Sip LBC: Long Beach's First Beer & Spirits Week

Let generously sized Happy Hours and interesting food-bev pairings reign.

LIBATIONS GET THE LOVE: No dining-out devotee would ever raise a sneer or cock an eyebrow in the direction of the drink menu or the beverage bar. Liquids are an inherent part of the supping experience, be they mondo frou-frou martinis or lemonades from a can. But sometimes the refreshing stuff in the glass can take a proverbial backseat -- or back coaster, if you will -- to the wide range of edibles when a Restaurant Week rolls into town. Menus highlight the meals, very often, and the tea or the tonic or the soda or the spirits you have alongside? Sometimes it doesn't merit a mention. It should, of course, since going out for a coffee or a cocktail has become quite a thing in recent years ("recent years"=the last few decades, give or take). The remedy, then? Give drinks their own Restaurant Week of sorts, but don't, of course, call it that. It needs its own zazzy handle, and Sip LBC has it. The "Sip" part is self-explanatory, as is the LBC: You'll be doing this in Long Beach, from Sept. 21 through 27. As for the swanky, homey, hangout-a-riffic, be fancy or be not spots?

THEN MAKE FOR... Iguana Kelley's Bar, District Wine, Roxanne's, and other libation locations. The Sip LBC HQ wisely breaks down your game plan into Long Beach districts -- Bixby Knolls, Retro Row, Naples, and PCH Corridor are on the dropdown -- and "Triple Olive Events" are listed (think a whiskey tasting at Auld Dubliner and such). As for the pedigree of the people behind the first-ever Sip LBC? You got it: They also host Eat LBC, the Long Beach Restaurant Week. You probably won't visit all 35+ spots for a glass of something cold, but call it a celebratory way to go from summer to autumn with a celebratory and special drink or two, at the tavern or bar or eatery of your choosing. May all Restaurant Weeks have a sip-worthy sibling, and, maybe, even a spin-off Dessert Week, Appetizer Week, Bread Basket Week... Well, we'll dream, something that's common among committed dine-out-ers.

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