Let’s Be Careful Out There

We feel it’s our duty to report on another sad fact of life in the big city. Armed guards and surveillance cameras have become the latest accessories at some of Los Angeles’ upscale restaurants since roving, gun-toting bandits pulled off a couple of closing-time heists earlier this month.

Los Angeles police say six armed men burst into Campanile on South La Brea Avenue on Mother’s Day. Since then, the restaurant has installed surveillance cameras. Vincenti in Brentwood hired guards after eight young robbers stormed the place May 22 and ordered customers to hit the floor.

“It was: ‘Get on the floor now!’ ” said one Vincenti staffer, who asked not to be identified. The robbers collected money and jewelry from customers, cleaned out the cash register and escaped in a red vehicle.

The robbers struck both restaurants around 10:30 p.m. No one was hurt. Police said it is not yet clear whether the brazen holdups are the work of a single group. But the word was passed quickly among L.A. foodies. Lucques and Ago on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood also have posted guards.

“It’s just a deterrent, so these people would think twice about coming in here,” said Lucques hostess Claudia Rogers.

It’s All About Ernie

It wasn’t the energy crisis. It wasn’t even the cheese that brought President Bush to California. The commander in chief told a crowd at a World Affairs Council lunch on Tuesday that his orange tabby cat, Ernie, was the big draw. Ernie, you might recall, made headlines a couple of months ago when he wandered away from the Brentwood Park home of his adoptive owner, Bush family friend Brad Freeman.

“Some people say, ‘What brings you out here?’ Well, there’s a lot of reasons, and one is particularly profound. My cat lives here,” Bush said, garnering several rounds of yuks. “I’m pleased to report that Ernie is doing fine. He loves Los Angeles. He’s dating. He has an agent. And for some reason, he looks 10 years younger.”

A Star Is Born

The New York gossips are buzzing about impish L.A. lawyer Harland Braun now that he’s repping actor Robert Blake, whose wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, was shot to death on May 4. Doyenne of Dish Liz Smith quotes no less an authority than Dominick Dunne lauding Braun as one of the best criminal defense lawyers anywhere.

But, Braun informs us, reports out of New Yawk that his client list includes Sylvester Stallone are all wrong. And he’s not exactly welcoming word of his official “discovery” on that other coast.

“I don’t want to be discovered,” the silver-tongued barrister said. “I just want to go about my business. Ninety percent of the celebrities I represent, you never hear about it. My job is to not make the press.”

Braun also dismissed criticism leveled at him by O.J. Simpson defense lawyer Robert Shapiro, who branded him a victim-basher for spilling details of Bakley’s lonely-hearts business. “I don’t worry about Bob,” he said. “I think his career is now reduced to commenting on me.”

Two Wild and Crazy Guys

On the set of DreamWorks’ sci-fi spoof “Evolution,” Orlando Jones found a prankster and able co-conspirator in co-star David Duchovny. “He’s laugh-out-loud funny,” Jones told us. “He’s got great one-liners.”

Jones and the departing “X-Files” star plotted mischief against Seann William Scott, best known for “American Pie.” They crept into his trailer and hid his belongings. But that wasn’t the worst of it. “We put food inside the pockets of his jacket and then zipped it up,” Jones confessed. When Scott went digging for his wallet, he came up with a handful of mashed potatoes.

The film, directed by Ivan Reitman, opens June 8.

In the Hopper

That Dennis Hopper sure gets around. Between shooting “Unspeakable” in New Mexico and beginning work on Stephen King’s “Firestarter 2” in Utah, Hopper flew to Vienna for a retrospective exhibition of his art at the prestigious MAK museum. The show, “A System of Moments,” opened Tuesday, with about 2,200 people in attendance.

Thanks, Dad

Think you’ve got family issues? Walk a mile in Prince Charles’ kilt. His own father reportedly thinks he’s too “precious” to be king of England.

A new book by Graham Turner is out in Britain, and it’s being touted as a semi-authorized biography of Prince Philip. Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, isn’t actually quoted. But his royal confidantes are, and they say that Philip has his doubts about the 52-year-old Charles. Philip is said to consider him “precious, extravagant and lacking in the dedication and discipline he will need if he is to make a good king.”

Philip apologized to Charles in a letter that appeared this week in London papers. He says it was all a big misunderstanding. We hear this is how father and son communicate, so you can bet that a hug is out of the question.

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Times staff writers Gina Piccalo and Louise Roug contributed to this column. City of Angles runs Tuesday-Friday. E-mail: angles@latimes.com.