DINERS WILL ASK, AIN'T LUX GRAND?

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

Following a very successful couple of years in the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, the Calabasas-based Cheesecake Factory has opened its second Grand Lux Cafe in the busy Beverly Center in Los Angeles.

In a glitzy, art-deco-ish, black-and-gold-themed facility sporting about every possible type of marble imaginable, the smart noggins who conceived this step-up-a-notch-or-two restaurant from their hugely profitable Factories serve just as big or bigger portions of tasty food at pretty reasonable prices.

They describe their fare as ``casual global cuisine,'' which covers the international culinary landscape pretty thoroughly.

Asian, Mexican, Italian, Middle Eastern, Caribbean and regional American-influenced dishes abound on a menu that could never get boring.

Starter items range from very good soups ($5.95 each) like creamed chicken or roasted tomato, generously portioned and served steaming hot, to heaping salads, an excellent one being the bleu cheese rendition ($6.95) featuring crunchy fresh greens, bacon, sweet cherry tomatoes, croutons and plenty of crumbled bleu cheese.

You can get away from the mundane by starting a meal here with barbecued duck potstickers ($7.50), nicely fashioned with tasty duck breast meat mixed with shiitake mushrooms and vegetables in a sweet and spicy hoisin sauce and delivered crisp.

Or by treating yourself to the Grand Lux version of tuna tartare, here dubbed spicy ``tuna pica'' ($9.95), and made with good-quality, raw sushi tuna diced and melded with onions, Asian herbs and seasonings, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, all daubed atop crispy wontons.

Be prepared for large quantities, especially on the entree plates.

One of the more dramatic platters is the Jamaican pork tenderloin offering ($15.95), here materializing as two hefty wedges of juicy pork perched on mashed sweet potatoes with black beans, white rice and a superb, spicy hot Jamaican pepper sauce.

The dish arrives with two large spicy wafers pointing to the Grand Lux's dazzling coffered ceiling and a refreshing mango salsa topping. This, mon, is one big dinner.

Another flavor-filled meaty entree, the Grand Lux Mongolian steak ($16.95) provides a handsome portion of tender marinated slices of beef swathed with grilled onions.

You also get a fulfilling helping of rice and grilled flat bread with this satisfying plate.

From the load of pastas, pizzas and pies to choose from, the lobster pie ($23.95) will definitely appease most appetites. Even if you think that the huge round piece of crust atop the plate is a bit much, the stuff underneath is worth digging into.

Chunks of sweet lobster meat abound in a savory mixture containing carrots, onions, peas and mushrooms. And there's plenty of it.

And make a note: There's a shrimp and chicken jambalaya here ($16.95) that puts to shame some of those overcooked versions found around town. Yes, every shrimp - and there's a goodly number - possesses flavor and crunchy texture. And each piece of chicken is perfectly tender and moist, just the way it should be.

Add a mound of white rice, slices of Andouille sausage, slivers of green and red pepper, sweet onions and a zesty tomato broth, and you have jambalaya jubilation. It's as simple as that.

Naturally, diners will find around 10 of the Cheesecake Factory cheesecakes to choose from as a meal ending, if only to remind you of the restaurant's roots.

But my dessert recommendation is the warm (not hot) chocolate chunk bread pudding ($6.50) that comes with a small pourer of creamy Jack Daniel's sauce.

It provides a truly satisfying finale, if you have room.

GRAND LUX CAFE

Where: 121 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles.

When: Open for lunch, dinner, weekend breakfast, late-night meals and snacks from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday.

Behind the scenes: Owned by the Cheesecake Factory.

Recommended items: Soups, blue cheese salad, spicy tuna pica, barbecued duck potstickers, Jamaican pork tenderloin, Mongolian steak, chicken and shrimp jambalaya, lobster pie, chocolate chunk bread pudding.

Children's menu: No written list. Quoted by waiter.

How much: Starters from $6 to $11, pastas and entrees from $11 to $27, desserts from $5 to $7. Full bar. All major credit cards.

Wine list: Some 24 labels make up a limited list of wines without vintage information ranging from $19 to $78 per bottle (most between $22 and $28) and all except the champagnes available by the glass ($5.25 to $9.50). Corkage: $10.

Reservations: First come, first served policy prevails. Information: [phone].

Our rating: Three and one half stars for food; three and one half stars for service; two stars for wine.

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Photo:

Grand Lux Cafe director of kitchen operations Dave Garbowski, left, general manager John Kulacki and senior vice president Howard Gordon display an assortment of the restaurant's offerings, including miso-glazed salmon, seared rare ahi tuna, coco-mac chicken satay and crispy strawberry napoleon.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer