MARY FURR -- Dining Out

You’ll be as surprised as old puppet-maker Geppetto was when Pinocchio

came to life when you have lunch or dinner at Geppetto’s Pasta and

Pizzeria on Brookhurst Street between Talbert and Ellis avenues in

Huntington Beach.

This is not just another pizza place. It has sauces that are thick and

fresh, pizza crust that is thin and crisp, and salads big enough to

share.

First to the table is a basket, not of bread sticks or Italian bread, but

of small squares of pizza dough with tomato paste, brushed with olive

oil, topped with spicy sprinkles and baked to a cracker crisp. It’s

perfect with the marinara dip and the salad or soup that come with the

cheese ravioli (lunch $6.95, dinner $8.75).

These ravioli -- stuffed with ricotta, Parmesan and Romano cheeses -- are

big, round pasta pockets covered with a thick marinara, mild and not too

astringent. You can also have pesto with basil and olive oil if you

prefer. Geppetto’s tries to please. Pastas come with garlic bread and

soup or salad.

Another choice on the lunch special, served until 4 p.m., is a big, big

bacon chicken croissant ($6.50). This meal features a flattened, grilled

chicken breast crisscrossed with bacon strips, sliced tomato and lettuce

in a flaky croissant. It’s one of those nibble-around-the-edges,

hard-to-handle jobs that will carry you through to dinner. Just to be

nice, Geppetto’s offers a free beverage at lunch.

If you’re dieting but still really hungry, try a classic antipasto salad

(small $4.95, medium $6.95 or large $8.95). The small portion, served in

a flat, soup-type bowl, has a base of fresh greens covered with pieces of

salami and capicola meat, provolone cheese, strips of fleshy red peppers

and sprinkled with black olives. The small is really big!

Manager Ron Lane says the most popular choice is homemade lasagna

($8.95). This oven-baked creation has lean ground beef between layers of

pasta, ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, all covered with that

great meat sauce. There’s also a vegetarian lasagna ($8.95) with a

tomato-basil sauce slowly simmered with zucchini, onions and carrots,

layered with eggplant, spinach and cheeses.

Pizza (12- to 16-inch, $6.99 to $16.99) is a specialty with Chef Juan

Viana. The crust is thin with puffy edges. And the toppings range from

those for meat lovers to vegetarian. Ours had green peppers, olives and

mushrooms (99 cents each) and lots of stringy cheese, like you’d fix in

your own kitchen.

Tiramisu ($4.50), the star dessert of any Italian restaurant, here is a

two-layer wedge of mascarpone and a liquer-soaked cake on a chocolate

crust lightly dusted with cocoa. A small slice is potent enough to send

you home happy.

Lane says Geppetto’s appeals to families by giving kids a pizza choice

and their parents more Italian, sophisticated cuisine, all in one

restaurant. Then there’s home delivery, which pleases everyone.

As for me, I cannot tell a lie -- Geppetto’s may be a small place, but

its authentic dishes have big appeal.

* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have comments or

suggestions for her, call (562) 493-5062.

FYI

GEPPETTO’S PASTA AND PIZZERIA

WHERE: 18279 Brookhurst St., Huntington Beach.

HOURS: 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; till 9:30 Friday, 4

to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, 4 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday

CALL: 378-9947

MISC: Beer and wine is served. Credit cards accepted.