MODERATE ITALIAN

Italian restaurants used to come in two basic styles. On the low end were the red-checked tablecloth places with their straw-covered bottles of chianti hanging from the ceiling. Then there were the expensive joints with snooty waiters and high-priced wine lists. These days, however, there’s a third sort, serving good Italian food at prices that fall moderately in the middle, as witness these recently reviewed restaurants.

FRESCO RISTORANTE (514 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale, (818) 243-6908). It’s hard to resist Fresco’s cozy white room, with its ivy-ringed skylight and stylish columns and arches. The food is excellent and often unusual. The risotto is perfect, topped with round black slices of truffle. Sea bass comes stuffed with scallops, shrimps, squid and tomatoes. An antipasto plate includes lobster, flying-fish roe and a translucent slice of halibut. A combination of whole-wheat spaghetti, red pepper, cacio cheese and pepper is delightful. For the more traditionally minded, there are good plates of vitello tonnato , fritto misto and linguine alle vongole . Open for lunch Mon.-Fri., dinner Mon.-Sat. AE, MC, V. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, $32-$68.

GABBIANO’S (2813 Villa Way, Newport Beach, (714) 675-9355). Gabbiano’s is hidden in a light-industrial neighborhood, so this romantic little restaurant with floral wallpaper and soft lighting has a fine, clear view--of the Newport Plating works. Fortunately, the food is unusually good in many ways. The specialty is a thick, grilled veal chop full of delicate veal flavor. Pastas are very fine, especially a luscious pair of canelloni. The chicken cacciatore is an oddity, tasting like chicken Marsala with added tomato sauce and mushrooms, but the chicken itself is good. And note Gabbiano’s pasta box lunches, a welcome change from the eternal box lunch sandwiches. Open for dinner Tue.-Sun. (Lunch begins next month.) AE, MC, V. Beer and wine. Valet parking. Dinner for two, $20-$50.

IL FORNO CAFFE PIZZERIA (2901 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica, (213) 450-1241). Open only since January, Il Forno is already a solid hit with the lunch crowds. The pizzas and homemade bread are great. There’s blond wood, gray tile and pink neon light. There’s also a large wine list, a large antipasto salad bar, and several tasty entrees. Cold octopus and squid, pink and tender, are marvelous and unrubbery as they can be. Sweet-fleshed custardy stuffed eggplant is served deliciously hot. Fluffy polenta comes with a good choice of cured meats. The Spa Pizza, humming with garlic, zucchini, golden peppers and low-fat cheese, is crisp and exactly to the point. Open for lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. Take-out available. All major credit cards. Beer and wine. Lot parking. Dinner for two, $20-$50.

LA TRATTORIA (8022 West 3rd St., Los Angeles, (213) 658-7607). This lovely, comfortable restaurant has reasonable prices and a friendly attitude. The food generally matches these virtues. Al dente penne comes sauteed in vodka with a tomato-based sauce spiked with chiles; a little casserole of hot eggplant Parmesan with a fresh green basil leaf seeming to melt into the mozzarella cheese; a garlic zuppa of mussels and clams; a good char-broiled veal chop and, for an astoundingly fair $7.50, delicious, delicate rosemary chicken. There are also a number of interesting California and Italian wines, also fairly priced. Open for lunch Tues.-Fri., dinner Tues.-Sun. All major credit cards. Beer and wine. Valet parking. Dinner for two, $30-$50.

LUCIANA’S RISTORANTE (24312 Del Prado Ave., Dana Point, (714) 661-6500). Luciana’s is about the first thing you see entering Dana Point; both outside and inside it looks like many an Italian trattoria--dark-beamed ceiling, piano crooner, walls of photos. But there’s an unusually Renaissance style to some of the decor and much of the food. Luciana’s specializes in vegetables: entrees may be accompanied by unusual vegetable combinations like long beans with poached turnip slices. There are excellent clams and salami, and a couple of knockout pastas. Nightly specials include the exotic stuff, like the pork loin in a wild Renaissance sauce, and fish cooked in the style of the Sicilian fishing port of Trapani. Open for dinner Tues.-Sun. AE, MC, V. Full bar. Street and lot parking. Dinner for two, $25-$60.

SILVIO’S (8478 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, (213) 651-1842.) The place is crowded, the service slow and seating prone to favoritism, but the point of being here is to be here--this Hollywood haunt remains very popular. Silvio’s menu is thoroughly modern: salads are made of chic greens like arugula and radicchio, or the ubiquitous mozzarella, basil and tomatoes. In addition to the latest pasta dishes (the one made with Gorgonzola is delicious), there are wonderful risotti . Open for lunch Mon.-Sat., dinner nightly. All major credit cards. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, $30-$70.