Shutting down

Los Angeles, October 31, 2012—

MIXED EMOTIONS TIME: the closing of a restaurant we've enjoyed for years, owned and run by a man we respect. Mark Peel was surprised when we turned up at the closing-night party. In fact, he didn't recognize us: we were masked like all the guests at this open-bar party. It was a nice party: I talked to Craig, who thinks LA is a fine place, and who is into fashion; and to Antonio Palma, from Nuoro, who is trying to come to terms with the English language, and to a few others, and ate my fill of canapés: what we used to call lunch meat, and bocadillos, and tapas, and cicchetti, and so on — pickled green beans, little slices of bread, cubes of cheese, mortadella, salami, little meat balls, pieces of fruit…

a Martini; rosé: Something Moon (Provence), 2011; sparkling Vouvray

• Campanile, 624 South La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles