Porta Via Offers Hint of Italy’s Vissani

Back in California after a stint cooking at Gianfranco Vissani’s extraordinary eponymous restaurant in Umbria, Italy, Sandy Gendel, a veteran of Table 29 in Napa Valley and Rex il Ristorante, has opened a tiny takeout shop in Beverly Hills with partner Peter Garland. (Porta Via means take away in Italian.) The two are just in the process of printing up a seasonal menu; meanwhile what you see is what you get.

From the salad case, choose emerald arugula paired with sliced mushroom and shavings of good Parmigiano or a lovely baby beet and endive salad drizzled with peppery dark green olive oil. Orecchiette (“little ears”) tossed with rapini, Pecorino and anchovies makes a gutsy Southern Italian pasta dish.

Gendel credits Vissani with teaching him how to make lasagna, and it is definitely worth a detour for a slab of his handmade pasta layered with wild mushrooms, spinach and ricotta--so good, some customers have been showing up with their own casserole dishes and asking him to make lasagna for a dinner party.

Chickens turn on a rotisserie at the back; sometimes he’ll roast rabbits or leg of lamb stuffed with rosemary and shallots. And for dessert, take home a bag of the exemplary hazelnut biscotti.

Lunch at Porta Via means panini , Italian-style sandwiches made on the shop’s homemade focaccia. Try the toasted fresh tomato, basil and arugula version with mozzarella melted at the center. And mornings, the kitchen bakes scones with currants, various muffins (some eggless, some fat-free), country pear tarts and a comforting apple coffeecake.

* Porta Via, 424 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills. (310) 274-6534; fax (310) 274-5677. Open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a . m . to 8 p . m . , Saturdays until 7 p . m. Parking on the street or in city lot. Visa and MasterCard accepted. Appetizers $4.50-$6.50; entrees $5.50-$9.95.