Eat here now

Those of us who live and breathe restaurants have had a tough time. It’s the first year that I can remember when so many major restaurants have straggled late to the finish line, shanghaied by permit or partner problems, design glitches or that old standby--money. We’ve had to sit back and wait for this or that anticipated place to open, clogging a prospective restaurant’s answering machine with messages, crossing out plans to dine at the new spot again and again.

I can’t wait to see what Michael Cimarusti will do when he gets a restaurant of his own. It should have been here months ago. Patience. Providence purportedly is to open this week. And then there’s Tim and Liza Goodell’s latest restaurant, Dakota, in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which finally debuted two weeks ago.

Wilshire is more than six months overdue. Meanwhile, the Lodge, a steakhouse for the Atkins generation, is missing in action.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that when restaurants finally opened their doors, many were worth the wait. They turned out more interesting than imagined, and turned up in unexpected neighborhoods and in fresh genres. This year is definitely not the year of the copycat. These are true originals, inspired and inspiring. Let’s eat.

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Providence

Seafood lovers have been waiting--and waiting--for Providence, Michael Cimarusti’s restaurant in the old Patina space, to fling open its doors. We’re assured now that opening night is imminent. During his six-year tenure at Water Grill in downtown L.A., Cimarusti turned an indifferent seafood house into one of the best seafood restaurants in the country with his imaginative, rigorous cooking. At his own place, he plans to take the food right to the cutting edge and will offer several tasting menus, plus an a la carte menu and, not to worry, options for dedicated carnivores too. Co-owner Donato Poto, who ran Bastide with such skill, is in charge of the front of the house, leaving Cimarusti to focus on what he does best. It’s going to be very interesting to see what he’ll do on his own.

Entrees, $30 to $40. 5955 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 460-4170.

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Norman’s

Norman Van Aken, one of this country’s most celebrated chefs, blew into town from Florida to launch a restaurant on the Sunset Strip. Funny thing, though, not many L.A. diners have been paying attention. They’re missing out, because Norman’s is one of the most interesting and sophisticated restaurants to open in these parts in a long while. People seem convinced that the Strip is only for kids. Not so. Norman’s is a restaurant for grown-ups. The dining room is warm and inviting, but the chef’s table in the kitchen is the best seat in the house. Van Aken’s menu is a tribute to the tropics. Don’t miss his signature conch chowder in coconut milk, the yucca-stuffed crispy shrimp or his Havana-style pork. Sommelier Peter Birmingham has put together an exciting wine and cocktail list to match the exotic flavors.

Entrees, $27 to $38. 8570 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; (310) 657-2400. www.normans.com

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Ortolan

This new 3rd Street French restaurant from L’Orangerie alum Christophe Eme places his studied contemporary French cuisine in a less formal, more youthful setting. Wrapped in cream-colored leather banquettes with crystal chandeliers dangling overhead, Ortolan attracts a crowd dressed in couture or jeans and cashmere. The food, though, is anything but casual. In a flirtation with concepts fashionable in Paris and Barcelona, everything is elaborately plated. Early on, the kitchen had trouble getting dishes out in a timely fashion. Recently, though, Eme and crew are on track, turning out polished French cooking that invites lingering. Standouts include slate-roasted scallops, crispy langoustines with a shot of minestrone and filet of beef with marrow bone.

Entrees, $31 to $39. Chef’s menu, $120. 8338 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles; (323) 653-3300. www.ortolanrestaurant.com

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Meson G

At Meson G, Tim and Liza Goodell have given the old Citrus space a sexy makeover. Posh orange leather banquettes, a supercharged bar scene and a trendy small-plates menu set both hipsters’ and foodies’ pulses racing. But the Melrose Avenue restaurant may be in the throes of an (adolescent) identity crisis. The Goodells recently brought in Josef Centeno, chef de cuisine at their flagship Aubergine, which is temporarily shuttered, to retool the menu. Much of his food is truly delicious--mackerel tartare on toast, John Dory with celery and Seville orange marmalade or a silky foie gras panna cotta--but the fussy plating can make it seem more like a do-it-yourself tasting menu than anything resembling tapas. To wit, Centeno has just introduced a Tuesday night family-style dinner--which will change every week--presumably for those who can’t give up big plates.

Dinner dishes, $8 to $18; lunch, $8 to $14; chef’s tasting menu, $95 per person. 6703 Melrose Ave. (at Highland Avenue), Los Angeles; (323) 525-1415.

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Dominick’s

Since its heyday, when Ol’ Blue Eyes used to drop in for a steak and a martini or two or three, Dominick’s has endured in a number of guises. But the latest is definitely a keeper. Owners Warner Ebbink and chef Brandon Boudet have restored the place’s authenticity by wrapping it in nostalgia. Cozy and dark, Dominick’s has the look of a red-sauce Italian in New York, sort of Rao’s for a young Hollywood crowd who just want to hang with their friends. For the inevitable overspill, there’s a brick-walled patio out back with an outdoor fireplace. Dominick’s retro-Italian food comes highly recommended too, and the prices aren’t crazy. Try the Italian wedding soup, stuffed mushroom caps, artichokes charred on the grill, spaghetti and meatballs in a fresh, light tomato sauce or the whitefish piccata. The kitchen does a terrific hanger steak too, and for dessert, zero in on the warm ricotta fritters in a drift of powdered sugar.

Entrees, $11 to $35. 8715 Beverly Blvd., West Hollywood; (310) 652-2335.

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La Terza

Third Street between La Cienega and Fairfax is waking up to clever boutiques, design stores and new restaurants. La Terza--Italian for “third”--is the biggest fish yet. Owners Gino Angelini of Angelini Osteria and Claudio Blotta, former manager of Campanile, teamed up to create an exciting contemporary Italian restaurant with dining rooms upstairs and down. Angelini is a genius with pasta, and on a weekend, every Italophile in greater Los Angeles must be here, happily feasting on his fusilli in earthy lamb ragu or postage stamp-sized ognolotti stuffed with osso buco. Chicken, duck and pork loin scented with rosemary twirl on the wood-burning rotisserie, and Thursdays, there’s stinco--roasted veal shank--carved tableside. Desserts are by Nancy Silverton, who keeps her hand in with a special antipasti menu on Tuesday nights. The wine list, incidentally, is terrific and reasonable. It’s taken La Terza time to find its Italian center, but now the kitchen is steaming full speed ahead.

Entrees, $18 to $34. 8384 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles; (323) 782-8384.

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Nine-Thirty

Is there anyone who doesn’t know that any W hotel is the definition of trendy? For the young and the restless, that’s precisely the draw. But others wouldn’t cross the W Westwood’s threshold for anything. Those among them who are food lovers should reconsider. Against all odds, the hotel’s new restaurant, Nine-Thirty, makes it worth braving the throngs of cocktail-wielding babes and the clamorous roar of the bar. Chef Travis Lett’s food is remarkably direct and unfussy, more about flavor than presentation--pan-roasted hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, roast chicken in Riesling sauce, short ribs braised in Zinfandel, lamb shank with flageolet beans. He’s stripped out all the trendiness and gone for straightforward good cooking.

Entrees, $23 to $36. 930 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles; (310) 443-8211.

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Avenue

Manhattan Beach residents in search of a great dinner can head to Avenue from Christian Shaffer, who also owns Chloe in Playa del Rey. Like that gem, Avenue is a neighborhood restaurant, but one with French American cooking more polished than you’d expect at the beach. It’s always crowded, and if fans can’t snag a table, they’ll settle for a seat at the bar. Avenue’s seasonal menu changes from top to bottom every month. Schaffer comes up with twists on the classics. Instead of crab cakes and tuna tartare, he might put on brandade cakes or seafood boudin. And instead of chicken pot pie, one made with escargots and porcini. The chef is passionate about wine, and as a result his food is unusually wine-friendly.

Entrees, $21 to $30. 1141 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach; (310) 802-1973.

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Beechwood

With Beechwood in Venice, Brooke Williamson and partners have a runaway hit. It’s a new format: two-thirds bar and one-third restaurant. And why not, when you can pop in at all hours for fried baby octopus with lemon slices or dainty lamb meatballs with red pepper pesto and a glass of Domaine Tempier rose? The ground rib-eye burger with smoky barbecue sauce is a must. So are the fries--shoestring, quarter-inch or sweet potato--with a collection of dipping sauces. The dining room has a luxe coffee-shop vibe with sumptuous leather booths and a straight-ahead California menu. Beechwood is the perfect place to eat something good, late. In this early-to-bed town, I’m there, along with every other night owl in town. Hmm, I may need a trio of cupcakes before bed. And a glass of milk.

Cocktails, $7 and up. Bar food, $4 to $12; entrees, $15 to $23. 822 Washington Blvd., Venice; (310) 448-8884.

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The Hungry Cat

Now here’s a great idea for a restaurant: a casual, hip little place serving impeccable cocktails and East Coast seafood. Tucked off a walkway at the Sunset & Vine complex, the Hungry Cat’s setting is a bit odd, but finding it is part of the charm. David Lentz, who owns it with his wife, Suzanne Goin of Lucques and A.O.C., has come up with a smart seafood menu. Littleneck clams on the half shell, meaty peel ‘n’ eat shrimp and plump crab cakes made from a 100-year-old recipe are all terrific. Braised clams with chorizo are good for a hangover brought on by too many of the classic Baker’s Manhattans. Hungry for a late-night burger? The Cat stays open ‘til 1 a.m. Oh, Lentz cooks up a delicious brunch too. Stop in for a poached egg over one of those crab cakes after the Sunday Hollywood Farmers Market.

Entrees, $18 to $22. 1535 N. Vine St., Hollywood; (323) 462-2155.