At Ketchup, it's so cute and comforting - CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK - Los Angeles Times

Our waiter has ketchup splashed on her shirt. So do the other servers. More of it is dribbled across the glass panels dividing the sleek lounge from the dining room of this new Sunset Boulevard spot. It's not real, of course, just graphic arts sleight of hand. With a name like Ketchup, how could the designers of this, the latest entry from the ever-expanding, celebrity-backed Dolce Group (Dolce Enoteca, Geisha House, Bella, etc.) have resisted? They've lobbed tomato red all over the restaurant.

The downstairs entry is bathed in red light. In the dining room upstairs, globe lights glow a fiery rouge, which, as it turns out, is just about as flattering as the pink lights ladies of a certain age are said to favor. Fat, ripe tomatoes on the vine, instead of flowers, are stuffed into vases. And behind the cupboard doors, a row of classic Heinz ketchup bottles is lined up along with the wine.

Slip into a roomy white vinyl booth or take a seat along the banquette and order some of Ketchup's signature fries. They come in a huge heap with five — count 'em, five — ketchups: regular, chipotle, maple, mango and ranch. Two of them are more like something to adorn pancakes than fries. The regular is a bit thin and vinegary compared with the gold standard Heinz (which is not served). But the chipotle, now there's a contender. It's smoky and just hot enough to keep you coming back for more. And versatile enough to go nicely with a stack of thick onion rings dusted, like the fries, with Parmesan.

Ketchup mines the American diner and comfort food vein with buffalo chicken wings, creamy tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, sloppy Joes, shake 'n' bake and mac 'n' cheese. But they've come up in the world with an upgrade in ingredients and accouterments: That mac 'n' cheese, for example, is predictably updated with truffles.

Baby potato skins, topped with two cheeses, smoky bacon and sour cream, seem left over from some none too fancy cocktail party. There are also mini fish tacos and the chef's "scandalous lobster wraps" dosed with mango ketchup. But judging from the number of girlfriends ordering up mini Kobe beef hot dogs, the "barking dogs" are the runaway hit at Ketchup. These mini-dogs are proof that the fad for Kobe beef hasn't bottomed out yet. Why, I ask you, would you want to grind up the well-marbled, fabulously expensive beef and turn it into something resembling a Viennese sausage? And then bury it under a rubble of chili? "But they're so cute!" I hear someone saying.

On a recent weekend night, Ketchup is filled with trios and foursomes of girls checking out the action. The wisecracking sommelier wheels her cart straight to the table, offering to mix up cocktails sur place, which is a novelty. The wait staff couldn't be more friendly, without the attitude that makes so many trendy venues a bore. The soundtrack keeps it lively (and loud), and if you get tired of shouting to your friends, you can always take in the scene on the boulevard down below through the huge glass windows.

Order a Waldorf salad or maybe the "chicken pot," a soupy version of chicken pot pie tucked under a pastry crust to start, along with those onion rings, and you won't go home hungry. Move on to beer can chicken braised in Sam Adams or something else — anything but "Momma's meat loaf." Whoever got this recipe from their mom had one who couldn't cook.

A better idea might be to come for a drink in the lounge, soak in the atmosphere and check out a few appetizers to share. The fries will do nicely. A full meal gets awfully expensive for diner fare, even updated diner fare. But then, Ketchup is just soooo cute....

virbila@latimes.com

Ketchup

Where: 8590 W. Sunset Blvd. (in the Sunset Millennium complex at Alta Loma Road), West Hollywood

When: 6 to 11 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays

Price: Appetizers to share, $11 to $17; soups, $15; salads, $13 to $14; seafood, $26 to $38; poultry and meat, $18 to $49; extras, $9 to $14

Info: (310) 289-8590, www.dolcegroup.com/ketchup