Best of Laguna Beach here today with 3 quick announcements for you PLUS a “Where Was This Painting?” contest for VIP Members!
1.
Our new podcast episode: The Bar Menu That’s Bleeding You Dry just dropped!
Most restaurant bars are revenue gold mines hiding behind confusing menus, poor product selection and overwhelmed bartenders. In today’s drop, Bruce Russo and I pull back the curtain on why a restaurant’s bar menu might be underperforming and - worse - underwhelming the guests who want to love your restaurant bar. Here’s how to flip it fast.
👉 Watch on YouTube (& please subscribe!):
👉 Listen on your favorite platform:
2.
YOUR favorite margaritas in Laguna Beach - votes are in!
In honor of Cinco de Mayo yesterday, I announced these vote tallies during my radio show with special guests Starfish owners Gretchen and Archie McConnell. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of you diligent readers (and clearly margarita fans) responded to last week’s Best of Laguna Beach survey …
And Your Margarita Survey Says:
5th place - Carmelita’s Jalapeno Marg
4th place - LaSirena Grill’s Cadillac Marg (only served in their SoLag location)
3rd place - South of Nick’s Punta Nizuc took the majority votes with a solid number of fans also voting for SoN’s frozen Coconut Marg.
Then, the gloves came off with a neck-and-neck race between two more SoLag entities, Coyote Grill and Starfish Laguna. While Coyote earned more votes than anyone else in town for the most number of margaritas voted on (the Coyote marg, the Pomegranate marg, the Strawberry Cucumber marg, the frozen Coconut marg and the Cadillac marg), it was a pounding race to the finish line with ONE favorite at Coyote vs. the ONLY specialty margarita Starfish Asian serves.
In 2nd place …
Starfish’s famed “Lagniappe” with its muddled mandarin orange, fresh mint and (when in season) kumquats.
In 1st place, winning by a nose …
Coyote Grill’s Casa Amigos Roasted Serrano Margarita. And, yes, they roast those eye-searing serranos right at the bar.
3. Spring has Sprung! Free Sunset Serenades Return
An annual spring tradition for locals and visitors alike, these free concerts take place at the Heisler Park Amphitheater (by my favorite sculpture in all of Laguna Beach). The series begins THIS Friday, and every Friday through June 20th.
SUNSET SERENADES SCHEDULE
May 9 – Las Colibri - All-female mariachi ensemble
May 16 – The Salty Suites - crowd favorite Americana
May 23 – Liz Booth - Jazz vocalist
May 30 – Gypsy Beatles - Gypsy Jazz style Beatles (hmmm)
June 6 – Twanguero - Latin rockabilly
June 13 – Lola Kristine - Singer-songwriter
June 20 – Uncanny Valley - Songs you forgot you loved
Concerts take place from 6:30 p.m. to sunset. Bring your beach blankets and low-back beach chairs (only). Alcohol is permitted for guests 21 or older, but must be accompanied by a full meal (PLENTY of restaurants nearby to grab your to-go or try Mercado for ready-made picnic greatness.)
Finally … how many of you spied this special treat?
At a rather hotly contested construction site in Laguna Beach, this lovely girl showed up anonymously one day in an attempt to add her own touch of beauty. The painting has since been swallowed up by the construction. BUT, the first VIP Member who can tell me where she stood … see below the paywall 👇 for your very special restaurant prize!
