Loyal crew keeps the Italian fare flowing at Beppe & Gianni's.

Byline: ON THE MENU By Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard

Restaurant: Beppe & Gianni's Trattoria.

Owners: Beppe Macchi and John - Gianni, in Italian - Barofsky. The restaurant's also developing a family flavor; Macchi's daughter Chiara, who turns 13 later this month, sometimes lends a hand waiting tables. Both she and her sister Ania, 17, also do hostess duty.

Cuisine: Italian, of course, but don't try to pin it down to a particular region - even Macchi's native Sicily - because it gets a lot more complicated than that.

Take spaghetti carbonara - one of the trattoria's staple dishes - as an example.

"Spaghetti carbonara is pervasive throughout Italy, but people always debate whether it should include cream or no cream," Barofsky says. "People are adamant - either yes or no. But I've concluded that whatever way your mother made it, that's the way you think it's right."

Of course, that doesn't explain Macchi and his siblings, who split down the middle on the cream issue, "two for and two against," he says. But he's got the restaurant, so the sauce goes his way - enriched with a touch of cream, as well as whole egg and the Italian ham known as pancetta.

Philosophy: Serving good food at reasonable prices, "not super-expensive and not budget," Barofsky says. "We believe people will pay a fair price for a good meal, and so far it's worked. We've been very lucky ...'

"Blessed," Macchi says.

`... Blessed," Barofsky agrees. But both say it also takes hard work and a loyal crew - many on the staff have been with the restaurant from the beginning - to keep the line spilling out the door the way it often does at Beppe & Gianni's.

Macchi started young in the food business, working in Italian bars and serving food at a resort, learning most of his cooking skills from the women - mother, sisters, aunts - in his extended family.

Eventually, he emigrated to the United States to work with relatives at Mazzi's Restaurant in south Eugene. That's where Beppe met Gianni, whose 30-year restaurant career began at age 14, and the two decided to strike out on their own.

In their partnership, "Beppe's the wine, and I'm the food," Barofsky says.

Entrees: Following the Italian-style menu, Beppe & Gianni's offers "primi" and "secondi" dishes - literally first and second courses - but most people choose from one or the other, the first category emphasizing pasta as the "star" ingredient, the second primarily featuring meat or fish.

The menu almost always offers Pappardelle con Carne, a wide-cut pasta in a sauce made with Chianti wine, braised beef, tomatoes and garlic; and Cappelli di Vescovo, a stuffed pasta better known as "bishop hats" and served in a brown-butter sage sauce; as well as Fettine di Carne, a thin-sliced New York steak quick-grilled Sicilian style.

Spaghetti's not just spaghetti - it comes five ways at the trattoria.

Specialties: Maybe Bresaola con Arugula, a salad featuring Italian air-cured beef sliced thin and topped with fresh arugula and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Possibly Roasted Garlic With Cambozola Cheese and grilled bread, one of the restaurant's most popular appetizers. Or, the homemade ravioli of the day.

Price Range: Antipasto dishes range from $7.50 to $12.95. The mixed-green dinner salad costs $3.75 for small or $4.95 for large, with the fancier salads mostly in the $7 to $8 range. Main courses start at $10.95 and top out at about $17.50.

The wine list offers almost exclusively Italian reds and whites, in the $24 to $34 range, or diners may bring their own for a $15 corkage fee per 750 ml. bottle.

Decor: Continental but unpretentious, with wood floors and warm-hued walls "antiqued" with a paint wash. The bar breaks up the dining areas into the smaller front windowed section and several smaller, more private eating areas in the rear.

Capacity: 80 inside, another 20 on the outside patio during warm weather, which means much shorter waits for seating than diners sometimes expect, Barofsky says.

"In the summer, the staff sometimes thinks it's a slow night because everybody's getting seated quickly, but in the kitchen we're going crazy."

Serving Hours: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Opened: 1998; the trattoria celebrated its seventh anniversary Tuesday.

Location: 1646 E. 19th Ave.

Telephone: [phone].

Reservations: Available Sunday through Thursday for parties of 8 and larger; no reservations on Friday or Saturday.

Shared recipes: Roasted Garlic With Cambozola Cheese, $8.50; and Insalata Caprese, $7.95 on the menu.

Roasted Garlic

With Cambozola Cheese

2 to 3 heads (not cloves) garlic

Olive oil

5 large slices rustic bread

1 wedge (4 ounces) Cambozola cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the top off the garlic heads, exposing the ends of the cloves. Do not peel. Put the garlic heads face down in a shallow pan. Pour olive oil into the pan to cover the cut ends. Bake 30 to 40 minutes until soft and golden. This can be done ahead of time.

Toast or grill the bread slices. Place one piece of grilled bread, topped with the wedge of Cambozola, in the oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese has softened, but not melted.

Reheat the roasted garlic in the oven at the same time, or put it in a microwave oven for 1 minute.

Cut the grilled bread into serving-size wedges, and arrange on a platter with the garlic and cheese.

Serves 4 to 6 as a single antipasto, more if combined with other appetizers.

Source: Beppe & Gianni's Trattoria.

Insalata Caprese

2 to 3 small fresh tomatoes

2 to 3 small balls fresh mozzarella cheese

6 to 8 fresh basil leaves, depending on size

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Slice tomatoes into 1/4 -inch slices and arrange on a platter. Slice mozzarella balls into thin slices and place one on each piece of tomato. Cut up the basil leaves and sprinkle over the tomato and cheese slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil and vinegar.

Serves 4 to 6.

Source: Beppe & Gianni's Trattoria.

CAPTION(S):

The patio at Beppe & Gianni's Trattoria seats 20 during warm weather, which can mean shorter waits for seating than diners sometimes expect. Dishes include Roasted Garlic With Cambozola Cheese on crusty bread and Insalata Caprese. Paul Carter / The Register-Guard The atmosphere is relaxed on a summer evening at Beppe & Gianni's Trattoria. "Spaghetti carbonara is pervasive throughout Italy, but people always debate whether it should include cream or no cream. ... But I've concluded that whatever way your mother made it, that's the way you think it's right." JOHN BAROFSKY CO-OWNER, BEPPE & GIANNI'S