Taste of the Town.CAFE BIZOU BEATS PATINA AS MOST POPULAR SPOT FOR nine years running, Patina reigned as L.A.'s most popular restaurant, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Zagat Survey Zagat Survey (pronounced za-GAT)[1] was established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979 as a way to collect and correlate the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, covering New York City, the Zagats surveyed their friends. -- an awe-inspiring feat considering the fickle tastes of L.A. diners. But that reign has ended. The recently released Zagat Survey results show that Patina -- the elegant Hollywood restaurant that launched Joachim Splichal to celebrity-chef status -- has slipped all the way to fifth place. The No. 1 spot has been taken over by Cafe Bizou -- a smaller, less fancy, less expensive restaurant run by one man from France and another from Wales Wales, Welsh Cymru, western peninsula and political division (principality) of Great Britain (1991 pop. 2,798,200), 8,016 sq mi (20,761 sq km), west of England; politically united with England since 1536. The capital is Cardiff. , who opened their first eatery in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . "Cafe Bizou is wildly popular," said Merrill Shindler, one of two local editors who have been compiling the survey since its beginning 15 years ago. "Remember, the term here is 'most popular,' which overlaps with our other categories." Indeed, the top-ranked L.A. restaurant for food quality is not Cafe Bizou. Nor is it Patina. That honor goes to Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills, renown for its succulent seafood dishes and sushi. The Zagat Survey ranks restaurants based on surveys filled out by consumers. "The best bang for the franc, serving gourmet food at rock-bottom prices," was one surveyor's opinion of Cafe Bizou. The owners of the 6-year-old restaurant were taken aback by the top honor. "This was a very nice surprise," said Neil Rogers, one co-owner who has been busy opening a new Cafe Bizou in the recently finished Water Garden II office complex in Santa Monica. There is another Cafe Bizou in Pasadena. Karen Berk, the other editor of the Zagat Survey in Los Angeles, was not surprised by Cafe Bizou's jump from No. 2 in the 2000 survey to No. 1 in 2001. "I thought it was coming because of the fact that Patina was purchased by Restaurant Associates in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of ," she said. think the perception by many people is that the restaurant may have changed." But Joachim Splichal denied that. In fact, he said, the sale to the major corporation has freed him up to work more in the kitchen and concentrate on making the French/California cuisine even better. "Maybe people are saying I am becoming too big, or I don't focus anymore on the restaurant, but that is not true," said Splichal, whose Patina Group of restaurants include Pinot Bistro in Studio City, Cafe Pinot and Nick & Stef's steakhouse in downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or , and Pinot Provence in Orange County. Good, not fine, fond Cafe Bizou's owners admit their restaurant wouldn't win any top honors in a lot of categories. "We are going for good quality food rather than the extra fancy type of dining," said chef Rogers, who is from Wales. "We are not like Patina. We are two very different restaurants." Rogers and his partner, Philippe Gris, opened their first restaurant in Sherman Oaks in 1994. It was an unassuming former coffee shop on Ventura Boulevard that drew a handful of regulars. But a little more than a month after opening, the restaurant received a small but positive review in the Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Morning daily newspaper. Established in 1881, it was purchased and incorporated in 1884 by Harrison Gray Otis (1837–1917) under The Times-Mirror Co. (the hyphen was later dropped from the name). . Soon the telephone was ringing off the hook. The eatery, know for its large portions of California/French cuisine, $1 soups and salads, and $2 corkage cork·age n. A charge exacted at a restaurant for every bottle of liquor served that was not bought on the premises. corkage Noun a charge made at a restaurant for serving wine bought elsewhere fee, soon expanded to a larger location a few blocks away, where it could seat 160 people. The cafe's reputation for good food at affordable prices (a sesame salmon entree costs $14.95), along with the low corkage fee, quickly made it wildly popular. "Maybe we should ask for a vote recount," joked Patti Rockenwagner, co-owner of Rockenwagner, a restaurant in Santa Monica that made Gourmet magazine's list of top 10 restaurants in L.A., but couldn't crack Zagat's top 10. "These are very subjective things. Food is just like fashion - what is good to you may not be good to me, and vice versa VICE VERSA. On the contrary; on opposite sides. ." Mark Peel, co-owner of Campanile campanile (kămpənē`lē, Ital. kämpänē`lā), Italian form of bell tower, constructed chiefly during the Middle Ages. , listed as the No. 2 most popular restaurant in the Zagat Survey, thought Patina had slipped in rank because the eatery was closed for three months this spring and summer for remodeling remodeling /re·mod·el·ing/ (re-mod´el-ing) reorganization or renovation of an old structure. bone remodeling . But the Zagat Survey deadline was May 15, about the same time that Patina shuttered its doors for the remodel re·mod·el tr.v. re·mod·eled also re·mod·elled, re·mod·el·ing also re·mod·el·ling, re·mod·els also re·mod·els To make over in structure or style; reconstruct. . Every year, the most popular L.A. restaurant category comes up with a few surprises. The list consists of some very fancy eateries and some very casual places, editor Shindler pointed out. That is probably why The Cheesecake Factory was listed at No. l0 on the most popular list and Spago Beverly Hills was No. 3. The Zagat Survey every year rates 1,645 restaurants in Southern California, from Santa Barbara to Orange County to Palm Springs. Rankings The 10 most popular L.A. restaurants, according to the Zagat Survey 2001. Previous year's ranking is listed in parentheses See parenthesis. parentheses - See left parenthesis, right parenthesis. . 1. Cafe Bizou (2) 2. Campanile (5) 3. Spago Beverly Hills (3) 4. Hotel Bet-Air (4) 5. Patina (1) 6. Chinois on Main (6) 7. Valentino (7) 8. Matsuhisa (9) 9. Joe's (8) 10. Cheesecake Factory (10) Source: Zagat Survey |
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