New Nobu in Malibu; Changes at Jozu, Primi

New to Malibu: Nobu Matsuhisa’s Malibu entry opens Friday with a menu reflecting those of the Nobus in New York, London, Tokyo and Las Vegas, plus Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills and Ubon in the Beverly Center. The executive chef of the hot-food kitchen is Gregorio Stephenson from Coco Pazzo in Chicago and Ago in West Hollywood before that. The place sports a circular roe bar near the entrance, a low-set sushi bar seating 14 and a main dining room with tables and one long banquette. The covered patio seats up to 40. It will be open for dinner nightly and lunch Friday through Sunday.

* Nobu, Malibu Country Mart, 8583 Cross Creek Road, Malibu, (310) 317-9140.

Chef Shuffle: Suzanne Tracht has left the Melrose Asian-fusion restaurant Jozu, which she opened with owner Andy Nakano, to start her own place. Nakano told us, “It’s a good thing. She’s got to pursue her dreams. . . . We had a great three years here together.” Chef Preech Narkthong will take over for Tracht; prices will go down a little, with more emphasis on omakase and tasting menus. Jozu is at 8360 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 655-5600. . . . Vittorio Lucariello has left Piero Selvaggio’s Primi to return to Italy, but the menu has stayed very Southern Italian, thanks to Mirko Paderlo, who came from Milan as sous chef eight months ago. Paderlo has just added some of his own touches. Primi is at 10543 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 475-9235.

Tidbits: Rock, Hans Rockenwagner’s new casual restaurant in Marina del Rey, is now serving lunch on weekdays. It’s in the Villa Marina Marketplace, 13455 Maxella Ave., Marina del Rey, (310) 822-8979. . . . Perroche, the English country restaurant in the Valley, is now open for brunch on Sundays, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Entrees run $8, $10, $12 and include eggs Florentine with hollandaise, French toast and flatbread with grilled vegetables and goat cheese. Corkage fee on Sundays is now only $2. Perroche is at 11929 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, (818) 766-1179. . . . The Water Grill is serving Russian Osetra and Beluga caviar ($50 and $70 an ounce), not to mention Sterling caviar from the Pacific Northwest and French Caviar d’Aquitaine from the Garonne River. Caviar is served with brioche, diced onion, grated egg and creme fraiche. The Water Grill is at 544 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 891-0900. . . . The French restaurant 71 Palm celebrates its second birthday next week. Everyone who dines there from Monday through Nov. 11 gets free birthday dessert. (You don’t have to bring a birthday card, but it would be sweet of you.) 71 Palm is at 71 Palm St., Ventura, (805) 653-7222.

50-Year-Old Pizza: OK, nobody’s really serving 50-year-old pizza this week, but Patsy’s Pizza at the east end of the Hollywood Farmers Market is celebrating its golden anniversary. Patsy (Pasquale) and brother Franklin D’Amore, as the story goes, introduced pizza to Los Angeles in 1939 at their Casa D’Amore in Hollywood. Patsy opened Patsy’s in the Farmers Market in 1949, and the very next year he opened Villa Capri, which became a favorite of Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe and Sammy Davis Jr. D’Amore’s daughter Filomena now runs Patsy’s and will celebrate the anniversary by selling all food at 50% off all day Sunday.

* Patsy’s Pizza, 6333 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, (323) 938-4938.

Dinner With Daniel: Daniel Boulud, owner of the popular New York restaurant Daniel, is coming to Pinot Bistro in Studio City by invitation of the American Institute of Wine & Food Tuesday. He’s here to promote his new “Cafe Boulud Cookbook,” so he’ll be chatting with some L.A. chefs and food writer Jan Weimer about trends in French-American cooking. Then L.A. chefs will whip up dinner: Octavio Becerra of Pinot Bistro making the appetizers, Serge Burckel of One a caviar sundae, Josiah Citrin of Melisse the lobster, Suzanne Goin of Lucques braised short ribs and Christophe Moreau, corporate pastry chef of the Patina Group, will wrap up with dessert. The 7 p.m. event is $150, with reservations through the AIWF. Mail a check to Roberta Mitchell at 14318 Killion St., Sherman Oaks, 91401, or fax a copy of a check to her at (818) 902-0861. Pinot Bistro, 12969 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, (818) 990-0500.

Wine Tasting: Terrazza of Bel-Air is hosting a wine tasting featuring the wines of Robert Mondavi, 4-6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

* Terrazza of Bel-Air, 2960 Beverly Glen Circle, Bel Air, (310) 475-7404.

Angela Pettera can be reached by voicemail at (213) 237-3153 or by e-mail at pettera@prodigy.net.