Sitting in the back has always had a special cache -- the cool kids sat there to goof off and make out, and you sat there to lustily watch the cool kids goof off and make out, before walking home alone, wishing you were a bird. Bringing sexy back along with grub and drinks, Rockwell.

Finally opening tonight after weeks of false starts, Rockwell's a sprawling, 6000-sq-foot mostly-outdoor eat/drinkery hidden in the back of neighborhood fave Vermont, with a 30-foot-tall coral tree the centerpiece of a monstrous patio w/ rustic tile floors and modern wood chairs, as well as a second floor with indoor/outdoor seating and a small, loungy terrace with 360-degree views of the city, leaving no need for a dogsitter. Food's mostly sustainable/seasonal, with wildly eclectic choices ranging from flatbread w/ spanish chorizo, piquillo peppers, and manchego cheese to cumin-crusted ribeye w/ watercress, potato crisps, and a merlot-blueberry sauce, and calamari w/ ginger, shallot, chili, and "fragrant" salt and pepper, who apparently couldn't help but push it real good. Drinks-wise, the Rock's got a slew of specialty beers, including Santa Cruz Ale Works IPA, Angel City Brewing Vitzen, and a 25oz Chimay Grand Reserve Blue; they've also got a fresh-ingrediented cocktail list, with artful boozing including the Bitter Redhead (Hendrick's/aperol/sweetened Meyer lemon juice), the Gemini (Tito's vodka/grilled grapefruit/St. Germaine) and a concoction of honey-infused Eagle Rare bourbon, elderflower liquor, and pear nectar known as the Mother's Milk, which you haven't had since you were like, seven.

Once things get going, Rockwell's also planning on having promoter nights with TBA entertainment, although they'll really have to step it up if it's going to beat Chad Tully Frenching Meredith Sims.

Add this to My Thrillist

Mmmm...the menu's right here