It only took about 2 years but I finally got my sweet rumpus up to Suite 700 at the Hotel Shangri-La this past Sunday. I am a deco WHORE so needless to say I've been pretty freakin excited. First of all, they don't have a Happy Hour per se, but they do have one of the most crazy active FB and Twitter feeds I've experienced, regularly giving out secret passwords, drink specials, mixology master visits, parties, etcetera etcetera etcereta.
SO click that glowing FB two sentences above and get yourself hooked up. There is no reason not to LIKE them.

At Suite 700, the drinks are generous and well made, I happily tore through 3 martinis before I knew it. 

BUT I REALLY WANT TO WORKSHOP SOMETHING WITH YOU> As a fellow Venitian, can I share a problem with you that you may experience yourself? WE can bond! C'mon!

You're at work, its' gorgeous its sunny you are like, "PERFECT night for sunset drinks!!!!" You text your peeps, hop in the car, and suddenly after you pass Cloverfield you are staring into the ISLAND OF ATLANTIS .  Cloud bank from hell. YOUR EVENING IS IN RUINS. 
Now, no longer should you worry. Check out this genius live cam that will give you the real time cocktail conditions, live from the pier!
LOVE THAT. Now go forth and drink in that sunset! 

I finally went to Oscars on Rose! I was grouching about their lack of Happy Hour just two weeks ago, and viola! Happy Hour appears!  I like to think that is the power of Venice Happy Hour, or maybe it's just sign of a business getting into the groove of how we mooove and cruuuuise with the boooooze around here. 
Oh lord. Stop me.
First order of business FRIED PICKLES FOR $3, exactly how they ought to be. I have tried and failed to perfect these at home- CAN'T DO IT! (but... the mistakes aren't  totally inedible...so I eat them anyway)
Also on the snakeria menu, $6 Bacalao Corn Fritters... salty, fried, dip'em YES!  Not to mention a completely illegal bacon wrapped dog and a Cheddar Bratwurst that comes with Fondue for $5!!! Open Mouth, insert cheese.

But what  about the booze babe? Sorry I just get so distracted by creatively fattening food.. 

CLEVERNESS: BEER CANS FOR THE WORKIN'  MAN $3, PBR ( of course)  Avery I PA, Tecate and a few others, and  there are a few glasses of wine you can get for $6 which is friendly. Atmosphere is pretty casual, sort of a spill over from VBW,  filled with todos los barrachos that I think have just gotten plain TIRED of the Other Room , who want to have their Happy Hour and enjoy it too!  The patio gets slammers come dinner time, so get your sweet butt in their before 7 to stake your claim at the bar and enjoy the calories on the CHEAP!

You’ve been reading this long enough to know that I am a BIG fan
of clever alliteration. So really, what is better than Tipsy Gypsy?

 Isn’t that just the most playful buoyant satisfying this to say? Tipsy Gypsy!

 SO LET’S GO THERE.
 If you’ve found your way here from UrbanMermaidVenice then you already
know I am a big fan of the food and the deeply enchanting atmosphere here.
Literally, (oh shit I just got so Rachel Zoe!) I have been sitting at Vardo
having dinner and quite effortlessly the two ladies running the joint abandon
their duties: one picking up the guitar and accompanying with most crystalline
voice, and the other spinning dancing jingling as if taken by trance. And then
go back to their business with little acknowledgement of the magic they randomly
created.
 Oh, and the food is REALLY good and it is precisely in your budget, AND
your vegetarian sister can eat everything on the menu.
 
But let’s get back to the important part... the TYPSY GYPSY aka HAPPY HOUR. First of all, they don’t quite need it because these folks have on the menu the most generous( and not
poisonous) shots of Vodka and Tequila for $4. But we'll take it!

 Vardo Café 235 Main Street, Monday – Friday 2:00-6:30 Beer $4,
Wine $6, Cocktails $7, Dolmas $5, Nachos, $5, Tacos $6. 

Yeah, you read that right. Don't front. I've referenced GOOP- Gwyneth Paltrow's blog.
Don't worry, I hate her too, but you know this nugget of info is worth it- so thanks Skinny Bones, you're not totally ridiculous! After all cause this one is for the HANGOVER YA'LL!!!

(not the movie) shhh shh shh shut up! . This is what you do:
 
FIRST: You move to New York. 
THEN: You buy the aptly named MERCY- which looks like Red Bull but if it were made by  rockabilly girls who love a sky blue palatte.
AND THEN:  You DRINK IT while you are drinking like a 3rd time bridesmaid.

If you can't do that , struggle down to the bodega run by the Korean guys ( you know the oone) and get:
a packet of Advil, 
a Gatorade, 
Diet Coke, 
an Evian, 
a Salted Carmel gelato from N'Ice Cream, 
a Bagel Special from Abbott's Habit 
and cocktail from last night and you'll be fine!

For more Hangover Cures you can't have, check GOOP.

There are some things that are much too daunting a task to take on alone i.e: tax returns, changing a tire, taking down the Christmas decorations and  the New Years Eve Options in Venice  list.
Thankfully, Venice Paparazzi does it for me EVERY YEAR. 
Thank god. 

Now back to getting those decs down...

1. I'm gonna update the blog more! YEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. Repeat Resolution #1.

Okay now that this mind-blowing proclamation has been made,  I wipe my brow and get down to another list: New Venice Curiosities to explore:

1. Why is Oscar's Cerveteca  ( Cerveteca: un espacio de encuentro cultural que gira alrededor de la cerveza y de todo lo relacionado con ella. ) so DANG expensive?  Oscar, por favor, give us a little happy hour so we can try your fare! Mira! - the neighborhood your "neighborhood joint" is in overwhelmingly populated by the artisticly underemployed or the wincingly frugal. SHOW SOME AMORE! $6 friend pickles for $3? Eh? Unless of course THIS Oscar is the same as the meltingly handsome waiter Oscar at Gjelina, which in that case....bring me a glass of cold water. 

2. Zinc bar. I like Zinc, it really kicks a cold's hold on your body if you pile enough lozenges on your tongue. Will the beverages served at this space formerly knows as EpoxyBox do the same?  I mean my Dad always said, assprin chased with Scotch will cure anything. I was perving in the windows the other weekend and well, I really like the tile work ( as an Urban Mermaid would) and all their Bistro-esque appointments. But whatcha gonna serve guys, and when does happy hour start?

I'm full of questions: seeking answers< Comment away! 

This is for real: At my best friend Angel's wedding I was a bridesmaid ( lavender gown, check!) and of course, we each were  escorted down the aisle by a groomsman. Ange lovingly paired me up with the groom's grandfather, a really sweet elderly man who needed a big Swede to hang onto. Southerners don't necessarily call their grandparents " grandparents" they come up with odd nicknames like " Me-maw" and  "Nana", which I am used too.. but imagine my surprise when I found out my date down the aisle was called ....

wait for it

Poppa Woody.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! 

And so that brings us to the  image above from my new favorite joint, THE WOOD, on Inglewood in Venice and I just can't help but grin. We all love a good wood joke don't we? NEVER TO OLD FOR A WOOD JOKE!

That being said. Alcohol is important. But you know what is even more important when you are forced to go on a dairy free, gluten free diet? Vegetarian lasagna.  EAT IT. YOU WILL will crave it like crazy and have to go pick it up while you are still wet with chlorine from the Santa Monica pool after swimming lane-side with Devon Aoki. (Shouldn't she have her own pool?)

Sighting exhibit A  ( or W) above, you can see that THE WOOD has a Happy Hour, Tuesday to Sunday from 4 to 7...$3 draft beer/ $5 select glasses of wine, $1-$2 off all items from the start menu. I love this extra much because its over the weekend!!!!!  I have to mention they have a walloping good burger too, and to be honest, the prices are so reasonable for such gourmet dishes that I'm not hugely dedicated to visiting ONLY during Happy Hour. 
Corner of Inglewood and Washington Blvd,  bike tested, Happy Hour approved! www.thewoodcafe.com

I have a DROID, and I fell oddly superior about my choice in Smart phone. Maybe it's because it WORKS. Ha. (oddly superior, right?)
Lots of cool stuff happens on the DRIOD but my fav feature is the dumb ol' timer. Cooking, colouring, laundry- my life is now precisely timed.

Looks like I will get put it to the BEST USE EVER this weekend at Zengo. Chi turned me on to this yesterday... and I kinda didn't believe her ( BAD FRIEND!) but holy catbirds, its true:

$35  from 11:30 AM-3:00PM Sunday gets you a 2 hour UNLIMITED brunch including THE BOOZE. Do you know how much damage can be done in 2 hours?  Look at this frickin menu! http://www.richardsandoval.com/zengosm/menu_pdf/zengosm_brunch.pdf
Ceviche, pork mushroom gyoza, beef tenderloin benedict ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Sake Sangria, Bacon Bloody Mary and Lychee Bellinis!?!??!

So I am wondering, with this 2 hour limit, does it work like 2 hr street parking?...where you park in a 2 hour spot, then at the end of that 2 hours, speed around the block real fast while your friend stands in the space, and get your spot  back?

I mean, I would totally switch tables to keep the party going...

Don't get stroppy with me... I know VERY WELL that Venice is not Santa Monica. You're on the bike path enjoying the sun, the wind in your hair and before you know it you're in Santa Monica...
or you get off the 10 at Pico and there ya are- Santa Monica.
So really- it's okay to stop for a drink- after all- you're almost home!
Two of my favorite fancy-dancy places are giving us a deal lately. I dearly doubt that it will last into the summer when the tourists return, but in the meantime the ShangriLa and the Viceroy have flung open there doors to us locals.

Dig it:
SANTA MONICA-- Hotel Shangri-la introduces Speakeasy Sundays inside the property's rooftop bar, Suite 700. Think black and white movies and vintage cocktails, follow the hotel on Twitter for a weekly password that will land you one gratis cocktail.

Poolside Happy Hour at Whist
 
Say it’s the end of a long day... for the record, 4pm is close enough. Wrap it up poolside at Whist—their new happy hour has $7 plates of mussels, meatballs and chicken wings, along with $7 wines and spiked punch. Your office just ran out of spiked punch.
 

411:Mon-Fri, 4-7pm, Whist at the Viceroy, 1819 Ocean Ave, 310-260-7511, see the menu