Putting Bice Pomodoro Rumors to Rest

According to rumors in local restaurant circles, Bice Pomodoro on La Cienega--the casual, trattoria-like precursor of the elegant Bice which just opened in Beverly Hills--was either about to close, or was under new ownership, or, at the very least, was shutting down part of its dining room. According to Bice director of operations Paul Guzzardo, none of these rumors is true. A new group of investors has indeed bought into the Bice chain, and liquor licenses and other legal documents are being changed to reflect a new corporate structure--but the original owners of the restaurants are still in place. As for the dining room shrinking, Guzzardo says that new blinds have been set up to divide off a part of the restaurant that was always meant for private parties.

There are , however, changes afoot at Bice Pomodoro. “What we’re going to do,” Guzzardo says, “is develop into a more casual concept, with lower prices, just to sort of spread the market out. We want something that can appeal to young diners on their own as well as to families. We plan significant changes in the menu, Americanizing it somewhat. For instance, we’ve found that there’s a tremendous demand in the restaurant for things like Caesar salad and fettuccine Alfredo, so we’re going to offer these--though in our own style. We just feel that in our geographic area these changes are necessary. And it’s also a way of further separating the two restaurants, Bice Pomodoro and Bice itself.”

CHRISTMAS TWO WAYS: The Beverly Hills Hotel hosts its 43rd annual Christmas Carol Luncheon on Sunday, Dec. 24, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The event, which includes a four-course meal, carolers and a Christmas choir, an appearance by Santa Claus and his elves (who will distribute gifts to children), and a so-called “parade of chef,” costs $42 per person for adults, $33 for children 12 years old or younger. For reservations, call the hotel’s Christmas Carol Hot-Line (213) 281-2967. . . . On Christmas Day itself, on the other hand, Orleans in West L.A. will serve sit-down lunch and dinner to about 300 of L.A.’s homeless--most of them children--sent to the restaurant by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. There’ll be carolers there too, along with Santa Claus distributing gifts.

TAKE TWO: The five-course Chanukah dinner being served at Akbar Cuisine of India in Encino on the 24th, 25th, and 26th of this month is $29.95 per couple, not per person as reported last week in this space. And one glass of kosher wine per person is included.

ON THE FRONT BURNER: The Bistro in Beverly Hills, which closed for lunch last year due to a drop in business (according to proprietor Kurt Niklas at the time) by the short-lived Beverly Hills restaurant smoking ban, has reopened at midday, featuring “traditional, hearty, down-to-earth bistro food.” . . . The Beverly Hilton Hotel has just dedicated a new kitchen which will be used exclusively for the preparation of kosher food. Hotel catering manager Linda Kent notes that the Beverly Hilton is striving to become the place of choice for all Jewish events in Los Angeles”--which ought to keep them mighty busy. . . . The Wilshire Garden has debuted in the mid-Wilshire area, under the ownership of Christian Burci and Livio Uleia, who describe themselves as “two native Romanians with a taste for Italian cuisine.” . . . And The Alley Grill is new in Sherman Oaks, opened by Ted and Larry Wasserman, proprietors of the Greenhouse in the mid-Wilshire area.