REINVENTING THE MEAL RESTAURATEUR CHANGES MENU AND NAME.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

Piero Biondi, known to Los Angeles-area radio listeners as ``the radio chef,'' cooked French food and was known as Pierre when he opened his Burbank restaurant in the early '60s.

Back then, of course, Italian food was perceived as ``spaghetti and meatballs with thick red sauce'' and it was served on red and white checkered tablecloths. French was the ``in'' cuisine at the time, so it made sense from a business standpoint to serve mostly French-style food.

Eventually, Biondi put his actual name on his restaurant's sign and became relatively successful with an Italian seafood menu. But between his radio career and changes in the public's taste, it became increasingly necessary for a modernization of Piero's. That has been accomplished.

Such changes in this Burbank landmark eating facility that spans four decades appeared to warrant a revisit.

Piero's, we found out, has reinvented itself.

--Name: Piero's, The Next Generation.

--Address: 2825 W. Olive Ave., Burbank.

--Phone: [phone].

--Hours: Open for lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For dinner 5 to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5 to 10:30 Friday. Open for dinner only on Saturdays 5 to 10:30 p.m. Closed Sundays. Note: Restaurant will be closed Memorial Day and Wednesday through June 4 while the owners are on vacation.

--How long in business: 38 years. Opened March 28, 1962.

--Menu/cuisine changes: Opened originally as Pierre's International restaurant featuring more French-accented fare than Italian. Sweetbreads, escargots, trout almandine, beef stroganoff, sauerbraten and tournedos of beef gave way to Italian seafood around 1973. The name was changed at that time to Piero's Seafood House.

Most recently, the restaurant has been taken over by his two daughters Lisa and Johnna Biondi, who are now calling it Piero's, The Next Generation. The latest menu features several contemporary items.

--Decor/physical changes: In the early '70s when the restaurant switched from French to Italian, owner Biondi installed a tank with live Maine lobsters inside and built a mini-dock outside complete with a fishing boat with nets galore. That was removed in 1992 and the space was utilized as a covered patio. A major refurbishing inside and out was started last year and completed three weeks ago when the remodeled patio with an adjacent wine shop was finished and made its official debut.

--Personnel changes: Piero Biondi, the founder-chef, ran the restaurant and cooked here until his burgeoning broadcasting efforts pulled him away from daily kitchen chores the past seven years.

The Biondi family, by the way, has an interesting culinary background.

Biondi's mother, Irene, cooked for King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy while Biondi was head chef at Gusti's in Washington, D.C., prior to his move west.

His daughter Lisa Biondi, who for a while was in Piero's kitchen on a part-time basis, graduated top of her class at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and has worked with top local chefs Hans Rockenwagner, Luciano Pellegrini, Patrick Healy and under the supervision of Wolfgang Puck at an Oscar-awards dinner at the Music Center. She is now the permanent and full-time chef. Her sister Johnna Biondi became the restaurant's manager last year.

--Recommendable dishes: Lisa Biondi's mix of retro and modern fare includes special seared ahi tuna recipes, fresh fish such as escolar on a bed of mashed potatoes with a roasted red pepper sauce, the popular osso buco, a juicy filet mignon in a red wine sauce for steak lovers and a couple of good soups every day, one being a thick black bean potage topped with a dollop of fresh salsa. A memorable du jour offering one night recently was a spicy curried carrot soup. Also, an old favorite cooked at tableside, steak Diane, is one of Piero's trio of revived flambe entrees.

--Service quality: Waiters and staff appear proficient and attentive.

--Pricing: Starters range from $4 to $11. Pastas and entrees run from $10 to $26 and include a house salad. Desserts are priced from $3.50 to $7.

--Wine list/service: There's a good range of wines in racks at the on- premises wine shop. Mostly Californian and Italian. Instead of a written wine list, patrons visit the shop area and choose a wine from 128 different options, all with sticker retail prices affixed. The restaurant charges $7 above that price. Thus, a fine, refreshing 1998 Brander sauvignon blanc, priced at $10.99 one evening, was billed at $17.99 with dinner.

--Policies worth mentioning: Wine tastings are a weekly event here. Customers pay a fixed amount ($15 to $30) and may taste five wines of a particular type along with bread, cheese, nuts and dried fruits. Also, periodic wine dinners (six courses and five wines) at a fixed price ($46 to $60) are held approximately every other month.

--Our latest ratings: Three and one half stars food; Three stars wine; Three stars service.

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Photo:

(1 -- 2) At Piero's, The Next Generation, escolar in champagne sauce, from left above, shrimp rigatoni and baby spinach salad with mangoes and salmon are popular. Below, owner Piero Biondi with daughters Johnna, left, and Lisa in the wine shop.

Gene Belvins/Special to the Daily News