Breakfast: Balance Bar- Cookie Dough

I had my first Martini when I was 20 (I had a real ID that said I was 22) at Liquid Kitty in West LA, when it was still legal to smoke in bars. (Liquid Kitty still exists. The only bar marker is a neon Martini glass). I was not taking the event of my first Martini lightly.

I had a nine dollar Kettle One Martini with six olives. The drink came in a humongous Martini glass—not the trainer size. It took me two hours to drink it. The Martini did not go down like a cranberry and vodka—my drink of choice.

My eyes were red and my throat scratchy from all the smoke, but I drank it to the last drop. I used my olives as a chaser, taking a small bite after each sip. I tried to distract myself by paying attention to the jazz musicians or people watching, but it was still quite painful. I didn’t know when I would have another one.

I tasted my first dirty Martini at a music industry party in NYC two years later--I didn’t like it. A dirty martini was just that. The person who named it even knew the olive juice was ruining the Martini. I like my drinks to be pure and pretty, like my men.

Now I drink Grey Goose vodka Martinis. Grey Goose and Belvedere are the two very high end vodkas. I think Kettle One is one step below them. I did a taste comparison on a date at The Viceroy last year and Grey Goose won. Belvedere has a distinct taste because it is rye based. Most vodka is potato based. I like my Martinis tasteless.

These days, I get a Martini ever so often. Sometimes when I don’t feel like drinking I order them instead of wine. I know this isn’t logical, but a Martini goes with everything—it’s the little black dress of cocktails.

December 2003 Allure magazine had some great tips for hangovers:

“Hangovers may result from inflammation in the body caused by impurities in alcohol. Similar to the flu, impurities stimulate an immune response causing muscle soreness, headache, weakness, and nausea. As a rule, the darker the alcohol, the more impurities. (Even Cabernet is worse than Chardonnay.) Also, expensive vodkas are filtered about four or five times, which removes impurities; cheapies are only filtered once or twice.”