Episode 84: General Lee's Cocktail House & LA's Historic Chinatown

What do Frank Sinatra, Awkwafina, LA's pioneering punk rock scene & craft cocktails all have in common? They all have a connection to LA's historic General Lee's Cocktail House in Chinatown. On the cusp of the Chinese New Year kicking off tomorrow, we are taking a deep dive into one of the oldest family owned establishments in Los Angeles, originally opened by the Lee family in Old Chinatown in the late 1800s.     There is now 6 generations of the Lee Family and Sharon Lee, one of this week's guests is here to talk about her family's legacy as pioneers of LA's Chinatown and the founders of the original General Lee's Restaurant - one of the most glamorous destinations at the time. Jim Akimoto, General Lee's Managing Partner, also joins us to speak on the history of General Lee's and Chinatown, his connection to the place as a kid, and how they decided to preserve the legacy of General Lee's. Philip Ly, head bartender, also joins us to speak on the current cocktail program at General Lee's, and the planned Lunar Year celebrations this upcoming week.   This week's featured cocktail, General Lee's special cocktail for the Chinese New Year:   One Lucky Buck by Philip Ly 1.5 oz Ming River Baijiu
.75 oz lime juice
.75 oz ginger syrup
2 dash sichuan pepper tincture Shake and strain into a Collins glass   Top ginger beer
2 dsh Angostura bitters
2 dsh peychauds bitters on top Mint sprig garnish   General Lee's Links:
Website Instagram Philip Ly   Bit by a Fox Links: blog: http://bitbyafox.com instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bitbyafox/ facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BitByAFox/ twitter: https://twitter.com/bitbyafox  

What do Frank Sinatra, Awkwafina, LA's pioneering punk rock scene & craft cocktails all have in common? They all have a connection to LA's historic General Lee's Cocktail House in Chinatown. On the cusp of the Chinese New Year kicking off tomorrow, we are taking a deep dive into one of the oldest family owned establishments in Los Angeles, originally opened by the Lee family in Old Chinatown in the late 1800s.     There is now 6 generations of the Lee Family and Sharon Lee, one of this week's guests is here to talk about her family's legacy as pioneers of LA's Chinatown and the founders of the original General Lee's Restaurant - one of the most glamorous destinations at the time. Jim Akimoto, General Lee's Managing Partner, also joins us to speak on the history of General Lee's and Chinatown, his connection to the place as a kid, and how they decided to preserve the legacy of General Lee's. Philip Ly, head bartender, also joins us to speak on the current cocktail program at General Lee's, and the planned Lunar Year celebrations this upcoming week.   This week's featured cocktail, General Lee's special cocktail for the Chinese New Year:   One Lucky Buck by Philip Ly 1.5 oz Ming River Baijiu .75 oz lime juice .75 oz ginger syrup 2 dash sichuan pepper tincture Shake and strain into a Collins glass   Top ginger beer 2 dsh Angostura bitters 2 dsh peychauds bitters on top Mint sprig garnish   General Lee's Links: Website Instagram Philip Ly   Bit by a Fox Links: blog: http://bitbyafox.com instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bitbyafox/ facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BitByAFox/ twitter: https://twitter.com/bitbyafox