Openings
Chicago chef Rick Bayless (Topolobampo, Frontera Grill, Xoco) will be overseeing the kitchen at Red O, scheduled to open in the former Chocolat space by mid-March. Furthermore, plans are already in action to replace the Ma'Kai in Santa Monica with a second location of this modern Mexican resto-lounge concept. Red O, 8155 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046, no phone available yet.
The first West Coast location of Capriotti's, the gourmet sandwich chain known for its house-roasted meats and soft sub rolls, is now open in Beverly Hills. Expect popular sandwiches like the Bobbie---fresh roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo---and the Capastrami, composed of hot pastrami, melted Swiss cheese, Russian dressing and coleslaw. Also, find hot subs including cheese steak and mushroom, meatball, and eggplant parmesan. Capriotti's, 9683 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212, 310-858-1385.
Elements Kitchen has opened adjacent to the Pasadena Playhouse, featuring an eclectic menu that pairs classic traditions with Latin and Asian flavors, all supported by local seasonal ingredients. This is chef/owner Onil Chibás' second Pasadena restaurant, preceded by a mostly al fresco eatery on the other side of town, now called Elements Café. The new restaurant, which has an open kitchen and full bar, offers an eclectic menu with items like crispy fried chicken livers over grits, duck confit eggrolls with a port and pomegranate sauce, seared black cod and chorizo pipérade, and braised Wagyu beef cheeks with a Zinfandel reduction. The restaurant is open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday. Elements Kitchen, 37 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101, 626-440-0044.
Innovative Dining Group's Delphine has opened at the W Hollywood hotel. Inspired by casual eateries found along the European Riviera, the restaurant offers a menu that ranges from traditional French fare to Mediterranean seafood dishes and house-made pizzas. Executive chef Sascha Lyon's résumé includes positions at New York's Daniel, as well as Balthazar Restaurant and Pastis. Delphine, 6250 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028, 323-798-1355.
Restaurateur Franck Alix is replacing Louise's Trattoria on Melrose Ave. with Melgard Public House. This new concept will serve up a selection of brews on tap, pizzas and pub grub. Melgard Public House, 7505 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046, no phone available yet.
Famed music magazine Rolling Stone will open a restaurant in the summer. To be called Rolling Stone, the two-story, 10,000-square-foot space will be located in the Hollywood & Highland shopping center and feature design details like black bricks, leather and an antique iron staircase. Rolling Stone, 6834 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90028, no phone available yet.
Thomas Keller's Beverly Hills hotspot Bouchon now has an intimate little classic French bar under the restaurant. Bar Bouchon offers charming indoor and outdoor seating and bar-elegant French fare. Spring for California Sterling White Sturgeon caviar with toasted brioche and crème fraiche ($75/25gm.) Or go for the relatively bargain-priced fresh oysters, escargots, sautéed pork belly with honey dates, blue fin tartare or chicken liver mousse with prune glaze. Also expect top charcuterie and cheese selections, excellent French wines, and classic cocktails. Lunch and Dinner daily. Bar Bouchon, 235 N Canon Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210, 310-271-9910.
A fire in April of 2008 forced Hollywood's popular Off Vine Restaurant to close, but the craftsman bungalow has now been restored and it is slated to reopen. The first floor dining room and front porch will return to its original 1908 style; a brand new second-floor dining room, large enough to entertain up to 60 guests, boasts large windows overlooking the Hollywood Hills and Griffith Park. The California-American menu will feature old favorites (pecan-breaded chicken, banana cream pie), as well as new dishes for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. Off Vine Restaurant, 6263 Leland Way, Hollywood, CA 90028, 323-962-1900.
A new downtown gastropub, The Lazy Ox, is open in Little Tokyo. With veterans ranging from Sushi Roku to Chaya Brasserie to Boa Steakhouse, the restaurant offers compelling craft beers and esoteric wines, along with a fairly upscale seasonal menu from chef Josef Centeno (Opus Restaurant, Lot 1). Dishes include beef tartare with juniper berry, brick-roasted mussels with basil, smoked sesame-crusted ahi, pan-fried skate wing with ham hocks, and blood orange flan. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Daily. The Lazy Ox, 241 S San Pedro St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, 213-626-5299.
The elegant, upscale Thai eatery Soi 7 adds some spice to Downtown's hip 7th Street, joining neighbors Bottega Louie and Seven Grand. Located on the ground floor of the Mandel lofts, expect traditional dishes like green papaya salad and tom yum goong, as well as gourmet stylings of arctic char with Panang curry sauce, Mekong whisky-infused baby back ribs, and Massaman curry-braised short ribs. Lunch and Dinner daily. Soi 7, 518 West 7th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014, 213-537-0333.
Former Bottlerock partner Adam Fleischman has added a third Umami Burger to his "fifth taste" gourmet burger franchise at the new chic Space 15 Twenty on Cahuenga in Hollywood, which also includes Urban Outfitters. Expect the same menu of fancy burgers, including a Port and Stilton burger and the signature Umami burger with its own secret sauce. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Daily. Umami Burger, Space 15 Twenty, 1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd. #7, Hollywood, CA 90028, 323-469-3100.
Chefs Quinn and Karen Hatfield have reopened Hatfield's in a new location with an exhibition kitchen and larger dining room. (Eva Restaurant now occupies the former space at 7458 Beverly Boulevard.) Dishes like the croque madame with prosciutto and hamachi and the "Sugar and Spice" beignets with chocolate fondue and a milkshake shot appear on the menu. Peter Birmingham, formerly of Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar, is the beverage director and general manager. Hatfield's, 6703 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90038, 323-935-2977.
News Bytes
Indulge in Cassoulet this Winter at RH
Executive chef Sebastien Archambault of RH is preparing the traditional winter dish cassoulet for lunch and dinner on Tuesdays and Wednesdays through February 25. For lunch, guests can enjoy the rich, slow-cooked white bean stew with an appetizer and dessert for $30 ($23 for two-course menu) or on its own for $20. At dinner, cassoulet is offered for $22 as special to the normal à la carte menu. For reservations, please call 323-785-6090. RH, ANdAZ, 8401 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069, 323-785-6090.
Get Happy at Carousel
The Hollywood and Glendale locations of Carousel have launched their first-ever "happiest hours." Select dishes are priced from $3-$7 and include hummus and tabbouleh platters, falafel and pressed pita wraps. Also on offer are $3 beers, $5 well drinks and featured wines, and $6 specialty cocktails such as the Skinny Girl Chanel Addiction made with tequila, lime, Cointreau, St-Germain liqueur and honey. Happy hour is available Tuesday through Friday from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. at patio, sidewalk and bar seating. Carousel, 304 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91203, 818-246-7775.
Dog Gone Hard Times Menu Debuts at Zeke's
The Zeke's Smokehouse locations in West Hollywood and Montrose have introduced a Dog Gone Hard Times Menu available for lunch and dinner. These special menu items range in price from $8-$12 and include beer-battered catfish bites, Zeke's BBQ Sliders, traditional or BBQ hot wings, and chili fries. All items come with a fountain beverage, or diners can purchase a pitcher of Shiner Bock for $14. Zeke's Smokehouse, West Hollywood Gateway Shopping Center, 7100 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046, 323-850-9353.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day at the Sofitel Los Angeles
The Sofitel Los Angeles hotel is offering a special Valentine's Day promotion that includes dinner for two at chef Kerry Simon's SIMON L.A. and a couples massage at LeSpa. Dinner must be reserved on February 14 or 15, while the massage can be booked anytime in February. The package costs $300. Sofitel Los Angeles, 8555 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048, 310-278-5444, 800-521-7772.
Palate Food + Wine celebrates innards and extremities with "Offal Good."
Glendale's Palate Food + Wine is offering "Offal Good," a three-course feast of innards and extremities from chef/owner Octavio Becerra every Wednesday evening from 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m. at the restaurant's back wine bar. The weekly event begins on January 13 with dishes such as split pea soup with crispy pig ears, sweetbreads with oro blanco, chicory and pomegranate, and braised oxtail with buttermilk pommes purée. Subsequent weeks will celebrate other rich, delicious parts of animals, including tongues, brains, intestines, hearts and feet. The three-course meal is priced at $25, or $9 à la carte. The Offal Good menu also offers items like "porkfolio" (charcuterie) and potted lamb, chicken or pork for the less adventurous. Palate Food + Wine, 933 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91204, 818-662-9463.
Renovation of The Dining Room at The Langham Delayed
Capitalizing on chef Michael Voltaggio's recent victory on Bravo's "Top Chef," The Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa is delaying its planned renovation of the restaurant The Dining Room, which originally was scheduled to shutter from January through March, until the second quarter of 2010. After the restaurant, which is in need of updating, has been given a dramatic makeover, it will open with a new, yet-to-be-announced name. In the meantime, Voltaggio's daring molecular gastronomy continues to shake up the Crown City. Dinner Tues.-Sat.. The Dining Room, The Langham, Huntington Hotel & Spa Pasadena, 1401 S. Oak Knoll Ave., Pasadena, CA 91106, 626-568-3900.
Home Cooking Help from Comme Ca
At Comme Ca the Monday night special "Roasted Chicken For Two" ($26 per person) offers an extra bonus---along with the leftover meat, the kitchen will pack up the bones and include a package of chopped onions, celery and carrots (mirepoix) with a recipe for making your own chicken stock at home. Just like Mom's, only a whole lot easier. Comme Ca, 8479 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, CA 90069, 323-782-1104.
Chef Shuffle
Nicola Chessa is replacing Tomasso Tarantino as executive chef of Valentino in Santa Monica. Chessa hails from Sardinia in Italy and has previously worked at Giorgio Caffè & Ristorante at the Shoppes at Mandalay Place in Las Vegas. Valentino, 3115 W. Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405, 310-829-4313.
Dong Choi has replaced Michael David as chef de cuisine at David Myers' brasserie Comme Ca. Choi was formerly sous chef, and the menu remains the same. Comme Ca, 8479 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, CA 90069, 323-782-1104.
Closings
San Pedro's popular Greek restaurant Papadakis Taverna has closed. Papadakis Taverna, 301 W. Sixth St., San Pedro, CA 90731, 310-548-1186.
Citrus at Social, the Hollywood restaurant formerly helmed by legendary chef Michel Richard, is now closed.
Sushi on Sunset East/West Fusion, located on the Sunset Strip, has closed. Sushi on Sunset East/West Fusion, 8264 W Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046, no phone.
The Restaurant at Hotel Bel-Air has closed for renovations and plans to re-open in 2011. Restaurant at Hotel Bel-Air, Hotel Bel-Air, 701 Stone Canyon Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90077, no phone.
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Annual Restaurant Issue Published NEW!
Set the mood for love by reserving a table at one of the Best Romantic Restaurants in Los Angeles, or view our list of Valentines Restaurants to find out which restaurants are offering unique menus just for February 14. Also, see who sets the standard for seductive dining across the country with our Top 10 Romantic Restaurants in the U.S. list.
