RESTAURANT REVIEW : On Some Nights Vitello’s in North Hollywood Is an Italian Restaurant to Sing About

The first time I looked at Vitello’s menu (someone had mailed me a copy) I thought, “This isn’t going to be my kind of place.”

Like a lot of people, I’m drawn to the newer, trendier variety of Italian restaurants; the architected trattorias and bistros specializing in cucina rustica and the simple dishes of Northern Italy.

Vitello’s, from the menu, looked like a classic old-style Italian restaurant. I pictured the kind of place where the kitchen churns out sauces and veal in countless variations, and where somebody (usually, me) invariably asks, “OK, one more time, what’s the difference between cannelloni and manicotti ?”

The most promising thing about the restaurant was a note someone had scrawled on the menu in ballpoint pen: “We feature ‘Opera Night’ from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Sunday.”

I first walked into Vitello’s on a Saturday night--no singing in earshot--and I had to concede: If I were a kid, I’d really like it here. It was dark as deep twilight and candlelit. We were tucked into a booth among columns and arches. Taking up two walls and the ceiling was a mural of an Italian seaside village under a dappled sky. As a youngster, I would slip into one of those pretty little boats just about the time the adults’ talk got boring.

As adults, however, my friend Annie and I got bored and peckish waiting for someone to take our order--we ate a whole basket’s worth of bread and still no one appeared. What made us especially cranky was looking at all the people around us eating beautiful pizzas and pastas. Finally, our waiter appeared and acted as if we had requested his neglect. “Have you decided what you’d like yet?” Yet?

Dinner salads turned out to be fairly standard chopped iceberg lettuce with an herbed vinaigrette. The prosciutto and melon was unremarkable. So I was frankly surprised when our entrees proved to be two great plates of food--and I mean great both qualitatively and quantitatively. The linguine with fresh clams was bright-tasting and light; the sausage and peppers, served over linguine, was enormous and enormously tasty. Annie took half her dinner home, and I might have taken half of mine if I could have stopped eating it.

Annie had a cappuccino, or Vitello’s variation of a cappuccino: coffee sweetened with a brandy syrup and topped with whipped cream. It tasted very alcoholic, although the waiter swore it was not. Regardless, since this was not the espresso with foamed milk Annie was expecting, it was graciously removed from the bill.

When I returned to Vitello’s on a Wednesday night--Opera Night--I was with a foursome that included my friend Michael, who is not only a longtime Vitello’s regular, but a singer. This time, we sat in the back room, which was designed especially for opera, in a cozy button and tuck booth. There was no mural but there was a large, puzzling painting of eight people in a donkey cart on an empty beach. There was also a man in a beret playing piano, and a bartender who periodically came out from behind the bar to sing us an aria. There was a whole family of singers at one table; later we found out that singers were at many of the other tables as well. A soprano sang a song from “West Side Story,” then a big man with white hair sang music from “Carmen,” and then the two of them sang a duet. When they sat down, we urged Michael to get up and sing, but he said he had left his music at home. Then the food started coming.

The baked clams were well spiced, juicy and wonderful; the minestrone very ordinary. But again, the entrees were large and quite delicious, except for my chicken Marsala, which was large and boring. Michael’s veal piccata was so good, I was surprised that he didn’t burst into song while eating it. I was especially jealous of the fresh shrimp and artichokes cooked in white wine on angel-hair pasta. It was the kind of clean, light Italian cooking I’ve become so fond of in recent years. On the other hand, Kirk’s shrimp alla fra diavolo , which was the same great fresh shrimp in a spicy marinara sauce over linguine, was enough to make me love a good, well-prepared red sauce all over again.

As dinner wound down, we renewed our efforts to get Michael to sing for us. But he said he was too full and too happy to sing.

We were all pretty happy. The singing was wonderful, but not so overpowering that we couldn’t enjoy conversations with each other. We lingered and slowly managed among the four of us to devour some amaretto ice cream coated with nuts and chocolate chips, a good cannoli and an excellent lemony, homemade cheesecake. Around us, the room emptied out. We had just about given up on Michael when he suddenly asked the piano player if he know “Over the Rainbow” in the key of C.

There he was, singing “Over the Rainbow” in his lovely tenor. Sometimes, I have to admit, it’s great to get what you want.

Vitello’s

4349 Tujunga Ave., North Hollywood; (818) 769-0905.

Dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, till 11 p.m. on Saturday and Friday. Opera on Wednesday and Sunday. Visa, MasterCard, Carte Blanca and Diners accepted. Full bar. Parking in lot. Dinner for two, food only, $20 to $50.

Recommended dishes: Baked clams (six), $6.75, (12) $11.95; linguine with fresh clams, $13.95; veal piccata, $13.95; cheesecake, $3.50.