S. Irene Virbila for The Times

Across the Table: Making Sichuan wontons and pearly meatballs is a fun way to spend an afternoon with friends. The work is convivial, and the outcome is delicious.

Wine of the Week: The 2011 Caprili Rosso di Montalcino is the perfect food wine. A beauty.

Critic’s Choice: République, Plan Check and Bouchon Beverly Hills have delicious rotisserie or fried chicken.

Across the Table: The ‘mixed boiled meats’ dish made with beef parts is festive and boasts a clarity of taste when mixed with sauces and fine wine.

Wine of the Week: 2012 Stolpman Vineyards ‘La Cuadrilla’ red wine

Critic’s Choice: Sometimes a chop or a rasher just won’t sate that pork craving. That’s when these three spots become the place to pig out.

Critic’s Choice: Josie Restaurant, Patina at Disney Hall and Saddle Peak Lodge are there to indulge your hankering for wild boar, elk, quail and other manner of game.

This Txakolina from the Spanish Basque country is crisp and aromatic and pairs well with crudo, grilled fish and chilled seafood platters. One sip, and you’ll be hooked.

With less stress for all and easygoing meals stretching into the evening, is it time to ditch the dinner party?

Wine of the Week: The 2011 Valpolicella Classico Ripasso from David Sterza winery in Fumane, Italy, is wonderful everyday wine for less than $20.

Critic’s Choice: Whether you fall in the freshly made camp or the dried, here are some L.A. eateries doing right by their pastas.

Wine of the Week. The 2012 McKinlay Pinot Noir is a silky gift from a small Oregon winery.

Across the Table: For lunch at Bodegas Muga, Juan Muga’s pairings include 2012 Muga Blanco with white asparagus, 2005 Prado Enea ‘Gran Reserva’ with baby lamb chops.

Critic’s Choice: When planning a cozy dinner for two, three Los Angeles restaurants stand out on the list: Acabar, Barbrix and Orsa & Winston.

With many of the top names in Champagne produced by conglomerates, there’s a rising market for grower Champagnes, which offer a different experience and mostly lower prices. They’re worth seeking out.

Special bottles of wine have been stacking up. It’s time to use them, plus, you’d enjoy a quiet dinner with friends. So make the wine the centerpiece and build around it.

Wine of the Week: The 2010 Venus la Universal ‘Dido’ Montsant tinto is elegant and balanced, with a lush finish.

Critic’s Choice: Bucato, Girasol and Farmshop are three L.A. restaurants that know how to do brunch right, which can be a lifesaver when you have houseguests.

Across the Table: The trend toward flying plates as diners engage in the ‘foodie pass’ at restaurants takes away the pleasure of ordering your own choice and not having to share.

Critic’s Choice: Smoke is a versatile tool for the savvy chef. Three Los Angeles-area restaurants that use it well: Hinoki & the Bird, Barney Greengrass and Horse Thief BBQ.

Across the Table: Although last century’s fashion favored French wines, California’s similar climate to Italy has some vineyard owners considering a change.

Critic’s Choice: Pancakes are an American comfort food favorite. Three L.A. eateries offer terrific examples: Cooks County, Valerie and Axe.

Across the Table: With so many ways to buy so many wines, a good wine shop can be your greatest resource.

Critic’s Choice: Spago, Lucques and Bar Bouchon excel at bar food

Across the Table: Bonny Doon’s Randall Grahm bites into the cider trend, with a French twist.

Critic’s Choice: For those who love corn, creative dishes at Tar & Roses, Gjelina and Cliff’s Edge let you savor a summer flavor.

Across the Table: Bottarga, a taste once acquired, used to be worth smuggling back from Italy. Now that it’s more available, it’s worth seeking out, especially for spaghetti alla bottarga.

Critic’s Choice: Il Grano and Lucques in L.A. and Marché Moderne in Costa Mesa are among area restaurants that can indulge a fresh tomato craving.

Across the Table: The Basques swear by Txakoli wine with all seafood, and it pairs particularly well with salt-cured anchovies.

There’s an art to putting together the perfect plate of handcrafted salami, prosciutto, smoked ham and more. Expert advice on selection, slicing and display.

Richard Geoffroy has been the chef de cave for the prestige French Champagne Dom Pérignon for more than two decades.

Those wine lists at restaurants can be confusing. Here’s how to cut through the clutter and choose a great wine.

Périgord, France, many years ago: I sit at the oilcloth-covered table, watching the bee climb in and out of the jam jar as I listen to its buzz.

There’s nothing more freeing for a seasoned cook than a recipe that assumes knowledge. Elizabeth David guides simply, Edouard de Pomiane cuts to the quick and Patience Gray focuses on essentials.

Who wouldn’t say yes?

Covenant Wines makes kosher wines that have gotten strong reviews from Robert Parker and Wine Spectator. How did it come about? Jeff Morgan and Leslie Rudd of Rudd Vineyards put their know-how and hopes to the test.

Buying groceries at specialty shops à la the French isn’t supermarket-simple, but the quality of food and the sheer joy of discovery have their own rewards.

I’m not one to make a gazillion New Year’s resolutions. I’ve faltered too many times.

Evan Kleiman pie tips, Mario Batali’s Italian recipes, a master cocktail course from two New York mixologists and more apps from The Times’ S. Irene Virbila.

Hans Reisetbauer is known for intense, flavorful schnapps. His Blue Gin has also earned high praise.

Six dinner parties to host in a week? It’s a delicious rush.

When chefs have the chance to get away, they savor the experience – and learn from it.

The new restaurant from Patina alum Bernhard Mairinger fills a culinary vacancy. Lard on pretzels, anyone?

The downtown L.A. restaurant reopened in January after a $1.5 million redo with a new look, new menu and new chef. Highlights include the raw bar, fish ‘n’ chips and Dungeness crab.

The new burger spot near the original Farmers Market offers well-executed comfort food and a full bar in a relaxed, rustic setting, and it’s open late to boot.

The restaurant in the old Il Buco space offers an authentic take on Italian food in an intimate setting with a smart look and some of the players who once made Alto Palato a success.

The atmosphere is energetic, the service is friendly and caring, and the food at this gastropub goes beyond the typical. It’s a great place for meeting friends.

Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air gives the hotel a serious restaurant and the chef an ideal California spot.

Polished French cooking in a relaxed setting with reasonable prices sets Santos Uy’s new Hollywood Hills eatery apart.

Ink, a new restaurant by ‘Top Chef’ champion Michael Voltaggio, features cutting-edge cuisine that is exciting and very much the chef’s unique vision.

At Bäco Mercat in downtown Los Angeles, Josef Centeno’s ever-changing, quirky menu makes it easy to get carried away.

Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo of Animal open a friendly, inexpensive seafood joint on 3rd Street.

Following the success of Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles, a version opens in Newport Beach. The menu is nearly identical, but the atmosphere is different.

Nicola Mastronardi of Vincenti opens a new place where pizza is available every day it’s open. But the ambitious menu goes far beyond pizza.

The Strand House in Manhattan Beach aspires to inject some Hollywood hip into the laid-back beach culture of the South Bay.

Bryant Ng, once chef de cuisine at Pizzeria Mozza, is cooking up tantalizing contemporary Asian fare at his new Vietnamese-Singaporean restaurant in Little Tokyo.

Thierry Perez’s L’Epicerie Market in Culver City started out unfocused, but with the addition of Sébastien Archambault and his flavorful, laid-back southwest French cooking, the dishes are improving.

Chef Ricardo Zarate’s latest boasts innovative, robust Peruvian food and a lively atmosphere to match.

Studio City’s new Italian restaurant isn’t the average neighborhood dining spot. With authentically fresh pastas and the personable chef-owner making the rounds, Ombra seems to have lasting power.

Three’s a charmer as a new Hungry Cat curls up in Santa Monica Canyon with excellent seafood in a simply designed space and ocean views.

It could break the mold for L.A. Italian restaurants with its southern emphasis. The pizza and regional meat dishes deliver, but the handmade pasta needs improvement.

John Sedlar combines an inventive menu with artful presentation.

Father’s Office chef-owner Sang Yoon’s new Asian restaurant does much right, including short ribs, but it needs to improve its rice and noodles.

With Kris Morningstar’s ambitious tinkering in the kitchen and a view of the Resnick Pavilion, the new Patina Group project at LACMA is a feast for the senses.

One is a carnivore’s haven, with some succulent twists. The other offers playful reinterpretations of English dishes savored through the centuries. Together, they make London the world’s most exciting place to eat.

Hostaria del Piccolo combines the feel of a contemporary Italian restaurant in the mountains with well-done authentic dishes.

Craig Susser ensures that visitors famous and otherwise feel comfortable at the old-school-style party he’s throwing at his new restaurant. But where’s the attention to the food?

Tim Goodell’s Public Kitchen & Bar in the Hollywood Roosevelt serves classic American fare with bright flavors in an unfussy setting with some Hollywood stardust tossed in.

Michael Cardenas and chef Hisaharu Kawabe deliver izakaya (Japanese pub fare) in a lively space in Little Tokyo.

The menu features many popular L.A. dishes, but chef Ben Bailly hasn’t yet put his signature on them.

Julienne in Santa Barbara is a small American bistro with house-made charcuterie and pasta and other delicious fare. The simple décor and deft service give it a personal feel.

David Féau brings fine dining with a light touch to the Langham hotel in Pasadena.

Pizzaiolo Carlo Abarca gets the Neopolitan pizzas just right in this small and vibrant new restaurant that mixes well in the eclectic environment of Costa Mesa’s Camp complex.