Santa Monica, California

When I first came to Los Angeles four decades ago, there were maybe six gourmet restaurants in the entire town. Now there are more than that just on Santa Monica’s Ocean Avenue, and they’re about to joined by another. Jean-Francois Meteigner of La Cachette in Century City will start serving patrons at La Cachette Bistro on Saturday in preparation for a full-blown opening in a couple weeks. La Cachette Bistro, 1733 Ocean Ave (between Pico Blvd and the Santa Monica Pier), Santa Monica; 310-434-9509.

Update: Now closed, alas.