Vandell Is on a Roll as Ode to the Bowl Opens Tales of the Cocktail

The Tales of the Cocktail conference, which started on Sunday and concludes on Friday in New Orleans, is the bender of benders. It’s the biggest annual gathering for the bar industry. The world’s most prominent bartenders and operators show up to see old friends, accept awards, try new products, find inspiration, negotiate deals, consider trends, discuss the future of hospitality, recruit talent and work with liquor brands to pour at events all day and all night. 

Tales of the Cocktail is also, with the possible exception of the World Series of Poker, the ultimate summer camp for degenerates. It’s a week where some responsible bartenders carry tags with their names, contact info, place of employment and hotel they’re occupying, just in case they need some help finding their way back. 

Tales of the Cocktail is a celebration of hospitality professionals who usually spend their nights taking care of people and watching other people rage. The conference is an important week of work and networking for many, but it’s also a week when adults can party nonstop with childlike glee, in a city that was built for this kind of revelry.

Marc Rose and Med Abrous, who run Los Angeles-based hospitality company Call Mom and have a portfolio that includes The Spare Room, Genghis Cohen and La Dolce Vita, understand this energy better than most. On Sunday night at New Orleans bowling destination Fulton Alley, Rose and Abrous threw their annual Ode to the Bowl party to kick off Tales of the Cocktail.

This booze-fueled bowling competition attracted close to 1,200 guests. Rose and Abrous, with help from inKind, Diageo and Peroni, curated a spooky Friday the 13th theme for the 13th edition of their strikes-and-spares bash. Ghoulishly dressed bartenders served Don Julio cocktails, Tanqueray clarified Bloody Marys and an espresso-martini-inspired dessert with Mr Black coffee liqueur and coconut cream pudding topped with gummy worms.

“This is like the first day of camp,” Rose, who was dressed like post-murder-spree Patrick Bateman, told Observer. “Everyone is just so excited to get back together. And every year, people like to remind everyone, ‘Hey, this is a marathon, not a sprint.’”

“It feels great because everyone is so fresh and invigorated,” Abrous said.

The 13th Ode to the Bowl was a wildly lively party with “senior prom” photos, Lizzie Borden-themed axe throwing, theater-sized candy, air hockey and guests dancing next to bowling lanes as the DJ played “Heads Will Roll” and “Fuck the Pain Away.”

But Vay Su, the co-founder of buzzy new Los Angeles bar Vandell, was focused on one thing only: A bowling competition he was determined to win. 

While others were getting inebriated, Su knew he had to concentrate on hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. A Los Angeles team had never won Ode to the Bowl, and Su took his responsibility seriously when Rose and Abrous asked him and fellow Vandell co-founder Shawn Lickliter to captain this year’s squad.

“I think for the first time ever, L.A. has a shot,” Abrous told Observer as the competition began.

“I was trying to lock in and trying to keep the team focused,” Su, who avoided alcohol at Ode to the Bowl, told Observer. “I can drink free alcohol anytime I want. I’m going to do my best to win.”

Powered by Acqua Panna, Perrier and a deeply competitive nature (which Rose knew about because he was in a fantasy-football league with Su), the Tipsy Toes team of Su, Lickliter, Xavier Sosa (Superba), Donald Lancaster (The Spare Room) and Erin Schaeferle (Mr Black) defeated teams from Miami, Nashville, Las Vegas, Chicago, London, Texas, New Mexico, New Orleans, New York and Canada. Teams featuring bar legends like Kate Gerwin, Joshua Wagner and Touré Folkes were all trounced by the L.A. upstarts.

It was the beginning of a huge week for Vandell, which has established itself as the best new bar in Los Angeles with market-driven creations like a smoked tomato mezcal cocktail, a banana bourbon cocktail and a pineapple tequila cocktail. The Los Feliz bar is one of the four finalists for Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar at Thursday’s Tales Spirited Awards. Su, Lickliter and a Vandell team that includes Joey Bernardo and 2019 Spirited Awards American Bartender of the Year Yael Vengroff, were also invited to pour at events for Johnnie Walker, Perrier and Hendrick’s, as well as the please-no-photos, starts-at-11:59 a.m. Strip & Guzzle event at Rick’s Cabaret this week.

Su and Lickliter are also hosting their own event, a Wednesday poolside barbecue with canned cocktails from Vandell and L.A. spots like Daisy, Thunderbolt, Capri Club, La Dolce Vita and many others.

“I definitely want to bring attention to Los Angeles and take care of our L.A. community,” said Su, who’s seen the Los Angeles hospitality industry suffer through a pandemic, Hollywood strikes and devastating fires in a city where the costs of operating a small business keep increasing. “I talk to my peers, my friends, and L.A.’s been struggling in general. I’ve got friends that run amazing bar programs, and they’re doing really cool shit, but it’s just not busy.”

So it’s important, for multiple reasons, that L.A.’s sprawling collection of top-tier bars gets national and worldwide attention. It’s also important for these bars, Su believes, to spread the word about one another. He wanted to throw a party with canned cocktails, so everyone could enjoy the gathering, have conversations and eat local barbecue from The Joint without worrying about being behind the bar.

“Any way to connect the industry and make Los Angeles stronger as a city, I’m up for it,” Su said.

He’s not stressing about Thursday’s awards ceremony because he knows he’s making memories and meaningful connections, whether Vandell wins or not.

“I’m super excited to be representing Vandell and L.A., but I’m not too nervous about it,” Su says.

“I’m just happy to be in the moment and kind of soak it all in. Because you know, rookie of the year, you only get one chance at it.” 

On the other hand, a bowling trophy is something you can win again. Rose and Abrous are already thinking about ways to make next year’s Ode to the Bowl more over-the-top.

When Observer spoke to Rose and Abrous the afternoon after Ode to the Bowl, they were working out at the New Orleans Athletic Club. They are hospitality veterans who know that it’s important to detox before the retox.

“We try to get a workout in every day,” Rose tells Observer. “The ritual is really important for us to make it through the week. It kicks off the day properly. There’s a steam room. There’s a sauna. There’s a cold plunge. But the best thing about it is that, on the way out, there’s a bar in here. So you could have a martini right after you get everything out of your system. You start putting it right back in.”