RESTAURANT REVIEW : Trick at Da Noi Lies in Knowing What to Order

The Neopolitan restaurant, Da Noi, is a small neighborhood joint that looks spanking clean. The black-and-white tile floor gleams, as do the bright white walls, the clean windows and the faces of the owner and staff.

A friend and I are ushered to a table under a painting of Pulcinello, a masked clown, who is eating pasta with his fingers. Napkins are unfurled and draped in our laps. One waiter takes our drink order; one recites the specials. Crusty, soft-crumb sourdough bread arrives, and when we remark that we like it, the owner brings over a display of huge intact loaves made on the premises.

After a few minutes we are brought a nice but unexceptional white bean soup in a light tomato broth and a Caesar salad--one of the city’s fresher, brighter versions. As we eat, all the waiters and buspersons, eager to please, come by the table. They pat the bread basket and bring us more bread. They fill our glasses with more Pellegrino and ask, several times, if everything is OK. Conversation becomes problematic.

Pasta with tomato sauce is a staple of Neopolitan cuisine, and on this night Da Noi offers a particularly good variation on this theme: fettuccine topped with earthy, slow-cooked tomatoes, onions and mushrooms. A roasted half-chicken is juicy and delicious, served with rosemary-spiked potatoes. We easily have enough left over to feed a third person. In fact, the only complaint we have is that the staff’s earnest and perpetual inquiries all but obliterate our privacy.

On a Friday night, this overzealousness is slightly tempered--there are more customers in the place to keep the waiters busy. On this night there is a hearty, wonderful plate of grilled eggplant rounds topped with sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and herbs. Pencil asparagus, steamed to a bright-green crunchiness, is marinated in good oil and lemon juice and served with a salad of peppery arugula and flakes of Parmesan. “It’s great . . . we’re happy . . . we love this,” we tell the always-present and ever-inquiring staff.

But then the entrees arrive--and there are problems. One plate holds three very thin slices of beef filet covered with gravy and a few steamed beans, carrots and squash. It’s, well, a small plate of food.

But it’s not as disheartening as the plate of five very small shrimp “rosmarino” with the same vegetable array that appeared with the beef. Even the owner who cruises past us remarks, “We usually serve four big shrimp. But they gave us the wrong size so we gave you five.” Still, $14 seems an outrageous price to pay for such a paltry serving. In five very short mouthfuls there are no shrimp; in a few more minutes there is no more filet. Our plates are clean and we are still very hungry. “I feel like I just had two appetizers,” says my friend. “Where’s dinner?”

Luckily, in order to sample more of the menu, we’d ordered some food to go. Fueled by our hunger, we drive home fast and tear open the take-out bags and tins. We first attack the “vegetariano,” a sample of grilled marinated eggplant, mushrooms, carrots and peppers, all of which are tasty except for the peppers, which have a strange flavor. Then we light into a kind of open-face lasagna; it’s simply red sauce with ricotta cheese and tiny meatballs served free-for-all on thin, curly edged lasagna noodles. It’s not Da Noi’s best dish, but at least the portion is ample.

The trick at Da Noi apparently lies in knowing what to order. One night dinner for two might be enough to feed three; another night you might go home hungry. And the food itself runs the gamut from OK to quite wonderful. Da Noi is a good little neighborhood restaurant. And it always takes time to get to know new neighbors.

Da Noi, 2630 Hyperion Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 664-7979. Lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday. Beer and wine. Major credit cards accepted. Dinner for two, food only, $26-$52.