TOTO: YOU'RE IN ITALY, NOT KANSAS.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

The San Fernando Valley branch of Toto, which began as a tiny pizzeria on Sepulveda Boulevard in Van Nuys, has now moved into spacious quarters on Ventura Boulevard in Encino and become Toto di Notte.

So now there is the morning Toto that carries on at the Sepulveda site through lunchtime, and the more expansive Toto of the Night, continuing with the same moderately priced Italian food in the evening, but with a full bar and an entertainment lounge that kicks in with live music as the dinner hours wind down.

The charm of Toto is that it bends over backward to stay an unassuming pizzeria despite its vaunted new address and loads of added space.

In fact, it hadn't yet printed a wine list after being open two weeks. And if you had to wait at a table in the bar area until one was ready in the dining room, as we did one night, there wasn't anybody there to take a drink order other than the bartender.

So if you didn't bother, neither did Toto.

Which, in these days of hustle-hustle, seems somewhat refreshing.

Toto might eventually expand its main courses, but right now it seems content to be a salad, pizza and pasta place with most everything priced under $10.

The exceptions are the house osso buco at $12, one of the best renditions of this veal shanks dish in town; a grilled chicken breast (with spinach and pasta) at $11; and a braciola and meatballs plate for $11.

And there are usually nightly specials of steak and/or fresh fish recipes available, also a du jour soup - one night it was a sensational minestrone with distinctively perfumed vegetables - and an additional stuffed pasta.

Meanwhile, Toto's already-acclaimed thin-crust pizzas - there are 22 of them - provide six fair-size wedges as a starter dish. Our choice one evening was the pizza puttanesca ($8.95) to which we added cheese. The peppy toppings on this pizza are tomato sauce, anchovies, capers, black olives, garlic and olive oil.

Incidentally, Toto bakes some of the best foccaccia-style bread you'll find, serves it in a basket and places a saucer of mashed fresh garlic with it plus a crucible of olive oil to pour and mix and dip to your heart's content.

One of the most enjoyable starter options is the zuppa di cozze e vongole ($7.95), which translates into a spicy, fresh clam and mussel broth that, with the warm foccaccia, can almost become a meal in itself.

Perched in the peppery, garlicky liquid, you'll find at least four of those big, green-lip mussels and perhaps half a dozen sweet, chewable clams, all in their shells.

Also among the beginning dish options is the delightful calamari alla posillipo ($6.95), a refreshing salad with a generous topping of the tenderest chilled baby calamari and tiny shrimp mixed with bell peppers, capers, kalamata olives and a lemon olive oil dressing.

If it's something meaty you'd prefer, move to Toto's version of fettuccine Bolognese, which combines freshly made fettuccine noodles with as meaty a sauce as you'd want - an excellent companion dish to either the fruity '95 Kenwood zinfandel ($19.95) or the lighter '94 D'Aquino house chianti riserva ($12.95).

There's also a remarkable brunello buy, an '88 Le Coste for $29.95, that goes splendidly with the osso buco or with one of the favored pastas here, stacchioddi alla guisi ($9.95), a bowl of ear-shaped shells sporting a pork rib, rolled veal and a flavorful ragu sauce perked up with fresh basil.

Incidentally, the pastas arrive simply in bowls without flourish or garnish. One of the good-tasting spaghettis has a mix of olive oil, marsala wine, tomato sauce and a touch of cream tossed with shallots and topped with shrimp. Add $1 and you get the larger tiger shrimp.

Another is the simple perfection of spaghetti al burro ($6.95), a purist's dream of buttery noodles cooked exactly to the tooth, displaying just enough pliancy to avoid hardness.

For one of those special pastas, co-owner-chef Giusy Magliozzi will stuff her fluffy, freshly made ravioli envelopes with ricotta and spinach, over which she'll ladle a light, creamy bleu cheese sauce.

And with Toto's low prices, even if the food takes a while to get to the table, you know the second you put it in your mouth that here's superior stuff that's not only worth waiting for, but is an astounding value.

THE FACTS

The restaurant: Toto di Notte.

Where: 15627 Ventura Blvd., Encino.

When: Open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., for dinner from 5 to 11 p.m. nightly (by advance reservation until midnight). Lunch service on weeekends begins in four weeks.

Recommended items: Calamari alla posillipo, clam and mussel soup, pizza puttanesca, spaghetti al burro (butter), penne Segal (sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and peas), fettuccine bolognese, stacchioddi alla Giusi (ear-shaped pasta with rolled veal, pork rib and ragu sauce), spaghetti al gamberi (shrimp and marsala-tomato sauce), osso buco.

How much: Everything under $10 except three entrees under $12. Full bar. All major credit cards.

Wine list: No written list yet. Owner Emilio Magliozzi says he has a starter selection of seven reds and seven whites.

Reservations: Suggested. Call [phone].

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

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Giusy Magliozzi, left, sons Aldo and Chris, and husband Emilio step up to the plate with Toto di Notte, offering Italian dishes to the dining crowd in Encino.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News