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The opening of the new Santa Monica Place mall has been exciting for those of us who knew the old, tired mall that stood in its place years ago. Perhaps some of the most exciting parts have been the new food options, some of which are entirely new to Los Angeles. La Sandia and Zengo from chef Richard Sandoval are two of those new restaurants.

I was invited to try out the food and drink at both places last week, and I came away from the experience pleasantly surprised. These restaurants — the Mexican La Sandia and the Latin-Asian fusion Zengo — are nicer than your usual mall joints, with some pretty respectable cocktails, too.

We started out with cocktails and appetizers at La Sandia. My favorite drink was the cucumber-serrano martini made with mezcal, cucumber, serrano chili, citrus and chili piquin salt on the rim. I love spicy hotness as well as cucumber in my drinks, so this was the prefect combination. I also really enjoyed the shrimp quesadillas made with shrimp, Mexican cheeses, black bean puree, chipotle aioli and topped with crema and avocado. So tasty!

La Sandia cocktails

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First & Hope, the gorgeous supper club in the not-so-gorgeous strip mall at the corner of 1st and Hope streets (clever, huh?) in downtown Los Angeles, certainly has lots of style. From the mood-changing lighting in the sleek dining room to the servers outfitted by “Mad Men” assistant costume designer Allison Leach, the restaurant screams class. I just wish the food spoke as loudly to me — in a good way.

I had visited First & Hope once before during its preview night when the atmosphere was close to mayhem. It was very crowded, and while the servers did their best, it was hard to get a good idea of what the food and drink should have been like.

So when presented with an invitation to have dinner at the restaurant under normal circumstances, I decided I would give the place another chance. I would have a proper meal and make a better-informed decision about First & Hope’s merits.

And I’ve made my decision: I would only come back here for one, maybe two, dishes.

You see, the menu sounds good; it reads like a food blogger’s wet dream, with foie gras, bacon and pork rinds littered all over its comfort food-centric offerings. But First & Hope leaves much to be desired in execution.

First, the cocktails. Nearly every one contains some kind of bubbly, no doubt an homage to the vintage style. I get it, but I thought the drinks were just OK, which was pretty much my summation after the preview party, too. I had an Elle for Leather, made with Famous Grouse scotch, vanilla syrup, “a touch of effervescence” and garnished with a vanilla pod. It smelled amazing due to the vanilla pod but tasted light on the scotch.

Elle for Leather. There's a blue tint because of the mood lighting.

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I’ve been into Oaxacan Mexican food lately, so when I was invited to dinner at Guelaguetza with owner Bricia Lopez, who also owns the uber-tasty Cemitas y Clayudas Pal Cabron, I jumped at the chance. I had been to Guelaguetza once before, and mostly what I remembered was the awesome band that played that night in the restaurant. So I was glad to have someone who knew her way around the menu to guide me through dinner.

Oaxacan-style Mexican food is different from the kind of Mexican food most people are used to, i.e., tacos and burritos served with salsa and refried beans. Oaxacan food is all about the mole, that thick sauce made from chilis, bread, chocolate and all kinds of other good stuff, and Guelaguetza serves all kinds. My favorite was a lighter one made with almonds (sorry, didn’t catch the name).

There are three locations of the restaurant, the original on 8th Street in Koreatown, one on Olympic Boulevard also in K-Town and one in Lynwood. We ate at the one on Olympic, which is a large space complete with larder area up front, a fountain in the middle and two areas for live music. Your meals here start with an appetizer of tortilla chips topped with mole and queso fresco.

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The second installment of Michel Dozois’ Nights with Névé pop-up cocktail series, featuring the ice cubes of his company, Névé Luxury Ice, was held at Osteria La Buca. If you’re not in-the-know, Névé makes ice cubes that are much larger than what most people are used to seeing because the greater surface area of the cube allows the ice to melt much slower, making a better and much-less-diluted drink overall. And they look cool.

There were four tasty cocktails presented this night, two from Dozois and two from Steve Livigni of La Descarga. Even though I liked Livigni’s The Eloper, made with Dimmi (an herbal and fruit flower liqueur), vodka, lemon juice, cantaloupe puree, prosecco and a prosciutto garnish, my favorites of the night were the other Livigni creation, The Silenzio Dolce, and one of Dozois’ drinks, the Italian Stallion.

The Eloper

The Silenzio Dolce is made from Zaya rum, Averna Amaro (an herbal liqueur), blood orange juice and Nocello walnut liqueur with a sugar rim and blood orange rind garnish. The drink was sweet but not overly so, making it a nice after-dinner drink. Dozois’ I Luv Lucy made with Carpano Antica sweet vermouth, whiskey, lemon juice and egg whites was another sweet drink, but egg whites aren’t really my thing (at least not in my cocktails).

The Silenzio Dolce, nearly finished

The Italian Stallion made with scotch, Carpano Antica and Cynar, Italian bitters made from 13 herbs and plants. This drink had an earthy flavor from the Cynar, which I liked a lot. I would tell you about the Osteria La Buca appetizers that were passed around, such as the squash blossom pizza, but I had a lot to drink that night and can’t remember what else we ate. Hoo-ah!

Read more about the event at Thirsty In L.A., Eating L.A., Food GPS and Caroline on Crack.

The downtown location of Chaya, a Japanese-French brasserie mini chain, has recently launched a weekly beer garden menu available on its patio every Monday night throughout the summer. This is a once-a-week special menu offered in addition to its everyday happy hour menu, both of which are available all night from 5:00 p.m. to close. Not too shabby!

The beer garden menu features yakitori skewers ($2 each) grilled on the patio on new hibachis and include chicken, short rib, beef tongue, shrimp and shiitake mushrooms. I was recently invited by the restaurant to try the new skewers, and I liked the chicken the best, which shows mastery in grilling skills, I’d say. All the others were good, too, though the shiitake were a bit dry for my taste. Maybe top them with some of that teriyaki or chimichurri sauce that come on the other skewers?

Yakitori, from top: shrimp, beef tongue, shiitake, short rib and chicken

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Gin Gin Mule

The Tar Pit, the much-anticipated new bar and restaurant from chef Mark Peel and general manager Jay Perrin, both of Campanile fame, and noted mixologist Audrey Saunders of Pegu Club in New York, made its debut late last week, and what a debut it was. From the 1940s art moderne decor (the simpler version of art deco) to the era-appropriate food and drink, The Tar Pit is a nice respite from the dark, often cramped, speakeasy style that has been popular among bars lately.

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The Liquid Muse (center) at Bar Keeper

…What? You thought absinthe, that storied liquor that made Picasso cut off his own ear, made people go nuts? Well, you can rest assured that absinthe does not make you crazy. I know, because I had some and lived to tell about it, right here, right now on this very blog.

I had this absinthe courtesy of The Liquid Muse Cocktail Club, which I’ve blogged about before, at Bar Keeper in Silver Lake. This was a great event — fun, informative, and in the coolest location. This meeting of the club was sponsored by Lucid absinthe and came with its own absinthe expert, who explained the origins of the liquor and its infamy. Apparently, you have to drink a ton of the stuff to “go crazy,” and it was banned because the wine industry didn’t want the competition, not because it was dangerous. So there you have it. Now that absinthe has been un-banned, you can enjoy the liquor made from sugar beets, fennel, anise and grand wormwood any time you want.

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Oh, Water Grill. I’ve only been there twice, but what two awesomely lovely meals they were. Every restaurant should strive to be described as “awesomely lovely,” and Water Grill lives up to this term that I just coined.

This downtown mainstay is classic, elegant dining at its best, but without the pretentiousness that can easily accompany such a description. So what you get is a consistently great meal with an inviting, friendly atmosphere that’s hard to beat.

My first meal at Water Grill took place a couple of years ago in the form of a business lunch (‘cuz that’s how I roll). I remember having a vegetarian dish with eggplant, and while it probably wasn’t what I was “supposed” to order at a place that specializes in seafood, it was delicious. I cleaned my plate!

This second trip to Water Grill came at the invitation of the restaurant to try out its Sunday clam bake dinner. Based on my first experience, I expected great things, and I wasn’t disappointed.

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I must have walked by Morels at The Grove countless times and barely gave it a second look. I mean, just look at its name: Morels French Steakhouse & Bistro. It just sounds so hoity toity and not exactly my cup of tea. So when Morels invited a bunch of food bloggers (including Esther of e*starLA and Matt of Dig Lounge) and writers for a tasting meal, I figured I might as well try it since I haven’t been in the seven or so years since The Grove opened. And I was right; the restaurant is fancy but not prohibitively so, though some of the prices are pretty high.

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Yes, that's a tree in the middle of the dining room. It's kind of awkward but pretty.

I’ve had a hard time lately with eating out. Not because I don’t like to eat — obviously I do — but because it’s been a while since I’ve really been wowed by a meal. Sure, I’ve had great parts of meals, but an entire meal that’s knock-your-socks-off good is hard to come by.

So when a bunch of us foodies (Esther of e*starLA, Caroline of Caroline on Crack, Diana of Diana Takes a Bite, and Lindsay and Sam of LAist) got together for a leisurely Sunday brunch — on our own dime, thank you very much — at Tavern in Brentwood, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had high expectations because I had heard good things about this latest Goin-Styne collaboration, but I was also afraid it was going to be all hype.

Hype it’s not. Tavern, at least its brunch menu, is amazing. I truly enjoyed this meal.

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