It's aperitivo time at Cecconi's; who's popping up at the Grilled Cheese Invitational; Beer Chicks beer class; more [Updated]

Hey, amici: The ritual known in Italy as aperitivo -- light cocktails and snacks -- starts at 5 p.m. at Cecconi's in West Hollywood (and ends at 7 p.m.). Cocktails here come with complimentary snacks such as slices of pizzette, mixed olives, pierino (an Italian version of croque monsieur), and grissini wrapped in Parma ham. Chef Andrea Cavaliere changes up the snacks menu daily. A new cocktail list includes the Nerone (Bombay Sapphire, Aperol, fresh grapefruit and blood orange juice), Campari Fizz (Campari, Junipero, grapefruit and lime juice), and Purple Rain (Veev, blueberries and ginger ale). Cocktails are $12 to $14. Free valet before 6 p.m. 8764 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, (310) 432-2000, www.cecconiswesthollywood.com.

Getting to know your ales: Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune will lead a craft beer class on Saturday afternoon at Rustic Canyon Winebar & Seasonal Kitchen in Santa Monica. The duo will discuss different styles of craft and artisanal beer, such as Belgian white ales and the porters of Britain -- "you'll learn your ales from your lagers ... and how to truly appreciate and discern a tasty brew." $40 per person. Rustic Canyon, 1119 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica. Tickets are available here (do not call the restaurant for reservations).

The cheese is flowing: At the Grilled Cheese Invitational on Saturday*, the Foundry on Melrose chef Eric Greenspan will be part of a grilled cheese cooking demo with Campanile chef Mark Peel and others. Greenspan's Grilled Cheese pop-up restaurant also will be a fixture this weekend at the annual cheese-sandwich fest. And, besides the amateur and pro grilled cheese contests, there will be a beer garden and a cheesy costume contest. Who's going as the Cantal? Noon to 6 p.m., Los Angeles Center Studios, 1201 W. 5th St., Los Angeles. $10 tickets available at www.grilledcheeseinvitational.com ($15 at the event).

Taking the meat out of Animal: Popular vegetarian chef Jeremy Fox -- formerly of Napa's Michelin-starred, earth-friendly restaurant / yoga studio, Ubuntu -- is scheduled to cook at the meaty headquarters of Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo's restaurant Animal. He'll be serving prix-fixe vegetarian menus paired with wine and beer from May 17 through May 23. The cost is $70, with an additional $35 or $70 for wine pairings. So put the pork down and pick up the phone to make a reservation, which we're told are not being taken until a month in advance of the night requested. 435 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A. (323) 782-9225, www.animalrestaurant.com.

-- Betty Hallock and Jessica Gelt

Photo: The bar at Cecconi's by Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times

*April 21, 4:15 p.m.: An earlier version of this post stated that the Grilled Cheese Invitational is on Sunday; it's on Saturday.

Valentino wine dinner; Ortolan's $40 spring tasting menu; Tweet-a-dish at BLD

"Sonoma in L.A.": A little of Sonoma comes to Santa Monica. At Valentino on Thursday, May 6, executive chef Nicola Chessa will pair his Italian cuisine with a variety of wines from the Russian River Valley. Here's the menu: stuzzichini of duck prosciutto and melon, arancine and crudo with Iron Horse sparkling wine; fregula and tuna salad with ginger-tarocco orange dressing served with Joseph Swan Chardonnay; rhubarb risotto with smoked pera and sage-scented spring vegetables with Inman Family Pinot Noir or Longboard Pinot Noir; quail "in porchetta" served with fennel, mushroom tortino and crispy potatoes with Papapietro Perry Pinot Noir or Joseph Swan Pinot Noir; and dolce al formaggio with Longboard Syrah or Joseph Swan Zinfandel. 6:30 p.m. reception; dinner is at 7 p.m. $100 per person. Call (310) 829-4313 or e-mail valentinoevents@aol.com for reservations. 3115 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, www.valentinorestaurantgroup.com.

Spring menu: What says spring like ... $40 for three courses? Chef-owner Christophe Eme at Ortolan today launches a $40 tasting menu, available Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for the next few weeks (it's an additional $20 for wine pairings). The three-course menu includes dishes such as a first course of marinated salmon with lemongrass sorbet, ginger and ponzu; a second course of lobster spaghetti with beef jus and white asparagus cream; and chocolate ganache with brownies and chocolate sorbet for dessert. Call (323) 653-3300 or e-mail admin@ortolanrestaurant.com for reservations. 8338 W. 3rd St., West Hollywood, www.ortolanrestaurant.com.

Tweet-a-dish: Tweet an idea for a dish to BLD's chef de cuisine, Diana Stavaridis, @BLDChefD. If she likes the sound of it and puts your dish on the menu as Thursday night's plat du jour, then you and a friend eat for free. Entries are due Thursday, April 15, by midnight for the following week's Thursday (April 22) special. 7450 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 930-9744, www.bldrestaurant.com. 

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: Valentino restaurant. Credit: Ringo H.W. Chiu/Los Angeles Times

 

Sona restaurant to close in May and reopen in a new location next year, says chef David Myers

Chef David Myers has announced that Sona, his Michelin one-star restaurant on La Cienega Boulevard, will close in May and reopen in a new location in 2011. Myers said contracts are being finalized for the new Sona space but would not reveal the location or details about the restaurant other than that he is working with designer Adam Tihany.

“Our lease is coming up here this year, and we have an opportunity to re-create, to do something new,” Myers said.

The announcement that Sona, which opened in 2002, is closing and then relocating comes about six months after Myers’ former partners pulled out of the fine-dining business. In September, Myers launched management company David Myers Group with new partners. Myers said the decision to move Sona was not directly related to the management upheaval or to the sour economy. “It was a new opportunity,” he repeated. “Companies evolve, restaurants evolve. Sona has always been about trying new things.”

Chef Laurent Tourondel leaves BLT Restaurant Group

Laurent Tourondel and his partner at BLT Restaurant Group have split. The company announced in a release that Tourondel is no longer involved in its wholly owned restaurants BLT Steak, Fish, Prime and Burger in New York City; BLT Steak in Los Angeles; and BLT Steak in Washington, D.C. They're part of the restaurant empire built on a concept of Americanized French cooking to which Tourondel lends his name (BLT stands for Bistro Laurent Tourondel).

“This has been a great run for me,” he says in the release.  “I am looking forward to staying involved in a handful of BLT restaurants while pursuing other culinary projects and new opportunities.”

The release said that Tourondel continues to oversee kitchen operations for all management license properties including 10 restaurants around the world in destinations such as Miami, Las Vegas, Scottsdale, Ariz., Atlanta, Honolulu and Hong Kong.

At BLT Steak in Los Angeles, which opened in late 2007, Brian Moyers' new title is executive chef. 

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times.

Bastide opens for dinner today: Here's the menu

Bastide, the on-again-off-again-on-again restaurant on Melrose Place, is now open for dinner. The restaurant-cum-bookstore (an Assouline book shop is located inside) has been serving lunch since December. Chef Joseph Mahon says he is "focusing on technique- and ingredient-driven food and flavor combinations that are traditional and refined and interpreted in our vision. We want it to be a touch more accessible than what it has been in the past. I hope people will feel at ease coming in."

There are steak frites, braised lamb shanks, roast chicken, sous vide salmon, tarts, soups, oysters, a selection of composed salads and crudo, Mahon says. "I love the yellowtail," he says. "The yellowtail is browned with brown butter, sliced thinly and marinated with white soy." 

Mahon will be blogging about dishes at his new website, www.chefjosephmahon.com. "I'll be updating three or four times a week, describing specials and dishes and stuff that's going on in the restaurant. With any types of special there's a picture with a short description."

For anyone hoping to spend Valentine's Day on the romantic patio at Bastide and doesn't already have a reservation for dinner, the restaurant is booked. "Valentine's is just one of those days," Mahon says. "Hopefully, we'll be as busy on other days."

8475 Melrose Place, West Hollywood, (323) 651-5950.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo of kampachi and watermelon dish by Joseph Mahon, from www.chefjosephmahon.com

SEE THE NEW MENU. 

Small Bites: Pizzeria Ortica's anniversary and buy-one-get-one-for-$1 cocktails; cassoulet at RH

Dollar cocktails: To celebrate its first anniversary this month, Pizzeria Ortica in Costa Mesa has launched a new cocktail program, dubbed 18A. Until Feb. 11, the restaurant will be running a month-long special: Anyone who buys one cocktail off the new cocktail menu will receive an additional cocktail for just $1 -- Pizzeria Ortica’s way of saying “thank you.” 650 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa, (714) 445-4900, www.pizzeriaortica.com.

Cassoulet days: Sebastien Archambault, executive chef at RH at Andaz West Hollywood, is offering his cassoulet – the slow-cooked white bean/pork/sausage/goose/duck casserole of southwestern France -- every Tuesday and Wednesday for both lunch and dinner. At lunch, choose a starter, a dessert or both to accompany the cassoulet entrée. (Three courses for $30; two courses for $23; cassoulet only is $20.)  At dinner, cassoulet is offered as a special for $22. Suggested wine pairing: Paige 23 Syrah, Santa Barbara 2004 ($16 a glass; $64 for a bottle). Through Feb. 25. 8401 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 785-6090. 

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: Chef Stephan Samson at Pizzeria Ortica. Credit: Christine Cotter / Christine Cotter

Agura is wild, whimsical -- and traditional

Los Angeles isn't a city known for its humble design schemes. That's why diners aren't fazed when they step off La Cienega  Boulevard and into a new restaurant called Agura, which features a sushi bar lorded over by a massive, golden Buddha statue.

This isn't the smiling, rotund variety of Buddha found on your grandma's kitsch shelf, either. It's a noble, beatific Buddha meant to reflect the serious nature of the space. Before its turn as a restaurant, the structure housing Agura was a church. Read more in Jessica Gelt's Early Bird look at Agura.

Photo credit: Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times

Your next pop-up restaurant: Bloody Bill's at Libertine. Plus, William Annesley to open Fatty's Cajun honky-tonk

"Everything I hunt, I cook nose-to-tail, and I butcher everything myself," British chef William Annesley proudly declares. Fitting for an avid hunter and cook who has cheerily branded himself as "Bloody Bill." Annesley has worked as a private chef for Gwen Stefani and Quentin Tarantino and spent three years running Pamplona Tapas Bar in Lafayette, La., but he's probably best known in Los Angeles for Tangier and Oasis. That may change if his pop-up restaurant and tentative reality show succeed.

The pop-up, named (what else?) Bloody Bill's, launches at West Hollywood nightclub Libertine on Dec. 17, takes a month-long hiatus and then returns for a six-week stint every Thursday beginning Jan. 14. Annesley's keeping the menu very free-form and market-based, but all of the dishes will be united by one thing: spice.(Twitter: @bloodybills)

"I think spice is underused in this country," Annesley says. "Spice has made empires rise and fall. It is the reason why cuisine is cuisine and why it has moved and changed and evolved. And I think spice has been drastically overlooked in many restaurants other than in Thai and Indian restaurants."

House is open on Beverly Boulevard

Breakfast-lunch-dinner spot House, in the former Pastis space on Beverly Boulevard, opened (softly, as they say, with some of the final touches still being applied) yesterday morning. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., the neighborhood restaurant's menu features a lot of pastas, salads and sandwiches, along with entrees such as carnitas tacos, lamb couscous and cote de boeuf for two. Breakfast options include huevos rancheros and Turkish breakfast. What's a Turkish breakfast? Here it's ekmek-ish bread, plain yogurt, heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers. Beers on tap currently are: St. Bernardus Abt 12; Alesmith Anvil Ale; Hop Head Red; Racer 5; and Allagash White. There is also plenty of wine. House is designed by owner Bruce Marder (Capo, Broadway Deli, Brentwood) and Dean Singer, but it doesn't really look like a house. It looks like, well, a restaurant.

8114 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; (323) 655-5553; www.housecafe.com.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo credit: Betty Hallock

More last-minute Thanksgiving options: Fraiche, Vermont, Agura, Oaks Gourmet, Kiss My Bundt

Last-minute bakery (for candied yams too): Kiss My Bundt will be open Thanksgiving Day so you can pick up side dishes such as candied yams, sweet potato souffle, sweet or savory cornbread and strawberry butter, and Big Ol' Bundts and mini and baby bundts for desserts. For pickup on Thanksgiving, the order deadline for side dishes and Big Ol' Bundts is Wednesday at 1 p.m. (Delivery also available). 8104 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles; (323) 655-0559; www.kissmybundt.net.

Thanksgiving at Fraiche: Fraiche will be serving family-style Thanksgiving with wood-fired mushroom salad or chestnut soup to start, followed by roasted turkey (or chicken), seared duck breast or flat-iron steak, served with mashed potatoes, stuffing, mac 'n' cheese, creamed spinach, green beans, glazed carrots and cranberry sauce. Pumpkin or apple pie for dessert. $35 per person. Noon to 8 p.m. 312 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 451-7482; www.fraicherestaurantla.com. (The Culver City location is closed Thanksgiving.)

Thanksgiving at Vermont: Order Thanksgiving a la carta at Vermont; choose from starters such as butternut squash soup, crab cakes or apple endive salad and mains such as organic roasted turkey, filet mignon, halibut or goat cheese and truffle ravioli. Pumpkin pie and apple tart are on the dessert menu. 1714 N. Vermont, Los Angeles; (323) 661-6163; www.vermontrestaurantonline.com.

It's a Turkey Plate: The Oaks Gourmet is offering a Thanksgiving Turkey Plate for $19, for take-out or dine-in: roasted turkey with foie gras gravy; sage and chestnut dressing; roasted brown butter yams; grilled Brussels sprouts with pancetta and shallots; truffle mashed potatoes; and a slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Wine pairings and a beer selection available. Pre-order or same-day service. 1915 N. Bronson Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 871-8894; www.theoaksgourmet.com.

Turkey teriyaki rolls!?! Agura is offering a "Japanese-inspired" Thanksgiving feast. For $12, you can get roasted turkey breast with grilled vegetables and ginger-flavored Madeira wine sauce. The restaurant also has created a special teriyaki turkey roll (only in L.A. ... ) for $8. 514 N. La Cienega Blvd., Hollywood; (310) 289-1940; www.aguradining.com.

-- Betty Hallock

For a complete list of Thanksgiving to-go and dine-in options, click here.

Photo: Kiss My Bundt