Fine dining, at arm’s length

NOTHING could be finer than an excuse to drop in at Valentino, long considered one of the best Italian restaurants in town.

A new chef? That’s excuse enough for me.

Last spring, owner Piero Selvaggio brought in 32-year-old Lombardy-born Ezio Gamba to head up the kitchen at the Santa Monica flagship from his post at Valentino Las Vegas.

Shortly after his arrival, the restaurant went to an all fixed-price format -- the a la carte portion of the menu went out the window. Now there’s a “classic menu,” two courses for $45; a four-course “tasting of Italian traditions” for $55; and a six-course chef’s tasting menu for $85 (an extra $10 adds a cheese course).

Valentino has always been among the most expensive restaurants in town, especially if you put yourself in Selvaggio’s hands, letting him put together a personalized tasting menu. That could cost an arm and a leg. But compared with the new breed of steakhouses, where an a la carte steak can easily set you back 45 bucks, these multi-course menu prices seem almost like bargains.

The night I visit with three friends, Selvaggio, the consummate host, is not in the restaurant. But the maitre d’, a charming Italian gentleman with a touch of gray at the temples, can almost pass for Selvaggio’s brother. Or cousin. He puts us at ease completely.

What to order? So many things sound so good -- San Daniele prosciutto with Tirolese speck and melon pearls; sauteed sweetbreads with vegetable chips in Vin Santo sauce. Pastas such as hand-cut spaghetti alla chitarra with manila clams and white wine. Or ricotta gnocchetti with walnuts in four-cheese sauce. Roasted branzino with lemon sauce and rapini. Or Dutch Valley veal tenderloin topped with black truffle.

What a shame not to have Selvaggio there as our tour guide.

Then we spot, at the bottom of the menu, a different way to go: “A note from chef Ezio: If you do not see your favorite dish, do not hesitate to ask; we will prepare it for you. If you do not have one, we will create it for you.”

What fun!

But do I have a favorite dish? I search my soul. Egad, no. How, well, embarrassing. Or is it? My friends don’t, either.

We summon the waiter. “We don’t have a favorite dish,” we say, “and we’d like Chef Ezio to create one for us.”

The waiter smiles. The gauntlet’s down.

We look forward to the moment the chef will appear, look into our eyes, and decide what our favorite dish is. Will he ask us whether we’re an air sign or a water sign? Whether we favor bitter or salty? Fish or fowl?

No. Apparently Chef Ezio can look into your soul from inside the kitchen.

The maitre d’ reappears to tell us the chef has decided: Each of us will have a different antipasto, then pasta, then a different main course for everyone, then dessert. We’re up for it.

He asks if we’ve made a wine selection.

But how can we, when we don’t know what we’re having? The maitre d’ has an idea. He flips to a page that’s been intriguing me: Barbera-Nebbiolo blends from Piemonte. Fantasic: Somehow he’s looked into my wine-soul! He suggests a 2001 Domenico Clerico “Arte” for $85. It’s lively, complex, delicious.

SOON our antipasti land before us: Mine is Santa Barbara prawns -- four of them, butterflied, surrounding pureed potatoes, with a lovely fresh tomato sauce. The prawns are succulent and sweet. Best of all is a classic vitello tonnato -- rosy slices of veal tenderloin with a velvety tuna sauce spiked with capers. The Clerico “Arte” works with everything.

Is the chef going to come out and see whether our antipasti were indeed our new favorite dishes?

Apparently not. The middle course arrives, and this time our plates are identical, each with three irresistible tastes. Cannelloni alla Piemontese are filled with veal, pork and beef, blanketed with bechamelle sauce and finished with shaved black truffles. Pasta paccheri is a fat tubular pasta, sauced with tomatoes, cuttlefish and peas. And the most amazing: creamy risotto al tartufo, over which the maitre d’ shaves a flurry of the season’s first white truffles. I could eat this every day for the next century.

The trio is terrific, with flavors and textures that harmonize beautifully; it’s all deeply, soulfully satisfying. So much so that when the main courses come, we look at each other in horror. How can we possibly eat another bite?

I wish I could tell you that the pancetta-wrapped pork tenderloin with dried fruit and Marsala was spectacular, or that the Pennsylvania quails in Chardonnay-black truffle sauce was unforgettable. But the truth is, I could barely taste them. I had hit the wall; so had my friends.

We sip Barolo by the glass now, poking at the food. The truth is, we’re all feeling a bit let-down by the impersonality of the experience. At last, a ceremonial order of cannoli is brought to the table.

Who are we kidding?

And in case you’re wondering, it did cost an arm and a leg. Next time: the classic menu.

*

Valentino

Where: 3115 Pico Blvd.,

Santa Monica

When: 5 to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 10:30 p.m. Fridays; 5 to 10:30 p.m. Saturdays. Full bar. Valet parking.

Cost: Two courses (starter and

entree), $45 to $65 per person; four-course tasting of Italian traditions, $55 per person, $95 with wine pairings; six- or seven-course chef’s tasting menu, $85 to $95 per person, $130 to $140 with wine pairings.

Info: (310) 829-4313