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RESTAURANTS
Barsac Brasserie / 1*
4212 LANKERSHIM BLVD, NORTH HOLLYWOOD; 818/760-7081
With its close vicinity to the studios, this dining establishment is
an industry hangout often filled with studio suits doing business deals
over above-average French-Italian fare. To take advantage of seasonal
ingredients, the menu here changes every three months. Start with the
wild
mushroom and anchovy tart or the grilled eggplant rolls stuffed with goat
cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and pine nuts, and then move on to the tortelloni
with wild duck, served with a slightly heavy shiitake and oyster mushroom
cream sauce, or the spaghetti and rabbit in a Burgundy ragout with peas,
onions, and garlic. Roasted game hen with fresh tarragon and rack of lamb
served with a puree of pumpkin and yams are other menu highlights. The
open-air kitchen facing the busy dining room makes it impossible to savor
a quiet meal, but the studio crowd makes people- watching almost as much
fun as eating. $$$; AE, DC, MC, V; lunch Mon-Fri, dinner Mon-Sat; full
bar; reservations recommended; just north of Universal Studios.
Ca' del Sole / 2.5*
4100 CAHUENGA BLVD, NORTH HOLLYWOOD; 818/985-4669
This rustic Italian eatery transports diners to the Mediterranean with
its trellised vine terrace and countryside-inn atmosphere, fireplace,
and antique wood hutches. The mouth-watering aroma of garlic and herbs
wafting through the busy dining room only helps the illusion. Waiters,
JBBT many of whom are Italian, will encourage you to mangia by sharing
such starters as baked Roma tomatoes, lobster- and crabcakes sauteed with
cannellini beans and green lentils, and rich broccoli and cauliflower
souffle served with roasted plum tomato sauce. Pasta lovers enjoy the
hearty bowls of freshly made pastas, including bigoli alia Ca' del Sole,
a fragrant seafood pasta overflowing with lobster, clams, shrimp, and
crab; and pumpkin raviolis accented with sage. The marinated corn-fed
chicken with lemon zest and herbs and the free-range wine-braised veal
shank with vegetables and potato gnocchetti sauteed in sage butter are
also good choices. Forget about fat grams and sample the restaurant's
home- made gelati for dessert. Adding to the relaxed atmosphere, Ca' del
Sole (which means "House of the Sun") also offers dinner in
the casual-but- cramped jazz room, where live jazz is performed nightly.
But if you are
planning to have dinner, stick to the dining room. $$$; AE, DC, MC, V;
no checks; lunch Mon-Fri, dinner every day, brunch Sun; full bar; reservations
recommended; between Lankershim Blvd and Moorpark St.
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