Since 1979, Mortons at the corner of Robertson and Melrose has been the 'it' place for Hollywood elite. It's home-base for the Vanity Fair Oscar party every year. It's not Arnie Morton's Steakhouse. And now, it's history: Mortons will close at the end of the year and British hotelier Nick Jones will turn it into a members-only social club, the Soho House West Hollywood. A little background, courtesy the LA Times:

Mortons was where the likes of Michael Ovitz, Michael Eisner, Sherry Lansing and Barry Diller held court when they ruled the town, with a celebrity quotient higher than most movie premieres.

Power players would go there to be seen but appreciated the spacious dining area that allowed for private conversations.

The phrase "Monday Nights at Mortons," when the powerful would regularly gather at the restaurant, came to symbolize a Hollywood culture in which as much business was done over free-range chicken and chopped salads as was conducted in office suites.

The late producer Julia Phillips immortalized Mortons in her bestselling 1991 Hollywood memoir, "You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again."

In January, Nick Jones will take over the space, and after a $5 million renovation, he'll open the Soho House. The New York Soho House was immortalized by the gals in Sex and the City, and LA saw temporary outposts during awards season. According to the Times, Jones says he wants to offer a private "meeting environment" for media and entertainment figures: "There seems to be an appetite in LA for this sort of thing." No word yet if Vanity Fair will keep the Oscar party there. UPDATE: Not only did The Knife know it was coming, but editor Dana asks: "Who cares?"
· Mortons to be a memory [LAT]
· Mortons to Close [The Knife]
· Is Mortons Losing Its Lease? [~ELA~]

The new Trader Vic's Lounge opened promptly at 5pm yesterday at the Beverly Hilton, and exactly as suspected, it's more an homage to the original than a replication. Yes, there are tiki candles, a canoe hanging over head, some sailing prints on the walls, retro surfing scenes looped on plasma TVs, but it lacks soul. What eased our pain: The free drinks and appetizers for anyone who showed up on opening night. Who knew? A few original staff members were behind the bar and serving, and the GM happily greeted guests. We're not saying this is better or even comes close to the original, but we are partial to the floor-to-ceiling sliding doors that open to a large patio. There's something to be said for drinking a fruity tropical drink outside. Better still: The parking lot and valet are free for the first four hours (with validation), and the lounge is open 11am to 2am daily. Afternoon Mai Tais anyone? Oh. Yes.
· Trader Vic's Lounge Opens Today [~ELA~]

Let's start a new holiday, shall we? We'll call it Mahalo May, in honor of the death and resurrection of Trader Vic's at the Beverly Hilton. Every May 3, we shall drink Mai Tais and Scorpion Bowls. And eat massive amounts of snack mix and pupu platters. For today, folks, Trader Vic's that died so suddenly on Monday will live again, if only in memorabilia and cocktail menus, on the pool level of the hotel. Cocktail hour commences at 5pm and goes until 2am. No, it won't be the same, and yes, the original 1955 location is a total and sad loss. We'll take what we can get for now.

WEST LA—Serious Eats has a video of the Apple Pan featuring Charles Collins, a 50-year employee of the burger institution. Of his boss keeping the Pan open, Collins says, "He said if he sold it, he'd put 13 men out of work, and he didn't want to do that. He want to leave it like it is." We've never seen so many empty seats at the diner. Ever. [Serious Eats]

LOS FELIZ—The LA pizza landscape isn't stopping at Mozza. The owners of Il Capriccio in Los Feliz opened a wood-fire pizza joint at today. (4518 Hollywood Boulevard, 323.644.9760). They posted pics of the first test pies on Flickr last week, found by Erin's Kitchen. Looks damn good. [Erin's Kitchen]

BEVERLY HILLS—The opening chef de cuisine at Gordon Ramsay's eponymous restaurant in New York's London Hotel was booted today. The restaurant only opened three months ago, but got lukewarm reviews from the NYT and NY Magazine. The exit seems dramatic, even more so because chef Neil Ferguson has worked with Ramsay since 2000. Much like his TV personality, the man has no time to dawdle. Note to chef opening Ramsay's LA outpost later this year: Start quivering. Now. [Eater NY]

In a city that changes faster than a starlet's hair color and oozes frozen yogurt and pocky, we're happy to hear about simple, honest-to-goodness longevity. Native Intelligence reminds us that the westside burger-and-pie palace Apple Pan celebrates 60 this year. The diner looks and acts its age, a quick-stop spot for simple, cheap fare and occasionally grumpy service. The staff is full of lifers: Manager Charlie Collins logs in 50 years with the restaurant this year, Victor Vetayases has worked there 35 years, and Gordon Teske, more than 40. The only thing that hasn't changed is the wait for a barstool.
· A true Nighthawk logs 50 years at the diner [Native Intelligence]

In more burger news, a reader writes in that Hamburger Hamlet on Hollywood closed, as reported on KCAL last night. The original Hamburger Hamlet opened in 1950 on the Sunset Strip and quickly became a star-filled joint. The owners took the concept nationwide, and opened more than 30 locations, but in 1995, they filed for bankruptcy and closed 12 stores. The Hollywood location was one of the oldest; it served its last burger at 5pm yesterday. We called the original Sunset location, and a server said the staff got three days notice about the closure, but many will be placed at other locations (there are five around LA). Another H&M will take over the space.

KCAL also reports that a landmark diner was "mysteriously demolished" in Downey.

Someone's going to have some explaining to do following the partial demolition of what used to be a 1950s-era car-hop diner. Often used as a movie location, the diner began as Harvey's Broiler in 1958 and became Johnie's Broiler in 1966 after an ownership change. Most of the inside of the restaurant has been gutted, with only the large Johnie's Broiler sign and the canopy remaining.

Image via Relais & Chateaux

Looking for orange trees in French-made planter boxes? Azulejos Portuguese ceramic tile wall murals? A custom-made fountain from France? What about a Bonnet Maestro stove? Well, you can find that and so much more at the L'Orangerie garage sale! That's right, folks. They're putting everything up on the block, starting next Tuesday Jan. 9 at 10am. A private showing will be held on Jan. 8 for you long-time customers. The sale goes until Jan. 15.
· L'Orangerie Closing Sale [Chowhound]
· L'Orangerie Through the Years: The Reviews [Eater LA]

Image via Relais & Chateaux

It's three days and counting, and POOF!, L'Orangerie will all of a sudden be Nobu. Gone are les oeufs, the Champagne, the giddy Gerard and Virginie Ferry. The restaurant, though never topping three stars, was widely known as the last bastion of fine European-style dining in L.A., the most expensive restaurant in town, and only did away with it's jacket and tie policy in the late 90's. This week, we thought back on L'Orangerie, the controversies, the chefs, and now reviews from years gone by. Cue up Auld Lang Syne and read on.

1985: NY Times restaurant critic Bryan Miller dines at L'Orangerie for a LA "power scene" piece. The room is grander than the food, and the staff amicable, not stuffy. Dining here in the 80's certainly had to inspire the dining scenes in Steve Martin's "L.A. Story."

1991: Ruth Reichl tries endlessly to convice her Reluctant Gourmet dining partner to dine at the "new" L'Orangerie, where new chef Jean-Claude Parachini just took over. Although the food is good, she missed the old menu. In the end, Ruth gets her RG in the door, but he isn't wowed and begs: "Don't ever ask me to go back to that place."

1993: Reichl returned, more satisfied with Parachini's menu, though still not completely convinced. More importantly, she noted that after a $300,000 renovation, service and setting raised a notch: "A few years ago, a waiter at L'Orangerie arrived at my table and asked, 'Who gets the chicken?' That is not a question I want to answer when that chicken costs $28. At another long-gone dinner, my favorite dish, eggs with caviar, arrived with a big fingerprint emblazoned on the eggshell. The service here, in fact, has risen to such heights that L'Orangerie busboys outshine the waiters in most local restaurants."

Next up: The 2000s...

For a restaurant that's been open for 28 years, having less than 10 executive chefs is quite a feat, and not just for L.A. Longevity was definitely a part of L'Orangerie's early success, but as the kitchen door spun out of control through the late 90's and especially the 2000's, the restaurant never quite recovered. Many of the chefs made L.A. their home and can be found in kitchens around town. Disclaimer: We're not perfect, and research was hasty, so this may not be an exact timeline, but a good attempt nonetheless.

1980-1990: According to his bio, Jean Francois Meteigner had a lengthy stint at L'Orangerie, one of the longest, almost 10 years. Under his tenure, the restaurant was named one of the "10 Best Restaurants in the World" by Lifestyle's of the Rich & Famous. We couldn't find an early review, but Meteigner gets super high marks for La Cachette, which he opened in 1994.

1988: Peter Roelant (exec? sous?) left L'Orangerie to open the venerable Four Oaks in Bel Air, which just closed in 2005. Now he's at the Wine Bistro, another 20+ year old restaurant, in Studio City.

1991: LA Times restaurant critic Ruth Reichl drags her husband, the Reluctant Gourmet, to L'Orangerie, coaxing him with promises of steak and apple pie, the likes of which he's never seen. In her review, "RG" notes the lack of diners, and she muses: "This place has been getting great press since the arrival of chef Jean-Claude Parachini a few months ago. Surely there are more than 16 people in Los Angeles willing to spend $100 a head for great French food?"

1995: Parachini announced his departure and owners Gerard and Virginie Ferry were thrilled to announce the new chef, Gilles Epie, who trained with Alain Ducasse and with Alain Senderens at the three-star Lucas-Carton in Paris. Ferry told the LA Times: "It's such a change to deal with somebody who has a sense of reality. Most cooks are a pain in the you-know-what. Hopefully, it's going to work out well."

The last 10 years coming up next...

Image via Relais & Chateaux

We love L'Orangerie's grand elegance, the likes of which this city hasn't seen since, well, since L'Orangerie opened in 1978. There's something so decadent about the dramatic arched windows, the chandeliers, the three-story-high flower arrangements; the scrambled egg topped with caviar is life-changing (for us anyway). To commemorate the closing of the LA grande dame of French cuisine, we thought it would be fun to reminisce with as many old reviews and news stories as we can find. Stay tuned for more as we approach the final hour: L'Orangerie closes after its New Year's Eve dinner service.

When L'Orangerie owner Gerard Ferry announced the restaurant's demise in August of this year, he complained of losing money due to the changing culinary landscape in LA, plus several lawsuits were filed against him, many by disgruntled employees, some for sexual harassment. But his legal woes go back as far as 1980, as Time Magazine reported, only two years after the restaurant opened:

Kathleen Bick wanted to treat Larry Becker, her partner in a Los Angeles public relations and design business, to dinner. The occasion was a celebration, so they chose an expensive French eatery called L'Orangerie. But after sitting down, Bick discovered that her menu was not so much pricey as priceless. As is the custom in some establishments that aspire to Old World elegance, Bick, as la femme, had been presented with a special white menu that delicately omitted the prices. Becker got the regular green menu.

The couple left without eating, preferring to do their ordering in court. Citing California's Unruh Civil Rights Act, they sued L'Orangerie for sex discrimination, asking for at least $250 in statutory damages. They also asked for a permanent injunction against the restaurant's use of a bill of fare that they consider, well, unfair.

In these final days of December, just as the holiday season really revs up, openings and closings quiet down; everyone awaits the clean slate of the new year. With that, this week's Plywood and introducing Shutterwood, where we feature those restaurants breathing their last breaths. Know something juicy? Drop us a line. And stay tuned for the Super Plywood 2007 edition coming to a blog near you.

(1) Tokyo Table: Before it even opens on December 22, the casual Tokyo Table already offers a discount: get a gift card valued at 50% what you pay for dinner now to use towards another meal in January. [EaterWire]

(2) L'Orangerie: Just like other notable eateries to close their doors, getting a reservation for the last week at this venerable French spot is damn near impossible. Our advice: Sit in the bar. Closing Dec. 31. [Chowhound]

(3) White Lotus: Once the shining beacon of Zen on the Cahuenga Corridor, White Lotus will pack up the buddhas after their Dec. 31 blowout. The space, name and concept will go under the knife; no word on what Chris Breed and crew will unveil yet, but it will reopen sometime around April 2007. [EaterWire]

Pat Saperstein at Eating L.A. has it that Nobu Matsuhisa's debut restaurant and LA institution, Matsuhisa, will not be closing afterall. Managers confirmed that the restaurant would stay open, despite previous annoucements to the contrary and the imminent arrival of Nobu in the soon-to-be-defunct L'Orangerie space just down the street on La Cienega. Omakase for all my friends!
· Matsuhisa not closing after all! [Eating L.A.]