RESTAURANT REVIEW : A Taste of the Past : Buddies Diner takes customers back to the ‘50s with delicious, fresh burgers, friendly service and oldies melodies.

A new, stylized diner called Buddies succeeds in spite of, rather than because of, a surfeit of ‘50s nostalgia.

It’s a huge, pearly white and lipstick-red space hard by a Northridge movie complex, and it is positively head-to-toe with appointments. If you’ve eaten in a Johnny Rockets, a Ruby’s or any of the other prototypes unleashed on us during the late ‘80s, you’re already familiar with the genre.

The large, rectangular dining area is thick with neon, chrome and bobby-soxer pix of James Dean, Connie Francis and Sam Cooke. The booths are upholstered in maraschino red vinyl, and the table at your booth will have a white Formica top, not to mention a setting of fire-engine-red napkins, and the cool amenity of a “wall box” (jukebox extension) at your fingertips, perfect for punching up oldies like “Be My Baby,” “Runaway” or “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.”

Too bad this comes across as disingenuous in 1993, since it is rather late in the game to be cashing in on an oversubscribed concept. Maybe someone will open a place sentimentalizing ‘80s diners that look like ‘50s diners. Then, I’ll jump.

Fortunately, there is a redeeming feature in this case. Buddies rescues itself in the best way possible, with tasty, generously portioned food at small-town prices. What’s more, service is friendly and polite in here, just as it was in the Eisenhower era--or, if you prefer, during the Reagan Administration. The kitchen could be a little faster, but that’s a small price to pay for fresh food, prepared to order. Buddies, it turns out, is a top-drawer family restaurant.

Buffalo wings and chili fries are two of the best things to eat here. Actually, these aren’t buffalo wings at all, but we’re not in the mood to argue. At $2.95 you get seven or eight delicious dry-fried chicken wings with a crunchy outside crust , a zippy barbecue sauce and celery sticks. Ask for your chili fries to be made with the lightly battered curly-q fries, all the better topped with onion, gooey melted cheese and a tangy, tasty chili.

The milkshakes are a big kid’s dream. Half of the shake comes already poured into a large parfait glass, the rest sits in a frosty shaker can. The Oreo shake is so rich it tastes as if it contains an entire row of cookies. Buddies chocolate banana shake, another double-thick doozie, will throw you off Weight Watchers for two weeks.

Hamburgers are the main focus here, a dozen-odd varieties made from fresh ground meat provided by a local meat company called Acme. These are grilled burgers, the one complaint being that the kitchen tends to overcook. (Get around that by ordering your burger medium rare if you like it medium, rare if you like it medium rare, etc.)

They’re served in paper pouches, but the monster burger ($8.95) is too big for any pouch. It’s probably the biggest hamburger you’ve ever seen (unless you’ve been to Belisle’s in Garden Grove)--2 1/2 pounds, on a huge bun--and surprisingly, it’s also this kitchen’s most deftly prepared burger. The Buddies classic reminds me of the popular In ‘N’ Out burger, a standard-size patty, lettuce, tomato, dill pickle, chopped onions and a bit of mayo on a springy sesame bun. Buddies patty melt is another good one, a relatively greaseless sandwich made with grilled onions, Jack cheese and toasted sourdough bread.

The rest of the menu is composed of sandwiches, salads and pastas; nothing you’d call complicated. There are things like BLT, chili dogs and turkey sandwiches, plus a spate of chicken sandwiches made just like the burgers, with grilled white meat chicken breast substituting for the ground meat patties. The bacon Cheddar chicken burger is good with the zesty house barbecue sauce. Grilled teriyaki chicken with pineapple is unspeakably sweet.

The American Cobb salad is made with canned black olives (a cardinal sin), and the Chinese chicken salad comes up sticky and cloying.

The pastas need classier toppings. Pasta Franco is fresh, reasonably chewy linguine, but the so-called garlic butter sauce is utterly bland, and the grilled garden vegetables are nothing more than snow peas and carrots. Pasta Capri employs the same noodles, this time under a mass of chopped bacon, mushroom and parsley that tastes as if it was thrown on at the very last minute.

WHERE AND WHEN

* What: Buddies Diner, 19401 Parthenia St., Northridge.

* Suggested dishes: Buffalo wings, $2.95; chili fries, $2.75; monster burger, $8.95; barbecue bacon chicken burger, $6.25; Oreo cookie fantasy, $2.75.

* Hours: Lunch and dinner 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, till 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. No alcohol. Parking lot.

* Price: MasterCard and Visa accepted. Dinner for two, $10 to $22.

* Call: (818) 772-4767.