L Ermitage

If you have any desire to sit down at one of Los Angeles' most elegant and expensive tables, around noon would be a good time to do it. Three weeks ago, for the first time in seven years, L'Ermitage (730 N. La Cienaga Blvd., West Hollywood (213) 652-5840), began to open for lunch. Those who were surprised by the move will be even more surprised by the prices. "It is L'Ermitage food and Moustache Cafe prices," says Chef Michel Blanchet. Well, not quite.

Hotels in Beverly Hills want you to come for breakfast -- and stay awhile. L'Ermitage, the Montage and six other properties are offering free breakfast and a free night for those who stay at least two or three nights.  The deal: The Breakfast in Beverly Hills package features daily breakfast and a free night for those who pay for two or three nights at L'Ermitage, Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive, Avalon Hotel, Beverly Hilton, Maison 140,...

I am very happy to see Citrus, L'Ermitage and Fennel on the list. Can I mention a place I appreciate very much? Robata for Japanese is out of this world. GERARD COSTE FRENCH CONSUL GENERAL Los Angeles

Hotel restaurants have it tough. Locals generally avoid them because most are stuffy, overpriced and rarely exciting. Hotel guests don't particularly want to eat in either, unless they don't know a soul in town or are completely unadventurous. If you come to L.A., you want a place where you'll see the life of the city--as well as eat better. That makes the remake of the restaurant at Raffles L'Ermitage, the Beverly Hills luxury hotel, all the more remarkable.

Hotels in Beverly Hills want you to come for breakfast -- and stay awhile. L'Ermitage, the Montage and six other properties are offering free breakfast and a free night for those who stay at least two or three nights.  The deal: The Breakfast in Beverly Hills package features daily breakfast and a free night for those who pay for two or three nights at L'Ermitage, Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive, Avalon Hotel, Beverly Hilton, Maison 140,...

The evening began with the French way of greeting, hellos followed by a flurry of kisses on both sides of the cheeks. The French also have their way of putting on a dinner party, which was really what Sunday night's festivities were all about. The dinner laid to rest the theory that too many cooks spoil the consomme. Michel Richard of Citrus, Jean-Claude Bourlier of Le Dome, Patrick Healy from Champagne, Claude Alrivy from Le Chardonnay and Michel Blanchet from L'Ermitage toiled together in Blanchet's kitchen preparing a five-course meal--the caloric count of which, one guest pointed out, was "off the wall."

Trends in the hotel industry through 1990s are expected to center on market-share increase, stratification, economical justification for an operation, greater profits through increased performance evaluation of management companies and operational analysis. These points were stressed by R. Britton Colbert, director of Leisure Times Advisory Board of Laventhol & Horwath at a Hyatt Wilshire luncheon program of the Los Angeles chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services.

Ashkenazy Enterprises, which runs some of the toniest hotels in the Los Angeles area, filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday to head off a foreclosure by Southern California Savings & Loan on one of its hotels in West Hollywood. The hotel and real estate company said it filed a petition in Los Angeles under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code that will allow it to continue normal operations while it draws up a reorganization plan to pay off creditors.

Restaurant dining in Los Angeles took a giant step forward when the late Jean Bertranou opened L'Ermitage 16 years ago. It's come to epitomize fine dining in this city, and the restaurant's closing last week was a surprise to Los Angeles diners. It was also, it turns out, a surprise to its chef, Michel Blanchet. Blanchet, who had been with the restaurant since its opening, says the decision was a bit unexpected.

One of Los Angeles' most elegant and expensive restaurants celebrated its 15th anniversary this week. On Sunday, the owners of L'Ermitage, 730 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 652-5840, invited former chefs to come back and cook for a party. On Monday, the restaurant rolled its prices back to what they were when the doors first opened. But what about Tuesday and Wednesday and . . .? After all this time, I wondered, how's the restaurant really holding up? Very well, thank you.

Whoever said breaking up is hard to do obviously never spent any time around professional chefs. Here's the latest round of splits between chefs and restaurants: Joe Has to Go: Joseph Antonishek leaves L'Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills Friday, even though his food has been favorably received there. Like many chefs before him, he found himself bridling under the restrictions of hotel management--again.

Let's face it, hotel dining is rarely exciting. But it does offer something increasingly rare: the luxury of eating in serene and well-appointed surroundings. It's quiet enough to talk, you can linger as long as you like and the service is usually crisp and professional. After a $65-million restoration, a small Beverly Hills hotel in a quiet residential area is setting its sights high. With rooms and suites ranging from $395 to $3,800 a night, I should think so.

The Beverly Hills hotel L'Ermitage has emerged from a radical make-over that turned the once-stodgy hideaway into a fabulously chic luxury hotel (at least from the looks of the lobby and public rooms). If you pull that taupe Armani from the closet, you'll fit right in to the minimalist decor. The bar, with its groupings of chairs upholstered in a palette of browns and taupe, is understated and elegant.

The posh L'Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills, a favorite resting spot for celebrities and wealthy business people, has been sold to a New York-based investment partnership for an estimated $12 million. The investment group, La Hotel Properties Inc., purchased the property from Mission Viejo-based Independence One Bank of California. The deal closed at the end of December, bank President Edward H. Sondker said.

L'Ermitage gets soul: Alberta Wright, owner of New York's Jezebel, is about to buy the venerable La Cienega institution. When the restaurant closed its doors last year, there was speculation that it would become a Japanese restaurant. Then it was slated to become another French restaurant. Wrong. Now it seems that Wright will be opening a West Coast branch of her yuppie soul food restaurant on the site.

"I am getting fed up with downtown," says Laurent Quenioux, chef/owner of the Seventh Street Bistro. "You pay $35 a square foot for what? On the Westside you can find space for $1, $2 a square foot. It's a good time to make some deals." Quenioux has decided to deal: He's made an offer on L'Ermitage, the venerable La Cienega restaurant that closed its doors last year.

Let's face it, hotel dining is rarely exciting. But it does offer something increasingly rare: the luxury of eating in serene and well-appointed surroundings. It's quiet enough to talk, you can linger as long as you like and the service is usually crisp and professional. After a $65-million restoration, a small Beverly Hills hotel in a quiet residential area is setting its sights high. With rooms and suites ranging from $395 to $3,800 a night, I should think so.

L'Ermitage gets soul: Alberta Wright, owner of New York's Jezebel, is about to buy the venerable La Cienega institution. When the restaurant closed its doors last year, there was speculation that it would become a Japanese restaurant. Then it was slated to become another French restaurant. Wrong. Now it seems that Wright will be opening a West Coast branch of her yuppie soul food restaurant on the site.

When L'Ermitage opened in 1975 it was a restaurant for rich people. When it closed last week it was an institution. Why should you care? Because even if you've never been to an expensive restaurant--and have no intention of setting foot inside of one--it changed the way you eat. When Jean Bertranou opened L'Ermitage, what we all understood to be "good food" was Continental; it relied mainly on meat. "American food," of course, meant hot dogs and hamburgers and steak.

Restaurant dining in Los Angeles took a giant step forward when the late Jean Bertranou opened L'Ermitage 16 years ago. It's come to epitomize fine dining in this city, and the restaurant's closing last week was a surprise to Los Angeles diners. It was also, it turns out, a surprise to its chef, Michel Blanchet. Blanchet, who had been with the restaurant since its opening, says the decision was a bit unexpected.