zócalo public cquare

Dear Zócalo Supporters,

Los Angeles has never been an easy place to build community. The size and diversity of our city—along with its congested roads and its prevalence of private spaces—make it difficult to establish accessible, open, and public gathering places.

In our six years, Zócalo Public Square has excelled at building precisely such an environment—devoted to spurring conversation and creating fellowship around ideas. Still, in our city, and particularly in our times, the public square is endangered. We at Zócalo seek to continue creating free, open spaces for dialogue, but we can't do it without your help. Zócalo has hosted over 400 speakers at nearly 200 free events, and so we can keep going strong, Jonathan Gold, Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic of the LA Weekly, is throwing the first-ever fundraiser for Zócalo.

Jonathan Gold's Union Station Cocktail Party will explore
L.A.'s new "cocktail moment" with food and drink tastings
and discussion.

Los Angeles has long seemed to be a Mai Tai and Appletini town, a place for glitzy celebs and hangers-on to lounge under palms gulping sugary Technicolor drinks. But the city's alcohol culture is transforming. Today's cocktails and the people who pour them recall earlier, harder-drinking eras—the smoky glamour of Rat Pack bars, the seductive secrecy of Prohibition-era hideouts—with a new appreciation for artisanal, organic, and rare ingredients.

Now, it seems cocktails are becoming the new wine, meant to be paired with the city's best cuisine. Bartenders blend unexpected ingredients—herbs, fresh fruit, egg whites—with a chef's precision and mix, shake and stir with more athleticism than bravado, and work with chefs to create ideal food pairings. Jonathan Gold brings together "The New Cocktailians" — the city's best-known bartenders, bar owners, and chefs—for paired cocktails and food tastings, and conversation.

We would be grateful if you could join us.

• Sincerely,
• Jonathan Gold
• Gregory Rodriguez
• Dulce Vasquez
• Laura Villalpando
• Swati Pandey