DINING BEAT: RESTAURANTS SPRINGING UP : QUADY WINERY DESSERTS.

Byline: Larry Lipson

There's no such thing as the summer doldrums for the restaurant biz.

Dakota's Mesquite BBQ & Steakhouse plans to open within three weeks on the former Tony Roma's site atop the hill at 2525 Stow St., Simi Valley.

Owners are Flemming Larsen, co-owner of Buddy's Diner in Northridge, and Adam Stern, formerly associated with the Wood Ranch, a successful steak and barbecue restaurant in Agoura Hills.

The building has been shuttered since the Northridge earthquake in January 1994.

Information: [phone].

Theodore Lonsway and Gerri Gilliland, owners of Gilliland's, Lula and Jake & Annie's, all on Main Street in Santa Monica, have purchased the building that once housed the landmark seafood restaurant, the Black Whale, 3016 Washington Blvd. in Venice. An October opening is planned. ...

A new-style, free-standing Panda Express, is now open at 3728 Cahuenga Blvd. West, near Universal City.

Founded in Southern California in 1983 by the Panda Inn owners, Panda Express claims it is now the nation's largest Chinese restaurant chain with over 250 outlets. ... Grape Leaves, a Mediterranean-Middle Eastern cafe, replaces Todo, a short-lived wrap eatery, at 12265 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. The quasi-self service spot expects to open within the next two weeks. Information: [phone].

And it looks like there'll be a Spago in Palo Alto. But what happened to the one that was supposed to open in San Jose?

Many of the best local restaurant pastry chefs enter Quady Winery's annual dessert competition, scheduled July 28 at the Argyle Hotel in West Hollywood.

Chefs who feel they can make superb desserts that either pair well with a Quady port or make use of one of Quady's sweet wines in a recipe must enter by Wednesday. First prize is worth $1,000. Entry details: [phone] or [phone].

Il Teatro: `beery' good year

For its first anniversary celebration Monday, Il Teatro, 19563 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana, is presenting a beer tasting dinner featuring five unusual brews and four courses of such intrigues as shrimp cakes, honey mustard-crusted salmon, strawberry risotto and chocolate ravioli. Price: $20 per person. Reservations: [phone]. ... And apologies are due for the gaffe in this column recently where the 70th anniversary, $5.95 chicken dinner special at Taix restaurant, near downtown Los Angeles, was listed without notification that it's strictly an August offering.