Eater Inside: Brix @1601

Consider this a little preview Inside for Brix@1601 at the Hermosa Pavilion. Hermosa developer Gene Shook opens the 10,000-square-foot space, all leather, stone, brick, vaulted ceilings, on Monday, April 21. The crew is full of recognizable names: chef Michael McDonald, most recently exec chef of the Roosevelt Hotel; GM Francois Xavier Ghys, who's done time at L’Orangerie, Spago, and Le Bernandin and Aureole in NYC; sommelier Caitlin Stansbury, most recently at The Lodge (although we swear she served us our wine at Bastide early on); and pastry chef Renee Ward from Las Vegas. The menu sounds seasonal, West Coast sensibilities (Dungeness crab salad, braised oxtail sandwich, veal chop with cauliflower gratin) with more than 300 wines on the list. A standalone wine retail store, Brixwine, will also debut on Monday. Hey, look, some early Plywood.