[Zocalo's guacamole]

Last night on 18th and L Streets, you could have swung a wine bottle and hit any one of many food bloggers milling about. We were all in the neighborhood for the soft opening of the L Wine Lounge and Urban Kitchen. As food bloggers, we all write our sites out of a sense of avid interest, not paid employment. So an invitation to taste free wine and hors d'oeuvres didn't go ignored.

The Lounge, in the same building as the new Buckhorn Diner, is a modern design, with concrete floors and warmer wood accents. There's a seating area to the left, a bar to the right, and tables upstairs for eating. For the opening, waiters offered red or white wines (a Cab/Zin and a Chenin Blanc). There were music videos playing on the inevitable flat-screen television and cases of wine stacked up in an odd glassed-in space that was either for private dining or the wine racks hadn't arrived yet. They also have wine lockers upstairs for people who live in the building and want to store a small cache.

We started drinking at 7 but no food was offered until at least 8, by which time we were all a little hungry/tipsy. But what they did serve seemed very nice, designed by a chef who used to work at the Kitchen restaurant and the late Elk Grove Co-op. I liked the crispy potato croquettes with lavender, although some thought the subtle floral addition was odd. We also tried crostini with whitefish, bacon, and mire poix; fantastic macadamia shortbread bites; and crostini with asparagus and mint, which was an unusual but tasty combination. Without a lot of food to go around though, we quickly bolted for a big table at nearby Zocalo.

One of the owners of L did provide a copy of the menu, which will be available from lunch through the afternoon and late into the evening, making it one of the few places open mid-afternoon and late. The L Burger, made of lamb and Kobe beef, sounds pretty promising with a topping of manchego cheese. The rest of the menu seems heavy on carbs and protein, with several potato variations, pizzetta, a croque madame, steak, ribs, and pâté. All the better to soak up all that wine, probably.