Where were you the summer of your thirteenth year?

Getting misty at a Journey concert? Crank-calling your math teacher? Sniffing glue while piercing something?

Not Govind Armstrong. The renowned chef, now 34, was helping out Wolfgang Puck in the kitchen at Spago.

Now, after working in various L.A. restaurants — Campanile, Pinot Hollywood, Chadwick (which he co-headed with Ben Ford) — Govind is opening Table 8, with partner Chris Heyman. Talk about a payoff. The menu, which sticks to pretty undiluted California cuisine, features options like seared albacore with butter lettuce and summer vegetable relish; foie gras with baby leeks and tomato compote; Kobe-style beef flat-iron steak with pea tendrils, potato puree and sweet-onion marmalade; and a lounge menu with smaller dishes like prawns in Pernod with lemon and cherry tomatoes and crispy chicken confit with blue cheese and celery hearts.

The setting? Also very California, with a dash of New York. A study in neutrals and naturals — amber and linen are the dominant colors; wood, leather, and stone the prevailing materials — all lending a cool-yet-comfy aura. And diners can watch Govind in the glass-shielded kitchen. If it all seems pretty impressive for a 34-year-old, don’t feel bad. After all, he’s been at it for over 20 years.

The work ethic catches up with all of us eventually.

Table 8, 7661 Melrose Avenue, between Stanley and Spaulding Avenues (323-782-8258).