Another <i> Piece de Resistance</i>

Los Angeles has Michel Richard, Piero Selvaggio, Joachim Splichal and Wolfgang Puck. The South Bay has its own Michael Franks and Robert Bell, the duo that has opened an interesting array of eateries to inject vitality into a rather staid dining community.

The two began with Chez Melange in 1982 and have added four more restaurants to their roster: the eclectic Descanso, the cosmopolitan Depot, the Mediterranean Fino and the casual Cafe Misto in Torrance.

So casual is Misto that shoppers on their way between Hillside Village shops walk right through the most popular dining area, the begonia-filled patio, and the diners hardly seem to notice. Inside, watercolors by local artists provide the color, while a separate room features freshly baked breads, pastries and salads to go.

Not surprisingly, salads are popular here. The Greek fried calamari salad ($9.99) features feta cheese, bell peppers, olives, oregano, cucumbers and tomatoes. In the Bali rock shrimp salad ($9.99), sauteed shrimp are mixed with napa cabbage, carrots, water chestnuts and macadamia nuts.

A recent addition is the pasta fresca ($8.99), a healthy plate of linguine with spinach, mushrooms, roasted garlic, red onions and basil. Richer appetites go for the fusilli bucato ($9.99), spiral pasta with smoked bacon, roasted chicken and a sun-dried tomato sauce.

The sandwich selections range from grilled vegetables with Kalamata olive tapanade ($5.99) to a savory leg of lamb with feta on grilled pizza bread ($8.59).

Cafe Misto’s popularity is based on a proven formula of a neighborhood cafe with an interesting, changing menu at reasonable prices. And it was Misto, with its architects Bell and Franks, that proved this formula in the South Bay.

Cafe Misto is at 24558 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance. (310) 375-3608. Open 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday, and 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.