THE UNGARNISHED TRUTH

HAMS ACROSS THE SEA: Several prominent local Italian restaurateurs have told me recently that good news is afoot for prosciutto-lovers. They say that after having been banned from this country for 18 years, Italian pork products are at last about to be admitted into American commerce. This is good news indeed, as anyone who has tasted authentic air-cured ham from San Daniele, Parma, L’Aquila and the like will presumably be glad to testify. It is also-- porca miseria!-- false news.

The truth on the prosciutto front is this: The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which banned the stuff in the first place in 1966 because they feared that it might spread swine fever and other porcine maladies to these shores, has agreed to reconsider its prohibition in the specific case of Parma ham. To this end, it is inviting comments from consumers and other interested parties until April 21, after which time it will render its decision. (If you want to get your own two-cents’ worth in, write to Thomas O. Gessel, Director, Regulatory Coordination Staff, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S.D.A., Room 728, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, Md. 20782.) Even if the answer is yes, though, it will apply only to Parma prosciutto, at least for now, and it will take at least a year more for the first legal imports to reach these shores--since part of the deal is that a U.S. inspector, in Parma , must approve all processing procedures, from pre-slaughter quarantine of the pigs to packing and shipping.

I said “ legal imports,” incidentally, because it is perfectly possible to eat true Italian prosciutto in Los Angeles today, and has been for years (just as it is, and has been, possible to find embargoed Cuban cigars). You’ve just got to know where to look--not that I do, of course. In any case, there is also some quite good domestic prosciutto being turned out these days, by Citerio and others--and apparently some of the major Italian producers are seriously investigating the possibility of opening plants in this country. No less an authority than Arrigo Cipriani, owner of famed Harry’s Bar in Venice and of the hyper-trendy new Harry Cipriani’s in New York City, told me that he had recently eaten some American pork chops that were better than any he’d had in Italy for 30 years, adding, “So I’m sure that you can make excellent prosciutto here as well.” Meanwhile, of course, a little Parma wouldn’t hurt.

BYE-BYE BERNARD: Bernard’s, downtown in the Biltmore Hotel--long one of the city’s best, if not best-known restaurants--has lost its founder, proprietor and namesake, Bernard Jacoupy. Jacoupy is scheduled to move to the Newport Beach Meridian Hotel, in the post of general manager. Bernard’s remains open with the same menu, same chef, etc., and with the same moniker--at least for the time being. “But I’m retaining rights to the name,” Jacoupy says, “in case I ever want to go back into the restaurant business.”

EASTER PARADE: The Taj in Fullerton offers one of the more exotic Easter brunches in town, next Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with such dishes as egg biryani , spicy scrambled eggs, and boiled eggs wrapped in spiced ground lamb, plus chicken and vegetable dishes, breads and chutneys, and unlimited sparkling wine--all for $11.95 for adults and $6.95 (minus the wine) for children. . . . The Century Plaza Hotel asks $23 and $14, respectively, for its gala Easter buffet, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. . . . It’s $12.95 per person for a three-course champagne brunch at the St. Moritz in Studio City, also 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. . . . The Towers Restaurant in the Surf & Sand Hotel in Laguna Beach serves a prix-fixe Easter feast from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., at $21 for adults and $12.50 for youngsters. . . . And the Calabasas Inn in Calabasas presents six different special dinners, from $12.95 each, from noon till 9 p.m.

THE RESTAURANT GAME: Intermezzo on Third--which of course is on Third (Street) in Los Angeles--is new, serving French and Italian dishes plus salads, sandwiches and other casual fare. . . . La Scala in Beverly Hills celebrates its 30th anniversary on March 31. . . . Le Cafe in Sherman Oaks is now open Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a “Country American” breakfast menu. . . . Gabriele Tani, original chef at Il Giardino in Beverly Hills and most recently in charge of the kitchen at the highly acclaimed new Rondo in Hollywood, has decamped from that place in favor of Madeo in West Hollywood (which is owned by his old Il Giardino bosses). . . .

COMBINATION PLATE: Culinary eclecticism is all very well and good, but I can’t help wondering if things have gone a bit too far at a particular roadside restaurant in the city of Napa (L.A.-designer Bob Van Breda has sent me a photo of the place, so I know it’s for real): The sign outside reads, “Joe Roma’s Cajun Sushi.”