Style for Not-So-Rich, Not-So-Famous

Why are all these powerful people clamoring to get into this rather tacky-looking restaurant? The service isn’t that great--hordes of us stood at the door for ages before anybody came to see what we were doing. The food isn’t particularly unusual either--dishes include chopped salad, cannelloni, and baked chicken with potatoes and rosemary. Even the prices don’t qualify the place for celebrity status--you’d have to call them rather reasonable.

But everybody wants to go to the new La Scala and Boutique, 410 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, (213) 275-0579. That’s because in Los Angeles, everybody loves La Scala. The restaurant, opened in 1951, was once the most expensive in the city. It was the first to serve white truffles and produce its own pasta. Now La Scala has moved to a new location and become less formal and considerably less expensive. Which means that when all those famous people sit down to dinner, you can afford to join them.