Son Of A Gun's Sparkling Wines & Cuisine | Mid-City, Los Angeles

Toast Son of a Gun's sparkling wines

A fried-chicken sandwich and a bottle of 1990 Moët & Chandon.

It could be a scene from the sequel to Sideways; instead it's the dining reality at Son of a Gun, the new restaurant from Animal's Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo.

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The menu at the pair's much-anticipated restaurant is heavy with seafood, a notable shift from bacon-happy Animal. But the Champagne-dominant wine list would be remarkable at any restaurant.

The nearly single-minded program is Helen Johannesen's doing, a testament to the beverage director's conviction that bubbles go with anything and everything.

Pairings can be physical things here. Our palates jumped with the visceral sensation of a Sriracha-dosed mayo's vinegary heat being fizzed away when we followed a bite of shrimp toast ($11) with a sip of Laherte Frères ($45 for a half-bottle).

The Chenin Blanc-based Moustillant ($15 a glass) from Loire's Domaine Breton, our favorite pour, doesn't sport Champagne's finely articulated bubbles. Rather, the straw-colored wine–made in a unique single-fermentation process with no added sugar–fizzes with the fine carbonation of a Saison beer. Its oxidized flavor matches such Florida-influenced dishes as peel-and-eat shrimp ($19), honey-and-herb-dressed alligator schnitzel ($13) or smoked mahi-mahi dip ($9).

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Son of a Gun, 8370 W. 3rd St., Mid-City; 323-782-9033 or sonofagunrestaurant.com

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