Destination: Cocktail

Mezze, La Cienega’s new Mediterranean small-plates restaurant, is riding bar culture’s current savory cocktail wave with a pickle-perfect drink called Deli Juice created by sous chef/mixologist Jonathan Whitener. Like a glass full of garnishes, Deli Juice combines celery, dill, cucumber and mustard with pickle juice and meaty gin for a finger-licking intoxicant that will have you begging for homestyle chips on the side.

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Deli Juice by Jonathan Whitener

1 slice smashed serrano pepper

4 slices of celery

2 dill leaves

5 slices of pickled cucumber

1/2 teaspoon whole grain mustard

1.75 ounces pickle juice

1.75 ounces gin

1/2 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1/3 ounce simple syrup

Splash of soda

Put all ingredients into a cocktail tin and shake aggressively five times; pour contents into a highball glass (do not strain); top with a splash of soda water and garnish with a pickle spear.

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Mezze, 401 N. La Cienega Blvd., L.A. (310) 657-4103; https://www.mezzela.com.

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—Jessica Gelt