Reason to Pass On Valets; a Season of Closings

Use Valet Parking With Caution: When I went out to dinner Monday night, I couldn’t find a parking space on the street, so I reluctantly pulled up in front of the restaurant and relinquished my car to the man in black pants.

During dinner I realized I had been a little less vigilant than usual and had left the Mobil Speedpass on my car-key chain. The Speedpass is a short black plastic rod containing an electronic chip. When I wave it at the pump at any Mobil station, it debits my credit card for the charges. But I thought to myself, “Even if the valet lifts my Speedpass, how bad could it be? Is he going to fill my tank up for me? I’m being paranoid.”

Cut to Wednesday morning. I’m on the phone with a man from Mobil security asking whether I was the person who rang up more than $100 in charges on Tuesday night at two Mobil stations I don’t normally frequent. A hundred dollars? What did this guy buy? At least enough gas to fill up two Range Rovers, I figure, and maybe a whole lot of Snickers bars.

I explained to the security man that I was currently in possession of my Speedpass and had been on Tuesday night as well, but I mentioned that I had valet-parked on Monday night. “Ah, valet parking,” said the Mobil man. “That’s how a lot of these fraudulent charges happen.” Sure enough, the restaurant had another Speedpass fraud charge listed against it. (The restaurant owner was horrified when he learned of the situation.)

But how did a valet manage to use my card on a Tuesday when he only had the Speedpass in his mitts on Monday night? Mr. Security explained that savvy thieves can open the device, take out the electronic chip and close it back up without leaving any obvious evidence of tampering. Lesson learned. Never leave your Speedpass on your key ring when you use valet parking.

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R.I.P.: This summer has been a killer. The season normally is hard on restaurants, with so many people going on vacation, but throw an economic downturn into the mix and the going gets even tougher. Boomerock, at 61 N. Raymond Ave. in Pasadena, was an Australian place where diners seared their own meat over a super-heated lava rock. Maui Beach Cafe, the Hawaiian-themed restaurant at 1019 Westwood Blvd. in Westwood, has bid us aloha. Indochine, the Pan-Asian place at 8225 Beverly Blvd. in L.A., is making way for a Mark Peel and Suzanne Tracht project named Jar. The clubby Kass Bah at 9010 Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood was snapped up by the owner of Bouchon. And Portofino, the long-standing Italian restaurant at 12321 Ventura Blvd. in Studio City, will become a French restaurant. Last, but not least, we say goodbye to Hugo Molina at 1065 E. Green St. in Pasadena, owned by the former chef at Parkway Grill and Arroyo Chop House.

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Add-On: Rockenwagner restaurant has added WunderBAR, a wine and snack bar to its dining room. The communal stammtisch table has been moved over to the new area which includes a bar, a banquette, bistro chairs and tables and French doors that open onto the Edgemar Complex. Snacks such as marinated white anchovies with celery hearts and almonds ($5), a lobster grilled cheese sandwich ($8) and a cheese of the day with frozen grapes are offered with many wines by the glass. Flights of wines, with an emphasis on German, Alsatian and Austrian wine, are also available. WunderBAR is open every night from 5:30 p.m. until closing. No reservations are needed.* Rockenwagner, 2435 Main St., Santa Monica; (310) 399-6504.

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Family Night: Evan Kleiman gets into the family-style dinner act Thursday nights at Angeli Caffe. She sits everyone down together at 7 p.m. and starts sending out course after course of food. “It’s really fun for me, because I get to cook anything but Italian,” she tells us. One recent menu, for instance, was Southern Indian. The dinner is $25 plus tax and tip, and wine can be added for an extra charge. Reservations required.* Angeli Caffe, 7274 Melrose Ave., L.A.; (323) 936-9086.

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Mauro’s Meal: Maureen Vincenti is throwing a dinner of favorite dishes of her late husband, restaurateur Mauro Vincenti. The six-course dinner is $60 for food alone, more for the wine pairing. * Vincenti, 11930 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood; (310) 207-0127.

Reach Angela Pettera at (310) 358-7647 or pettera@prodigy.net.