HOMEY AND TASTY, IT'S CAFE MARIA.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

``Everything's made from scratch, just like in Romania,'' assures waiter/host/co-owner George Dima, when a diner at his Cafe Maria in Sherman Oaks asks if the pickled cucumber, cauliflower and carrot served as a side dish with the signature mititei Romanian beef sausages ($7.95) is processed in-house.

``It's all home-made-ed,'' he insists in his heavily accented English, referring to the cooking of wife Maria Dima, for whom the narrow, attractive Van Nuys Boulevard cafe is named.

And nobody could argue with the notion that chef Maria's food is homey.

And tasty, too.

Just be prepared to eat lots of beef.

In addition to the sausage form, beef comes ground as Moldavian rissoles ($6.95), a hearty plate of mashed potatoes, vegetables and seasoned ground beef patties; in a soupy bowl of Bucharest-style stew ($10.50); in meatballs in the meatball soup ($3.25); in the beef tripe soup ($4.25); or as chunks of meat in the regular beef soup ($3.75).

These soups, by the way, are served at lunchtime as an optional beginning as part of several $7.95 special meals where Maria's delicious cabbage rolls with mamaliga ($7.25 a la carte for dinner) can be sampled.

Food that is always full-flavored, never too heavy and usually very low-priced should encourage more diners to try this relatively undiscovered Eastern European cafe.

If schnitzels are your thing, chef Maria will gladly fill a plate with either her pork or chicken rendition ($8.50) and the traditional veal Wiener schnitzel ($10.25).

She makes an excellent, thick-textured taramasalata ($3.50), Romanian-style rather than the creamier, familiar Greek dip, and it's a refreshing garlicky, carp roe spread (called ``white caviar'') that provides a great way to start a meal here.

With any entree plate, you can choose the house mashed potatoes, rice or fries. And there's decent bread, as much as you want, in a basket.

There's really no such thing as a small plate here. Everything from soups, salads and side dishes on is generously portioned.

For those who like grilled meats, Maria will happily pile on a hefty sampling of her best efforts in the mixed grill for two ($20.50). There are also those prized innards - brains ($9.50) and/or sweetbreads ($10.50) - for those who don't worry about cholesterol intake.

The highest-priced meals are only $13 each (filet mignon, New York steak, lamb chops and kebabs of beef, chicken or pork), with 18 of the regular entrees, including grilled fish items, ticketed no higher than $11 and many between $7 and $9.

Wines are limited, with a few Eastern Europeans of dubious quality available.

Leave room, if you can, for dessert.

Although crepes suzettes ($3.25) sounds inviting, the preferred ending should be the Romanian ``papanasi'' ($3.50), described on the menu as a ``dumpling cheese pastry,'' but displaying more qualities of a doughnut or french toast, sweetly satisfying and big enough for two to share.

Unfortunately, little Cafe Maria has been almost entirely empty during review visits.

Let's hope it gains the attention it deserves.

THE FACTS

The restaurant: Cafe Maria.

Where: 5254 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

When: Open for lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and for dinner only from 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday.

Recommended items: Soups (chicken noodle, navy bean, meatball, beef), white caviar tarama, stuffed cabbage rolls, Moldavian rissoles, pork schnitzel, stew a la Bukarest, papanasi pastry.

How much: Starters from $3 to $5, entrees from $7 to $13, desserts from $3 to $3.50. Beer and wine. Major credit cards.

Wine list: Smallish in number of labels and relatively inexpensive.

Reservations: Taken. Call [phone].

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

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: George and Maria Dima, left, and William, Bianca and Gabrielle Wilson are the family behind the made-from-scratch fare at Cafe Maria.