Rearranging the Furniture, and Making Some Alterations

TomTom’s: Thomas Munoz, formerly chef and partner in JoeJoe’s in Sherman Oaks, has taken possession of the recently closed Perroche down the road in Studio City. His only partners now are his wife’s aunt and uncle, so he proudly described it to us as “all in the family.” Munoz has changed the restaurant’s decor by rearranging and reupholstering the banquettes in dark blue fabrics and by repainting the walls a soft yellow. He’s christened his new place Emmanuel.

Munoz is in the kitchen making dinner Monday through Saturday nights. Currently he has two prix-fixe menus and an a la carte menu with appetizers, entrees and desserts. Both fixed menus are four courses; one costs $30 and the other $38. The more expensive menu offers venison as a main dish choice. A la carte entrees include crispy chicken on beet and fava ragout ($15), shrimp on saffron risotto ($16) and rib-eye with potato gratin ($19). Emmanuel will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day but will be serving dinner on New Year’s Eve.

* Emmanuel, 11929 Ventura Blvd., Studio City; (818) 766-3128.

*

From Rags to Dishes: Two New York fashion designers have called it quits and opened a restaurant in Beverly Hills. Jun Kim and his sister, So Yon Kim, decided running a restaurant would actually be less tiring than designing clothes in the Big Apple. Since So Yon Kim had been a partner in restaurants in Korea before moving to New York, she and her brother easily made the transition into opening Temple, their modern Korean restaurant on La Cienega Boulevard just north of Wilshire.

They want to bring globalized Korean food to us: food that is being served in modern restaurants in Korea but rarely in America. To do so, they’ve hired Richard Aramino as their chef; he was most recently the sous-chef at L’Ermitage in Beverly Hills. Aramino is using veal reductions to update Korean dishes and is roasting meats as opposed to boiling them. “As I evolve into the cuisine, I’m putting in a lot of my own twists and bends into the traditional [Korean] cuisine,” he says.

His dinner menu has dishes like beef sam bap (beef and rice in lettuce cups, $10), bulgogi steak ($21) and Korean kimchi stew with tofu and sliced pork ($10). Temple is open for lunch and dinner daily.

* Temple, 14 N. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills; (310) 360-9460.

*

Not Exactly Sugarplums: Mamie & Marie’s Dream Pizza opened about six months ago as a Chicago-style pizza place. Named after two of the owners’ mothers, this spot turns out Windy City pizzas with a thin crust, as deep dish pies or as stuffed creations. Cornmeal has been added to the crust for a little extra crunch. Pizzas range from $4.99 to $17.50. Mamie & Marie’s is open for lunch and dinner daily, but since the dining space is so small, most folks opt for delivery or takeout.

* Mamie & Marie’s Dream Pizza, 10855 Venice Blvd., L.A.; (310) 842-7742.

*

Go West, Young Man: Seth Meo has walked his clogs from Le Petit Zinc in West L.A. to the water. He’s now the chef at the Beach House in Santa Monica,where he’s giving the beach food a French twist. The goat cheese beignets he cooked while at the now-defunct Chez Gilles in Beverly Hills show up here as an appetizer ($11). Monkfish medallions are set on a bed of couscous ($28), and the double-cut pork chop is dressed in a honey-lavender sauce ($25). For Christmas Eve (reservations being taken for seatings from 6 to 10 p.m.), his four-course menu includes choices like terrine of foie gras, French-style prime rib and sauteed skate wing. The price is $65 plus tax and tip. The regular menu also will be available on Christmas Eve.

* The Beach House, 100 W. Channel Road, Santa Monica; (310) 454-8299.

*

Six Years, Seven Courses: Jean-Francois Meteigner trumpets his sixth year in business at La Cachette with a “Six Year Anniversary Tasting Menu.” The seven-course menu is served Monday through Thursday evenings and features a “martini” of lobster, seared Alaskan butterfish with plum-ginger sauce and maigret of duck. The tab is $85 a head plus tax and tip; minimum order, two people. For Christmas Eve, Meteigner offers a three-course menu with choices like smoked salmon tartare, filet of beef with chestnut puree, guinea hen cooked two ways and a white-and-dark chocolate Christmas log with coffee sauce. This dinner will be served from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. The price is $75 plus tax and tip.

* La Cachette, 10506 Santa Monica Blvd., Century City; (310) 470-4992.

*

Bubbly Personality: Akbar Indian restaurant gets into the holiday spirit with a little bubbly. Five champagnes will be poured with four courses of food on Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. Aloo am tikka, Chilean sea bass and chicken tikka masala are on the menu. The price is $75.

* Akbar, 2627 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 447-3263.

*

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