THE REAL MEXICAN DEAL CHEF'S TALENT ELEVATES AUTHENTIC FARE OF LAS LANCHITAS.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

You know immediately that there's something authentic going on at Las Lanchitas when you see the motherly woman patting the masa dough with her hands, fashioning the house-produced tortillas in a special area next to the front window of the Canoga Park Mexican restaurant.

The corn tortillas come up thick, chewy, obviously freshly cooked, and perfect for sopping up some of this kitchen's rich, peppery salsas.

The salsa rojo, or red sauce, provides a pool of chile-flavored satisfaction in one of the Lanchitas special or signature main courses, the costillas de puerco ($6.95) or pork ribs.

The salsa verde, or green sauce, with elevated piquancy and a hint of citrus from its tomatillo base, gives a full, round taste to the mocajete beef chili rendition here ($6.95), though the somewhat salty finish may deter some palates.

Both are plated by chef-owner Rosendo Lopez on partitioned platters with the house frijoles, a bit pasty in texture but well-flavored, and a mound of passable ``Spanish''-style rice.

Chef Lopez, who learned the refinements of Mexican restaurant cooking from Hugo Mendez at his Hugo's, the onetime immensely popular restaurant in Canoga Park, and more recently cooked at the Woodland Hills Country Club, also makes excellent enchiladas.

My pick from this category, the chicken enchiladas with salsa verde, emerges as a trio filled with moist, gratifying chicken ($5.95), thankfully not overwhelmed by either an abundance of melted cheese or too much sauce.

For starters here, you may want tamales. But don't count on any being available if you're eating here on a weekday, as I was.

Tamales, it seems, are not made in-house, but by special order by an outside source, and arrive on weekends only.

Consequently, starter satisfaction comes via the open-faced equivalent of burritos called huaraches ($3.95), fresh-tasting quesadillas - the cheese version are fine (two for $3.99) - and the more substantial sopes ($5.95 each) topped with pork, beef or chicken or a combination ($1 extra).

Incidentally, any of these starters can be enhanced with dollops of a thick, green-toned house salsa automatically brought to the table with crispy tortilla chips.

It's hotly spiced but not one of those burning mixtures needing gulps of water every couple of minutes.

Actually the most disturbing heat at Las Lanchitas comes on a hot summer day from a combination of the exterior weather and the interior stoves (kitchen and tortilla-cooking areas), causing the air conditioning to be less effective than it should be.

The best remedy for this is a chilled bottle of Mexican beer, the beverage of choice here, served without a glass unless you ask for one, and often with a small wedge of lime stuffed into the neck.

However, the drawbacks at Las Lanchitas are more than the lack of cold air or lack of tamales on weekdays.

You might ask for lengua (beef tongue), which, like tamales, is listed as a regular item on the printed menu, thus indicating it can be ordered at any time.

But it isn't. On two occasions it wasn't available.

Also, one time the waitress came back from the kitchen saying that they were out of the signature pork rib dish. However, with further cajoling, the kitchen said the pork ribs could be made within 15 minutes.

But there's no deviating from the refried beans.

No black beans. No boiled beans with onion and cilantro. Only frijoles refritos.

But even with these limitations, there's no question that Las Lanchitas has a talented chef and enough specialized Mexican fare to warrant a visit.

Especially on a lucky Saturday or Sunday when, besides tamales, you may find menudo, birria and/or lamb barbacoa.

And perhaps lengua.

LAS LANCHITAS

Food: Three stars. Service: Two stars. Value: Three and one half stars

Where: 20039 Vanowen St., Canoga Park.

Hours: Open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and beer from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Recommended items: Sopes, huaraches, quesadillas, chile de mocajete, costillas de puerco, enchiladas, handmade tortillas.

How much: Starters from $2 to $6, entrees from $5 to $10, desserts from $1 to $2. Beers. MC, V.

Reservations: Helpful. Call [phone].

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Photo:

A chile relleno dinner is among the plates available at Las Lanchitas in Canoga Park.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer