SMALL BITES FOR MOM, CALL AHEAD OF TIME.

Byline: - Larry Lipson

Last minute Mother's Day meals are not that easy to find, especially at better restaurants.

And brunches seem to be favored by many over dinners.

Try calling the Universal City Hilton's Cafe Sierra, which is putting on a big champagne brunch with a live swing band entertaining at the Sierra Ballroom for $30 (children 3 to 10 $16) and also has Saturday brunch and dinner and Sunday dinner options. Call [phone].

Or go to a small, cozy spot with a dining room and cocktail lounge like the Steak Joynt, 4354 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, anytime between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. for special three-course meals from $19 to $30 along with its regular menu. Reservations: [phone].

Then you might get lucky and get into one of the new, hot places like Cinch, 1519 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, [phone], where the very first Mom's Day sit-down brunch takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost is $25 plus $6 for unlimited mimosas (sparkling wine and orange juice).

Or if you're a lobster lover, try Delmonico's champagne and lobster brunch ($33, children $25) at Delmonico's Lobster House, 16358 Ventura Blvd., Encino. Reservations: [phone].

THE DIPPING NEWS: Look for the Melting Pot fondue restaurant chain to open a local outlet soon in Thousand Oaks on Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

According to Bob Johnston, president and chief operations officer, the rapidly expanding chain, currently with 70 locations nationwide, is on track to reach 175 locations by 2010.

The Tampa, Fla., -based restaurant firm presents various ways of enjoying a fondue meal with everything from familiar cheese fondues ($14 for two) to an expensive surf (twin lobster tails) and turf (center cut filet mignon) offering for two ($76).

Diners can choose from a list of several entrees (includes salad) like breast of chicken ($16), a trio of seafood (shrimp, scallops and fish fillet, $18) or shrimp and teriyaki sirloin of beef ($18).

There are nine different varieties of chocolate fondue ($14 to $28) for dessert (enough for one to four persons).

Johnston describes the fondue experience as something that can range from something intensely romantic to a full-of-fun family endeavor.

For more detailed information, call [phone] or visit www.meltingpot.com.

NIBBLES & SIPS: The popular Beverly Hills pasta and sandwich cafe Il Tramezzino is figuring on opening its Valley location at 13031 1/2 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, in about two weeks. Information: [phone] ... Octavio Becerra, the Patina Group's corporate chef who can still be found on occasion manning the stoves at Pinot Bistro, 12969 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, has developed a menu for a Patina-owned Mexican restaurant called Tortilla Jo's in Anaheim's Downtown Disney shopping and eating complex, according to the Nation's Restaurant News, a trade publication ... The same publication reports that L.A. Lakers basketball star Karl Malone has joined with a cafe company called Killer Foods Inc. that operates Kill Devils Frozen Custard & Beach Fries in Orange County and North Carolina to expand in the Los Angeles area with plans to enlarge to 20 locations ... Roy's, the 30-unit upscale restaurant chain founded by chef Roy Yamaguchi in Hawaii, now with many mainland locations, will reportedly open around September or October at 6355 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills ... And a second annual edition of the hugely popular Malibu Wineries Showcase Dinner (six courses with local Rosenthal, Jussila and Semler wines, $125 per person) has been set for July 23 at the Saddle Peak Lodge, 419 Cold Canyon Road, Calabasas. Reservations mandatory: [phone].