by Holly Sklar

THE HOUSE RESTAURANT (5750 Melrose Avenue, between Larchmont and Vine, 323-462-4687). Located in a house a stone's throw from Paramount, this friendly, homey Hollywood gem offers one of the tastiest lunches in town. The six-to-eight dollar "small plates" -- two of which will make a meal -- are likely to include a homemade vegetable soup of some kind, a salad so fresh it was picked that morning and, always, macaroni and cheese. But this is not the mac and cheese you ate as a child: Large shells are enveloped in three melted cheeses (raw white goat's-milk cheddar, gruyère and fontina) with a hint of allspice and cayenne and topped with toasted breadcrumbs. You'll want to lick the plate clean. A terrific "large plate" is the sweet potato and lobster salad in jalapeño vinaigrette, with a generous helping of shelled lobster meat on peppery arugula. The ten-dollar burger doesn't disappoint either: hefty, perfectly cooked, on an egg bread bun, it comes with thin, home-made Yukon Gold potato chips and chef Scooter Kanfer's house-made, multi-spiced ketchup; she ought to bottle this stuff. If you've got room, try the baked hot chocolate, a steaming, bittersweet soufflé in a demi-tasse cup that comes with vanilla-laced whipped cream and mini oatmeal-raisin and sugar cookies for dipping.

PHILLY WEST (1870 Westwood Boulevard, between Santa Monica and Olympic, Los Angeles, 310-474-9787). The well-kept secret of homesick Philadelphians, this neighborhood bar/restaurant minutes from Fox opens at eleven for lunch, which consists mainly of authentic cheese steaks and hoagies. For those who've had neither, here's what you've been missing. A

Philly West

"cheese steak" is thinly sliced rib-eye steak, grilled onions, pizza sauce and melted white American cheese on a big roll of soft French bread, pleasant to heft in one hand while you clutch a cold IBC Root Beer or Cream Soda in the other. The combination of sweet grilled onions, spicy red sauce and melted cheese is what really brings it home, and for just under four bucks, you can't beat it. Popular add-ons include mushrooms and bell pepper, and the "pizza steak" substitutes mozzarella for American. The hoagie is something else entirely: a cold sandwich, Philadelphia's version of a hero or submarine, traditionally made with imported ham, dry salami, capacola, provolone, more of that white American cheese, plus lettuce, tomatoes, shredded raw onions, oregano and olive oil vinaigrette, all on a French bread roll. It's the kind of sandwich you'd make at home if only you had the ingredients on hand. Fries here are freshly made, hand-cut with the skins still on, and not greasy. They don't do dessert, but who's got room?

THE OUT TAKE CAFE (12159 Ventura Boulevard, west of Laurel Canyon, Studio City, 818/760-1111). Fresh vegetables, free-range meats, healthy preparation and artful presentation are hallmarks of California cuisine, and the Out Take usually gets it right. The reasonably priced (mostly in the seven-fifty to thirteen-dollar range), varied, eclectic menu has something for everyone. If your lunch-time appetite runs to soups, salads, pastas and paninis, you'll have plenty of choices, and the entrees are a good deal too. Poached salmon salad is refreshing and light -- a slice of flaky, mildly spiced Alaskan salmon served over mixed baby lettuces, mildly salty capers, crunchy red onions and ripe tomatoes, with just enough lemon dill herb dressing to accent but not overpower the fish. The generous portion of roasted free-range chicken is tender inside, crisp outside, though the garlic it's supposed to be roasted with isn't much in evidence; it comes with a warm, soft, porcini mushroom risotto. The Cajun-spiced turkey meatloaf sandwich isn't anything special -- the restaurant does better when it sticks to its California roots. But overall, Out Take is a bright and pleasant place with an emphasis on putting the freshest stuff on your plate.