Toasting Success

Want a free glass of champagne with lunch or dinner?

Remember the secret words “happy anniversary” and pop into Le Petit Bistro in Sherman Oaks for lunch or dinner any day Monday through Friday next week.

The gregarious brothers George and Robert Lachkar, who own Le Petit Bistro with their partner, Albert Emkies, opened the Sherman Oaks place last summer, having been around the restaurant scene in Southern California for more than two decades.

But it’s not their success in the San Fernando Valley they celebrate next week. It’s the fifth anniversary of the opening of the original Le Petit Bistro in West Hollywood--and if you signal your awareness of that fact by wishing them a happy anniversary, they will return your good wishes with a free glass of champagne.

The offer is good in either location, of course.

The Lachkar brothers hail from French Morocco, and as you might expect, the food they serve highlights the cuisine of France tinted with the flavors of the Mediterranean.

Chef Jean-Claude Lashkar (same family, different spelling; he is the brother of George, Robert and Jacques, who works at the Sherman Oaks restaurant as the general manager) recently added a few specials to his menu to reflect the change in the seasons, including:

* An asparagus and bay shrimp appetizer in light vinaigrette;

* Spinach salad with roasted peppers, pecans, bleu cheese and raisins;

* Baked Chilean sea bass with artichoke saffron sauce;

* Seafood linguine with sun-dried tomatoes and green onions in white wine sauce;

* And for dessert, a small apple tart--made to order, so prepare to wait 10 or 15 minutes--served with vanilla ice cream and a sauce of caramel and apricot.

For lunch you can order a sandwich of grilled eggplant with roasted peppers and provolone, a spicy grilled breast of chicken sandwich, an omelet with eggplant and tomatoes, angel hair pasta with garlic and sun-dried tomatoes, cold poached salmon, sand dabs with capers, or a house specialty called merguez pommes frites--spicy Moroccan sausage with fried potatoes.

Prices run to about $16 on the dinner menu, to about $10 for most items on the luncheon menu.

* The new Le Petit Bistro, open for lunch Monday through Friday and for dinner every night, is at 13360 Ventura Blvd., east of Woodman Avenue in Sherman Oaks, (818) 501-7999. The original Le Petit Bistro is at 631 N. La Cienega, near Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood, (310) 289-9797.

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If a free glass of champagne isn’t enough to satisfy your liking for good deals, you should try the Monday dinner deal at Prezzo Restaurant in Sherman Oaks.

Chef Andre Guerrero, whose dishes reflect his love of the cuisines of the Pacific Rim, offers everything on his regular menu at half-price Monday nights.

The idea, of course, is to draw a crowd on a slow night in the restaurant business, so you can’t reserve a table and you can’t order your food to go.

But what’s all that against a good meal at half-price?

* Prezzo is at 13625 Ventura Blvd., east of Woodman Avenue in Sherman Oaks, (818) 905-8400.

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Le Petit Chateau, meanwhile, offers a three-course prix fixe dinner Sundays and Mondays.

For $19.50 you get a house salad or bowl of soup plus your choice among six entrees--veal scallopini in marsala sauce, broiled filet of salmon in orange hollandaise, chicken breast with a sauce of mushrooms and Chardonnay, Long Island duckling in bing cherry sauce, seafood rigatoni in white wine sauce, or crusted trout rolled with mixed nuts.

Dessert follows--caramel flan, English trifle or fresh homemade ice cream.

* Le Petit Chateau is at 4615 Lankershim Blvd., just north of Riverside Drive in North Hollywood, (818) 769-1812.

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Next on the list of good deals is JJ’s Grill in Encino, which offers an all-you-can-eat brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sundays. On the menu: salads, muffins, croissants, bagels, cakes, omelets, pancakes, Danish, fruit, sliced turkey, sliced ham and a host of other items. The cost: $6.95 for adults, $4.95 for children.

* JJ’s Grill is at 17200 Ventura Blvd., between White Oak and Balboa avenues in Encino, (818) 501-3411.

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That JJ’s is not to be confused with JJ’s Pizzeria just up the road in Sherman Oaks.

JJ’s Pizzeria, owned by partners Jim Frost and Jeff Morose, remains the only place hereabouts where you can get authentic St. Louis-style pizza, baked with a crisp thin crust and finished with a blend of cheeses and other toppings.

* JJ’s Pizzeria is at 15053 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 986-4557.

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@gte.net.