Sip a Glazed Ham at Good Housekeeping

A weekly pop-up at the Highland Park bar finds liquid inspiration from kitschy cooking of the 1960s.

Outrageous, can't-be-topped styles from the 1960s?

Southern California pretty much has it locked up, what with Palm Springs serving as the ultimate mid-century architecture destination, and LA's plentiful costume-ready shops, the stores that boast oodles of wayback wearables, from shift dresses to "Mad Men"-style suits.

But there has been, up to now, a seeming lack of local libations that have found sippable inspiration — or insipration, if you will — from those incredibly kitschy, pineapple-ring'd, gelatin-molded meals of the era.

You know those meals we're talking about.

The meals that came from cookbooks with the snapshots that made every humble casserole look so regal, and so dressy, that the mere thought of attempting such a dish could instantly intimidate all but the most seasoned cook.

Good Housekeeping in Highland Park is changing that, once each week, on Wednesday nights, through May.

The bar, which is tucked behind Cafe Birdie on Figueroa Street, is offering a special menu full of beverages that, in spirit, if not in flavor, could have sprung from one of those old-school, Technicolor-wowza cookbooks of yore.

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The Glazed Ham isn't actually a '60s-sticky glazed ham, but it is a drink made with bacon-washed bourbon, mint jelly, and angostura bitters. And, you bet, there is a pineapple ring on top, or, in this case, as the cocktail's garnish.

There's a sip saluting the love of Jell-O molds in the 1960s, too. The vibe is Midori Sour, with Peychaud's apertif and Cool Whip playing important roles.

Cocktail franks and pineapple upside down cake also have their moments on the momentary menu, as do a few other stylish sips.

Must you wear your "Mad Men" garb or your mid-century best to attend? No, but if you're enjoying a cocktail inspired by the cookbooks seen a half century ago, you might as go all-out, sartorially, as you go all-out on the kitschy sip front.

The name of the every-Wednesday-night pop-up, by the by? Bad Housekeeping: A Dinner Party Gone Wrong.

Happy time-traveling back to the '60s, lovers of cocktail franks and glazed hams, whether those franks and hams be on plates or, at least thematically, inside cocktail tumblers.

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