Brendan Collins replaced Stephanie O’Mary as chef of The Hall brasserie at Palihouse in September. Last Thursday we met regarding an upcoming profile. That profile won’t appear until January. In the meantime, I might as well let you know about the culinary aspects of Palihouse’s upcoming expansion.

Avi Brosh will likely open Palihouse Vine in late spring, 2009. Collins intends to introduce his “Britalian” concept, a British gastropub with Italian influences. The British native expects to prepare dishes like an Italian version of bangers and mash with soft polenta, Italian sausage, seared foie gras and red wine sauce. They’ll also have a pizza oven, which will allow Collins to experiment. “Indian food is really popular in England,” says Collins, “so there’s one pizza that I want to try which is a curry braised lamb pizza with paneer cheese and coriander.” He anticipates having 12 to 20 beer taps and “a really intensive bottles menu.” He’s even toying with the idea of doing food and beer tastings. The gastropub will be called The Hall Bar & Grill. He says, “We’re going to keep the same brand name, but just do different concepts within the brand.”

A third Palihouse is planned for a new building at the corner of Main & Abbot Kinney in Venice. That location is likely to debut in 2010. When it comes to the food at the Westside outpost, Collins said, “There are a few restraints in regard to licensing, so it’s very possible that we’re going to do a gourmet food store there, and then do tasting nights, rather than have a restaurant. Nothing has been decided on that as yet.”