Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/818616
16 / the tasting panel / may 2017 THE MESSAGE Co-owner Isaac Martinez (right, behind bar) chats with customers at A Simple Bar in Los Angeles. Keeping It Simple in Tinseltown H ollywood's Cahuenga Corridor is an epicenter of Los Angeles nightlife—land of velvet ropes, burly bouncers and fresh-served attitude. But on the other side of the Hollywood Hills things are way more chill, especially at a simple new bar called, well, A Simple Bar. "This place is entirely about hospitality. We don't discriminate against no-bo-dy," emphati- cally states loquacious partner Isaac Martinez (who is known around town as E). A movie industry lighting pro by day, he holds down a second gig as a bar guy—one who has opened establishments from Miami to New York in a career going on 14 years. Predictably, the lighting at A Simple Bar is pro grade, as is the sound system, courtesy of film industry friends. "This is an industry bar," says Isaac, noting that it's practically adjacent to the Universal backlot. Other partners include Isaac's wife Min Yu, a design company owner and whisky aficionado; Local 600 cameraman Eric Yu; architectural designer Yani Cui; and Cuban- born real estate executive Marcial de Castro and his seasoned general manager husband Kent Snyder. Max Sanchez at ABC Bartending School, where Yani, Min, Kent and Marcial were students, was brought on as Head Bartender. "We're like family," says Isaac. Marcial's background and Isaac and Min's frequent trips to Havana have evidently influ- enced the cocktail menu, as in El Hemingway, the bar's take on "a real Daiquiri": Plantation 5 Year Old Rum, fresh-squeezed lime juice and simple syrup. Simple indeed, but rum connois- seurs might be more tempted by a shot of the extremely rare Penny Blue XO from the island of Mauritius. Isaac credits Southern Glazer's rep Dragan Ognjanovic with help in keeping the backbar—and the rail—stocked with premium and super-premium products. The finishing touch—"cufflinks for the tux," Isaac says—is the selection of high-quality glassware, including Bogart-worthy faceted Old Fashioneds and elegant Stolzle wine stems. Not bad for the other side of the hill! —David Gadd A rare find at A Simple Bar: Penny Blue XO Rum.