New Tastes and Mom’s Spring Rolls

To the Max: Chef Andre Guerrero, late of Linq in L.A., has just opened Max at the old JoeJoe’s location in the Valley. His Cal-Asian menu includes his signature foie gras Napoleon ($14.50), and he’s kept his mother’s Filipino shrimp and pork spring rolls ($7.50). New items include tea-smoked salmon ($8.95), wok-sauteed filet mignon ($24) and a vegan platter with mushroom curry ($14.50). Max is now open for dinner nightly with lunch to come in May.

Max, 13355 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; (818) 784-2915.

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Palm Sprouts: A new Palm steakhouse has just sprouted downtown, in its own free-standing building a block east of Staples Center. It has three private dining rooms, a private screening room and a bar with two 50-inch plasma-screen TVs. Chef Michael D’Orazio and general manager Geoff Ellis are both Palm veterans, so expect the usual Palm steakhouse menu with some divergences on the specials. Open for lunch Monday through Friday, dinner nightly until 11 p.m. Valet parking is free at lunch, $5 at dinner.

The Palm, 1100 S. Flower St., L.A.; (213) 763-4600.

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Spargelfest: Hans Rockenwagner has ordered 4,000 pounds of white asparagus from Germany for his restaurant’s annual white asparagus festival, lasting through mid-June. This year he offers all-you-can-eat asparagus with new potatoes and two sauces for $35 on Monday nights; every-night dishes featuring white asparagus include beef carpaccio ($14.95), veal with morel-Cognac sauce ($33.50) and broiled black cod ($24.50).

Rockenwagner, the Edgemar Complex, 2435 Main St., Santa Monica; (310) 399-6504.

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Drunken JiRaffe: JiRaffe will hold a vodka tasting from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday. Small tastes of Absolut, Grey Goose, Blue Ice, Smirnoff, Stolichnaya, Skyy, Fris, Precis and Vox are free; if you want a cocktail made from one, it’s $4. Hors d’oeuvres will be served.

JiRaffe, 502 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 917-6671.

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Reach Angela Pettera at (310) 358-7647 or [email protected].