The holiday season is officially upon us, and with it comes ugly sweaters, Christmas songs all over the radio and best of all- holiday parties. Whether your neighbors, friends, or company is throwing holiday parties, one thing is very clear: we all love a good excuse to indulge and celebrate. L.A Weekly knows this to be true, and threw their own epic holiday party on Saturday night at Magic Box @ The Reef entitled Sips & Sweets. Their second annual holiday party featured 22 of the city’s top bakers, 18 of LA’s most respected mixologists and 30 artisanal craftspeople. This eating, drinking and shopping extravaganza was not to be missed, but in case you did, we have got the low down for you.
Pastry Lineup
This year’s pastry chef and baker lineup featured sweets from Shannon Swindle of Craft LA, Clemence Gosset of The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories, Mariah Swan of bld Restaurant and ICDC, Beth Kellerhals of Ledlow, Luis Ayala of Broken Spanish, Paige Russell of Hatchet Hall, Elizabeth Belkind of Cake Monkey Bakery, Megan Potthoff of WP24 by Wolfgang Puck, Courtney Reed of Belcampo Meat Co., Monica May of Nickel Diner, McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams, Sasha Crescentini and Dawn Martel of Bakeology, Frederic and Fabienne Soulies of Pitchoun Bakery & Café, Nancy Hytone-Leb, Michael Leb & Bob Michero of Choctál Single-Origin Ice Cream, Carlos Enriquez of Superba Food + Bread, Rana Lustyan of Edoughble, Jim Orsono of Broadway Baker, Heather Kuklin of The Shugahmama, Lemon Poppy Kitchen and BuddyPops.
Cocktail Lineup
Hand-made cocktails utilizing products from Beam – Suntory were prepared by Mikki Kristola of The Varnish, Robin Chopra of Corazon Y Miel, Chris Whelan of Sassafras Saloon, Ryan Wainwright of Terrine, Darwin Manahan of Osso and Cliff’s Edge, Ben Scott of Alexander’s Steakhouse, Avery Underhill of Butchers & Barbers, Christiaan Rollich of the Lucques Group, Michael Lay of Broken Spanish and B.S. Taqueria, Addam Reagan of Sonny’s Hideaway, Jesus Gomez of 1886 Bar, Edwin Osegueda of Faith and Flower, Adam Nystrom of EP + LP, Eric Shani of The Pikey, Matt Wise of The Roger Room, Cappy Sorentino of Hatchet Hall, Ivan Pacheco of Ledlow and Feisser Stone of Hinoki & the Bird.
Shopping Lineup
There was shopping aplenty from vendors including: SoCal Etsy Guild, London Manori, Sunset D’vine, Designer Cookies, LeeLee Jewels. Marco Paolo, Contempo Aesthetics, Farm Fresh to You, Bertha Mae’s Brownies, Bad Pickle Tees, Ococoa, Front Porch Pops, Millie’s Vegan Gelato, Renewal by Andersen Los Angeles, GuitarClef, Indie Jams LA, Krave Jerky, Heading Home Music, Tribu Imports from Ecuador, Heartfelt Desires and Senoritas Tamales.
Event Sponsors
The event sponsors were also onsite and serving guests! These included: Stella Artois, Stella Cidre, 10 Barrel Brewing Co., Blue Point Brewing Company, Elysian Brewing Co., Goose Island Beer Co., Shock Top, Spearmint Rhino, DIABOLO Beverages, Hustler Hollywood, Ludlows Cocktail Co., Deep Eddy Vodka, Dark Horse, Califia Farms, Dry Soda, Rita’s Italian Ice, The Prime Company, First Aid Shot Therapy, Bai and Hard Frescos.
As you can see, there were tons of vendors present, and an unbelievable amount of food to sample. After making our way around the entire venue, we had to pick some of our favorites pastries.
Cake Monkey Bakery– If you love cake, then you need to check out this new Los Angeles cake stop. Not only do the cakes all look beautiful, but they taste even better. Next time you’re looking to get some sweets for that special occasion we fully recommend Cake Monkey Bakery.
WP24 by Wolfgang Puck– Sticking with the theme of beautiful desserts, WP24 by Wolfgang Puck makes their desserts look nothing short of art pieces. Each treat they served was carefully created by their pastry chef Megan Polthoff. They were showcasing two of their delicacies. They had their Chai Ice Cream Sandwich made with gingersnap cookies which was a great holiday spin on the classic ice cream sandwich. They also were serving their Chocolate & Earl Grey Torte made with spiced blackberry jam and forbidden rice.
Ledlow– Ledlow is an American bistro in downtown Los Angeles that we will definitely need to come in personally to try. They were serving their Apple Cinnamon Parfait accompanied by their White Pepper Butter Cream Sandwich. Before even biting into these two, you knew your mind was about to be blown. We may have even come back for seconds here…
With so many delicious pastries and baked goods, guests needed something to wash them down. Fortunately, there were ample vendors sampling their specialty cocktails. Here was our favorite.
Sonny’s Hideaway– Adam Reagan of Sonny’s Hideaway was serving what they called a Diospyros. This cocktail was made using Courvoisier cognac and was so delicious that it was easily our drink of choice for the night!
While attendees could sample the food and drinks all night long, there were also chances for guest to get some holiday shopping in. Vendors from all over showcased their unique products throughout the venue. Whether you were looking for gifts, or just wanted to browse some very neat items, Sips & Sweets was the place to do it.
Sips & Sweets was the perfect place to come and enjoy an evening socializing with friends. Along with endless rows of booths showcasing the many treats of Los Angeles, attendees were also able to pause from the sampling and enjoy the live entertainment that was performing the entire night.
Sips & Sweets was a wonderful event to get in the holiday spirit. It showcased amazing sweets, cocktails, and shopping from all over Los Angeles without leaving the building. When planning your holiday schedule next year make sure to include L.A. Weekly’s Sip & Sweets. It is going to be hard for them to top this one, but we are excited to see what they do for it’s third go around!
About L.A. Weekly
L.A. Weekly, and more recently LAWeekly.com, has Los Angeles covered, with investigative reporting, comprehensive calendar listings and forward-thinking cultural coverage, including daily blogs like the highly regarded Squid Ink, which covers the city’s food scene. L.A. Weekly keeps its readers loyal with stories by some of the country’s finest writers—now accessible through their mobile platforms. In 2007 L.A. Weekly was the first newspaper to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for its food criticism. This year, restaurant critic Besha Rodell was honored with a James Beard Award, widely considered food writing’s top prize.
