GOOD SIGNS MARK RESTAURANT ROAD.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

Tabbed in its Year in Review issue as ``resurgent Los Angeles'' by the trade publication Nation's Restaurant News, our cost-conscious city looks like it will bounce back into the culinary limelight in 1997.

A cutting-edge national leader in the '80s, L.A. has lost its innovative, creative restaurant reputation over the past few years.

This year begins with the opening on Jan. 18 of Crustacean in Beverly Hills, a French Vietnamese import from San Francisco that follows the recent debut of Wolfgang Puck's ObaChine, also in Beverly Hills, both signaling the turn toward Asian flavors as an integral part of the American dining-out appetite.

Huge themed eateries like Marvel Mania, a Planet Hollywood-owned comics-based concept set for an expanded Universal CityWalk, and Apple Cafe, a cyber-themed restaurant, will boost the number of local eat-and-drink emporiums that look more like museums or theme-park attractions. The industry term for such is ``eatertainment.''

The wrap (some good, some bad) that has been described as a ``designer burrito'' continues to be the hot fad in the fast-food arena.

But traditional fare with a clever twist or two a la Joachim Splichal's growing stable of Pinot restaurants (the Pinots Bistro, Hollywood, at the Chronicle and Cafe Pinot) proves that ``comfort'' food never really leaves the scene.

Meanwhile, there were signs of good things to come throughout this past year.

Honors for the best dishes from restaurants reviewed in 1996, described and priced as they were at the time they were sampled, follow:

Matterhorn Chef

Address: 13726 Oxnard St., Van Nuys.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Swiss-Italian-German.

Dish of the year: Berneplatte ($14), a traditional Swiss meal of chimney-smoked meats served hot or cold, here preferred hot, and featuring subtly smoked pork loin, hearty sausages, thick smoked bacon, warm sauerkraut and string beans. A great winter plate rarely found in Los Angeles.

Papashon

Address: 15910 Ventura Blvd., Encino. (Also in Beverly Hills and Pasadena.)

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Pacific rim.

Dish of the year: Long Island duck opus ($19) is a harmony of moist duck meat, crispy skin, a chive-flecked potato cake bed and a rich cabernet and sun-dried cherry sauce.

Bistrot by the Water

Address: 860 Hampshire Road, Westlake Village.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Eclectic.

Dish of the year: Roasted cod ($8.50) is perched on a formed pureed potato bed and topped with a mushroom and tomato mixture. Very attractive. Very tasty.

Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill

Address: 5050 Cornell Road, Agoura Hills. (Also in Moorpark.)

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: American.

Dish of the year: You won't find a better rendition of tri-tip for the price ($10.95), served with a choice of well-conceived side dishes.

The Chez

Address: Beverly Prescott Hotel, 1224 S. Beverwil Drive, Los Angeles.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Eclectic.

Dish of the year: Best version of swordfish experienced in 1996 was chef Michael Shafer's delicious recipe ($18.95) enhanced with a brushing of wasabi (Japanese green horseradish paste) sauce.

Chez Jacques

Address: 15466 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: French.

Dish of the year: Here's a delightful sesame-crusted rack of lamb ($19) offering with a confit of Maui onions plus a honey and sage sauce. And there are French-Carib plantain chips as an accompaniment.

Il Teatro Ristorante

Address: 19563 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Venetian Italian.

Dish of the year: Salmone al cartoccio ($16) cooked in parchment paper with julienned vegetables, lemon and herbs brings a welcome alternative to ubiquitous grilled salmon recipes.

Mandarin House

Address: 17619 Sherman Way, Van Nuys.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Korean Chinese.

Dish of the year: Spicy Chachiang noodles ($6.75) with sa chun-style brown-bean sauce, calamari, shrimp and onions. A really satisfying Chinese pasta dish.

JoeJoe's

Address: 13355 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Rustic American.

Dish of the year: Potato scale-crusted whitefish ($12) perched on a bed of intensely flavored wild rice in a rich red wine sauce plus fresh vegetables du jour.

Gadsby's

Address: 672 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Eurasian.

Dish of the year: Yellowfin tuna tartare and mushrooms with oyster croquettes ($9) is an appetizer parfait from paradise.

Yujean Kang's

Address: 8826 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood. (Also in Pasadena.)

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Chinese.

Dish of the year: Are you ready for Chilean sea bass potstickers ($8)? They're daubed with shrimp paste and formed with a tofu sheet on top and parma ham studded with sesame seeds on the bottom before being pan-fried to crunchy goodness.

Piyaleh

Address: 15030 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Persian.

Dish of the year: Somewhat like the ``poor man's caviar'' of Russia, the eggplant with mint and garlic ($5.50) starter will have you voting for the chef-owner here as the aubergine-ius of 1996.

2424 Pico

Address: 2424 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Global fusion.

Dish of the year: What a mixture

And it works beautifully. Seared ankimo (monkfish liver) nestles on an Asian pear, is joined with grilled sweet onions and a gingered orange sauce. Wow!

Fins Creekside

Address: 23504 Calabasas Road, Calabasas. (Also in Westlake Village.)

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Seafood.

Dish of the year: Macadamia-crusted halibut ($18.95) is topped with coconut and delivered in a Thai-style peanut sauce. A lilting, perfectly textured taste treat.

Pinot at the Chronicle

Address: 897 Granita Drive, Pasadena.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: California-French.

Dish of the year: Cumin-flavored crispy risotto cake with a ragout of duck leg confit and sweet shallots ($7.95) is a starter dish that makes any entree pale by comparison.

ObaChine

Address: 242 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Multi-Asian.

Dish of the year: Stir-fried Maine lobster with chili pepper and lemongrass ($19.50) is one of several triumphs at Wolfgang Puck's newest restaurant.

Fiore's 20th Century Cafe & Pizzeria

Address: 15025 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Italian.

Dish of the year: Tuscan chicken ($9.50) is a moist, boneless breast, spicy hot with a pepper sauce utilizing olive oil, chardonnay, garlic and rosemary in the recipe. A zinger of a dish.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1) Tom Munoz, left, and Joe Miller offer rustic American fare at JoeJoe's, a new restaurant in Sherman Oaks. One of the best dishes of the year is its potato scale-encrusted whitefish on a bed of wild rice.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News

(2) At Fiore's 20th Century Cafe & Pizzeria in Sherman Oaks, the boneless Tuscan chicken with a spicy pepper sauce is a real standout.

Bob Halvorsen/Daily News