Chef Heads for the Hills--Beverly Hills

Less Is More: Chef Kazuo Manabe from the New Otani Hotel & Gardens will soon be working in a brand-new space: 255 S. Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, scheduled to open by the end of November as Kiyono, a small, high-end Japanese restaurant and sushi bar. His new boss is an old friend, Tammy Henken, in her first restaurant. Manabe says, “Very attractive is what we’re expecting.” What’s Henken’s take on the look of the place? It will look “like a Japanese restaurant.” What else?

*

Addio, Joe: Little Joe’s, the 101-year-old Italian restaurant in downtown L.A. will be closing its doors for good Dec. 5. Owners Bob and Steve Nuccio are, needless to say, not thrilled about shutting down the institution their grandfather began as the Italian-American Grocery Company. “We’re probably sadder than anybody,” says Bob. Unfortunately, the old building on Broadway proved too problematic to repair without great expense. So far, the brothers have no plans for future business ventures. They figure they’ll spend six months just gathering memorabilia from the site for their family. At the moment, though, Little Joe’s is taking reservations for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday and for dinner on Saturday right up to Dec. 4.

* Little Joe’s, 900 N. Broadway, L.A.; (213) 489-4900.

*

Last of the Lobsterfests: Gladstone’s in Malibu is wrapping up a lobster special that runs until the end of October. For the rest of this month, you can get a 1-pound Maine lobster for $15.95, with drawn butter, coleslaw and sourdough bread. For a little bit more ($18.20), you can order the lobster dinner, which includes rice, steamed vegetables and choice of soup or salad. 17383 Sunset Blvd., Suite 140, Pacific Palisades; (310) 573-0212. . . . Splash in Redondo Beach also has a lobster menu for this month: chef Serge Burckel’s four-course lobster menu. It begins with lobster dim sum, then moves to a polenta and vanilla soup with lobster and mushrooms. The main course is sauteed lobster with morel mushrooms over mashed potatoes. Dessert is a chocolate cigar. The tab: $35 plus tax and tip. Splash is at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 350 N. Harbor Drive, Redondo Beach; (310) 798-5348.

*

Hitching Post South: Chez Melange in Redondo Beach will be hosting chef Frank Ostini of the Hitching Post restaurant and winery in Buellton. The five-course dinner takes place Tuesday at 7 p.m. For the occasion, Ostini is bringing down his portable wood-fired grill to singe up quail and prime filet, among other things. He’ll be bringing three wines from his winery. The price is $65 per person.

* Chez Melange at the Palos Verdes Inn, 1716 S. Pacific Coast Highway, Redondo Beach; (310) 540-1222.

*

Game Is Her Game: Carrie Nahabedian will barbecue up some game at her cookout at the Gardens Restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel on Wednesday. It’s $50 a head to come on board; you can make reservations for any hour from 6 to 10:30 p.m. The menu is a range of salads--smoked salmon, roasted root vegetables, spiced duck, rabbit--and grilled stuff--brook trout, venison chops, ranch squab and quail--served partly by waiters, partly buffet style. All entrees come with Parmesan polenta, wild boar chili and rolls. For dessert there are blueberry crunch squares and sweet potato pie, among other goodies.

* The Gardens Restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel, 300 S. Doheny Drive, L.A.; (310) 273-2222.

*

Halloween Parties: Rix wants its Halloween fete to be a hoot, so you have to be in costume to get in the door. The revelry starts at 9 p.m. Saturday night, and it’s $30 per person if you purchase your tickets in advance, $40 at the door. The tab includes live entertainment by Groove Soup and a full buffet of typical Rix salads, chicken, fish and desserts. If you want a three-course meal before the party (which runs 6-8:30 p.m.), it’s $50, which includes admission to the party. VIPs can pay $75 for the privilege of partying in the cigar lounge in back, with hors d’oeuvres and tables and chairs. If you feel like showing off, you can enter the costume contest. The grand prize is two round-trip tickets to San Francisco and dinner for two at Postrio. Rix is at 1413 5th St., Santa Monica; (310) 656-9688. . . . 72 Market Street wants you to dress Polynesian on Spook Night, when there will be a drawing for a free trip to Tahiti. All you have to do is drop by the restaurant and fill out an entry form any time before Halloween. You don’t even have to be present to win. Menu specials for the night (and this whole month, as a matter of fact) include coconut and lemongrass shrimp soup, mahi-mahi ceviche with coconut cream, braised lobster with Huahine vanilla, roast suckling pig, assorted sorbets and mango pa^te. It all happens at 72 Market Street, Venice; (310) 392-8720.

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