A LA CARTE : BENTO BOXES.

Byline: Larry Lipson

To those who served in the military, the bento box looks a little like the compartmentalized tray given to the troops in Army mess halls. But there is a huge difference in ingredients.

In certain parts of the country, bento boxes are becoming mainstream and ethnically diverse in their contents. They say that in Portland, Ore., you can find Mexican bento boxed food. But here in Los Angeles, they're usually confined to Japanese restaurants and contain Japanese-style edibles.

Bento boxes, more likely to show up as lunch offerings than dinner, are of Japanese origin and provide a way of serving a variety of items at one time, in essence ``a meal in a box.''

Here are a few local restaurants with bento box meals worth consideration:

Bizen

Address: 13447 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

Phone: [phone].

Items in box: Chicken teriyaki, shrimp and mixed vegetable tempura, salad, rice.

Price: $6.50.

When available: Lunch only.

Miscellaneous: Price includes miso soup.

Katsu 3rd

Address: 8636 W. Third St., Los Angeles.

Phone: [phone].

Items in box: Three kinds of sashimi, vegetable and shrimp tempura, changing grilled fish (sea bass, salmon, yellowtail or butterfish), yakitori, seasoned Japanese vegetables.

Price: Smaller $12, larger $25.

When available: Smaller version at lunch only. Larger at dinner only.

Miscellaneous: Portions are larger on the dinner version. Miso soup, rice and tempura sauce is served with both. Dinner version also includes a changing first appetizer in a bowl, a changing second appetizer sampling of three items on a tray, a third appetizer of chawan mushi (egg custard) and a dessert choice of fruit or ice cream.

Katsu-ya

Address: 11680 Ventura Blvd., Studio City.

Phone: [phone].

Items in box: There are three different dinner boxes. All contain shrimp and vegetable tempura and a choice of sushi or sashimi. The Matsu has chicken teriyaki, Taka has beef teriyaki and Ume has broiled salmon. The lunch box has tuna sashimi, broiled fish, a vegetable or salad and shrimp and vegetable tempura.

Price: The lunch bento is $8.50. For dinner the Matsu is $11.50, Taka is $11.75 and Ume is $11.95.

When available: Lunch and dinner.

Miscellaneous: All boxed meals include miso soup, a small salad dish and rice, served separately.

R23

Address: 923 E. Third St., Los Angeles.

Phone: [phone].

Items in box: Though changed daily, this is a typical offering: Fried shrimp, butterfish or salmon, three kinds of sashimi, six vegetables (such as mushrooms, bamboo shoots, Japanese taro potato, Japanese pumpkin), grilled beef with teriyaki-style sauce, marinated seaweed.

Price: $10.

When available: For lunch only.

Shinbashi

Address: 16161 Ventura Blvd., Encino.

Phone: [phone].

Items in box: Fuji: seven or eight different vegetable tempura pieces, teriyaki tofu, three gyoza dumplings, California roll.

Chiyo: tempura, chicken teriyaki, gyoza dumpling, California roll. Sakura: tempura, California roll, teriyaki tofu.

Kiku: tempura, teriyaki tofu, mixed marinated chirashi rice.

Salmon combo: teriyaki salmon, tempura, California roll, gyoza.

Tempura boxed dinner: shrimp and variety of vegetable tempura, teriyaki tofu, teriyaki chicken.

Price: Fuji $7.50, Chiyo $8.50, Sakura $12, Kiku $10, Salmon combo $15, Tempura dinner $12.

When available: Fuji and Chiyo at lunch only. Others at dinner.

Miscellaneous: All bento boxed meals come with soup.

Sushi on Tap

Address: 11056 Ventura Blvd., Studio City.

Phone: [phone].

Items in box: Three choices: Shrimp and vegetable tempura box, yakitori box and sashimi box. Sashimi box generally has six to eight pieces of sashimi chosen from tuna, yellowtail, salmon, halibut or red snapper. All boxes have Japanese pickles and green salad.

Price: Dinner yakitori is $7.50, dinner tempura is $9, dinner sashimi is $15. Lunch combination box of tempura and yakitori is $8.50, lunch sashimi box is $12.

When available: Lunch and dinner.

Miscellaneous: All boxed meals include rice and miso soup.

Yamakawa

Address: 10118 Riverside Drive, Toluca Lake.

Phone: [phone].

Items in box: Choice of sushi or sashimi, choice of teriyaki (chicken, salmon or beef), shrimp and vegetable tempura, orange roughy, gyoza, salad, rice.

Price: $7 at lunch, $9.50 at dinner. Also there's a $6.50 lunch version without sushi or sashimi.

When available: Lunch and dinner.

Miscellaneous: Boxed meals include separate serving of sunomono cucumber salad and miso soup.