"JiRaffe"/Girafe

       A lovely 57th Anniversary dinner at JiRaffe Restaurant in Santa Monica last night.  Just Connie and I.

       The name [zhee-RAHF} strikes me as French sounding and appropriately elegant, fancy, and promising of good food.   Yet I thought I remembered "JiRaffe" was a "chefs' creation," combining names of the two owners.  I checked on it again.

       Yes, the chefs who started it were Josiah Citrin and Raphael Lunetta; Josiah is now chef at Melisse, Raphael still chef at JiRaffe.

       I suppose one could say [dgih-RAF], and there are giraffe sculptures and paintings around, also Eiffel Tower photos, looking very much like giraffes themselves, all adding to the mystery, elegance (and fun) of the restaurant.

       But the food, with help from the language, is très très délicieux.