Hillary Eaton


Originally appeared on Playboy

Inebriated Healing? The Shamanic Cocktail Movement Is Here

Imagine a goblet of foraged healing herb infused spirits, set ablaze and brought to you by men wearing the oversized animus tribal masks of ancient healers to represent the gods of their forefathers—a traditional leather cased drum, beaten wildly, filling the air with the echoing drone of the primordial. 

No, this is not the start of the ayahuasca journey of your dreams (or nightmares, according to a few horror stories). This is exactly what you get with you order the Ritual ng Agimat at Agimat Foraging Bar. The Manila, Philippines bar is dedicated to using entirely native Filipino ingredients with an emphasis placed on foraged plants, many of which are traditionally used by shamans. While trending wellness ingredients like turmeric or CBD have been popping up in your cocktails for a while, the latest innovation pushing the bounds of cocktail culture comes in the form of herbs and plants traditionally used by shaman to heal, intoxicate, and elevate to the divine. 

Originally appeared on Food & Wine

Patrick Duffy to Open First-Ever L.A. Theater Bar That You Don’t Need Tickets For

While you may remember Patrick Duffy for his iconic role on the beloved ’80s sitcom, Dallas, the 69-year-old is adding a new role to his resume that you won’t find on IMBD: bar owner.

Dubbed The Broadwater Plunge, Duffy’s forthcoming bar is a project brought to life alongside his son (and fellow actor) Padraich Duffy and the younger Duffy’s wife, actress Emily Kosloski. But the family affair doesn’t stop there; Duffy’s new bar, which will open in May, actually marks the fourth generation of Duffys in the bar business. The senior Duffy grew up in an apartment connected to his parents’ bar, called The Owl, in rural Montana.

“The Owl always felt like just another room in our apartment,” Duffy said in a press release. “On weekends, for instance, my sister and I would get out of bed and wander into the bar before it opened just as anyone else might go into the kitchen.”

 

Originally appeared on MUNCHIES (VICE)

Manila’s Best Cocktails Are Made With the Help of Shamans

“Orange soda mixed with gasoline,” Kalel Demetrio says, thinking back to the most memorable drink he’s come across while scouring the Philippines in search of cocktail inspiration. “[On a foraging research mission] I came across some rebels and farmers living in the mountains and they showed me some of their unique regional produce and their favorite drink. I didn’t know it was gasoline at first—they drink it like a shot because it burns.”

Demetrio, known as Liquido Maestro, has spent the better part of the past decade researching and documenting rare and little-known regional Filipino produce and ingredients, with the goal of creating a cocktail culture in Manila that celebrates Filipino products. With his hands in the creation of cocktail lists at over 28 different bars and restaurants around Manila and the Philippines, Demetrio’s unique approach and focus has been instrumental in bringing Filipino cocktail culture to where it is today.

“What’s been missing is Filipino heritage and attitude,” Demetrio explains. “But my industry is now realizing the power of our own produce and our sense of patriotism is on another level now.”

Originally appeared on Food & Wine

The Hottest New Caviar Service Is … Vegan

When the day calls for you to treat yourself, there’s really no better way than to indulge in caviar service. From those delicate, mother-of-pearl spoons to the perfectly bronzed blinis and the shiny little beads of onyx-colored sturgeon eggs looking up at you (just beggin’ for that ‘gram), it’s an experience known to evoke a happy dance in even the staunchest of reserved restaurant-goers.

While the ornate experience itself is classic, the latest in caviar isn’t about tapping into your inner-tsar, instead it’s all about saying by to the Old World and embracing your inner plant-based-loving Angeleno and going … completely vegan.

Originally appeared on VICE (MUNCHIES)

How a Former Porn Star Found a New Life in Hot Sauce

There’s a lot of masochism in hot sauce. When you move beyond the relative safety of Tabasco, Sriracha, and Tapatío, much of the market is made up of small-production sauces with gimmicky names and labels promising every conceivable level of delicious pain.

Take hot sauces like the Reaper Sling Blade—made with one of the world’s hottest peppers, the Carolina Reaper—or The Black Mamba, which boasts a rating of 2.5 million on the heat-rating Scoville scale. (For reference, a standard jalapeño falls somewhere between 3,500 and 10,000 Scoville units.) The problem with most of these super-hot sauces, however, is that while they effectively set your mouth on fire, they contain little in the way of real flavor.

Originally appeared on Food & Wine

You Can Now Turn All Your Food into Unicorn Food

Finding someone who hasn’t heard of unicorn food might be rarer than finding an actual unicorn. While 2017 may technically be the year of the rooster, we all know it’s really the year of the unicorn. Did you know unicorn ramen is a thing now? Because it is.

Coffee houses, restaurants and even mega-chains have embraced the trend, attracting foodies that flock in masses for that unicorn-colored ‘gram. Starbucks ruled social media the week they served the limited-edition Unicorn Frappuccino, thanks to fans of the mythical, horned creature’s namesake food.

But for those who like their food best served in photogenic layers of pinks, purples and blue—we have some good news. Thanks to Pearl Butter, a new line of unicorn food in a jar, you can now transform everything you eat into unicorn food in the comfort of your own home.

 

Originally appeared on Food & Wine

Here’s How Michelin Stars Actually Affect the Restaurant Business

The Michelin guide has long been the defacto authority on the world’s best dining. But as gourmet culture reaches peak mainstream popularity and old culinary hierarchies remain in flux, how does gaining, losing and (gasp) renouncing a star actually affect a restaurant’s business?

Historically, receiving a single Michelin star has led to an increase in customers for restaurants. Take chef John Fraser, whose New York restaurant Nix joined the Michelin star rankings this year (and whose website features “Proud new owner of a Michelin star” as a central banner). He said that receiving a Michelin star “has drastically increased business at both Nix and Dovetail.” An added bonus? “With the stars, I do feel now we are able to retain a higher level of staff than before.”

Originally appeared on Food & Wine

7 Rock Stars’ Hangover-Curing Breakfasts

There’s a stereotype about musicians that they know how to party. And while we’re reluctant to generalize, we suspected that rock stars might have some insight into one of Saturday morning’s oldest questions: What should I eat to cure this raging hangover? So to get some professional, definitely scientific insight, we asked some of our favourite musicians about what sort of greasy breakfast bomb they crave to dull the pain and what restaurant does it best.

Originally appeared on Why Attica’s Somm Jane Lopes Is Mixing Wine and Decanting Champagne

Why Attica’s Somm Jane Lopes Is Mixing Wine and Decanting Champagne

We’ve all been there —the waiter accidentally pours someone else’s Pinot Noir into your Barolo, ruining your perfectly good glass of wine. You smile and tell them it’s okay while silently seething, reminding yourself that we all make mistakes. And while it’s something that just happens sometimes, it’s not something you’d expect to happen at Melbourne’s Attica, one of the best restaurants in the world. That is, unless it’s being done on purpose.

Jane Lopes, Attica’s new sommelier, is used to guests freaking out when she tries to pour a Chikuma Nishiki “Kizan Sanban” sake into a half-full glass of 2011 Crawford River “Noble Dry” Riesling. “We’ve had people cover their glasses, try to move their glasses out of the way, yell, ‘What are you doing?!’,” she said of her mixed-in-the-glass wine pairing for the restaurant’s abalone with seaweed butter and black garlic cream course.

Originally appeared on L.A. Weekly

The Best Food Trends of 2016

2016 has been an exceptional year for food in Los Angeles. The city may finally, universally be recognized as the culinary leader it is, and chefs and restaurateurs around town have made good on making sure we live up to, and can continue to claim, the honor. From the artisanal doughnut trend to fermented everything to Filipino flavors and more, Los Angeles is at the heart of some of the country’s most delicious and inspiring food and restaurant trends. (It’s not all good, of course. To see the worst food trends, click here.) So to celebrate all the great ideas L.A. chefs have put out into the world this year, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite food and restaurant trends of 2016.