SALE WILL MARK FINAL COURSE FOR COCK ‘N BULL

The landmark Cock ‘n Bull on the Sunset Strip has passed into restaurant history.

This column noted incorrectly several weeks ago that the establishment’s last gasp would be an invitation-only closing party last Friday. In fact, the place closed Saturday with no special festivities. The famous Cock ‘n Bull collection of art and artifacts will be sold, not by the restaurant itself, but by an estate sale specialist at the restaurant on Sept. 3, 4 and 5. The first two days of the sale are by invitation only; the third is open to the public.

Cock ‘n Bull proprietor John Morgan, whose late father, Jack, founded the restaurant in 1937, says that he will “very definitely” reopen the place at another location in a year or so--either as a one-of-a-kind eatery like the original or as part of a franchising plan. Does Morgan have any standout memories of the place, which has been famous throughout the years for its non-stop parade of celebrity customers from every walk of life in which celebrity is possible?

“Not really,” he replied. “There are just so many memories that they get all mixed up.” And what was his own first recollection of the Cock ‘n Bull? “Of being on my hands and knees at the age of 8,” he answered, “sanding down the bar to keep out of trouble just before we opened.”

FELLINI FOOD: Gary Michael Gilson, proprietor of Fellini’s in Hollywood, has long been active in local programs to feed the hungry--the kind of hungry that can’t afford to achieve surcease of their hunger at his or other similar establishments.

Now Gilson has a new way of helping those who don’t have enough to eat: He is collecting high-protein canned or packaged goods (baby food, rice and pasta, beans, cereals, canned meat, processed cheese, peanut butter, etc.) to be distributed to the hungry through a local church. And any customer who helps him out by bringing in two or three such cans or packages between 3 and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, can satisfy his or her own hunger at the same time with a meal of pasta and soup or salad for only $5.

If those afternoon hours are too early (or too late) for you to feed yourself, Gilson will alternately offer a glass of house wine for a can of food at regular dinner hours.

MORE OLD-TIMERS: Some more Los Angeles-area restaurants, all of them of the distinctly non-trendy variety, are celebrating impressive anniversaries this year: Ho Toy’s in Sherman Oaks has just turned 33, and has been under the same family ownership all that time; the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City (where young tads like myself, a good many years back, used to be able to catch their own trout and then have it cooked to order) is now 40 years of age; Sam’s Seafood in Huntington Beach gets the longevity award--65 years in the same location, and Milano II West in Agoura Hills turns 5 this year.

VICTUALING: The Chaffey Community College Foundation and the Rex W. Wignall Museum/Gallery present “Art A La Carte,” an evening of art, entertainment, dancing and the food of some 25 or so Inland Empire restaurants, this evening at the Ontario Airport Hilton from 6 to 10. . . . Tomorrow night is “Garlic Hysteria” night at the Bouzy Rouge Cafe in Newport Beach. Among dishes offered will be a garlic-laced Provencal fish soup, shrimp in garlic sauce and chicken with 40 cloves of garlic. . . . Tuesday at Chez Melange in Redondo Beach, it’s “Dine on Dessert” night--with a meal composed of a caviar and champagne tasting followed by six dessert courses. (Talk about cutting out the middle man!). . . . And Gulliver’s in Marina del Rey hosts a winemaker’s dinner with Warren Winiarski of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars on Aug. 31. The fee is $40 per person, and net proceeds will be donated to L.A. Housing, an organization that aids local homeless.