RESTAURANT REVIEW:

With the abundance of Italian restaurants in the Huntington Beach/Fountain Valley area, I was feeling a little guilty going to the same couple that I prefer.

I decided to expand that circle and see if any new ones could enter into my regular rotation.

Several people have suggested I visit Caffe Gazelle, including a reader named Barbara, who e-mailed me and said in the three times she had been there, her meals had all been excellent.

With that recommendation, a few friends and I ventured over there. With one of my favorite restaurants, Slowfish, right next door, I am not sure why I never noticed the Italian restaurant, except that maybe I was so focused on what was waiting for me inside Slowfish that I had blinders on.

It seems to be a trend developing for high-end restaurants in nondescript strip malls. Caffe Gazelle is yet another one of the restaurants that you can’t believe is there. There are white tablecloths, and the interior design is very simple, with a touch of elegance.

This is the second Caffe Gazelle, and if you have been to the Long Beach location, you know how cramped seating is there. There is more space here, and conversations are not held at a yell, like the other facility.

Little touches like the sprig of rosemary on the white napkin and the soft lighting added to the minimalist ambience.

The menu is a mix of traditional and new dishes, which I noticed immediately when I saw the appetizers. Next to the bruschetta was rosemary chicken meatballs with aioli. A combination of gnocchi and pesto also looked intriguing.

My girlfriend and I split a salad of butter lettuce with pear, walnuts, olive oil and asiago cheese. The salad had no dressing on it, relying on the olive oil, which was fine with me. The pears and walnuts were a nice combination, and the cheese had just enough of a kick to it.

There are several entrée specials on the menu. One friend ordered the veal scaloppini, sautéed veal with garlic, onion and bell pepper, which was quite good. The marinara sauce was light and not sweet, working well with the meat, which was incredibly tender.

My other friend had baked eggplant, a favorite of hers. She quite enjoyed the eggplant that had tomato sauce with green peas and a cream sauce that was rich, but did not drown out the vegetable.

Another cream dish we ordered was the Michelangelo. Penne pasta with mushrooms, sweet onions, cappicola and chicken were mixed with the cream sauce that, again, was rich without being heavy. The meats were tender, and the onions added to the flavor of the dish.

Pescatore is one of my favorite Italian seafood dishes, and Caffe Gazelle’s was quite good. The dish is a combination of shrimp, scallops and clams in usually a marinara sauce, but Caffe Gazelle used a plum tomato sauce that brought out the seafood even more. My only complaint was that there were not enough clams.

I do applaud the inventiveness. Like the pescatore, they have taken a traditional dish and put their own touch to it. Another example are the cheese ravioli. Instead of using a marinara sauce, the ravioli is baked in a tomato-pesto sauce.

The menu also had unique items on it. The braised veal loin with artichoke hearts in sherry cream and the chicken breast with spinach. Lemon and white beans were evidence to me that there is a willingness to try something out of the norm, and diners will be rewarded for that.

CAFFE GAZELLE

ADDRESS: 16041 Bolsa Chica St., Huntington Beach

PHONE: (714) 846-2694

CUISINE: Italian

SPECIALTY DISH: Any of the nightly specials

ALCOHOL SERVED: beer and wine

ENTRÉE PRICE RANGE: $10 to $17

FAMILY FRIENDLY: yes

CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED: American Express, Visa and MasterCard

RATING: *** out of 4

JOHN REGER reviews restaurants for the Independent.