[UPDATED, W/SPECIALS!] Next OC Weekly-KCRW Good Food Happy Hour Scheduled for NEXT WEEK TONIGHT in Long Beach!

Photo by Taylor Hamby

Lovely lass from our last OC Weekly-KCRW Happy Hour...

See the end of this post for the $5 drink and entree specials!

So far in the wildly successful happy hours we've co-hosted with KCRW-FM 89.9, we've given SanTana and Costa Mesa some love--but what about Long Beach, that wonderful metropolis that no one in journalism seems to live except us (and even then, we're forgetful lovers)? This gnawed at me after our last happy hour earlier this year, so I hit up my pal, Robin Jones of We Love Long Beach and Living Long Beach, a cool organization that's all about letting the world know about how cool Iowa-by-the-Sea is.

We kicked some ideas around, ideas that never really worked--then Robin invited the chica and I to drinks at SIP, the restaurant for the Renaissance  Hotel, run by Marriott. A bit corporate? Not at all: the drinks were great, the food cheap and delicious, the lounge looking right onto Ocean Avenue, the décor late-1960s/early 1970s cool. After that night, I knew this was the place.

So, mark your calendars, cabrones: the next OC Weekly/KCRW Happy Hour is August 16 at SIP! In other words, NEXT WEEK!!!
Details to come as we confirm more of 'em, but the basics hold: starts at 7, and ends at ???. $5 drink and appetizer special all through the night made specifically for ustedes. Myself and food goddess Evan Kleiman doing our Crosby-and-Hope routine while giving out prizes. Lot of singles and the subsequent mingling. And Robin tells me there'll be a live band!

Long Beach: view this as a way to show KCRW and us that you need more love. OCers: let's visit our country cousins! See you there!

UPDATE: Here are the $5 specials--YUM...

Drinks:
Cucumber Jalapeño Margarita: jalapeño, blanco tequila, Cointreau, simple syrup,  fresh squeezed lime juice, kosher salt rim  
*Strawberry Caprioska: Ketel One vodka, fresh muddled lime and  strawberries, simple syrup

Eats:
Pakoras: fried squash blossoms, housemade paneer cheese, mint and tamarind chutney Elotes: Roasted Tamai Farms corn, butter, chile, dry jack cheese
Peruvian octopus skewers: grilled octopus, potato puree

SIP at the Renaissance Hotel, 111 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, (562) 437-5900; www.siplongbeach.com

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