REVIEW: TASTE OF BUENOS AIRES IN ENCINO PAMPAS BRINGS LATIN AMBIENCE AND FLAVORFUL DISHES TO VALLEY.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

On a Monday night in the heart of Encino, Pampas - the new Argentine restaurant that took over the Denari space in the Plaza de Oro - is around two-thirds full. You'd swear you're sitting in a cafe in downtown Buenos Aires.

That's because the dining rooms are mainly occupied by local members of the emigre Argentine community, visiting with each other, having a good time.

The smiling, helpful waitress that night and a similarly attentive waiter at lunch a couple of days later are definitely part of the evident Pampas goal to charm anyone who wants to partake of their intriguing Argentine fare. They are eager to answer questions before you order.

Pampas, like Denari before it, utilizes the front as a grocery-bakery, displaying plenty of baked goods, cold meats, appetizers, salads and other food in its glass-front cases.

This, of course, helps to whet the appetite when entering.

Newcomers might start with a hearty soup of the day ($2.25 or $3.75), on one occasion a warming vegetable concoction that took the chill out of the night.

And then there were the assorted appetizers ($8.95 for two, $14.95 for four) called ``picada Buenos Aires.''

The platter we received possessed a generous heap of good potato salad surrounded by a variety of goodies. There were two thin ham and cheese sandwiches on white bread, slices of the same ham and cheese offered separately, and small wedges of spinach pie (a little dry) and potato pie (very good).

Ordering the specialty of the house, the parrillada ($24.95 for two), as the entree choice makes sense, especially on an initial visit.

The traditional Argentine mixed grill here consists of a variety of meats delivered on a table-top burner, sizzling invitingly and providing enough for two meals, especially after soup and appetizers.

Noticeably, the parrillada comes with salads and fries, so there is really no need for other starters.

The pile of meaty edibles gently spluttering and hissing in front of you contains a tasty, herb-glazed half-chicken perched on top of short ribs, sliced skirt steak, crunchy sweetbreads, chorizo and morcilla (black blood sausage).

The short ribs (very chewy) and morcilla (oozing) were the most difficult to enjoy. But adventurous meat fanciers should have a fine time with the flavorful skirt steak, sweetbreads and chorizo.

For smaller appetites, the modestly breaded, pounded chicken cutlet called ``milanesa'' ($7.95) with garlic and parsley, served with the Pampas kitchen's well-executed fries, provides a fairly light meal, though the chicken cutlet alternative, ``suprema de pollo'' ($9.95) is actually a more rounded dish, as it is brought forth with ham, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce.

For non-meat or poultry eaters, a rolled, steamed red snapper recipe titled ``arrollidatos de pescado'' ($9.95) comes up looking almost like a fish stew. The herbal, seasoned tomato and potato melange with it gives the otherwise bland fish a great deal of character.

Meanwhile, grazers will be satisfied with baked or fried empanadas ($1.95 each) stuffed with beef, chicken, spinach, corn or potatoes. (I like the baked beef ones.) And one should not leave an Argentine eatery without trying the traditional stuffed beef roll (with carrots and eggs) called matambre.

Here it's served thin-sliced and tastes great when daubed with the complimentary green chimichurri (spiced parsley) dip that's placed on every table as soon as diners are seated. And that's not all. An olive oil, tomato and onion mixture, though much blander than the chimichurri, arrives at the same time.

Both are quickly replenished when needed.

As for endings, there are numerous fresh-baked items. But the one to pick is the ``panqueque con dulce de leche'' ($3.95) which translates into two delicate crepes filled with flavored condensed-milk custard.

For $1 more you can have them apple-filled and flambeed in rum.

This particular Norte Americano prefers the simpler version.

The facts

--The restaurant: Pampas.

--Where: 17239 Ventura Blvd., Encino.

--When: Open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks from 7 a.m. to midnight weekdays, to 2 or 3 a.m. weekends.

--Recommended items: Soup, empanadas, matambre (rolled stuffed beef), suprema de pollo (chicken cutlet with mozzarella and ham), picada Buenos Aires (assorted appetizers), parrillada, panqueques con dulce de leche (crepes).

--How much: Starters and sandwiches from $2 to $7, pastas and entrees from $8 to $14, desserts from $3.50 to $5. No alcohol. License pending. All major credit cards.

--Reservations: Helpful. Call [phone].

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

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Owner-chef Daniel Goldenberg, left, and owner Jim Margulies proudly display some of the plates served at their Argentine restaurant. Pampas also offers baked goods and appetizers.

(2) Milanesa de Pollo is Pampas' popular dish of lightly breaded, thinly sliced chicken cutlets.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer