Dumplings Round Out Cafe Menu

Why is Out Take Cafe always so crowded? Maybe it’s because of the eclectic menu, or maybe it’s that Studio City people want to eat in a crowded place.

The table arrangement in this pretty, white-tiled restaurant puts you elbow-to-elbow with the other diners, so don’t come with the idea of having an intimate discussion . . . or, given the largely entertainment industry clientele, a contract renegotiation. At these close quarters, anything you say is likely to become part of a conversation you share with the next table.

One night our waiter was a man with a long blond pony tail and an unfamiliar accent. We soon learned Vlashi was Albanian. He informed us that the correct name of his country was Shqiptar and that it means “land of eagles.”

Soon after, three or four tables were having an animated discussion about Albania, prompting the very busy Vlashi to throw up his hands and say, “All right, no time for more questions about Albania.”

In fact, Albanian cuisine seems about the only one not represented on this menu, which pretty much does the Macarena across the culinary map. The first dish listed is Ukrainian borscht, a light, flavorful soup chock full of beets, cabbage, potatoes and carrots.

Just below that is a quirky vegetable won-ton soup: three vegetable-filled dumplings (broccoli, carrot and potato) in a gingery broth.

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This restaurant is altogether quite fond of dumplings. Chewy meat, shrimp and vegetable dumplings turn up all over the place: in salads, with entrees and by themselves, both as appetizers and main dishes.

For instance, you can get another Ukrainian favorite, potato vareniki, in the appetizer section. These are hearty round pockets fried golden brown like Chinese pot stickers, but filled with potato puree and topped with caramelized onions and creme frai^che. You get half a dozen vareniki on your plate, and two or three of them could make an entire meal.

Then there are what I’d call the dumpling salads. Chicken panzotti are like ravioli splashed with a light tomato coulis, served on a bed of mixed greens. The nicely conceived pot-sticker salad includes some unassertive shrimp-filled pot stickers that go well with greens in a pungent sesame oil vinaigrette.

The spinach salad, surprisingly, includes Belgian endive, a scattering of enoki mushrooms--and three strongly flavored mushroom dumplings.

Another good appetizer is Southwest turkey chili, a massive portion of Cajun turkey loaf with a few beans lurking around the edges, garnished with Cheddar cheese, red onions and creme frai^che.

To judge from the tables neighboring mine, the most popular appetizer would be Dungeness crab cakes, but I’m not too impressed with them. Though they’re fried to a lovely golden brown, they don’t taste 100% crab to me.

The entrees are uniformly fine. The roasted cod, for instance, is an excellent plate of fresh ling cod in mushroom caper sauce on a delicate potato puree. The grilled salmon comes nicely charred on one side on braised Savoy cabbage.

I also like the beef bourguignon, even if I don’t taste wine in the sauce. If you just consider it braised short ribs on homemade fettuccine, though, it’s great.

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Prices are more than fair. Roasted chicken--crisp and juicy, the skin redolent of garlic and herbs, a delicious mushroom risotto on the side--is only $10.50. Then there is possibly the most beautiful lamb shank in town, huge, deep brown in color garnished with pureed celery root. This dish, which would easily feed two, is only $10.95.

Desserts include apple strudel, a workmanlike flour-less chocolate cake and a rich, creamy chocolate mousse. The wine list is small, but the corkage fee is a reasonable $5. Beware of the noise level, and don’t be put off by the tendency of servers to put the check down before you have finished dessert.

At the finish, hot herbal teas are served in sleek chrome and glass Bodum plunger pots, which is counterproductive in terms of turning tables.

These soothing infusions encourage customers to linger, another reason for that never-ending traffic jam of standees by the front door.

DETAILS

* WHAT: Out Take Cafe.

* WHERE: 12159 Ventura Blvd., Studio City.

* WHEN: Open 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, noon-10 p.m Saturday, 5-9:30 p.m. Sunday.

* HOW MUCH: Dinner for two, $21-$38. Suggested dishes: Southwest turkey chili, $5.95; potato vareniki, $6.95; roasted chicken, $10.50; braised lamb shank, $10.95.

* FYI: Beer and wine only. Parking lot in rear. All major cards.

* CALL: 760-1111.