The following are summaries of recent Times...

The following are summaries of recent Times restaurant reviews.

* La Palma Chicken Pie Shop and Restaurant, 928 N. Euclid Ave., Anaheim. (714) 533-2021. Open Mondays through Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Bakery opens at 9.

This is where you want to go for meat loaf, pan-fried chicken and the other kinds of tried and true, roadside American fare that are creeping back onto the menus in more upscale establishments. The signature dish, chicken pie, is a buttery, 9-oz. disk crammed with shredded meat. At $1.95 it makes a great, affordable snack. Don’t bypass the attached bakery, where the goodies include peach pie, burnt almond cake and a rich house cheesecake, and an excellent, springy chocolate cake is only $3.

* Greek Cuisine, 13011 Newport Ave., Tustin . (714) 731-1179. Open Mondays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Sundays through Thursdays from 5 to 10, Fridays and Saturdays till 11. Flamingo, 17185 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley. Open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays till 11.

Both restaurants, ethnic eateries in mini-malls, are casual and inexpensive. Greek Cuisine in Tustin boasts exquisite taramo, creamed carp roe, fall-off-the-bone oregano chicken and a fine array of Greek specialties, while Flamingo in Fountain Valley is more terra incognita: seco norteno (piquant lamb stew in onion gravy), papas a la Huancaina (potatoes in a cheese sauce blanket), picarone (hot pumpkin fritters in blackstrap molasses).

* Viva Italia, 303 Broadway, Laguna Beach. (714) 497-6220. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 10:30.

The VIVA in Viva Italia is an acronym for the first initials of brothers Vittorio, Ignacio, Vincenzo and Antonio Romeo, and the restaurant seems to have caught on as neatly. It’s a somewhat cramped version of an Italian trattoria: terra-cotta floor, tile kitchen, elbow-to-elbow seating. Food is simple and straightforward but erratic. Pastas and wood-fired pizzas are the best bets. Beach crowd salads and ill-conceived main courses can be passed over. Service is snappy and efficient.

* Bayou St. John, 320 Main St., Seal Beach. (213) 431-2298. Open daily from 5 to 10 p.m.

Bayou St. John in quiet Seal Beach is Orange County’s only bona fide Cajun restaurant: The boom has faded, but not the delights of this cuisine. Indulge yourself with such specialties as homemade gumbo, full of hidden flavors; oysters Rousseau, a rich appetizer with cheese, bacon, cream sauce and spicy tomato; and stuffed trout, pan fried in pure butter. Blackened items are a must. Seafoods are flown in. Dixieland music on tape furnishes the nostalgia.

* Hyang Chon, 12921 Fern St., Stanton. (714) 891-5166. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Eel, grilled short ribs and barbecued herring are just a few items on this Korean restaurant’s exotic and varied menu. Pan cha, colorful side dishes, are especially good here, with such specialties as gae jang, raw marinated crab, and jap chae, a type of noodle with meat and vegetable. Lunchtime prices are a steal.

* Revere House, 900 W. 1st St., Tustin. (714) 543-9314. Open Mondays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Revere House is one of those dark, woody dinner houses that were popular during the fifties and guess what: That’s when the place opened. It specializes in credible versions of plain old American food--prime rib, pan-fried chicken, turkey with all the trimmings--all churned out with dependable regularity. The menu is enormous and portions are Protean. All entrees come with a choice of Caesar or spinach salad. Desserts are the one weak spot, except for the tapioca pudding you get for free.

* The Hobbit, 2932 E. Chapman Ave., Orange. (714) 997-1972. Open for dinner Tuesdays through Sundays at 7:30 p.m.

The Hobbit is a special-occasion restaurant, serving prix fixe dinners that are elaborate without being pretentious. Book well in advance. You begin the evening in the restaurant’s wine cellar, nibbling on Julia Child-like appetizers, sipping champagne and chatting with total strangers. Chef Mike Phillippi takes it all very seriously, preparing solid food that is well-balanced, though rarely brilliant. Entrees like beef Wellington and lobster thermidor rotate weekly. Service is performed by smiling waitresses in print uniforms.

* Ghandi, 3820-D Plaza Drive, South Coast Plaza Village, Santa Ana. (714) 556-7273. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 6 to 10.

Gandhi could be called new wave Indian: it roasts quail in its clay oven and pours Beaujolais nouveau as often as beer. Phlegmatic waiters in fancy tuxedos perform service on the brass-enclosed patio, a former pizzeria that looks more like Paris than Delhi. Appetizers, such as chicken tikka salad and the various tandoori dishes, are refined and pleasant. Spicy dishes, such as lamb in spinach puree and curried eggplant, are even better. Expensive.

* Grappa, 2304 W. Ocean Front, Newport Beach. (714) 675-1930. Open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 6 to 10 p.m., Fridays through Sundays till 11.

Grappa, housed in what used to be Zeppa, is yet another beachfront Italian restaurant in Newport. New owner Vincenzo Gentile hasn’t changed the basic concept: The restaurant still resembles a Florentine villa, with a kitchen that churns out such favorites as great fried calamari, salads with lots of balsamic vinegar, and upscale pastas such as agnolotti and penne. Nodino alla griglia, an excellent veal chop grilled with aromatic herbs, is a standout. Desserts are intelligently underindulgent.

* Places Afar, 25932 Muirlands Blvd . , Mission Viejo. (714) 581-4200. Open daily except Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10.

Calesa, 2106 Tustin Ave., Santa Ana. (714) 541-6585. Open daily except Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 10.

Places Afar is your basic Cuban-French-Vietnamese restaurant; the English is circumspect, the cooking is spectacular. Start with Cuban ham croquettes alongside greaseless plantain chips, or a bowlful of smoky black bean soup. Then try Imperial salad from Vietnam. Evenings, there are such French classics as couscous and choucroute. Calesa has a sign boasting “Round-the-World-Dining”--it’s a luxurious restaurant with Filipino, Asian and continental specialties. There is a wide selection of main dishes from paella to sate , and cooking is often on the sweet side. Service is formal, and waiters in tuxedos flame desserts with enthusiasm that borders on lust.