CONSISTENCY, POPULARITY ARE STANLEY'S HALLMARKS.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

Name: Stanley's.

Address: 13817 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

Phone: [phone].

When we last reviewed: 1983.

How long in business: 19 years. Stanley's opened on June 1, 1983.

Menu/cuisine changes: According to longtime manager Jan McGie, who was there for the first four years and returned three years ago, Stanley's basic menu has remained the same. ``Occasionally a pasta dish was dropped or a salad added,'' she said.

McGie says that Stanley's keeps up with food trends with its specials, of which there are five or six per day.

Decor/physical changes: No major, noticeable changes inside or out other than the removal, some 10 years ago, of the interior cement tables, inspired by Trumps, the hip, hot, Westside restaurant of the moment back when Stanley's was conceived. Wooden tables, easier to move together or separate, replaced the cement ones.

But the original cement tables, showing their durability, are still being used on Stanley's popular outside patio.

Personnel changes: The restaurant's consistency and longevity are reflected in the numerous staff members who have spent many years working here.

Kitchen manager Noe Curiel, for example, started as a prep cook when the restaurant opened. Luis Morales, who began at Stanley's 19 years ago as a kitchen hand, is now a restaurant manager.

Other long-term employees include bartenders Kirk Driscoll (16 years), Steve De Winter (11 years) and Alfredo Flores, cook and waiter (10 years).

Recommendable dishes: Stanley's Chinese chicken salad made with shredded chicken, crispy noodles, green onion, sesame seeds and mandarin oranges has been its most famous item for almost two decades, and continues to impress as a refreshing, light and healthy offering. Occasionally, a daily special like seared ahi tuna satisfies as an entree. There are sweet-toothed devotees who rave about the chocolate chip cookie pie and vanilla bean ice cream dessert here.

Service quality: For a place as busy as Stanley's, the service appears commendable. It's rare to see the dining room unoccupied by bustling staffers. And they don't seem stressed.

Pricing: Obviously there have been changes since the restaurant opened (i.e. the Chinese chicken salad that was $6.95 in 1983 has gone up to only $9.95 today), so the policy of moderate pricing continues.

Incidentally, the all-day menu has a wide cost range, allowing patrons not to feel uncomfortable when ordering an $8 pizza or a similarly priced salad as a main course.

Alternatively, those going full bore can end up spending $18 on Stanley's char-grilled swordfish plate.

Currently, starters and sandwiches run from $4 to $11, pastas and entrees are priced from $10 to $18, and desserts go for $3.50 to $6.

Wine list/service: Stanley's is more a cocktail place than a hangout of wine aficionados. But there are plenty of glasses of wine sold at the busy action bar ($5 to $7.75).

Its wine list is limited to 20 labels, most of them well-known Californians with bottlings priced from $14 to $45. Corkage here is $14.

Policies worth mentioning: Stanley's opens every day at 11:30 a.m. with an all-day menu. It serves food until 11:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 10 p.m. Sundays and Mondays, and 11 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays.

A sit-down Sunday brunch menu of mainly egg items is served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

There are four strategically placed televisions in the bar area for sports fans. A complimentary spinach dip with fresh vegetable crudites is available from 5 p.m. for bar patrons only.

Also, full dinners may be ordered at the bar.

Stanley's closes three times a year: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and the Fourth of July.

Reservations are taken. Valet parking is $2.50. The restaurant accepts AE, MC, DC and V credit cards.

Miscellaneous comments: Smokers can take advantage of the open outside patio for full drink and food service.

Stanley's is the kind of place where a couple who met at the bar, dated, married and had kids continue to be faithful customers, says manager McGie.

Our latest ratings: Food: Two and one half stars. Wine: One and one half stars. Service: Three stars.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Stanley's in Sherman Oaks has become renowned for its Chinese chicken salad.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer