Word: spago
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HARVARD SQUARE, you're no Hollywood. Mass. Ave. is certainly not Sunset Boulevard; The Harvard Square Theater can't boast the same "Avenue of Stars" outside of Mann's Chinese Theater. And while star-watching might be rewarding at Wolfgang Puck's chic L.A. restaurant, Spago, it won't yield successful results at The Tasty...
...hustler. For the most part, he speaks quietly, his light brown eyes narrowing as he makes a point. At an even 6 ft., light skinned and dressed casually but neatly with his Nike shoestrings tied just so, he can blend into the crowd at his usual hangouts, from Spago to Red Lobster Inn. He relishes the rewards of his success -- his house in the Hollywood hills, for example, where he lives with his girlfriend Darlene Ortiz and their six-month-old baby boy; his collection of half a dozen sports and antique cars; his trips to such spots as Hawaii...
...many cultures with exciting cuisines here," observes the Austrian-born Puck. "After all, the culinary heritage of Thailand is more interesting than Poland's. Californians are very open. They're less likely than back East to go for pot roast or baked scrod!" When he started up Spago in Beverly Hills, he employed young Asians in his kitchen. In 1983 Puck decided to look East himself -- Far East -- with Chinois on Main in Santa Monica, now a Cal-Asian temple. His 2 1/2-year-old Postrio in San Francisco is also a Pacific Rim hot spot...
...recognition of that, the 1991 Zagat guide to Southern California restaurants lists the "Top 100 Bangs for the Buck," inaugurated in the New York edition a few months ago. For the first time, formerly unfashionable cafes and family-style restaurants are ranked for value with the same care afforded Spago or Lutece. A wedge of ollalieberry pie at Russell's, an inexpensive Long Beach, Calif., eatery, is deemed "a slice of pure heaven." Not far away is the Shenandoah Cafe, where patrons "love those apple fritters...
...from city to city, the tricks of the trade are fairly constant. Sources must be cultivated, glamorous friends coddled, and, of course, press agents heeded as they relentlessly push tips. Certain restaurants are musts. In Los Angeles it's Le Dome or the Ivy for lunch, Morton's or Spago for dinner. In Chicago the image- conscious can be found at the Establishment-oriented Pump Room or the more hip Eccentric, partly owned by Oprah. In New York City the Russian Tea Room is best for the show-business throng, Elaine's for the print glitterati, Le Cirque...