Taking Off From Barfly

Bye-Bye, Barfly: Chef Kazuto Matsusaka is leaving Barfly at the end of August to consult full time for Amadeus restaurant in Beverly Hills. He’s following in the footsteps of former Barfly manager (and best friend) Chris Schaeffer, who defected about three weeks ago. Matsusaka has been consulting for Amadeus on a part-time basis for a few weeks now, and its new California/French menu comes out this week.

As for why Matsusaka and his wife (and cooking partner), Vicki Fan, are leaving Barfly: Well, they got tired of bopping back and forth to the original Barfly in Paris; been there, done that. Sometime in the near future Matsusaka hopes to open a restaurant of his own with Fan and Schaeffer.

Amici-able Takeover: Trattoria Amici owner Tancredi DeLuca will be taking over the old Gilliland’s at 2424 Main St. in Santa Monica and turning the old Irish restaurant into (guess hard!) an Italian one, to be called Trattoria Amici Mare. It will be modeled after DeLuca’s Beverly Hills operation, but with a few advantages. Amici Mare gets a patio, a wood-burning pizza oven and Gilliland’s full liquor license. Says DeLuca: “It will be a casual thing.” DeLuca’s partner, chef Enrico Trova, will supervise the new place, which should be opening in mid-September.

Fathers Know Best: An old gas station in Agoura Hills has been turned into an Italian restaurant complete with garden room and martini bar by the people who brought you Ca’ Brea, Ca’ de Sol, Locanda Veneta, Il Moro and Allegria (that would be chef-owner Saverio Posarelli and partners Franco Simplicio, Antonio Tomassi and Jean-Louis De Mori). All the men are fathers, so the place is named Padri (“fathers” in Italian).

On the menu you’ll find pasta with veal and ricotta meatballs, a roast loin of pork with white beans and escarole, and other Italian dishes. In the martini bar, you can act hip on the couches and armchairs, especially on Tuesday nights when a special martini is only $2.

* Padri, 29002 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills; (818) 865-3700.

Camelions, C’est Mimi: The old Camelions space on 26th Street in Santa Monica is now Chez Mimi, brought to you by the very French Micheline Hebert, the woman who owned Chez Helene in Venice and then Beverly Hills. Chez Helene became Chez Giles when Giles Epie made her an offer on the property that she couldn’t refuse. (Epie left back in February, upon which Chez Giles became Bistro K.)

Hebert was planning on taking a year off, but she found out that Camelions was available and had to have the Brentwood cottage with its three dining rooms (each with a fireplace) and three patios.

The theme is still country French. “My menu followed me, I just added new dishes,” Hebert says. In other words, you’ll still find bouillabaisse and cassoulet. And she says she loves the fireplace in her kitchen.

* Chez Mimi, 246 26th St., Santa Monica; (310) 393-0558.

Dining at Restaurant Made Legal!: You are no longer infuriating the Santa Monica Planning Commission when you dine on the patio outside Rockenwagner Restaurant at Edgemar. The tables have been out there since the place opened, but no waiters were allowed to bring food to them. You may remember that there was a breakthrough decision last year, reached after countless hours of public hearings, but only now is the green light official. OK, maybe this issue has gone on so long you can’t get worked up about it, but this might get your attention: If you eat on the patio--between 6 and 7:30 p.m., any night but Saturday--you’re entitled to a special three-course summer menu for $29.50. We hope it was worth the wait.

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

If You Can’t Go to Manhattan, Go to Manhattan Beach: Michi Takahashi of Michi Restaurant and Bar in Manhattan Beach will be cooking at the James Beard House in New York City in September. Conveniently for those of us who won’t be in the Apple next month, Takahashi will cook the same dinner here Wednesday. The meal begins with an apple-infused martini and four hors d’oeuvres, and moves through four more courses and dessert, each paired with wine. The tab for all food and drink is $80 a person. An 18% gratuity is tacked on the bill. Dinner begins promptly at 7 p.m.

* Michi Restaurant and Bar, 903 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach; (310) 376-0613.

If You Can’t Go to Paris, Go to a Fish House: Ever feel like watching leggy models prance around in Dior fashions while you down half a dozen oysters? If you happen to have lunch reservations for around noon on Wednesday at McCormick & Schmick’s--The Fish House on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, you’ll get to see just that. You’ll also get a coupon of sorts for a cosmetics make-over at the Christian Dior boutique and a gift from Jose Eber Atelier (which happens to be styling the models’ hair for the show). Order from the regular menu. The fashion show will run from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on the patio.

* McCormick & Schmick’s--The Fish House, 206 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills; (310) 859-0434.

Send hot tips and other information to Pettera@mci2000.com