Border Grill, Downtown, Los Angeles

Jul 24, 2012

445 S Figueroa St · Los Angeles, CA 90071 · Neighborhood: Downtown

As Summer 2012 reaches the midway point, quite a few restaurants are luring guests in with special happy hour menus and fresh cocktails. I was invited by fellow foodie and blogger, Cathy Chaplin to sample some of the latest eats off the Border Grill happy hour menu which began serving to the public last Thursday!

Just in time for Dine LA (some Happy Hour items are also featured on the Dine LA lunch or dinner menu), you can stop in and enjoy appetizers like Mushroom Ceviche, Peanut Mole Chicken Sopes and my favorites; Quinoa Fritters and Green Corn Tamales!

It had been a while since I last came to visit this area of downtown when the space used to be Cuidad. For those of you who don’t like change, you’ll be happy to find that the restaurant art is virtually identical to its Border Grill sister restaurant in Santa Monica. London artists, Su Huntley and Donna Muir as always do a clever job of embodying the fun, colorful personalities of Chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken through their art. The cartoon-like murals have a loud and in-your-face style. They are a great visual representation of Border Grill’s bold, cultural food.

On to the cocktails! The Gas·tron·o·mer and I pose with our drinkies.

One of my favorite cocktails of the evening was the Andean Stallion (2nd pic down). It is made with pisco, fernet branca, lime, agave and angostura bitters. It’s a strong drink that goes down smooth.

The other cocktail I can’t seem to get out my memory is the Fire/Water/Melon or “fiery water.” Oh man, this drink has got some delicious kick! It’s got pisco, watermelon, lemon and serrano chiles which make for a sexy burn. I loved it. (sorry no pic of this one, but it looks a lot like the Summer Santa – middle drink, below)

BYB Tip: If you find yourself in the downtown area this week, be sure to stop by Border Grill for Dine LA. After that, check them out for Happy Hour, lunch or dinner. It’s a great spot to chill and take to the edge off after work or entertain your family and out of town guests. PS- My mom approves.