Everyone agrees that there's change in the air: As new restaurants and fresh menus appear almost monthly, Los Angeles is emerging from the dining-out doldrums where it has been becalmed for so long. But the most exciting newcomers are not always the big, splashy places everyone has read about. They are also the small, personal ones fewer have heard of.

2424 pico may lack the high-style in­terior that a million or two can buy, but its customers couldn't care less. The food's the thing, and so is the wine and the sense of culinary adventure that sets this neighborhood restaurant apart. Spicy aromas from the open kitchen are the first clue that something different is cook­ing. You 're almost certain of it when you scan the international menu, which breezes from a Greek salad terrine and Korean "tacos" to duck b'stilla and grilled tuna with shrimp grits and poblano sauce. And then manager-sommelier Scott Tracy turns up to pour a sample of the "wine of the day." Who can resist an Adler Fels Sangiovese, a Newton Claret, or a Jade Mountain "Les Jumeaux"? None is exactly commonplace on local wine lists, yet here you can drink them--as well as some twenty-five other regularly offered California varietals--by the glass. If you get the idea that 2424 pico cares more about sharing its offbeat wine invento­ry than it does about making a huge profit, you are probably right.

No amateurs, owners David Larue and David Wolfe (co-chef with Mohammed Averof) have been in the restaurant business for fifteen-plus years and still run Two Guys from Venice, which caters prestigious film parties. A curiosity about different cooking cultures comes natu­rally to Wolfe, a native Angeleno. He shops in ethnic markets, returning with Persian dried plums and tart red barberries for a sauce and a spicy barley pilaf to accompany his succulent grilled pork loin chop. If he has stopped in Korea­town, as he usually does, there may be an unusual vegetable on the plate as well. Sauteed baby daikon radish with green tops still intact was new to me. The wholesale fish market is a must on Wolfe's daily rounds. One lucky find that turned up at a recent dinner was tile­fish, crusted with fennel, laid over creamy mashed potatoes, and topped with a subtle coconut sauce. Seared scallops of ex­ceptional flavor were another pleasure, with a garlicky squash-carrot puree and a pasilla chili sauce. And Wolfe buys sashimi-grade ahi, pairing sheer slices of it with a salad of greens and goat cheese-filled phyllo "won tons," an in­novative idea that works very well.

One of my favorite crossover dishes, Korean "tacos"—crisp romaine leaves filled with cubed grilled rib-eye steak, tomato, cucumber, and coriander-is ir­resistible finger food. (A fireproof palate is required for the squiggle of habanero chili paste on the side.) You might find a terrific carne asada of charbroiled beef and creamy black beans to spoon into hot, fresh corn tortillas with lashings of guacamole and salsa. But the dishes that intrigue me most reflect chef Averof's Moroccan roots. Sauteed chicken thighs with preserved lemons and a slew of pungent olives and roasted garlic cloves, for example. Couscous with pistachios and dried apricots (the kitchen is creative with grains and legumes) for a Cornish hen burnished with a honey and pome­granate glaze. And though I haven't tried it, the sugar-dusted b'stilla with duck and a dried-cherry sauce may be the best of all.

GOURMET