CUBAN RHYTHM LA RUMBA KNOWS ALL THE STEPS TO ASSERTIVE FARE.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

La Rumba, once a little Cuban restaurant in Arleta, disappeared for a while, only to re-emerge as a much larger, prettier dining spot in the Santa Clarita Valley - Saugus to be exact.

With its expressive, pin-lighted, faux green-planted ceiling and lines of two- and four-seat booths, the new and improved version of La Rumba is gradually developing a devoted core of local regulars for its assertive Cuban fare. This it purveys in large portions at surprisingly moderate prices.

From its tender, delicious, Cuban-style, pork-stuffed tamal ($2.95 each) to its mountainous house version of paella Valenciana ($22.95 or $40 for two), typically wet in the Cuban manner rather than dry in the Spanish way, La Rumba's kitchen strives hard to please.

And, for the most part, it does.

If you order the sampler platter ($10.50) of aperitivos, you'll get enough for as many as four to share. A quartet of croquetas (available at $3.95 a portion) displays sausage-shaped deep-fried goodies made with a tasty - although a trifle pasty - breaded ham and chicken mixture.

Papas rellenas - at least two of them on the platter - come forth as large spheres of mashed potato stuffed with a piquant mixture of ground beef flavored with capers and olives, lightly breaded and deep-fried to look like a close relative of the croquetas. These are also available separately for $3.95.

And a similarly welcome mixture of ground beef, capers and olives will be found in a couple of crescent-shaped empanadas - basically pastry turnovers - on the sampler. These, too, can be had for $3.95 as a separate appetizer.

Two sauces, one a creamy, pepper-flavored, mayonnaise-based mixture and the other a more traditional Latin American-style salsa, arrive for dipping purposes with the sampler.

If two people order this platter, they may end up as we did, taking half of it home. It's a lot.

Consequently, it's wise not to eat all of it if entrees are ordered, because the often oval-plated main courses materialize as extra-large servings complete with mounds of white rice, maduros (fried plantains) and side bowls of black beans.

And to boot, the waiter will bring bowls of a thick chicken soup filled with rice and vegetables that apparently is usually included in the price of the entree.

I was mightily impressed one evening with the house paella ($22.95), ordered by phone in advance because this as well as a couple of other dishes require a 45-minute wait.

The Cuban-style paella, orange-toned rather than the bright yellow of Spanish paellas, turns up as a serving large enough for two normal appetites.

The hillock of saffron-flavored rice here reveals a treasure of mixed seafood, chorizo sausage and chicken, with the seafood being such tasties as crab legs, lobster, clams, shrimp and chunky pieces of swordfish.

Both the paella and arroz con pollo borracho ($12.95), a sort of chicken paella that also needs 45 minutes' preparation time, are delivered with large strips of cooked sweet red pepper decorating the top of the rice melange.

The borracho also arrives as a platter big enough for at least two to share.

Other La Rumba entree specialties worth trying are the pollo alegre ($14.95) and a lemon garlic shrimp and steak offering ($15.95), the former a moist and gratifying breast of grilled chicken stuffed with crab meat, daubed with a creamy white wine sauce and capped with a couple of slightly mushy green asparagus spears. The latter dish, loaded with crunchy shrimp and short strips of sirloin, seems to have more of an Italian than Cuban accent with its onions, green bell peppers and olive oil along with the garlic and lemon touches.

Despite its excellent flavors, it suffered somewhat from being a tad overcooked one evening, which affected the texture and moisture of both shrimp and beef.

On the other hand, masas de puerco frita ($9.95) results in cubes of pork pan-fried (with onions) to exterior crispness while retaining juicy flavors.

As for endings, I've always considered the mark of a good kitchen its handling of flan ($3.75).

At La Rumba, the one we received one night was absolutely right on. Not in any way cheesy, too eggy, too loose or too hard.

Just perfect.

And a perfect ending always helps put an extra bounce into your step as you leave a restaurant.

Enough perhaps to even dance la rumba.

LA RUMBA

Food: Three stars. Wine: Two stars. Service: Three and one half stars.

Where: 27600 Bouquet Canyon Road, Saugus.

Hours: Open for lunch, dinner and snacks from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, to 10 p.m. Fridays, from noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Recommended items: Empanadas, papas rellenas, croquetas, tamal rellenos, sampler platter, chicken rice soup, paella (45-minute wait), pollo alegre, masas de puerco frita, arroz con pollo borracho (45-minute wait), flan.

How much: Starters and sandwiches from $3 to $10.50, entrees from $8 to $23, desserts from $3 to $4.75. Beer and wine. All major credit cards.

Wine list: Limited list featuring mostly Gallo-owned labels. Cuban mojito wine-based drinks and Cuban beer. Corkage $6.

Reservations: Helpful. Call [phone].

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Photo:

La Rumba's paella Valenciana, a mixture of saffron rice and a variety of seafood, is served typically wet in the Cuban manner rather than dry in the Spanish way.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer