The Divine Dish

Cocktail and Small Bites Tasting at Blvd 16, Westwood

Posted on Apr 20, 2012 under Archives | No Comment

Last night, Kris Ferraro from Wagner Junker PR Agency and the Hotel Palomar hosted a lovely “new cocktail and small bites” tasting at the Blvd 16 restaurant and lounge located inside the Palomar.

After starting with some champagne for the small group of bloggers and food writers, we watched as the bar’s mixologist made our first cocktail – The Lyder Side.   Composed of Bols Genever Gin, hibiscus liqueur, lemon and orange juice and agave, this turned out to be our fave drink of the night.  Very refreshing and not too strong.

Our first small bite was a tasty satisfying hummus dip with warm pita chips.

Next came a nice tuna appetizer with roasted red peppers, tuna and avocado over a round slice of watermelon.

Our second cocktail was the Pisco Sour, with Kappa Pisco, egg whites, lemon juice, agave and Angostura’s Bitters.  This was our least favorite.  I took my friend Dalbert with me to the tasting and we are both lightweight drinkers, so we thought the floating bitters overpowered the drink and it was a little too sour for us.  We both agreed that we would like the drink without the floating bitters.

Next came a duo of flatbreads, a stinging nettle pesto, goat cheese and tomato sample and a salmon with lemon creme, asparagus and diced tomato sample.  We loved these.

Our last cocktail was the New Old Fashion with Jameson Irish Whiskey, blood orange and maraschino liqueur and Peychauds bitters.

This was also very strong and a good pairing for our next courses of sample appetizers.

Chef Richard Hodge explained each of our appetizers.  He changes the menu seasonally and uses market fresh ingredients.

We loved the mini sliders, yummy angus beef topped with crispy onions, smoked tomato black pepper aioli and jack cheese.  These were our faves of the night.

Our last appetizer course was the fish tacos, fried cod with pickled habenero, shredded cabbage and creme fraiche in a corn tortilla.  These were very very spicy.

For dessert we were given a nice crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside spoonful of creme brulee with a strawberry slice on top.

If you find yourself on the Westside, Blvd 16 is a great place to chill out with some tasty cocktails and bites from their bar.  A plus is that you can create your own selection of small appetizers 2 for $5, 3 for $8 and 4 for $10.  Located inside Hotel Palomar at 10740 Wilshire Boulevard, 310/474-7765 for reservations.