Shuffling Chefs

Up, Up and Away: Piero Selvaggio, owner of Valentino, Posto and Primi restaurants, has changed one of his trio of chefs. Primi’s longtime executive chef, Enrico Glaudo, has left to open his own restaurant--he’s partner and chef at Emi in the old Emilio’s space on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. Valentino’s former sous chef, Edgar Lopez, has taken over Primi’s kitchen. Selvaggio says Lopez, who has been with Valentino for 20 years, is “much more systematic” than Glaudo was, but insists that the breakup was amicable. Glaudo needed to follow his ambitions. “It was a natural move,” he says.

*

Lunch Revisited: Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger’s Border Grill in Santa Monica is once again open for lunch. Milliken credits the healthier economy and the city’s improved parking situation for giving her the confidence to try lunch again. Border Grill is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 3 p.m. and a limited menu is also available between 3 and 4:30 p.m. (Dinner is served starting at 5 p.m.) Chef Tacho Kneeland’s chile crab cakes with romesco sauce (a blend of red bell peppers, almonds, tomato juice and garlic) has already become a lunchtime favorite. Of course, the ceviches and soft-griddled tacos are also flying off the plates.

* Border Grill, 1445 4th St., Santa Monica; (310) 451-1655.

*

Is L.A. Out?: The Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville has announced the recipients of its 1997 Culinary Awards of Excellence for restaurants and restaurateurs. Sorry, but not a single L.A. restaurant made the cut. The panel of four who chose the six winners consisted of Wolfgang Puck, John Mariani (Esquire magazine restaurant critic), Margrit Biever (Mondavi’s vice president of cultural affairs and Robert Mondavi’s wife) and Axel Fabre (director of Mondavi’s Great Chefs Program). According to Fabre, there was no intention to diss Los Angeles. She feels there are lots of talented chefs all across the country and she’s happy to “spread the wealth around.” No bags of gold for the winners however. They are honored at a reception and dinner at the winery and are presented with a life-sized portrait of themselves in their chef’s whites. For the record, Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills was honored last year.

*

Still About to Open: Back in March, Conde Nast’s Traveler reported that Barnaby’s Hollywood, a restaurant under construction on Fairfax Avenue, was “the hottest thing going, with 18-foot ceilings, Brazilian cherrywood floors and columns, and a menu of eclectic Californian fare fashioned by chef Joe Cochran, late of Riverside’s landmark Mission Inn.” Whoops. Not only is Barnaby’s not open yet, Joe Cochran is no longer attached to the project. Since that goof, associate editor Matthew Fox assures us that Traveler is now careful to specify when restaurants “are scheduled to be opening.” As for Barnaby’s, according to its director of operations, Jason Newman, the restaurant won’t even be close to opening until the end of the year--and it still doesn’t have a chef.

*

A Rocken’ Party: Hans Rockenwagner is having a party to celebrate the publication of his eponymous cookbook, which, the Santa Monica chef says, spans 15 years of his career. The party, with copious amounts of martinis and wines, is private, but the book is available at the restaurant for $29.95. And if you ask very nicely, Rockenwagner will even sign it for you. How’s that for customer service?

* Rockenwagner Restaurant at Edgemar, 2435 Main St., Santa Monica; (310) 399-6504.

*

Slim Days Are Here Again: Roma Via Paris, a French-Italian restaurant on the edge of Universal City, is offering a summertime spa menu that focuses on dishes prepared without butter or cream.

Chef-owner Joseph Abrakjio says, “I got sick of cooking with butter and cream. It got boring. And I wanted to do something new.” To take advantage of seasonal fruits and vegetables, he changes his spa menu weekly. This week’s dishes include baby spinach salad with baked goat cheese, wild mushrooms and yellow tomatoes; and farfalle pasta with sea scallops, salmon and fresh dill. If the spa menu--available 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays--takes off, Abrakjio may be induced to keep it on all year.

* Roma Via Paris, 3413 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Los Angeles; (213) 882-6965.

*

Two Sheets to the Wind: The current place for the Pasadena professional to toss back a few seems to be Twin Palms. Its new happy hour is taking off to the point that there’s sometimes standing room only. From 4 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Twin Palms Cabernet or Chardonnay is just $1 a glass, draft beer is $2 and drinks are $3. There’s also a martini menu to consider. And happy-hour foods are not just dainty little tidbits. For $2 an item, you can get a full-size Caesar or green salad; fried baby calamari rings; a 9-inch chicken, pepperoni or vegetarian pizza; or a cheeseburger, Portabello mushroom sandwich or chicken panini.

* Twin Palms, 101 W. Green St., Pasadena; (818) 577-2567.