MELROSE EATS, PART III

The third and final leg of our journey eating up Melrose:

Bocca (8001 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, (213) 653-3064). This bright, shiny restaurant is packed with pretty people in pretty clothes and boasts an exhibition kitchen with copper accents, colorful walls and designer food. The spicy lamb chili topped with polenta is rich and satisfying. The pheasant in cranberry juice comes with delicious grilled radicchio. Who ever cooks the vegetables is doing a great job, and you can’t go wrong on the pasta. For dessert there is a chocolate mousse wrapped in a ribbon of white chocolate that is charming, as is a basket of flaky pastry filled with crushed walnuts and tangerines. Dinner daily. All major credit cards. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, food only, $36-$60.

Popolos (8115 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, (213) 651-5966). Popolos seems a little out of place on this trendy street: Colonial wallpaper, bank-lobby carpeting, a sort of Barker Bros. ambiance. But the halibut is the plumpest, whitest, most perfectly poached chunk of fish you’ll ever see. The salmon special is also nice with a clash of color between pink fish and the tomato-red basil caper sauce. The creme caramel --all custardy, dense and light at the same time--is a major contender for the best in town. The Sacrapantina , or sacred cake, is a crumb topped yellow cake moist with custard; one edge of the bottom is soaked in rum and there’s a small treasure of blackberry jam inside. This is the kind of cake you dream about, crave, talk about the next day. Lunch Tue.-Fri. and dinner Mon.-Sat. MasterCard, Visa and American Express. Beer and wine. Valet parking. Dinner for two, food only, $30-$60.

Silvio (8478 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, (213) 651-1842). Silvio isn’t here anymore--he’s moved to Tuttobene-- but it’s still a pretty glitzy place, filled with fancy cars and Hollywood folks. Lots of them. Most days (and nights), the restaurant is raucous. The room itself is pleasant and airy, with terra-cotta floors, palms and a thatched ceiling that give it an outdoor feel. Vegetables from the grill (plenty for two) are a colorful array of marinated eggplant and mushrooms, baby yellow summer squash and red tomato, plate-green fennel, purple radicchio and green scallions. Pastas are good and the roast chicken is nicely greasy, crisp, moist and plentiful. The fruit tart or the tarte tatin served with deliciously dense whipped cream are both excellent. Lunch Mon.-Fri., dinner daily. All major credit cards. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, food only, $35-$60.

Trumps (8764 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, (213) 855-1480). Trendy Trumps with its exposed beams, cool looks and modern art is a block from the Pacific Design Center; you go there for designer food--Bauhaus cuisine, peasant dishes rethought from the ground up like potato pancakes with apples and melted goat cheese. Lamb chops in a port sauce flavored with blue cheese might be something you don’t expect to work, but mysteriously it does. So do the sweet breads with olive sauce. “Creme brulee tostada” sounds rather ominous but the creme brulee browned in a pastry “tortilla” cup (no lettuce, no tomatoes, no beans) can be appreciated as a huge and luxurious sort of toasted marshmallow. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., dinner only Sun. MasterCard, Visa, American Express. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, food only, $55-$85.

Morton’s (8800 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, (213) 276-5205). This is the place to go for the “quintessential L.A. experience.” The food is simple, decently cooked and does not call too much attention to itself. The asparagus vinaigrette in an emulsified and very vinegary dressing is good. There’s also a fine fat hamburger surrounded by a mountain of skinny French fries. The specialty is the prime rib served with the traditional sour cream and chive-topped potato. The best for last: grilled chicken with black beans and tomatillo salsa. It’s tender, beautifully grilled and delicious. What to have for dessert? The decadent hot fudge sundae. Dinner Mon.-Sat. MasterCard, Visa, American Express. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, food only, $40-$80.