HOLD THE MAYO : ENCINO DELI SERVES UP WEEKLY TIPS ON HEALTH.

Byline: Yardena Arar Daily News Staff Writer

For more than three decades, deli lovers have flocked to Fromin's for pastrami, corned beef and other traditional treats. Now, they can get some nutritional counseling with their cholesterol and calories.

Every Monday night, a registered dietician from the Tarzana firm Lambert, DeVito, Bauersfeld and Calvo strolls through the Encino restaurant, stopping to ask patrons if they have any questions about nutrition in general or Fromin's food in particular, including a relatively new ``lite'' menu.

As dinner theater goes, it may not be the flashiest show in town - but it's certainly among the most unusual, and so far both the talent and the audience seem satisfied.

``It's really fun,'' said Alicia Calvo, who made her second appearance at Fromin's this week. ``It's great to meet the people and talk to them. Some of them have really good questions.''

So far Calvo has fielded queries on everything from diabetes and melatonin to the calorie count of matzo ball soup. Often, she's asked to pass judgment on the meal a customer has ordered.

``Some people think they are eating pretty unhealthy and they aren't - they've actually made a healthy choice,'' Calvo said.

``I think it's a great idea,'' said Jay Bartush of Studio City, who said he was inspired by Calvo to change his dessert order.

``Normally I get rice pudding or bread pudding. This time I got frozen yogurt - after I ate half of his potato pancakes,'' he said, pointing to his dinner companion, Larry Shadford.

Marcia and Lee Laffer of Sherman Oaks said they didn't have much to say to Calvo after sharing a dinner of liver and onions and ordering chocolate ice cream for him and bread pudding for her.

``I knew we weren't supposed to eat what we ate,'' Marcia Laffer said. ``But at least we shared the liver.''

Still, the Laffers felt the roving dietician was a good idea.

``There are some people who will benefit by it,'' Laffer said. ``Maybe some of it will rub off.''

Proprietor Dennis Fromin came up with the idea of a strolling dietician in order to promote the ``Fromin's Lite'' menu featuring deli-style food prepared with low-fat or low-cholesterol substitutes - egg white omelettes cooked with nonfat spray, vegetarian burgers and chili, salads with diet dressing and grilled fish dinners.

The menu was developed in collaboration with registered dietician Ellen Bauersfeld, whom Fromin had been visiting in an effort to lose weight.

``We've talked about the value of trying to make things easy for people who are trying to eat healthy,'' said Bauersfeld, who sometimes does Monday night duty at the restaurant. ``So many people eat out, and it's often hard to find places that people can go to.''

The lite menu is the latest in a series of additions that has transformed the traditional deli into an all-purpose restaurant. Others include Chinese chicken salad, fajitas, pasta dishes and a monthly murder mystery dinner run by Dial M for Murder.

``The business has changed dramatically because of a lot of competition that has nothing to do with delis,'' Fromin noted. ``Twenty years ago if you wanted to throw a party you either hired a fancy caterer or you went to a deli. Today you can go to Ralph's, Gelson's, the sushi bar or lots of ethnic places.''

On the takeout side, delis must compete with supermarket counters and discount warehouses.

``We've lost what we call our gravy sales,'' Fromin said. ``If it's a big order, people will come here. But if it's just a dozen bagels and some cream cheese, they'll buy at the supermarket.''

Fromin said he continues to struggle with his weight problem and doesn't always order from his own healthy menu, ``but at least it makes me aware of it on a daily basis. I haven't lost anywhere near the weight I wanted to but I have come down 20 pounds.''

Meanwhile, Alicia Calvo's Monday night stroll continued with a brief conversation with a disgruntled looking 75-year-old Fred Skovron of Encino, who was leaving a sizeable portion of chicken Caesar salad on his plate.

``Hi, my name is Alicia and Monday night is nutrition night at Fromin's,'' she said. ``Can I answer any questions?''

``Yeah,'' Skovron said. ``Tell them to make a better salad.''

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Photo: Alicia Calvo, a registered dietician, offers some nu tritional information on menu selections to cousins, from left, Irene, Shirley, Gunther and Vernon Rusheen at Fromin's delicatessen in Encino on Monday.

Myung J. Chun/Daily News