Spoons with holes? How Adria

NOW you can stir your coffee like they do at El Bulli, with a specially designed “coffee spoon” created for chef Ferran Adria -- it’s the same stirrer used at Adria’s restaurant outside of Barcelona, but you need not travel farther than Santa Monica to get one.

Jing Tio, owner of culinary supply boutique Le Sanctuaire, is importing a collection of flatware called Faces Ferran Adria by Design Mix Collections, a company collaborating with the renowned chef. The so-called coffee spoon, which isn’t a spoon but a stick stirrer with two holes in one enlarged end, is part of the El Bulli collection of “transmaterialised” objects, “popularly known in their plastic and single-use version, and that now, cast in stainless steel, become fine objects,” according to the company.

The six-piece El Bulli collection also includes chopstick-tongs; an ice cream spoon; an “appetiser spoon”; a spoon fitted with a clip on the handle for attaching fresh herbs; and a straining spoon (suggestions for use include corn flakes with pineapple juice, so you can eat the cereal, then drink the juice).

Le Sanctuaire carries other Faces pieces such as the “7bowls,” a stunning set of nesting stainless steel bowls that includes strainers and serving pieces. Fork-knife-spoon sets also can be special ordered in sterling silver, silver plate or even gold plate. (Tio says he’ll be carrying more pieces come next year.)

Most coveted: gold-plated demitasse spoons.

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2007 Michelin Guide is out

Michelin is proving itself nothing if not loyal in New York City. In the 2007 Guide released today, Jean Georges, Le Bernardin and Per Se all retained their three-star ratings. Alain Ducasse, which was in the top tier in the initial Guide, was dropped altogether because it is closing in the Essex House at the end of the year and moving to a new location. Four restaurants earned two stars: Bouley, Daniel and Masa held onto their ranks; Del Posto is a newcomer to the constellation (but Danube was demoted to one). A total of 32 restaurants received one star.

The book, which rates 526 restaurants and 50 hotels, added a Bib Gourmand category this year comprising 44 restaurants offering a meal with a glass of wine or dessert for under $40 a person. All but two of the starred restaurants are in Manhattan (Peter Luger steakhouse and Saul, both in Brooklyn, are the exceptions).

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Opaline finis, but a finalist

A design award for a restaurant that’s long gone?

Opaline has been closed for longer than it was ever open, but when a list of design-award finalists recently was released by the Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the erstwhile restaurant was there among Cut in Beverly Hills, Katsuya in Brentwood, Houston’s in Century City, Lucky Devils in Hollywood and Stack in Las Vegas.

The wine-focused restaurant, designed by architecture firm Nicholas Budd Dutton, closed in June 2004 after being open a little more than a year and a half. The space is now occupied by BLD.

A publicist for the AIA said that Opaline’s submission met the organization’s criteria for consideration.

In a joint statement, former partner David Rosoff and architect John Dutton said, “We feel that this posthumous recognition in some way makes more palatable the demise of the Opaline experiment.”

Betty Hallock and Regina Schrambling

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Small bites

* J Restaurant & Lounge, a 25,000-square-foot space with three bars, a 10,000-square-foot patio and a cigar lounge, has opened downtown. Executive Chef Ryan McKay, formerly a sous chef at L’Orangerie, offers Mediterranean-inspired cuisine for brunch, lunch and dinner. 1119 S. Olive St., Los Angeles, (213) 746-7746.

* Opened in 1949, Dino’s might be Pasadena’s oldest Italian restaurant. After a brief closure, some remodeling and maintenance, it has been reopened as Scarantino’s Italian Restaurant by 21-year-old Jesse Scarantino, the original owner’s great-nephew. Family recipes include chicken marsala and osso buco. 2055 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 844-6633.