Critic’s Preview and Hot Dish

Critic’s Preview

S. Irene Virbila Times Restaurant Critic

Mezze Hour at Zov’s Bistro Today Zov’s Bistro in Tustin introduces a Mediterranean-accented Mezze Hour in the restaurant’s lounge with a menu of small, svelte plates -- falafel crab cakes, Moroccan pulled pork sliders, grilled za’tar chicken skewers, mini blackened steak tostadas, etc. And it’s actually mezze hours: 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Small plates are all less than $10. Through June, two mezze items for $12, with a drink purchase. 17440 E. 17th St., Tustin; (714) 838-8855; www.zovs.com

Wine Cask’s Courtyard Terrace The courtyard just beyond the doors of the Wine Cask restaurant is a lovely place to lunch. And this season, the fountain and plantings of Santa Barbara’s Spanish-Moorish El Paseo have been restored to a close facsimile of what they were when El Paseo opened in 1926. How did they do it? Vintage photos, historian Alexandra Cole and landscaper Bob Cunningham. Wine Cask, El Paseo, 813 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara; (805) 966-9463; (800) 436-9463; www.winecask.com

Hot Dish

By Jessica Gelt

Beastly Ball at the Los Angeles Zoo Golden Girl Betty White hosts this frenzy of food, fun and fur, which is held annually to help the zoo continue its efforts to save the California condor from extinction. A worthy cause calls for worthy food, and you’ll find plenty provided by popular L.A. eateries, including the Tam O’Shanter, El Cholo, Malo, La Poubelle, Pink’s and Yamashiro. Steel drums, a calypso band and a silent auction packed with tantalizing offerings such as courtside Lakers tickets and a vacation in Jamaica round off the evening. 5333 Zoo Drive, L.A., 6 p.m., Sat., tickets $1,000 per person, (323) 644-4708

Laker-tinis at Morton’s the Steakhouse Show your undying Laker love by imbibing a tipsy-making good luck charm at this posh steakhouse just down the street from Staples Center. To celebrate the team’s return to the finals, Morton’s is offering a purple-and-gold “Laker-tini” made with Chambord, orange juice and vodka, and served with a side of (insert chuckle here) Kobe beef-stuffed olives. 735 S. Figueroa St., downtown L.A., now through the end of the NBA finals, (213) 553-4566.

Friends & Family Mondays at Citizen Smith Blue Monday, be gone. Hello, bright, joyous Monday full of half-off food at this classic Hollywood restaurant. Perhaps because Mondays are slow nights for business or maybe because the owners of Citizen Smith are awash in benevolence, all menu items are available at this freakishly reduced rate. Grilled mahi-mahi, filet mignon and lemon-pepper chicken are just a few of the entrees served. 1600 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood, lunch noon to 3 p.m., dinner 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., Mondays, (323) 461-5001.

Red Sun Barbecue Sundays at Katana It’s barbecue season, and restaurants are heating up their grills in case you don’t feel like doing it yourself. Katana is offering particularly tantalizing options with its Red Sun barbecue. Who doesn’t like robata? Juicy skewers of Kobe and Wagyu beef with shiitake mushrooms, buttery lobster, tender rib-eye and Alaskan king crab legs. Un-skewered options include toro tartar, lobster medallions and Chilean sea bass with sweet miso glaze. 8439 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 6 to 11:30 p.m., Sundays, (323) 650-8585.