Italian Classics

You get a good laugh out of John Fabrocini when you ask what’s new at Fab’s Italian Kitchen in Sherman Oaks--because this place succeeds by shunning the trendy.

“This really is a family-owned restaurant,” Fabrocini says. “My older brother Roger is head chef, and my younger brother Richard also cooks. My father, Joe, is the owner, and my sister Nancy McMorrow is hostess on weekends. My wife, Claudia, does the books.

“I’m a practicing architect, and I come here nights so my father can get some time off.”

Dad Joe Fabrocini started Fab’s Italian Kitchen 16 years ago in Tarzana. The restaurant took up residence in Sherman Oaks three years later.

“My father started with a standard menu of Italian family cooking like we all grew up with on the East Coast,” John says. “It’s home-style cooking, and people come here for the friendly, casual atmosphere--especially transplanted New Yorkers.

“We’re not a trendy place. In fact we have a lot of customers who go to the trendy places and always come back--because we don’t change much.”

Actually, that overstates things a bit. Like other restaurants with a well-established clientele, Fab’s Italian Kitchen keeps its basic menu intact for long stretches, but it also offers an ever-changing list of specials to keep your interest, all at moderate prices.

Among the chalkboard specials recently: osso buco with garlic-herbed rice, for $14.95; a seafood melange called Shrimp Fab with, of course, shrimp, clams, mussels and calamari over pasta, also for $14.95; and a chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto and spinach and topped with mozzarella, for $12.95.

Fab’s Italian Kitchen serves lunch daily except Sunday, dinner seven nights a week. It is at 4336 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 995-2933.

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Look for chef Andre Guerrero to host a grand-opening party at the newest restaurant in Sherman Oaks, the Signature Grill, in the coming weeks.

The restaurant opened just before the New Year and already does a good business under Guerrero, who built a big following when he cooked at Alice’s Restaurant in Malibu and later ran his own place, Duet, in Glendale.

As you might expect, he has a number of inventive items to offer at Signature Grill, among them: shrimp in a coconut beer batter with an apricot sesame sauce, for $7.95; a vegetable stir-fry with a soy-ginger sauce, for $8.50; and a pizza with smoked salmon on a flatbread with scallions and pesto, topped with capers in a creme fraiche with dill, for $11.50.

You can also have a braised lamb shank with a mushroom-barley risotto, for $14.50; Chilean sea bass with a lemon grass sauce and a crispy rice cake, for $15.50; and skewered chicken marinated and served with an Indonesian peanut curry sauce, for $12.50.

Signature Grill is at 14755 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 788-5200.

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The Bistro Garden at Coldwater hosts a Super Bowl Sunday wine-tasting-and-cigar-smoking buffet Jan. 25. The wine tasting and cigar smoking begin at 2:30 p.m., followed by the buffet an hour later.

On the buffet menu: bratwurst with sauerkraut, chicken burgers with mustard sauce, chicken curry, tacos, chicken enchiladas, chili con carne, and cannelloni, plus four salads.

The cost: $45. The Bistro Garden at Coldwater is located at 12950 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, (818) 501-0202.

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And if you’re already thinking about St. Valentine’s Day, Cafe Sierra in the Universal City Hilton and Towers offers a Valentine’s special Feb. 14--all you can eat from the restaurant’s buffet, which features a wide variety of American, Chinese, and Mediterranean foods.

Dinner includes dessert--actually, an array of special desserts just for Valentine’s Day. Ladies will receive a rose. The cost: $27.95 per person. Reservations are a must.

Cafe Sierra is in the Universal City Hilton and Towers, right at the entrance to Universal City Walk, (818) 509-2030.

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Sayumptorn Saelin’s Thai Spoon restaurant in Canoga Park offers a huge Thai-Chinese buffet every day of the week--all the lunch you can eat for $5.89 and all the dinner for $6.95.

Among the choices: chow mein, egg roll, beef with broccoli, sweet and sour pork, chicken curry, chicken fried wonton, and a host of other dishes.

Thai Spoon is located at 20021 Roscoe Blvd., Canoga Park, 818-341-7002.

* 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 JHovey@compuserve.com