RESTAURANT REVIEW : Sabor: Jazzy Food, Jazzy Ambience

The first time I went to Sabor, I thought I had wandered into some kind of enchanted, twinkling world. In addition to a wooden reindeer and a big carousel-type wooden horse, there was a devil in the corner, a variety of weird masks and, on the wall, a blanket with rattlesnakes all over it. Latin disco played merrily in the background.

After a few minutes, I realized that Sabor is simply a restaurant dressed up for Christmas in lights and toys and and wads of pearlescent cellophane. I sat directly beneath a large stone statue of a seated figure that held a large purple Christmas tree ornament. Most of the customers appeared to be devoted regulars. One woman, picking up a to-go order, confided to the couple next to me that although Sabor had been open just a little over a month she had been back five times--not counting all the times she had ordered take-out.

Maybe this is because the food at Sabor is just as jazzy as the ambience. Every single dish is gaily, playfully wrought. The crockery is all neo-Fiesta Ware: yellow, orange, blue, turquoise. The presentation is replete with arrows carved from carrots and Euclidean studies in cucumber and peppers. The food itself is a lively mix of Southern and Latin cooking.

Sopes --little masa cups filled with chorizo, black beans and roasted pasilla chile--are unabashedly spicy and delicious. And even those who avoid fried food as a rule might fight for another bite of Louisiana-style crayfish popcorn, sweet lumps of meat with a gratifyingly crunchy, spicy breading. On the side is a snappy remoulade.

Salvadoran pupusas , like corn-pancake quesadillas, are fairly traditional, stuffed with loroco (a particularly tasty green), chicharron and mild cheese, and served with curtido , the traditional pickled cabbage side dish. Sabor’s Caesar salad is especially clean and bright-tasting.

Entrees are equally delicious. A filet mignon sauced with cascabel chiles, gets great backup from a chile relleno and pleasantly starchy yuca fries. Tender, nicely glazed lamb chops come with rosemary-spiked potato chunks.

One friend, a notoriously light and picky eater, devoured her salmon filet, a generous ladling of mango beurre blanc and a minor mountain of mashed potatoes. For myself, I can’t help but wax rapturous for the fried chicken and mashed potatoes on my plate; the chicken was succulent, its crust crunchy and thick and spicy. (It should be noted that until a few months ago, the chef, Fredy Saucedo, cooked at the nightclub-restaurant Roxbury, where fried chicken was the best thing on the menu.)

On Sunday afternoons, Sabor serves brunch, which is the same great food in a slightly different form. You get an optional glass of champagne, a pretty cup of berries and cut-up fruit, and a choice of one entree. You might try chicken chilaquiles , a heap of peppery, chewy tortilla strips all mixed up with great, tender hunks of mild chile-sauced chicken. Angel hair pasta with salmon and a light, lemony cream sauce is, in its own way, every bit as compelling as the chilaquiles .

If you have room for dessert, there are hot fried bananas with ginger and cold vanilla ice cream. Pumpkin cheese cake, with another delicious dose of fresh ginger, tastes like pumpkin pie in its most heavenly incarnation.

In a recent poll, people admitted that, when the recession is over, the first thing they’ll do is go out for dinner. With Sabor around, we may not have to hold out that indefinitely.

Sabor, 2538 Hyperion Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 660-0886. Lunch Tuesday through Friday, dinner seven nights, brunch Sunday. Full bar. MasterCard, Visa accepted. Valet parking. Dinner for two, food only, $27-$54.