MATAMBRE MADNESS AT LA PORTENA ARGENTINE FOOD SHINES IN CASUAL SETTING.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

They used to serve pastrami and corn beef deli sandwiches here.

Now, under new ownership and a South American culinary accent, they've changed to matambre y queso and choripan sandwiches and empanadas. And forget mustard. Everybody gets a bowl of that great chimichurri sauce.

Today, customers find that the onetime Weiler's Deli at 16150 Nordhoff St. in North Hills has become La Portena, a friendly, casual Argentine restaurant and deli.

For the uninitiated, matambre is Argentina's traditional, rolled, stuffed (with spinach, carrot, eggs, onions, parsley and chiles) beef, served cold, and queso is, of course, cheese.

As for choripan, a condensation of the names for sausage and bread, it is a popular type of grilled Argentine sausage sandwich.

The matambre, here made with flank steak, can be ordered as a separate starter dish ($5.99), also as part of the picada ($12), an assortment of cold appetizers presented on a wooden slab.

The picada provides a neat way to start a meal here because you can taste several things at one time. And you can walk over to the racks and pick up a very reasonably priced wine to accompany the tidbits. You might try an easy-to-drink bottle of Suter 1998 merlot from Argentina with the picada for a mere $9.

In addition to the matambre, slices of cold marinated beef tongue (lengua a la vinagreta), rolled prosciutto, salami, mortadella, cubes of a cakelike Argentine potato salad, marinated eggplant (berenjena al escabeche), a small mound of seafood salad, pickled vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, celery) and several cubes of at least two cheeses afford a gratifying range of nifty nibbles for two to four people.

Another grouping worth consideration is the parrillada ($14), a mixed grill of various meats (some a bit tough), with the La Portena version displaying mini-portions of skirt steak (entrana), short ribs (asado de tira), sweetbreads (mollejas), sausage (chorizo), dark blood sausage (morcilla), chewy small intestines (chinchulines) and possibly chicken (pollo).

Steak fanciers can enjoy a choice of filet mignon (lomo, $13), T-bone (bife de costilla, $9.59) and New York (bife de chorizo, $13) cuts, the latter being large enough to take up most of the entree plate, but not trimmed of fat and gristle like American kitchens usually present it.

But there's no question that, for the price, it possesses good flavor and reasonable tenderness.

An alternative way to eat meat, popular in South America, is the thin-cut, breaded milanesa, which may be had in four variations, but the most satisfying could be the chicken milanesa rendition (milanesa de pollo, $6.99) which retains moisture and flavor and is best with the kitchen's nicely executed mashed potatoes.

Canelones, noquis and ravioles, the equivalent of the familiar canneloni, gnocchi and ravioli, denote the majority of the pastas ($7.99 each), and all come forth as tasty presentations. For something a little bit different, though, La Portena's ham and melted cheese-stuffed, puffy, hat-shaped pasta called sorrentinos ($7.99) are recommended in the creamy white sauce option.

And seafood (pescados) shouldn't be forgotten.

Whole fish, usually Chilean sea bass (bereft of head and tail), cooked in white wine filet de merluza fresco ($7.99) delivered with mashed potatoes is a delight to those who don't mind picking a few hairlike bones out of the tender, white flesh.

And the way to end a meal is with Argentina's famous panqueques con dulce de leche ($3), crepes caramelized to slight crunchiness, filled with delicious condensed milk custard.

With both chimichurri and panqueques involved in a meal, this Argentine fare is hard to beat, especially at La Portena's moderate prices.

La Portena.

Where: 16150 Nordhoff St., North Hills.

When: Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Recommended items: Empanadas, picada assortment platter, milanesa de pollo, parrillada, sorrentinos pasta, filet of whole fish, panqueques.

How much: Appetizers from $1.50 to $12, sandwiches and salads from $2.50 to $10, entrees from $6.50 to $10, desserts from $1.50 to $5. Beer and wine. All major credit cards.

Wine list: Choose a wine from the retail racks. Several from Argentina and Chile at reasonable prices, with some good buys under $10 a bottle.

Reservations: Helpful. Call [phone].

Our rating: Three and one half stars for food; three stars for service; three stars for value.

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Photo:

Chef Andres Fernandez, left, and server Carolina Jerez show off a variety of Argentine foods, including the mixed grill, below, at the unpretentious La Portena in North Hills.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer