The Errant Æsthete

From the pages of The LA Times, an illuminating article by Betty Hallock heralds the arrival, at long last, of “the age of the cocktail parlor,” or if your sensibilities prefer the “modern speak-easy.” In the new world of cocktail swilling, “patrons are requested, nay, required, to behave accordingly.” No brutish behavior here like gum chewing, hooting, jeering, even standing (the civilized always sit when they sip) and no hats (as in bb caps), cell phones or flash photography. Ah, could the lost world of proprietary be reemerging as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “second act?” The bartenders are, after all, going to the trouble of making their own bitters, sourcing obscure vermouths, hand-chipping ice, precision-stirring exotic spirits and wearing dapper vests. In return, they rightly expect customers to show some manners in appreciation of a great, not to mention, pricey cocktail. The EA extends a most gracious toast to this time honored tradition as well as to the return of  ‘civilized restaurants of drink.’

Slide Show