The second outpost of Village Pizzeria quietly opened about three weeks ago, and according to the owner, "It's blowing my mind that people are so enthusiastic that we're here." He's getting a lot of business from the neighborhood, especially from those who would schlep all the way out of the Hills to Larchmont Village. The menu is just about the same---thin and thick crust pizzas, pastas, salads. The elongated space is mostly kitchen with a few counter seats meant for grabbing a quick slice. Eventually there will be a few dine-in tables, and free delivery will start in March. For your reading enjoyment, some previous Plywood.

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We've known about and saw glimpses of Osteria La Buca's new design, and the restaurant has been serving/not serving in various rooms for months, but designer Kris Keith from Spacecraft Group feted the new look on Monday night. Highlights from the design party on Food Marathon and Eating L.A.: cozy fireplace upstairs (although you may smell like smoke), bigger main room yet still intimate, clever wine bottle chandeliers, Mama still Mama. But it was this story from an anonymous tipster that takes the antipasti:

Went to the Osteria La Buca re-opening party last night. Saw Corbin Bernsen who turned out to be quite the appetizer hog---he’s the guy who takes five bruschettas for himself when there are only ten on the entire platter. He did this repeatedly. At one point he even had his elbow in my back, trying to get at the apps! Luckily super hottie Josh Lucas was there with a friend so I had a nice distraction.

The party was great but we were starving so we went to Osteria Mozza, sat down at the mozzarella bar and had a couple of snacks. I look up from my mole salumi Panini and see Appetizer Hog again! No idea why he was there since he ate 80% of the food at the La Buca party.

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Sure, Citrus at Social, STK, Akasha and Luckyfish all debuted this week. But we have more openings for The Dish. See something pop up? The tipline awaits.

Photo via Miles Think

ATWATER VILLAGE: A new wine bar, 55 Degrees, opens "soft" tomorrow, which basically means it's open for business starting at 11am. Think of it more as an open house where you might even find some complimentary nibbles and sips. (The "grand opening" is March 1.) Expect lots of color coding, take-away info cards and other "idiot proofing" measures for wine shopping, plus a basement tasting room. (3111 Glendale Blvd, 323.662.5556)

DOWNTOWN: If fast-casual Indian sounds good to you, Saffron finally opened on the ground floor of the City National building. General consensus thus far is Saffron needs to spice things up, but the owners are listening to feedback and tweaking. Good signs. (Flower & Fifth)

REDONDO BEACH: Replacing the shuttered Coccole Laboratorio del Gusto across from the Redondo Beach Pier is Catalina Restaurant. Owner Ruben Pires was most recently the GM at the (now shuttered) Avenue in Manhattan Beach, but also worked at Michael's, Paradise Cove and for the Patina Group. Chef Arthur Martinez also worked at Avenue, and spent time in the Melisse kitchen and Firefly in Studio City. The menu seems to run the California-seasonal-Mediterranean gamut. (320 South Catalina Ave., 310.374.6929)

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Welcome back to our weekly check in with our man-about-Vegas, John Curtas. Got some goss, a tip, some Sin City news? The Vegas tipline is always open.

THE MIRAGE: We love us a good rendering, especially of a $5 million burger restaurant. This is Laurent Tourondel's BLT Burger, which we suspect will open late spring, soon after his BLT Steak debuts here on the Sunset Strip. Expect similar fare as the one in NYC: lamb merguez burgers, Atlantic salmon burgers, good old-fashioned burgers, milkshakes, sweet potato fries, chili cheese waffle fries, onion rings. Fitting. [VegasWire]

THE PALAZZO: One by one, the restuarant are opening in the Venetian-adjacent restaurant. Dos Caminos, a 700-seat Mexican restaurant and Sala Lounge debuted on Monday. Emeril's Table 10 is officially open. The last date we had for Wolfgang Puck's CUT was today, but it's still under construction. Official word is March, but unofficially it could be sooner. And Restaurant Charlie by Charlie Trotter is, according to our sources, "about two to three weeks out." [VegasWire]

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Here we have the Richard/Chodorow show: Citrus at Social. The dining room has lost all Moroccan-inspired furniture, pillows, dark woods, while still retaining the fabulous arches and ceiling from the original Hollywood Athletic Club. Everything's so citrusy, so bright, so fresh, which they hope will be the winning recipe to attract business. This is Richard's semi-return to Los Angeles after leaving almost two decades ago---his Citrus on Melrose was once the toast of the town---but don't expect the chef to be on premises every night as he still has restaurants to oversee in Washington D.C. He himself said he's just "consulting." In his stead, one Rémi Lauvand who's worked with Daniel Boulud, Drew Neiporent and most recently at the Bacara resort in Santa Barbara. They call the menu "Cali-French," frisee salad with lardons, rockfish with swiss chard gnocchi, escargot, chicken 'faux' gras, short rib frites. The restaurant opened barely a week ago, but they're still holding back on reservations, keeping it "soft" as they say. Expect Citrus to go full throttle next week. More reading in Dish and Plywood.

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What's with this week? All of a sudden, openings all over the place. Does everyone think we're all distracted with Valentine's Day? It takes more than heart-shaped chocolates and roses to take us off the Dish beat.

BEVERLY HILLS: Here we have Luckyfish, the new kaiten-zushi spot from the Sushi Roku/Boa/Katana clan otherwise known as Innovative Dining Group. Luckyfish has been a long time coming, but opens to the public on Friday because nothing is more romantic than watching your sushi roll by on a conveyor belt. A few readers noticed that the restaurant already looks busy, but we're told it's still in friends-and-family phase, working those kinks out. There will be table service, a sushi bar, plus sake, wine, take-out and delivery, all things to all people, it seems. If this works, IDG plans to expand Luckyfish across the land. (338 N. Canon Dr., 310.274.9800)
· Sushi Roku Adds to the Heap: Luckyfish to Debut [~ELA~]
· Pre-Plywood: More on Luckyfish [~ELA~]
· Luckyfish: Will Bev Hills Shoppers Take to Conveyor Belt Sushi? [~ELA]
· Plywood Report: Luckyfish, Rendered [~ELA~]

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LA on left, NY on right; courtesy UrbanDaddy and Eater NY, respectively

The beauty of opening a second outpost of any restaurant is that no one really has to work too hard on coming up with a new concept. We knew the West Hollywood STK wouldn't be a huge design change from the original in New York, and here you see it's practically identical. The menu is also just about the same with a few West Coasty items (diver scallops with miso). As noted earlier, STK soft debuts tonight.
· STK Opens Tonight [~ELA~]

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Think of this as the calm before the storm. February and March will be filled with restaurant openings, which you'll find in the weekly Dish, so until then, just a few nibbles. Have a hefty serving for us? More, please.

SANTA MONICA: Last month Il Dolce on Montana Ave. looked completely shuttered, but according to the new owner, it was only closed for renovations. Yes, we said new owner, so all you haters should go back. Il Dolce reopens tomorrow, Tuesday, for breakfast, lunch, dinner. (1023 Montana Ave, 310.458.4880) [EaterWire Inbox]

WEST HOLLYWOOD: We told you about The Hall at Palihouse last week, and even although it's been serving a limited menu during DineLA restaurant week, it officially serves the full dinner menu tonight at 6pm. Breakfast and lunch will start by Feb 11. A tip: Because this is an extended stay hotel, it's semi-residential and the front door locks by keypad. Don't let that deter you: When the restaurant is open for business, that door is open. No keypad punching necessary. (8465 Holloway Dr, 323.656.4100) [EaterWire]

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A restaurant in a trendy hotel is nothing new, but in an extended stay hotel or condos? Not really rampant. Enter the Palihouse West Hollywood, a snazzy new extended stay property (yes, seven days minimum), with a brasserie, espresso bar and lobby lounge all open to the public. What we know: The Hall is mostly a courtyard restaurant (there's a small indoor dining room) for French classics---steak frites, croque monsieur, gourmet burger, rose by the glass---because this town just can't get enough of that. We don't know who the chef is yet, and we're told they're still tweaking the menu, but it is participating in Restaurant Week, so there's a chance to check it out until it fully opens for breakfast/lunch/dinner on February 11. The living room-like lounge has tableside bar service, cocktails with fresh ingredients and boutique spirits. It will be interesting to see if these will attract a non-guest crowd, or if it becomes something akin to Melrose Place meets The Standard.

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