From the opening of The Corner Door in Culver City just three years ago, Bar Manager and cocktail aficionado Beau du Bois has set high standards, creating intriguing seasonal cocktail menus that have consistently rivaled the best in the city.
In the kitchen, Executive Chef Brendan Collins and Chef de Cuisine Ali Haji have recently undergone a culinary transformation with its new dining menu, highlighting the ever changing flavors of the season.
Chef Haji has been at The Corner Door since February, but has worked with Collins for the past seven years (before L.A. he was in Rhode Island).
In his present role he said he liked the idea of cooking “good honest food.”
“I take a lot of inspiration from Los Angeles as I was raised here, so I really want to show that this city has the best ethnic food the U.S. has to offer,” Haji said.
First time to The Corner Door? Be sure to try the Avocado Toast, French Fries “Carbonade,” and Lobster and Shrimp Bolognese.
“These are just great dishes for a place like this,” Haji said. “The Avocado Toast (with burrata, radish, arugula, olive oil, and sea salt) is light and refreshing. The French Fries ‘Carbonade’ (beer braised beef, slow roast garlic aioli, and farm house cheese) are a great bar snack and a great dish to share. They also help soak up all of Beau’s amazing cocktails. And, the Lobster and Shrimp Bolognese (with squid ink capellini and san marzano tomato) is a dish that we have been making for years and it is the
perfect balance of flavor. I’m personally not a huge shellfish guy, but this dish really makes me rethink that.”
Haji said The Corner Door changes the menu with the seasons, as well as whenever they create something new and fun in the kitchen.
Meanwhile behind the bar, du Bois was recognized as one of Zagat Los Angeles’ 30 Under 30 in 2011 and ranked as one of America’s 25 Best Bartenders by the Daily Meal in 2012 (du Bois was number 12).
Genuinely modest, you will always find him behind the bar mastering his craft alongside his team on their own “little island of cocktail creativity,” where he can mix new drinks and actually witness guests reaction to them.
A visually stunning head turner, the refreshing Topless Mermaid, is the first vodka cocktail du Bois has put on the menu in a long time (besides his crafty Moscow Mule on tap made from scratch and carbonated in-house).
This tropical combo of vodka, pineapple, lime, banana-infused rose, and blue curacao tastes as delicious as it looks, and as du Bois puts it, “the only thing better than a mermaid, is a topless mermaid.”
The Corner Door’s drink menu has plenty of beer and wine offerings that also reflect the same versatility as the cocktail list.
What makes your cocktail program most unique?
Beau du Bois: What I love about my team at The Corner Door is that everyone, including the barbacks, love cocktails. I’m always confused when I read about bartenders who say “I don’t really drink cocktails.”
I think what sets me apart from most is that I’m behind the bar five nights a week. I wouldn’t have it any other way or else I’d never understand the guests perception of our program. I also wouldn’t feel right about handing my bartenders a complicated
recipe and just say “deal with it,” while I just mail it in.
In regards to the menu, my approach first begins with listening to the neighborhood. I can’t make a menu for all my cocktail fanatic friends/peers because that isn’t our main clientele at The Corner Door. I try to make the drinks approachable with just a small quarter turn of creativity.
What are some of the techniques that you use that make your cocktail program so unique?
For one, I noticed three years ago that the Moscow Mule was really catching on. I looked at the classic iteration and thought, this is good but it can be way better. The classic recipe only calls for one component that is carbonated. Adding that carbonated, commercial ginger beer to other flat ingredients just weakens the effervescence. So I decided that we would make our own ginger beer and instead of just carbonating that, we’d just carbonate the entire cocktail. This allowed us to put
our own fingerprint on the ginger beer flavor and offer a Moscow Mule that can’t be found at any other bar.
This is more or less the crux of our program, exploring better ways to make drinks, liqueurs, amari, etc. in house, if we can do it better.
Can you talk about some of the favorite ingredients that you use, and what effect that has on the cocktails?
I love dry vermouth and all its versatility. Here is an ingredient, already packed with flavor that opens up your palate, giving you a higher sensitivity and perception of a drinks flavor.
I’m also obsessed with throwing citrus peels in the shaker while making drinks. It’s just a quick easy step that helps flavor really pop in shaken cocktails. Try making a Gold Rush at home and then make it again, but put a grapefruit peel in the shaker. Mind blowing!
What is your favorite cocktail?
Hands down, the Ti Punch. Popular in Martinique, this little guy is made with rhum agricole, a squeeze of lime and cane sugar. That’s it, but you definitely don’t get short changed on the flavor.
This transportive cocktail can be consumed morning, noon, or night. Trust me, I’ve done all three.
The Corner Door is open Sunday through Thursday from 5 pm to 12 am, and from 5 pm to 2 am on Friday and Saturday. Happy Hour is offered every day from 5 pm to 7 pm, and late night happy hour is also available every night.
For more information or reservations, visit www.thecornerdoorla.com or call The Corner Door directly at 310.313.5810.
