Uptempo Simpatico Keeps Everyone Happy

Restaurant review XX 1/2 Simpatico, 4430 Wallingford Ave. N., Italian. ($$) Dinner ($8 to $20) 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; until 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday. No lunch. Lounge, full bar. Major credit cards. Smoking in bar only. Reservations: 632-1000.

Just another neighborhood Italian restaurant, but . . .

The difference between a neighborhood restaurant and a GOOD neighborhood restaurant, it seems to me, has always been the number of non-neighborhood folks who are willing to travel to dine there.

Simpatico, an uptempo Italian spot with determined flair for the occasional dramatic, qualifies in both distinctions. It has kept its local Wallingford-U District clientele happy, while serving dishes that transcend the mere quick-supper-down-the-street.

The setting is as parochially local as it can get: the daylight basement of the bustling Wallingford Center - formerly Interlake Elementary.

John Dimitriou opened Simpatico six years ago when the old schoolhouse was converted into a buzzing warren of character-oozing commercial shops. Dimitriou, the impresario of Jazz Alley downtown, wanted a bistro where the emphasis was on food and mood for families and informal dining.

He achieved it. Simpatico was strong when it opened and got better with the addition of Chef Hugh Kohl, formerly with Place Pigalle, Chez Shea and Ray's Downtown.

Ambitious menu

Kohl's menu is more ambitious than the usual run of the millions of bowls of pasta with two sauces (red and white) and assorted cheesy casseroles.

Appetizers ($4 to $6 for most) include a Greek-influenced Baked Garlic in Mediterranean Chiles, with marinated cucumbers, feta, Kalamata olives and grilled pita bread rubbed with a heady rosemary olive oil. The Pane con Salsa Trio ($3.95) is a more rustic starter. A crusty peasant bread, sliced fairly thin, and served with a fresh tomato curried relish (with the Sicilian overtones of pine nuts and currants), a sinus-awakening confit of roasted garlic, lemon and fresh basil, and another spread of chopped green and black imported olives in a glaze of olive oil and thyme.

A tip: If all you want is bread and a dip to get matters going, meals come with complimentary bread and a small bowl of fruity green olive oil braced with a splash of balsamic vinegar.

The Antipasto di Casa changes nightly ($5.95 for a small serving; $8.95 for a crowd), with a typical assortment of marinated vegetables, cheeses, imported meats, etc.

Or you can start off with a shared pizza ($8 to $11). They are individually thrown 8-inch pies, drawn thin and baked rather crisp. I can recommend the Pizza e Gorgonzola ($9.95), a basic tomato and cheese pie augmented with a winey Gorgonzola and chopped black olives (the leftovers made for an unconventional but eye-opening breakfast).

For an additional $2, you can order a small Caesar salad or a cup of soup, along with peasant bread and olive oil - and skip the rest of the menu. But then you'd miss out on some soul-satisfying pastas, like Eggplant Torte con Mascarpone ($10.95), or the consistent house specialties like Pollo con Pancetta ($11.95 a la carte; $13.95 for the complete dinner).

Terrific torte

The vegetable-mascarpone torte shows Chef Kohl at his innovative best. Circles of eggplant are filled with mascarpone and ricotta cheese, then wrapped in ribbon pasta, collected into a circle, banded with a ribbon of green spinach pasta and baked in a tomato and basil sauce.

"It's a bear to make," he reflected. "But it's worth it once it hits the table. It presents well and it `eats' well."

And so does the diner. My research assistant paused for breath, grinned, resumed with vigor and said she'd restart her diet in the morning.

The chicken with pancetta is simple but rewarding. It comes with a creamy, large-grained polenta and sits atop a portobello mushroom sauce that needed a bit of bracing; green peppercorns or brandy, or perhaps just an additional twist of black pepper.

This time of year the Fettuccine Benjamine ($10.95) is a good choice, with grilled summer vegetables, tomatoes, basil and spinach in an olive oil-garlic sauce and topped with a surprisingly effective scoop of cottage cheese.

Purists should give strong consideration to the Spaghetti with Roasted Garlic and Walnuts ($8.95) and the olfactory sensitivities of your dinner companion.

Good place. Expect to see it there six more years. (Copyright, 1994, John Hinterberger. All rights reserved.) John Hinterberger, who writes the weekly restaurant review in Tempo and a Sunday food column in Pacific, visits restaurants anonymously and unannounced. He pays in full for all food, wines and services. Interviews of the restaurants' management and staff are done only after meals and services have been appraised. He does not accept invitations to evaluate restaurants.