RESTAURANT REVIEW : At Least La Pergola Has New Italian Look Down Pat

The new Italian-American restaurant is here. The old one, of course, was dark, over-decorated and served a bland, assimilated version of Sicilian-Neapolitan cooking.

Then along came new-to-us northern Italian cooking--this time directly from its homeland. After decades of murky tomato sauces, packaged pastas and melted cheeses, its clear flavors were refreshing. Inevitably, however, as the new Italian cooking spread, it too began to be assimilated, losing much of its edge in the process. It also started showing up in restaurants where the old style was served. This mixture can work--if there’s a sure hand running the kitchen.

Which brings us to La Pergola in Sherman Oaks. It is mostly in the spirit of the new: airy space, large terra-cotta paving stones, off-white stucco walls, front open to a planted terrace. However, the dining room is decorated with plants in black plastic pots, some covered with wrinkled red or silver foil. Already the assimilation is apparent. And the same is true of the menu: a “new” dish like capellini alla checca (angel hair pasta with an uncooked sauce of fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil and olive oil), shares the bill with an old-fashioned Italian-American favorite such as mozzarella marinara.

The bad news is that few of the dishes, in either category, are totally successful. The capellini alla checca is one that is. This fine pasta, almost as thin as thread, is easily overcooked. It wasn’t. It retained its textural integrity and served as an appropriate foil for the fresh sauce. There was also some success in the California-Italian cooking style: a pizza alla Messinese. Its thin, crisp crust was adorned with chopped fresh tomato, buffalo mozzarella and curly endive. It was a subtle blend of flavors that I found agreeable. A large herbed veal chop was also of excellent quality and cooked just to the right moment.

Other dishes didn’t work for differing reasons. Capelli d’angelo primavera was not well thought-out. Pasta as fine as this can easily be overwhelmed--and it was. The vegetables were appropriately fresh for a springtime dish, but the chunks of carrot, zucchini and cauliflower (plus peas, garlic and olive oil) were far too large. Their mass and texture were so assertive that the pasta seemed to be no more than an irritant getting in the way of the vegetables.

The traditional Italian-American category didn’t fare well either. A zuppa di verdura contained greens and other vegetables but the broth was watery and tasteless. The mozzarella marinara was comforting because of its familiarity but was undistinguished.

Anticipation is a fundamental part of pleasure, and no matter how good a dish is, it should be accurately described. Petto di pollo al limone was good, the chicken breast as moist and tender as could be. But it didn’t resemble what the menu promised; what lemon may have been in it was thoroughly overpowered by capers and black pepper.

Vegetables were another disappointment at La Pergola (a special oversight in a restaurant whose name means “the arbor”). They seemed to be the same with each entree and didn’t vary over the course of several days. This would have been less annoying had they been more interesting. But how interesting is boiled cauliflower or sliced zucchini in tomato-herb sauce?

The desserts were, I was told, made on the premises. They included nicely flavored homemade ice creams that I found a bit too sweet. Tirami su , done in layer-cake fashion instead of the usual ladyfinger-trifle style, was neat looking, moist and flavorsome.

It’s a pity that La Pergola isn’t a better restaurant. On the whole the food products are of high quality and the service is usually attentive, if occasionally chaotic (they seemed to be short one waiter). A little more care in planning the menu would help, as would more consistency in the pasta (exit the tough tortellini).

If you go to La Pergola, enjoy one of the good wines (several of which are in the $20 range), a pizza and maybe one other carefully selected dish. Then sit back and enjoy the new Italian restaurant look.

Recommended dishes: Capellini alla checca , $7.50; veal chop, $15.

La Pergola, 15005 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. (818) 905-8402. Open for lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and dinner 5:30 to 11 p.m. daily except 5 to 11 p.m. Sundays. Valet parking. Visa and MasterCard accepted. Dinner for two, food only. $45 to $60.