BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN.

Byline: Larry Lipson

Chef Alex Scrimgeour, whose cooking expertise at the Saddle Peak Lodge in Calabasas has resulted in strong local recognition from both the public and fellow restaurant chefs, will open his own restaurant.

Scrimgeour, who replicates the career move of another Saddle Peak chef, Josie Le Balch (now owner of Josie in Santa Monica), has taken over the former Citrus site at 6703 Melrose Ave. and plans to unveil his restaurant in early November.

Like Le Balch, he will give it his own first name, calling it Alex.

Will he emphasize game fare like the kitchen at Saddle Peak?

Scrimgeour, one of the new breed of talented English chefs cooking in the United States and an admirer of London's famed chef-restaurateur Gordon Ramsey, said his food will be contemporary European and definitely not Asian-influenced.

He doesn't rule out game dishes entirely and suggests he'll produce a menu with strong French and Italian accents.

A three-course prix-fixe dinner for $48 and a four-course one for $58 will share honors at Alex with a seasonal tasting menu, he promises.

FIRE CLOSES KATSU: Masaru ``Katsu'' Michite, the master sushi chef-owner of Restaurant Katsu, 11920 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, has closed his restaurant ``for several months'' due to fire damage.

Open a year, this latest venture of highly respected chef Michite was both critically acclaimed and recognized by many sushi lovers as one of, if not the best, in the San Fernando Valley.

Michite is compiling a mailing list and will inform those interested when his reopening is imminent.

To get your name on the list, call the regular phone number of the restaurant, [phone].

COOL OFF AT BEER GARDEN: A weekday respite for downtowners on warm summer nights is the Summer B-B-Q Beer Garden in the New Otani Hotel, 120 S. Los Angeles St.

Open from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays until Sept. 7, the hotel's ``Garden in the Sky'' presents a menu of table-barbecued seafood, beef, chicken and vegetables at $4.50 to $8 per plate.

Draft beers range from $3.50 per 12-ounce mug to $14 per pitcher.

The Beer Garden is closed Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and rainy days.

Information: [phone].

NAPKIN NOTES: New in Oxnard: Chai's Thai Cuisine at 2148 Saviers Road, [phone]. ... Opening in Hollywood in November: Mel's Drive-In at the Hollywood History Museum in the Max Factor Building, 1660 N. Highland Ave. ... Confete, a Latin-French fusion restaurant at 7953 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, is the latest venture of chef-restaurateur Toribio Prado, this with his brother, also a chef, Javier. Information: [phone].