He Wants to Make a Searing Impression

Drago’s Steak-Out: Celestino Drago is rethinking the Sicilian restaurant concept he put in place at L’Arancino two years ago. He still likes the idea of serving Angelenos the food of his island home, but Drago says business wasn’t regular enough--most customers came only on the weekends. So he closed his West Hollywood place, at 8908 Beverly Blvd., on Monday to install a special grill; it will reopen Feb. 1 as Celestino Italian Steakhouse, featuring American-raised Piedmontese beef. Says Drago of his new venture, “It’s gonna let people know I’m still alive.” Meanwhile, you’ll still be able to sample his Sicilian dishes at Drago in Santa Monica, Celestino in Pasadena and Il Pastaio in Beverly Hills.

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Ford’s Landing: Chef Ben Ford finally has a solid piece of property. He had been looking for a kitchen to call his own since he left the Farm of Beverly Hills in November 1998. He negotiated for Kass Bah in West Hollywood this summer, but the deal fell through at the last minute. Now he has secured the bungalow at 267 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, last known as Bistro K (before that it was Chez Helene). Ford will redecorate a little, but the basic cute-little-house theme will remain the same. The food will be inspired by Chez Panisse chef Alice Waters and organic gardening guru Alan Chadwick (the place will actually be named Chadwick). Angela Hunter, formerly the pastry chef at L’Ermitage, will handle the desserts, and Chris Keller will be the sommelier. Look for it to open by mid-March.

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No Teriyaki Here, Pally: There’s a new sushi spot at the corner of Sawtelle and Olympic boulevards, Kiriko. Chef and /owner Ken Namba named it after a particular kind of cut glass made in Japan, and if you order one of his premium cold sakes, it will be served in kiriko. The food is very traditional Japanese. You won’t find teriyaki or tempura, but you will find oyster miso broth with vegetables and buckwheat noodles with soy-flavored duck. There are seared toro (tuna) with roasted jalapenos and sea urchin and scallops hidden in a Japanese custard. “I go to the market basically every morning,” Namba says, explaining why he likes to change his menu seasonally. The desserts are made in-house, and ice cream comes in flavors such as honey-sesame, Japanese pumpkin and green tea. Kiriko is open for lunch Tuesday through Friday and for dinner Tuesday through Sunday.

* Kiriko, 11301 Olympic Blvd., No. 102, L.A.; (310) 478-7769.

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New at Samurai: Samurai Japanese Restaurant, the Tokyo-style sushi bar and restaurant that opened in June in Beverly Hills, has a new chef. Michael Wilson replaces Takashi Watanabe, who suffered a bad cut to his finger. Wilson, who is of half-Irish and half-Japanese ancestry, teaches at the California Sushi Academy in Venice; until last week, he worked at Yabu in West Hollywood. He plans to give Samurai a slight American edge. By the way, when Wilson isn’t rolling rice or teaching others to do it, he’s tap dancing. When he has time, you’ll often find him at Sushi on Tap, a Studio City sushi bar that features a dance floor.

* Samurai Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar, 268 S. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills; (310) 360-9688.

R.I.P.: Georgia, the Southern restaurant on Melrose Avenue, has closed. The owners hope to reopen in another location. We’ll keep you posted. . . . The Beverly Hills Planet Hollywood will be closing in February, so if you want one of those overpriced T-shirts, now is the time to act.

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Buffalo’s On: Topaz, the restaurant in the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, is serving a Plains-inspired dinner as part of its Native American Feasts series. The prix fixe dinner starts Saturday at 6:30 p.m. with mushroom tarts, smoked trout mousse on potato chips and spinach salad with venison sausage. The heavier courses are buffalo stew with red wine and ham hocks and stuffed quail with barley pilaf. Dessert is corn pudding with vanilla ice cream. The price, which includes beer, wine, coffee, tax and tip, is $45 per person. Reservations must be prepaid.

* Topaz, Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana; (714) 835-2002.

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