Last night marked the triumphant return of The Radio Room to The Edison, a former power plant that’s become a national cocktail hub. Erick Castro from SF’s Rickhouse and Brian Miller from NYC’s Death & Co. churned out cocktails like Sancho’s Lady and Hispaniola while The Vagabond Opera belted out jazz with theatrical flair. Incoming Edison Director of Spirits Joe Brooke commanded his own bar. Plenty of other cocktail luminaries filled the house, including Pablo Moix, who was enjoying a night off from underground rum bar La Descarga. Audrey Saunders, Chad Solomon and Christy Pope are looking to develop another L.A. project after leaving The Tar Pit, but last night was about catching up with friends.
Former Edison beverage director Aidan Demarest launched The Radio Room and will continue to coordinate the cocktail series, but said they’ll “try to bring it back down to a smaller event, like it was in the beginning,” when people packed the generator room. Demarest said First & Hope will open March 15 with Marcos Tello behind the bar, along with “a few other rock stars.” The back room will host cabaret until 1 AM nightly.
Maitre Ecallier Christophe Happillon manned a small bar near the generator room, shucking buttery Fanny Bay oysters. From now on, the shellfish specialist will bring his seasonal oysters to The Edison every Thursday from 5 PM – 9 PM.
At the end of the night, a drained Brian Miller asked, “It’s vodka o’clock. Do you know where your dignity went?” Dignity was long gone, but has another shot on March 30, when The Radio Room returns with bartenders from New York, Boston and Houston.
