CROSSING CULTURES

Sushi and escargots? Curry and burritos? Some strange food combinations are turning into the latest trend in the food world. Cross-cultural cuisine began slowly when restaurants like La Petite Chaya, Lyons and Chinois crossed traditional French food with Asian ideas, but today you find evidence of culinary crossbreeding on menus all over town. All prices exclude drinks. ALEXANDER’S CAFE (1565 Adams Ave., Costa Mesa, (714) 241-0123). At first glance, the menu at this restaurant seems none too adventurous, but it turns out Alexander’s Cafe is rather hip. The real surprise is in the cross-cultural combinations, which often involve Japan. Gyoza-- the Japanese name for those fried dumplings Chinese restaurants call “pot stickers”--are suave little pasta packets filled with smoked salmon mousse and served in champagne butter sauce. The best entree is an amazing multicultural filet of beef, topped Continental-style with a cylinder of herb butter, accompanied by two surprising Japanese-like hot sauces. Lunch, Mon.-Fri.; dinner daily. MC, AE, V. Dinner for two: $16.50-$40.

CAFE KATSU (2117 Sawtelle Blvd., West Los Angeles, (213) 477-3359). The cuisine at Cafe Katsu, an offshoot of Katsu, the popular Los Feliz sushi bar, is French nouvelle as interpreted by a Japanese chef. In this beautifully spare little restaurant (incongruously situated in a pod mall) the food arrives beautifully arranged in artful designs. Appetizers like halibut sashimi made with the very freshest fish are followed by entrees such as roast rack of lamb in white wine/mustard sauce. Lunch and diner, Mon.-Sat. Beer and wine. MC, V. Dinner for two: $40-$60.

CASA INDIA (348 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, (213) 625-0947). Casa India appears to be just another Mexican restaurant along Broadway in downtown L.A., but instead a culinary odd couple--Mexican and Indian food--comfortably cohabit the menu. The spicy Indian eggs look like huevos a la Mexicana , accompanied by pale orange rice--which turns out to be basmati. A ground beef curry is very much like chili except for the green peas and a slight change in spicing. Open daily for all meals. Cash only. Parking in neighborhood lots. Dinner for two: $4-$8.

METROPOLIS (650 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 659-4987). Here you have Mediterranean cooking as interpreted by Japanese chefs. The place is a showcase of modern design with materials--woods, concrete, lacquer--that may make you think you are in Tokyo. The chefs are fond of adding a Japanese touch to a familiar dish: a beautiful asparagus vinaigrette is wrapped in a too-thick prosciutto and the Italian spaghetti may come with a sauce of tomatoes, squid and octopus. Lunch and dinner daily; Sun. brunch. MC, AE, V. Valet parking. Dinner for two: $17-$35.

PARIS-MEXICO CAFE (8638 West 3rd St., Los Angeles (213) 274-1893). You’d think that mixing French food with Mexican food wouldn’t work, but it does here, probably because this place is so much fun. And nothing if not surprising: there’s croque monsieur and soft tacos, burrito Provencale with burritos frijoles, huevos rancheros and French omelets, and French-grilled chicken and chili con carne. The atmosphere--a rustic, makeshift saloon made of plywood, planks, canvas and bentwood--is pure Laredo, but the cooks wear blue berets. You figure it out. Lunch, Mon.-Fri.; dinner, nightly. Major credit cards. Wine and beer. Dinner for two: $12-$22.