RESTAURANT REVIEW : Side-by-Side Duo Full of Delights

For the longest time, whenever I stopped in at L.A. Trattoria, I found myself eating instead at the newer Antica Pizzeria next door. A converted narrow storefront attached to the older trattoria , Antica featured a wood-burning oven, Neopolitan-style pizza and the complete, familiar L.A. Trattoria menu. I found this confusing. Were we at L.A. Trattoria? Or Antica Pizzeria? Was it truly possible to be in two places at once?

Actually, L.A. Trattoria was being remodeled; the sister establishment was supposed to serve the old clientele until the trattoria was finished. This remodeling took forever. Recently, however, the 7-year-old L.A. Trattoria revealed its pretty new face.

Now there are side-by-side establishments. At night, you can choose between the brightly lit, festive pizzeria with its faux-old walls and 3-D assemblages of mandolins, garlic and espresso pots or the more elegant trattoria with vintage Italian photographs and booths upholstered in muted harlequin colors.

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At lunch, only the pizzeria is open, but you can still order off the L.A. Trattoria menu. Both places offer excellent, friendly service.

L.A. Trattoria food is always available in the pizzeria, but the Antica menu is not routinely handed out in the trattoria dining room. Still, if you wanted pizza, surely pizza you would have.

Antica’s pizza has been awarded a seal of approval--Vera Pizza--from an international nonprofit organization dedicated to popularizing Neopolitan pizza. I don’t know how reliable the seal is, but I do know that Antica’s pizza is truly some of the best I’ve ever tasted. The crust is thin and bubbly, and a bit scorched and smoky. Toppings are fresh and judiciously applied.

My two favorites are the basic napoletana , a snappy pie with mozzarella, tomato, anchovies and basil, and the unusual carrettiera , with a lovely combination of escarole, ricotta and flecks of intensely flavored black olives.

Not everything on the Antica menu is as wonderful as the pizza. The most interesting-sounding items--warm lamb “carpaccio” and caponata with anchovies and octopus--were unavailable over the course of several visits. Zucchini buds stuffed with mascarpone were available, but were sodden with grease. And even repeated dousings with lemon juice and table salt could not rouse much flavor from the pan-fried smelts. Yet, the warm swordfish salad, a delicious mixture of fresh grilled fish, mushrooms and well-oiled wilted greens, couldn’t have been better.

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Over at L.A. Trattoria, a good standby of a restaurant, there are two menus--the regular menu and a list of daily specials. It’s a bit of a job plowing through these typed pages, but it’s worth it. There is little to avoid and much to seek out.

I loved a salad with papaya, arugula, walnuts and watercress. The grilled vegetable plate was fantastic--big flappy wild mushrooms, charred radicchio, roasted peppers and a crumbly, strong cheese.

The risotto here had a pebblier texture than I normally like, but it’s hard to fault the dish after encountering chunks of porcini mushroom among the rice grains. The veal chop was clear-tasting, succulent and large. Broiled filet mignon, on special, was perfectly cooked and subtly sauced with light cream and peppercorns.

Rack of lamb, grilled game hen and baked baby quail were cooked to a routine standard of excellence. The kitchen cooks with limited quantities, meaning those eating late in the evening may encounter the “out-of-it” phenomenon, in which the most fabulous-sounding dishes have been devoured by other, luckier people.

At both the trattoria and the pizzeria, desserts have been a disappointment--an average Napoleon and tiramisu ; a grainy ricotta cheesecake with an overly perfumed quality. Better to stick with coffee. The espresso here is thick and as deeply flavored as it is strong. I literally scraped my demitasse for every last vestige.

*L.A. Trattoria/Antica Pizzeria, 8022 W. Third St., Los Angeles, (213) 658-7607. Antica open for lunch Tuesday through Friday, dinner Tuesday through Sunday. L.A. Trattoria open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday. Beer and wine. Major credit cards. Antica dinner for two, food only, $24 to $44. L.A. Trattoria dinner for two, food only, $24-$64.