Hipper, happier hours
Some of L.A.’s finest restaurants are putting the happy back in happy hour with sophisticated menus of appetizers, sandwiches -- even desserts -- for drop-in, no-reservations, just-after-work dining. Hours and setups vary, but most offer a special menu of low-priced small-plate selections -- the same-quality food that’s on the menu at higher prices a few hours later -- and some drink specials.
At Rockenwagner in Santa Monica, for instance, happy hour is Sunday to Friday from 5:30 to 7 p.m., and the menu is available at tables in the lounge and on the patio. There’s a martini of the day (lemon drop Skyy, for example), a cocktail of the day (Cape Cods, margaritas) and a glass of wine of the day, all priced at $6. The small-plates menu consists of eight items, from a chicken hazelnut salad to a pretzel burger or ahi sandwich on brioche, all priced at $5.
Chaya Venice’s daily 5 to 7 p.m. happy hour menu focuses on sushi and other Japanese specialties such as scallop dynamite, all priced at $3 to $4 (scallop dynamite is $8.50 on the regular menu). At Pinot Hollywood, the happy hour burger ($5) is virtually the same as the regular and is available Monday through Friday, 5 to 8 p.m., along with dishes like short rib empanadas ($4) and drinks like a dirty vodka martini ($5) or the Peach Pit (vodka and rum with fresh juices, $4).
Other popular happy hour menus include Border Grill’s, offered weeknights 4 to 7 p.m. as well as after 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. A variety of $3 bocaditos, or small bites like plantain empanadas and baby back ribs with honey-cumin glaze, are served with drink specials such as $3 margaritas. At Alto Palato, several thin-crust pizzas featured on the regular menu -- smoked salmon and goat cheese or prosciutto and arugula, for example -- are offered at half price ($6.95) during Tuesday through Friday happy hour, 6 to 8 p.m. Beverage bargains include half a dozen cocktails such as Negronis and Cosmopolitans priced at $3.95.
Tantra, an Indian restaurant in Silver Lake, added a Tuesday-through-Sunday happy hour last week called Five & Five@Five. Five appetizers -- including chicken tikka, and tofu and spinach samosas -- are offered with five “creative cocktails” such as the Goan Lagoon (vodka, blue Curacao and lemon juice), all priced at $5 from 5 to 7 p.m.
Happy hours can sometimes have a coach versus first-class feeling, with less attentive service and strictly enforced cutoff times for ordering. On the other hand, when two people can feast at Rockenwagner on baby lettuce salad, fish and chips and poached meringue with strawberry anglaise and a couple of martinis for $27, life is good. And the night is still young.
-- Leslee Komaiko
Small bites
* Norman’s at Sunset Millennium, the much-anticipated restaurant from Florida chef Norman Van Aken, is open for dinner and begins serving lunch in a few weeks. According to Aken, “Latin flavors dominate the menu, and there are elements of Asia.” The executive chef is Craig Petrella, who cooked at the original Norman’s in Miami for six years, but Aken says he will be spending time in the kitchen.
Norman’s, 8570 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 657-2400.
* Lincoln Steakhouse Americana has opened in the Santa Monica space that was briefly home to Rooke’s. Owner John Baydale calls it “a hipper, more contemporary environment. It’s not an old gentleman’s type steakhouse.” In addition to beef, chef James Grey, longtime chef at the now shuttered Les Deux Cafe, is offering an array of seafood. KWID, the design firm responsible for the Viceroy and Maison 140, did the interior.
Lincoln Steakhouse Americana, 2460 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 828-3304.
* Paul Devitt, the guy behind Hollywood’s Beauty Bar and Star Shoes, has teamed up with Chris Weitz and Johnny Nixon to open Tokio, a Japanese restaurant and lounge, in the same neighborhood. Located in the former Catalina Bar & Grill space, Tokio will feature DJs and other live entertainment.
Tokio, 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 464-2065.