By Mark Mazzaferro
TIMES CORRESPONDENT

There's a regional battle brewing, and we never even knew it was
coming. But unlike most battles, the only losers are those who don’t jump into the fray.

I've been learning about this all-out assault on the palates of Northern California diners only in the last couple of months as I have ventured into the northern part of the Bay Area and California in search of restaurants to review.

First, Santi struck me as an excellent execution of fine Mediterranean dining in more or less the middle of nowhere—somewhere between Healdsburg and Geyserville. Next came La Salette, a neat. little Portuguese—Portuguese! —restaurant in Sonoma, the little town better-Known as the home of Gallo wines

Well, add another Sonoma restaurant helping the North Bay climb the ladder to restaurant nirvana, as the owner of Meritage has tossed his toque into the ring. Chef/owner Carlo Cavallo knows he's in for a tussle from his neighbors to the east, but he's well-pre-pared in the fight to bring some culinary attention to his new home.

Originally from Verona, Italy, Cavallo has been traveling between Italy and the United States all his life. At first a molecular-biology major, he was on his way to medical school at UCLA when, the thought of dealing with an HMO from the inside out, was more than he could stand. So, he returned to Italy, started training and ended up in Sonoma. Cavallo believes, the region's stature is growing in food circles. "We're really starting to pull some culinary weight," he said. "Hopefully we'll pull some focus away from the 'other' valley."

That other valley Would be The Napa Valley, home to countless wineries and restaurants.

"Sonoma is more charming than Napa," Cavallo, said, in a statement guaranteed to please Sonoma chamber officials and rile Napa boosters. "I just feel more Comfortable here!'

His comfort level shows in his restaurant, and in the food his, kitchen produces. The entrees on Meritage's menu change daily, but stay true to the theme Cavallo has created. The appetizers, salads and pastas are constants, but the fish, beef, veal, pork and poultry dishes change on a daily basis. And while chances are good you won't see the same thing on the Meritage menu two days in a row, you can be assured each new dish will be prepared with the care and sense of seasoning Cavallo has developed.

"It keeps it interesting for the clientele, the kitchen and the staff every day," Cavallo said. "We don't order 50 pounds of pork loin all at once, and the next day we have something else come in."

The Italian influence on his culinary life shines through brightly, as crispy polenta sticks ($6) got our evening off to a wonderful start. Three large sticks of firm polenta are sautéed in butter to a crispy brown outside and golden yellow inside, and are then. served with a swirl of mushroom and gorgonzola sauces.

We also enjoyed calamari, tiger prawns and zucchini sticks ($9) served with an herb aioli and spicy tomato sauce. I’m a sucker for calamari and to be honest, as long as there'are some tentacles and the breading is nice, crisp and light, I'm happy. These made, me very happy, and were highlighted by two plump, perfectly cooked tiger prawns. The zucchini, cut matckstick-thin was a little disappointing, as it lacked crispness and was limp: a small drawback to be sure.

Homemade butternut squash tortelloni ($13) was a bowl filled with eight or nine of the most tender, thinnest little pillows of pasta stuffed with the smoothest, creamiest squash filling I have ever enjoyed. It was naturally sweet, but still nutty enough to be a satisfying entree. Sautéed in a brown-butter sage sauce, the tortelloni were fantastic.

Homemade wide" fettucine Sautéed with tiger prawns ($13) in a yellow curry and Pemod sauce featured a nice portion of plump, Sautéed prawns served in a large bowl with a heaping portion of freshly made fettuccine noodles.

I liked everything about, this dish the firm yet tender noodles, the flavorful prawns, the portion size—but something about the seasoning turned me off a bit. A little too much of that licorice-flavored Pernod, perhaps?

Cavallo, recently opened up a raw bar at his restaurant, featuring a wide array of oysters, mussels, clams and other seafood delights, ranging from a small platter up to a massive $90 indulgence for several guests.

I Dry-aged rib-eye steak ($19) with gorgonzola sauce was served
over mashed potatoes and a melange of Sautéed red and yellow bell peppers and cauliflower seasoned with a bit too much pepper for my taste, but good nonetheless. The huge steak was grilled medium-rare and topped with a creamy white sauce that gave just a hint of gorgonzola, but in this case, hint was perfect. It came with one of those formidable steak knives with a big handle and large blade, but the meat was so tender, a plain old butter knife would have sufficed.

We finished off the evening with a couple of sorbets ($4.50) that were a refreshing, tart, tongue-tingling way to end our meal. Lemon meringue ($6) was equally good, with a rich, lemony filling layered between several cookie wafers.

All in all, we had a wonderful experience at Meritage, and if the rest of the dinner houses in Sonoma can reach the standard being set here and at La Salette, the restaurants of the Napa Valley are in for quite a fight.