Hi VHH peeps! I 've been away in Istanbul while Chi Chi held down the fort- exploring far-off lands for culture, architecture, design and of course cocktails! We hit a slew of places which I would be happy to share with you but the bottom line is: No CHEAP DRINKS. They don't do happy hour, and their alcohol tax is a whopper! The only free drinks we managed to score were courtesy of my new BF Taylan, who took us to an Absolut Vodka sponsored Diesel Jeans party @ the ONLY strip club in Istanbul. And of course- my blonde head ended up in the local paper because the night was such a ruccus in this 99% muslim town.

But back to lovely LA ...
Lula Mexicana wants to get you drunk , and from here on out: EVERY NIGHT is LADIES NIGHT 10PM-1AM $5 signature drinks and treats.

And Just in Time for the Sunshine, The Shangri La Hotel in SM has opened its tre exclusive lounge Suite 700 ON THE ROOF. No drink specials yet but you can always try " charging it to your room" !

Wait!?! This just in from another Sunset spot down the beach. FREE FOOD tonight!  Il Fornaio just reminded me that the first Tuesday of the month  ( THATS TODAY!) they do wine tasting with FREE SNACKS for all the tasters! Il Fornaio Cucina Italiana
1551 Ocean Ave.

Get out there and start getting happy!

So go on- go taste some!
Monday nights are ALWAYS half price wine night at James Beach (hooray!), and this week will be followed by another chance to "taste" some more....just up the beach at Il Forniao in Santa Monica. Starting at 5 in the evening  and they will be serving up flights from Maddallena Vineyards, one of the oldest wineries on the planet. What I love about these guys is that they celebrate a region of Italy every month for about 15 days. Not one or two days, or even a week- but 15 DAYS. 
And lest you forget ... every weekend you can stumble over to El Vino, where they do wine tastings all day and into the evening.