Comfort Food.

IT'S BACK TO THE BASICS AT DAWN OF MILLENNIUM

IT wasn't that long ago, maybe the 1960s, when some futurists were insisting that we would be eating Jetsons-style food at the turn of the millennium -- food-in-a-pill, freeze-dried ice cream, or worse.

But as Angelenos hurdled toward 2000, the fare has stayed with the tried-and-true: meatloaf, mashed potatoes and neighborhood bistros.

Year 2000 should bring more in the way of affordable comfort food in cozy settings -- a trend that hasn't escaped the notice of high-frequency restaurant patrons, like venture capitalist Peter Cowan.

"Los Angeles was the home of the hybridization of American food, of taking classical Chinese cuisine and mixing it with American or Italian and presenting them in a healthy way," he said. "But now more restaurants are opening up that aren't so big and maybe aren't so healthy, and that have more charm and more intimacy."

Expect to see more restaurants like the Pinot Bistro spinoffs of Patina Group, and the Ubon spinoff of Matsuhisa that opened on La Cienega Boulevard in Beverly Hills -- places where the food is good but also affordable.

"It's not so much dumbing-down but accepting that people will go to Spago once a month but they'll go to Wolfgang Puck's Cafe twice a week," said Merrill Shindler, editor of the L.A. Zagat Survey. Those more reasonably priced satellite restaurants, he added, will provide new revenue sources for restaurateurs and wider alternatives for diners.

Trendy French bistros are part of the comfort-food trend -- thanks to the likes of Mimosa and Cafe des Artistes. Les Deux Cafes in Hollywood has been one of L.A.'s hippest places in the two years it's been open. Lucques on Melrose Avenue recently made it on Saveur's magazine's Best of L.A. list. And it's still hard to get a reservation at Cafe Bizou in Sherman Oaks, which just opened a second location in Pasadena.

L.A.'s hunger for rich French food isn't confined to more affordable venues.

Josiah Citrin, one of the founders of JiRaffe, opened his Melisse to great fanfare and rave reviews this summer in Santa Monica. The restaurant, which features country-style food and surroundings, has been lauded as the L.A. area's first top-notch French restaurant in years.

"The biggest deal in town in 1999 was Melisse because (Citrin) was opening a real upscale restaurant when downscale has been the direction that other restaurateurs have been heading," Shindler said.

Despite the new emphasis on French fare, L.A. diners remain an eclectic bunch. As a result, expect to see a continuation of the fusion foods that gained a foothold in the '80s. The best example remains Wolfgang Puck's Chinois on Main, a culinary icon since its opening 15 years ago with the combination of European cooking and Asian food. But fusions are popping up at the more-affordable spinoffs of pricey L.A.-area stalwarts.

Examples include Rock, a lower-priced spinoff of Rockenwagner that opened last year in Marina del Rey. Owner Hans Rockenwagner's wife, a Korean native who grew up in Argentina, is heavily involved in Rock, so there is a distinctive Asian flavor to the California/Mediterranean menu.

Arguably the hottest fusion trend is Nuevo Latino, which combines (in varying degrees) Central American, Asian and Latin American foods.

Asia de Cuba, which replaced Coco Pazzo at the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood, is one Nuevo Latino hot spot, along with La Boca Del Conga Room, located next to the popular Conga Room nightclub. La Boca's executive chef is Eric Basulto, formerly of Asia de Cuba in New York and West Hollywood.

Yet another development is the return of supper clubs -- inspired a few years back by the popularity of The Derby in Los Feliz, known for its huge circular bar and separate ballroom (mostly used for swing dancing).

The most anticipated supper club is the Sunset Room on Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood, which has a ballroom for dancing and the chef from Draf's.

This month, Rick Clemente is opening up Los Feliz, as well as the adjoining Jazz Spot, on Hillhurst Avenue. The restaurant has hired Collin Crannell, the former sous chef at Asia de Cuba. Owner Clemente has outfitted his new Los Feliz venues with the Chasen's glasses and fixtures that he recently bought at auction, including the famous leather booths and leaded-crystal wall.

Finally, there is the emergence of downtown, which has seen several new eateries open in the past year, including Ciudad, with dishes from Buenos Aires, Barcelona, Mexico City and Lima; Cicada, recently opened in the Oviatt building downtown and offering a Northern Italian menu; and Nick & Stef's Steakhouse, which was opened in October by Joachim Splichal.

Does all this represent a comeback for a restaurant city that seemed to have peaked out 10 or 15 years ago?

"Los Angeles went through its glory days in the '80s, and we're still living on our laurels," Shindler said. "The '90s have been pleasantly nice, but in terms of editing Zagat, the stuff at the top has stayed the stuff at the top for a long time -- Patina, Matsuhisa."

Restaurant Trends, 2000

What and where the L.A. cuisine action will be this year.

1 Bistros

Joachim Splichal's Pinot group has been popular for years, but this year marked a return of these cozy French eateries.

2 Nuevo Latino cuisine

Asia de Cuba and La Boca del Conga Room are introducing a new hybrid that features the combination of Central and South American cuisine, sometimes with an Asian flavor.

3 Supper clubs

Born of the continued success of places like The Derby in Los Feliz, these dinner and dancing spots are opening up all, over L.A.

4 Downtown

The list of new restaurants includes Ciudad, steakhouse Nick & Stef's and Cicada in the Oviatt building.

5 Cheaper spin-offs

Restaurateurs Hans Rockenwagner, Wolfgang Puck and Nobu Matsuhisa have discovered the benefits of opening their own knock-offs.