Escaping the Mall : When hunger strikes during a day of shopping, there’s no need to settle for food-court chow. A short drive from any center in the Valley, excellent cuisine can be had at good prices.

Most of us will be shopping at one of the malls this holiday season, but that doesn’t mean we need limit ourselves to eating in a food court the minute when get hungry.

Peek outside the malls and you’ll find good food in close proximity, interesting alternatives to the stuffed potato skin, steam-table Chinese and tired salad-bar fare shoppers eat more out of habit than desire.

Yang Chow, the Valley’s best Chinese restaurant, is across the street from two West Valley malls, Topanga Plaza and The Promenade. Eating here does cost more than at a Panda Express, but it is, in my estimation, more than worth the difference in price. The specialties are cold meats, freshly cooked dishes like fluffy “lion head” meatballs and delicately sauteed shrimp, toothsome noodle creations and a delightful array of steamed rice plates.

The restaurant belongs to the Chans, Shanghai natives who are third-generation restaurateurs. It’s a homey place with a beamed ceiling and tablecloths, but the owners infuse it with an air of friendly casualness. Avoid ordering the Americanized lunch combinations (things like chicken chow mein, sweet-and-sour pork and fried rice) and plunge right into this huge, 100-plus item menu.

Hot and cold appetizers are superb here, many a good match for the superb house chili paste, which sits in little jars on every table. The Shanghainese practically invented cold cuts, and Yang Chow carries on the tradition in style. Corned pork is crumbly, delicious meat cut into little cubes, prime meat right from the leg. Five spice beef comes stacked in thin slices, fragrant with the perfume of star anise.

Dumpling lovers will opt for the fine fried dumplings or spicy Szechuan won-tons. Eat the wonderful minced chicken appetizer portioned out in lettuce leaves, like Chinese tacos. Among the better dishes here are the tender, clean tasting sauteed baby shrimp, a giant plateful cooked in nothing more than oil, rice wine and a touch of garlic. Braised lion head is a Shanghainese tradition, huge meatballs in a rich brown sauce with baby bok choy. There are many spicy dishes on this menu as well, hot spicy whole fish, hot spicy bean curd with minced pork, the list goes on and on.

Yang Chow, 6443 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Canoga Park. (818) 347-2610. 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday . Lunch for two, $12-$30.

If you’re shopping at the immense Glendale Galleria (remember, the mall patronized by the Clintons), you are right in downtown Glendale and surrounded by upscale restaurants like Cinnabar, Duet and Kix, all of which are just a few minutes away. But if it’s simple, colorful and satisfying fare you want, head over to Billy’s.

Billy’s is a hard-core delicatessen resembling an Edward Hopper painting, all wooden booths, brown vinyl banquettes, muted lighting and gum-snapping waitresses. Salamis hang over the front deli counter, though for decoration only because of new rules forbidding consumption of meats dried in this fashion. Even water is an anachronism here, drunk out of a paper cone stuffed into a metal holder.

This place may lack the stature of a Langer’s or an Art’s, but it is still a deli in the grand old manner. Appetizers like smoked whitefish, smoked salmon or kippered cod are light and delicious, and there is great chopped liver served up in a large scoop. Any of these starters make the perfect foil for the excellent house rye bread and the pungent half sour pickles the waitresses bring with everything.

Classic deli soups like matzo ball, chicken noodle and kreplach (a meat stuffed dumpling), come in worn-looking porcelain bowls and taste delicious. The kreplach is quite filling, so try the chicken noodle, soft noodles, lots of chicken meat and a plentiful stock. As to the matzo ball, well, it’s not what anyone would call feathery.

My favorite sandwich at Billy’s is brisket dip, grainy soft meat on a French roll, perfect for dipping in salty au jus. The pastrami and corned beef are lean enough but a shade tough, neither smoky as at Langer’s, nor sliced with deftness as at Art’s. There’s a fine, fatty tongue served cold, first-rate turkey, great steamy knockwurst. All these sandwiches marry well with the fine cole slaw or potato salad, served at a small extra charge.

If you fancy main courses, try half-roast chicken with sage dressing or the saucy pot roast, which comes with a potato pancake that wouldn’t float in the Dead Sea. There are homemade desserts, too, from cheesecakes to good bundt-type cakes to gooey, custard-filled eclairs.

Billy’s, 216 N. Orange St., Glendale. (818) 246-1689. Open every day from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Lunch for two, $15-25.

Pacifico Grille is about one mile east of the new Valencia Town Center, in a complex called Cinema Center. I’d call this food sort of New Age Mexican, and pretty terrific stuff for the price.

Owner A.V. Golenberg says his food is “fast, inexpensive, healthy and cheap,” which goes a long way toward explaining why this tiny place is a tough table during the lunch hour or at peak movie times. It’s a bright, sunny cafe with some Aztec pottery, a tile floor and a few posters heralding the work of the great Mexican artist Diego Rivera.

Everything is made from scratch and tastes it. Spicy tortilla soup is loaded with poached chicken, posole (hominy or leached corn), pinto beans and strips of crisp corn tortillas. A fine, citrusy salad called Santa Fe chicken salad colorfully displays roasted pine nuts, sweet corn, tomatillos, peppers and pieces of spicy grilled chicken breast, great burritos and tacos.

Before you start eating, help yourself to the creative salsas on the grill’s complimentary salsa bar, a murky, smoky salsa caliente, a hot and spicy salsa verde, fresh pico de gallo and many others. Hot fresh tacos, great with these salsas, are only $1.50 apiece, two corn tortillas topped with either marinated skirt steak, spicy chicken or an interesting vegetarian combo of green chili, guacamole and black beans. Pacifico Grille is actually somewhat of a haven for vegetarians, with nearly a dozen veggie items.

Meat lovers will like the Baja chicken chili, a southwestern recipe with stewed pinto beans, fire roasted chilies and chopped tomatoes, all garnished with chunks of grilled chicken and served over fluffy rice.

Golenberg uses no lard, no preservatives and 100% canola oil in his preparations. His menu is small but intelligent. For dessert, have some margarita pie, a bizarre but good Kermit the Frog-colored creation that tastes a lot more like lime than tequila.

Pacifico Grille, 23360 W. Valencia Blvd., Valencia. (805) 288-1024. Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily . Lunch for two, $9-$14.

The Sherman Oaks Galleria is smack in the middle of a district that is restaurant rich. Among the restaurants nearby to the mall, none are closer or better than La Pergola.

When I did my recent Top 20, several people asked me why I hadn’t included this charming Italian restaurant, which has, among its many alluring appointments, rustic wooden cross beams, a terra cotta tile floor, a tropical, tent-style patio facing Ventura Boulevard and an abundance of pottery and plants. After a meal here this week, I wish I had.

Proprietor Tindaro (Tino) Pettignano is from Messina, Sicily, but his menu pays homage to the entire Italian peninsula. Tino grows artichokes, bell peppers, eggplant and sweet basil in a garden visible from the restaurant’s back door, and he’s a stickler for freshness and clarity of flavors. The restaurant even bakes its own bread.

That bread is used to make a great bruschetta, an appetizer where bread is grilled and then topped with chopped tomato, fresh garlic, basil and olive oil. This one soars, thanks to top flight ingredients, just as does a starter like involtini di melanzane --roasted eggplant rolled with fontina cheese and prosciutto.

Pastas are terrific here, everything from the exotic ravioli del giardino to the more familiar fettuccine alla Bolognese. These ravioli are stuffed with a puree of Tino’s own produce, zucchini flowers, butternut squash, white eggplant and yellow peppers, blanketed in a light cream sauce. The fettuccine is perfectly al dente--with a chewy bite, under a hearty veal ragu. You’ll also want to save room for things like swordfish grilled with aromatic herbs, a classic, lemony veal scaloppine and La Pergola’s rich homemade desserts.

After a hard day of shopping, you deserve a place like this.

La Pergola, 15005 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 905-8402. Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday ; dinner 5-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 5-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday . Dinner for two, $30-$50.