 THIS RESTAURANT HAS CHANGED NAMES TO LITERATI BAR & GRILL. Whenever we walk into Literati II, the younger, sophisticated sibling of the adjacent Literati Café, we feel like we've entered the comfortable contemporary dining room of an exclusive, very food-conscious writers' retreat. The former Koo Koo Roo space has been artfully transformed with framed photos of authors and screen celebs (this is L.A., after all), a construction of used pencils and even a giant #2 Ticonderoga hanging on the walls. Chef Chris Kidder and his wife and pastry chef, Kimberly Sklar, have departed, but chef Brian Thomas will maintain the seasonal contemporary American cooking. Bread is accompanied by a spicy romesco sauce with a hint of hazelnut. Portobello mushrooms, sweet onion, green beans, acorn squash and sage leaves join forces in a vegetarian fritto misto. Large portions are the rule, including a gargantuan steamed artichoke with farm fresh flavor that works with or without its creamy egg aïoli, and a double-cut pork chop, smoky from the cedar wood grill, and moist due to 48 hours of brining. The menu changes daily, but there's always a wood-grilled eight-ounce burger or a hanger steak with french fries for carnivores. Desserts include a warm, sweet-tart cranberry and persimmon crisp, churros with hot bittersweet chocolate, a signature seven-layer cake of dark, milk and white chocolates and ice cream made on premises. The helpful service will offer suggestions from the twelve-page wine list which includes more than twenty choices by the glass.
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