Reata Stakes a Claim on Rodeo Drive Land
The Beverly Cowboys: A bit of Texas came to Beverly Hills this week. Reata, an “upscale cowboy restaurant,” opened in the lower level of the Rodeo Collection building on Monday. The nouveau Southwestern restaurant is actually the third in a small chain; chef Grady Spears opened the original in a small adobe house in Alpine, Texas, and after that he and his partners, all Texans, opened a second location in the Bank One building in Fort Worth. The Beverly Hills Reata is decorated to look like a cattle baron’s home (the chain is named for the cattle ranch in the classic ‘50s movie “Giant”)--and the owners should know; one of them is a bona fide cattle rancher, and Spears himself once worked as a cowhand. The menu is on the fancy side for chuck wagon fare: penne with Texas quail, masa-crusted Texas trout, smoked shrimp rancho enchiladas. Stop by Reata any day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. for lunch or dinner.
* Reata, 421 Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills; (310) 550-8700.
Farewell, Robin Rose: Venice’s beloved Robin Rose Ice Cream Shop is going out of business. Owner Robin Rose opened her super-premium ice cream shop 19 years ago and quickly earned a reputation for purism: She bought only organic milk and cream, for instance, and used organic rose petals for her rose petal flavor. But recently her building was sold to developer Jeff Palmer, who had it rezoned to house a movie production company. She has to be out by Feb. 29. Says Rose: “We had 19 good years. Would I relocate and start over again? No way.” It’s too much work to keep a small business alive against the tide of high-tech industry, she said. Her plans are to teach small-business strategies to MBA students at Cal Poly Pomona or Loyola Marymount University. Her last day will be Feb. 28.
* Robin Rose, 215 Rose Ave., Venice; (310) 399-1774.
Sommelier of Love: The Beverly Hills Hotel has hired a master sommelier to oversee all alcohol poured in the hotel. Elizabeth Schweitzer is the highly trained wine steward, certified through the Court of Master Sommeliers in the United Kingdom. (The course took her five years.) Before this, the hotel had no sommelier One of her first official acts was to place an 1892 Cha^teau Lafite she found in storage at the hotel (probably from before the renovation) on the wine list. It’ll cost you $3,200 to see how good that bottle is. If that’s a little out of your price range, you can sample the wines she’s selected for the hotel’s Valentine menus. On Monday, the Polo Lounge is serving a four-course $85 menu that includes a glass of Champagne. The main course is baby turbot, truffled langoustine in pastry and marinated beef tenderloin. In the private dining room there’s a winemaker dinner featuring Domaine Carneros wines at 7 p.m. The menu is the same as the Polo Lounge, but the four courses are paired with four sparkling wines. The tab for food, wine, tax and tip is $95 a head.
* The Polo Lounge and the Private Dining Room at the Beverly Hills Hotel, 9641 Sunset Blvd., Beverly Hills; (310) 276-2251.
The Thrill Table: The folks at Flint’s, the speakeasy-style restaurant in Santa Monica that still has no sign out front, has a cool way for singles to celebrate Cupid’s special holiday. They have a communal table at which they’ll seat 20 guys and 20 gals on Saturday or Monday. The menu for the night is a seven-course doozy full of reputed aphrodisiacs such as oysters, ginseng, truffles, foie gras and chocolate. The cost is $75 per person.
* Flint’s, 3321 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 453-1331.
The Gold Is Standard: L’Ermitage Hotel celebrates the holiday of love from Friday-Monday with a six-course dinner menu. The entree choices include a boneless breast of guinea hen with red Swiss chard and stone fruit sauce, a filet mignon with pommes Maxim and caramelized onions and duck a la mandarin orange with a sweet corn pancake, sauteed Napa cabbage, candied ginger and 14-karat gold dust. The rate is $65 and includes a glass of Champagne.
* The Restaurant at L’Ermitage Beverly Hills, 9291 Burton Way, Beverly Hills; (310) 385-5307.
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Angela Pettera can be reached at (213) 237-3153 or at pettera@prodigy.net.
