Dressed to Ingest : Street scene: As dining becomes focus of L.A. night life, restaurants increasingly set the tone--directly or indirectly--for what their trend-minded patrons wear.

Food and fashion, fashion and food. In Los Angeles the two are as synonymous as automobiles and smog.

People have always dressed for a night on the town. But as traditional forms of entertainment like movies, theater and dancing become increasingly cost prohibitive, spending the evening at dinner has evolved into a new form of L.A. night life.

And Angelenos are treating these eateries as the nightclubs of the 1990s, often dressing to suit the environment.

At Beverly Hills-based Bice, for instance, the streamline moderne decor of the restaurant evokes an evening aboard a luxury cruise liner. And the patrons dress accordingly.

“They look like the just stepped off the Queen Mary,” said one bar patron when asked to describe the crowd.

Across town at Border Grill in Santa Monica, dressing for margaritaville includes pretty petite floral dresses, bright blazers, short skirts and, in some cases, spiked hair.

“It’s trendy, hip and young,” offers one customer. “On a scale of one to 10, it’s an eight. But ask me again when I’ve had another margarita.”

By comparison, the atmosphere and attitude at Chaya Venice, located off Main Street in Venice, is weird, funky and a little yuppie.

At quick glance, Chaya Venice appears to be the ladies-who-lunch crowd. But a regular at the recently opened restaurant more accurately describes the clientele as “celebrity wanna-bes who work in boutiques.”

At Atlas Bar & Grill, owner Mario Tamayo cultivates the more avant-garde restaurant patron.

Live jazz and Caribbean-inspired food entice one to dress up in everything from short, floral backless dresses and casual jeans to gold lame cocktail dresses and tailored Italian suits.

“You come to Atlas to be seen,” says one bar customer.

“That’s what it’s all about. It’s what we live for.”

Indeed.