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A little eye candy with your meal

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Television screens have long been central to the setting at sports bars, casual chains such as TGI Friday’s and nightclubs. Now they’re turning up at high-end restaurants around town too.

Restaurant designer Dodd Mitchell incorporated TV screens with custom videos (of “art shows and more abstract stuff,” says Mitchell) into the decor at Cinch in Santa Monica and Le Dome on Sunset Strip.

“It gives it a little edge. It creates movement, which creates energy and gives people something to focus on, especially if you’re dining by yourself,” he says.

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At Cinch, your gaze might linger on hypnotic footage of a meteor shower or wild animals frolicking behind the bar. At Le Dome, two large screens create a dramatic faux fireplace in one dining room. In another room, a video plays of fish swimming in an aquarium.

Meanwhile, at Orchid Restaurant & Cafe, a 2-month-old Asian fusion spot in the mid-Wilshire area, three 42-inch plasma screens hang in lieu of art on the walls of the main dining area. At lunch, they’re usually tuned to CNN; in the evening, music and atmospheric environmental videos are the norm.

And a plasma screen is planned for Enoteca Drago, the Italian wine bar Celestino Drago is opening later this month in Beverly Hills.

“The point of it isn’t to do a Cinch-like bar thing,” explains project manager Chuck Craig. “It’s more of a community thing, with everything from CNN to sporting events. It will play the role of a morning newspaper.”

Not everyone thinks TV and fine dining go together. At Pearl on Robertson, there’s a large screen in the main dining room. “But we keep it off during dinner service to maintain a more intimate atmosphere,” says general manager Jonathan Way. Only late in the evening, when the space turns into a lounge, does the TV go on.

The latest news in media saturation is televisions in restrooms.

A flat-screen TV in the women’s room at Cafe Bazel, a newish Mediterranean eatery in Encino, plays MTV or an Israeli station (many of the patrons are Israeli).

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At Gulfstream, the contemporary fish house in Century City, flat-screen TVs in the men’s room are tuned by day to CNBC. “At night, we usually put the Food Network on, so you’re watching Emeril or Wolfgang or some type of cooking show,” says general manager Tony Grippo. “It represents the restaurant in a way.”

-- Leslee Komaiko

Small bites

* Piero Selvaggio’s Sherman Oaks restaurant Posto is no longer. He sold it to three of the Drago brothers -- Tanino, Calogero and Giacomino -- who, last week, opened Panzanella in its place. In addition to several variations of panzanella (Italian bread salad), the menu will include ribollita (a hearty Tuscan soup), risotto and pasta dishes. For now, it’s dinner only. Look for lunch sometime in February.

Panzanella, 14928 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 784-4400.

* The owners of the Pig, the popular barbecue joint on La Brea, have opened a takeout-only outpost at Universal CityWalk. In addition to St. Louis spareribs and baby back ribs, the new Pig offers three barbecue salads: pulled pork, chicken or brisket. “We call it Atkins-lovers’ dream,” says owner Liz Thompson.

The Pig, Universal CityWalk V-201, Universal City, (818) 980-RIBS.

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