Kettle Black
Kettle Black opens in Silver Lake, serving Italian fare from Executive Chef Sydney C. Hunter. Photo by Ryan Tanaka.

Each week we spotlight top Los Angeles restaurants, dining and drinking experiences you need to try.

Edited by Christina Xenos

Kettle Black
The stunning new restaurant from from Beau Laughlin, Brett Cranston and Jay Milliken opens on the heels of Sawyer, its sister restaurant that has already become a Silver Lake staple. Soak in the airy 3,000 square-foot dining room that is both modern and rustic, while you dine on Italian cuisine from Executive Chef Sydney C. Hunter. Hunter has worked with an all-star list of chefs around Los Angeles (Ludo Lefebvre, Alain Giraud and Walter Manzke to name a few). The menu offers antipasti, dishes from a wood-fire oven, pizzas, housemade pastas and desserts. Highlights include orata crudo with sea bream, tangerine vinaigrette, pink peppercorns, malden salt; wood-fired eggplant with saba vin cotto, garlic, olive oil, parmesan, chili flake; patata pizza with crème fraiche, Yukon potato, broccolini and a sunny-side-up egg; and pappardelle with maitake mushroom, nasturtium butter. Like the food, the wine list is full of bold Italian offerings, while cocktails lean toward the classic and share the list with after-dinner amari and housemade Italian-style vermouths. Also enjoy a daily happy hour with food and drink specials from 5-7 p.m. and late night happy hour Sun.-Weds. 11 p.m.-2 a.m. Open daily 5 p.m.-2 a.m. 3705 Sunset Blvd., L.A., 323.641.3705. kettleblackla.com

The Nickel Bar
Get a little bit of East Coast at the new West Coast whiskey gastropub that serves NY-style pizza (by the slice or pie) in West LA. The venue’s eclectic interior features exposed brick, reclaimed wood and funky ‘70s wallpaper. It also boasts 20 flat-screen TVs, perfect for watching the Olympics, baseball and upcoming football games. The focal point of the drink menu are West Coast whiskeys and cocktails curated by Executive Beverage Director James Lamont. The pub also offers drinks special during a daily happy hour from 5-8 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 5 p.m.-2 a.m., Sat.-Sun. 10 a.m.-2 a.m. 11351 Santa Monica Blvd., 310.231.0239. thenickelbarla.com

Salazar
Aug. 9. One of LA’s hottest new restaurants wants to take you under the sea with its first boozy agua fresca night. Beverage Director Aaron Melendrez is teaming up with acclaimed bartenders Kylee Van Dillen and Alex Strauss to create specialty drinks playing off the current Salazar featured agua fresca, Savila y Coco. The classic is served in a fish bowl glass and garnished with a shark gummy. Riffs on it throughout the night will incorporate  Bulldog gin and La Niña del Mezcal. Chef Esdras Ochoa will pair the drinks with a special seafood menu, including a fish taco and a raw bar utilizing the featured spirits. 9 p.m.-close. 2490 Fletcher Dr., L.A. salazarla.com

Scratch|Bar & Kitchen
Start your week by eating clean with a new meatless Monday tasting menu at Scratch|Bar & Kitchen. The Encino dining destination offers six courses that include highlights like pickled strawberries with rutabaga and cherries; roasted colors of cauliflower; cherry tomato and cucumber ceviche; and more for $45/pp. The restaurant is also launching a new summer menu that includes dishes like green mussel and sea urchin sake shooter; grilled cheese and caviar sandwich; brioche-crusted branzino; 30-day dry aged prime ribeye and many more (6 courses $45/pp, 12 courses $85/pp and 18 courses $125/pp. Lunch Mon.-Fri. noon-2 p.m., dinner Mon.-Sun. 5-10 p.m. 16101 Ventura Blvd., Encino, 818.646.6085. scratchbarla.com

terrine
Terrine revamps their brunch menu starting this weekend. Don’t miss the Terrine burger Benedict, a burger patty on top of a brioche bun topped with red onion confit, Comté cheese, sunny egg and béarnaise.

Terrine
Executive Chef Kris Morningstar has been making some serious changes to Terrine’s brunch menu, and it’s ready for a big reveal this weekend. Dive into dishes like the Terrine burger Benedict, a burger patty on top of a brioche bun topped with red onion confit, Comté cheese, sunny egg and béarnaise; smoked trout potato cake with frisée salad, horseradish crème fraiche, sunny egg and trout roe; and Mission fig toast with fresh ricotta, honey and hazelnuts. No brunch is complete without a bevy of cocktails and Head Bartender Ryan Wainwright offers a list for perfect pairing along with $20 rosé all day—a bottomless glass of Pichard & Jourdan Chinon rosé. 8265 Beverly Blvd., L.A., 323.746.5130. terrinela.com

Hotel Casa Del Mar
Rose and endless August nights make the perfect pairing and now you can get your fill during Hotel Casa del Mar’s “Summer in Rosé.” Gaze out onto meandering waves as you sip two glasses of the wine along with three paired ceviche bites (hamachi crudo, shrimp ceviche and octopus ceviche) from Executive Chef Gemma Gray for $40. Chef Gray, a native of Salamanca, Spain, just arrived at the hotel with a menu of drawing on her Mediterranean background and classic and modern cooking techniques. The evening begins at 5 p.m. and is accompanied buy the hotel’s nightly music offerings. Summer in Rosé is offered in both Catch restaurant and the Terrazza lounge. 1910 Ocean Way, Santa Monica, 310.581.5533. hotelcasadelmar.com

DeSano Pizza Bakery
Aug. 13-14. Master pizzaiolo Attilio Bachetti (from Pizzeria Trattoria da Atillio in Naples) will be popping up at DeSano Pizza Bakery in East Hollywood offering four signature Neapolitan pizzas and a complimentary two-hour cooking class (Aug. 14, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.). Pies include pizza carnevale (“8 points pizza” filled with ricotta cheese with a margherita pie with sausage in the center) and pizza Los Angeles (bufala mozzarella, zucchini blossoms, cherry tomatoes, lardo and pistacchio), among others. RSVP to Marino.Monferrato@desanopiz for the class. 4959 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A., 323.913.7000. desanopizza.it 

Plan Check Downtown
Aug. 14. This Sunday as CicLAvia riders cycle past Plan Check downtown, they can stop in for an exclusive burger pack and extended happy hour. Stop by for an early happy hour from 2-6 p.m., during which the team will serve a special burger pack ($16) featuring the restaurant’s trademark Plan Check Burger alongside an order of skin-on russet fries. The pack will also include a chilled, frothy beer because you need a reward after all that riding. You also have a chance to enter a raffle to win a limited edition Plan Check bicycle from Retrospec Bicycles and Just Ride LA. 1111 Wilshire Blvd., downtown, 213.403.1616. plancheck.com

Los Angeles Food + Drink Events this Week

L.A. Craft Beer Crawl
Aug. 13. Sip tastings of craft beers from some of the top artisnal brewers in the country across eight bars and restaurants in downtown Los Angeles. Beers are curated by the best ladies in the business: The Beer Chicks Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune. Participating stops along the crawl include Casey’s Irish Pub, Seven Grand, Honeycut, Golden Gopher, Cole’s, Las Perlas and The Varnish. Festivities kick off with Brewer’s Workout, hosted by 213 Hospitality and Goose Island Beer Company, taking you through a fitness class inspired by a day in the life of a brewer. $10-$79. Brewers workout, 10 a.m.; early admission 2 p.m., general admission 3 p.m. Check in at Casey’s Irish Pub, 613 S. Grand Ave., downtown. eventbrite.com

The KNEAD to Give-Powered by Green Wish
Aug. 14. Enjoy an evening of top food, music and more all for a good cause. The shining stars of Grand Central Market—Ramen Hood, DTLA Cheese, Valerie Confections, G & B, Golden Road Brewery, Moruno, Oyster Gourmet and Knead & Co.—offer bites paired with rock ’n’ roll tunes from Chef Duff Goldman (Ace of Cakes) and Bruce Kalman (Knead & Co) with their band Foie Grock; KCRW DJ Raul Campos will also be on site spinning tunes. Proceeds from the event help benefit a variety of charities. 6-10 p.m. Grand Central Market, 317 S. Broadway, downtown. eventbrite.com

Hatch Chile Roasting
Aug. 12-Sept. 10. Hatch Chiles are arriving en mass from Hatch, New Mexico and we get to eat the rewards in Los Angeles. Gelson’s is hosting a number of events across Los Angeles and Orange County to celebrate the pepper. Sample Hatch chile specialty items and learn about the growing process, all while experts show off cooking and serving techniques. The festival happens Fridays and Saturdays though Sept. 10. Visit the website for specific dates and locations. gelsons.com

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