PUTTING HER MONEY WHERE HER MOUTH IS

“I’m sure glad I wasn’t paying for this with my own money.� I say it all the time as I hand over a credit card for another overpriced meal.

I said it again last week as I finished a delicious lunch at Jimmy’s. The service had been wonderful, the room was a dream. I had loved every morsel that I’d eaten. But when the bill arrived, I was glad that The Times was paying and not me. I had begun with a delightfully fresh tomato soup, gone on to the best steak tartare I can remember and finished off with a piece of very French, slightly sour plum tart. My guest had eaten equally well. I had Perrier, he had a glass of wine. With coffee, tax and tip, the lunch cost $106.40. So I said it again.

“But you never go out to eat when you’re not working,� said my guest. He looked at me quizzically and added, “Do you?�

I suppose it’s a reasonable question. You’d hardly think that a paid mouth who eats out 10 times a week would have any interest in civilian dining. But after all those working meals in restaurants I have to go to, I love going out just for the fun of it.

The truth is that I do put my money where my mouth is--on all sorts of occasions. The following, for example.

A friend comes in from out of town and asks to be taken to a restaurant that he will not find anywhere else.

The perfect excuse for a meal at Chinois, which I think serves the most consistently interesting food in Los Angeles.

The restaurant has its problems. It is far too noisy (don’t even think of going there with a group of more than five) and the seats could be more comfortable. It is hard to get into. But all this seems unimportant in the face of such astonishingly pleasing food.

Although there are other restaurants serving food that is a mix of Asian, French and California cooking, nobody else serves food quite like Chinois. Who else would have the audacity to combine grilled foie gras , pineapple and cinnamon sauce? Taste it once and you realize that these flavors were meant to be together. My most recent surprise at the restaurant was a new cold soup refreshingly filled with crisp heaps of thinly shredded vegetables and pine nuts. It made the very idea of sorbet between courses seem silly.

This is a restaurant that rarely disappoints me. People may be shouting over the noise, but as they spoon up pretty little pots of ginger or mandarin orange creme brulee , what they are probably shouting is “This is fabulous!�

Chinois on Main, 2709 Main St., Santa Monica, (213) 392-9025. Dinner for two, food only, about $70.

If it’s Saturday, I’m entitled to tacos.

Everybody in Los Angeles has a favorite taco joint. Mine is Yuca’s Hut on Hillhurst, and most Saturdays you’ll find me sitting at one of the grubby tables in the parking lot happily eating gloriously messy tacos wrapped up in paper. I douse them with hot sauce (El Yucateco, my favorite brand), my mouth burns, and half the time I leave with a trail of dripped beans or carne asada down the front of my shirt. What a way to spend the weekend!

Yuca’s Hut, 2056 N . Hillhurst Ave., (213) 662-1214. Lunch for two, about $5.

For a leisurely lunch with friends.

Citrus on a sunny afternoon. I’d sit outside and have the tuna burger, a delightful little sandwich on rounds of brioche bread, to start. Then perhaps I’d have another. I’d drink the Domaines Ott Rose, the perfect afternoon wine. And then I’d down a dessert or two with coffee.

Citrus, 6703 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 857-0034. Lunch for two, food only, $40-$60.

An antidote to too much rich food in too many pretentious places.

When the butter becomes overwhelming, and every restaurant I walk into starts to look like it’s been decorated with whipped cream, I begin to dream about Jitlada. It is a tiny Thai restaurant in a shopping center on one of Sunset’s less appealing stretches. But I am a fire eater, and this is one of the few Thai restaurants that actually believes that some of us like it hot. Above the heat, the flavors are consistently clear and clean and fresh. I don’t think I’ve ever had a dish here that I didn’t like.

Jitlada, 5233 1/2 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 667-9809. Dinner for two, food only, $15-$30.

It’s my birthday and I’ll spend if I want to.

About once a year, I decide to splurge on Valentino. This is not because it is the most expensive restaurant in town; actually, if you order from the menu, a meal here can be very reasonable--and very good. But to have a memorable meal you have to put yourself in the hands of owner Piero Selvaggio and simply spend it all. This can be something of a shock when the bill finally arrives, but the food is rarely disappointing.

Selvaggio’s menus have changed with the years. He keeps up with the food news in Italy, and always seems to have some delight you have never before tasted. At the right time of the year, there are wonderful white truffles to shave over risotto, and all year round his olive oil is exceptional. He tends to do things with pasta other people have yet to think of, like stuffing saffron pasta with radicchio or hand-rolling delightful little garganelli . There is also the matter of one of the world’s best wine lists.

I loved the restaurant before the recent renovation, but now that the restaurant looks as elegant as the food that it serves, it is even nicer.

Valentino, 3115 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, (213) 829-4313. Dinner for two, food only, $50-$150.

When the dumpling king comes to town.

When my friend Fred comes out from New York, he generally insists that we go to Mandarin Deli on our way home from the airport. Once I even met him at the plane with a box of pan-fried dumplings. Fred was thrilled. The restaurant, on the other hand, did not approve. “You have to eat them hot,� said the waitress, shaking her head as she handed me the box.

Fred has renamed the restaurant “pot-sticker heaven.� On one visit, we ate there four times in five days. He likes their pan-fried meat dumplings, their boiled meat dumplings and their fish dumplings. He also likes all of their noodle-filled soups. And Fred, I should tell you, has very good taste.

Mandarin Deli, 727 N. Broadway (in the mall), Chinatown , (213) 623-6054. Also in Northridge at 9351 Reseda Blvd. , (818) 993-0122. Lunch for two, food only, $6-$12.

I have worked late, I’m too tired to cook and I feel like eating something simple but delicious.

Angeli, which is fast and simple and filled with the joyous sound of people slurping spaghetti. I love the homemade bread here, and the unfussy feel of the food. Although the restaurant is loud and trendy, the food is remarkably well balanced. Pasta is lightly tossed with sauce, there is never too much dressing on the salad and they do a mean roast chicken. There’s even a bonus to dinner here: The pizza is so good that the leftovers make a great breakfast the next morning.

Angeli, 7274 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, (213) 936-9086. Dinner for two, food only, $20-$40.

I want something that feels fancy, serves good food and doesn’t cost a fortune.

The Mandarin must be the least expensive elegant restaurant in town. Where else can you eat dinner in a quietly sophisticated room and feel truly pampered for about $25 a person?

My favorite meal is built around a Peking duck, which I pre-order when I make the reservation. The duck here is always crisp and refined. I then surround it with a number of simpler dishes. There is a new vegetarian version of minced squab that is a delicious way to begin the meal, a number of wonderful soups, and I am eternally fond of their spinach with bean threads.

The Mandarin, 430 N. Camden Drive, Beverly Hills, (213) 272-0267. Dinner for two, food only, $30-$50.

For a late lunch.

Why is it so hard to get lunch late in the day? For those of us who aren’t anxious to eat before 2:30, finding a decent midday meal can be difficult. And although I almost always admire the food at City Restaurant, I feel a special fondness for their 3-5 p.m. menu. Instead of those effete and sugary little teas that are springing up around town, this meal features truly satisfying sorts of dishes--good soups, warm goat cheese with avocado on toast, tuna tartare and marinated skirt steak. The desserts are homey and comforting, and this stark restaurant never looks more lovely than in the afternoon when the light comes in through the big window in the back and slowly moves across the room.

City Restaurant, 180 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 938-2155. Late lunch for two, food only, $12-$34.

For a confidential conversation.

You never realize how loud our restaurants have become until you try to think of where to go for a quiet conversation. When I don’t want a lot of hoverage, but do want good food and plenty of privacy, I always think of Fresco. It isn’t glittery or trendy, but the Italian food is wonderful, the service is swell and the place has an air of intimacy that is entirely reassuring.

Fresco Ristorante, 514 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale, (818) 243-6908. Dinner for two, food only, $30-$65.