Matthew Biancaniello’s ‘omakase’ drinks, Playa Provisions’ $2 oysters, soba workshop

Mixologist Matthew Biancaniello will be making omakase-style drinks in the Cook’s Garden on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice. The tastings will take place in the actual garden on Wednesday nights from 6 to 9 p.m., starting Oct. 8 until mid-December. Communal picnic tables will seat 25 people a night. A special menu of accompanying small bites will be provided by chef Govind Armstrong’s Willie Jane: mini pimento grilled cheese; brisket stack with garden pickles; smoked river trout tea sandwiches with herb butter and radish; and shrimp cakes with golden beet tartare. Tickets, available online, are $56 and include two drinks plus small bites. Each additional drink is $15.

It’s fall, which means it’s time to eat a lot of oysters. Playa Provisions, the four-in-one restaurant from chef Brooke Williamson, is offering a $2 oyster special twice a week on its Dockside menu. The specially priced oysters are available all day Sundays and Wednesdays. (Playa Provisions is four distinct eateries inside a 7,000-square-foot space in Playa Del Rey: Small Batch, an ice cream shop featuring house-made ice creams and desserts; King Beach, a market counter serving seasonal salads and gourmet sandwiches; Dockside, a high-end dining space dedicated to seafood; and Grain, an intimate whiskey bar.) 119 Culver Blvd., Playa del Rey, (310) 683-5019, www.playaprovisions.com.

On Sunday, cooking instructor Sonoko Sakai will lead a Japanese market tour and hands-on soba workshop. Meet Sakai at Nijiya market in Little Tokyo at 9:30 a.m. to pick up Japanese groceries for the workshop. She’ll walk you through the aisles and answer any questions you may have about Japanese groceries. Afterward, at her home in Highland Park, make soba (Japanese buckwheat) noodles -- two cold noodle dishes with Japanese herbs and pecan sauce and hot soba with duck and fall vegetables in a soy bonito broth. $85 per person. A vegetarian option is available. You will take home noodles and sauces. Market tour (124 Japanese Village Plaza Mall, Los Angeles), 9:30 to 10 a.m.; workshop (address will be provided upon registration), 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Email sonokosakai@gmail.com to register.