The Tasting Kitchen's Bloody Marys | Venice, Los Angeles

When The Tasting Kitchen's executive chef, Casey Lane, recently rolled out brunch options like bacon waffles with fried chicken, head bartender Justin Pike turned to brunch's classic cocktail, the Bloody Mary, to serve alongside the new menu.

The House Bloody ($11) is big and rich, served on the rocks with Monopolowa potato vodka, horseradish- and pepper-infused tomato juice, and umami-rich Worcestershire. The finishing touches are a salt-and-pepper rim and a bracing celery, olive and caperberry garnish.

The 1920s-style Bloody ($13) returns the drink to its Paris roots, where bartender Fernand Petiot first mixed one part vodka with two parts tomato juice. One version of the cocktail's history claims customers at New York's St. Regis Hotel requested an extra kick for the simple concoction. Hinting at both anecdotes, Pike uses tomato juice from Orléans, France, spiked with Tabasco.

The Petite Mary ($11) has a completely different flavor profile, its geometric glass cradling a yellow mixture of vodka, citrus, house-made peppercorn dram and fresh celery juice. Salt and sumac dust the rim, the latter providing its signature lemony tang. Pike approached this version like a salad, incorporating the sweet, salty and bitter components you'd expect on a plate.

The Tasting Kitchen, 1633 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice; 310-392-6644 or thetastingkitchen.com