Farewell to Me at The Edison

My wonderful friend and co-worker T-West planned a little happy hour at The Edison tonight in honor of my imminent departure. What an incredible place! Not only was I surrounded by the love and good cheer of my friends, but the ambience of The Edison was just something you don't encounter every day.

The Edison is an enormous bar and lounge located near Little Tokyo in a somewhat hard-to-find nondescript building, the entrance of which can be found in a one-way alley.

But, boy, is it a treat when you finally find the place!

The building is the home of the first private power plant in downtown Los Angeles and has kept much of the original architecture and old machinery. When you enter, you're whisked to another era. Servers flounce about in flapper dresses or scurry in newsboy caps and suspenders. Black-and-white silent films flicker on flatscreens, which hang on the exposed brick walls.

After you make your way down the steep staircase (and grab onto the handrail for dear life in the darkness), you're surrounded by all sorts of artifacts from days of yore. I thought the look was rather unique, and the place, while huge and high-ceilinged, had this great vibe and intimacy in various nooks and crannies all around. I'm so sad to have discovered this place so late!

Libations were plenty, original, and strong. I started with the Edison (lavender-honey infused liquor, pear liqueur, and fresh-squeezed pear nectar). If you like pears, this is the drinky-drink for you! I found the Edison to be chock-full of boozey-booze, but, as a lightweight, I wanted a second opinion, so I had Ironman take a sip. He confirmed, "Yup, you're gonna get blitzed!" Whee! I followed the Edison with a Peach Whisper (peach brandy and blood orange with a splash of apricot nectar). Oh, nummy-nummers! Yes, I am recapping while buzzed. Maybe I should take a break and come back later.

Ok, I'm back! With pics of food! We shared some "Tesla fries" (Get it ? Get it? Oh, you clever Edisonians!), which were yummilicious sweet potato fries accompanied by ketchup and chipotle remoulade; crisp flatbread with tzatziki, olive tapenade, and hummus; and an appetizer platter, which included shrimp cocktail, oysters rockefeller, smoked salmon, deviled eggs, grilled asparagus, tiki wings, and -- my favorite treat of the night -- lobster corndogs! 'Twas a crunchy savory lollipop!

The boys weren't too interested in getting any mugshots, so the girls struck a pose together.

Special thanks to my pal T-West who organized the shindig! I love you!

Thanks for coming, everybody! I'm really going to miss you lots. [tear]