A New Nicola; an Arty Hangout

Pieces of wood, curved like ribs, frame the room; free-form light fixtures, covered with what looks like white T-shirt material, hover above the tables. You might describe the dining room at the new Nicola restaurant, deep in the lobby of the futuristic Sanwa skyscraper downtown, as something like a view from inside a whale.

This is a brave new world for Larry Nicola, who closed his safe, comfortable Silver Lake restaurant L.A. Nicola to open this place. It’s a restaurant built to immediately impress design aficionados, but food lovers will have to be patient while the kitchen finds its rhythm. There are some interesting things to eat here--a charred pasilla chile stuffed with crisp bits of lamb; grilled Italian flatbread with Maytag blue cheese, olives and roasted garlic; broiled salmon flavored with ginger and sesame oil--but so far, the menu may read better than it portends. Dessert here, a good raspberry tart, a coffee semifreddo , is fine.

*

Meanwhile, over at Angel’s on Beverly Boulevard, the art crowd that used to hang out at the old Cocola downtown has a new streamlined place in which to eat, drink and argue. It’s sort of a Cheers for the deconstruction set, a Pop’s Choklit Shop for neo-conceptualists. Many of the familiar faces from Cocola, including owner Angus Chamberlain, are in residence. Many of the familiar, informal Cocola dishes, including the so-called “stand-up” tacos (easy to eat standing up at a bar), are on the menu, and chef James Bucalo has come up with some good new things to eat.

* Nicola, 601 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, (213) 485-0927. Pasta and entrees $7-$20.

* Angel’s, 7450 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 939-2466. Pizza, pasta and entrees $5.95-$13.95.