FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Two of Los Angeles most...

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Two of Los Angeles most accomplished chefs have recently decamped to San Francisco. Fred Halpert, formerly of Le Festival and Mangia, and Gerhard Michler, the chef responsible for the astonishing pastry at Max au Triangle, have moved north to Restaurant 101 (101 California St., (415) 788-4101).

Restaurant 101 looks a bit like an upscale bank lobby, with granite tables, faux marble walls and the most beautiful chairs you have ever seen set about an opulently austere room. The menu, which changes daily, is classic California cuisine: tuna grilled and topped with a mustard sauce, veal chop served with a garnish of roasted garlic, and wonderful foie gras sauteed and served on a bed of artichoke hearts and minced tomatoes.

The entrees are rather spare, but the desserts are wonderfully rococo: scoops of creamy walnut ice cream are paired with rum-poached apricots, little circles of rich chocolate cake are drenched in orange syrup, and even a simple raspberry tart hides a layer of chocolate. While the restaurant is still young, and both the kitchen and the service staff could use a little fine tuning, the desserts will leave you smiling.