SOUTH OF THE BORDER SNAQUERIAS

Mixing cultures may be a recent development in Los Angeles restaurants, but south of the Panama Canal, it’s certainly not new. For several hundred years, waves of immigrants have been introducing German cheese to Venezuela or Italian pasta to Argentina. Each country’s cuisine is a different hybrid--perfect for L.A.’s restless palates. Brazilian fare alone has dozens of influences. And now that local chefs are making artful blends of ethnic cuisines, you’d think South America’s eclectic cooking would be right in vogue.

Ironically, the local supply of full-scale South American restaurants is scarce. Fortunately a number of South American delis take up the slack, offering the best dishes of the region.

In Argentina, fabricas de empanadas are a rather recent phenomenon; they have sprung up everywhere in the last 10 years. Empanada’s Place, patterned after these Argentine turnover shops, is the only one in L. A. The tiny deli on a remote side street survives by making empanadas that elevate this country’s national snack to new heights.

Fat little pillows of the thinnest pastry are stuffed with delectably fresh ingredients and artful seasonings. Fillings are far more adventurous than the usual ground beef; at least a dozen regional varieties are available every day. These include chunky chicken, mushroom, cheese or broccoli. There is also one made of buttery spinach laced with Parmesan and a slice of jack cheese. These empanadas are not quite traditional, for they are fried in vegetable oil instead of lard.

Though most customers spirit their empanadas away by the boxload, several tiny tables draped with baroque hand-crocheted tablecloths invite you to stay for a quick cappuccino or to sample a few of chef Norma Gil’s latest empanada creations.

Apart from beverages, the deli offers two other items. There is a moist, Argentine-style tamale made of creamy masa patted around seasoned chicken; it is served without any sauce. There is also the traditional milanesa, or breaded beef sandwich. The intense espresso will help you get up from the table after such a meal.

Empanada’s Place, 3811 Sawtelle Blvd., Culver City, (213) 391-0888, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. A second will open soon at 8566 West Pico Blvd., (213) 854-3373.

Cevicheria El Silencio is tucked away on an obscure stretch of Burbank Boulevard. If you have not guessed their specialty, you’ll know it the minute you step in, for three huge pans of different ceviches dominate the deli case.

The plainest of these is fresh raw fish marinated in lemon and flecked with fresh hot peppers, red onion and parsley. But the best is ceviche mixto , which at $6.50 has fish and more kinds of shellfish than the ceviche el Silencio at $8. Each ample serving comes with an inch of fresh corn on the cob and a chunk of cooked sweet potato.

Conchas a la criolla is similar to ceviche, in that the lemon juice “cooks” the scallops; tiny squares of diced tomato and crunchy onion add savor. Customers happily devour conchas and mussels prepared in the same manner at the deli’s long white tiled bar, where they are served in large scallop shells.

El Silencio’s brisk lunch trade caters primarily to animated South Americans who enjoy explaining their favorite dishes. The Incan-inspired cooking of Peru and more European-influenced style of Chile fill the plates here; these cuisines frequently overlap. Papas a la huancaina-- a Peruvian version of sliced potato salad is perfect for

soothing taste buds between bites of the spicy seafood. A papa rellena is mashed potato covering a slightly sweet beef and onion filling studded with raisins, olives and chopped egg.

If the range of selection in the deli isn’t sufficient, there is a restaurant area that offers at least a dozen cooked seafood dishes to go. Calamar en su tinto travels well. And the unusual soups-- caldo de choro of mussels, or a South American shrimp soup--can be very successfully reheated. While you’re waiting, try picarones-- Peruvian doughnuts with syrup.

Cevicheria El Silencio, 14111 Burbank Blvd. (at Hazeltine), Van Nuys, (818) 997-9412. Open Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday noon-9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday noon-10 p.m.. Closed Tuesday.

On a sunny afternoon, I was sitting at a sidewalk table, enjoying unfamiliar appetizers at Zilda’s Brazilian deli. A green Jaguar rolled up to the curb. Its passengers went in and without giving the menu a glance ordered in Portuguese. Their conversation, mingling with taped samba music, came floating joyously out the door.

Customers feel at home at this tiny place hidden away in a mostly residential area. On Sunday, Brazilians who look as if they they had stepped off Ipanema Beach stroll in for orders of Feijoada, Brazil’s national meal.

Zilda simmers her version of this black-bean stew until the flavors of smoked sausages and meats drench the beans. The stew is accompanied by rice and a pile of palate-cleansing orange slices. Feijoada is packed with various parts of the pig and sprinkled with farofa , a bland yucca meal that Brazilians sprinkle on just about anything juicy.

This tiny kitchen turns out substantial fare with a light hand. Zilda’s collard greens are not the usual “boiled all day” variety. Zilda cuts them into linguine-size ribbons and sautes them. These accompany many main dishes; they can also be bought by the pint. Churrasquinho is another refined offering-- juicy chunks of chicken grilled on a skewer.

“Brazil has the world’s second largest population of immigrant Lebanese,” says Zilda Neumann explaining Middle Eastern style kibbe on the menu. Jumbo balls of ground beef are mixed with cracked wheat and deep fried. Burguesao , Brazilian burgers, are also of Lebanese origin; they are the same beef and cracked wheat mixture served on a bun with lettuce and tomato. Don’t pass up pao de queijo , described as “cheese bread made with yucca root.” These slightly chewy and very cheesy puffs are wonderful.

Chicken stroganoff cooked in wine sauce with corn won’t remind you of Rio or the Amazon but Zilda’s serves it. And the moist codfish and potato croquettes hark back to Brazil’s colonial past when bacalhau , dried codfish, was a Portuguese winter staple.

Zilda also whips up shake-like fresh fruit and milk drinks that may be had with or without Quaker Oats flakes. And brigadeiro , a little confection of chocolate and condensed milk, is perfect to end a meal--along with cups of espresso.

Zilda’s Brazilian Delicacies, 10428 1/2 National Blvd., West Los Angeles, (213) 204-4911. Open Tuesday-Saturday 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Sunday noon-9 p.m.

My husband cheers every time I bring home a fugazzeta from San Remo Argentine Deli and Pizzeria. This is a pizza crust cut open and stuffed with ham and cheese, its top strewn with mild marinated onions and a sprinkling of herbs. Fugazzeta can be neatly devoured, even while driving, since the cheese is inside the sauceless “pizza.” The chewy crust, baked at the deli, is superb.

Argentines also recommend Pepe and Gloria Delgado’s delectable roasted meats. They order whole lamb legs or suckling pig for their festivities; arrangements for these must be made in advance.

San Remo’s red, white and green-striped storefront has been a Sunset Boulevard landmark for 17 years. It’s a family business, and the rambling three-room deli, grocery and pizzeria has a certain disheveled charm. Beer cases are piled around the pizzeria’s perimeter, nearly closing in on the seating area, and patrons order their hot dish and then go wandering through the wines, groceries and pineapple champagne in the room next to the deli. Here they select Gloria Delgado’s marinated palm hearts, huge marinated artichoke hearts, shrimp ceviche or other accompaniments.

The same people have been coming here for so long that they know everything by heart. In the deli, they’ll probably find Pepe Delgado breading a customer’s milanesa (thinly sliced beefsteak) and exchanging a little gossip. He tells me he wants to bottle his homemade chimichurri sauce--Argentina’s national condiment--made from quantities of garlic and a dozen spices. The sauce can be sampled on a pork leg sandwich--thin juicy slices of pork, roasted that day in the pizza oven--layered onto a crisp French roll.

All this casualness may be a little unsettling at first, but the place is so pleasant that you are bound to come back again and again until you are familiar with the routine.

San Remo Co. 3814 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 666-1201. Open Tuesday-Saturday 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

Rincon Chileno has long been a fixture on the eastern end of Melrose Avenue. But Rincon’s deli, though just next door, often gets overlooked. Many selections from the restaurant’s menu are less expensive when ordered here to take out--and they may be had at afternoon hours when the restaurant is closed.

Almost any time of day, the ovens produce delectable yeasty aromas that drift out into the street in appetizing little whiffs. All afternoon bakers bring fresh trays of pastries from the kitchen. Try the scone-like pan huevo with your afternoon tea or breakfast coffee. Gloriously heavy dinner rolls come warm from the oven, as do calzone- sized beef empanadas.

The deli’s most popular item, pastel de choclo , is packaged and ready to go in foil pans and boxes. Each “pie” is filled with ground meat and onions surrounding a piece of chicken, and topped by custardy ground corn sprinkled with sugar. These sweet and savory notes work so well together that each bite tastes better than the last.

You may have to ask the owners, Ricardo and Cristina Florez, for advice on how to prepare some of the more unfamiliar foods like arrollado de puerco or humitas --a tamale without filling. If this sort of experimentation seems too unpredictable, you can always fall back on the restaurant menu. The ceviche mixto appetizer will introduce you to lenguas de machas , a tender and triangular coral-colored shellfish. Probably nowhere else in the city can you take out eriso matico (sea urchins) with pebre --a piquant green fresh chili and cilantro sauce. And wine lovers will find a good selection of Chilean wine.

Rincon Chileno Deli, 4354 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, (213) 666-6077. Open Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m.-10 p.m. , Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-11p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.-9 p.m.