FOR OUT-OF-TOWNERS

“ I want to see the real L.A.” they say when they come from out of town. What they really mean is that they want you to take them someplace that they’d never find back home. These restaurants all fit the bill: They’ve got original food, unusual decor, in some cases a spectacular view. One thing is certain: your guests will certainly know they aren’t in Kansas any more.

CHINOIS ON MAIN (2709 Main St., Santa Monica, (213) 392-9025.) Never have such a bizarrely eclectic bunch of objects been brought together in one room, but somehow this mixture of art and flowers and Chinese statuary creates a manic party-like atmosphere. The menu is similarly offbeat, a unique California-Chinese hybrid that offers a bit of everything. The food is wonderful. Among the delights, a plate that combines shreds of squab and dandelion greens with red, yellow and green peppers. They’re served in an addictive sauce that blends the spice of chiles, the richness of meat stock, the pungence of hoisin sauce and the sharpness of ginger. Another spicy dish consists of one enormous grilled scallop, regally sheltered by a leaf of radicchio; its sauce tastes like a mixture of chili oil, butter, black vinegar and sesame oil. This may be the only restaurant in the world that serves foie gras with pineapple (yes, it works) and the crispy duck in fresh plum sauce is absolutely inspired. Lunch Wed.-Fri.; Dinner nightly. Reservations. All major credit cards. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, $50-$80. CITY RESTAURANT (180 S. La Brea, Los Angeles, (213) 938-2155.) This spare restaurant is another Los Angeles original. There is no carpet, no art, no plants, no flowers. The sole decorative touches are the splashy colors of the plates and serving carts, the bright-red chairs, the gorgeous light that comes in through the single, huge window, and the dramatic wall angles. The food itself is straightforward and eclectic, spanning the globe to take a melon salad from Thailand, lamb shanks from the Mediterranean, mussel stews from Portugal, a few homely bourgeois French dishes. They’ve got their own tandoori oven to make Indian food, and the desserts are straight out of Mom’s kitchen (if your mom happens to be a terrific baker). Lunch Mon.-Sat.; Dinner nightly. All major credit cards. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, $40-$60. MALIBU SEA LION, U.S.A. (21150 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, (213) 456-2810.) The first thing you see entering the restaurant is a gigantic slab of chocolate cake on display, under a bell jar on a pedestal. Explains the menu: “Our over-abundant portions are HUGE”--and indeed they are. Potato skins oozing this and that (chili, cheese, barbecue beef); steak; great platters of ribs; chicken and fish; an all-you-can-eat Grande Buffet extravaganza . . . and the salad bar has got to be the world’s biggest, with about 100 items. But save room for the entrees--grilled salmon that’s nice and fresh and plain; shrimp scampi, grilled, with deliciously garlicky drawn butter; and tender, meaty boiled lobster, a tasty little fellow. With two-tiered seating, everyone gets a view of the cemented-together coastal rocks and the ocean beyond. This would be a good place to take the kids. Open daily 10 a.m.-10 p.m. All major credit cards. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, $20-$50. NEWPORT LANDING (503 E. Edgewater Ave., Newport Beach, (714) 675-2373.) Located right at the Balboa Ferry, Newport Landing is just steps away from a forest of pleasure-boat masts. It’s nautical inside, in white enamel and maroon trim, and boasts a smashing view of the Balboa Ferry. The oyster bar food is nothing more than you’d expect in this trendy sailors’ hangout, but the downstairs menu is another story. Beefsteak and swordfish are there, to be sure--remarkably good aged New York steak and nicely crusted grilled swordfish. But the best plate may be the free-ranging chicken, seriously barbecued: it’s positively brown with smoke, as well as moist and tender. The rack of lamb, garlicky and smoky on its charred exterior, is another barbecue treat. There’s also a very creditable pasta, such as tagliarini in wild mushroom cream sauce, and sauteed dishes that aim to be out of the ordinary. Lunch Mon-Sat.; Dinner nightly; Sun brunch. Reservations. All major credit cards. Full bar. Street parking. Dinner for two, $30-$60. PRIMI (10543 W. Pico Blvd., West Los Angeles, (213) 475-9235.) Primi may look like the latest model of the truly trendy restaurant, but the menu is a true original; there’s no other place quite like it. They’ve done away with main courses altogether--Primi serves only primi piatti, those first courses that everybody loves so much. On the regular menu are dishes like baby quail served with fried polenta, corn crepes filled with asparagus in a mushroom sauce, breast of duckling stuffed with caviar made of chopped olives, and little “purses” of raw beef wrapped around Parmigiano cheese. There is pasta in the shape of daisies, bright with saffron. Hand-rolled black pasta comes topped with salmon caviar, and gnocchi comes in three flavors, three colors. There’s also a lazy way to order: the piatti d’assaggi-- a three-course meal consisting of many small tastes--costs $25 a person, and changes daily. Lunch Mon-Sat.; Dinner nightly. Reservations. All major credit cards. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two: $40-$80. REBECCA’S (2025 Pacific Ave., Venice, (213) 306-6266.) People love it, people hate it--but people come to see Rebecca’s. Diners not only want to eat, they want to roam about, examining the aqua booths and the tuck and roll aqua walls and the horrible suspended from the ceiling. They want to get up under the crocodiles to see if they’re real and look at the long black velvet painting. Rebecca’s patrons are gorgeous people, a sort of fantasy L.A. where nobody ever gets old. The food is simple, expensive and surprisingly good: this is Mexican food made with love and lots of money. Among the best: the seafood cocktails and ceviche, the tamales and the rellenos, the grilled fish and chicken. The homeade chips with homemade salsa are positively addictive and the bar supplies, among other things, an astonishing range of fresh juices. Dinner only, Mon.-Sat. All major credit cards. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two: $40-$70. SADDLE PEAK LODGE (419 Cold Canyon Road, Calabasas, (818) 340-6029.) The place itself is extraordinary looking--a sort of country fantasy, part cabin, part castle. It’s all stacked logs and open fires, willow furniture and mounted trophies. Cozy though it seems, the restaurant goes on forever, climbing across three levels. But the lodge is not quite casual: its style--and prices--suggest country with class. The menu (a blend of down-home dishes and esoteric fare) is highly unusual, and portion sizes are tremendous: An appetizer of salmon cured in vodka and tarragon is enough for an entire meal. The dark black “lacquered duckling” is delightful--the flavors of the marinade permeate both the flesh and the crunchy skin. The garnishes are inventive and varied: pork chops come with corn fritters; the stuffed game hen arrives in a nest of fried potatoes. And the drive out there--along a curving mountain road--is as delightful as the food. Dinner only Tues.-Sun.; Brunch Sun. Reservations. All major credit cards. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, $40-$80.