[Open] Bar & Beats #01:
LUBARRHOT (Abruzzo, Italy)
mixed by Morris Mau
selection by Kisk
After sharing liquid stories and soundscapes from a virtual counter, this time we’re bringing you somewhere real. It’s the very first live event of Bar & Beats, the Apparel Drink column you've come to know over the past months. It’s happening on August 17 in Pollutri (CH), at the legendary LUBARRHOT, and it’s called (Open) Bar & Beats, because the space is open, the music is open, and so are the minds.
LUBARRHOT is part bar, part “tavola calda” (diner), part mystical pit stop on the road to the sea or the hills. Builders, truckers, thirsty cyclists, travellers, and old friends all pull over here. Think of it as a rural cult diner: traditional-meets-modern dishes, a finely tuned bar, free-roaming cats, and people who look you in the eye when they talk. Drenched in deep red hues that breathe through the walls and furniture, it’s the kind of place where you stop for a drink and end up talking about life, sports, music, and whatever else the day brings. A little oasis of folklore, friendship, attention to detail, and great taste. The name LUBARRHOT may be new, but the place has a long story. From 1969 to 1975, it was a service station. Then: silence. Abandoned until 1996. But in 1997, Nicola and Lina reopened it as Snack Bar. No big name, but word spread quickly: this was the spot for proper arrosticini. In 2009, their son Lello took the reins. He revamped the place, renamed it Lu Barrott’ di Nicola, and ran it as a trattoria until December 2024.
Now, in 2025, it comes full circle, or maybe, evolves. Back to the original bar-diner format (suffix -HOT is for hot food), but with a new mission: to serve not just food and drinks, but also culture. A place for events, music, exhibits, conversations. Tradition meets invention. Everything’s curated, but nothing’s stiff. The kitchen speaks Abruzzese, but keeps its eyes open. You sit on a red chair under a red wall and think, “So it’s possible to do things the right way, without pretending (to be cool).” And guess what? Our beloved Morris Mau has been called to direct this special moment. True to the Bar & Beats spirit, he’s created four drinks specifically for the location, each paired with a dish from LUBARRHOT. Think: legendary arrosticini, panzanella, the iconic pallotte cacio e ova, and of course, parmigiana. In the air: a tailor-made sound selection by Kisk (Apparel Music) flows between sips, chats, and everything in between, syncing deeply with the spirit of the place.
The FOOD:
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Arrosticini
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Pallotte cacio e ova
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Panzanella
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Parmigiana
The DRINKS:
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Gin Rickey
-
Celery Gimlet
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Glou Glou Fake Paloma
-
San Salvo
(ingredients will be revealed live)
The MUSIC:
To match the drinks, here’s Jazzyness by Kisk, released in 2020, a jazzy house collection of beats and samples crafted with his usual mastery, full of grooves that ripple down your spine. And if house means… home, who better than Kisk, born less than 30 minutes from LUBARRHOT, to embody the sound of the place?
* See you at Contrada Crivella 6, Pollutri (CH).
Bring friends, bring hunger, bring thirst and spirit.
We’ll be waiting for you at the first-ever (Open) Bar & Beats!
Mixologist
Morris Mau, a ten-year successful bartender based in Milan. His career be began at the Dude Club in Milan and then forward to places such as the Bulgari Hotel, the Apophis Club and the Portal Club of the Deus Ex Machina brand.
Morris is a mixology's philanthropist, a romantic visionary, a refined tailor with an alcholic soul, he is the result of a blood cocktail mixed with the Caribbean's sea, Cameroon and the Naples' coast.
Today he's a bar consultant trying to rewrite the definition of hospitality by creating bespoke concepts and unique experiences for his clients.
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Selector
Giuseppe D’Alessandro, aka Kisk, is the founder of the recording label Apparel Music, an Art Director, communication designer, illustrator, and DJ active since 1996. His artistic journey spans from trip hop to swing, jungle, West London and Detroit house, deep house. Since the beginning of his career as a record producer, he has been an advocate for the concept of “Jazzy”: a mindset rooted in improvisation, emotion, open-mindedness and collaboration between technology and the human touch.
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