Eatery’s Menu Covers Italy From Top to Toe

Francine and Jamie Alba bring their specialty Italian cooking to the San Fernando Valley this week with the opening of the new Sisley Italian Kitchen in Sherman Oaks, the Albas’ third restaurant of that name in Southern California.

“We wanted to be in the San Fernando Valley because we live here,” Francine says. “Our first restaurant is on West Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles, and after that we opened our second up in Valencia--double the size of the Pico restaurant.

“It has a big bakery so we can make all our own desserts; we have bakers come in at 3 in the morning to get started on the desserts. And we make our own very special Italian bread all day and all night.”

Francine and Jamie Alba both come of Italian stock, and they know Italian food. So their restaurant, under executive chef Michael Rosen, offers an unusual mix of dishes from the seven distinct regions of Italy ranging from the cream and cheese sauces of the north to the robust dishes of the south, redolent of fresh herbs and spices.

A sampling from the big menu:

* An appetizer of grilled eggplant topped with mozzarella and a marinara sauce drizzled with vinaigrette.

* Another classic appetizer--focaccia bread topped with chopped marinated roma tomatoes and garlic oil.

* Nine panini, including a sweet sausage sauteed with mushrooms, onions, peppers and white wine and a grilled ahi tuna with arugula, red onions and roasted peppers.

* Seventeen--count ‘em--pastas including a carbonara fettuccine from Northern Italy with pancetta bacon, eggs, Parmesan, green onions and cream.

* Three house specialties--gnocchi, cioppino, and a champagne risotto with shrimp, scallops, and mussels.

* Fifteen--count these, too,--secondi including a chicken breast marinated in white wine, fruit juices and herbs; a classic chicken piccata with lemon, capers and white wine; and lamb shanks braised with a green peppercorn sauce.

Prices range to $7.90 for the antipastos, to $9.40 for the panini, to $15.75 for the big pasta dishes, and to $15.95 for the house specialties and the secondi.

The newest Sisley Italian Kitchen is at 15300 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks (818) 905-7773. It seats 200. The others are at 10800 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles (310) 446-3030; and 24301 West Valencia Blvd., Valencia (805) 287-4444.

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And if you want to give the lie to those who say that Americans aren’t civilized, check out the Sunday tea dances at Lenetta Kidd’s Moonlight supper club.

Kidd hosts a weekly tea dance from 5 to 9 p.m. Sundays through the end of the month in the redoubtable tradition of the English and maybe even the French, with music provided by Kidd’s group, the Moonlight Swingers.

The tea dances notwithstanding, on Oct. 31--Halloween--Kidd will give her guests an opportunity to show just how far down the spectrum toward the pagan they are willing to go in mixed company.

On that day she will offer a special Halloween menu with complimentary red deviled eggs and such offerings as “witch sticks,” “monster chili,” “goblin gratin” and “trilobite Creole.”

Kidd will award prizes for outlandish costumes and present nonstop monster movies plus music by Art Deco and his Society Orchestra.

Moonlight is at 13730 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks (818) 788-2000.

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Last but by no means least when it comes to celebrating the seasons, the inventive Gaetano Palmeri offers five new dishes featuring pumpkin at his Gaetano’s Ristorante in Old Town Calabasas: pumpkin ravioli with brown butter and sage; pumpkin soup; pumpkin vegetable puree; pumpkin pie; and pumpkin cheesecake, all available for lunch and dinner.

Gaetano’s is at 23536 Calabasas Road, Calabasas (818) 223-9600.

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* Juan Hovey writes about the restaurant scene in the San Fernando Valley and outlying points. He may be reached at (805) 492-7909 or fax (805) 492-5139 or via e-mail at JHoveycompuserve.com