EXPLORING FLAVORFUL TALE (AND TASTE) OF TWO CITIES.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

If you have a nagging, recurring culinary dream that takes you to Rome by way of Paris, you can bring it to faux fruition by way of Cahuenga Boulevard West in the Universal City area of Hollywood.

Here, at a cutesy little cafe that has been around for some time and calls itself Roma via Paris on a bright neon sign - hey, why not? - mostly sandwiches and salads previously had been purveyed.

Now, the candlelight dinner that might realize that dream could be in sight.

That's because Roma via Paris recently initiated full dinner service.

The cafe, with its typical open European exterior and scattering of sidewalk cafe-style tables in front, is a cleverly converted sound studio that lures a varying clientele ranging from casually attired local residents to students from an adjacent acting school.

Rather than a bistro menu of lots of snacks and grazing options, Roma via Paris owner Joseph Abrakjio and his ex-Fouquet's, Paris, chef, Christian Vare, opted for a more formalized dinner menu featuring 11 starter dishes, seven pastas, a daily risotto and seven entrees.

From this somewhat limited bill of fare, diners find that portions are often large enough on starters for two to share, and pastas also appear substantial enough not just to replace appetizers, but to stand in for main courses as well.

For those with smaller appetites, dishes such as the starter offering of rounds of seared ahi tuna ringed by bell pepper, topped with a tart, lemony, black olive tapenade and paired with an arugula salad garnished with tiny sweet yellow and orange-toned tomatoes ($8.95), would seemingly be justifiable as a reduced-size main course.

Such fulfillment sans an entree plate also may be aided by the serving of a basket of good, crunchy bread and a saucer full of a dark, piquant dipping mixture (to dunk the bread into) of herbs, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Before you know it, the bread is gone and most of the dipping sauce has been depleted. And before you know it again, both have been replaced.

So remember, if you order the ahi tuna dish and eat more bread with it, there may not be much room left for an entree.

Adding to the quick elimination of possible hunger pangs, owner Abrakjio often brings to the table an amuse-guele. This, a French custom, is a free tidbit usually presented at the beginning of a meal that acts as a sort of a palate kick-start.

One day it was sauteed oyster mushrooms in olive oil with a touch of garlic. Another time it was a pleasant small serving of tuna tartare.

On one occasion, he also was thanking customers for their patronage by presenting them with a complimentary finishing dish of refreshing grapefruit sorbet.

You don't get food very quickly here, and that's probably because dishes are painstakingly put together by chef Vare, using fanning or stacking presentation methods to achieve impressive eye appeal.

For example, an unusual pasta dish utilizing the ubiquitous angel hair noodle becomes a handsome delight in his hands. The noodles arrive tossed with small, crunchy pieces of sweet snow peas and green asparagus, having been formed into a rounded heap and wrapped in Scottish smoked salmon. The price: only $11.95. The result: an effective arrangement of pasta, salmon and green vegetables.

Other starters deserving attention are a pistachio-studded duck terrine ($6.95) with shallots marinated in red wine and a mesclun salad, and a tasty terrine of goat cheese and walnuts ($6.95).

I thought the crab cakes ($7.95) in a lively peppercorn sauce were a mite too mealy, though a dinner companion thought otherwise. But we both agreed that the house rendition of onion soup ($4.50) was several notches above the norm.

Ditto for the poultry entrees here. Big-breasted mulard duck comes forth sliced and served in a piquant apricot sauce with noisette potatoes ($14.95). And moist chicken breast can be enjoyed brushed with olive paste, sparked with feta cheese, flavored with thyme and accompanied by potatoes gratin ($11.95).

Monkfish in lobster curry sauce ($14.95) with basmati rice and asparagus could have used more of a stronger-flavored sauce one evening. Monkfish can handle it. And, incidentally, the fish itself, being as meaty as it is, usually tastes better slightly undercooked.

Pan-roasted boneless pork chops stuffed with pecorino cheese and flavored with fresh tarragon ($13.95) is an effective combination, though the meat's juiciness could be retained if the chops are cooked more toward medium rare than medium well.

Untried to date are oregano-boosted lamb chops ($15.95), a filet mignon in Rhone wine sauce ($14.95), several pastas and a daily risotto.

Until I experience them, I guess my personal Roma via Paris dream won't be fully realized.

THE FACTS

The restaurant: Roma via Paris.

Where: 3413 Cahuenga Blvd. W., Hollywood.

When: Open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays, for dinner from 5:30 to 11 p.m. nightly except Sunday.

Recommended items: French onion soup, pistachio duck terrine, seared ahi with lemon-olive tapenade, walnut goat cheese terrine, cheese-stuffed boneless pork chops, mulard duck breast in apricot sauce, tapenade-crusted chicken breast with feta cheese.

How much: Starters from $4.50 to $9, pastas and entrees from $9 to $16, desserts $4.50 each. No alcohol license. No corkage fee. MC, V.

Reservations: Helpful. Call [phone].

Our rating: Three Stars for food; Three Stars for service.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1) Hostess Micheline Abrakjio assists her brother, Roma via Paris owner Joseph Abrakjio, who offers a variety of items.

(2--3) Left, monkfish in lobster curry sauce ($14.95) with basmati rice and asparagus is among the specialties at the Hollywood restaurant, as are oregano-boosted lamb chops ($15.95), right.

Evan Yee/Daily News