The Edendale: Right now it’s a mixed grill

For more than two years, chef Patti Peck and partner Melanie Tesquellas have been meticulously restoring a historic Silver Lake firehouse. Abandoned for 15 years, the bungalow-style L.A. Fire Department Station 56 was built in 1924 when the neighborhood was home to L.A.’s first permanent movie studios. Tom Mix, Charlie Chaplin, Mack Sennett and the Keystone Kops, even D.W. Griffith filmed in Edendale, just a mile south.

In mid-October, Station 56 debuted as the Edendale Grill with Peck as chef and Tesquellas as maitre d’. The space that was once the fire truck bay now houses the massive Mixville bar, named after 1920s cowboy star Mix’s nearby western film lot. The 38-foot mahogany bar has been thronged since opening day.

Looking over the menu of American comfort food as we wait for our table in the Arts-and-Crafts-style dining room, we’re thrilled. So much of it sounds appealing, and with prices on the inexpensive side, the Edendale Grill seems like the right idea for the right place. Peck, after all, used to own Millie’s Diner in Silver Lake; she knows what Silver Lake likes.

First out is an order of onion rings. These are terrific, golden and crunchy and not a bit greasy. But Caesar salad, made tableside, is a disappointment. Though we saw an egg yolk slide into the salad bowl, the dressing tastes more like a sharp, vinegary vinaigrette than a true Caesar dressing.

The rest of our meal is also spotty. I like the plump “heavenly� crab cakes in tequila-lime sauce, but hickory-smoked pork riblets suffer from a pallid ancho cherry barbecue sauce. Sand dabs come with a lovely tartar sauce: Too bad the pretty little fish are so limp.

But, hey, you can get half an herb-roasted free-range chicken with lemon tarragon gravy for $12.75. And a prime flatiron steak for $17. Once the kitchen gets up to speed, the Edendale Grill and its outdoor patio could be a fine spot for supper. On Saturday nights, people are already arriving in waves -- including a woman with interesting Howard Hughes-length toenails painted like a Jackson Pollock.

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The Edendale Grill

Where: 2838 Rowena Ave., Silver Lake

When: Open 5 p.m. to

2 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; 5 p.m. to midnight Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays; closed Mondays

Cost: Appetizers $5 to $7; main courses $12.75 to $25. Full bar. Valet and self parking.

Contact: (323) 666-2000