Chef Ko Considers Butter-for-Tofu Trade

Bistro Ko: If you had to make a gross generalization about the restaurant industry, it might be that Japanese chefs switch positions far less than their French, Italian and American counterparts. Chef Koichiro Kikuchi (you can call him Chef Ko) is a prime example of Japanese-chef stability. He worked at La Boheme in West Hollywood for seven years.

When he left, it wasn’t to go work for someone else. It was to open his own restaurant with his wife, Akiyo. He describes his new place, Bistro 21, as “like a momma and papa restaurant.” The small 22-seater with burgundy chairs and light blue walls has been open for about seven months now, but almost no one knows it because of its unobtrusive location in a La Cienega mini-mall.

The reasonably priced food (no dishes over $19) is very similar to the Cal/French fare Kikuchi turned out at La Boheme. The menu looks like this: crab meat and apple salad with Asian mustard sauce, sea urchin crepe with shiitake mushroom, walnut-crusted salmon, lobster in saffron broth and beef tenderloin in miso-burgundy sauce.

Kikuchi plans to take his food in a health direction soon. “I’m not saying that French [food] is not healthy, but I’m going to use more high-protein ingredients,” he said. He’s talking about adding soy and tofu and reducing the butter and cream. For now you can get his current menu for dinner Tuesday through Saturday nights and for lunch from Tuesday through Thursday.

* Bistro 21, 846 N. La Cienega Blvd., L.A.; (310) 967-0021.

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Lunch Time in Los Feliz: Rick Clemente, owner of Los Feliz restaurant, which opened in January, has decided he’s ready to serve lunch. So now you can lunch there from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. He’ll also serve a traditional New Orleans-style brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays, and soon you’ll be able to eat it on the patio. Also available now are prix-fixe Sunday dinners: three courses for $26, every Sunday evening. Wines by the glass will also be chosen for those menus.

* Los Feliz, 2138 Hillhurst Ave., L.A.; (323) 666-8666.

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Passover 101: The American Institute of Wine & Food is celebrating Passover early this year--on April 2. Chef Serge Burckel of One restaurant is hosting the dinner at 6 p.m. His six-course meal will be presided over by Robin and Roy Rose (formerly of Robin Rose Ice Cream in Venice), who’ll give guests a cultural background of the Passover tradition. Buona Forchetta bakery is providing the matzo; kosher varietal wines from around the world will be paired with the food courses. The price for the evening, which includes food, wine, tax and tip, is $70 for institute members, $80 for nonmembers. Reserve by sending a check to Roberta Mitchell at 14318 Killion St., Sherman Oaks; (818) 902-3724. The restaurant is at 672 S. La Brea Ave., L.A.

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Les Vins de Mistral: Mistral in Sherman Oaks is hosting a wine dinner on April 3 at 7 p.m. Five courses of food will be paired with California wines from Edna Valley, Chalone, Acacia and Carmenet. Courses include a lobster terrine, roasted Alaskan cod and a spiced pear with gingerbread. The price, which includes food, wine, tax and tip, is $85.

* Mistral, 13422 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; (818) 981-6650.

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From Truffle Country to Orange County: Joachim Splichal has pulled chef Dominique Saugnac from Chez Bruno restaurant in Lorgues, France, to cook at Pinot Provence in Costa Mesa on April 5 and 6. Chez Bruno is known for using a ridiculous amount of truffles in its nightly menus, and Saugnac keeps up that tradition while cooking here in Orange County. He’ll prepare two menus for both nights, one built around truffles, the other on the gardens of Provence.

The truffle menu includes a whole truffle in puff pastry, Maine lobster, saddle of lamb and tarte tatin. It’s $65 for four courses or $74 for all five. The garden menu includes a blanched artichoke with Parma ham, pale green ravioli, roasted veal roulade, sorbet of truffle (yes, of truffle) and cherry clafouti. It’s $55 for the four courses.

* Pinot Provence, in the lobby of the Westin South Coast Plaza, 686 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa; (714) 444-5900.

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