Tales of the Cocktail Fundraiser; New Menu at La Pentola

YALETOWN— Summer has hit the menu at La Pentola and chef Lucais Syme has promised "...some awesome kale varieties, beautiful little beets, nettles, radicchio, carrots and fruits." Dinner menus are priced at $60 or $75 per person for seven or ten courses, and include antipasti, pastas, main courses and dessert. Over on the cocktail menu, the focus is on Italian bitters, fresh fruits, and house-made liqueurs, fresh drinks include the Negroni Rosato - a mix of gin, house-made Rose Vermouth, Campari and orange oil. [EW]

DOWNTOWN— Vancouver's Gin Society is hosting a fundraiser with the CPBA (Canadian Professional Bartender Association), pre-Tales of the Cocktail this year at Grain Bar on July 14 from 6-9p.m.. The event is to raise money for a 'Vancouver House' so our finest bartenders have somewhere to stay in New Orleans. Gin Society and CBPA members pay $10 and guests $15, on offer: a Punch-style cocktail contest voted on the public. The winner gets an additional $100 spending money or equivalent in Ramen upon arrival in New Orleans. [EW]