Update: The Doheny sent over some fun facts regarding items mentioned in this piece. You can read about the biometric fingerprint reader, Sheperd Fairey's artwork and other information here. For the record: In the original story below, it was said that the initiation fee is $4,950. To clarify, $2,750 is a one-time initiation fee. When combined with the annual $2,200 membership fee, the total for the first year only is $4,950. I did it!......

Went to Finn McCool's in Santa Monica this afternoon for a "business meeting" and suddenly found myself surrounded by people dressed in green and drinking green beer and slamming Irish car bombs. I guess everyone's getting in their St. Patrick's Day celebration early to avoid the crazy bar crowds on Monday. Smart idea! Step-by-step of Irish car bombing after the jump.......

All right, you alchie lads and lassies, your day is near, the one time of the year where the bars open up for breakfast and people won't look at you twice for having a little whiskey with your morning cuppa. Take the day off so you can start drinking early to beat the mad crowds and avoid the long lines. These Irish pubs can accommodate your pre-dawn cravings as they open up in the......

After a 5-month investigation, the Associated Press found that Los Angeles drinking water has traces of Anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications. "To be sure," the AP noted "the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose." Across the nation, the report found tainted water supplies in 24 major metropolitan areas, five of those in California: Los Angeles: 2 (meprobamate and phenytoin)......

Unless you don't like drinking liquor to begin with, it can be a bit of a drag to be the designated driver for your drunkard friends. You have to sit there on your bar stool sipping your tiny, weak soda while they get to enjoy pretty, decked-out, specialty cocktails. Fortunately, there are some lovely nonalcoholic options out there for you responsible folk, and I'm not talking O'Douls. The Arsenal in West LA has a......

And I was very surprised by how much I actually enjoyed the taste of this martini. No, it didn't have a fishy taste....

Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist UPDATE: Seven Grand is a 21+ bar. We apologize for any inconveniences. There's no better way for LAist to have its first ever public event than next Tuesday, a day where Los Angeles, and all of California for that matter, votes, taking part in one of the greatest Presidential primaries ever. For the Democratic party, California carries more weight than any other state -- that's huge in itself. Locally, several......

It's a matter of simple math: New Year's Eve + Drinking + Driving = DUI. That's why the smart--and thoughtful--folks at the Auto Club (AAA) are once again offering up their "Tipsy Tow" service, which provides free rides in the 13 SoCal counties they serve from 6 p.m. tonight until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, January 1, 2008. That's a pretty sweet deal, in all honesty. Here's what you, or your party host, or your concerned......

I'm still waiting for all your hot happy hour tips, Los Angeles! We'll be posting happy hour listings at least a few times weekly in 2008; send your secret spots and recommendations my way at carrie@laist.com. And besides, what better way to get 2008 started than with some cheap booze at some happening city spots? Here's a few more we managed to dig up this week: Miss T's Barcade, Koreatown, Happy Hour 5-9 pm:......

Winter really gets me down. It's cold, it's rainy, everybody's on vacation except for me. Worst of all, when I get off work every evening, it's already dark outside. Can we say SADS? So how best to beat the winter blues? Why, BOOZE, of course, the cheaper the better, and there are a ton of happy hours and special events taking place across the city that will lighten your holiday-heavy heart without lightening your wallet.......

One of the most recent additions to the panoply of nightspots in Los Feliz is Sgt Recruiter, located on the stretch of Hollywood Boulevard that I think of as Wacko-Adjacent. Split off from Cobras & Matadors (it was the private room on the left when you entered), also under Steven Arroyo’s management, and named in homage to a wine bar in Paris, Sgt Recruiter has room for patrons to sit at 14 comfortable stools lined......

This past weekend, in the steep hills of Echo Park, there was a Christmas party extravaganza complete with booze, baseball players and bad taste. Described as "Your Parent's Christmas Party," the holiday invite explained that one must "come dressed in what your parent's once thought was their holiday best," because after all, "This is how we do it in 92." With that in mind, I reluctantly put on one of the fugliest xmas sweatshirts......

A piece written while inebriating oneself with absinthe. Read on as Elise test-tastes these fabulous absinthes...with interesting results! For many years people have believed that wormwood, or specifically the chemical thujone, found in wormwood, drove people mad. Because of this popular misconception, absinthe has been banned in the United States since 1912. Popular during the 19th century, absinthe inspired famous works by poets and painters alike. Absinthe has seen a recent resurgence in popularity and......

Ever tell a joke? Chances are that if it wasn't made up by Red Sandwich, then it's indebted to his work. Fact of the matter is, our modern conception of humor and pathos has its roots in the groundbreaking pantomimes of Red Sandwich. LAist sat down with the prognosticator of laughter as the best medicine on the eve of his perennial The Red Sandwich Christmas Hour to discuss the nature and evolution of pathos,......

LAPD concluded that no crime was committed in the possible rape being investigated early this morning on USC's University Park Campus. We have no crime," said Los Angeles Police Department Officer April Harding of the Media Relations office. "The woman was interviewed and she admitted she was drinking and passed out. She was not raped." -- Fox The woman, a USC undergrad, was reported as passed out in a basement classroom around 3:30 a.m. by......

The LA Times reports that copper thieves have been stealing the wire from streetlights in areas across the city where they think they can get away with it. Scratch that, where they can get away with it. The bikepath along the LA River was such a target that the City of LA's Department of Public Works welded the boxes at the base of the streetlights shut. Didn't work. The copper thefts continued. At at......

It seems like everyone just instinctively knows how to make JELL-O shots. Only recently did I discover that this fine art is not in everyone's repertoire. With the holidays coming up, it might be time to brush up on College Drinking 101. The standard recipe includes 1 (6-oz) package JELL-O, 2 cups boiling water, 1 cup cold water and 1 cup vodka. Over the years I have futzed with this recipe. I like to......

It's happened again: a perfectly good dive bar is about to be remade as some overhyped, shortlived blech, as blogging.la feared. The Lowenbrau Keller has fallen into the clutches of restaurant developer The Wanton Group. Yes, they really call themselves that. The Lowenbrau Keller was almost impossible to find, hidden behind enormous overgrown trees with a hard to describe street address (on Beverly but it seemed like First, or Temple), too far south to......

a writer's perspective I imagined that I would begin Week 4 of the strike full of energy, completely rested and rejuvenated after nearly a week of Thanksgiving festivities. The reality was quite the opposite. I am tired! The WGA has officially shortened our shifts to 3 hour blocks, Monday through Thursday. Fridays are being reserved for rallies, meetings, or heavy drinking. I signed up to do the 5am to 8am shift this morning, but......

Adding a little thrill to the evening, last night 213 Inc's president Cedd Moses and Seven Grand GM Aidan Demarest passed out a short stack of application packets to interested scotch-tasters at Seven Grand. The gentleman introduced the hush-hush new lounge, The Doheny as an exclusive club for the downtown crowd, with added benefits of concierge service from Preferred Group. How tight is secrecy about the Doheny? Recently Citysearch described it thusly:, "Downtown club......

Am I the only person not drinking from the Joe Torre Kool-Aid? I’m hearing almost everyone gushing how Torre will bring credibility and a winning attitude to the Dodger organization. Even in Monday morning’s press conference Dodger owner Frank McCourt said, “Ned Colletti and I agree there is no substitute for a strong character to lead our team to the top.” It’s funny he brings up the character issue since the way Grady Little......

Nick Hogan has been criminally charged with reckless driving because he was drinking before his August car crash. Another faux- celeb headed to the clink? - TMZ Bitch Fight! George Clooney and Fabio get into a physical fight after Fabio's ladies were taking pics of Clooney and his gf at El Coyote restaurant - Defamer Britney Spears's nearest and dearest, the few that are left, claim its not drug use thats causing her irrational......

- Franklin Ave: Photo of Elaine from Seinfeld as she was out on the picket lines, her new show is one of a half dozen that had to stop production today - LA Observed: No LA blog has covered the SB News Press fiasco better than Mr. Roderick, which is tricky since the N-P's website is decidedly Web 1.0. Today we learn that another staffer had to be escorted from the premises. - Defamer:......

a writer's perspective As I get ready to join my brothers and sisters in the picket line, I’m flipping the channels, looking for some coverage. Fuckin’ Joe Torre is stealing our thunder. Finally, on KTLA, they break in with footage of Jay Leno pulling up on a motorcycle and handing three boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts to some writers. All writers are being encouraged to give 20 hours a week to the cause. No......

Saturday night's huge LACMA Halloween party sold out so quickly I had to buy my tickets on Ebay. Even then, 40 bucks a ticket for an entire night of drinking, hors d' ouvres, DJs, and entry into the Dali exhibition sounded too good to be true. It was definitely clear where corners were cut to make the event affordable. But I don't know anywhere you will find more creative costumes. Even WeHo has some......

Last Friday night, I went drinking with my friends to celebrate the end of the 40-hour workweek. With the assistance of free sake and Asahi beer, I was buzzed by 10 PM, couldn’t feel my face by 12:30 AM, and was on top of the world by 1. Admittedly, I drank more than I usually do, but not too much. By the end of the night I was feeling pretty good/pleasantly drunk. As the......

Fire 1, Galaxy 0 - We happened to be at Chicago-area hotspot Krem last night and saw players from both teams drinking, but for different reasons. The Fire scored in extra time to clinch the final MLS playoff spot and send the Galaxy back to Los Angeles for the year. We think we ran into Chicago mega-star Cuauhtemoc Blanco in line for the bathroom, but it's a little fuzzy. We did see LA's Cobi Jones,......

Last weekend we were happy to take part in the Harvest Festival, as part of a year-long 90th Anniversary celebration for the historic San Antonio Winery, a place much loved by LAist. The gracious Riboli family hosted the event, which was held at the winery, which has been in its same location on Lamar Street in East Los Angeles since 1917. There was food provided by the winery's onsite Maddalena restaurant, and wine aplenty......

Some are considering it "if you can't beat em - invest in em", but any good judge of fads know that the worst thing that Starbucks could have ever done to Pinkberry is fork over $27.5 million to the local frozen yogurt chain so they can continue to multiply at a rapid pace. Why would Starbucks want people eating a quasi-yogurt treat next summer at Pberry instead of slurping down a freshly made Frappuchino at......

Most late-night grub benefits mightily from the drunken torpor we're often in when eating at two in the morning. Let's face it--the places that serve food deep into the night are not usually those we patronize when in full command of our senses. And, yet, there are exceptions. Luckily for me (since it's 50 feet from my apartment), Mao's is one of them. Every dish is prepared a la minute and you can tailor......