Who is ready to go to summer school? I always enjoy learning. At Public School 612, guests can learn the art of libations and dine on gastropub fare prepared by Executive Chef Dante Ascenzi.

Patrick Thomas heads the bar at PS 612. (photo by Jill Weinlein)

The menu looks like a school composition book; the napkin ring is a paper ruler.

This delightful gastropub, attached to The Daily Grill, is a relative of the Grill concepts’ family: The Grill on the Alley, The Daily Grill and In Short Order Daily Grill. Chef Dante helped create the menu and concept of PS 612.

Happy Hour at PS 612 is called recess. It’s served all day on Sundays and from 4 to 7 p.m. the rest of the week. One can order a gastropub plate for under $6, and all well drinks are $5. A half-liter of wine (approximately three glasses) is $10.

Some of the $2 dishes include a Margherita lavash pizza and a Thai noodle spring roll with roasted peanuts, Napa cabbage, carrots and red bell pepper. A few of the $4 items are Chicago-style dogs and parmesan truffle frites. Splurge for the $6 Asian BBQ chicken and ribs or three cheeseburger sliders with all the fixings.

The extensive bar offers approximately 20 rotating draught beers. There are two dartboards and yearbook pages from various schools adorning the walls. It’s a fun place to hang out in downtown Los Angeles. My favorite part is the classes.

Our first visit was on Cinco de Mayo, when PS 612 offered a Tequila 101 course. Tuition was only $40, and if you paid in advance, PS 612 gave students a $10 card to be used for another visit.

The ribs at Public School 612 paired nicely with the libations. (photo by Jill Weinlein)

Patrick Thomas runs the bar. He calls himself “a whiskey guy” yet knows a lot about tequila. “It’s not what you drink or how you drink it, it’s just that you drink it,” is Thomas’ philosophy.

He taught us that mescal is made in Jalisco, Mexico. It’s made from a blue Weber agave plant that grows in mountainous regions. The bulb from the plant is harvested by hand, split in half and cooked in brick ovens. When cooked for three days, sugar oozes out. Then, it’s ground into a pulp, water is added and the liquid ferments with a natural yeast, creating a smoky flavor.

We tasted the Vita Mescal with a campechana dish. It’s a Central American seafood cocktail with mahi-mahi, scallops and rock shrimp that is grilled on a cedar plank with a sprinkling of cilantro. Tomatoes, avocado, cucumbers and other ingredients are added to the dish. It looks like ceviche and tastes heavenly.

While mescal is usually enjoyed straight, Patrick give us a sangarita to sip and complement the Fortaleza Silver tequila. It’s softer than the mescal and paired nicely with lengua (beef tongue) tacos that were slow cooked for 10 hours and topped with a jalapeno salsa. Pork spare ribs marinated in pineapple juice complimented the Resposado tequila. It’s aged longer — at least two months — and offers a complexity of lingering flavors that include profiles of butterscotch and banana. The Fortaleza Añejo tequila offers a soft wood flavor and is darker in color. It went nicely with the tres leche cake bathed in creams and condensed milk, and topped with a cherry sauce.

On June 26 at 7 p.m., Patrick Thomas and Chef Dante Ascenzi will host an island themed night class in the art of tiki drinks. Attendees will enjoy exotic foods and colorful cocktails in celebration of the tiki tradition. Some of the food paired with the creative cocktails will be Spam Nigiri, Poke coconut, loco moco and pork belly poi. The cocktails that guests will learn about are the zombie, Singapore sling and mai tai. Tuition is $40, and all presales receive a $10 promotional card to be used at a later date. Tickets can be purchased in advance. $-$$. Opens daily at 4 p.m. 612 S. Flower St. (213)623-1172.