LE PETIT BISTRO TRES MAGNIFIQUE; TRULY HEARTY FRENCH FARE AT SENSIBLE PRICES.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

The bad news was that a Valley landmark eatery from the late '40s, Jean's Blue Room in Sherman Oaks, had closed.

The good news is that the recently unveiled site has been remodeled and is still very French - and almost as inexpensive.

Le Petit Bistro, the second location of an already proven hit on La Cienega Boulevard's tough Restaurant Row, runs pretty smoothly as Jean's replacement, though only a few weeks old. Obviously this colorful little Gallic cafe has professionals in charge.

Two of its owners, brothers Georges and Robert Lachkar, ran a popular French restaurant on Third Street in the '80s called Entourage.

Les freres (brothers) Lachkar haven't changed the formula that has resulted in constant lines waiting for a table at their West Hollywood restaurant.

It's quite simple: tasty, hearty, down-to-earth typical French bistro fare at reasonable prices in a colorful, Parisian-cafe atmosphere.

From steaming bowls of hot soup du jour ($4.50) such as leek and potato or wild mushroom to the definitive bistro dish of steak frites ($12.95) with a juicy, fair-sized entrecote, green peppercorn sauce and the ultimate rendition of thin, crispy french fries, diners receive palate-pleasing satisfaction without the slightest hint of Parisian haughtiness.

An evening meal starts with an overly generous rendition of ``amuse guele,'' the Gallic version of complimentary tasting samples served while the menu is being scanned.

Your freebie starter actually emerges as a quartet of dips (tapenade, eggplant, pate and hummus) plus a condiment, the Moroccan hot sauce-paste harissa with a basket of baguette slices.

If you wish to continue with something spicy, there's the typical French bistro favorite, merguez lamb sausages ($11.95) paired with a heap of those great pommes frites.

But one of the really good buys here is rightly or wrongly labeled duck leg confit, confit being a French word meaning a cooking and preserving process utilizing the bird's own fat. But who cares about how correct the name is? Here's a robust, gratifying dish of meaty - not too fatty, thank goodness - duck legs with beans and roasted apple wedges, nicely presented for a mere $8.95.

And any bistro worth its salt must be able to serve up an outstanding roasted chicken plate. And sodium notwithstanding, Le Petit Bistro passes the roasted chicken test with flying colors, its version being moist, seasoned with herbs de provence, skin slightly crisped, reasonably portioned and delivered with a mound of pommes frites.

If you prefer mashed potatoes, the kitchen usually has them. One night they appeared with a special turkey meatloaf ($12.50), nicely executed and accompanied by French cut green beans.

Of the regular soups, a refreshingly cool gazpacho ($4.95) gets my vote over the house onion potage ($4.95), which, though handsomely baked with a topping of Swiss cheese and offering chunks of bread floating in the broth with the onions, didn't elicit the richness of flavor that this soup can possess.

Everything else, however, rises to bistro summitry. A delicious layered eggplant tart ($5.95) with spinach, onion, tomato and basil is probably the No. 1 appetizer here. Not far behind comes half a dozen crunchy shrimps ($6.95) in a skillet of spicy, garlicky sauce, and the same number of correctly cooked escargots ($5.25) served the traditional Bourguignonne way.

The French are as skilled as the Venetians at knowing how to cook liver. Chef Jean-Claude Lashkar makes sure his bistro calf's liver ($9.25) matches the best in town, served with good grilled onions and garlic mashed potatoes.

And the hearty stuff doesn't end there. Braised veal short ribs ($12.50) on fettuccine noodles will remind you of the osso buco you had at your favorite trattoria, and juicy, char-broiled, little lamb chops ($12.95) paired with a classic mustard sauce and pommes frites adds even more to the comfort food quotient.

If you have room for dessert, look for familiar and satisfying endings such as a duo of sorbets ($4.95) - raspberry and mango - an old-fashioned pot of chocolate ($4.50) like the chocolate pudding you remember from your childhood, or a tasty caramel-sauced bread pudding ($4.50).

And just in case you can't stand to go a day without one, there's usually a segment of five pastas on the menu.

Sacre bleu

The facts

The restaurant: Le Petit Bistro.

Where: 13360 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

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

Behind the scenes: Albert Emkies and Georges and Robert Lachkar are co-owners. Jean-Claude Lashkar (another brother) is chef.

Recommended items: Gazpacho, du jour soups, eggplant tart, escargots, Caesar salad, crab cakes, spicy shrimp, turkey meatloaf, entrecote with pommes frites, duck legs confit, roasted chicken, baby lamb chops, calf's liver, sorbets, bread pudding.

How much: Starters from $4 to $7, pastas and entrees from $7 to $13, desserts $4.50 and $4.95. Beer and wine. All major credit cards.

Wine list: 50-label list has seven full-size bottles under $20, many between $20 and $30. Overly strong in California chardonnays. Could use more sauvignon blancs. Try the fruity, pleasant Guigal '94 Cotes-du-Rhone ($22) red. Corkage: $10.

Reservations: Suggested. [phone].

Our rating: Three and 1/2 stars food; three stars for service; two and 1/2 stars for wine.

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Photo

Photo:Le Petit Bistro co-owners Georges Lachkar, left, Albert Emkies and chef Jean-Claude Lashkar offer complimentary tasting samples while the menu is being scanned at the Sherman Oaks restaurant.

Myung J. Chun/Daily News