1000 Wilshire: An Open-and-Shut Case

Alberto Liani has--already!--closed his new 1000 Wilshire Ristorante in Santa Monica. Liani, general manager of Il Giardino and Pane Caldo in Beverly Hills, had taken over management of the place officially last July, but it wasn’t until late October that he introduced a new menu and revamped the kitchen. “Probably I let it go too long,” he admits. His contract with the owners of the property called for him to assume ownership on Jan. 1. “November and December were spectacular months for us,” he says, “but I was getting very tired running back and forth between three restaurants. And if I became owner rather than just manager of 1000 Wilshire, I knew that I’d have to give it still more of my time, and of course a large expenditure of money. I thought about it, and finally decided, at the end of the year, to give it back.”

Liani does, however, have new plans for Pane Caldo. “Already we’ve brought two wonderful new chefs from Tuscany,” he says. “Now we’re going to make a special gourmet room called Pane Caldo Reserva, with a special five- to eight-course limited menu every evening. I’ve order new chairs, new crystal, special Ricci silverware and Limoges china. It will be very elegant. It will only seat about 20 people. In my opinion, there is not a big crowd for something like this in Los Angeles today, but there is a select few who should enjoy it.” Prices and menu in the main Pane Caldo dining room will remain unchanged. Liani expects to open Reserva in early March.

SPAGO WATCH, CONTINUED: This column has previously reported sightings of restaurants called Spago--unrelated to the West Hollywood original--in Paris and London. Add to those the Spago Ristorante Pizzeria on the Kurfusten Strasse in West Berlin. This Spago, owned by a couple of Italians named (according to the menu) T. Cacciapuoti and G. Gentile, is a standard-Italian-looking place, serving mostly pizzas and pastas in the $6-$10 range--among them a Spago Pizza, whose ingredients, says the menu, are an “Uberraschung”-- a surprise.

SPECIALS OF THE HOUSE: Patina in Hollywood celebrates truffle season with a six-course truffle-based menu, served Monday and Tuesday only. The price is $89 per person for food only. . . . Also Monday night, Giovanni’s in Camarillo hosts a wine dinner featuring selections from Cosentino Crystal Valley Cellars, five courses for $42 a head all-inclusive. . . . And the Napa Valley’s ZD Winery is featured at Cafe Pierre in Manhattan Beach the same evening, with five courses at $50 per person--not including tax and tip.