FANCY FOOD

Be frugal next year if you like, but why not have one final fling before the year is up? If you feel like spending it all on one wonderfully lavish dinner, these recently reviewed restaurants would be happy to help you do it in style. THE DINING ROOM, RITZ-CARLTON HOTEL (33533 Shoreline Drive, Laguna Niguel, (714) 240-2000). Two years after its splashy debut, the Dining Room retains its plush popularity; what we see here is Orange County itself, out for an evening of luxury in a neo-18th-Century drawing room and not quailing at a menu whose cheapest entree is $24. The menu has undergone some changes since the first days, but old friends remain, like the sweetbreads in port and caper sauce and the California field salad with toasted goat cheese. The new dishes are nearly all very impressive, often supported by a delicious meat glaze sauce. The duck with poached pear is remarkably good, its roasted skin providing a smoky flavor like burnt sugar. Grilled chicken with rosemary may sound plain, but isn’t. A top contender for the best restaurant in Orange County. Dinner daily. Reservations. MC, AE, V. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, $70-$100.

THE FINE AFFAIR (666 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Bel-Air, (213) 476-2848). The walls are painted an unusual green, the tables are close together. The tiered table in the middle of the dining room is topped with delicious-looking desserts and fake flowers. Service ranges from imposingly ceremonial to brusque. Several entrees are delightful surprises: squab arrives rare in a fine strong garlic-laden sauce. John Dory revels in a beautifully made saffron-tomato sauce. The duck is served in two fine courses, first the breast in a Pinot Noir and pepper sauce, then a confit made of the leg. Rack of lamb comes out surrounded by a forcemeat, accompanied by a great big lacquered potato. But overall, Fine Affair’s menu, like its service, is highly uneven. Lunch Tue.-Fri.; dinner Tue.-Sun.; Sunday brunch. MC, AE, V. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, $56-82.

L’ERMITAGE (730 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 652-5840). Since its renovation by new owners last September, L’Ermitage has become a warmer place. The colors are lighter now; there is an air of openness. Where there were lights, there are now sconces. All the wood is blond. The bar has changed from straight to curved. A couple of large pillars stand sentry at the door, adding a tasteful touch of post-modernism. The mood is decidedly upbeat. Even better, the service has come down from its high horse; this is now a friendly place to eat. But the menu remains correct and classical. Among the excellent dishes: a textbook feuillete with salmon in beurre blanc ; a beautifully roasted squab; aiguillete of duck breast in red wine sauce; the inimitable smoked salmon. Dinner Mon-Sat. MC, AE, V. Valet parking. Dinner for two, $75-$120.

OSCAR’S (Sheraton Premiere Hotel, 555 Universal Terrace Parkway, Universal City, (818) 506-2500). An enormous crystal chandelier hangs in the center of the dining room; tables are covered with armies of expensive silverware and china. One bright, if incongruous, note is the understated artwork--paintings of the Roaring ‘20s that contrast oddly with the French provincial furniture. As for the service, you only have to look slightly wistful before someone comes running to find out what you want. The food is American, with hints of nouvelle cuisine : the smoked scallops with endive and raspberry vinegar is excellent, as are the skillet-fried shrimps in spicy butter. Blackened steak is wonderful, and a tenderly cooked baby chicken is served in an intensely delicious sauce. Lunch Mon.-Fri.; dinner Mon.-Sat. MC, AE, V. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, $40-$80.

PAVILION (Four Seasons Hotel, 690 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, (714) 759-0808). An opulently handsome place in the hotel-restaurant mode, with a soothing beige color scheme and what might be the most intriguing dessert list in the country. The kitchen is superb, offering exquisite, beautifully arranged dishes. Don’t miss the hot veal pate in pastry or a terrific lobster ragout in a sweet cream sauce with smoky morel mushrooms. There is an amazing lamb tenderloin with turnip pancakes on a bed of braised fennel. Even the low-calorie and low-salt dishes are delightful. For dessert, be sure to try the deep-fried prunes with Frangelica cream sauce. Lunch Mon-Fri; breakfast and dinner daily. All major cards. Full bar. Dinner for two, $60-$80.

SEVENTH STREET BISTRO (815 West 7th St., Los Angeles, (213) 627-1242). The food here is always good, but for sheer luxury there is nothing quite like the prix-fixe $100 per person six-course meal (with wines included) that is served to only 20 diners a night. (It may take four or five hours to eat it.) A train of waiters provide the sizable supply of champagne, wine and food. Menus change, but one night the first course was a golden round of brioche , with a nub of chanterelle-studded foie gras at its heart. Next, a rosy arrangement of lobster and carrots in an intriguingly playful sauce, followed by a plate containing overlapping slices of salmon--a triumph. Next came the cool, bracing surprise of sorbet. The meat course followed, a beautiful filet of beef topped with mushrooms and accompanied by potatoes and tiny green beans. We even found room for the pistachio-studded chocolate box served as dessert. Gourmet dinners daily. Reservations. AE, MC, V. Valet parking. Full bar. Dinner for two, wine included, $200.

STONES (Marina Beach Hotel, 4100 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey, (213) 301-6868). Snugly harbored in Marina del Rey, this elegant, quiet new hotel dining room is easy on the eyes, in celadon and rose, with what might be called Greco-Chinois (Grequoise?) accents. Service is gussied up with extras like sorbet between courses and a long-stemmed rose for female diners. Its problems are twofold--a too-varied menu (mixing nouvelle with old-hat, Southwestern and Japanese with Creole and Provencal), and uneven cooking. But there’s an excellent Provencal-influenced dish of sliced lamb loin; a good piece of salmon with slightly spicy tomatillo cream sauce; and a “New Orleans style” rib-eye steak, seriously browned with a mix of ground spices. Dinner Mon.-Sat. AE, MC, V. Full bar. Valet parking and parking lot. Dinner for two, $50-$75.

TRADER VIC’S (Beverly Hilton Hotel, 9876 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (213) 276-6345). Hail the recently reopened Trader Vic’s, which always offers something new, and often something astounding. The dining room has been reapportioned to a more sweeping perspective, still with its favored sections--the Alcove, the Cabin, Captain Cook’s Deck and the Garden Room. The Boathouse Bar is new, and the private dining room is larger. The menu is still extraordinarily creative, with highest marks going to the dishes from those Chinese ovens. Made of brick and fire-clay, the ovens are fired with white oak logs to an intense heat that retains juices and adds a mild smoky flavor. Whitefish, more conventionally cooked, is splendid. Asparagus is well-nigh lyrical in its simplicity, precisely sliced and sauteed in butter. And the mud pie desserts are delightful. Dinner daily. AE, MC, V. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, $60-$90.