We have begun, with the utmost care and attention, and modestly, dining out again, outside, at restaurants respecting the health and lives of their employees and customers.

There have been setbacks; one day we were driving in Orange County and made a reservation via an app at a restaurant, to dine on its patio. We arrived at the place, hungry, and were dismayed to discover a cramped and crowded outdoor dining area, covered, tables about two feet apart. We left.

Most recently, we made a reservation at Rossoblu, a restaurant near our apartment downtown. I had been there pre-pandemic, having been invited to a wine dinner, and the food impressed me.

I’m working on a piece now that I hope will guide people (especially visitors to the city) to Los Angeles restaurants once things open up more widely — and the evening at Rossoblu was part of my research. It was pleasurable work. Steve Samson, the chef, has put a beautiful restaurant together, and I am happy that he and his team have been able to stay in business. We dined on Rossoblu’s spacious — it is large — and intelligently designed patio, tables in many cases more than six feet apart.

The dish of which I was fondest on the evening was a special, a terrine of osso buco with celery salad. It had been prepared and composed well, and it was rich and reminded me of a plate of terrine I had at a restaurant in Paris a decade or so ago. The fatty portion of the dish melted in my mouth, and the acidity made me smile.

Angela does not love osso buco, so I was forced to take the second piece home. The next morning it was my breakfast, spread on toasted bread (with butter).

We had more than that osso buco at Rossoblu, and it was all good, especially the Bolognese. I will save my words on those for the article I mentioned, after another visit to the restaurant. But if you are dining out now, go to Rossoblu, and hope the terrine is on the menu.