Diner Is Right Up Bowlers’ Alley : The Studellac cafe in Tarzana is big on beef and does its best to re-create a 1950s flavor with plenty of neon and a jukebox that features the Platters.

There is something exquisite about dining in a bowling alley. It is the sum of sensations. The crunch of french fries straight from a deep-fryer accompanied by the crunch of a 7-10 split. That first cold swallow of beer. The explosion of a strike.

The people who run the Studellac cafe know this. Their restaurant takes up a corner of Corbin Bowl in Tarzana. Double doors are kept wide open so customers can keep an eye on the pin action. The last booth on the left, for example, provides an excellent view of lanes 17 and 18.

Sounds of eating--forks and knives and jostled plates--mingle with the shouts of excited bowlers, the squeak of shoes and rattling of pins. High-score games are announced over the intercom. And the cafe’s counter, set apart from the dining room, is but a few feet from the lanes. You can almost smell that pine-scented stuff they spray into the rental shoes.

Calling Studellac a cafe is a misnomer. This is a diner. A joint. The kind of place where the first word out of the waitress’s mouth is: “Coffee?” And the answer is usually “Yes.”

The menu includes such embarrassingly un-bowling items as Zesty Zucchini Sticks and Buffalo Wings. But these are minor diversions. The bulk of the food centers around beef: burgers, chili, a meatloaf plate. Bulk is the operative word here. You can eat yourself under the table for $10.

“Check out the hot dogs,” says Chris, who bowls in a Tuesday night league and has been known to consume in quantity. “Tasty.”

Arvin, the waitress, explains: “This is a hamburger joint. A lot of shakes and malts. That sort of thing.”

The menu also offers an explanation for Studellac’s unusual name. It’s a story about a hot rodder from Whitestone, Long Island, who in 1957 somehow--with a blowtorch, perhaps?--created a hybrid between a Studebaker and a Cadillac.

The cafe does its darndest to hark back to such days with plenty of neon and a jukebox that plays the Platters. A bowling shirt from Nick Daher & Sons General Contracting hangs on the wall, as do portraits of Marilyn and Elvis. But the checkered floor is too clean and the booths are too shiny. A television monitor displays up-to-the-minute lottery results. Gamblers drift in and out, checking their stubs, shaking their heads, hurrying back to roll another frame. Anyway, Studellac lacks the charm of an old joint.

But the food does its best to make up for this deficiency. The fries are golden and crisp, as delicious as anything that ever came out of a freezer bag. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes are served with generous gravy. Budweiser is, of course, the beverage of choice. The lemonade, pulpy and cold, is suitable as well. And the chocolate malt? Darn fine.

Such fare comes at reasonable prices. Full meals for under $5. A grilled cheese sandwich for $2.75. And breakfasts are served for around $4.

And the customers? Well, this is a sleeveless crowd. These are the kind of people likely to keep their wrist brace on while they eat. The cafe stays open past midnight. There’s plenty of cigarette smoke, as there should be.

“This is a ‘50s cafe,” Arvin explains. “Mostly bowlers know about it. But it’s good.”

Where and When Location: Studellac, 19616 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana. Hours: 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every day. Beer and wine served. Free parking in back. Price: Most meals under $5. Cash only. Call: (818) 345-5250