Some L.A. Eateries Already Booking Reservations for Summer Convention.

It's usually a slow month for restaurants, but L.A. eateries could be serving up a record number of meals in August 2000.

Politicians, members of the media and others attending the Democratic National Convention are already inquiring about and booking private rooms for parties at L.A.'s top restaurants.

Wolfgang Puck's Spago Beverly Hills has booked four private events during convention time, according to the restaurant's private events office.

Joachim Splichal's Patina, ranked L.A.'s most popular restaurant in Zagat's Restaurant Survey 2000, and his other eateries have received numerous inquiries about the price and size of space available for private parties.

"We are blocking out nights in anticipation of the restaurants -- Patina, Pinot Bistro, Cafe Pinot and Nick and Stef's Steakhouse -- all being hit pretty hard by the convention," said Pamela Mosher, spokeswoman for the Patina Group.

Ciudad, which opened last November in downtown L.A. and is within walking distance of Staples Center, is getting inquiries as well. "We have been sending out information about rates," said Carollynn Bartosh, spokeswoman for the restaurant, which is owned by celebrity chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Muliken. Reservations are expected to start rolling in early next year, after the holiday season.

Conventioneers are projected to spend $20.5 million on food and beverages during their stay in L.A., according to PKF Consulting, which assessed the convention's impact on L.A.'s economy for the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Some of those dollars will come from official convention events, which are still being planned. Venues and caterers will likely be selected in early 2000. Besides official events, the convention will spur thousands of private parties, said Ben Austin, communications director for L.A. Convention 2000, the host committee for the Democratic National Convention.

"The way we look at this convention is that it's our opportunity to showcase to the country and the world the cultural and geographic diversity of the region," Austin said. "That's part of what these parties are about."