{"id":953,"date":"2015-08-16T19:56:57","date_gmt":"2015-08-16T19:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maxkochuncorked.com\/?p=953"},"modified":"2015-08-16T21:07:48","modified_gmt":"2015-08-16T21:07:48","slug":"the-pop-champagne-dessert-bar-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maxkochuncorked.com\/?p=953","title":{"rendered":"The POP Champagne &#038; Dessert Bar RULES!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FullSizeRender.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-955\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FullSizeRender.jpg?resize=300%2C225&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"FullSizeRender\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FullSizeRender.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FullSizeRender.jpg?resize=150%2C113&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FullSizeRender.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FullSizeRender.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>I think I might have a new favorite haunt in Pasadena. It used to be <a href=\"http:\/\/www.meltingpot.com\" target=\"_blank\">The Melting Pot<\/a>. But that location closed. Now I think it&#8217;s the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.popchampagnebar.com\" target=\"_blank\">POP Champagne &amp; Dessert Bar<\/a>. I went there last night for the first time. The wife kindly took me there for a belated birthday dinner. It was magnificent. And it REALLY cheered me up. Check out some quick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=E1XCpcZOlK4&amp;feature=youtu.be\" target=\"_blank\">video<\/a> I made so you can grasp the decadent gist of my joy.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/POP-Joy.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-960\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/POP-Joy.jpg?resize=225%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"POP Joy\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/POP-Joy.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/POP-Joy.jpg?resize=113%2C150&amp;ssl=1 113w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/POP-Joy.jpg?w=720&amp;ssl=1 720w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>POP has a kickass Happy Hour. $5 sparkling wines and $6 to $8 champagne cocktails, served from 5 &#8211; 7pm! And don&#8217;t get me started on the &#8220;Beginning Bites&#8221; menu. The popcorn chicken was so filling and delicious, I had to bail on the actual entr\u00e9e I was aspiring to mow, something called &#8220;Champagne Chicken&#8221;, which I&#8217;ll just have to order <em>next<\/em> time. Otherwise, I was slurping back champagne-soaked shellfish, salad,\u00a0and truffle fries. I was in heaven. Dizzy with delight. It&#8217;s been a while since I felt that alive and robust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It&#8217;s so funny, too, because there were MOSTLY chicks partying in the place. I guess I just have a more feminine palate for the bubbly than most dudes I roll with.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Oh! I should probably mention that I was treated to two new hats before dining at POP. I like hats. A LOT. The problem is my head is too big for most hats that look cool. But the fine young ladies over at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.goorin.com\/hat-shops?gclid=Cj0KEQjw6cCuBRCh4KrGoJ6LoboBEiQAwzYsdFQImNp5MLqH20Kw7U8fPwjFbV-7pO_9FgAfL-_GC3UaAlEc8P8HAQ\" target=\"_blank\">Goorin Bros. Hat Shop<\/a>\u00a0in Pasadena (just around the corner from POP) had my BACK. All I did was tell them how fat and awful my head was and they went in the back and pulled out a buncha hats in my SIZE! So I got a cap with a Beaver on it (??) and a fedora, which I hope to wear to Cuba someday.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/beaverhat.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-961\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/beaverhat.jpg?resize=225%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"beaverhat\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/beaverhat.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/beaverhat.jpg?resize=113%2C150&amp;ssl=1 113w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/beaverhat.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/beaverhat.jpg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FullSizeRender-2.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-962\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FullSizeRender-2.jpg?resize=225%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"FullSizeRender-2\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FullSizeRender-2.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FullSizeRender-2.jpg?resize=113%2C150&amp;ssl=1 113w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FullSizeRender-2.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maxkochuncorked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/FullSizeRender-2.jpg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>WINE PAIRING: When you go to POP, try the house sparkling for sure, but stop at nothing to sip one or two flutes of their Bellini Noir. It will make you feel like crossing your legs!<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I think I might have a new favorite haunt in Pasadena. It used to be The Melting Pot. But that location closed. Now I think it&rsquo;s the POP Champagne &amp; Dessert Bar. I went there last night for the first time. The wife kindly took me there for a belated birthday dinner. It was magnificent. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[342,340,339,341],"class_list":["post-953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-goorin-bros-hat-shop","tag-pasadena","tag-pop-champagne-dessert-bar","tag-the-melting-pot"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4VgPA-fn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxkochuncorked.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxkochuncorked.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxkochuncorked.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxkochuncorked.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxkochuncorked.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=953"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/maxkochuncorked.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":966,"href":"https:\/\/maxkochuncorked.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953\/revisions\/966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxkochuncorked.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxkochuncorked.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxkochuncorked.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}