Taking a Peek at Future Menus for L.A.

Big restaurants are here to stay. So are gooey desserts. California cuisine will not become a culinary dinosaur. Nor will Italian. These pronouncements came from a panel discussion on the future of cuisine and restaurants.

“Crystal Ball Grazing,” held recently at the Mondavi Wine & Food Center in Costa Mesa and organized by the American Institute of Wine & Food of Orange County, featured chefs, cooking teachers and wine educators. The panel, moderated by Barbara Fairchild, executive editor of Bon Appetit, included chefs Mark Peel of Campanile; Reed Hearon of Rose Pistola, San Francisco; Alan Greeley of the Golden Truffle, Costa Mesa; Michael Roberts of Twin Palms, Pasadena; and Aaron Noveshen of World Wrapps Inc., San Francisco.

Here’s a sampling of opinions and topics:

* Future of California cuisine. Roberts: “It will survive because it is not quirky. It is less ingredient-driven than Mexican or Cajun. It’s a lifestyle thing.”

* Adventurous diners. Hearon: “My customers are [adventurous]. We’re selling more octopus, fresh sardines, fish with heads on and bones in. People are becoming more appreciative of foods with heritage.”

* Greeley: “What customers order is influenced by their past experience. And how a waiter presents a new dish based on his [or her] understanding of it.”

* Low-fat items. Noveshen: “People who dine out want to enjoy life. But that doesn’t mean cigars and Scotch every night.” Roberts: “There is no such thing as unhealthful food, just bad eating habits.” Peel: “Slapping a low-fat label on something is the kiss of death. Food then becomes a penance. Only a small percentage of the population needs to have those foods.” Hearon: “Bodies crave salt and fat. Let’s not get fanatical.”

Gustaf Magnuson of Gustaf Anders, Santa Ana: “We cut down on the use of cream and offer more low-fat dishes. But a little bit of butter won’t kill you. It’s better than margarine--that’s full of chemicals.”

* Big restaurants versus small. Roberts: “Big restaurants have evolved with the growth of the suburbs. Twin Palms is like Times Square. People circulate. There’s lots going on. The small, intimate restaurants work well in an urban setting. In the suburbs people are more isolated and miss the social interaction. A restaurant becomes a social center. Going to a restaurant becomes a voyage.”

* Wine sales. Peel: “Tastings of new wines with the staff are worth the time and money. If we don’t sell the waiters [on the wines], the wines won’t sell.” Greeley: “Encourage the staff to taste then form their own opinions. Everyone benefits.”

* Desserts. Roberts: “People want small portions with intense flavors.” Hearon: Combination plates “with little tastes from the dessert table” are popular. Peel: “Ice cream, chocolate, crumbles are always big. Sixty percent of the diners at the table order desserts, but everyone tastes.”

*

Reality Check: The caller sounded rattled. “What happened to Emilio’s? It’s all boarded up.” Reader Mike Estrada wanted to take his wife to their favorite Italian restaurant for their 20th anniversary. During a recent late-night drive, he saw boarded-up windows on the 28-year-old restaurant at the corner of Melrose and Highland avenues.

Slow down, Mike. Part of Emi (the new name for Emilio’s) is in the middle of an overhaul.

Owner Emilio Baglioni decided to update Emilio’s and bring it into the ‘90s and beyond. In February, he took a partner, Antonio Alessi. In April, they changed the name to Emi and expanded the menu to include more Mediterranean offerings such as paella and Greek salad. Out went the fountain; in came a long marble bar. The wine list, the cellar drinking room and the vaulted ceilings remain. There’s more to come: live music, a screening room, billiards, pool tables and seating for 300.

*

Down Home Sugar: For those who want minimal-guilt desserts, try ordering off the menu at Le Dome. The West Hollywood haunt for stars and moguls keeps a stash of cookies. But you have to ask.

When a regular customer did that recently, waiter Joe Johnson obliged with a plate and volunteered some tidbits. “Those are my mom’s,” he said, pointing to the coconut cookies. In the Florida kitchen of Charlotte Johnson, those treats, her son said, are known as snow drifts.

On one of his mother’s visits, Johnson had brought a couple of dozen into restaurateur EddieKerkhofs’ kitchen to share with the staff. One bite and executive pastry chef Miguel Ambriz was smitten. Now he bakes 10 dozen daily. The secret ingredient? Corn flakes.

Datebook: Hong Kong is no bargain, except for two weeks. A fixed-price menu ($28 lunch; $45 dinner) stars during a Hong Kong promotion at the Regent Beverly Wilshire beginning Sept. 30. Executive chefs Jurg Blaser and Cheung Kam Chuen of the Regent Hong Kong will show off signature dishes from the hotel’s four award-winning restaurants.

* The Dining Room, the Regent Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills. (310) 275-5200.

*

New Arrivals . . . : There’s an irony about Pastis, a 3-week-old restaurant on the corner of Beverly and Crescent Heights boulevards. Though named after the popular aperitif (an aniseed alcoholic drink that’s the French version of Greece’s ouzo), the 55-seat restaurant will not be serving pastis--”just beer and wine,” says owner Arnaud Palatan.

The menu is Provencale, the atmosphere casual. A bottle of wine will fall in the $12 to $20 price range. Chef James Young, a veteran of Ma Maison and Champagne, is in the kitchen. “To open a little place, something like you’d find in Arles or Avignon, has been a dream,” Palatan says.

* Pastis Restaurant, 8114 Beverly Blvd. (213) 655-8822.

*

Eat Your Heart Out, Christo: Todo Wraps has big plans--to cover California with its soft tortillas and oddball fillings. The first So Cal outlet of this Seattle-based restaurant chain just opened in Studio City. The second is slated for Pasadena in late October, with a Marina del Rey branch to follow in November. How about a chocolate monkey wrap? A hit with kids, it’s peanut butter, jelly and chocolate chips. The Tokyo-roasted ginger chicken wrap comes with plum sauce and wasabi.

* Todo Wraps, 12265 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. (818) 754-1371.

*

Finishing Touches: More cuisine of the sun. Watch for Zazou, an 80-seat bistro, to open in mid-October in Redondo Beach. Guy Gabriele, owner of Cafe Pierre, explains the name: “It goes back to the ‘40s in France. American GIs used the word but took liberties with pronunciation. It means fashionable, eccentric, jazzy.” A special martini bar will feature infused spirits. The bistro will take over the site of Papa’s, a jazz-rock bar at 1810 S. Catalina Ave. Jumping from Cafe Pierre’s kitchen to Zazou’s is executive chef Colin Colville. And into his shoes steps chef Eduardo Rodriguez.

*

Double Vision: Ron Salisbury just signed a lease for a second El Cholo. The 380-seat restaurant will open in March on the site of the defunct Tampico Tillie’s on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica. About 70% of El Cholo’s signature dishes will be on the menu.

Restaurant Notes runs in this space on alternate Fridays.