Le Petit Zinc Offers Menu of Light, Healthy Choices

Zinc Is Good for You: Since Heidi Gresko took over as executive chef at Le Petit Zinc in May, the bistro items have been fading into the background, and her numerous light, wholesome California/French specials have become the items to order. “I try to make everything as up to the minute as I can,” she says. “Did you know that a cut orange loses half its vitamin C if you let it sit for half an hour?” On the basis of her principle that “food can be healthy but still exciting,” Le Petit Zinc’s management says business is up 25%. “People come in asking for the specials they had the day before,” Gresko says. The specials? Things like blackened wild king salmon served on a bed of Bibb lettuce, shaved fennel and red onion, all in a yogurt sauce flavored with cilantro, cumin and lime juice. Or a tart filled with figs caramelized in balsamic vinegar and blended with a little creme fraiche. Though Gresko trained in France and has been a sous-chef under two James Beard award-winning Southwestern chefs (Vincent Guerithalt and Christopher Gross), this is her first executive-chef gig.

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

Mako Retools: Mako Tanaka, whose resume includes being the longtime executive chef at Chinois on Main, has revamped the whole style of his restaurant, Mako. Now you order from a menu that you hold onto throughout the meal, adding choices from among over 40 small and family-style items until you feel completely sated. The dishes come to the table with additional plates so you can assemble an assortment of flavors and textures. How about a jumbo soft-shell crab, tuna tataki salad and some half-moon lobster with angel hair pasta in coconut saffron curry sauce?

* Mako, 225 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, (310) 288-8338.

Silvio’s Back: Perhaps you remember Silvio de Mori from Mimosa restaurant in the ‘90s (he’s since left), or maybe you remember him from one of his earlier restaurants: Pane Caldo, Silvio’s or Tutto Bene. He’s a restaurateur who keeps reinventing himself, and now he’s back with a Beverly Hills place with his own name, de Mori. With the help of his mother (who is still working in the restaurant’s kitchen at 76), he’s fashioned a menu that features dishes from the Veneto region of Italy, where he grew up. Its food is heavily influenced by its Austrian neighbors. “Simple, basic,” he says of his cuisine. “I’m not trying to compete with sophisticated cuisine, it’s not me.” Though Mama de Mori has no formal training, she draws from years of experience and, of course, her lengthy repertoire of old and new family recipes. The only hitch may be de Mori’s location in the doomed Rodeo Collection, where no restaurant has survived long. Silvio doesn’t seem fazed, though: “I love the space. The patio is fantastic; it reminds me of places I had in Italy, hidden away from the hustle of the city. It’s a bit of what I call the civilized Italian life.”

* de Mori, 421 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, (310) 274-1500.

A New Kind of Supper Club: There was a time when the supper club was a popular place for an evening out, but it went the way of fedoras and evening gloves. Now David Dickerson, Kimberly Hermann and Errol Roussel have decided to resurrect the notion with Cinespace, a “digital supper club-lounge” in Hollywood. There you will dine on California comfort food by chef Monica May (formerly executive chef at north) while watching new independent movies. The large space has a sleek, futuristic interior that includes a bar, dining room and lounge, all equipped with thin plasma screens for viewing. There’s also a roomy patio overlooking the lights of Hollywood Boulevard. The programming includes shorts, classics, animation and music videos. Instead of nibbling on popcorn, you watch a movie eating a duck, wild mushroom, caramelized onion, arugula and Gorgonzola grilled pizza. Cinespace opens in the fall.

Small Bites: Chef Tim Goodell has just opened Whist restaurant in Santa Monica’s snazzy new Viceroy hotel. Reservations: (310) 451-8711....Mimosa is now offering a “family table” dinner for five to 16. If you want, you can bring your own wine (no corkage fee); just inform the restaurant and it will plan a menu around your wine selection. Call (323) 655-8895....Hans Rockenwagner’s latest restaurant, Ballona Fish Market, has opened at 13455 Maxella Ave., Marina del Rey.