It has, for better or worse, been quite a long season of change for most of the country and definitely for Los Angeles.  You can’t drive three blocks without seeing empty shop windows and slow going construction sites.  The good news is that when one space closes, another is bound to take its place and in that change – a whole new experience is waiting.  (Blame the optimism on the holiday music playing on the streets in Beverly Hills.)

The space that once housed Pastis on Beverly Blvd., for example, has turned a new leaf.  Set to soft open tomorrow evening, House Café promises an intimate, cozy restaurant serving Italian and Californian fare with a hint of Middle Eastern influence.  Owned by Bruce Marder of Capo, Broadway Deli, and Brentwood, you can be sure that House Café will as inviting and delicious as being invited to a dinner party – if your friends could really cook.

Perhaps the more dramatic of these two shifts, however, concerns the space that was once Hatfield’s.  Before you shed a tear thinking that Hatfield’s is no longer, they have simply moved to a bigger space and are set to reopen later this month or early 2010.  They’re former home is now Eva, which opened to a rough start, but has now gotten into a rhythm.  They offer a popular Sunday set menu that, for $35 and including wine, is quite the steal.  The warm, sophisticated, and comfortable atmosphere is matched by seasonal food and wine menus – think Pumpkin Ravioli, Maine Oysters, and Poached Beef with Cauliflower.

Turns out, it’s not always sinister to think that change is afoot.