Recipe for a Dispute : The former chef at Book Soup Bistro denies that he ‘sold’ his recipes to the Sunset Strip eatery. ‘No comment’ from other side.

In the Book Soup. Last week we reported that Book Soup Bistro in West Hollywood had purchased the rights to former chef Andre Lechien’s recipes. Turns out Lechien was outraged that the bistro would make such an assertion. “I did not sell my recipes,” insists Lechien. “When I left, I said, ‘Just keep them and have fun.’ ” He wants an apology from Book Soup Bistro for insinuating he would sell the rights to any of his recipes. But manager Michael Hennessy tells us the bistro has no intention of apologizing and will only say, “No comment at all.”

Meanwhile, Lechien has moved over to Le Colonial in West Hollywood, where he has big plans for changing the menu. (Former chef Gary Bao is back from Paris, by the way, but not as chef, though he’s still in the Le Colonial corporate fold.) Lechien wants a month to get settled in the new kitchen, so pretend you don’t know he’s there yet.

A Deep Blue Tahiti. Chef-restaurauteur Tony Di Lembo has decided to open another restaurant. He owned Indigo on 3rd Street (b. 1989; d. 1995) until he sold it to a partner in 1992. Before selling Indigo, he opened Breadworks Bakery on 3rd Street. Now Di Lembo is opening Tahiti at 7910 W. 3rd St., a stone’s throw from Breadworks. This time, Di Lembo is the sole owner as well as chef.

“Tahiti’s menu will be exactly like Indigo’s,” he says, meaning world cuisine with Italian and French specialties and an overall Asian influence. As for the name Tahiti, well, it only applies to the setting, which will be tropical with lots of plants, shuttered interior doors and a fountain on the patio. It will have a display kitchen with a glassed-in cooking line that juts out into the seating area. Di Lembo hopes to open in early November.

New Side to Woodside. Woodside on San Vicente in L.A. has a new chef at the helm. Dean Max is a hotel veteran, coming from, most recently, the Savoy Hotel’s Brasserie in San Francisco, and before that the Ritz-Carltons Atlanta and Pentagon City (the latter is in Washington). He’s one East Coast kid who was happy to migrate west. “The mentality on food out here is much more advanced,” he says. Former Woodside chef Nigel Faulkner has moved on to other projects, but certain Faulkner menu items will stay with the restaurant, such as the pork chop with prosciutto and sage and the pear salad with Gorgonzola and sliced pecans. As for Max’s new menu, the lunch menu is already out, the dinner menu will follow next week.

This Martini Age. It would seem Angelenos are getting tired of hanging out in coffee houses, to judge by the new crop of martini lounges. Add to the list Voda (soon to open at 1449 2nd St., Santa Monica), which professes to be a vodka caviar lounge. That means you could get silly on vodka martinis while savoring fine beluga, osetra and sevruga. There will also be appetizers created by Ernest Romero (formerly a chef at Campanile and the Four Seasons), such as three-cheese fondue, crab cakes and gravlax on toast points. In addition, Voda will serve monthly special appetizers using recipes from other chefs in town. Owner Mike Garrett thinks Voda will fill “that niche between a restaurant and a nightclub.”

Garrett and partner Tommy Stoilkovich hired designer Dodd Mitchell to give Voda the same cushy lounge atmosphere he created for them at their bar, 217 (217 Broadway, Santa Monica). Voda will open sometime this fall; they’re shooting for this month.

This Martini Age, II. Larry Nicola (of Nicola in downtown L.A.) is trying to re-create the food and ambience of his 1980 Silver Lake restaurant L.A. Nicola. He is also re-creating the martini bar he had there. “We were the first ones to have the martini lounge in 1980 and we’re bringing it back,” he says. The new venture, called Nic’s and the Martini Lounge, will open sometime late this month at 453 N. Canon Drive in Beverly Hills. The menu is going to be small, maybe six to eight entrees, so that Nicola (who does the cooking) can keep it seasonal. The new space has two rooms, one for the bar and the other for dining in booths. There is also a patio that has sidewalk seating for those who want a little fresh air with their full bar privileges.

This Martini Age, III? L.A. racks up another Il Fornaio to complement the Pasadena and Beverly Hills locations. The newest restaurant and bakery will open in Santa Monica at 1551 Paseo del Mar in early November. Managing partner Giorgio Vanzulli tells us, “This will be the nice one.” (Hey, tough biscotti, Beverly Hills and Pasadena.) It has an ocean view and patrons can sit either indoors, in a glass-enclosed patio, or outdoors in the garden. The food will resemble the Beverly Hills’ location with chef Ottavio Palmeri adding more variety to the specials. The new Il Fornaio will also have a full bar, so you can get martinis there too if you desire . . . and think they go better than coffee with cheesecake.