful and enough, the Ryans came out to California for a visit. While in Joshua Tree, they had a revelation that they needed to make the move out West. They landed in Venice in 1997 and instantly loved it. "It had a vibe, a sense, an energy that it's hard to put words to," said Netty when describing pretty much what we all feel when we arrive here. They went to an Art Walk and finally saw what had been behind all the boarded up doors around town, and were blown away, knowing immediately that the diversity and flavor of the place made Venice be where they wanted to live and raise their three children.

In 1999, the Ryans opened the popular music venue, The Temple Bar in Santa Monica, which  operated until 2008, after they realized they really wanted to concentrate on Venice (They also owned and operated Zanzibar in Santa Monica until 2012, and Little Temple - now Virgil's - in Hollywood).

I never went to The Townhouse much before the Ryans took over, mainly because it was pretty scuzzy and I couldn't get past the constant and oppressive stench of cat urine that permeated the joint. The Ryans took over after the previous owner died, and cleaned the place up, restoring it to its original luster bit by bit, without ever closing down. "Like a '59 Impala, I just cleaned it up and made sure it ran well," says Louie. Gone now is the feline odor, and right when you walk in the door from Windward, it instantly feels like a place where Abbot Kinney himself would stop in for a stiff libation during the course of his hey-day. That's not by accident. Enormous attention has been given to detail, from refurbishing original fixtures to General Manager, Bradley Ristaino creating a good old fashioned Old Fashioned from his throwback cocktail menu.

The Townhouse is Venice's oldest bar, and has quite a storied past. During Prohibition, ships used to sail in liquor from three miles out from shore where smaller boats would smuggle the barrels of hooch to underground tunnels that led to The Townhouse (or as it was known then, Menotti's, now the name of the Ryan's coffee stop next door). The tunnels must still exist, though they've long since been sealed up (It would certainly be interesting to excavate that and maybe have a Speakeasy within a Speakeasy?). Which leads us to the Del Monte Speakeasy, located in the basement of The Townhouse.
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The Del Monte downstairs was closed down for three years due to legal wrangling and neighbor issues, and re-opened - beautifully - in 2010.  But like Ryan says, "I'd hate to own a Speakeasy that had never been raided." Spoken like a true bar owner, and a true Venetian.

And true Venetians the Ryans are. They pored over historical records, they've done extensive research on Venice history down to the microfiche in a library level, and have created such a gorgeous homage to our town's past, while the very latest hit musical act plays for packed houses of locals and loyals. Musical acts like Feist, Raphael Saadiq, Jonwayne, Tom Freund, Ben Harper, Haim, and Austin Peralta, the late jazz musician, whose favorite place to play was The Townhouse. Mayer Hawthorne and LMFAO ("I'm Sexy And I Know It") shot videos there, and great entertainment can be found both up and downstairs most every night of the week.

This is the REAL Venice. You will see someone you know in there. The Ryans have honored the history of Venice, and are preserving it with integrity. "It's always going to be local, it's always going to be quality, there's always going to be great music, and we want all walks of life to feel welcome here," both Ryans agree. "We only want to own and operate places that we're inspired by." You can feel that inspiration the moment you walk through the front door (or maybe it's the ghosts, which are also rumored to frequent this saloon).

You can also feel the fun. Belly up to the bar and hear stories from longtime bartender/historian, George Czarnecki, who has seen it all. Sit in a booth and shoot the breeze with Louie, who Czarnecki says has "got the gift of the Blarney." Squeeze in downstairs to listen and dance to some of the freshest music of today (or on Sundays, time travel back to the Ragtime era with Brad Kay). Special events are always being dreamed up, like a party for Prohibition Repeal Day (December 5th), where they'll roast a whole pig and feature real bathtub gin in a bathtub, at 1933 prices. They're talking about closing off Windward for street dances, big St. Patrick's day shindigs, and all sorts of other cool things that really pull focus on just what excellent stewards the Ryans are of the letting the good times roll legacy of Venice.

 Louie summed it up by saying, "We're honored to be at the helm of such an historic, iconic institution. You'll get the best drink, best music and best atmosphere in Venice." Netty added, "We love Venice so much, and it's humbling how people are right here with us. We want to keep this in the family for generations." That kind of dedication and sense of a place is what makes - and keeps - places special.

Which is just what they say they want The Townhouse and The Del Monte Speakeasy to be about: Good friends. Good music. Good cocktails. Good TIMES. And all are welcome! Save me a seat!

Menotti's Coffee Stop Opens On Windward

Way back in the day, there was Menotti's Bar on Windward. Then came the Prohibition Era, and it became Menotti's "Buffet", a little grocery store to serve as cover for the Speakeasy downstairs, which also served as a distribution center for the liquor being smuggled through the underground tunnels from the off-shore ships hauling it in. Well, now we can all drink freely, but Menotti's is making its return to Venice with the opening of Menotti's Coffee Stop, next door to our current Speakeasy - The Del Monte/Townhouse.

As the owners of The Townhouse, Louis and Annette Ryan, continue to expand and honor the historical roots of Venice, they have turned the empty space now filled by Menotti's into a gorgeous venue for your neighborhood coffee fix at the beach. They also found the very best guy to run it, Christopher "nicely" Abel Alameda, a true coffee professional and three-time World Latte Art Champion. He KNOWS his coffee. And his name is nicely (because he played "Nicely Nicely" in Guys and Dolls and kept getting voted "Most Courteous" in school!) so you know you're going to get good service.

Alameda is from Far Rockaway, New York (and you can hear it in his accent) but began his career in coffee when his Mother moved them to Seattle when he was 15 for a better life out West. Seattle was pretty much the world coffee center at the time, and Alameda learned his trade at Espresso Vivace - known internationally as a center for "coffee technique". Contacts made there led him to leave Seattle for Venice and a job at Intellegentsia. He considers his time spent there to be his "Grad School" in coffee. "I was embraced by Venice while I was there, even in such a sterile environment." When he felt they were getting a bit too corporate for his taste (and mine), he embarked on his "accelerated business school of coffee" at Handsome Coffee downtown. The back of his neck features a tattoo tribute to all of the above places, showing how seriously he takes it all.

While at Handsome, Alameda was approached by Derek G. Taylor, who is in business with the Ryans. Taylor explained that the Ryans were interested in opening a coffee venue next to The Townhouse on Windward and asked if Alameda would be into partnering up with them. With his first son about to be born (the darling baby Abel) to Alameda and his lady, Kailani Rodde-Ector, they were looking for somewhere close to home for him to work (Kailani was born and raised in Venice, and they have made their happy home here). Alameda appreciated that "Menotti's is going to be a Mom and Pop place, because Louis and Nettie are a Mom and a Pop. We want to focus on raising our family in a great family town." The Ryans have raised their own children here, and he liked that it was going to be a family operation, geared to our locals. We like that too. 

As Alameda explained, "The Ryans are interested in doing positive and beautiful things for Venice. They take care of their businesses and the history behind them." To that end, Menotti's truly has that sense of place that could only be Venice. The tables are old whiskey barrels and the cream and sugar holders are liquor bottles, both tipping their hats to the original vibe of the place. The counter is made of the original tin ceiling of the place. The music will be played on a record player - vinyl.

The Four Barrel Coffee (from San Francisco) will be made on a special La Marzocco machine (in a custom turquoise shade to match the ocean outside). The pastries will be sourced by our friends at GTA. There will be record listening parties, photo exhibits, seminars to make your own coffee at home way better, and always an excellent place to stop in and get your caffeine and say hi to friendly faces that you know.

"What's left of the REAL Venice is the community engagement," said Alameda. I both second this and appreciate it. We NEED people like this to honor our past and establish a new classic Venice spot for years to come. Menotti's is pure Venice, top to bottom, and I hope you will join me in warmly welcoming them, supporting them, and thanking them for helping to keep Venice Venicely.

Menotti's Coffee Stop will be open daily 8 am - 8 pm.