ONE ... SINGULAR DINING SENSATION.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

After making a culinary splash in Redondo Beach that surged as a wave of foodie buzz across the country, chef Serge Burckel has moved into the culinary heart of the city of Los Angeles.

The former chef at Splash gave up his seaside post to open his own little restaurant on La Brea Avenue just north of Wilshire Boulevard. He's named it One.

A few steps down the street from the celebrated Campanile, One is small but very charming.

Burckel revamped the former Gadsby's by pulling out the dividers to give the dining room a more uncluttered look. He installed a glass enclosure next to the view kitchen for a ``chef's table'' area similar to what he had at Splash and also added Asian-influenced decor treatments by using large fans on one wall space and conical hats elsewhere.

A large, colorful, abstract piece of art hangs near the fans, andAnd One's high ceiling has been painted a rich, deep blue.

The total effect seems perfect for Burckel's personal brand of brightly toned, creative, Asian-influenced fare.

Born and raised in the Alsace region of France, he cooked in Paris and later Hong Kong prior to his move to America.

Stymied in his first big U.S. job at an ill-fated Westside restaurant called Cristal, he blossomed at Splash, where he enjoyed a relatively free hand.

At One he carries on, pursuing his clever, intriguing, cooking path by offering such startling creations as a dim sum-style dumpling filled with steamed duck liver foie gras and celery root. To this he adds an apple-truffle dipping paste and serves a glass of apple soda water flavored with fennel and pepper on the side ($12). Wow!

I prefer, however, some of his more down-to-earth creations like his intensely flavored tomato soup ($6.50).

Here's a magnificent potage that announces its tomato taste strength so powerfully on the palate that you almost don't notice it also contains a scattering of asparagus and several tiny cheese ravioli.

And there's more. Like lots of lip-smacking taste satisfaction from both the polenta cake with mushrooms and zucchini ($7) and Burckel's sweet red pepper torte in a bell pepper sauce with an onion confit ($8).

Of course he can also be delicate and artistic. Sometimes he sends out a dish on a napkin that he has painted in abstract with bright food dyes.

And his formed sushi-type rice layered with Japanese pickles and raw, marinated tuna, ringed by a wasabi cream sauce, is simply a beautifully presented appetizer delicacy ($9.50).

The artistic picture continues. How about a most unusual dish utilizing a whole, roasted papaya that has been stuffed with a ground beef and scallion ``stew'' ($13).

The server brings it whole to the tableside, where it is dramatically cut and arranged on your plate next to a mound of mashed potatoes covered with arugula leaves. A light broth is then ladled around the striking, steaming halves of opened papaya. And it tastes as good as it looks.

On his never-ending trail of hues and textures, Burckel spices up his salmon with a horseradish crust ($16) and crusts a tenderloin steak ($21) with a green herbal mixture. The tender, juicy, green-topped steak arrives provocatively perched on a bed of white macaroni and cheese that sits in a red merlot wine sauce. Lovely colors. Lovely tastes.

And you don't have to pay outrageous amounts for really good food.

Garlicky baked chicken ($15) with mushrooms, a confit of tomatoes and mashed potatoes gratifies immensely. And you won't find a more handsome or fulfilling rendition of crusted rack of lamb ($22) anywhere.

Not everything is perfect. On one visit, ``Whole lobster'' turned out to be the meat from a whole, steamed lobster served without shell, and not much of it.

But Burckel has fun, too, especially with his ``smoking'' chocolate cigar ($7) dessert, although its ash and carbon flavors may not be to your liking.

And whoever heard of eggplant as a sweet ending?

Chef Burckel pulls it off with ease.

Realistically, this venture is his big-time beginning.

The introductory Splash stint may have turned into a mini-tsunami.

But now, at his new One restaurant, he's won us all over again.

THE FACTS

The restaurant: One.

Where: 672 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles.

When: Currently open for dinner only from 6 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. nightly except Sunday. However, lunch service kicks off Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. thereafter on weekdays.

Behind the scenes: Serge Burckel is chef and owner.

Recommended items: Red bell pepper torte, sushi-style raw tuna, firecracker spring roll with oyster sauce and greens, polenta-zucchini-mushroom cake, foie gras and celery root dim sum with apple-truffle paste, tomato soup with cheese ravioli and asparagus, horseradish-crusted salmon on purple Thai rice, roasted Chinese-style duck with date puree and apple-quince compote, herb-crusted tenderloin steak on macaroni and cheese in red wine sauce, ground beef-stuffed whole papaya, rack of lamb, baked cocotte of chicken, fried sweet eggplant, apricot tart.

How much: Starters from $6.50 to $12, entrees from $12 to $22, desserts $6 and $7. (Five-course tasting dinner $50. Specially tailored five- and seven-course prix-fixe dinners at the chef's table.) Beer and wine. All major credit cards.

Wine list: Small, single-page, 30-label opening list has a couple of Alsatian whites and several other bottlings priced at $24 each. Nine wines by the glass are $6 and $7 each, one port $11. Good mix of French and Californians plus a sprinkling of Italian, Chilean and Australian opportunities. Corkage: $10 (at chef's table, $15).

Reservations: Suggested. Call [phone].

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

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Photo

Photo: Manager Corinne Burckel (holding sushi-style raw tuna) and her husband, chef Serge Burckel (with the chocolate cigar) at One.

Gus Ruelas/Daily News