PARTY LINE : The Blessing of the Monkey Bar

The cozy, windowless Monkey Bar on Beverly Boulevard near Fairfax Avenue is normally full of rich, pampered faces, including Shannen Doherty, Mickey Rourke, Don Henley and, at least in the restaurant’s early days, alleged Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss. But one evening earlier this month none of the familiar clientele were at the nightclub-like spot, which is co-owned by Jack Nicholson. The restaurant closed for a private party to raise money for St. Vincent’s Meals-on-Wheels, an organization founded by Sister Alice Marie Quinn that delivers 2,000 meals every day to the homebound.

“I hardly knew anybody,” says Monkey Bar manager Doug Murch. “It was a WASPy society crowd plus some nuns.”

Because it was a more conservative group, chef Gordon Naccarato--formerly at Michael’s in Santa Monica and Gordon’s, his own Aspen restaurant--put together a menu that combined simple, straightforward dishes with some of the more daring ethnic flavors for which he is famous.

“The nuns went for the wild things,” says Naccarato. “They didn’t go for the roast chicken, they wanted the jerk pork with Caribbean rice. They chose grilled chopped salad with carnitas instead of a Caesar.” They also gobbled up the ahi sashimi, the grilled salmon pizzas and the arancini (little rice balls).

“I couldn’t believe how much they ate,” says Naccarato. “As a chef, I’m totally flipped out when people go after the food.”

Everyone at the party had a chance to win a trip for two to Rome. Also, a band played everything from “Maria” to “O Sole Mio.” “They were terrible,” says co-chair Katherine Kilroy. “They weren’t Italian but they played Italian music.”

Still, everyone agrees it was a great night.

“I wanted to show off the Monkey Bar because we don’t get a lot of nuns in here,” says Naccarato. “Since we’ve been connected with Heidi and her ilk, it was nice having the opposite end of the spectrum to maybe exorcise the demons.

“Plus, the nuns ate more than Heidi.”

Offset by the sweetness of the plantains, this rice is wonderful with hot, spicy jerk chicken or pork.

CARIBBEAN FRIED RICE

3 cups chicken stock

3 cups water

1 stick cinnamon

1 onion, chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

3 cups basmati rice

3 bay leaves

Dash crushed red chile flakes

3/4 cup cooked black beans

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

2 plantains, peeled and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup corn oil

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 bunch cilantro, choppped

Salt, pepper

Bring stock and water to boil in large saucepan. Add cinnamon stick and reduce heat. Cover pan and simmer 15 minutes.

In Dutch oven over medium heat, saute chopped onion, celery and carrot in olive oil until tender. Add garlic and cook several minutes; do not brown. Add rice and stir until translucent, 1 minute.

Remove cinnamon stick from stock and discard. To rice, add stock, bay leaves, chile, beans, cumin, thyme and oregano. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat to low and cook 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 10 minutes.

While rice is standing, in skillet saute plantains in 1/2 cup oil until golden. Remove and drain on paper towels. Add to rice mixture along with green onions and cilantro. Toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 12 to 18 servings.

Each of 12 servings contains about:

356 calories; 233 mg sodium; trace cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 52 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 1.13 grams fiber.