Bird Watching
Tequila and Black Lobster Rolls in Century City

A tree rises sharply from the barren ground.

You’re no dendrologist, but there seems to be sort of a white cedar thing going on. Nice.

And instead of fruit, it appears to be bearing tequila and black lobster rolls...

Sorry. We tend to wax poetic over black lobster rolls.

Take a moment to thoughtfully ponder Hinoki & the Bird—a stark Japanese wonderland of arid spaces, pristine meats and sturdy drinks from the man behind Comme Ça, opening Thursday in Century City.

Let’s get right to that name: Hinoki is a Japanese cedar tree. And a bird is... a bird. Something about the two things together is meant to make you picture an inviting hall of towering glass, unexpected angles and rope-y chairs. A place of raw beams and denim and cedar. (Apparently, the bird is BYO.)

Anyway, take your team of agents for dinner at a copper communal table for 14. Toss around some well-honed bons mots about your script. Covertly scope out the enclosed patio. Return to that patio later with a date.

And when you do, you’ll want to summon oysters and Hinoki Swizzles (sherry, elderflower, apple and champagne). Then there’ll be pork belly, kale and... an unusual lobster roll with green chili, Thai basil and a pitch-black charcoal-infused bun.

Yup, bread is the new black.