Le Petit Zinc: Out to Prove Its Mettle

Old Zinc, New Zinc: Ange Saint Jacques, the man who wore the general manager title at the Bistro Garden in Studio City for 20 years, has opened his own restaurant in West L.A. “When I was young I worked at Le Petit Zinc in Paris, so when I opened my restaurant I said, ‘It will be Le Petit Zinc,’ ” Saint Jacques said. You may wonder where the original Paris restaurant got its moniker. Many years ago, zinc was a cheap and abundant metal in France, so cafe owners used it to top their bars. Saint Jacques has upheld that tradition with his restaurant, although he had a harder time finding zinc today. For his chef, Saint Jacques has brought in Seth Meo, who worked with Gilles Epie at Gilles Cuisine Francaise in Chicago. Meo has been Epie’s sous chef since their days together at L’Orangerie in West Hollywood and the now defunct Chez Gilles in Beverly Hills. The two went to Chicago together. From Epie, Meo learned French haute cuisine. “This is really my first shot at bistro [food] but it seems to be working really well,” Meo said. Saint Jacques outlined the bistro menu and Meo made it his own. On that menu are dishes under $14 such as braised veal daube and grilled entrecote with pommes frites. “We do exactly bistro prices,” Saint Jacques said. Le Petit Zinc opened Monday for lunch and dinner daily.

* Le Petit Zinc, 11829 Wilshire Blvd., West L.A., (310) 575-3777.

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Let’s Do Lunch: The new Yard House in Costa Mesa began serving lunch Wednesday. On the new menu are a seared Ahi sandwich with caramelized onions and Swiss cheese, and a grilled chicken and macadamia nut pizza. Lunch will be served daily. The Yard House, Costa Mesa, is in Triangle Square at 1875 Newport Blvd., #A219, Costa Mesa, (949) 642-0090 . . . Mandalay, the pan-Asian restaurant owned by Mary Anne Reyes is now open for lunch Tuesday through Friday. In addition to sushi, Mandalay serves oyster shots, egg rolls, tempura vegetables, and Korean beef with kimchi and bean paste. Mandalay, 611 N. La Brea Ave., L.A., (323) 933-0717 . . . Itana Bahia, the Afro-Brazilian restaurant, opened for lunch last week. Owners Itana Dorea and Jack Grey brought in Romy Weiss to dish up the lunch menu. You may remember him from his days as owner of Amazon Juice Co., the little restaurant in Santa Monica with the banana trees. He had to close recently (after just over a year in business) because the building was sold. Here at Itana Bahia he still focuses on healthy food with a Brazilian touch. Appetizers include smoked cheese with hearts of palm, baked crab, and salted codfish cakes. Sandwiches, salads, pastas, black beans, collard greens, and a variety of juices round out the menu. Lunch is served Monday through Saturday. Itana Bahia, 8711 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 657-6306 . . . Palomino Euro Bistro in Westwood is serving brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. What you can get: vegetable frittata, Dungeness crab Benedict, and New Orleans French toast, which is made with a baguette and served with raspberry butter. Palomino Euro Bistro, 10877 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., (310) 208-1960.

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To Chew On: Serge Burckel, the energized owner of One restaurant, has futzed around with his place again. He’s taken out the chef’s table (but he still serves the chef’s dinner in the dining room) and has built a bar behind his glass wall, which he recently sandblasted. “The bar is really cute,” he said. He’s dubbed the area One Lounge and serves sake martinis. On Monday nights he has musicians playing jazz to liven up the place. You can also dine at the new bar. One, 672 S. La Brea Avenue, L.A., (323) 692-0540 . . . Mimosa’s chef, Jean Pierre Bosc, has decided to take his diners on a culinary tour of the regions of France. The first region he’ll focus on is Lyon. His dinner offerings include breaded beef tripe, skate wing with a caper and almond butter sauce, and a pike mousse with lobster sauce. Nine Lyonnaise wines are also available by the glass or bottle. This menu will be available until late April, then Bosc will focus on Auvergne. Mimosa, 8009 Beverly Blvd., L.A., (323) 655-8895.

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The Moon, the Wine and Yoon: Saddle Peak Lodge chef Alex Scrimgeour has invited Sang Yoon (who used to man the stoves at Michael’s in Santa Monica) into his kitchen to create a wine dinner around vintages from Cambria Vineyard. The two men have come up with a six-course menu paired with wines for $97.50 per person. Dishes include cumin-dusted Fanny Bay oysters with a Yuzu mignonette, and a roasted Hoffman squab with foie gras and fig compote. Dinner begins at 7 p.m. on March 27.

* Saddle Peak Lodge, 419 Cold Canyon Road, Calabasas, (818) 222-3888.

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