FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Fans of the old City...

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Fans of the old City Cafe, now transformed into the Border Grill, will be delighted to hear that the long-awaited City Restaurant (180 S. La Brea Ave., 213-938-2155) finally opened last Wednesday.

The restaurant itself is large, loud, avant garde; with its pared down looks and exposed pipes, it has the air of a mini-Beaubourg. (Take a look at the chairs and serving carts that the architects designed themselves.) There is even a closed-circuit video camera over the bar so that you can see what is going on in the spacious kitchen (which has its own, tiled, tandoori oven).

What comes out of the kitchen is the same eclectic blend that chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken perfected at the Cafe. That means spicy Indian appetizers, Thai melon salads, bourgeois French dishes like lamb’s tongues in thyme vinaigrette, Portuguese mussel stews, fine desserts. . . . Feniger and Milliken are two of the most accomplished chefs working in the new American idiom, and now that they have a kitchen larger than a postage stamp, who knows what wonders will come rolling out of it?