CAMELIONS CHEF WILL SHOW NEW CAFE COLORS

Rumors have been flying hereabouts in recent weeks about Elka Gilmore, the talented young chef at Camelions in Santa Monica: Was she leaving the restaurant? Was she going to work for a certain post-West Beach Cafe establishment on Santa Monica’s far side? Would she be consulting for an up-and-coming hotel chain, or maybe opening her own place in Beverly Hills? No.

What she is doing, though, is plotting a new restaurant, in league with Camelions proprietor Marsha Sands, probably in the neighborhood of Barrington and Wilshire in West Los Angeles. In style and philosophy, Gilmore is in many ways one of the most European of local American chefs. But with the new place, she is most definitely going back to her domestic roots.

Gilmore was raised in Austin, Tex., and what she and Sands plan to open is what the chef calls “sort of a barbecue joint, but an upgraded one--kind of a Texas-style Hard Rock Cafe.” There will be real Texas barbecue pits, built by an expert in the matter from Copeland, Tex.

In addition to the usual meats on the fire, there will be lots of fresh fish. An in-house bakery is planned, as is a large bar. “Everything will be a la carte,” Gilmore adds, “so that you can have just one rib if you want or one wing of chicken.” And, she says, she will oversee the cooking at both the new place and Camelions--and anticipates no changes in the food at the latter. Oh yes. The name of the Texan establishment? Horny Toads. “You’re supposed to say you hate it,” says Gilmore.

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE: When I wrote some words last month in defense of moderate smoking, even in restaurants, I anticipated an avalanche of angry mail. No more than six or eight letters trickled in--not that I’m complaining, mind you--and three of those actually supported my position (including one from a Santa Ana neurosurgeon who is himself an occasional cigar-puffer). More interesting still, though, is a report that the Beverly Hills City Council has informally told a group of Beverly Hills restaurateurs that it might consider relaxing its recently enacted restaurant smoking ban after a longer period of evaluation. I’ll hold my breath.

PAGING ALL FOODIES: Local restaurant consultant Susan Fine (Seventh Street Bistro, the Beverly Hills Breakfast Club, the Acme Grill, etc.) and food writer and consultant Linda Zimmerman are assembling a full-scale directory of food-oriented businesses in L.A.--everything from restaurants and cookware stores to fish suppliers and food-service air-conditioning specialists. The directory, to appear in September, is called the Food Pages; inclusion will be by fee only. Call Fine at (213) 655-7569 or Zimmerman at (213) 653-7185 for further information.

SPECIALTIES OF THE HOUSE: Tapas, those tasty little Spanish tidbits, were invented to go with sherry. And on May 27 Sherry expert Darrell Corti will offer a seminar and tasting on the two at Trumps. The fee is $65. Call (213) 475-0606. . . . And La Masia, the perpetually popular Spanish restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, presents a “Salsa Tapamania Party” every Wednesday from 10:30 p.m. with live salsa music and complimentary tapas. . . . Rondo, the popular Venetian restaurant on Melrose, serves a special, and unusual, Mexican menu every Sunday night--including such dishes as octopus in its own ink and chicken in banana leaves. . . . L’Ermitage on La Cienega has introduced a new menu with such new dishes as avocado and endive salad with fresh salmon, sauteed John Dory with sea urchin sauce, and roasted saddle of rabbit with rosemary. . . . The Chronicle in Santa Monica has redecorated and boasts a new chef, Frank Adam Laucis, and a new general manager, Paul Ellis. . . . Catherine Barkley, formerly in the kitchens at Camelions and the Border Grill, is the new chef at Scratch, also in Santa Monica. . . . Tommy Lasorda’s Ribs & Pasta in Marina del Rey now serves brunch on weekends--including ribs and pasta themselves in addition to more conventional brunch fare. . . . Brunch will be served on Saturdays and Sundays, too, at Les Anges in Santa Monica, for the first time in the restaurant’s history. . . . Alfonse’s Restaurant in Toluca Lake extends its “Old Times” $4.90 lunches through the end of May.

WHAT’S SO FUNNY, HONEY?: The Valley Hilton in Sherman Oaks has announced a new bargain package: For $129, two people can stay at the hotel any Friday or Saturday night, get a credit of $40 at the establishment’s Ground Floor restaurant, and receive free admission to the Hilton’s new Improvisation comedy club plus a $16 drink credit there. The name of this bargain package? “Laughing Lovers.”