Patina Restaurant Group

The gig: As the founder and a partner of Patina Restaurant Group, chef Joachim Splichal, 56, oversees a vast culinary empire with 29 restaurants and cafes in the Southland and 35 other eateries around the country. In downtown Los Angeles, the roster includes Nick & Stef's Steakhouse, Café Pinot and his flagship, Patina, in the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Bread in the bone: Growing up, Splichal's parents owned and ran the biggest hotel in the small mountain village of Spaichingen, Germany.

Restaurants with a view usually come in two varieties: landscape or cityscape. The new Ray's and Stark Bar at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art have a view. But it's not the ocean or the city lights spread on a starry carpet below. Instead, the new museum restaurant revels in a wide, sweeping view of the Resnick Exhibition Pavilion designed by Renzo Piano. In other words, great architecture. Now museums aren't, in general, known for harboring distinguished restaurants. And the original one at LACMA (like this one, also run by the Patina Restaurant Group)

Seafood restaurant operator Landry's Restaurants Inc. said Friday that it had offered to acquire steakhouse chain Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group Inc. for about $84 million, topping a rival bid by Patina Restaurant Group. In January, Landry's, which operates the Landry's Seafood House and Rainforest Cafe restaurants, had made an unsolicited offer to acquire Smith & Wollensky for $64.4 million, or $7.50 a share -- which was about a 50% premium to the stock's $5.03 closing price Jan. 12.

The gig: As the founder and a partner of Patina Restaurant Group, chef Joachim Splichal, 56, oversees a vast culinary empire with 29 restaurants and cafes in the Southland and 35 other eateries around the country. In downtown Los Angeles, the roster includes Nick & Stef's Steakhouse, Café Pinot and his flagship, Patina, in the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Bread in the bone: Growing up, Splichal's parents owned and ran the biggest hotel in the small mountain village of Spaichingen, Germany.

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles is set to unveil a new cafe at its main Grand Avenue location this month. But the museum's food vendor for the last 15 years, Patina Restaurant Group, will not be involved. A MOCA spokeswoman said that the museum's 15-year contract with Patina has come to an end. The new eatery, called Lemonade at MOCA, will be operated by Jackson Catering. The food services company was created by chef Alan Jackson, who also runs the chain of Lemonade restaurants and cafes in the L.A. area.

Restaurants with a view usually come in two varieties: landscape or cityscape. The new Ray's and Stark Bar at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art have a view. But it's not the ocean or the city lights spread on a starry carpet below. Instead, the new museum restaurant revels in a wide, sweeping view of the Resnick Exhibition Pavilion designed by Renzo Piano. In other words, great architecture. Now museums aren't, in general, known for harboring distinguished restaurants. And the original one at LACMA (like this one, also run by the Patina Restaurant Group)

Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group Inc., a New York-based steakhouse chain, said Monday that it agreed to be bought by Patina Restaurant Group for $94.6 million, topping a rival proposal from Landry's Restaurants Inc. Patina, owner of a namesake Los Angeles restaurant and the ice rink in New York's Rockefeller Center, will pay $11 a share, 13% more than the Landry's bid and 19% higher than its previous agreement to buy the restaurant company, Smith & Wollensky said.

Patina, the flagship of Joachim Splichal's dining empire located in Frank Gehry's Disney Concert Hall, is getting a new chef. Tony Esnault, former executive chef of Alain Ducasse's New York restaurant Adour, is expected to start at the downtown landmark this month. Patina Restaurant Group says Esnault will be working closely with Splichal on a new (presumably Cal-French) menu. Esnault was executive chef at Ducasse's Essex House in New York before opening Adour in the St. Regis Hotel in 2007.

Chef Joachim Splichal and his Patina collection of restaurants are picking up a steak knife to carve into new markets. Patina Restaurant Group, which owns some of Southern California's premier eateries and New York's Rockefeller Center ice rink, said Monday that it had agreed to buy the Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group Inc. steakhouse chain for $79.5 million. "This is the first acquisition, from a restaurant standpoint, to expand the Patina group," Splichal said.

The Governors Ball after the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday will feed an army of hungry celebrities. Here's some of what it will take to satisfy the 3,600 guests: •10,500 plates •2,500 champagne flutes •195 cooks in the kitchen •4,416 bottles of Beaulieu Vineyard wine •360 bottles of Beaulieu Vineyard dessert wine •437 pounds of Dungeness crab •1,750 California avocados...

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles is set to unveil a new cafe at its main Grand Avenue location this month. But the museum's food vendor for the last 15 years, Patina Restaurant Group, will not be involved. A MOCA spokeswoman said that the museum's 15-year contract with Patina has come to an end. The new eatery, called Lemonade at MOCA, will be operated by Jackson Catering. The food services company was created by chef Alan Jackson, who also runs the chain of Lemonade restaurants and cafes in the L.A. area.

Patina, the flagship of Joachim Splichal's dining empire located in Frank Gehry's Disney Concert Hall, is getting a new chef. Tony Esnault, former executive chef of Alain Ducasse's New York restaurant Adour, is expected to start at the downtown landmark this month. Patina Restaurant Group says Esnault will be working closely with Splichal on a new (presumably Cal-French) menu. Esnault was executive chef at Ducasse's Essex House in New York before opening Adour in the St. Regis Hotel in 2007.

Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group Inc., a New York-based steakhouse chain, said Monday that it agreed to be bought by Patina Restaurant Group for $94.6 million, topping a rival proposal from Landry's Restaurants Inc. Patina, owner of a namesake Los Angeles restaurant and the ice rink in New York's Rockefeller Center, will pay $11 a share, 13% more than the Landry's bid and 19% higher than its previous agreement to buy the restaurant company, Smith & Wollensky said.

Seafood restaurant operator Landry's Restaurants Inc. said Friday that it had offered to acquire steakhouse chain Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group Inc. for about $84 million, topping a rival bid by Patina Restaurant Group. In January, Landry's, which operates the Landry's Seafood House and Rainforest Cafe restaurants, had made an unsolicited offer to acquire Smith & Wollensky for $64.4 million, or $7.50 a share -- which was about a 50% premium to the stock's $5.03 closing price Jan. 12.

Chef Joachim Splichal and his Patina collection of restaurants are picking up a steak knife to carve into new markets. Patina Restaurant Group, which owns some of Southern California's premier eateries and New York's Rockefeller Center ice rink, said Monday that it had agreed to buy the Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group Inc. steakhouse chain for $79.5 million. "This is the first acquisition, from a restaurant standpoint, to expand the Patina group," Splichal said.

New head chef at Patina: Joachim Splichal, founder of Patina Restaurant Group, names Charles Olalia executive chef of Patina, his landmark restaurant at the Walt Disney Concert Hall downtown. Olalia, 29, was formerly chef de cuisine and started at the restaurant in 2010 after working as a private chef with Oracle and in the kitchens at the French Laundry in Napa Valley and Guy Savoy in Las Vegas. 141 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 972-3331, www.patinarestaurant.com . New in Silver Lake: Hyperion Public has opened in Silver Lake, serving "contemporary American cuisine with light organic options, paired with craft and local tap beers, wine and cocktails.

MUSIC JazzReggae Festival Take in top-notch jazz, rap and reggae music at the 25th annual festival at UCLA. This year's event features Steel Pulse, Tanya Stephens and much more. UCLA Intramural Field, 405 Hilgard Ave., Westwood. Noon to 7 p.m. Ticket prices vary. http://www.jazzreggaefest.com. Vaud & the Villains The sprawling cabaret-folk combo has won over Silver Lake audiences for its steampunk-inspired revelry and grand, sweeping tunes that put a curl in your moustache.