MUSIC MAY BE THE THING, BUT FOOD HAS A BEAT TOO

Awhile back, two mischievous friends of mine lured me to the Studio Cafe II, where they made sure the owner--a friend of theirs--knew who I was, and openly tried to snare me into doing a review.

I doubt this was the owner’s idea because there’s already a waiting list at the Corona del Mar restaurant on weekends with no help from me. Ordinarily it would have been the back of my hand to such shenanigans.

However, Studio Cafe II posed a theoretical issue. In restaurant science, Perry’s Law of the Conservation of Attraction goes like this: The more reasons there are to patronize a restaurant, the weaker, at least, the central one has to be--namely the food. For example, at a swinging singles’ hangout with great architecture and a view from the top of Mt. Everest, the specialte de la maison would be something like Bologna Surprise.

Well, the first Studio Cafe began in Balboa primarily as a jazz club, and its rather simple menu originally revolved around barbecued ribs and lemon chicken. So far, so good for my theory. Perhaps it’s more evidence of our food-obsessed times, however, that the place kept expanding its menu. Now, at the second Studio Cafe in Corona del Mar, where my sneaky friends invited me, you would never guess that the ostensible attraction of the place is music.

The only way I can think of to save my theory is to point out that Studio Cafe II is really more restaurant than jazz club. The dining room is separate from the jazz room and is larger. If you come for food, you are not quite assailed with sounds. Still, there’s a puzzle here. With its huge windows, right on the street, it’s a cute place to be seen, and that ought to cut into the food right there.

But no, there is a sort of hand-hewn adventurousness to this menu. The most amazing item is an appetizer called paillard of chicken. As usual, this word refers to a thin piece of grilled meat; but in this case, the chicken breast is beaten about as thin as a flour tortilla and practically overlaps the plate edges. It is served with soy butter and a topping of Japanese party mix--those little crackers shaped like moons and fish. God knows how anybody thought this up, but it’s surprisingly good.

This is a somewhat exotic menu that includes soft shell crabs with a dipping sauce that resembles a Chinese oyster sauce and a terrific chili pasta, with strips of grilled chicken breast on top of pasta colored red with ground peppers, served in a cream sauce with cilantro and pepperoncini on the side. The chefs had thrown in some fresh corn kernels, accentuating the dish’s surreal Mexican quality.

They have made a sort of a specialty of seafood here these days, particularly calamari, which is batter-fried and served with lemon butter and capers. At lunch, you can get the same squid served as a burger, with tomato, onion and pickle chips (you do get tartar sauce instead of catsup). I’ve never had a calamari burger I didn’t like.

But the seafood is not quite consistent. One night I had a special of swordfish in garlic cream sauce that was surprisingly bland; on another, there was a swordfish special in a garlic lemon sauce that was remarkably light, almost fluffy. The huge grilled prawns are fun, but they come with a very strange accompaniment of red bell pepper that tastes like spiced crab apple. My personal jury is out on that one.

It’s plain that the barbecued beef ribs are no longer the main attraction, nice as they are. They’re huge and tender, though oddly cut so that some ribs have lots of meat and others have little, served in a mildly hot barbecue sauce with a rather self-effacing personality. The strangest idea on the menu is serving barbecued prawns in the same sauce. They ought to throw in some lemon juice or something. The barbecued, free-range chicken, though, is still a standout, with quite a lot of smoky barbecue bird for the money.

The main dessert, as always, is the huge mud pie, a chocolate blowout made with Haagen-Dazs ice cream. It comes in an exemplary mint chocolate crust, topped with peanuts and surrounded with whipped cream. The three-nut pie is pecans, walnuts and peanuts, like a pecan pie without the custard layer; not bad. The cheese pie, a cheesecake with blueberries and blueberry puree, is sweet and rich and somewhat on the overwhelming side. Pass on the cheesecakes, though; at least the dreary strawberry model.

If you can make out the music, these really are bargain prices. Appetizers are $3.95 to $7.95 and entrees $9.95 to $15.95. At lunch (definitely no music), everything is $4.95 to $7.95.

STUDIO CAFE II 3201 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar

(714) 675-7575

Open for lunch Monday through Friday, dinner daily. All major credit cards accepted.