NEW AND NOTEWORTHY.

NEW: SunRoma Inc. has introduced canned Vine Ripened Golden Roma Tomatoes (California grown and processed) in four styles - diced, strips, sliced and whole peeled. All four are available in 14.5-ounce cans and the diced, strips and whole peeled are also available in 28-ounce cans.

Although the tomatoes have a bright yellow color and are milder and less acidic than canned red tomatoes, we found them lacking flavorwise right out of the can. Perhaps they'd be better in finished dishes like pizzas, salsas, sauces, pastas, salads and the like.

Look for them at supermarkets. Suggested retail is $1.49 to $1.99 per 14.5-ounce can and $2.49 per 28-ounce can.

- Natalie Haughton

FREEBIE LEAFLET: OK, all you time-stressed cooks, here's help. Get a copy of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association's new colorful brochure ``Slow Cooker Beef Meals.'' It showcases six easy beef recipes including a pot roast, chili and wraps. For a free copy, send a self-addressed, stamped, No. 10 business-size envelope to National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Department FC-SCBM, P.O. Box 670, Bloomington, IL 60108-0670.

- N.H.

TRIVIA: Oh, how we love our potato chips. Americans ate more than 1.6 billion pounds of potato chips - or 1,680 per person - in 2000, according to the Snack Food Association.

DINING OUT

Chef Massimo Ormani and wife Daniela Judah-Ormani have opened Pammolli, a Tuscan-style Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills in the former Mandarette space.

Ormani, who previously cooked at Locanda Veneta in Los Angeles, named the restaurant after his mother, Pieranna, using her maiden surname.

In a country home environment, the Ormanis serve such starter dishes as grilled baby lobster tail with DuPuy lentils and a puree of fresh carrot soup with steamed rock shrimp. Pastas include pappardelle with wild boar ragu and spaghetti with fresh Maine lobster. Among the entrees are broiled pheasant breast with sauteed wild mushrooms and two cabbages and oven-roasted veal shank. Dessert offerings include a Piedmont-style hazelnut cake with warm, candied oranges, and an Italian cheese tart with cognac-flavored creme anglaise.

Prices run from $8 to $14 for starters, from $13 to $28 for pastas and entrees, and $8 for each dessert. Pammolli has a full bar and is open for lunch and dinner daily except Sunday. It is located at 9513 Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. Reservations and information: [phone].

- Larry Lipson

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) no caption (SunRoma VINE RIPENED GOLDEN ROMA TOMATOES)

(2) no caption (leaflet: SLOW COOKER BEEF MEALS)