Ortolan Restaurant   

There are two kinds of celebrity-owned restaurants in LA. There's the kind where the celeb simply drops a sum of cash, lends his/her name and stops by to celebrate a birthday once a year. Then there's the kind that has them doing table visits, asking if you need a refill on wine. Ortolan, the latter, has Jeri Ryan (from Boston Public and Star Trek: Voyager) welcoming you in a strikingly innovative, contemporary French restaurant with a refreshing take on service, presentation and most noticeably perhaps, decor. Opened by Christophe Eme (formerly of L'Orangerie) and his girlfriend/actress Ryan, Ortolan is bedecked by 14 crystal chandeliers, flickering candelabras, antique mirrors, cream-colored booths and the cake taker: a "living wall" of plant life under a glass roof in the back room. Ortolan has the vibe of an elegant amusement park, from the ruffled velvet curtains to dinner settings trapped within an impressed tabletop on the elongated, dining room table. When it comes to the food, Eme's pedigree should be noted. You can suck down the amuse bouche of pureed asparagus (served in a test tube!) down with a straw. Between dinner and main courses (an arsenal of unique creations by Eme), there's a mango palate cleanser of sorbet served in a mini-cone that paves the way for the melting chocolate cake with praline 'mille feuille.' In the end, Ortolan may feel like the type of restaurant where you must keep your posture straight, but if you can get past dishes such as the crayfish with rabbit meatballs, Ortolan may be the indulgence that wins back favor with the French.