Barrel & Ashes, Friday 12 p.m.

The perfect way to spend a sunny Friday lunch in Los Angeles

One of LA's essential barbecue restaurants, Barrel & Ashes opened under the direction of Timothy Hollingsworth, Rory Hermann, and Michael Kahikina a few years ago along Ventura Blvd in Studio City. In a way, its opening helped presage the greater development of this stretch of the lower Valley as one of LA's best dining neighborhoods. As the trio came from a fine dining background, they embraced American barbecue through the lens of a white table-cloth restaurant. The results, which are are carefully thought as an upscale place, are decided casual, with wooden bare tables, high bar-stools, and an inventive cocktail menu. Take a look around during a recent sunny afternoon.