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The new West Hollywood restaurant by Craig Susser, former manager at Dan Tana's, got the feature treatment in the New York Times over the weekend. The writer says that the elites in L.A., by which he mostly means Hollywood celebrities, have recently "lacked a definitive gathering place" that Craig's aims to provide.
The actor Ryan Phillippe, one of 20 investors in Craig’s, can be expected to shoo over some stars on Oscar night.“The institutions that did exist like Chasen’s and Morton’s are gone,” said Mr. Phillippe, who is health-conscious and appreciates the salmon and vegetable soup at Craig’s. “I feel like Craig has a good shot, having paid his dues for two decades at an actual L.A. institution. I think he’s been schooled and educated in what makes a place last. There’s a way that you have to massage people in L.A. or New York and I think he knows how to do that."
Tana, the 75-year-old proprietor of Dan Tana's, seems unimpressed by the hype the NYT tries to heap on. "'Craig was my eighth manager in almost 60 years. They have all been great and I’m sure Christian will be great, too,' Mr. Tana said, referring to Mr. Susser’s replacement, whose surname he could not recall. 'With each one I lost some new customers and regained some old ones.'”
Noted: The former Gardens on Glendon in Westwood Village is being remodeled to open as an Italian place called Skylight Gardens.