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Virtual Happy Hour: Cocktails From the Hollywood Roosevelt's New Library Bar Lobby Menu
Ask any cocktail geek where to find some of the city's most creative drinks, and the answer will be a resounding, "Library Bar." Matt Biancaniello and his team -- which includes young gun bartenders Chris Hewes, Alex Frost, and Danvy Pham -- have really carved out a niche at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, brining national recognition to their unique style of farm-to-table boozing.
Now, the decor at the Library Bar itself has admittedly become a little dated. There's nothing particularly offensive about the interior of course, but the lizard-loungey animal print seems sort of passé when juxtaposed against the wildly innovative cocktails the staff is pushing out. Which is why it's such exciting news that they'll be renovating the space in the months to come. And although those physical changes are a few months out, there's still a lot shaking at the Roosevelt, including yesterday's launch of the new Library Bar Lobby menu.
Previously the foyer surrounding the hotel's iconic art deco fountain was just a place to meet and move on, but now they are offering a special lobby menu that focuses on craft cocktails from the Library Bar as well as quick-serve eats from the kitchen at Public.
The cocktail menu features a range of savory, sweet, and tart options, each showcasing the staff's unique taste. Kind of Indigo is Danvy Pham's hot little concoction, made with cilantro, bell pepper, blackberry, mescal and ghost pepper salt. The Roquette (pictured above) is Matt Biancaniello's doing, made Plymouth gin, agave, spicy arugula, and lime. Chris Hewes, the mixmaster pictured in the lead photo, is responsible for a drink called Seriously Dangerous, which contains tomato, basil, lemon, honey syrup and whiskey. And then, of course, there's our favorite, the Zelda Fitzgerald by Alex Frost, a well-balanced mix of ginger, grapefruit, goslings rum, lime, luxardo and agave.
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Of course, with all that cocktailing, you'll need some nibbles. Included on Library Bar's new Lobby Menu are items like meatball sliders, impressive house-made charcuterie boards stacked with cornichons, and a crave-worthy kale salad with pancetta breadcrumbs and currants that has become our latest obsession on the L.A. scene.
The bar menu will be available from 5:30 p.m. on Thursday thru Saturday, when things really get kickin' at the hotel. The Library Bar itself is open daily from 7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. We recommend making an adventure out of it, doing a little bar-hop within the property, going from the Spare Room to Public to 25 Degrees, and then wrapping at the Library Bar. It is the weekend, after all.
(Full disclosure: The hotel hosted a Top Chef Mastersviewing party in their ultra-swank hospitality suite, so our cocktails and bites were comped.)
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