Mangia at Maria’s

It’s a long, long way from Jersey. When Hoboken native Maria Alfano opened her first Maria’s Italian Kitchen 22 years ago, it was a humble neighborhood spot serving her family’s Neapolitan dishes. That little Sherman Oaks place has blossomed into a chain of large family restaurants with a vast and innovative menu.

Alfano has hired Amy Pressman, founder of Pasadena’s Old Town Bakery, to help with the upgrade. These days, you can expect unusual soups, salads, pastas and desserts at any Maria’s. They should be big news in Valencia, where the latest Maria’s Italian Kitchen recently opened.

The Valencia place is spacious and cheerful, with a breezy decor well-suited to families and large dining parties. And smack in the center of the room, there is a framed photo of Maria herself, inviting her guests to mangia, mangia.

That you will, friend. Appetizers from the regular menu can be outrageously filling. On one of my visits, everyone in the Valencia restaurant was having the stuffed artichoke, so I ordered one for my table as well. It’s a huge steamed artichoke stuffed with a very rich mixture of seasoned bread crumbs, fresh garlic and pureed artichoke heart. Not everybody in my group liked it, but I was crazy about it.

Go to the specials list and try the arugula salad and fresh white corn soup, two dishes that Maria ought to make permanent additions to her menu. The salad is a pile of arugula greens tossed with olive oil and lemon juice laced with freshly ground pepper; what makes it memorable is the addition of gorgeous little yellow tomatoes and nuggets of shaved dry ricotta. The white corn soup, meanwhile, is a thick, pale yellow porridge of oven-roasted white corn (and yellow corn too, despite the name) blended with roasted red peppers, fresh sage and a dash of cream. It’s smooth and mellow and really hard to stop eating.

Then there are the pizzas, giant 16-inchers with thick crusts and heavy toppings. Don’t make the mistake I did of ordering a custom pizza topped with both meatballs and sausage. For pizza-topping purposes, both meats are ground, and the pizza looked as if it had been buried under a blanket of meatloaf. But the pepperoni, in particular, is delicious, and both the cheese and tomato sauce used on Maria’s pizzas are exemplary.

None of us liked the smoked mozzarella ravioli from the specials list, though. They were perfectly cooked and have a nice smoky flavor, but the filling was mushy and one dimensional. The regular menu’s spaghetti carbonara, on the other hand, was terrific. And everyone liked the hearty stuffed shells, a family-style casserole of pasta shells stuffed with ricotta in a chunky marinara.

The meat entrees (secondi) are primarily chicken or seafood, and most portions would easily serve two. Sesame chicken is a huge boneless chicken breast with sesame seeds in the breading, dressed with parsley butter. Another one worth a try is shrimp fra Diavolo, nearly a dozen large shrimp drenched in a fiery hot marinara.

Now to dessert. Anyone who has stopped by an Old Town Bakery, either at LAX or the original Pasadena location, has seen the opulent cakes served here; most are Amy Pressman creations. Lemon hazelnut meringue cake, country pear and polenta cake and country apple almond crumble are always available, but Pressman also rotates a few desserts.

So look for the crunchy peanut butter fudge cake, a flourless chocolate cake topped with a mousse-like peanut butter cream, and the country banana walnut cake: three layers brushed with a bittersweet chocolate ganache. Toto, I don’t think we’re in Hoboken any more.

BE THERE

Maria’s Italian Kitchen, 23460 Cinema Drive, Valencia. Hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Dinner for two, $29-$48.

Suggested dishes: Stuffed artichoke, seasonal price; arugula salad, $6.95; fresh white corn soup, $3.95; pasta carbonara, $8.95; desserts, $4.50. Beer and wine only. Parking lot. All major cards. (805) 287-3773.