The Aperol Brunch Society

Thursday, July 17, 2014 3 , 0

I have a friend, Nathan. He is a genius with cocktails, has a super impressive beard, and always knows how to throw a good party. Well, the fine people over at Aperol decided to make him one of their Chief Brunch Officers for the summer. Yes, that is a real thing and I think it might be the best job EVER. Each weekend he and Aperol host a brunch on Saturday AND Sunday at a different restaurant in Los Angeles. The star of the show? The Aperol Spritz, perhaps one of my favorite beverages.

The perfect Aperol Spritz

I was lucky enough to be invited to one of these boozy brunches! The location was Venice’s Scopa Italian Roots. Quite fitting. Upon sitting, I was promptly given a Spritz, bright orange straw and all. Then we got to the food. I ordered a perfectly brunch-appropriate frittata and we all shared the squid ink calamari, which was delicious. For whatever reason, one of my favorite snacks while at a bar or for appetizers over the years has become fried calamari with lemon and…an Aperol Spritz. So there ya go! And here we are.

The squid ink fried calamari at Scopa Italian Roots in Venice

Frittat with arugula and parmesan at Scopa Italian Roots

The official Aperol Spritz recipe is super simple and you can remember it by saying 3-2-1. Three parts Prosecco, two parts Aperol, one part club soda. Garnish with an orange slice over ice and your golden. Er, orange and sparkly.

Cheers with Aperol Spritz at Aperol Brunch Society

I love this picture so much.

Shift Drinks & Eats

When I work as sommelier at Terroni, I usually have dinner around 11:15-11:30pm. Yeah, I know. But, that’s normal for restaurant peeps. It’s also normal for everyone to mention how starving they are at least 3 times between 9:30 and 11:00. Cause they are and I definitely am. I’m thirsty too. [dimly lit Instagram photo stream alert!]

The things I like to eat and drink after a shift: cold things and a lot of carbs, respectively. I sometimes go for a lighter dish like a salad, but it’s usually the pizza or pasta the guys in the kitchen feel like making for us. I also dip into red wine territory, but not often. The photo above was taken a few nights ago. I decided on a little 2011 Tenute Sella Majoli Rosato and a generous sip of my co-worker’s Aperol spritz.

COS Pithos Rosso (Nero d’Avola and Frappato), which is fermented and aged in anfora/amphora. Shout out to my sparkly nails.

This is what stares me in the face for hours before I can actually even think about eating it or something like it. The patience! The restraint! The longing…

Salad with Italian tuna packed in oil (my favorite kind of canned tuna), kidney beans, tomato, lettuce, little slivers of red onion. It’s my salad of choice from our menu, if I decide to forgo the carbs. A glass of Tedeschi Pignoletto was my liquid companion that evening.

Rigatoni with tomatoes, basil, zucchini and creamy mozzarella. I love this dish at the end of the night. No meat, simple flavors, comforting. Throw in some of the Tenute Sella Rosato again and I’ll forget about the jerk on table 23.

Maybe I just eat a bunch of Nutella for dinner. Don’t tell my mom.

BHMF Video: WeHo & An Aperol Spritz

Claire and I are back at it again! This time, I’m pairing wine to…wait for it…

NEIGHBORHOODS. Neighborhoods in this fair city of Los Angeles, of course. In each episode of this series, I’ll be visiting a friend that lives in a different nabe and they’ll show me around to all their favorite spots. Then we’ll get down with some sort of vino that I think perfectly fits with them and that neck of the woods. First up? West Hollywood, playa.




Um, how handsome is Timothy? I’ll just go ahead and answer for you- super handsome. And he’s so stylish it hurts. Like, enough already Tim.

Wine: NV Sommariva Prosecco. My dear spritz friend. It’s under $15 bucks and darn good. When I make an Aperol Spritz, it’s always with this wine.

Check out all our previous videos here or on our Vimeo channel. Wanna know what our next video is? Pairing wine to Venice Beach with Joy the Baker! Stay tuned.