Where to Find the ‘Perfect Place’

Looking for a place to celebrate that special occasion? Any one of these restaurants would be perfect. Champagne (10506 Little Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 470-8446). Champagne has an appealingly naive charm, and at the same time, a certain seriousness. The room is simplicity itself, the main decorative touches being comfortable, high-backed upholstered chairs. Chef/owner Patrick Healy seems to go for big, bold flavors, and the more aggressive dishes tend to be the most successful. A special dish of wild Scottish duck in a peppercorn sauce is very tasty indeed. He also works wonders with lamb: A saddle of roasted lamb sharing a plate with a swatch of garlicky scalloped potatoes and a scattering of peas is heavenly. Desserts here are good. There’s a nice hazelnut meringue chocolate cake sliced and attractively laid out. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Fri.; dinner only Sat. and Sun. All major credit cards. Beer and wine. Valet parking. Dinner for two, food only, $45-$80. Fennel (1535 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, (213) 394-2079). The four chefs who own this California-casual restaurant don’t live in Los Angeles. In fact, they don’t live in the United States. They all live in France and cook by commuting. The technology they rely upon are airplanes, telephones and FAX machines. One week you might eat the food of the famed Michel Rostang; another week Michel Chabran, Yann Jacquot or Andre Genin might be in charge of the stove. Either way, the food is impressive. Try the roast chicken in two courses, bacon-wrapped John Dory in red wine sauce or the savory artichoke and anchovy tarts. There is a five-course degustation menu at $45; and impressive desserts (try the warm chocolate cake in pistachio sauce). Dinner Tue.-Sun. MasterCard, Visa and American Express. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, food only, $60-$80. Four Oaks Restaurant (2181 N. Beverly Glen Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 470-2265). Four Oaks is a rather wonderful restaurant, serving the sort of accomplished French food that is hard to find in Los Angeles, and in a rural retreat that is even rarer. After you wind your way up the Canyon to this bucolic spot you’ll feel as if you’re at a countryside inn. Begin with a wonderful mussel soup. Entrees include loin of lamb with a pancake of mashed potatoes and garlic, chicken pot au feu or fish like sea bass on a bed of leeks in red wine sauce. Desserts are spectacular: the rum-blazed pineapple with coconut ice cream is worth the drive. Lunch and dinner daily. MasterCard and Visa. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, food only, $50-$80. Hotel Bel-Air (701 Stone Canyon Road, Los Angeles, (213) 472-1211). What you notice first at the Hotel Bel-Air is how good everything smells. The second thing you notice is how comfortable you are. The menu also has plenty to please you. Carpaccio is the real thing--filet mignon that has been pounded thin instead of being frozen and sliced. There is also an excellent loin of rabbit with truffle pasta and creamed leeks. The Dover sole with saffron-pimento rice and shellfish should please anybody. The creme brulee for dessert is perfection. Breakfast, lunch, high tea and dinner Mon.-Fri. Brunch and dinner Sat. and Sun. All major credit cards. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, food only, $60-$100. Saddle Peak Lodge (419 Cold Canyon Road, Calabasas, (818) 340-6029). To get to the Saddle Peak Lodge you may feel that you’re lost in the mountains in the middle of nowhere, but when you finally get to the restaurant and pull into the parking lot, it is absolutely stuffed with cars. The place itself is extraordinary looking--a sort of country fantasy, part cabin, part castle. Despite its rural airs, the Saddle Peak Lodge menu is not quite casual. The dark black “lacquered duckling” is delightful--the flavors of the marinade permeates both the flesh and the crunch skin, and the wild rice griddle cakes topped with black currant jam are a perfect accompaniment. Wine-poached pears are a perfect foil for the lean slices of loin of venison. One whole category of dishes are dubbed “camp style”; translated it means grilled over mesquite--steak, duck, chicken and brook trout. For dessert, have the chocolate taco, muy bien . Dinner Wed.-Sun. Brunch Sat. and Sun. MasterCard and Visa. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, food only, $40-$90.