RESTAURANT REVIEW : Tempo Evokes the Flavor--and Pace--of Israel

Ihave never been to Israel, but my friend Robin has, and she is convinced that the food at Tempo in Encino is as close to authentic Israeli cuisine as one can expect to find in the San Fernando Valley.

“Taste the smoky flavor in the pita bread?” she says. “Heated over charcoal.” She scoops up some eggplant tahini dip and nods vigorously. “The eggplant has it too, that wonderful grilled taste. This is what eating in Israel tastes like.”

Judging from the Hebrew and the accented English spoken around us, and from Lilo Fadidas at the piano bar singing swoony Hebrew songs, I also believe this may be what Israel sounds like. And the service, says Robin, “is exactly what you get in downtown Tel Aviv--slow. . . .” She shrugs. “Make that haphazard. . . . Or maybe I mean Israeli.”

That’s not to say Tempo’s an exact replica of an Israeli cafe. (“It’s far more whoop-de-do than the little cafes in Israel,” Robin says.) In fact, Tempo is several establishments in one--a night club/piano bar, an elegant dinner house, and a casual cafe. There are families, dating couples, friends gathered together, and more than a bit of a singles scene at the bar. A good number are all gussied up. Most nights, even during the week, Tempo’s jumping.

Not long after we’re seated, we’re given pita bread and a dish of hot pink (dyed) turnip, bright orange carrots, green pickles and olives--a lovely bowl of color that matches the lights and the pink walls.

The menu, major tablature, goes on for pages. In addition to carrying the history of the restaurant, every other page has advertising. It’s a kind of Valley Israeli who’s who, listing everything from lawyers to chiropractors to “your travel agent to Israel.” Read it while eating the olives, and then try to figure out what to do with the pits. There’s no ashtray, no pit plates. We wonder whether to put them back in the dish, into the potted plant, or pelt passersby with them.

There’s lots of time to ponder because in three visits, there was always a long wait before anyone ambled over to take an order. Tempo’s tempo, I’d say, is adante, a long, slow lingering walk, although it can slump down to larghetto at times. But no use getting all agitated: Although waiters do not run to feed you, they don’t expect you to eat and run, either. This place is seriously casual.

Reading the menu, we discover that back in the neolithic, some 11 years ago, Tempo was a teeny falafel stand. According to written history, it went through various periods, from mere kitchen and counter, to under construction, through the blue tent times, to under construction. Today, it has evolved into a full-scale dinner house serving dishes that go beyond traditional Middle Eastern fare.

We try some of these dishes, the orange roughy piccata and the lamb shish kebab entree, but we probably wouldn’t do it again. The fish, swimming in a winey cream sauce, sprinkled with capers and lemons, comes with an acre of undercooked rice and is not what one wants to fill up on when there are so many other delicious ways to administer one’s daily caloric intake.

The lamb kebab is OK, but I wish I’d ordered the skewered meat on the side, or in a sandwich, because the accompanying pounds of french fries and julienned steamed squash don’t suit it half so well as pita bread and tahini dressing.

Quickly, we decide to stick to the Middle Eastern, Israeli menu items. And there isn’t one we aren’t mad for, except for maybe chaminados --eggs that have been hard-boiled for 24 hours--they look ancient, stained, and taste like essence of hard-boiled egg. Other dishes couldn’t have been better. Grape leaves stuffed with well-spiced meat are clean-tasting and refreshing, and the tabouli salad, which is more parsley and lemon than marinated wheat kernel, makes you feel fit and lean just to eat it.

Spying on our neighbors, we discover that the most popular item is the combination of six gourmet (vegetarian) dips, ranging from humous, here a perfect balance of ground chick peas and sesame seeds, to the incredibly condensed, roasted-in flavors of the Turkish salad. A few cute and crunchy, tasty falafel are tossed in too. A large-sized combination will just about be dinner to two normal appetites, although meat eaters might want to order some shwarma or kebabs on the side.

Sandwiches are also great, especially if you’re unequivocally hungry. I loved the shwarma special; it is spicy and juicy with tomatoes and tahini dressing that runs all over the place. At $3 the falafel sandwich has to be one of the best-tasting bargains in town. And as my friend Robin says, it’s a lot cheaper than a trip back to Israel.

Tempo, 16610 Ventura Blvd., Encino. (818) 905-5855. Open daily for lunch 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and dinner 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Visa, MasterCard and American Express accepted. Full bar. Valet parking. Dinner for two, food only, $10 to $40.