Silver Lake’s Black Cat is back with D.J. Olsen in the kitchen

Silver Lake’s Black Cat, once the home of the one of the best bilingual drag shows in Southern California, now the home of former Lou Wine Bar chef D.J. Olsen, is open for business.

Black Cat is in the same Sunset Junction building and shares its name with the historical Los Angeles gay bar that was the site of one of the first public demonstrations by lesbian, gay and transgender protesters in 1967. It preceded the better-known demonstrations at New York’s Stonewall Inn by more than two years. The building was declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 2008. More recently, it was home to El Barcito, which was well known for its drag shows.

This new Black Cat is a project from the same team that is behind the popular Village Idiot bar on Melrose Avenue. Olsen earlier described the theme of the place as: “a New York-style tavern, a neighborhood joint full of great libations and my seasonal, market-driven cooking.”

Olsen’s dinner menu includes house-made charcuterie, braised beef cheek tacos, fall vegetable lasagnette, and chicken leg confit. Desserts by Dominique Cancio include a quince tart with drunken cranberries. Lunch will mostly revolve around sandwiches. [UPDATED: the article originally spelled Cancio’s name Cancia.]

3909 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 661-6369. www.theblackcatla.com

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