Another Neighborhood, Another Restaurant

The Epicurean, 913 Foothill Blvd., La Canada Flintridge, (818) 790-5565. Open for lunch Monday-Friday, dinner Monday-Saturday. Beer and wine. Parking in lot. All major credit cards accepted. Dinner for two, food only, $50-$70.

To call La Canada sleepy would be an understatement. Its palatial estates and Beverly Hills-like property values may make it one of the most exclusive bedroom communities in Greater Los Angeles, but it’s still the suburbs.

Sure, the restaurant’s name--The Epicurean--is hopelessly out of fashion (like someone telling you what a good lover he is on the first date). And owner Xiomara Ardolina seems to break all the rules of restaurant management by doing everything herself: Mornings, she rushes off to produce markets; evenings, she acts as hostess, sommelier , waitress, cashier and kitchen helper. She even put her own money into the restaurant.

But the Havana-born Ardolina is a proponent of the American dream. She started with a tiny sandwich shop, which she ran while raising two small children, and went on to open this wonderful little restaurant that is a daring departure from the norm--in La Canada, at least.

With the help of chef Adam Ortega, she has created a straightforward but appealing menu--a sprinkle of Italian, a soupcon of French and a heavy emphasis on the quality of its primary products.

The restaurant itself is tiny, with nine or 10 small tables tastefully set into a plant-filled, mirror-lined room. There is also an enclosed patio with five small tables outside. “If I didn’t have the mirrors,” says Ardolina somewhat apologetically, “it would be like dining in someone’s garage.” I’d say more like a child’s greenhouse.

Starters are delightful. Salade panache uses high-consciousness greens such as red leaf, oak leaf and radicchio, dressed up with Italian sun-dried tomatoes, a touch of orange zest, halved walnuts and a warmed walnut-oil dressing. Carpaccio is sliced just right, topped with just the right amount of imported Romano and given a just-right dousing with truffle oil. A pungent, almost Sichuan-like ceviche is snapper marinated in lemon, orange, tomato, chili and plenty of cilantro. La Caprese is soft, imported bufala mozzarella and vine tomatoes, with fresh basil and a superior olive oil.

This high-grade oil is probably responsible for much of the kitchen’s success. Most of the entrees are cooked with it, and it figures prominently in a warm duck salad with goat cheese. The result is light, highly digestible cooking.

My favorite dish is poussin saute au romarin , a baby chicken sauteed with fresh rosemary and garlic, in that good olive oil with lots of added chiles. Another good dish here, although much heavier, is baby Sonoma lamb chops (four) in a sauce with a touch of Gorgonzola and thyme.

The menu offers John Dory in a sweet pepper coulis , and salmon in a Cabernet sauce. Although both sauces were well executed, the fish were slightly overcooked. (Incidentally, the baby green beans, turnip and carrots that accompanied each fish dish were perfect.)

There is an extensive wine list for a pint-sized restaurant. On the other hand, the dessert list is small; the only sweet made on the premises is a fine tirami su , heavy with espresso. Ardolina buys a good chocolate-raspberry truffle cake from--I kid you not--Mrs. Raspberry. And there are other desserts, such as fresh seasonal berries with Haagen-Dazs ice cream. There’s even a state-of-the-art espresso machine from Milan.

I’d say this little place has it nearly all . . . except a trendy name and a Beverly Hills address. But then, you can’t have everything.

Recommended dishes: salade panache du jardin et noix , $7.50; ceviche a la maison , $8.50; poussin saute au romarin , $14; osso buco with fresh noodles, $18.