A bargain for two

New YORKERS are always lamenting the lack of inexpensive little restaurants in Los Angeles, the kind of places where you can go for a casual dinner and not end up spending an arm and a leg, where two can have dinner for $50 or less. The new Luna Park on 6th Street just north of Wilshire Boulevard fills the bill nicely.

The restaurant is actually a San Francisco import with roots in the Mission District, known for its lively casual atmosphere and moderate prices. I don’t know how they got the word out, but I went when the place had barely been open a week, and it was packed. I think the prices, with entrees from $9.25 to $14.75, have a lot to do with it.

I sat at the bar; it was the only available space. The young guy next to me told me he’d loved the old Lucky Duck, which this replaces, but it had been too expensive for an everyday hangout, as he devoured a salade nicoise made with big hunks of seared fresh tuna, green beans, potatoes and all the usual ingredients. Big enough for dinner, it was just $9.75.

The bartenders were working hard muddling fresh mint for mojitos, mixing up Bloody Marys and Maker’s Mark Manhattans double-quick. By the time we ordered our food, the line of hopeful diners spilled out the door.

The menu is mostly French and Italian with a few Asian dishes thrown into the mix. Pork satay in a fiery vinegar dipping sauce with an Asian slaw doesn’t stint on flavor. Halved grilled artichoke is tender all the way through, served with mayonnaise with a squirt of lemon. Spinach salad could use a punchier dressing, but the greens are fresh, tossed with sugared nuts, a little crumbled feta, and currants.

I wonder, though, whether Pot on Fire will fly with this crowd. Luna Park’s version of the French classic pot-au-feu is a bowl of boiled brisket with vegetables -- a cooked-to-death leek, an oversized turnip, a carrot, a red-skinned potato -- in a splash of broth. The idea is to doctor it with condiments (Dijon mustard, coarse sea salt and puckery cornichons), which help.

Slightly smoky from the grill, the spicy grilled chicken is a bargain at $12. Other entrees include a grilled flatiron steak with fries and roasted sea bass with garlic and potatoes.

Make Your Own S’mores are kind of fun for dessert. You get a pot of bubbling dark chocolate and another of molten marshmallow with a stack of homemade graham crackers. Slather away. You definitely won’t be the only one.

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Luna Park

Where: 672 S. La Brea Ave.,

Los Angeles

When: Lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; dinner, 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5:30 to 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 5:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday; brunch, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Full bar. Valet parking.

Cost: Appetizers, $5.50 to $8.50; big salads, $9.50 to $9.75;

pastas, $9.25 to $10.50; main dishes, $12.50 to $14.75;

desserts, $6.25.

Contact: (323) 934-2110; fax (323) 934-2010; www.lunaparkla.com.