Months-Old Virgil Village Option Melody Drops Food in Favor of More Wine

New directions

Eleven-month-old Virgil Village restaurant Melody is switching gears, dropping its focus on food in favor of wine and wine only. As of last Friday Melody is now operating as a standalone wine bar only, with the kitchen being used mostly for pop-ups and a very scaled-back bar menu. That means no reservations, no big-ticket entrees, just casual patio drinking seven nights a week moving forward.

Where the best stuff is

Some of LA’s best chefs talk to LA Magazine about their favorite taco spots, ranging from Tire Shop Taqueria to El Chato on La Brea to Ricky’s Fish Taco, a favorite of Vartan Abgaryan from 71Above.

In the building

Things got busy at Craft last week, where apparently Tom Colicchio was around and hanging out with former Vice President Joe Biden. Check out the shot of them in action.

Wines by area

Los Angeles Confidential takes a look at different LA neighborhoods as represented by wine. The playful take comes from Good Measure’s Matthew Kaner, and offers comparisons like West Hollywood being chardonnay, Venice being barolo, and Santa Monica being sparkling rose.

The Spanish connection

The LA Times has not publicly announced any new restaurant critic hires since the death of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jonathan Gold, but that isn’t stopping the paper from offering early takes on some of the city’s hottest new restaurants. Case in point: A new First Bite segment on Otoño, the modern Spanish spot now open in Highland Park.

The fall collection

Jon & Vinny are collaborating with McConnell’s on a new fall flavor: Mapled squash and ginger cookie. Yes, that’s roasted squash with maple syrup combined with zippy ginger cookies, all folded into some Central Coast ice cream and available for a limited time at McConnell’s locations as well as Son of a Gun.

It’s gone

It looks like Two Boots Pizza has closed in Downtown, ending a six-year run for the restaurant. The closing note, posted below, does hint at another location somewhere else in the near future, though.