RESTAURANT REVIEW : Pastas, Entrees Shine at Lombardo’s

In our lifetimes we may well see the end of little Italian joints with red-checked tablecloths. Neighborhood spaghetti houses these days are apt to be noisy, wide-open bistros with uncomfortable chairs and raw tomatoes on the pasta instead of the long-simmering spaghetti sauces with the wonderful bottom-of-the-pot flavors.

Although you may suffer fleeting nostalgia for quiet, private booths in the fast-dwindling glass-of-wine-and-thou places, you must admit that this modern Italian food is much fresher, lighter, tastier, and more imaginative than what was served in the old days. It’s just that sometimes I think the San Fernando Valley floor is being paved with these fancy-schmancy cucinas. Any more, and county planners may well consider a pipeline to Umbria for olive oil.

Lombardo’s is the latest such newcomer to Sherman Oaks. Its bright white exterior in a small corner mini-mall sports cheerful pink neon, and is just across the street from a large medical center--it’s not unusual to walk in at lunch and hear one man yell to another, “Hey, Jerry! How’s things in the prosthetics biz?”

Once seated, it takes a while to realize we’re in a small restaurant; the tables, booths and various levels seem to go on forever since all the walls are mirrored. They’re copper-tinted mirrors at that, so there’s a sense of being in a big shiny copper bowl. Everything’s gleaming and new-- gorgeous green Carrara marble, glass brick, bright red tablecloths--and, like the nearly empty deli case, desperately wants breaking in.

Lombardo’s just started serving beer and wine, but it also stocks quart-sized bottles of Fonteviva, a lightly carbonated water from the Italian Alps . . . and my favorite mineral water. To stave off hunger, we’re also given homemade rolls that don’t inspire great affection. It’s not until my third visit that I get a roll that’s piping hot--then, I fall in love with the yeasty, fresh, steaming bread.

Appetizers are the standard Northern Italian starters that aren’t particularly worth their portion of a dinner bill--even given Lombardo’s very reasonable prices. The calamari fritti is good--chewy and crispy. And the antipasto Italiano has some great roasted peppers, black olives and the usual assortment of ordinary ham, salami, mortadella and bland, thin-sliced cheeses. But the carpaccio tastes slightly metallic, which is probably why it’s served with a huge dollop of mustard. The crispy artichokes are breaded lumps that aren’t the slightest bit crispy; they need help--a spice, or a sauce, or a huge dollop of mustard. The mozzarella on the caprese salad could use some help, too; it’s gooshy, weird, a little bitter and comes with an utterly tasteless olive oil.

After these humdrum appetizers, we’re a little surprised--not to mention delighted--when the pastas and entrees turn out to be almost uniformly excellent. The owner says the rotelle Lombardo is a dish he makes for his family, and after a few mouthfuls we understand why: The chewy little cartwheels come in a fresh tomato sauce made pink with cream, sort of a grown-up version of cream of tomato soup. The angel hair alla checca suffers from the dim house olive oil, but the ricotta-stuffed ravioli, drizzled with melted butter and topped with a few shreds of fragrant fresh sage, is one of the most simple and perfect dishes of pasta I’ve had.

Another knockout pasta is the linguini calamari in a clear white wine sauce; loaded with squid, it’s a garlicky, fresh, steaming bowl of food that smells of the ocean. The entrees we try, a veal scaloppine and a chicken picatta , are tender and tasty. At lunch, a meatball sandwich, full of dense red sauce, big spiced meatballs, and sheets of mozzarella, will allay anybody’s nostalgia for heavy, red traditional Italian . . . at least for a week or so.

The service here tends to be a blend of neglect and apology. Waiters are uniformly well-intentioned; they promise to be right back with Parmesan, bread, etc., but often forget. This is not yet a place to eat if you’re in a hurry.

Communication between the kitchen and floor seems a problem, too: We have one quite uncomfortable meal in which all three of our courses--appetizers, salads and entrees--are served at the same time. The waiter apologizes, but a number of tables have just been seated and, he says, the cook wants our orders out. So, some dishes get cold, some get pushed aside just to make room on our table for two for all those plates. And, as it happens, the new customers eat and go home before our waiter remembers to take our dessert orders. He apologizes, promises things will be better the next time we come in.

Desserts are homemade and uninspired: A German chocolate sheet cake is dry, as are the thick ladyfingers in a tirami su. A Mandarin cake (with canned Mandarin oranges) is like something my father used to create on one of his rare baking binges. I’d tell you to stick to the cappuccino, but its quality is erratic, delicious one night, watery and burnt-tasting the next. Better advice would be to fill up on pasta--it’s some of the best around.

Lombardo’s Cucina, 4954 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 784-60 5 1. Beer and wine. All major credit cards accepted. Open for lunch Mon.-Fri.; dinner seven nights. Dinner for two, food only, $15-$40.