Heaven's Kitchen

The kitchen takes the yawn out of salmon tartar ($9) with a cheeky bit of world fusion: a salty-sour lemon-sesame vinaigrette tossed into glistening pink fish scattered with red tobiko, black sesame seeds, and drops of jalapeño oil. It's strong stuff — almost too much so until you realize it's meant to be eaten on pieces of light-as-air cassava chips whose sweetness, hint of Indian spice, and crunch temper the vivid tartar beautifully. Other apps include oyster shooters at $5 each, beef short ribs with ricotta salata, and coriander-rubbed baby lamb chops with red pepper marmalade.

A lineup of semifamiliar entrées too successfully "make it strange." There's the superb, dramatically presented passel of Coca-Cola barbecued beef short ribs ($22), a mountain of silky, fall-off-the-bone meat brilliantly balanced between hot, sweet, and sour, topped with super-sized buttermilk onion rings so light and airy that they seem to float. Paired with creamed corn flecked with tarragon, this is a summer barbecue gone wild with flavor. You remember every rib you've ever eaten, the smell of slow-cooking in August, and cold bottles of soda, and at the same time, you've made a new memory that overlaps and interweaves with the old, deepening your appreciation for good living.

Seafood risotto ($12 small, $24 large) comes thoroughly infused with shellfish broth, poached leeks, Sauvignon Blanc, and green herbs. A dish like this with perfectly cooked shrimp has a kind of sheen — it's as luxe and radiant as a silk nightgown. The beautiful shrimp are tossed with mussels, calamari, and those tiny bay scallops while the risotto retains its texture and moisture. There's jerk-seasoned snapper and crab-stuffed ravioli on the menu too, as well as roast chicken served with chorizo corn-bread stuffing, flat-iron steak, and turkey tenderloin with polenta and pomegranate sun-dried tomato gravy. A tropically inspired plate of pan-seared salmon made the transition from summer to fall with its citrus butter and cucumber-mango relish: It arrived with a vaguely autumnal side of fried parsnips and brown rice studded with almonds. This is such lovely food.

A state-of-the-art slice of key lime pie ($6) demonstrated delicacy with its vanilla-wafer-ground pecan crust, fresh whipped cream, and lime zest over a creamy sweet-sour filling. Molten lava cake ($6) is the yin to the key lime's yang — unbelievably dense, head-clearing chocolate paired with wild, sour amerena Italian cherries and a chocolate-cherry sauce so rich and vaporous that you could get drunk on it.

Go ahead and get drunk: Order another mimosa or an espresso saketini or a half-bottle of Moscato to wash down your last bite of guava cheesecake. These are happy times in Hollywood. And chef Michael Wagner will see that you get home safe.