Political Stargrazing

In Los Angeles, politicos and their proteges make three crucial--and sometimes career-making--decisions per day: where to go for breakfast, lunch and dinner. * These City Council members, county supervisors, school board members, lobbyists, lawyers and, yes, even bureaucrats, usually know just the right restaurant where they can conduct business. They base their decision on any number of factors. Food often isn’t one of them; access to other power brokers is. * Howard Sunkin, a top City Hall lobbyist

who works for veteran political consultant Joe Cerrell, stresses the combination of environment and companionship: “It’s good to be seen in places like the Pacific Dining Car, to be seen with important people at places like that. I can move to San Francisco and eat at the Washington Square Bar & Grill or Moose’s . . . which are huge political hangouts, but if I don’t have someone with me, I’m just anybody.”

For those seeking to be somebody, the Pacific Dining Car, just west of downtown at 1310 W. 6th St., remains a top pick for local and state politicians and their simpaticos. And you can bet they are all on expense accounts. The steakhouse, which opened in 1921 when the Hollywood Bowl was under construction, recently changed its prices so that steaks are now a la carte at dinner and vegetables are priced separately. But for all practical purposes, meals still are steep. A filet mignon, usually cooked to perfection, is $29.95--at lunch.

No matter. The Pacific Dining Car, with its wide, burgundy brocade booths, leather chairs and extensive wine list, has been attracting political luminaries for decades. Cerrell has a regular table, as does trial attorney Tom Girardi, whose role in helping win a $333-million settlement against Pacific Gas & Electric was reenacted by Peter Coyote in the film “Erin Brockovich.” A host of others show up for power breakfasts and lunches, including state Assemblyman Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks, City Atty. James K. Hahn and state Sen. Richard Polanco.

The Pacific Dining Car is the kind of place where everyone glances up over large menus to see who’s arriving. The kind of place where the shoeshine man in the valet-only parking lot knows your name--if you come often enough. The kind of place where the following pronouncement was recently overheard: “This is the year of Latinos in power.”

Cerrell and Sunkin say they lunched with a City Council candidate there the other day and, Sunkin says, “We got as much work done sitting at the table as we did arriving and departing.”

Any tour of high-profile hangouts must include a mention of downtown’s California Club at 6th and Flower streets, which for much of its 112-year history was an old-school, male-members-only bastion of corporate and civic power. It was created by a small group of real estate developers, bankers and writers who sought a gentleman’s club where they could smoke cigars and cut deals.

Until as recently as the 1980s, the club had a history of discriminating against blacks and Jews. Former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, the city’s first African American mayor, made it his policy never to eat there.

With loosening membership requirements, however, the club has become popular with women and other minorities, though patrons still must be accompanied by a member.

The other day, two mayoral hopefuls sat across the room from one another with their key advisors, and perhaps kept an eye on each other as well.

All of this networking proves a bit much for some elected officials. Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky says he favors more private restaurants such as 410 Boyd--a light, airy place that sits on an odd stretch of downtown near Skid Row.

“I always have them read me the specials and then I order the chicken Caesar,” says Yaroslavsky. (410 Boyd, which offers “global-eclectic” cuisine, also is a City Hall hangout.)

Other--and less expensive--eateries favored by local pols include downtown’s venerable Philippe (1001 N. Alameda St.), the self-proclaimed home of the French dip sandwich, and Langer’s Deli (704 S. Alvarado), near MacArthur Park. Langer’s attracts union types as well as elected officials.

“Best pastrami west of New York City,” says Miguel Contreras, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. District Atty. Gil Garcetti was spotted lunching there recently, too.

The power tour also stops at the Original Pantry Cafe, the restaurant at 877 S. Figueroa St. owned by Mayor Richard Riordan. Open 24 hours a day, the downtown landmark is known for its big breakfasts--including pancakes sweetened with a touch of vanilla--and its owner. “Clearly,” says Peter Hidalgo, Riordan’s press secretary, “the mayor’s favorite place is the Pantry.” Those who want to curry favor with the mayor (including Contreras), tend to drop by for a quick bite.

But there is another set of politicians and hangers-on who absolutely refuse to eat at the diner. And it’s not because of the food. “I’ll never eat there,” says one political insider. “It’s the mayor’s.”

Other eateries also are bypassed by politicians because of, well, politics. Council members Laura Chick and Ruth Galanter, for instance, won’t go near the restaurants at the New Otani Hotel, although it’s a stone’s throw from City Hall. Employees have been attempting a union-organizing drive there for years, but have met with resistance from hotel management.

Still, many City Hall bureaucrats and some Los Angeles Police Department officials hang out at the New Otani, at 120 S. Los Angeles St. They dine in the ground-floor Azalea Restaurant, in the upscale coffee shop that offers a large luncheon buffet, and at A Thousand Cranes, the elegant, serene and more costly Japanese restaurant upstairs.

Many City Council members prefer to dine in their districts as a show of support for local businesses--many of which supported their campaigns. Councilman Alex Padilla likes to stroll over to Lenchitas at 13612 Van Nuys Blvd. in Pacoima, a block from his district office. Padilla says he’s been eating the handmade tortillas there since he was 9, perhaps predating his electoral ambitions--but not by much. He was elected to the council at the tender age of 26.

Councilwoman Chick is a regular at Fromin’s Restaurant (17615 Ventura Blvd.) for breakfast and the California Pizza Kitchen (16101 Ventura Blvd.) for lunch when she works out of her San Fernando Valley district office. Other Valley politicos prefer Jerry’s Famous Deli at 12655 Ventura Blvd. in Studio City or at 16650 Ventura Blvd. in Encino for breakfast meetings.

Eastside councilman Nick Pacheco favors Los Antojitos, at 2122 E. 1st St. in Boyle Heights. It’s a homey Mexican joint where many local community groups meet and the councilman can conduct business.

School board member David Tokofsky enjoys Saturday-morning breakfasts at La Carreta (4538 1/2 E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave.), where the huevos rancheros get rave reviews.

For years, school-district insiders have lunched at Taix French Restaurant, an old-fashioned place that still believes in the three-martini lunch. And at 1911 W. Sunset Blvd., it’s not far from school district headquarters.

Another dining tradition centers around the site that marks the founding of Los Angeles: For years, downtown and Eastside politicians have continued to foster a phenomenon that could be called the “Olvera Street Split.” La Golondrina sits on one side of the popular downtown tourist attraction, and El Paseo sits on the other. Supervisor Gloria Molina, state Sen. Hilda Solis and U.S. Reps. Lucille Roybal-Allard and Xavier Becerra, among others, prefer La Golondrina. (Molina even appointed the owner to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.) Former Councilman Richard Alatorre, Polanco and many of their cronies prefer El Paseo, where there’s a Twinkies-and-chocolate dessert named after Alatorre.

A newer crop of restaurants has surfaced in downtown Los Angeles in the last few years. Among them: the Latin-inspired Ciudad (445 S. Figueroa St.), Cafe Pinot at the Los Angeles Central Library (700 W. 5th St.), Traxx in Union Station (800 N. Alameda St.), Nick and Stef’s Steakhouse (330 S. Hope St.), Cicada in the elegant Art Deco Oviatt Building (617 S. Olive St.) and the revamped Water Grill (544 S. Grand Ave.). Engine Co. No. 28 (644 S. Figueroa St.), while not new, remains a longtime favorite, as does McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant (633 W. 5th St.). The recently reopened La Serenata de Garibaldi (1842 E. 1st St., Boyle Heights) also is a favorite for its high-quality Mexican cuisine. School board member Valerie Fields says she eats there because she knows she will run into many other local officials.

Some politicos say they’ve discovered some new power places outside of the downtown civic corridor. The Luxe Summit Hotel in Bel-Air (11461 Sunset Blvd.) is one of those--particularly for breakfast, says political consultant Rick Taylor. “I was shocked one day there. In walks [former Assemblyman] Richard Katz and [Rep.] Howard Berman. It’s a happening Westside place now.”

Ask Taylor whether he advises clients to frequent certain restaurants, and he is unequivocal: “Absolutely.” He says he tells aspiring politicians to eat breakfast at the Pacific Dining Car and lunches at Traxx and Engine Co. No. 28.

As for many of the city’s African American religious and civic leaders, you’ll find them at a hangout called Frank’s Place off of La Brea Avenue (5120 Rodeo Road). Proprietor Frank Holoman (of the Boulevard Cafe, now closed) has served up soul food there since 1997.

Clearly, in their search for a piece of the pie, L.A.’s politicians know where to find it.