First, owners Chris Breed and Eric James had the hottest club in L.A. on their hands with The Sunset Room. When that supper club began to cool a bit in 2003, Breed & James (wanting to stay on the cutting edge) reclaimed the title of "hottest club in L.A." with their newest venture: White Lotus. The TV show Access Hollywood named White Lotus the hottest spot in L.A....

But things being what they are in Tinseltown, where being new is as important as being good, in 2007, they closed the place for a few months, while the owners removed some of the interior walls, opening up the place for a more airy feel; in July of 2007, they re-opened as a new restaurant & nightclub called Ritual. This time, they're going for a Zen ambiance with a pan-Asian menu.

When it was the White Lotus, stars who showed up here included: Britney Spears, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicolas Cage, Tobey Maguire, Bruce Willis, Jennifer Garner, Tim Allen, Neve Campbell, Brendan Fraser, Jewel, Ed Norton, The Rock, Jessica Simpson, Justin Timberlake, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Clarke Duncan, Matthew Perry, Demi Moore, Tara Reid, Tom Arnold, Mark Wahlberg, Dylan McDermott, Jessica Biel, Jerry Bruckheimer, Nelly, Robbie Williams, Vince Vaughn, Jamie Foxx, Usher, Cedric The Entertainer, David Spade, Joss Whedon, Amanda Peet, Jared Leto, Miguel Ferrer, Janeane Garofalo, Steve Harvey, Hugh Hefner...

In the first month since it re-opened as Ritual, it has seen the return of Britney Spears, and has hosted both the afterparty for HBO's "You Kill Me" (which brought out stars like Luke Wilson and Tea Leoni) and the wrap party for “Entourage” (with stars Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon and Kevin Connolly).

Hollywood parties are a big thing here: early on in the White Lotus' history, they had the GQ Magazine party, the Warner Bros. party, a Bruckheimer movie party, the Bet Awards post-party...

Besides its new red & gold color scheme, Ritual has 4 marble bars, 18 flat-screen TV's, a large dance area, a dance stage, booths, a more intimate dining area and an enclosed patio with a waterfall.

It's hard to miss the building, located just north of Hollywood Boulevard on Cahuenga. The restaurant/club features two 30'-high white tents peaking into the sky (not unlike Twin Palms), two stone lions guarding the entrance, and on most days, a long line of people waiting outside for hours in hope of getting past the doorman and the velvet rope. (They don't seem to realize that a simple dinner reservation is a guaranteed passport to the club inside... Call 323-463-0060.)

The new menu includes blackened swordfish, Thai "Bouillabausse", short ribs, and Grilled Szechuan Pepper-crusted Filet Mignon.

This is not an inexpensive restaurant. Entrees run from $18 to $36, and it's not hard to end up with a check for two above $100, even without drinks.

The restaurant's hours are 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. The music starts at 10 p.m.. Valet parking is available, but it's pricey.

Getting there: Ritual is located on on Cahuenga, just one block north of Hollywood Boulevard. From Hollywood & Vine, just go west two blocks, turn right (north) on Cahuenga Blvd. - and look for the white tents on your left (west).