DINE BEAT : RESTAURANT NOTES ITALIAN FLAIR AT BENVENUTI.

Byline: - Larry Lipson, Daily News Restaurant Critic

Ben Bolla, unrelated to the Bolla Italian wine family, is the executive chef and general manager of the new Benvenuti, a Northern Italian restaurant that replaced Gypsy Grill at 16911 Ventura Blvd., Encino.

Bolla, a show-biz caterer for the past few years, carries impressive food service credits from several major hotels, including the Beverly Hills, Beverly-Wilshire and Beverly Hilton hotels locally.

Primary owner of Benvenuti is recently retired Paramount property master John F. ``Jack'' Mann.

An ambitious opening menu features an alluring appetizer arrangement served from a buffet display ($6.75 for four items, $1.75 for each additional one), antipasti and a la carte appetizers ($6.75 to $11.85), six soups, eight salads (some in half portions), more than 40 pastas ($8.50 to $14) and 14 entrees ($10 to $20).

Also, there's a respectable four-page starting wine list.

Also opening

Other new restaurants worth consideration are Two Gringos Mexican Grill, 3825 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Westlake Village, [phone], featuring blue corn steak enchiladas, pozole and an unusual raisin- and cheese-stuffed chile relleno, and Yama's, 233 W. Los Angeles Ave., Moorpark, [phone], a sushi bar and restaurant boasting some 40 sushi roll variations.

People on the move

From the ``Where are they now?'' department: Adriano Rebora, for years the host-owner of the classy ristorante Adriano's (now Rocco) in Bel-Air, has turned up as the mastermind behind a new projected Mexican fast-food chain offering lobster burritos, real crab-meat tacos and a filet mignon ``Pepito'' sandwich. It's called Cabo Charley's Fresh Mexican Grill, and the pilot location is in Canyon Country at 18744 Soledad Canyon Road, [phone]. ... Piano bar fans who wondered what ever happened to big draw pianist Chet DeMilo at the onetime Marina del Rey restaurant hotspot Donkin's Inn can now find him as co-owner of Santa Barbara's popular Andria's Harborside restaurant with wife Dallas under his real name, Peter Clark.

Nutraceutical explosion

The cover story of the current issue of Restaurants USA, the magazine produced by the National Restaurant Association (NRA) is titled ``The New Crop of Nutraceuticals.''

These are biotech foods of the future, and a sample menu of ``today's special'' reads as follows:

``Appetizer: Collagen Hydrolysate with Lycopene and Phosphatidylserine. Entree: Braised Isothiocyanate Nicoise, Oven-roasted Garlic Saponins. Dessert: Thermophilic Probiotics Anglaise with Polyphenols.''

No wonder steak and mashed potatoes keep gaining in popularity.

And the winner is . . .

It's no secret who will receive the manager of the year award at the upcoming annual Heros awards ceremony at the Regal Biltmore hotel Sunday.

Manager of Trader Vic's, adjacent to Merv Griffin's Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, Chai Rojana, is the recipient, according to an advance announcement by the hotel's publicist.

Heros recognizes outstanding food service employees in Southern California.

Tickets: $75. Information: [phone].