Daily News from New York, New York • 106

I food ge ToGDimeir nim sfcoDig cinnilDa(cllx WHAT'S COOKING onfy By WHITNEY WALKER i IT V- MsM "1 That's one reason, speculation has it, closed last May after 116 years. Long plagued with financial woes, the famed institution had found new life and steady customers seven years ago via acclaimed chef Edna Lewis. Her Southern touch revived the, antiquated seafood menu with dishes like spicy-creamy she-crab soup. When 'l Lewis stopped being part of the day-to-f day operations in 1993, ran on fumes and finally gave out Chirico seems to be putting the focus back on cuisine in his choice of chef MarvinJamesofChezJosephineinthe Theater District An ardent admirer of Lewis, James' repertoire likewise includes Southern and seafood dishes, but he's also a lifelong New Yorker: born on the lower East Side, reared in Queens and schooled at Brooklyn Tech. "I live in Manhattan," James notes, "but I think of Spike Lee I look forward to wearing a Brooklyn hat" His new menu contains many of the old surf-and-turf selections, but with modern accents.

A candied-mustard fruit compote now accompanies the tender double-cut lamb chop, and the oyster cocktail swims in a light tomato-and-cucumber vinaigrette. Of course, grandness costs. In the last century, prices for lobster New-burg, say, have gone from 75 cents to $32.95. But at least no one's counting cholesterol: Clam-belly fry and porterhouse steak remain on the menu and she-crab soup is back. Gage grand opening is May 6 and 7.

Lunch and dinner seatings begin May 8. There's a $29.95 three-course Mother's Day dinner on May 12. For reservations, call (718) 875-5181. THE REVOLVING doors of this 19th-century landmark restaurant have been still nearly a year, but two weeks before Brooklyn's Gage Tollner was set to reopen, hungry pass-ersby crowded the scaffolding and peered in the windows. "Is it really going to open again?" asked a curious man who had slipped inside.

Before the answer came, he caught sight of the dining room and was lodging complaints. changed the You made a terrible mistake!" A spokesman hastened to explain that the ceiling has, in fact, been restored to its original state, free of the 19T0s-era, gold-painted acoustical tiles. Shooing the man out, the rep promised that the revolving doors would spin again May 6. A regular 'savior' "Every day, they are calling," the new owner says of the old customers. Known in the restaurant world for his upscale Marco Polo Ristorante in Carroll Gardens.

Joe Chirico signed the lease on last August To the regulars, he's a "savior." "They all want to know, 'You aren't going to change the name, are you? You won't change the It's only natural that Brooklynites are possessive about this legendary oyster and chophouse, once called Brooklyn's Statue of Liberty. Almost everything in the renovated restaurant is still original, or restored to look that way including the brass gaslights, mahogany tables, arched mirrors and velvet-brocade walls. Chi- TODAY 5:30 p.m. (50) Ciao Italia. Recipes for a bridal luncheon r.

THURSDAY 4:30 p.m. (DSC) Great Chefs of the West. Chimayo cocktail and flan. 6:00 p.m. (TVFN) Cooking Right.

Middle Eastern spanakopitawith phyllo dough. FRIDAY 8:30 p.m. (TVFN) Dessert Show. Peanut butter chocolate-dipped apples. SATURDAY 3:30 p.m.

(21) Hawaii Cooks. Stuffed chicken with pineapple-coconut sauce. SUNDAY 2:00 p.m. 50) Cooking Secrets of the CIA. Mexican tamales for Cincode Mayo.

MONDAY 10:30 a.m. (LIFE) Frugal Gourmet. Italian frittatas and folded cannelloni. 12:30 p.m. (21) Yan Can Cook.

Silk thread chicken salad. TUESDAY 2:30 p.m. (TLC) Cooking With the Urban Peasant. Chocolate fruit bowls. PRIDE OF B'KLYN: Gage Tollner rico has even brought back a waiter from the restaurant's last quarter-century.

New touches, like the full bar, are in keeping with the antique decor, since is one of the city's few restaurants to be landmarked both on the exterior and the interior. Charles Gage and Eugene Tollner started their business in 1879, a few doors down on Fulton St, but in a few years they settled at No. 372, in the heart of what is now downtown Brooklyn. With its 99-cent stores and food chains, Fulton Mall seems an odd place for such a fancy restaurant IIIMWK VOUIMEWVOB WE ARE THE Nil -Lfcafc 2WILL BEAT AKv" HUITA VEGETABLE FARMER'S MflRlrrr (ALL STORES OPEN 7 DAYS 24 HRS) FIRE RED LUSCIOUS FARM FRESH STRAWBERRIES iCAROLE CHICKORY Ml MM 51b. Baq-AII Purpose Potatoes or 3lo.

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