Up in the Sky Room

Retro Glory: It was in 1938, when he bought the Breakers Hotel in Long Beach, that legendary hotelier Conrad Hilton opened the Sky Room. Stars such as Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Rita Hayworth, Cary Grant and John Wayne are said to have dined at the famous view restaurant on the hotel’s top floor. It closed in 1979 when the Breakers became a senior residence, then reopened briefly in 1984 and finally closed again in 1987.

But last year, Bernard Rosenson bought the hotel (which is still a senior residence) and restored the Art Deco look of the Sky Room, capitalizing on its 360-degree view. Now it’s open again for dinner Tuesday-Saturday and for brunch on Sunday. The ultra-retro menu features old-time classics like Caesar salad, oysters Rockefeller, Chateaubriand steak, cherries jubilee and flaming baked Alaska; entrees run $17-$48. Every meal is accompanied by a seven-piece swing and jazz band, the Sky Room Orchestra. No cover charge; jacket required for men. The parking is valet and the elevator ride to the top floor is made more entertaining by a page who’ll tell you the Sky Room’s history.

* The Sky Room in the Breakers, 40 S. Locust Ave., Long Beach; (562) 983-2703.

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Pinot South: Joachim Splichal, who already owns Patina and five Pinot restaurants, is opening another Pinot this summer: Pinot Provence, in the Westin Hotel, Costa Mesa. The menu will be high-end Mediterranean and the decor reminiscent of the south of France, where Splichal spent his first years as a chef. Plans are for two outdoor patios and three private dining rooms.

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Eat and Learn: The American Institute of Wine and Food is sponsoring a two-part lecture series on Italian food rituals. The first lecture takes place at Primi restaurant, where UCLA’s visiting professor of Italian folklore, Luisa Del Giudice, will speak on the role of food in Italian celebrations, sacred and profane, during a 10-course Sicilian meal. Monday, 7 p.m.; $90 for AIWF members, $105 nonmembers.

For the second, Del Giudice will lecture at the UCLA/Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center on the Sicilian custom of making elaborate food altars for the poor during Lent in honor of St. Joseph. March 19, 6 p.m.; lecture, admission to the exhibition “The Invisible Made Visible: Angels From the Vatican” and reception: $40 for AIWF members, $45 nonmembers.

* Primi Ristorante, 10543 Pico Blvd., West L.A.; (310) 475-9235. UCLA/Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood; (310) 443-7000. Call Barbara Hirsch of AIWF at (310) 476-9200 for reservations for either event.

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Oscar Hunger: If you want to do something besides eating cheese puffs as you watch the Oscars, a few restaurants are showing the Academy Awards on TV monitors while serving thematic dishes to honor the nominees. Pinot Bistro has a four-course prix-fixe menu, $55 a head: Not So L.A. Confidential Salad, Titanic Diver Sea Scallops, foie gras and truffles (which is “As Good as It Gets”) and a main course called Good Lamb Hunting; for dessert, a warm chocolate Jackie Brownie with walnut ice cream. This dinner will be served from 6-10 p.m. March 23. Call for reservations. Pinot Bistro, 12969 Ventura Blvd., Studio City; (818) 990-0500. . . . Fenix at the Argyle is showing the Oscars on a wide-screen TV in the bar area. The special appetizer, which you can get now through Oscar Night, is Atlantic Rose: rosettes of Atlantic smoked salmon served on potato pancakes with creme frai^che and American sturgeon caviar, $12.50. Fenix at the Argyle, in the Argyle Hotel, 8358 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; (213) 654-7100.. . . Chris Michaels Restaurant is running a special Oscar menu along with its regular menu from now until March 23. At breakfast, there’s Eggs as Good as It Gets; at lunch the (of course) Iceberg Salad. During happy hour (4-7 p.m. weekdays), you can get drinks with names like Rum Runner Up, “You Really Like Me”-Mosa and Oscar Gold Margarita. Chris Michaels Restaurant, at the Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Ave., L.A.; (310) 360-7755. . . . James’ Beach has big-screen TVs and all-you-can-eat barbecued chicken and ribs. Martinis and cosmopolitans will be served until the end of the show. It’s $49 a head, including all food and drink. Adding to the fun are a betting pool, a raffle and door prizes. Call for reservations. (By the way, they’ve just added an outdoor bar seating 60 to their patio; smokers, rejoice.) James’ Beach, 60 N. Venice Blvd., Venice; (310) 823-5396.

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Farm Breakfasts: Ben Ford is now whipping up breakfast at the Farm of Beverly Hills Monday through Friday from 7 until 11 a.m. He makes his own breads and pastries, along with French toast, blueberry pancakes, turkey hash and huevos rancheros. He’ll also make omelets and eggs any way you like. At brunch (weekends 10 a.m.-3 p.m.), you can get specials like duck-egg omelets, poached eggs on crab cakes and eggs Benedict.

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* The Farm of Beverly Hills, 439 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills; (310) 273-5578.