LA!! The Edison

After dinner we went to check out a highly recommended lounge/bar. We got there pretty early (9:30PM) so we didn't have to stand in line too long.

The Edison
108 West 2nd St. #101
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 613-0000
http://www.edisondowntown.com/
Price: $$

This is a really cool place. The decor is 1920's-ish with a lot of cool lights which fits the name. Definitely one of the cooler bars I've ever been to. There was some special performances by The Bling Divas that night so we had to pay a $10 cover. After you pay, you walk downstairs to the bar area. There were already a ton of people there.

We walked around a bit first, taking in all the decor and tried to find a table. Most of the tables were taken and everything else had a 'reserved' sign on it... Booooo. I heard that normally they don't do that. Bleh.

Anyways, so we make our way back to the bar, which was surrounded and super packed since most people didn't have tables to sit at. The bartenders were definitely working overtime. It took a while to finally flag one down and make our orders.

Their cocktails are pretty expensive. And I had higher expectations from reading pretty positive online reviews.

The Mistress (vodka, hibiscus liqueur, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, shaken lightly and topped with Prosecco) $14~

This was disgusting. The bartender said this was probably the sweetest cocktail on the menu but it was NOT sweet at all! I had to give it back and ask him to make it sweeter. And all he did was douse it with syrup. Great... now it's just lemon juice mixed with artificial syrup. BLECH!! Totally not worth the money. For this price I should just go back to The Library Bar!!!

The decor was definitely something cool to experience but we weren't really feeling it. Too many people and not enough places to stand. And its not really a place where people dance either. Kind of boring! So we finished our drinks and decided to venture elsewhere...

This place was hyped up too much. It's cool to see the decor. But I would definitely not pay for cover or the price for their drinks... :(

Quality of Food: 0
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Mercy Wine Bar

5100 Beltline Road, # 544
Addison, TX 75254
(972) 702-9463
www.mercywinebar.com
Price: $$

I've been wanting to check out Mercy Wine Bar for a while now. But not for wine, since I'm not a fan, but I've heard that their food is good.

A group of friends were there last night and I went to meet up with them for a little while after dinner. The place wasn't what I expected. First of all, it was larger than I thought. I dunno why but I always imagined it to be a tiny place... It was very dark in there...loungey... I liked the decor and feel of the place. Just felt it was a little too dark for my preference. It was also a little loud to really sit and chat with your friends. But overall the ambiance is nice and fits the style of the wine bar.

Since I already had dinner, I opted to get dessert. I shared with a friend. We asked the waiter if he had any recommendations since everything sounded good. He picked the Strawberry Delight (Orange liqueur macerated strawberries with sweetened mascarpone, crispy shell) $8~ hands down! He raved about it...called it "sex in your mouth" (direct quote)...hahaha. So we decided to take his recommendation.

It was smaller than I expected...for that price. But it was cute. The strawberries smelled so good! It was a warm dessert with the strawberries cooked with the orange liqueur. The strawberries were nice and sweet and the mascarpone added a cheesy flavor, almost a little savory. I think it was a nice contrast to balance out the sweetness. You get a hint of that pungent cheese taste in every bite. I would say if you are not a fan of that cheesy taste, this isn't the dessert for you. I thought it was just slight enough and made it work...created different layers of flavors. My favorite part was the crispy shell. It was nice and thin...slightly sweet...and created that crispy texture that the dessert needed. It actually turned out to be a good size, because if it was bigger I think that cheese flavor would start getting overpowering. Now I don't think it was good enough to be called "sex in your mouth" but it was pretty good. It was different than most other desserts I've had before so that was a nice plus.

Next time I would like to go back and try their actual food...and maybe some other dessert. hehe.

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"All Night" Happy Hour @ Dragonfly

Dragonfly @ Hotel ZaZa
2332 Leonard Street
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 550-9500
Price: $ (for happy hour)

Hotel Zaza recently started Thursdays "All Night" Happy Hour at the Dragonfly restaurant. It goes from 5PM til close with drinks and appetizer specials for $5 each. They also feature a live band from 8-10PM. You don't need to make a reservation or pay a cover charge. Also, if you dine at Dragonfly, the host/hostess at the restaurant can validate your valet ticket for you!

I went to Dragonfly 2 years ago for restaurant week and really enjoyed it. The food was pretty awesome and the decor is pretty cool. So when I found out about this, I was totally down for checking it out. I normally don't go downtown on the weeknights because it's such a long drive, but I made an exception this time. I also had night class so I wasn't able to get out of class until about 9PM. Geez! So late! haha...i'm such an old fart. :P

The happy hour is located in the lounge area. Since it's winter, they've put a tent up so it wasn't too cold. I think the lounge is usually open and there's a small pool area. It was totally packed! There were only a couple waitresses that were doing their best at getting around to everyone.

I was starving when I arrived so I immediately went for the menu. The happy hour menu selection is very small...only 4 different food items...and according to my friends that were already there...the portions aren't very big.

I ordered the Crispy Calamari Salad (Asian greens & sweet chile vinaigrette) (normally $13~).
It came in a chinese take out box and chopsticks. I thought that was too cute! And made it more convenient to eat since there really weren't any tables. I really liked this. The calamari was awesome. Not over breaded like most places, full of flavor, had a slight spiciness to it. And there was quite a bit of calamari. The salad was also really good, the dressing was sweet and complimented the salty/spicy calamari really well. I could probably eat this as a main dish.

I also got the Burger Sliders (horseradish pickle, red onion relish & smoked Gouda cheese) (normally $14~). The sliders were very good as well. The meat was cooked about medium rare, usually I like medium for burgers but med rare is fine with me as well. The meat had a lot of flavor, and was super juicy. The cheese and the pickles added more flavors to the burger and the buns had really great texture. I don't think I've been to a hh with bad sliders...its not something you can mess up easily.

Just a note about the original prices...I'm not sure if you get more when you pay the original food prices, but for $5 I thought the portions were ok. The food was fantastic once again. It wasn't too heavy or greasy so that was good. The venue was nice as well, just kinda loud since the band is playing so you can't really talk to people. But it's a cool little hotspot to check out on Thursday nights!

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