JACQUES BE NIMBLE FRENCH BISTRO DRAWING A CROWD IN FAMILIAR SHERMAN OAKS SPOT.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

FIRST-NAME CHANGES happen periodically at the site of the new Le Petit Jacques in Sherman Oaks.

First it was Paul's Cafe. Then two staffers took it over and gave it their first names, so it became the August Chris Cafe.

Now Jacques Lachkar, formerly of Les Petits Bistros, purchased it and gave it his first name.

French-accented and bistrolike, Le Petit Jacques appears to be a compilation of both its previous incarnation and owner Lachkar's previous involvement.

At Le Petit Bistro down the street, you could enjoy an early weekday deal on Maine lobster and pommes frites.

Here at Le Petit Jacques there's a Monday and Tuesday night special on an approximately 1 1/2-pounder for $17.95 that already is drawing decent crowds on those usually off-nights.

With dinner entrees, diners can add a soup du jour or salad for $2, as well as pay $5 corkage per bottle if they bring in their own wine.

On the French side, the kitchen makes a respectable and quite cheesy onion soup ($5.95) and produces a nicely executed grouping of six escargots ($8.50) bathed in a seductive garlic-butter sauce.

A couple dozen chubby black mussels crowd a bowl ($8.95 at lunch, $9.95 at dinner) redolent of garlic in white wine with shallots.

You'll find yourself doing plenty of bread-dipping with either of these shell residents.

If you have to satisfy your pasta urges, you can find lovely, spherical, fluffy, mushroom-stuffed ravioli ($11.95 at lunch, $12.95 at dinner) with sauteed mushrooms and a light milky sauce.

In true bistro fashion, the kitchen delivers tenderloin of pork medallions ($15.95) in a manner that defies dryness. A small lake of brown sauce rife with mushrooms, pearl onions and pieces of roasted apple keeps the rosemary-tinted meat juicy and full-flavored. There's a bed of buttery mashed potatoes to complete the enjoyment.

The same good mashers appear with a layer of spinach and a crown of crispy-skinned whitefish ($13.95 at lunch, $16.50 with green beans at dinner) that's finished with a Grenobloise-style caper and lemon sauce.

Naturally, the best way to end a meal at a place like this is with a warmed-up version of the house apple tarte tatin ($7).

It comes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and is large enough to share.

Larry Lipson, [phone]

larry.lipson(at)dailynews.com

LE PETIT JACQUES

Food: Three stars - Service: Three stars

Where: 13456 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

Hours: Open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekdays, for dinner from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. nightly, to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Sit-down Sunday brunch ($17.95) service begins Father's Day.

Recommended items: Escargots, mussels, mushroom ravioli, pan-roasted whitefish, pork tenderloin, Maine lobster (Monday and Tuesday), tarte tatin.

How much: Starters from $3 to $11, pastas and entrees from $11 to $20, desserts $7 each. Wine and beer. Major credit cards except Diners Club accepted.

Wine list: Limited starting list is a one-page, 19-label selection priced from $23 to $70 without vintage dates and with half a dozen wines by the glass ($6 to $7.50). No bargains.

Reservations: Suggested. Call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2) Plate presentation, above, is part of the experience at Le Petit Jacques. At right, Chef Ricardo Malchi and owner Jacques Lachkar are armed with wines and desserts.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News