Building Sale Forces Jimmy’s II to Close

Jimmy’s III? Jimmy’s II has closed. This not a case of deja vu, and we are not making this up. Just after owner Jimmy Murphy spent “about a million bucks” remodeling the place at 201 Moreno Drive in Beverly Hills, and his children Sean, Jamie and Geraldine had begun running the reincarnated restaurant (which opened in October), the owners of the building sold the property. “It’s a real shock to us,” said Murphy, who had been negotiating with his leaseholders for some sort of compromise that would allow him to stay. But a clause invalidates the lease (which was to run to 2004) in the case of a sale of the building. The new owners don’t want a restaurant on the ground floor, so the Murphys have to evacuate, losing in the process the replica of the Murphy family crest they had installed in the floor of the entryway. (They get to keep the restaurant equipment.) The restaurant closed to the public as of Jan. 3; it will remain open for private parties until Jan. 20. But the Murphys are looking for another location to reopen. If the staff, including chefs Neal Fraser and Chris Goossen and pastry chef Darcy Tizio, can hang in long enough for the reopening, they’ll still have their positions. Murphy, always the optimist, says of this latest turn, “I’ve still got a little Irish luck left.” We’ll let you know how far that takes him.

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High-End French for the Valley: Encino has a new French bistro, Robair’s. Open about a month, the little place seats some 50 inside and has room for more on the patio out front. The food is put together by Fredrik Lorentzon, who flew over from Sweden to take this gig. The owners lured him from a restaurant and nightclub in Stockholm. He’s worked in Cyprus, Greece and Australia, but never stateside. “It’s hard coming in here,” Lorentzon told us. “You’re not used to the system and the food. . . . It’s not the same as in Europe.” But now that he’s come to know the food vendors and purveyors, he says, “it’s getting easier and easier every day.” What he’s doing at Robair’s is French food with modern touches. “I want to do something you haven’t tasted before,” he said. Like his lobster with artichoke brulee appetizer, maybe. His other appetizers look a little more traditional: escargot ($7), gravlax ($9) and foie gras ($12). For entrees, you can get classic bouillabaisse, lamb or duck confit with cauliflower mash. Prices run a little high for the Valley, topping out at $22 for the steak au poivre. But there aren’t many places in Encino where can you get a French cheese plate. Robair’s is open for dinner every night but Monday.

* Robair’s Bistro, 17209 Ventura Blvd., Encino; (818) 981-3696.

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Bellagio to Bel Age: There is a new chef at the Wyndham Bel Age Hotel in West Hollywood. Manfred Brauer is the man to replace Andreas Nieto, who left the Bel Age’s Franco-Russian restaurant Diaghilev for the Century Plaza Hotel and Tower in Century City about a month ago. Brauer hails most recently from the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, where he was the executive banquet chef. His career started in Austria (where he’s from) and took him to places like France, South America and Washington, D.C. At Diaghilev, Brauer will try to lighten up the heavy menu by using fewer butter sauces and more infusions. For example, he infuses diver scallops with Russian tea and serves them with goose liver and a persimmon sauce. But, Brauer tells us, “before I make any changes, I want to get feedback from the clients.” So for now you’ll see his new dishes as daily specials.

* Diaghilev, in the Wyndham Bel Age Hotel, 1020 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood; (310) 358-7776.

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A New King? Dwayne May has taken over as executive chef at Reign, the sleek Southern restaurant in Beverly Hills. He and former exec chef Gerry Garvin opened the place in June. Says May of their roles in the kitchen, “We started out being co-chefs and then he wanted to be the executive chef--which was fine with me.” Now that Garvin has departed, May is wearing the high toque. But you won’t find him in the dining room pressing the flesh the way Garvin used to; he sticks to the kitchen. As for the soul food menu, says May, “Nothing’s really changed.”

* Reign, 180 N. Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills; (310) 273-4463.

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Tales of the Remodel: The original La Serenata de Garibaldi in Boyle Heights will reopen this week after having been closed almost two years during a delay-plagued remodel. Says owner and chef Jose Rodriguez, “It’s going to be a different restaurant.” He’s installed a brand new kitchen there and redone the dining rooms. “It’s going to look like a nice hacienda,” Rodriguez says proudly. The menu will be the same as at the Santa Monica location. The resurrected La Serenata will be open for lunch and dinner daily.

* La Serenata de Garibaldi, 1842 E. 1st St., L.A.; (323) 265-2887.

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Bite-Sized Bits: Typhoon, the pan-Asian restaurant that overlooks Santa Monica Airport, has added fried scorpions and baked termites to its already exotic dinner menu. We figured some of you were actually anxious to hear this news. Keep in mind that termites are seasonal. Typhoon is at 3221 Donald Douglas Loop South, Santa Monica; (310) 390-6565. . . . Campanile, the rustic restaurant attached to La Brea Bakery, is finally letting people in during the morning hours to get their hands on some of Nancy Silverton’s pastries (and coffee, of course). But only on Fridays from 7:30 to 10 a.m. A full brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Campanile is at 624 S. La Brea Ave., in L.A.; (323) 938-1447.

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Angela Pettera can be reached by voicemail at (213) 237-3153 or by e-mail at pettera@prodigy.net.