A BARGAIN IN BEVERLY HILLS BISTRO ITALIA NOW DOING BIZOU-NESS.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

Vito Sasso, co-owner of the new Bistro Italia in Beverly Hills, stated his goal prior to the restaurant's recent debut. He wants it to be an Italia version of the highly successful Cafe Bizou in Sherman Oaks, now repeating in Pasadena.

Bizou is, of course, known for its minimal wine corkage fee of $2 per bottle, for its $1 soup or salad with entree, and mostly for its moderately priced, skillfully wrought, attractively presented French-accented fare.

Sasso and his partner, Joseph ``Pippo'' Calderone, have done their best, especially considering they're in a higher-rent area.

They not only serve generously portioned soups or salads for $1 with each entree order, they also present a small antipasto plate and an olive spread as complimentary appetizers accompanied by good-quality breads and the ubiquitous bottle of olive oil for dipping and nibbling.

They have instituted a low $2 corkage policy and put together a list, more than fair in markups, of some 50 wines with, surprisingly, 14 bottlings priced under $20. Of these, the alert diner will find wines priced at $14 and $15 that are not only pleasant, well-made offerings but are noticeable in that they appear regularly on other restaurant wine lists at prices at least $5 higher per bottle.

The difficulty Bistro Italia has in being Bizou-like is the nature of the competition. Bizou, being a modern French-Californian restaurant with a very talented chef/co-owner in charge of the kitchen, doesn't have nearly the competition that one more Italian cafe on the overloaded pasta and pizza scene has.

Bistro Italia obviously opened with a dilemma. If it doesn't offer all the standard Italian dishes, it might quickly lose all the patrons looking for their favorite pastas and familiar Italian appetizer and entree items.

So it had better do things better, because if everything's the same as the rest, what reason is there to drive farther or change habits.

Yet Sasso and Calderone certainly realize that a new restaurant should show at least a touch of fare innovation, or present at worst a smattering of dishes that separate it from the hordes of bandwagon Italian spots around Los Angeles.

And so they do, somewhat.

Their pasta list of 29 preparation opportunities with 12 different types of pastas produces an astounding number of 348 pasta possibilities. Consequently, a bountiful dish of al dente whole-wheat spaghetti with a rare mixture of sardines, anchovies, fresh fennel, pine nuts and raisins in a light tomato broth ($11.95) provides a gratifying, memorable main course.

Yes, there are the puttanescas, the checcas, the alfredos, the primaveras, the carbonaras, the bologneses, the pestos, even meatballs. But here you'll find such diversions as calamari croquettes ($11.50) that work well for those who prefer seafood to beef in their ``meat''-balls.

There's even a pasta preparation titled ``alla Indiana'' that has nothing to do with the Hoosier state but refers to a curried tomato sauce with chicken and peas.

As for doing things better, the Bistro Italia kitchen comes through admirably with its chicken marsala ($13.50) bringing forth one of the finer renditions of this oh-so-familiar recipe. Every single piece of chicken provides joyful bite after bite of tender, moist white meat. And the corresponding saucing, a perfect balance of subtle creamy smoothness blended with the touch of sweetness from the Marsala wine and the crunchy earthiness of mushrooms, ensures reorders.

The veal version ($15.50), which has portobello mushrooms in the Marsala wine sauce, and the veal piccata ($15.50) here, the latter containing capers and artichoke hearts with the piquant lemon and white wine sauce, while not quite measuring up to the kitchen's outstanding chicken, are nevertheless respectable efforts.

And chops, both lamb ($15.95) and veal ($16.95), denote a proficiency in this particular kitchen. The lamb chops are slightly more impressive, not overwhelmed with rosemary as is often the case in modern restaurant kitchens. They have a perfect pinkness and juiciness to go with what would be the exact texture point between firm and tender.

There are reliable wood-fired pizzas ($6.50 to $9.50) and decent desserts ($3.50 each), including those Italian imports by the capable Bindi people. Try the Bindi bombe and the house-produced tiramisu.

And if you're a martini fancier, Bistro Italia's bar mixes a large 4-ounce concoction of your choice.

So there's no question that this very visible site, just west of La Cienega Boulevard, will appeal to neighboring residents, given its pricing and amenable food.

But will Bistro Italia draw from outlying communities and lure suburbanites who will be passing a passel of Italian restaurants of all kinds on their journey here?

We'll see.

The facts

--The restaurant: Bistro Italia.

--Where: 8635 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills.

--When: Currently open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and dinner from 3 to 10 p.m. daily. (Future plans call for weekend champagne brunches and weekday pasta bar lunches.)

--Behind the scenes: Vito Sasso and Joseph ``Pippo'' Calderone are co- owners and hosts.

--Recommended items: Choice of pastas (with gorgonzola and walnut sauce, with calamari croquettes and tomato sauce, with sardines and fennel plus anchovies and pine nuts, also raisins), breast of chicken with marsala and mushroom sauce, grilled lamb chops with rosemary, $1 soup or salad, Bindi bombe, tiramisu.

--Children's menu: Any pasta with choice of topping except seafood is $4.95 for children under 12.

--How much: Starters from $4.50 to $10, pastas and entrees from $8.50 to $18, desserts $3.50 each. Full bar. Major credit cards accepted.

--Wine list: Rarely do we find such consumer-friendly prices on a restaurant list. Four pleasant chardonnays (Chateau Julien, Meridian, Villa Mt. Eden and Clos du Bois) are ticketed at $18 or less a bottle. Two good 1998 sauvignon blancs (Hanna and Rodney Strong) are $16 and $15 per bottle respectively. Gabbiano's 1997 Chianti Classico is a low $18, and Haywood's 1997 California merlot is a very drinkable $14 per bottle. Not only this, but corkage is a mere $2 per bottle.

--Reservations: Suggested. Call [phone].

--Our rating: Three stars for food; Three stars for service; Three and one half stars for wine.

CAPTION(S):

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Photo:

Co-owner Joseph ``Pippo'' Calderone, left, chef Nando Salazari, and co-owner Vito Sasso offer, pastas, pizzas, large martinis and more at Bistro Italia, where moderate wine prices, a low corkage fee and $1 soup or salad are also part of the mix.