What's in a name? Everything, especially when it comes to the now-closed 24 in Pacific Bell Park. The restaurant space, leased from the San Francisco Giants by Bon Appetit Management, a food service company, will become Acme Chop House, managed by renowned chef Traci Des Jardins and Larry Bain of Jardiniere in the Civic Center.

Fedele Bauccio, CEO of Bon Appetit and Larry Baer, president of the Giants, say they are thrilled to have a chef of Des Jardins' stature overseeing the restaurant. Word has it that 24 did OK on game days but didn't draw business off-season.

Acme will be modeled on classic San Francisco grills like Tadich's and Sam's, and is intended to be a destination restaurant. Baer says it's the kind of place the Giants wanted from the get-go. As far as the baseball connection (24 was Willie Mays' number), the 60-seat banquet room will feature baseball memorabilia and will be reserved for players' dining during the season. And the address will still be 24 Willie Mays Plaza.

As with many restaurants opening these days, we'll see a two-tier concept --

one menu for upscale dining and another for less expensive eating.

The restaurant will have a casual atmosphere. Baer and Des Jardins are encouraging folks to eat with their elbows on the wooden tabletops.

As for the food, folks should also bring moola. The steak-chop side of the menu ranges from $17 for a rotisserie chicken to $30 for lamb chops. A prime rib is $28, and a porterhouse steak is $30 per person. Mashed potatoes and sides like creamed spinach are $6, which will also raise the check average. Starters include a chopped salad ($8) and seafood platter ($45); desserts are $6.50.

On the casual side of the menu, look for fish and chips for $12, a hamburger for $10 and crab cakes for $14. A hot dog, chili or pork and beans are each $7.

Bains will run the front of the house and train all staff, while Des Jardins will oversee the kitchen, with Thom Fox, who last cooked at Le Colonial, as chef de cuisine. Neither Des Jardins nor Bains will leave Jardiniere.

Other members of the team include general manager Keith Reese, from Harris' Steak House, and bar manager Booth McKinney, formerly of Restaurant LuLu.

When the 175-seat restaurant re-opens next month, lunch will be served when a day game is scheduled, and dinner will be served dinner nightly.

San Francisco will soon be awash in steak houses. Aside from Harris', Ruth's Chris, Morton's and Alfred's, four new ones will open within six months.

Last week the SF Chronicle announced that Max's Diamond Grill and Acme Chop House, both near Pacific Bell Park were both set to open soon. Now, a new branch of the Daily Grill chain will open next Monday near Union Square at 347 Geary St. (near Powell) in a former Joe's. Our old friend Steve Grant -- he was last a partner in Savanna Grill in Corte Madera -- will be working the front of the house. The chef is Gary Watanabe. Look for all manner of bovine delights as well as crab cakes, steak tartare and the like. A 20-ounce T-bone is priced at $24.95 and includes potato and vegetable.

Bob's Steak & Chop House opened Feb. 11 on the ground floor of the new Omni San Francisco Hotel (500 California, at Montgomery). The Texas-based chain features a prime 16-ounce T-bone steak with a giant glazed carrot (I kid you not) and potato for $32.95.

Jardiniere team hits for the fences

Traci Des Jardins and Larry Bain of San Francisco's Jardiniere are hoping diners will soon say, "Take me out to the . . . chophouse" - and not just on game days.

The two head the team that last week opened Acme Chophouse in Pacific Bell Park in the space formerly occupied by 24 at Third and King streets.

They made subtle renovations to the expansive Arts and Crafts-style restaurant, including adding cork flooring in the bar and updating upholstery.

In collaboration with managing chef Des Jardins and front-of-the-house director Bain, executive chef Thom Fox will head the kitchen. Starters include iceberg lettuce with creamy blue cheese dressing and wilted spinach salad. Main plates lean toward hearty meat dishes like a 16-ounce, bone-in New York steak or a cured, double-cut pork chop. Each is served with a choice of sauces and compound butters.

Side dishes like scalloped potatoes, creamed spinach and macaroni and cheese complement entrees. Baseball fare - chili, hamburgers and marinated mushrooms, to name a few - can be ordered from the bar menu throughout the restaurant.

Pastry chef Galen Chesarek adds an updated touch to oldies like brandied cherries on a banana split or ginger ice cream atop a strawberry-rhubarb tart. .

Acme Chophouse, 24 Willie Mays Plaza (adjacent to Pacific Bell Park), San Francisco; (415) 644-0240. Full bar. Reservations accepted. Valet parking, $10.

Open for lunch on game days and dinner nightly. Starters and sides, $5-$12; bar menu, $3-$14; entrees, $17-$30; desserts, $6.50.