MALIBU: You know a wine bar is in Malibu when it serves two-ounce pours of Screaming Eagle for $115. John Selman from Malibu Village Wines opens Barrel Malibu tonight in the Malibu Colony Plaza (in the former Champagne Bakery space). There are around 50 wines in the Enomatic tasting system (pour your own two-ounce tastes and it all gets tallied up on a card), and at least another 50 offered by the glass at the bar. Cheese and charcuterie from Beverly Hills Cheese store, but a larger menu will be added once "things smooth out." This is casual wine tasting for people who don't want to break into their own cult wine reserves (think: Harlan, Kistler, Sine Qua Non, L’Aventure, Sassiccaia, Screaming Eagle), but wines the rest of us can afford are offered as well. [23715 Malibu Rd., 310.456.8777]
CULVER CITY: From a reader earlier this week: "The Point appears to be open...just drove by it today and folks were sitting on the patio and seemed to be eating. Didn't get more than a quick look, but can't wait to go try it out!" Yes, The Point opened on October 8 as planned. It's a new gourmet take-and-go from Vicki Fan and Kazuto Matsusaka from Beacon. There was a website but before we could look, the Hounds bitched loud and clear (shocking) and it has since been taken down. We love bad website design; too bad we missed it. [8522 National Blvd., 310.836.8400]
