Southern cooking, glazed with glitz

Restaurants and clubs sail onto Sunset Strip and end up disappearing like ships in the Bermuda Triangle. Even a trendy venue with good food and an industry crowd can have a short life span. That’s what happened with the Falls, a multilevel restaurant and lounge named for the waterfalls that cascaded down a wall of rocks. Gone without a trace after only a few months.

But there’s always a hopeful somebody ready to move right in. In this case, it’s the Jackson family patriarch (Michael’s father, Joe) and his partners with Katherine’s, named for his wife.

Forget about a makeover -- Katherine’s looks much the same as the Falls, as far as I can tell: bar with aquarium and a few tables up front, another two dining rooms in back and a lounge with its own bar down an outdoor staircase.

It may be the same set, but it’s quite a different crowd. It’s unusual in Los Angeles to walk into a restaurant and find yourself the only person of color -- the color white. It should happen more often. Katherine’s attracts a largely black clientele drawn by the Jackson name. Of course, there’s music involved too, live jazz in the bar most nights and a jazz brunch on Sundays.

On a recent Saturday night, though, it’s not as hopping as you’d expect. A magician, or a guy who says he’s a magician, entertains a woman in the bar, and after every trick she shrieks with delight, “How did you do that?” A funk and jazz trio starts to play, the guitarist muttering that this isn’t his usual gear. His was stolen out of his car the night before.

Only a handful of tables are actually having dinner that night, but the waiters are going through their paces with the aplomb of real professionals.

The food -- “classic Southern cuisine ... with a French twist” -- is agreeable for a place on the Sunset Strip. You can start with Creole fried oysters on the half shell sprinkled with a smoldering three-pepper mignonette. Coconut shrimp in beer batter is fun too. And the grilled barbecue baby back ribs are falling-off-the-bone tender.

Katherine’s turkey meatloaf is awfully bland, though. The smothered pork chop gets some truffle mashed potatoes (I guess that’s the French part) along with corn pudding and green beans. Every main course comes with two sides. The best dish we try is surprising, considering how hard it is to get good Southern fried chicken in a restaurant. This version is fried to a dark gold, crisp and juicy -- just what you want with a little jazz.

After being open only Thursday through Saturday, and hosting a number of private parties with DJs, Katherine’s has started serving Wednesday nights too, and on Sundays they now have a jazz brunch. I just hope that fried chicken is on the menu.

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Katherine’s

Where: 8210 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles

When: Dinner, 6 to 10:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; jazz brunch, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Full bar. Valet parking next door is $10 with validation.

Cost: Appetizers, $8 to $12; main dishes, $20 to $30; desserts, $6

Info: (323) 822-2082