After L’Ermitage . . . What?

Restaurant dining in Los Angeles took a giant step forward when the late Jean Bertranou opened L’Ermitage 16 years ago. It’s come to epitomize fine dining in this city, and the restaurant’s closing last week was a surprise to Los Angeles diners. It was also, it turns out, a surprise to its chef, Michel Blanchet.

Blanchet, who had been with the restaurant since its opening, says the decision was a bit unexpected. “The way she (current owner Dora Fourcade) presented it, she told me once she wanted to try to sell the restaurant and if she didn’t sell she would consider reopening it with a different style.”

Blanchet, who says he was given only a few days notice of the impending closure, says he’s been busy finding work for the kitchen staff. “They need to work, and I was lucky enough to find them something.”

As for his own plans--Blanchet says he has none. “If something comes up, which I like I will consider it,” he says. “I’m not going to jump in the first job that I find. I’ll see. . . . “

POSITIVE THINKING: Four days after the closing of L’Ermitage, and a day after owner Dora Fourcade went on record saying the restaurant was closed and up for sale, The Times received a press release from the restaurant that read, in part:

“In addition to being closed for summer vacation, L’Ermitage restaurant . . . will remain closed for an estimated six weeks in order to give the owners time to rethink the restaurant’s concept. . . . Current owner Dora Fourcade remodeled the restaurant five years ago, but it seems that L’Ermitage is now in for more than a face lift: it’s preparing for a new birth!”

A SURE BET?: Wolfgang Puck isn’t the only restaurateur gambling that Las Vegas is ready for good restaurants. Mauro Vincenti (Rex, Pazzia) is also planning to cash in by opening Las Vegas spinoffs of his restaurants. Tempietto will be a clone of the elegant Rex, with 280 seats. Next door will be a Pazzia-like spinoff. “I had planned to call it SPQR, which are the initials for Rome--S(enatus) P(opulus) q(ue) R(omanus)--but I found it’s already been taken--it’s a New York restaurant--so now I am going to have to think of something else.” Both restaurants are scheduled to open in the spring of ’92.

Nicky Blair is also eyeing the desert. While his star-studded Northern Italian Nicky Blair’s has been called “Vegas in L.A.,” his Vegas restaurant will not return the compliment. Blair says that the Las Vegas Nicky Blair’s will be a New York-style steak house.

NEWCOMERS: Glendale residents can now wake up and smell the coffee: It’s coming from Piacere Espresso Bar, which roasts its beans on the premises and has just opened for breakfast and lunch, Monday through Friday. The address is 1101 Air Way in Glendale . . . J & J Wholesale Fish has opened Dukey’s Seafood Express, featuring flame-broiled fish for less than $5, at 5511 Reseda Blvd., Tarzana . . . and Cafe del Rey has opened on the site of the former Fiasco in Marina del Rey; the nonsmoking restaurant features pizzas, pastas, salads and what it describe as classic California French.

ALMOST HERE: Farfalla La Brea, the two-story branch of Farfalla on Hillhurst, hopes to be open in two weeks, although a spokesperson still said that there is “no exact date.” . . . Wolfgang Puck’s Malibu Granita hopes to open for business “the end of July.” . . . Celestino Drago says Drago, his new Santa Monica restaurant, should be finished by July 25; he hopes to be open for business by the 28th. . . . Ciro’s Pomodoro, 8701 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, has 86’d the Italian food and renamed itself Knockouts. Down for the count of July 22, expect to order big sandwiches, salads and grill food. . . . The Shark Club, a restaurant/nightclub on the site of the old Myron’s Ballroom, expects to open tomorrow. . . . And Epicenter at the Kawada Hotel Downtown expects things to start shakin’ on July 29.

ADVANTAGE DOMINO’S: Wimbledon fans had to endure long lines for tickets. What they did not have to endure was hunger while they waited. “Once fans have a place in line they are reluctant to leave, even for food,” says Darell Swai,t, manager of Domino’s pizza in Morden, England. “So we hit on the idea of queue delivery. When the word got out, people were calling from car phones for delivery to the parking lot.” In four hours, Domino’s sold 100 pizzas to famished fans.