COOK'S MAIN DISH OFFERS FEW FRILLS, BUT FINE FARE.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

When the Cooks left Reseda and Joe's Grill chef-owner Joe and his mom, Trudy, wound up in Granada Hills as Cook's Main Dish, most devotees of Joe Cook's comfort food expected fancy digs and a properly furnished dining room.

The Cooks surprised those who loved the old place by not going fancy at all.

In fact, Cook's Main Dish on Chatsworth Street is a funny little narrow storefront with a couple of tables outside, a few inside next to the window, a long high counter where orders are made, with a few more tables behind it.

You still give your order to Trudy Cook, perched at one end of the counter, and you pay for your meal in advance.

You find a table and someone brings you your fare on disposable plates.

Usually it's more food than you could possibly imagine. Large portions of salad, for example, look like enough for three.

The signature half-moon-shaped cilantro-pesto-tomatillo quesadilla of Joe's Grill has evolved into a full moon of two tortillas with the quesadilla mixture and cheeses inside topped with a giant portion of salad for $5.75.

If you order an addition - say tri-tip - for $2 more you receive a significant portion of roasted, barbecue-sauced meat to put on top of your salad. Eventually you'll reach the quesadilla underneath.

Or you may try a heaping plate of hot meatloaf ($7) with a tomatoey basil sauce served with mashed potatoes or beans and a side of the salad of your choice (the Caesar isn't bad).

There are other plates like a full order of that tri-tip ($7) or something you ask them to make up with turkey, chicken sausage or roast beef.

And the pasta of the day could be almost anything. Even rice - as it was one day recently - topped with a hearty cioppino-style mixture of rock shrimp, salmon and scallops with sweet peppers ($7).Soup du jour ($3) has been a thick, creamy leek-and-potato recipe rife with garlic. Dessert is always a hefty baked apple ($2.75) topped with whipped cream or an ice cream dish.

You never have to worry about eating enough at Cook's Main Dish. Just remember though, don't bother to dress up.

THE FACTS

The restaurant: Cook's Main Dish.

Where: 17557 Chatsworth St., Granada Hills.

When: Open for continental breakfast 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. weekdays, 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturdays; for lunch, dinner and snacks from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Closed Sundays.

Recommended items: Daily soup, roast tri-tip, homemade meatloaf, turkey sloppy joe sandwich, rice topped with cioppino-style seafood, baked apple, quesadilla topped with salad, baked apple.

How much: Sides from $1.50 to $2.75, salads and sandwiches from $4.50 to $6.75, entrees $6 and $7, desserts $2.50 and $2.75. No alcohol. MC, CB, V, Discover.

Reservations: Not taken. Call [phone] for information or takeout orders.

Our rating: Three stars for food; four stars for value.