Argentine Appetite

I remember El Morfi when it was just a little out-of-the-way corner joint in downtown Glendale and most of its customers were Argentines. Now it’s moved onto Brand Boulevard, where it has to explain its food.

The new place is certainly nice--clean and modern, with brick walls and a slightly industrial look. Tango music plays constantly, and lots of Argentines come in to pick up pizzas at the counter.

“El morfi” is Argentine slang for good eating, and the restaurant really lives up to its name. Those popular pizzas have yeasty, springy crusts and eclectic toppings, but pizza is just the tip of the iceberg here. The long menu features homemade pastas and Argentine grilled meats.

Not to mention the best empanadas in town. There are five versions of these little turnovers here. In the order of my preference, the fillings are spicy chicken, ground beef, cheese and onion, ham and cheese, and spinach.

Then there is an “appetizer” called matambre (“hunger killer”), a veal or chicken roll stuffed with hard-boiled eggs and carrots. El Morfi serves it with a rich potato salad made with peas, carrots and lots of mayonnaise.

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The pastas will fill you up as well. The best thing about the gnocchi is the rich sauce on them--it’s full of stewed beef and Italian sweet sausage. The linguine pescatore comes in a tomato sauce chock-full of mussels, shrimps, clams, scallops and calamari. Spaghetti is either smothered with a meaty Bolognese sauce or tossed with tiny veal meatballs (polpette).

If I could have only one meal here, I’d probably order El Morfi for two, an Argentine-style mixed grill. It’s a platter of blackened meats, blood sausage (morcilla), spicy Argentine chorizo sausage, two huge short ribs and veal sweetbreads (molleja).

You eat it all with French fries and chimichurri, a sort of vinaigrette flavored with garlic and herbs.

You could wash it down with a bottle of Navarro Correa, an excellent, inexpensive Argentine cabernet from the Mendoza wine region.

El Morfi also makes its own desserts. If you like the sweet caramel cream called dulce de leche, then order panqueques, which are crepes filled with the stuff. Me, I’m ending my meal with cappuccino and a chaja--meringue layered with peaches and whipped cream.

No wonder they don’t cry much in Argentina.

BE THERE

El Morfi, 241 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 12-9:30 p.m. Sunday. Beer and wine only. Parking lot in rear. MasterCard and Visa accepted. Dinner for two, $23-$39. Suggested dishes: empanadas, $1.50; gnocchi, $8.95; El Morfi for two, $19.95; chaja, $4.95. Call (818) 547-4420.