CHECK, PLEASE!
Horses Gallops Into Hollywood
Horses is the latest incarnation of the historic Sunset Boulevard space where Ye Coach & Horses was stabled for years before becoming the Pikey. It’s been totally transformed since Quentin Tarantino and Tim Roth legendarily scribbled scenes for “Pulp Fiction” on cocktail napkins there. Color-saturated canvases from artist Kacper Abolik warm up the space, which has the cozy feel of a European bistro. Chefs Will Aghajanian, of Per Se, and Liz Johnson, who won ac claim a tl. a.’ s haute deli Freedman’s, envision Horses as a “new restaurant with old values,” according to Johnson, with homey dishes reminiscent of the sunny south of France. The compact menu focuses on drink-friendly offerings like iced oysters, smoked salmon lavash, butcher’s steak grilled over vine cuttings or a burger and fries. Aghajanian and Johnson are particularly fond of the Cornish hen with dandelion panzanella, the Horses Caesar salad and the sobrassada panino, but don’t sleep on the sheep’s milk cheesecake either. Terence Leavey, formerly of Spago and Vespertine, oversees a beverage program that leans into classic cocktails with luxe twists, like the Vesper martini with fig-infused gin or a Black Manhattan with Cynar. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles
L.A.’S First Non-alcoholic Bottle Shop Opens
The brand-new Soft Spirits in Silver Lake is the first shop in Los Angeles dedicated to showcasing the fast-growing category of non-alcoholic spirits. Owner Jillian Barkley started out cataloging this burgeoning area on her Instagram page, but the products were hard to track down, so she took matters into her own hands to serve customers who don’t imbibe but still want fun and flavorful options. The store features products like Three Spirit functional elixirs, Optimist Botanicals, Acid League’s wine-like beverages, Töst sparkling drinks, Brooklyn Brewery non-alcoholic beer and Monday alcohol-free gin.
½ Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles