RESTAURANT REVIEW : Da’ Pasquale: A Sandwich to Go--All the Way to Chicago

The guy in the jogger togs was ordering a sandwich to go. For his wife. Who was in Chicago; he was going to same-day messenger it to her.

That’s quite a testimonial for an inconspicuous little place with just 12 counter seats and two tiny tables. Da’ Pasquale (the name means more or less “chez Pasquale”) looks like nothing but the plainest sort of lunch stand.

But if you read the back page of Da’ Pasquale’s menu, you find out who Pasquale is. There in very small type are the words “Formerly Angeli’s Pizza Chef.”

So. This is not a nobody in the kitchen, any more than this was a mere sandwich the wife in Chicago was in for. We’re talking about a panino , a sandwich made with a kind of wood-oven bread that looks like pita, only thicker. It’s a little neutral in taste and satisfyingly chewy, altogether wonderful sandwich bread.

And its thickness means it travels pretty well. The guy in the jogger togs volunteered that he and the wife have started taking these sandwiches with them on long airplane flights to spare themselves the dreariness of airline food.

It must be said that at the moment Pasquale is not only Angeli’s former pizza chef, he is in a sense a former pizza chef altogether. There’s not a single pizza on his menu, though there are a number of calzoni including one filled with four cheeses and a spinach number called “Popeye.” I ended up ordering the most obvious one, calzone al forno , filled with mozzarella, ricotta, Italian sausage and salami. It was very good, somehow hearty and light at the same time, but I wouldn’t try to messenger it anywhere, not with the tomato sauce.

Most of the menu is actually pastas--light, simple stuff and very well made. Fettuccine Antonio, for instance, is a solid Alfredo with the addition of shiitake mushrooms. Rotellini come with eggplant and smoked mozzarella (good idea) in a bit of tomato and basil sauce. The most elaborate item is linguine with bits of fresh and dried tomatoes, fried radicchio and chunks of dried ricotta (rather like cheese imitating tofu). There’s enough garlic, olive oil and basil to make this one come off.

The rest of the menu is rather spare. There are in fact only two meat entrees, osso buco and the curiously named “half pollo alla Pasquale .” I can’t detect the leeks that are supposed to be in this last one, but the sauce is certainly excellent, a light, tart tomato and mushroom sauce.

The appetizer list is a little short, too. There’s not much more than a mixed salad with balsamic vinegar and a radicchio-arugula salad that is the same as the mixed salad but with different greens; insalata caprese , slices of tomato with mozzarella melted over them, in a little basil and olive oil; a slick little version of eggplant Parmesan, which is thin slices of grilled eggplant layered with mozzarella and Parmesan in a little tomato sauce. And as for the dessert list, it’s just tirami su (strong coffee and chocolate flavor, on the soggy side) and some Italian pastries that I’ve never actually found available.

The guy in the jogger togs finally settled on panino al tacchino . I expect his wife had the best turkey, goat cheese, sweet pepper and avocado sandwich in Chicago that night.

Da’ Pasquale, 9749 Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. (213) 859-3884. Open for breakfast Monday through Friday, for lunch Monday through Saturday, for dinner nightly. No alcoholic beverages. Street parking. No credit cards. Dinner for two, food only, $25 to $38.