Chef Paul Bocuse’s Moving in All Directions

Paul Bocuse is heading in an entirely new direction. Last year the three-star chef, whose original restaurant at Collonges-au-Mont-d’Or above Lyon will set you back about $200, took over Brasserie Le Nord (that’s French for “the North”), a landmark restaurant in the heart of Lyon. The casual spot has been so successful (a source says it is doing twice the business Bocuse originally envisioned) that he’s now bought another Lyon landmark--Brasserie Rise. The place will be remodeled and renamed Le Sud (that’s French for “the South”). Like Le Nord, Le Sud will be casual, lively--and cheaper than Bocuse’s flagship restaurant. (In French that means main courses will range from $25 to $60.)

Bocuse, who turns 70 in February, plans to open two more restaurants: L’Ouest (“the West”) and L’Est (“the East”). That way, says the source, whatever direction you turn, there will be a Paul Bocuse restaurant.

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Revival Rooms: Renaissance in Santa Monica isn’t dead after all; it’s just been reborn! Partners Philip Cummins and Angus Beavers have completely redesigned the space they closed a month ago. One side is now Mustard’s, a lower-priced 150-seat American bistro (no relation to the Napa Valley Mustard’s); the other has been turned into Savoy, a cross between a hunter’s lodge and a castle featuring dinner and dancing. “Renaissance was such a huge venue people were shying away,” says a spokeswoman for the year-and-a-half-old supper club. “Places that are intimate, comfortable and produce really good food are doing very well now.”

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Taking the Bait: Several New Orleans chefs were arrested recently and taken away from their restaurants in handcuffs for buying banned fish and game. The arrests capped Operation Bon Appetit, a lengthy undercover investigation by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

But Andrea Apuzzo didn’t let a pair of handcuffs dampen his spirits. As the well-known Italian chef and author of two cookbooks sat cuffed in the lobby of the Jefferson Parish East Bank lockup, the New Orleans Times Picayune reports, he invited a lieutenant to dine at his restaurant.