Katsu Hits Studio City; Fabio in Venice

Got Katsu?: Katsu Michite has opened another restaurant. He already owns Katsu 3rd (because it’s on 3rd Street in L.A.). This new one is supposed to take the place of his first Katsu, which opened in Los Feliz in the early ‘80s and closed in 1998. It took Michite two years to find a replacement location, but he finally landed in the Valley at the old Peking Pavilion space in Studio City.

Restaurant Katsu’s menu will reflect Katsu 3rd’s, with its salmon-skin salad ($7) and the special bento box ($25) filled with appetizers, a steamed egg, sashimi, tempura, grilled fish, yakitori chicken, vegetables, steamed rice and fruit or ice cream. Seafood dishes include Dungeness crab meat tempura ($10) and octopus and cucumber salad ($6). On the beef side of the menu sits slow-cooked Japanese-style pork ($7) and grilled New York steak ($15).

Now that he’s running two restaurants again, Michite tells us he feels he’s “back on the horse”: “I’m very busy and I enjoy it.” Restaurant Katsu is open for lunch Monday-Friday, and dinner Monday-Saturday.

* Restaurant Katsu, 11920 Ventura Blvd., Studio City; (818) 760-4585.

Fabio Returns: Fabio Flagiello, the one-time Chianti chef who opened his own restaurant--Fabio Trattoria--in Hermosa Beach a few years ago, has a new restaurant in Venice next to Joe’s. The new Fabio replaces the local branch of A Votre Sante, which closed in January. Flagiello has remodeled the space and rebuilt it with booths, soft spotlighting, fabric-covered columns lit from below, a small private dining room, a lounge and bar area and a back patio. “It’s very different from what I had in Hermosa Beach,” Flagiello said.

Now, we don’t want to tell tales out of school, but he’s selling his Hermosa Beach restaurant. We can’t tell you the buyer yet because the deal isn’t fully sealed.

When it came time to look for investors for this place, Flagiello called actor Tony Shalhoub who used Flagiello as a model for his role as an Italian chef in the movie “Big Night.” Shalhoub was happy to kick in some dough for Flagiello’s latest project. So now Shalhoub could play the philistine restaurant patron in “Big Night” who wants a side of pasta with his risotto.

Generally, the dishes are more complex than Flagiello has been serving in Hermosa Beach because he anticipates more adventuresome eaters in Venice. For instance, the osso bucco is served with a saffron rice cake and breaded veal sweetbread ($18). The lamb medallions are presented with sauteed foie gras and black truffles ($21). Flagiello’s wife, Erin Owen, runs the front of the house, and the two have plans to turn the space next door into a coffee spot. Fabio is open for dinner Tuesday-Sunday with lunch hours to be offered soon.

* Fabio, 1025 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice; (310) 452-6364.

Meal Deals: Spark Woodfire Cooking now offers family-style Sicilian meals for parties of two or more. The idea is to share bruschetta, salad or soup, rotisserie chicken or pork (or chicken lasagna), potatoes, vegetables and dessert for $16.95 per person. It’s cheaper before 6 p.m. Spark is at 11801 Ventura Blvd., Studio City; (818) 623-8883. . . . Also in the Valley, Perroche is offering an early-bird special 5:30-6:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday: 15% off the total bill, including beverages. Perroche is at 11929 Ventura Blvd., Studio City; (818) 766-1179. . . . 72 Market Street Oyster Bar & Grill will give a 10% discount on food to card-carrying members of SAG and AFTRA while the strike goes on. The restaurant is located at 72 Market St., Venice; (310) 392-8720.

No Bicycles Necessary: Cuistot French Restaurant in Palm Desert has begun its ninth annual Tour de France. Every night, chef Bernard Dervieux will visit culinary style, a region of France--Provence, the Alpes-Maritimes, Alsace-Lorraine, Bordeaux, Champagne, Normandy, the Ardennes or Brittany, to name a few. Three-course meals are $31.50. These specials are offered until July 19. (The restaurant is closed Mondays.)

* Cuistot Restaurant, 73-111 El Paseo, Palm Desert; (760) 340-1000.

Fight Hunger by Eating: This year’s annual Share Our Strength Taste of the Nation fund-raiser will be from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday at Universal Studios. Restaurants providing the tastes include Border Grill, Ciudad, El Cholo, the Porch in the House of Blues, Hugo Molina, Kyoto, Le Colonial and Tommy Tang’s. More than 25 wineries will be pouring. Proceeds will go to local anti-hunger organizations. Call Schaffel & Sakow Event Management to purchase tickets ($65) or for more information at (323) 525-1275.

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Angela Pettera can be reached at (213) 237-3153 or at pettera@prodigy.net