PARTY LINE : In a Chado da Vida

When Hollywood’s hippest want to party these days, many head to Fred Eric’s Chado Room, the private-party space at the restaurant Vida in Los Feliz.

Eric, chef and owner of Vida, is known as a food punster--there just aren’t that many places these days that serve Okra Winfrey gumbo or Pop-I spinach soup.

But it’s in the Chado Room where the real fun takes place. Reserved for a maximum of 18 for an entire evening, customers dine Japanese-, Western-, or even Middle Eastern-style. That means guests may find themselves sitting low to the ground on straw mats or in regular chairs.

“One person ended up on the table dancing, taking her clothes off,” says Eric.

When Beastie Boy rapper Adam Horovitz (Adrock) and his wife, actress Ione Skye, threw a party for eight in the Chado Room, Eric filled the little drawers around the table with dry ice. On top of the ice sat bowls of cold Japanese pumpkin soup. The chef also added dry ice to the table centerpiece.

“When the guests opened the drawers to eat their soup, all this foggy smoke came out,” says Eric. “It looked great and gave the room a cool feel.” Of course , the smoke gag was probably only coincidental. It had nothing to do with Horovitz and fellow Beasties making news last August when they lobbed a smoke bomb onto the crowded floor of the Troubadour rock club, sending fans out of the building.

The Beastie group also ate Vietnamese spring rolls, octopus salad, grilled vegetables, and Eric’s so-called Tra La La salad (a breaded artichoke heart filled with goat cheese). For dessert they ate cold Tibetan timbales (mango lassi sorbet), then munched on biscotti and sipped a hot Brazilian carnival mate tea served in gourds with metal straws.

For Eric, parties at the Chado are even more fun when he can get customers to play with their food. Often, he includes one course that requires guest participation. At one party he showed a group how to make the Japanese dumplings, gyozas . At another, guests grilled their own vegetables. “It’s like roasting marshmallows,” he says. “It’s kind of that kindergarten thing.”

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These buttery biscuits are nothing like the flavorless Italian biscotti found at most coffeehouses. Be sure to allow them to cool thoroughly before storing in an airtight container or the biscotti may become soggy.

GRANOLA BISCOTTI

1 1/3 cups butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 cup milk

4 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup dates, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups Granola

Cream butter and sugar in large mixing bowl until well blended. Add eggs 1 at time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and milk. Mix flour with baking powder in separate bowl and add to butter mixture.

Add raisins and dates to Granola in work bowl of food processor and process, approximately 10 seconds, or until granola is texture of corn meal and nuts are still chunky. Add to biscotti mixture and mix until well blended.

Divide dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion on floured board into 12-inch cylinder, using palm of your hands. Pat gently. Slide both hands under each cylinder of dough and transfer to baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees about 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool 2 minutes, then cut diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices. Place slices flat on baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees until slightly toasted, about 15 minutes. Store in airtight container. Makes about 5 dozen.

Each biscotti contains about:

83 calories; 57 mg sodium; 16 mg cholesterol; 5 grams fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.08 gram fiber.

Granola

2 cups oatmeal

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup bran flakes

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/3 cup pecans, chopped

3/4 cup almonds, chopped

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup honey

Place oatmeal, brown sugar, bran flakes, flour, sesame seeds, pecans and almonds in bowl. Toss with canola oil and honey. Spread mixture on baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees 1 hour or until golden, turning every 10 minutes. Cool. Store in airtight container. Makes 5 cups.