THE FLAVOR OF NAPLES IN ENCINO.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

The food of Southern Italy undeservedly carries a stigma compared to its Northern Italian counterpart.

You'll know how wrong it is when you eat at a new little cafe in Encino called Gio Cucina Napoletana.

Gio is Giovanni Di Crisci, a passionate native of Naples who, at the drop of a basil leaf, will expound on the culinary delights he enjoyed while growing up there.

After working at several restaurants, he finally has his own small one in a cozy second-floor space (previously O Sole Mio and Il Balcone) that reminds of similar intimate upstairs cafes in the culinary capitals of the world.

You'll immediately notice differences from your everyday local Italian eatery.

Like the calamari.

If you generally order those brownish, crunchy things called calamari fritti, you'll be surprised at Gio's version. First of all, it's not overly coated in batter and cooked in reused oil (that's what makes them brown rather than off-white).

Here it's lighter, whiter and tastier.

And in true Neapolitan style, it is joined by shrimp and whitebait (tiny whole smelts) for a delightful change of pace and titled fritto misto di mare ($6.50).

You'll find other little differences, all gems. Like a sort of terrine of spinach with ricotta and parmesan cheeses dubbed a souffle ($5.50) and little pizza dough puffs flecked with seaweed known in Italy as zeppolelle ($4.50).

Small, fresh Manila clams are favored at Gio's. They appear as a gratifying starter dish ($6.50) when simply sauteed with garlic and chopped tomatoes in white wine. Or with thin vermicelli pasta the same way ($9.50) and with scungilli, scallops, shrimp and al dente spaghetti ($12) in an almost perfect seafood pasta plate.

Incidentally, you can almost make a meal of the clams appetizer when you pair the tiny delicacies with hot squares of focaccia you receive for dipping and nibbling the moment you're seated.

An additional preprandial triumph from the view kitchen of chef Roberto Castellanos is also typically Neapolitan. It's a terrific mini torte, or ``tortino'' ($5), made with eggplant, buffalo mozzarella, basil and sweet roma tomatoes.

Pastas don't end with the familiar arrabiata, bolognese and checca renditions. Possibly the city's finest example of pumpkin tortelloni with sage sauce ($10.50) - nothing could be more melt-in-the-mouth delicious - was the highlight of one meal here. And a crispy Neapolitan timballo (baked pasta cake), this one of tagliatelle ($10.50) with mushrooms, prosciutto, peas and parmesan, again marked Gio as standing apart from the norm.

Prosciutto, which can get awfully salty, is handled well. It balances superbly with mozzarella, sweet chopped tomatoes and bitter arugula on a marvelously crispy thin-crust pizza ($10.50).

And for hearty entrees, there's a whole fresh, deboned chicken prepared with Dijon mustard and served with roasted potatoes and a vegetable ($11) that can be enough for two with medium appetites, and a savory herbal sausage and rapini platter with a little zing of peppery spice ($11). Baby lamb chops are also seasoned expertly ($14.50), and there's nearly always a fresh fish or shellfish main-course item inscribed on the daily special board.

For dessert ($4 each), Naples is represented by the sfogliatelle calde, a neat ricotta-filled pastry ending, and a nicely fashioned tiramisu.

Gio even has gone to extra lengths to stock a reasonably deep selection of Italian and Californian wines, with Sassacaia, Solaia and Tignanello labels among the list of 43 bottlings, and the noticeable offering of half a dozen house wines priced at $13 or $15 each and four from the main groupings at under $20 each.

Gio brings his beloved Naples to Encino, and we're better off for it.

THE FACTS

The restaurant: Gio Cucina Napoletana.

Where: 15826 Ventura Blvd., Encino.

When: Open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekdays, for dinner from 5 to 9:30 p.m. weeknights, from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Saturdays. Closed Sundays.

How much: Starters from $4 to $6.50, pizzas from $8 to $10.50, pastas and entrees from $7.50 to $14.50, desserts $4 each. Beer and wine. All major credit cards.

Reservations: Parties of six or larger only. Call [phone].

Our rating: Three and One Half Stars for food; Three and One Half Stars for service; Three Stars for wine.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Gio Cucina Napoletana owner Giovanni Di Crisci, left, and chef and co-owner Roberto Castellanos display a few of the items available at the Encino restaurant.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News