RESTAURANT REVIEW : Nonni Offers Italian Inspiration in Atwater

There is a little corner of Atwater that is 100% Westside.

Of course, when I say “a little corner,” I mean a little restaurant, and when I say the Westside, I mean West L.A.’s Trattoria Angeli. Osteria Nonni has much the look and feel of a miniaturized Angeli, right down to the quaint pseudo-industrial design. The lighting, for instance, is sealed-beam lamps borne on spidery metal spokes sticking out of the walls.

If you have a vague impression that Atwater is a one-gas station town somewhere in Kern County, you may wonder what Nonni’s doing there. For your information, Atwater is a little neighborhood near the southern tip of Glendale and it happens to have its own quaint design tradition. (Take a drive up Brunswick Avenue, right around the corner from Nonni, and ask yourself what the architect who designed these fanciful buildings was going through.)

Nonni’s chef comes from Angeli, and the menu has Angeli written all over it, or at least a lot of it. There are the sandwiches made of fresh pizza bread called panini (available only at lunch), and a couple of unmistakable Angeli appetizers: croquettes di patate , beautifully fried potato balls with a little prosciutto inside; and arancini , much the same made with tomato-flavored rice and stuffed with chunks of cheese.

But Nonni does have a soul of its own. Every once in a while there are dishes unlike any at Angeli: delicious tiny clams in a white wine, garlic and prosciutto sauce that made me wonder why I’ve never had it before.

There are a lot of sleek, up-to-date pizzas, like a pizza ai quattro stagioni notable for its luscious prosciutto and salami, to say nothing of its mushrooms, artichokes, garlic and oregano. One version of calzone is deep-fried and looks a little like Mac Tonight’s head, with dough that has the texture and taste of a beignet. Altogether it’s like a gigantic piroshki filled with mozzarella, ricotta, salami and tomato-basil sauce.

The pastas are mostly familiar items, but well prepared. Fettuccine Bolognese has a meaty sauce made tart with tomatoes, and the lasagne is very clean-tasting with veal meatballs, fresh tomato sauce and ricotta.

There’s relatively little meat on Nonni’s menu, and the predominating flavors are probably olives and garlic ( spaghetti puttanesca , for instance, is more highly flavored with rose olives than red pepper or capers). Seafood gets a good shake, though. I’ve had a terrific entree special of baby salmon fried in light batter, mixed with thin slices of marinated eggplant. Another special was calamari in clean, crisp breading with one huge shrimp.

There are only three desserts. The most notable is a somewhat soggy tirami su with a sharp contrast of flavors: bitter espresso, creamy sweet mascarpone cheese and a thin film of chocolate frosting (and some orange flavoring in there somewhere). Mille foglia , is in effect a Napoleon, and for once a Napoleon with really crisp and flaky pastry.

The original Angeli is fully aware of Osteria Nonni’s existence and has even been passing out Nonni’s business card. This must be part of the reason why Nonni is doing so well that even without a freezer, it can offer four or five seafood dishes even on a Sunday night. If you don’t know where Atwater is, you’d better find out.

Osteria Nonni, 3219 Glendale Blvd., Atwater. (213) 666-7133. Lunch Monday through Friday, dinner daily. Beer and wine. Street parking. No credit cards. Dinner for two, food only, $18 to $36.