A Special Blend

Off the Menu: Michael Hricak is a restaurant nut and foodie who happens to be an architect. He has designed a two-session class that combines his passion and his profession. Called “On-Site Study Tour of Restaurant Design,” it is now in its eighth year at UCLA Extension. The next session includes a pre-tour lecture and slide presentation the evening of Feb. 28 in Santa Monica, followed by a full-day tour of restaurant sites on March 1.

The partner and design director of Rockefeller/Hricak in Venice is not short of opinions. An example of timeless restaurant design? Chaya Brasserie on Alden Drive. One man’s vision? The Japanese owner of Cafe La Bohe^me in West Hollywood wanted an interior inspired by another era. An example of stunning taste and budget-be-damned? The antique-filled private dining rooms of House of Blues. Interesting use of space on a shoestring budget? Bus, a former bus station turned into a gym-cum-cafe in Santa Monica.

This term Hricak’s class is scheduled to visit ObaChine, Maple Drive, Xi’an and the site of Wolfgang Puck’s new restaurant--all in Beverly Hills; plus Monsoon Cafe in Santa Monica and Le Colonial and House of Blues in West Hollywood. At each site designers, architects, chefs or owners will discuss the restaurant’s design, concept, style and function.

This quarter’s class is nearly full, but the course will be offered again in the fall through UCLA Extension’s Architecture, Interior and Environmental Design Program. Tuition: $150, includes lecture, bus transportation and lunch. Information: (310) 825-9061.

*

All Aboard: Hungry for golf? It’s yours for breakfast or lunch at Pacific Dining Car in Santa Monica. The restaurant offers complimentary shuttle bus service to the 1997 Nissan Open. The four-day PGA event begins Feb. 27 at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. The parking charge for the restaurant’s lot is waived if you present the receipt for your meal; bus runs every 40 minutes, from 10 a.m. weekdays; from 8 a.m. weekends. Santa Monica location only.

* Pacific Dining Car, 2700 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 453-4000.

*

Fast Tracks ‘Round the Bay: Traci Des Jardins (an alumna of Patina, circa 1989-1991) made her mark on San Francisco when she opened Aqua in 1991 as sous chef, joined Elka as chef de cuisine then moved to Rubicon as executive chef. After three years at the helm (and a 1995 James Beard Award for rising star chef of the year), she left five weeks ago to launch a new San Francisco restaurant.

Des Jardins, restaurant designer Pat Kuleto and a number of silent partners plan to open Jardiniere sometime in August. The 180-seat restaurant at 300 Grove St., formerly the site of the jazz club Kimball’s, will have a menu “that’s my style, French influences with California produce,” she explained, then cautioned, “nothing’s in granite, yet.”

*

Reach Out: Detroit can’t claim sloppy Joes, S’Mores Cake or macaroni and cheese as culinary creations. But they’re among the home-style choices at Motown Cafe. While Detroit does have signature names such as Vernor’s Ginger Ale, Sanders’ Hot Fudge and Stroh’s beer, unfortunately, they’re missing from the menu of the new Motown Cafe in Las Vegas.

The sounds created by Berry Gordy’s musical empire in the ‘60s are the lure for customers lining up at the 600-seat theme restaurant in the New York-New York Hotel and Casino complex.

Investors in Motown Cafe include artists Queen Latifah, Diana Ross, some original members of Four Tops, the Temptations and Polygram Records.

Like Hard Rock Cafe and a host of others, this theme restaurant is a museum of sorts, but the actual costumes and real gold records are housed in the Motown Cafe in New York. In Las Vegas, the Supreme’s tomato-red beaded gowns and the Jackson Five’s tuxedos are only copies.

Dewy-faced impersonators of the Temptations and Supremes take the stage every 20 minutes to revive an oldie or two for the mostly middle-aged audience.

The menu, which looks and feels like a 33-rpm album cover, hints at the ‘50s and ‘60s with chicken pot pie, barbecue ribs and meatloaf, but also includes today’s obligatory pastas, Caesar salad and San Pellegrino.

Hands-down favorite at one table of Detroiters was the two-fisted sloppy Joe (long on onion, short of sweetness) that came with a mountain of sweet potato fries. But for culinary authenticity, you’d better shop around.