Casa Del Mar Beach Club to Swing Again

Fast Times on Ocean Front Walk: A storied Italian Renaissance Revival building in Santa Monica is going to get restored to its former glory this summer. Built in 1929 by owners E.A. and T.D. Harter and architect Charles F. Plummer, Club Casa Del Mar was a beach club and hotel known for swinging parties, dinner dances, gambling and drinking. When the beach club was converted to a military housing unit in 1941 during World War II, however, it lost its glamour. After a long decline, it ended up housing institutions, such as the Synanon Foundation and then Nathan Pritikin’s Longevity Center. Now that the Edward Thomas Hospitality Corp. has its hands on the property, the building has been restored and decorated to recall its former glory (and capitalize on its prize beachfront location, 1910 Ocean Front Walk).

The revived Casa Del Mar will feature penthouse suites, a pool deck, a ballroom, a lobby living room and--here’s where we get interested--a restaurant. Oceanfront (that’s the name of the restaurant) will seat 75 in its rattan chairs and has glass walls that reveal the ocean view. The chef slated to run it is Korean-born, French-trained Andrew DeGroot (of Pastis on Beverly Boulevard). His menu will probably be California-French, and he’s looking forward to lighting the kitchen fires. Says DeGroot of his new bosses, “They really want top-of-the-line quality.” And he can’t wait to muss up the brand-new equipment, which will happen sometime near September.

Not-So-Standard Hotel and Restaurant: Maybe you’ve heard something about the recently opened Standard Hotel in West Hollywood. Owner Andre Balazs (of Chateau Marmont) created this slick new hotel from an old retirement home. Far from targeting the retirees, this place has its sights set on a younger, trendier crowd. What sort of young and trendy? Well, the Standard boasts resident performance and tattoo artists, and a stock of condoms in the rooms.

With brown leather banquette seating around baby-blue Formica tables, the decor of the retro-style coffee shop could be described as James Bond meets Barbarella. The menu pushes “international comfort food”--that is, mostly homey American dishes with hiccups from other countries. The blue-plate specials can vary from fried chicken platters to pad Thai. Soups, salads and sandwiches range from the expected (chicken club) to the ethnic (tabbouleh with grilled vegetables). The executive chef is New Yorker Thomas Rivera, who’s cooked at the Odeon and the Metro Restaurant with the late chef Patrick Clark. (Rivera moved to L.A. to marry Danielle Reed, currently the executive chef at Ciudad in downtown L.A.) The Standard Restaurant will be open 24 hours a day. And if you happen to need a pick-me-up with your omelet at 4 a.m., visit the “wake bar” at the front of the cafe with its supply of eye-openers such as caffeinated gum, oxygen shots and caffeine-rich guarana sodas.

* The Standard Restaurant, in the Standard Hotel, 8300 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; (323) 650-9090.

Newest Nobu: The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas has thrown its hat into the fine dining destination ring with the addition of a Nobu a few weeks ago. It looks like the Nobu in New York City, with its wood flooring, chenille banquette covers (in a fish pattern), scorched ash detailing and sushi bar surrounded by walls of river stone. And while this Nobu is Vegas-sized (it seats close to 200), it’s not Vegas-tacky. The designers demurred from going over the top. The cuisine is Nobu Matsuhisa’s signature Japanese-French fusion.

* Nobu, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, 4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas; (702) 693-5090.

Mo’ Joe: Joe Miller is expanding his Venice restaurant (which is aptly named Joe’s). So, soon, even more of us can eat at Joe’s. Miller is taking over the space just north of him vacated by Planet Americana, a vintage denim shop. The first thing, says Miller, “We’ll put in all the bells and whistles and make it a state-of-the-art kitchen.” The bathrooms will probably be moved, more wine storage will be created and perhaps a private dining room will emerge from the dust. There will also be opportunity for more patio seating. The Hatch Design Group (Water Grill, I Cugini) will handle the new look. Construction should begin in early fall.

The Man From Lyon: Bouchon, the little French bistro on Melrose Avenue, has a new toque in the kitchen. He’s Emmanuel Pradet, who hails from central France--near Lyon, conveniently enough. If you’re bicoastal, you may know him from his restaurant Cafe Soleil on Lincoln Avenue in Miami Beach. He had quite a few good years after opening it in 1990, but competition became too fierce to survive and he set his sights westward. “I heard so much about the food in Los Angeles, so I came,” says Pradet. Now at Bouchon, he’s happily cooking classic dishes from his native heath. “What I’m doing here is my specialty,” he tells us. Pradet follows the farmers markets and imports some foods straight from Lyon. You’ll see dishes like rack of lamb, cassoulet, and duck with currant sauce on the menu, along with a vegetable tart of the day. Now that it’s summer, Pradet plans to lighten things up a bit and add more seafood.

* Bouchon, 7661 Melrose Ave., L.A.; (323) 852-9400.

Pettera’s e-mail address is pettera@cwix.com.