Petrossian Dining Room
No longer the domain of desultory doyennes and fancy-free first wives, this caviar boutique and café has rebranded itself as a destination for surprisingly affordable happy hours and fine dining that can accommodate recessionary spending habits (though you'll still find caviar on the menu that goes for nearly $800 an ounce-it comes from fish in the Caspian Sea once belonging to the Shah of Iran).

That's why you'll find a newly redesigned, hipper dining room at the Petrossian Boutique with windows overlooking Robertson, as well as a congenial communal table area near the display counters holding the boutique's extravagant treats, ranging from smoked salmon to chocolate truffles.

To wit, they have brought in 27-year-old phenom Chef Benjamin Bailly, a coy Frenchman who has trained with Alain Ducasse and Joel Robuchion, to revive the kitchen with such playful gourmandises as foie gras crème brûlée with fig marmalade, thick-cut steak tartare napoleon layered with caviar, seared scallops with butternut squash puree in a bacon emulsion, an Asian-inspired shrimp papillote in rice paper with a passion fruit-sweet chili ginger sauce, and a plushly textured borscht that is drizzled with aged balsamic and could be the new standard for Technicolor fuchsia.

The best way to experience Petrossian's
Petrossian Tartare
Petrossian's tartare