Michele StuevenThe Roof at The West Hollywood EDITION offers panoramic vistas that stretch from Santa Monica to the skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles with all the twinkling lights in between. With Día de los Muertos beginning on Halloween, Saturday October 31, the hotel’s recently re-opened rooftop will be serving up its specialty crafted cocktail, the Black Widow. Available from October 30 until November 1, the blood-red Casamigos Blanco tequila-based drink features muddled blackberries, blackcurrant purée, agave, Curaçao and lime and is garnished with black sugar.
Food at The Roof is Michelin-Starred Chef John Fraser’s interpretation of southern California Mexican cuisine – ahi tuna toastadas, Baja tofu tacos and churros with Mexican chocolate sauce. A deep list of mezcals and tequilas are blended with California citruses, along with wellness cocktails incorporating fresh pressed juices, Kombucha cocktails as well as a selection of temperance and low-proof spirit cocktail options.
(Courtesy The Roof at EDITION)
The Black Widow Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 blackberries muddled
- 1/2 oz black currents purée
- 1/4 agave
- 1/2 Curaçao
- 3/4 lime juice
- 2 oz Casamigos Blanco
- Black sugar rim
Directions:
- Crush 3-4 blackberries with ¾ of lime juice in a cocktail shaker with a muddler
- Add the tequila
- Add the Curaçao, agave and black currents purée
- Pour black sugar on a plate, use lime juice to rub the rim of the glass, roll the glass over black sugar in a way that the sugar will sticks on the rim but only on the outside, this is to prevent excessive sugar from going inside the glass
- Fill up the rock glass with ice cubes, pour liquid into the glass, add a cocktail pick with 2-3 blackberries, place garnish on top of the glass and serve
Riviera 31 at Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills director of nightlife and mixology expert Aidan Demarest has created a cocktail concoction perfect for celebrating Halloween at home. The Jack-O’-Lantern Potion offers a magical trio of perfectly balanced citrus, bitter and sweet flavors.
Jack-O’-Lantern Potion Recipe
- 50 mL Jack Daniels (1 mini bottle)
- Fever Tree Ginger Beer
- 50 mL of Liquid Alchemist Elixir (made with apple juice, ginger, lemon, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cane sugar)
- Sweet Spice Mix
- Dehydrated Citrus Wheel
How-To:
- In a 12-oz glass, pour 50ml/1.7oz of Jack Daniels (the equivalent of 1 mini bottle).
- Add 50ml/1.7oz of Liquid Alchemist Elixir (made from all natural apples, ginger, lemon, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cane sugar).
- Top with fresh Fever Tree Ginger Beer and add a pinch of sweet spices blend (light brown sugar, ground cinnamon, dried ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, ground cardamom).
- Garnish with a dehydrated bitter citrus wheel.
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The Jack-O’-Lantern Potion (Courtesy Riviera 31)
The cocktail is also available at Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills over Halloween weekend. When you stay at the hotel, you’ll get a Jack-O’-Lantern Potion cocktail kit for two complete with everything you need to make your own hauntingly sweet cocktail.
The Broken Shaker on the rooftop of the Freehand Hotel in downtown L.A. shared their recipe for a Day of The Dead Margherita with us:
Ingredients:
- 1.5oz Ilegal Mezcal
- 1oz Lime Juice
- .75oz Mexican Pepper Syrup
- .5oz Green Chartreuse
- Shake with 3 Blackberries and 2 Marigold Flowers
Directions:
- Place all ingredients into a shaker tin (don’t muddle whole ingredients), add ice, and shake
- Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with bones and a Marigold flower
Starting Monday, October 26, Tesse Restaurant will be serving up a Peach Smash, made with Guillotine Vodka that is likely to blow your head off:
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Guillotine Originale
- 1/2 Lemon Squeezed
- 1/4 Peach Sliced and Muddled
- .75 oz Simple Syrup
Directions:
- Shake for 10 seconds, Strain, Pour
- Garnish with Peach Slices, a Mint Sprig and Lemon for Zest
*Best Served With Crushed Ice
Peach Smash (Courtesy Guillotine Originale)
To set the mood for a spirited weekend, the expansive outdoor rooftop restaurants in West Hollywood — E.P. & L.P. and Tulum-inspired pop-up Las Palmas — are both hosting socially distanced Halloween and Day of the Dead Weekender from Saturday, October 31 through Sunday, November 1. Starting at noon on Halloween, guests can create their own ghostly adventure, with two experiences at E.P. & L.P.’s rooftop and the adjacent Las Palmas pop-up:
L.P. Rooftop’s Halloween Spectacular
E.P. & L.P. is transforming its 5,500-square-foot rooftop level into a spooky, Halloween-themed restaurant for the weekend. Filipino-American Chef Sabel Braganza and Culinary Director Monty Koludrovic will feature affordable, individual small plates and elevated bar bites to accompany the rooftop restaurant’s festive cocktail specials, including a Bloody Spritz with blood orange juice, prosecco, Aperol and bitters. Walk-in availability for parties up to six people from 12 p.m. – 2 a.m.
Day of the Dead Brunch at Las Palmas
Las Palmas is celebrating Día De Los Muertos with a two-day Day of the Dead brunch series. From 12 p.m. on Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1, there’s a Yucatan-inspired menu with lobster quesadillas and breakfast tacos alongside a specialty Michelada in collaboration with Calidad Beer. There will be plenty of Instagram moments, from larger-than-life Calaveras to an orange backlit photobooth. Reservations are required and can accommodate parties of four or six between 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.; guests can call 310-855-9955 to reserve a socially distanced table on the rooftop.
Costumes are encouraged at both L.P. Rooftop and Las Palmas, and both rooftop restaurants have implemented stringent health and safety measures to ensure a safe and socially distanced Halloween, including two-hour reservation blocks, hand sanitizer at all tables; masks required when not seated, no mingling between parties, and temperature checks upon entry.
101 North Eatery & Bar is offering a Halloween cocktail kit including alcohol. The “Cold Blooded” Cocktail Kit is available for the month of October and is only available to-go. It serves eight and is $50. Order online, get it delivered or pick it up curbside.
The cocktail kit includes:
- 32 oz. Mason Jar
- 1 bottle Vodka
- 6 blackberries
- 1 lemon
- 1 champagne split
- Red Sugar for rimming (This is naturally dyed with beet juice. No artificial ingredients.)
