1) Bar DeLuxe: Spacecraft Design's Kris Keith (yes, he's everywhere these days) showed us around two upcoming projects that he's working on with Adolfo Suaya. First up is this Art Deco-inspired lounge on Cahuenga across from the now-defunct Goa and just a few doors from Kitchen 24 (both of which Keith also designed, and all just around the corner from his office on Selma, go figure). Although we had some literal plywood months ago, now that it's getting close we were relegated only to detail shots, but know this: There's dark mahogany paneling everywhere, even on the ceilings; a green marble-topped bar with a gorgeous mosaic mural going up behind it; heavy velvet curtains and six-foot crystal chandeliers. The swank women's-only lounge on the second floor has a plush red velvet ceiling. Hopefully it won't suffer the same fate as Goa; it's much too pretty for that. They hope to get DeLuxe open in about two months. [PLYWOOD]
2) Osaka: Not nearly as far along as DeLuxe, this is Suaya's ode to Peru in the space previously occupied by Chicken Delight on Hollywood Boulevard. It's mostly piles of rubble and lots of wood now, but plans call for an open patio out front, with a stone walkway through a small pond; inside, a large ceviche bar centers one room and a pisco (Peruvian brandy) lounge with skylights in another. Probably six to eight months for this one, so look for a debut sometime in early 2009. [PLYWOOD]
