Fishing for a Wider Audience With Economical Red Pearl

Ready to Wok: Tim and Liza Goodell, co-owners of two prominent Orange County French restaurants, have decided to open a Chinese restaurant in Huntington Beach. Tim Goodell already uses Asian techniques and ingredients in his French cooking. He tells us, “We’re looking for something that has a broader audience”--meaning the prices will be lower at Red Pearl Kitchen than at the Goodells’ other restaurants, Aubergine in Laguna Beach and Troquet at South Coast Plaza. The new place will also be more casual. The decor will be modern with a nod to Shanghai in the 1940s: pressed tin ceiling, silk lanterns, brocade silk booths, a bamboo and wood bar. Communal tables will be set along the front windows. A takeout counter will have its own entrance and dim sum bar. Red Pearl Kitchen is scheduled to open at 412 Walnut St. in April.

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What’s in a Name, #487: The Restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey has been redesigned and renamed Jer-ne. That’s right, a phonetic spelling of the word “journey.” The main dining room is dressed with hardwood floors, upholstered banquettes, free-standing tables and a central communal table (at bar height) topped in white onyx. A nautical theme prevails in the main and private dining rooms and out onto the terrace, which overlooks the marina. Chef Troy Thompson has been hired to execute a “new world” cuisine. Most recently he was the chef at Fusebox in Atlanta and formerly worked as a sous-chef under Gunther Seeger at the Ritz-Carlton in Buckhead, Ga. Here Thompson mixes French dishes like duck a l’orange ($29) with a bento box of cold appetizers ($30) on his dinner menu. Thompson spent two years working in Japan and describes his food as having Spanish, Asian, Indian and European influences as well. Jer-ne is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily.

* Jer-ne, Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey, 4375 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey; (310) 574-4333.

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Not-So-Quick Change: After a change of owners and a year and a half of remodeling, Sherman Oaks’ Moonlight Supper Club has become Arlequin (think French clown in the spirit of the commedia dell’arte, not American romance novel). It’s decorated with porcelain masks from Venice (the one in Italy) and the co-owner-manager, Filou Rosa, is from Paris. The dinner menu is also international, largely French bistro dishes ($8.95-$23.95) and wood-oven pizzas ($8.95-$11.95). Dinner starters run from Brie fondue ($7.50) to a caprese salad of tomatoes, mozzarella and basil ($7.25). Chef Angel Alvarado, from LunaPark, makes lunch Tuesday through Sunday and dinner Tuesday through Saturday. To put the brand-new dance floor to work, there’s music from every conceivable country, sometimes live, sometimes piped in. A piano sits by the full bar. Arlequin is open late to accommodate Valleyites who want to party into the night.

* Arlequin, 13730 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; (818) 788-2000.

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Menu Action: From now till the end of truffle season, Water Grill has a menu that incorporates black and white truffles into a tuna tartare, diver scallops with endive salad, ravioli with foie gras and grilled beef medallion; it includes cheese and a chocolate dessert. The price is $120 plus tax and tip.

* Water Grill, 544 S. Grand Ave., L.A.; (213) 891-0900.

Nick Coe has started offering a four-course wine-tasting menu every Wednesday at his South Pasadena restaurant, Nick’s. The food is paired with four wines in conjunction with Bill Drewry of Mission Wines down the street from the restaurant. Each wine menu has a theme and will be available all evening. The price for these Wednesday wine nights is $35.

* Nick’s, 1009 El Centro St., South Pasadena; (626) 441-7910.

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Patina Group Stuff: This Tuesday and Wednesday Patina offers five- and six-course truffle menus, using black truffles in everything but the cheese course. The main course choices are roasted squab with truffles and sauce albufera or prime sirloin with celery-root puree and Madeira-truffle jus. Exclusive of tax and tip, the five-course menu is $110 and the six-course $125.

* Patina, 5955 Melrose Ave., L.A.; (323) 467-1108.

Chef Regis Mahe, from the restaurant of the same name at Le Richemont in Vannes, France, visits Pinot Provence on Friday and Saturday and Pinot Bistro on Sunday and Monday. He’ll be cooking the food he’s known for back home in Brittany. He’ll make the same dishes all four nights: a salad of red mullet with white beans and chorizo; sea bass Barigoule with asparagus, fennel and lemon; pastilla of squab, lobster and spicy jus with honey; and fromage blanc ice cream with orange sauce. The prices, which are exclusive of tax and tip, are the same at both restaurants: three courses are $50, four courses are $60, and a fixed tasting menu of five courses is $68.

* Pinot Provence, in the Westin South Coast Plaza, 686 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa; (714) 444-5900 and Pinot Bistro, 12969 Ventura Blvd., Studio City; (818) 990-0500.

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