By far the standout food items at the event were the drinks. The arugula gimlet, made with gin, lime, agave and micro arugula, was not only gorgeous but also very, very tasty — and I don’t like gin.

This photo was taken after I had been drinking it for a while; the micro arugula was originally sitting on top

While I missed the Manhattan made with shiitake mushroom-infused bourbon, which frankly I wasn’t too keen on trying anyway, I did also enjoy the Last Tango in Modena, made with gin, muddled strawberries, balsamic vinegar and St. Germain foam. This was an intensely flavorful drink. I wanted the foam to stick around a little longer as it melted pretty quickly, but other than that, it’s definitely a drink I would order at Library Bar.

It's almost a meal on its own.

My other favorite of the night was the mini burger courtesy of 25 Degrees. This is kind of a given because it’s well known that 25 Degrees has one of the best burgers in town, but it’s still worth mentioning. Looking back at my photos from that night, I realize that more than one version was served at the party — a traditional one with some kind of tasty sauce, and one with a spicy guacamole and bacon. Both were great.

Traditional-style mini burger

Dine L.A. also debuted its research project, the L.A. Chef Family Tree, which features an interactive map of the interconnectedness of L.A.’s chefs. If you want to see where a particular chef has worked before or which chefs have worked together, this is the place to find out.

So for this Restaurant Week, several new restaurants have joined the bandwagon, including Eva, Il Grano, Cecconi’s, Joe’s Restaurant, Jar and Ortolan. Prix fixe lunches range from $16 to $28, and dinners range from $26 to $44.

And from Jan. 18 to Jan. 22, Dine L.A. is giving away $100 gift cards to a featured restaurant, which ostensibly you can use during Restaurant Week. All you have to do is answer a trivia question to enter to win.

Pork belly slider at Petrossian

Petrossian: This West Hollywood restaurant and market is offering a special six-course prix fixe menu and a champagne and caviar toast in two seatings, one at 6:00 p.m. and another at 9:00 p.m. The first seating, at $95 per person, will feature blinis, hand-sliced smoked salmon, foie gras terrine, seared scallops, prime beef filet mignon and vanilla panna cotta. The second seating, at $125 per person, will feature the same menu except a traditional caviar presentation with 12 grams of domestic, sustainable Transmontanus caviar will be served in place of the blinis.

Vertical Wine Bistro: This Pasadena eatery and wine bar is offering two dinner seatings for New Year’s Eve. The first seating at 6:00 p.m. will feature the regular dining menu, and the 8:00 p.m. seating will be a five-course prix fixe meal, including a cheese course and dessert, for $65 per person. There’s also the option of basic wine pairings for another $65 per person or deluxe wine pairings for $125 per person by wine expert David Haskell. After dinner there will be a party in the restaurant’s bar and lounge area from 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. for $20 at the door and $35 to reserve a seat in the bar and lounge.

Dakota Chop House: The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel’s Dakota Chop House is hosting dinner, as well as a live band, dancing, midnight countdown and champagne toast. There will be two seatings, one from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. that will feature a three-course meal for $75 per person including braised young artichoke salad, osso bucco and spumoni millefoglie, and a second one from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. for $125 per person including veal cheek ravioli, rabbit and taglitelle with lamb ragu.

Further reading: e*starLA has a great list of New Year’s Eve dinners, too.

Annenberg Beach House. From the beach house's Flickr stream.

The Annenberg Beach House opens this weekend in Santa Monica. The former estate of William Randolph Hearst opens to the public after two years of renovation and includes a pool and event space. No membership is required, but there are fees for entry and parking. Reservations are recommended. More at CurbedLA.

• Starting April 28, Dakota Chop House at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel will be offering a weekly BLT night “featuring specialty bacons from artisanal smokehouses,” per the press release. You can build your own bacon creation or choose from the resto’s creations, which include pizza, pasta and burgers in addition to the traditional sandwich. Maybe Dakota is jumping on Animal’s popularity? A bacon chocolate bar doesn’t sound appetizing to me, but to each his own.

• “Top Chef” season 5 contestants Fabio Viviani and Stefan Richter will be competing in a cook off at The Grove May 20. Grove restaurants will also be having their own cooking demonstrations and offering samples. The event is free, but you need to RSVP with Los Angeles magazine, which is co-hosting the event.