VALLEY WEEKEND : Array of Ethnic Dining Spots Bringing Distinction to Valley : More eateries are taking a global approach to high-quality food. But expect the moderately priced chains to flourish.

Most of us want to make a difference, whether winning the Nobel Prize for chemistry or simply being a good parent. Those of us who review restaurants would like to believe we play a part in raising standards. Even if it is just a little bit.

I cover San Fernando Valley and Orange County restaurants for this newspaper. These are not glamour beats, not restaurants where you’ll spot Brad Pitt, Steven Spielberg or Cindy Crawford at a nearby table. (Although I did see Will Smith, Charles Durning and Nichelle Nichols at Valley restaurants during the past year.) The restaurants I cover reflect probably more of what we, as a nation, are eating. They also say a lot about what this portends for the future.

Last year was not a joyous one for critics. Next week, I will list my 10 favorite Valley restaurants in this column, and while all of them are fine, there isn’t one among them worthy of that famous three-Michelin star detour. One of the main problems is a down economy, in case you haven’t heard retailers grousing about the Christmas season. It cuts deeper, though.

America has never been a food culture like France or Italy, though the ‘80s did bring an explosion of interest to Los Angeles. Add to that the disturbing new tendency of our best chefs to diversify themselves right out of their kitchens.

Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck is but one who has parlayed fame into empire during the past three years. Don’t blame the man. It is virtually impossible to get as rich as Croesus on revenues generated by one restaurant--even when your restaurant is named Spago. And Puck, a well-placed friend pointed out after a blowout dinner at Spago, hasn’t lost the magic touch. Chances are slim, however, that ordinary mortals will ever be in a position to find out.

Then there is the intense competition. When was the last time you counted the number of restaurants on any one stretch of Ventura Boulevard? “How is it possible,” a Japanese visitor asked me, “to support all of these restaurants?” It isn’t. I drop into small restaurants almost every day and see empty tables, tired looking pasta salads behind lonely glass counters.

Generation Xers constitute a huge part of the restaurant dollar. I’m not blaming them for any decline in standards, but the aesthetics of food does not appear to be one of their leading priorities. I would never go to a restaurant to order market-tested appetizers such as the breaded, cheese-stuffed jalapenos that end up being passed from a freezer bag to a deep fryer. They will, and apparently, they do.

Nor is regular food as fresh or natural as it once was. During the ‘50s, when I was a child, milk, eggs and chickens were still delivered to the door, and almost no one had to endure frozen foods on a daily basis. It isn’t a coincidence that you now pay a small fortune for a barnyard chicken, and vegetables are no less exclusive.

These are all factors in why chains such as Marmalade, Rosti, California Pizza Kitchen and Houston’s have appeared in the Valley during the past year. All four have moderate prices, diverse menus, appeal to younger tastes and push trendy concept buttons. Few of us without expense accounts can afford to spend big money on fine dining, so expect the more moderately priced chains to flourish in the coming year. Posto languishes on evenings when you can’t get a seat in the nearest Pizza Kitchen. None of this nourishes the spirit of a food critic.

Cheer up.

There is a bright side.

Los Angeles is the capital of the Pacific Rim, and an increasing number of Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai restaurants are cooking lighter, tastier dishes without MSG. I had a great Thai dinner at Sanamluang Cafe in North Hollywood last year, lots of good sushi, good Chinese barbecue at Sam Woo B.B.Q. in Van Nuys.

Ethnic food from other parts of the world is another strong point. Tarzana’s Tiberias serves sumptuous, almost other-worldly Israeli foods. Dos Arbolitos in North Hills is a terrific home-style Mexican restaurant. Glendale is home to several Armenian restaurants and bakeries, all of which are low in price and high in quality.

Today there is a wealth of choice like never before. As we become global in our approach to eating, so do our restaurants. Italian has emerged as the clear favorite, but the Valley is chockablock with delis, fresh-Mex taco stands, Asian, South American, European and new American restaurants. We even have a restaurant named Antartica, even if the specialty there is ceviche.

Last week I dined at one of my favorite Orange County restaurants, La Fayette in Garden Grove. La Fayette’s chef is a sixtysomething, mustachioed Parisian named Edmond Sarfati, and his dimly lit, slightly faded restaurant reminds me of a once grand salle, in sore need of restoration.

Sarfati may have lost customers over the years, but he hasn’t lost the twinkle in his eye, or his love for cooking. When the man serves a fatty rillette de porc or a bubbly cassoulet, he does so with a conspiratorial glint, that nod of the head reserved for a kindred spirit.

I hope the Edmonds of the world will not disappear along with vine tomatoes and barnyard chickens. All the marketing in the world couldn’t produce an ounce of Edmond’s passion, and so what if there is a computer that can predict exactly what I am going to want for supper next Tuesday.

With the resources we have it would be painfully simple for us to have better restaurants. A dash of Asia, a suspicion of California and a touch of France really do make a delicious recipe. Forget the passion, though, and you might as well forget to light the stove.