DAMON'S GETS THE BALL ROLLING.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

If you're a hit in the Midwest, start out in the suburbs when you come to L.A.

That might be the credo for restaurant chains like Damon's, which wisely opened its first Southern Californian location in Simi Valley.

The Ohio-based ``ribs, prime rib and more'' eatery took over a former Olive Garden building and appears to have seduced Simi with its rustic sports-bar approach to dining out.

That rustic approach could easily be sneered at by uptown sophisticates who prefer frou frou and fusion to down-to-terra firma fare.

It keeps its entrees under $20 and packs medium-size plates with slabs of beef or racks of ribs and baked or mashed potatoes.

It avoids being overly institutional most of the time, though its mashed potatoes and gravy would be much better if they tasted like ... well, mashed potatoes and gravy.

A baked potato that was supposed to be ``loaded'' with cheddar cheese, bacon and scallions came up tepid one time and should have used a word like ``sprinkled'' instead.

But the onion loaf ($3.99 or $4.99) with a pink dipping sauce that's sort of a Thousand Island dressing with a horseradish kick provides a fine starter dish if you don't mind a bit of oil on your fingers.

And even better are the San Antonio spring rolls ($6.49), crispy little dough tubes stuffed with a mixture of black beans, Monterey Jack cheese, chicken, corn, spinach, red pepper and jalapenos. The dipping sauce with these goodies is a spicy ranch creation.

This being a sports and television game bar-type eatery, it makes sense to have munchies that are associated with beer drinking.

Consequently there are cheese-stuffed potato skins ($5.99), buffalo wings ($5.99), chicken tenders ($6.49 or $6.99 for buffalo style with bleu cheese dressing), regular nachos ($8.99), southwestern nachos ($5.99) and a spinach artichoke dip ($5.49).

But the emphasis is on meaty stuff, especially the barbecued ribs that come in two portions - a regular rack ($12.99) or full rack ($16.99).

These are quite meaty, leaner than you'd expect, and truly do separate easily from the bone. But they're not so slathered in sauce you can't taste anything else, thank goodness. However, if perchance you do want extra sauce, you have to ask for it.

Prime rib ranges from $14 to $20 and won't disappoint most diners, although when it's cut up and served with a Caesar salad ($8.49, $7.99 at lunch time) the meat portioning seems rather stingy.

Steaks, though, are better than expected, with the 12-ounce New York stripper ($14.99) a juicy hunk of beef that is generally satisfying.

Perhaps the best Damon's entree, though, is its barbecued half-chicken ($9.99), very moist and very tasty, a real treat and best paired with fries.

Of the sides and accompaniments, the house onion soup ($3.29 or $2.29) is preferred over the potato corn chowder ($3.49 or $2.49), which seemed thin and unimpressive one day. A cup of beef barley as the du jour offering didn't excite, either.

Cole slaw ($1.59) is average and baked beans ($1.59) a notch above.

But it's the house salad ($3.49) that surprises. It's the best option when a side comes with an entree.

In addition to the healthy portion of mixed salad greens, you'll find carrot, tomato and tiny pieces of diced cucumber and mushroom in it.

Pick the peppercorn ranch dressing.

As for beverages, beer enjoys more emphasis than wine at Damon's. And the house amber ale on draft (16-ounce glass for $2.50) is recommended over the same size glass of draft Grant's Hefeweizen ($3).

During one visit, a bottle of '95 Talus zinfandel ($14), a somewhat unbalanced red wine, was disappointingly hot on the palate.

Desserts here are not particularly memorable. A blackberry cobbler ($3.25) had an overriding pastiness one day. It was as if the dough had not been fully baked.

Service can be spotty. An experienced and knowledgeable waitress made a meal infinitely superior than on another day when a waiter was both inattentive and inefficient.

Damon's has its ups and downs in its initial thrust west, yet it seems to offer a generally appealing concept to suburbanites. Certainly, some of its food is downright tasty. On a good day, it'll definitely make many of its customers happy.

THE FACTS

The restaurant: Damon's.

Where: 2410 N. Sycamore Drive, Simi Valley.

When: Open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, dinner from 3 to 11 p.m. weekdays, to midnight Friday and Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays.

Recommended items: Onion loaf, San Antonio spring rolls, barbecued ribs, prime rib, barbecued half-chicken, New York strip steak, Damon's amber ale.

Children's menu: Kids can order sandwiches with fries (hot dog, burger, grilled cheese, $2.99 each), barbecued ribs ($6.99), macaroni and cheese ($2.99) and chicken tenders ($3.99). There are also kiddie drinks, shakes and dessert.

How much: Starters and salads from $2.29 to $10, entrees from $8.29 to $20, desserts from $1.59 to $5.27. Full bar. All major credit cards.

Wine list: Limited stock of 17 bottles ($11 to $23) include four La Terre Cellars house varietals. Damon's pours eight wines by the glass ($3 to $5 each). There are eight draft beers and 18 bottlings plus two nonalcoholic brew listings.

Reservations: Taken for parties of eight or more all day Mondays through Thursdays, and before 5:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Call [phone].

Our rating: Two and one half stars for food; Two and one half stars for service; One star for wine.

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Photo

Photo: Damon's serves barbecued chicken and ribs in a casual sports-bar setting. There is also a small selection of wine and beer.

Andy Holzman/Daily News