Dr. Ink | Come On Get Happy!
Since revising its happy hour program in early September, more than a dozen elegant high-octane cocktails at Prepkitchen Little Italy have dropped significantly in price, along with craft drafts and a succinct menu of tapas. Across the list, everything’s an easy $5, and the deals can be enjoyed in the bar lounge or in Prepkitchen’s big-windowed dining room overlooking the heart of Little Italy.
Located a floor above Yogurtland, the modernly designed space is a larger offshoot to Prepkitchen in La Jolla, which only serves beer and wine. At its Little Italy location, however, bar manager Adam Lockridge marries a variety of spirits to unexpected ingredients like rhubarb in the tequila-based “La Peligrosa” and orangy Creole Shrubb liqueur used in the rum-based “Atlas Shrubbed.” At regular price, the cocktails sell for $12 apiece.
In another rum drink called “Loose Plants,” he mixes in bewitching house-made falernum, a spicy lime-infused syrup that receives a seasonal peachy twist. The dreamy anise aroma that trailed up our nostrils the moment it was delivered to our table stemmed from a finishing touch of absinthe spray, we were told.
Five stars go to the “Last Knight,” which blends 100-proof Rittenhouse Rye with apricot brandy plus herby fernet and locally produced RX Bitters. The drink is naturally powerful, but with plenty of fruity notes camouflaging the whiskey you’re spared the cringing burn while afforded a fast buzz.
In battling a mild sore throat, the “La Pharmacia” offered the relief of a soothing lozenge, but with superior flavor. It’s made with mezcal, ginger, peach and lemon and went down easier than a cup of tea with honey.
Wine, house-made sangria and draft beers from Stone, Mother Earth, Fat Cat, Acoustic Ales and others are also $5 a glass.
The tapas menu features eight choices ranging from marinated olives and shishito peppers to salmon rillette (coarse pate) and beef larb. We skipped all of those and opted instead for molasses-glazed chicken wings that would have been stellar if made crispier. Spanish-style potatoes, called patatas bravas, were crunchy on the outside and beautifully tender inside. Served with spicy aioli, they’re salt-roasted in the oven and then fried twice.
More substantial was the ham and cheese folded into piadina, an Italian flatbread that provided the dose of carbs we needed for soaking up the booze.
Happy hour at Prepkitchen Little Italy is conducive to easy, relaxing conversation with friends and business cohorts, allowing you to ease quietly into a supper scene that begins bustling with avid diners by early evening.
