GRILL OF HIS DREAMS REATA OWNER ALL FIRED UP FOR HIS NEW VENTURE.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

WOODLAND HILLS - The strange saga of Al Micallef's Reata restaurant sounds like the lyrics of a country song.

Three years ago, Micallef presided over a chain of Western restaurants, operating in a ritzy skyscraper in Fort Worth and the posh Rodeo Connection in Beverly Hills. He had a hot chef, Grady Spears, devising his menus and dreamed of taking the popular Reata far from its ranch beginnings. To celebrate his Beverly Hills opening, he gave away more than 7,000 free meals to first week patrons.

But he soon developed a catastrophe of Texas-sized proportions. A tornado wrecked his flagship, Beverly Hills went belly up and his chef left. Though the failure of his 17,000-square-foot, 600-seat restaurant on Rodeo Drive cost Micallef $2.5 million, he's trying again. This Saturday, he'll open his doors at Westfield Shoppingtown Promenade for an open house to show off his latest attempt to bring the ranch food of Texas cowboys to Los Angeles. Regular lunch and dinner operations will start Monday.

``If a restaurant's successful, it's better than any other business,'' Micallef said after polishing off a cheeseburger from his new kitchen. ``You'll make your money back in two years. But if you're not successful, it'll eat you alive.''

Such was the case in Beverly Hills, which shuttered in June 2001. Though the place was popular with the Hollywood crowd, Micallef says, the overhead obliterated profits, with the rent alone costing him $40 per square foot. In his new spot, a more modest 5,000-square-foot, 300-seat operation, he pays less than half that rent.

``I think they got too big for their britches,'' said Renie Steves, a longtime Fort Worth-based food critic who followed the chain's rise. ``They sat several hundred, and I just don't think that's the kind of place that Rodeo Drive wants.''

Though Micallef claims his gross sales held up nicely, the menu also didn't mesh well with Beverly Hills diners. Serving calf fries - fried bull testicles that some Texans consider a delicacy - got him notoriety, but did not endear him to local food critics. Andy Harris, who produces a restaurant show for KFI-AM (640), said Micallef's last entry into Los Angeles ``crashed and burned.''

``I just thought, 'Huh?''' Harris said. ``I was surprised that they lasted more than a year. ... The whole idea of cowboy cuisine in Beverly Hills, no one could figure it out. The food was also very inconsistent. One day, it would be tasty food with the toughest piece of meat you could imagine, the next you'd have cold enchiladas and perfect steak.''

But Micallef figures he has two things going for him in the new spot, however. He estimates that 80 percent of his clients came from the San Fernando Valley to Beverly Hills, and his new chef, Ped Phommavong, has adapted the menu to be more California-centric. Alongside the rib-eye and tenderloin tamales, the menu now carries a large selection of salads and a wasabi-crusted ahi tuna. Even the chicken-fried steak, served hanging off the plate, comes with broccoli and peppers. Prices have dropped somewhat from Beverly Hills, with Micallef estimating dinner for two to be around $70, with drinks.

Owing to Phommavong's time in both Asian and Western kitchens, some creative hybrids have also arisen. He offers two sushi creations: a chipotle ahi roll with raspberry wasabi mustard, and grilled rib-eye with pico de gallo, guacamole, tequila marinated rice and sesame barbecue sauce.

Diners conceded the mix was unusual, but welcomed it.

``We need unusual in California,'' said Scott Feldman, a Woodland Hills dentist who attended a preview lunch on Thursday. ``We've had the same thing so many times before, a different taste is refreshing.''

Though Feldman seemed enthusiastic, the specter of Reata's previous failure still hangs over Micallef. He started the chain as a hobby, as a place to bring friends to eat after riding at his CF Ranch in Alpine, Texas. He now seems determined to make this venture a success. He made his money in manufacturing and now oversees JMK Management, a holding company with 27 diverse holdings, from aircraft leasing to silicone. He's poured himself personally into the Woodland Hills opening.

Thursday morning, he was sampling the drink menu, to finalize creations at the bar - both chocolate and chocolate-banana martinis made the list - and instructing exactly how he wanted the $110,000 silver saddles positioned in the front window. Though Beverly Hills proved to be a costly mistake, he thinks his new concept can survive. And if not, he's got 27 other businesses to fall back on.

``It's like an addiction - you want to do everything right,'' he said, watching his wait-staff scurry about. ``It's not like we need this to eat, though. ...''

Brent Hopkins, [phone]

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com

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(1 -- color) no caption (silver spurs)

(2 -- 3 -- color) Above, server Pam Baldwin chats with Reata Grill patrons, from left, Ron Glickman, Scott Feldman, and Olga Cross. The restaurant at the Westfield Shoppingtown Promenade is a new venture by owner Al Micallef, shown with his new chef, Ped Phommavong.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer