FIRST IMPRESSIONS : Provencia Hopes to Succeed Where Two Others Failed

One more time, a new restaurant is taking on the Fairfax venue where the Hollywood Diner and Tutto Bene couldn’t make it. This time the concept is Provencal-California on a budget, featuring a three-course prix fixe dinner at $18.95, plus a small a la carte menu. Partner and manager Jon Safier, an old Ma Maison alum, runs the front, and a former Campanile cook, Steven Hermann, is in charge of the kitchen.

The flower pot of crudites on the table is very cute. But is the cautious menu of potato and leek soup, steamed mussels, rotisserie chicken and grilled meats and fish appealing enough to turn the tables?

* Provencia, 945 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles. (213) 654-4594. Open for dinner Monday through Saturday. Valet parking. Visa, MasterCard and American Express accepted. Appetizers $3.95 to $9.95; entrees $9.95 to $12.95.