SMALL BITES CREATIVITY HEATING UP.

Byline: Larry Lipson

The top restaurant chefs in town rarely rest on their laurels.

Constant creativity helps relieve the boredom of dispatching the same dishes night after night.

That's why local farmers' markets often find chefs on the prowl, searching for interesting seasonal food items to share with their devotees.

Or they might have a special source for fruit and vegetables.

It may be exotic spices they're seeking or an exclusive imported fish.

Anything to be different.

For example, chef Vittorio Lucariello of Il Cielo, the romantic restaurant at 9018 Burton Way, Beverly Hills, [phone], has an exclusive supply of seasonal produce from owner Pasquale Vericell's fruit and vegetable garden.

Consequently, pomegranates and two types of persimmons - fuyu and hachia - are currently showing up on autumn special dishes at Il Cielo. Chef Lucariello likes to pair pomegranates with pheasant in the entree category and utilize persimmon for dessert.

On the other hand, chef Keith Lord of Linq, 8338 W. Third St., West Hollywood, [phone], works with a trio of Japanese pepper concoctions to bring Asian flavors to his recipes.

Currently he's using yuzu kosho paste - a blend of yuzu, a kind of Japanese lime, with chile pepper and garlic - to spice up his version of scallop ceviche. He crusts fish with sansho pepper (light, citrus-flavored ground pepper) and spices up his poultry dishes with shichimi togarishi, a Japanese seven-spice pepper.

New executive chef Christopher Eme of L'Orangerie, 903 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood, [phone], turns to a fresh direct-imported fish from France, the wild turbot from Brittany (turbot sauvage de Bretagne) to make his culinary statement.

Eme crowns the tasty flat fish with country bacon on a cocoa bean puree and adds a garnish of green asparagus. He then decorates the plate with a parsley coulis.

``We may very well be the only restaurant in Los Angeles serving it,'' he says.

THE $38 DEAL: Four-course, prix-fixe dinners with several options per course are now $38 at Celestino Italian Steak House, 8908 Beverly Blvd., West Hollywood, on Sundays and Mondays.

Lean Piedmontese beef is the signature item here, appearing on this special Sunday and Monday menu as carpaccio with mustard sauce in the appetizer category and grilled filet on the entree list.

Pumpkin is also highlighted in the pumpkin souffle with truffle sauce starter and as pumpkin tortelloni with sage and butter as a second course.

Detailed information and reservations: [phone].

FROM PAUL'S TO AUGUST CHRIS: With Paul's at 18588 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, under new ownership, the restaurant is undergoing a name change.

The new sign says August Chris Cafe, reflecting the first names of co-owners August Nazzaro and Chris Delisle.

No change in the $1-soup-or-salad deal with entree. But chef Ricardo Macchi has added three new dinner entrees (sesame-crusted salmon, shrimp ravioli, shrimp and scallops) and three starters to the evening menu plus eight new items on the lunch menu.

Information and reservations: [phone].