Dining in Style

The design of restaurants--from menus and matchbooks to furniture and furnishings--has of late become a high art, with restaurateurs being as concerned with architectural styling as they are with sauces and wines. After all, style is a food, of sorts, for the senses.

One of the pioneers of restaurant design was the multitalented Winold Reiss, whose diverse projects in the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s included Mike Lyman’s in Los Angeles, the Chicago Tavern Club and Longchamps in New York’s Empire State Building. Lyman’s, which was on West 6th Street, alas is gone.

A modernist of the Vienna school with a distinct, powerful style that emphasized simple geometric forms, Reiss also is known for his murals and portraits, as well as his industrial and decorative designs. A selection of his work is now on exhibit until the end of the month at the Turner Dailey Gallery, 7227 Beverly Blvd. Call (213) 931-1185 for times. The gallery specializes in the fine and applied arts.