NORTH COUNTY RESTAURANTS : Area’s Growth Brings Melting Pot of Flavors : Food: The lengthening list of ethnic restaurants offers exotic, and almost always delicious, dining alternatives in North County.

North County might chew on the issue of growth every day, but at night it can savor one of the results: the emergence of an ethnic restaurant community that has sent the scent of pickle soup wafting across Penasquitos, brought alligator in sauce piquante to San Marcos and Escondido, supplanted sweet-and-sour pork with hot braised shrimp in Vista, and twisted willing tongues along the coast into pronouncing such names as zamarrod chalaw , bo nuong vi and ma pou too fu .

This growing list of ethnic options runs like a string of pearls (with a few cheap beads mixed in) along the region’s main arteries, from Rancho Penasquitos to Escondido, then west to the coast and back down to Del Mar. Some are modest, some rather formal, but the point is that they present alternatives--sometimes exotic and nearly always tasty--to the meat-and-potatoes establishments that once were the norm.

Stella’s Hideaway, a gem of a restaurant tucked in the corner of a Rancho Penasquitos convenience center, dishes up savory tastes of traditional Polish home cooking in a setting that blends elements of hunting lodge, farmhouse kitchen and Chicago neighborhood eatery. The pickle soup sets the mood as well as any dish, and, while it might sound alarming, it is actually a rather seductive blend of slivered vegetables, stock and cream seasoned with a fine mince of pickles and fresh dill. The soup could be considered homely but refined, a comment that applies equally well to such entrees as the pierogi (stuffed pasta pockets dusted with crumbled bacon), a complicated macaroni-and-cheese casserole, cabbage rolls swimming in a sour cream-enriched tomato sauce, and the robust hunter’s stew, which combines shredded beef and sausage with a puckery sauerkraut base. The austerely elegant, plate-size potato pancake, beautifully crisped and lavished with sour cream and applesauce, can be enjoyed alone or as a luxurious coverlet to the creamy beef paprikash . Meals include dessert, and thoughtful diners will politely decline the day’s pies in favor of the racy chocolate rum ball or the satisfying pastry “bow ties.”Stella’s Hideaway, 14323 Penasquitos Drive. 672-3604.

Rancho Bernardo has long held honors as home of two of the county’s best Japanese houses, Yae and Shien of Osaka, and in general could be called the capital of inland fine dining. Its restaurant roster lacked a notable Italian entry until last year, however--a situation remedied by the arrival of Valentino’s. This somewhat dressy establishment in the rebuilt Mercado brews some dandy soups (the minestrone and the straciatella both begin with rich, full-bodied broth), tosses a couple of lively salads and, in the realm of more formal appetizers, prepares a faultless version of fried baby squid and a particularly nice dish of garlic shrimp.

The conservative and largely familiar pasta list scores a major triumph with its cannelloni, and a nicety of the entree list is the stated willingness to prepare veal scallops in just about any manner desired; the kitchen follows through with carefully sauteed meat finished with one of the many light deglazing sauces that Italians prepare so masterfully. The menu also lists a better-than-average selection of chicken dishes, of which the breast in amaretto sauce is quite likeable, if on the sweet side. Pastries from the cart are pretty, but pretty average. Valentino’s, The Mercado Center, 11828 Rancho Bernardo Road. 451-3200.

San Marcos’ Nordahl Road, a commercial strip just west of Escondido, might seem a carbon copy of any of the dozens of such strips in the county, but it is the only one at which shoppers are likely to stumble across a menu headed by alligator in sauce piquante .

Kermit Kerner’s Cajun Connection brings the spicy flair of America’s most distinctive regional cuisine to North County with a menu that ranges from the muffaletta (the unique hero sandwich of New Orleans that includes a layer of crushed olive salad) to the crayfish, shrimp and oyster dishes that are the backbone of Cajun cooking.

Meals open with a complimentary basket of hush puppies, or deep-fried cannonballs of highly seasoned cornmeal, and continue with a simple but crisp salad that tastes best when doused with the tangy, garlic-herb dressing. Starters include a classic sausage and chicken gumbo, a plate of popcorn shrimp (several dozen, crisped in deep fat and served with a good, spicy sauce) and Louisiana’s favorite sausage, the boudin , which looks like a battered bratwurst and contains a soft mixture of rice and meat paste that might be an acquired taste.

As a typical Cajun gesture, a good potato salad is offered as an alternative to french fries with the entrees, many of which are themselves deep-fried. This category includes catfish, shrimp and oysters, all coated with a spiced batter. The stuffed shrimp, an occasional special, contain so much seafood dressing that they resemble small footballs when fried, and are good if not spectacular. The restaurant bows to current tastes by offering a tender, judiciously spiced “blackened” steak; other entree choices include fettuccine with chicken, shrimp or crayfish in a highly seasoned cream sauce, and New Orleans-style barbecued shrimp, which in fact are sauteed in butter and should convert any number of devotees of the charcoal grill. For dessert, the kitchen will prepare a rather soupy but pleasantly intense bananas Foster. Cajun Connection, 740 Nordahl Road, San Marcos. 741-5680.

The attractions of the admirable Peking Wok in Vista run well beyond the pianist who plays nightly (and ever so well) in the dining room. The menu mixes the dishes that Chinese restaurants must serve, such as sweet-and-sour and moo shu , with oddly named but brilliant pairings such as the “lover’s shrimp,” or hot braised prawns accompanied by delicate, Cantonese-style shrimp, and “three’s company,” or excellent versions of lemon, kung pao and moo goo gai pan chicken. Among first courses, the restaurant offers soggy egg rolls but wonderful dumplings, either lightly gilded or steamed and doused with chili sauce. Eggplant lovers will rejoice in the hot garlic sauce version; those who hate the vegetable might change their minds after trying it. Other good choices include the “dragon and phoenix” (a lively pairing of lobster and chicken), the pepper-salt pork cutlet and the Su’s fish filet, a recipe developed by the proprietor’s family that tops rock cod with a spicy sauce that suggests the flavor of roasted nuts. Peking Wok, 1241 E. Vista Way. 724-8078.

A North County exclusive is the selection of Singapore specialties at the Overseas Restaurant in Carlsbad, a relatively new entry that serves a mostly traditional Chinese menu varied at times by the inclusion of unexpected ingredients.

Overseas sends out sorry dumplings but makes amends with the minced squab (eaten taco style on lettuce leaves), here seasoned with pine nuts and succulent Chinese sausage. The Singapore-style satays arrive not on skewers but as sautees; they take the form of a sweet Malayan curry, and the chicken version is quite nice. Servers will mention other Singapore-style dishes if asked. One of these, the “three-mile shrimp,” evidently owes its name to its strong but attractive flavor. Studded with peas and cubed carrots, it looks oddly like the American Sunday dinner of yore, but the curry and chili oil seasonings bring it squarely into the sphere of the exotic. Overseas Restaurant, 2818 Roosevelt St., Carlsbad. 729-0348.

Janiama might be more difficult to pronounce than to swallow; this traditional Afghan blend of yogurt, chopped cucumber and mint also contains a strong shock of minced jalapeno, and is meant as a dip for the flat nan bread served during the meal at Pamir in Solana Beach.

The cooking, though not spicy, sometimes resembles that of India, and in many dishes rice stars as the main ingredient. Rice stewed with spinach forms the base for the lamb stew called zamarrod chalaw , saffron rice for both the qurma palaw , a stew of chicken, prunes and lentils, and the quabili palaw , or beef stew topped with raisins, almonds and spiced carrots. Pamir handles the ground beef kebabs without delicacy, but the fernee , an exotic pudding flavored with rose water and pistachios, makes for a happy ending. Pamir, 524 Stevens Ave., Solana Beach. 481-4040.

Vietnamese cooking has several outposts in North County, but the leader probably remains the casual if quietly elegant Le Bambou in Del Mar, which supplements the usual dishes with such specialties as lacque duck, notable for its tender meat and burnished skin; savory, richly flavored Cornish game hen; a finely pungent chicken curry, and the subtly piquant sauteed shrimp in fresh tomato sauce.

Other successful choices include the marinated beef grilled at table, the “golden coins” (ground shrimp and pork shaped in patties and barbecued), the steamed shrimp and pork crepes, and the challenging but delicate catfish simmered in a clay pot. As is true at many Vietnamese restaurants, the iced Vietnamese coffee makes the most refreshing and delicious dessert. Le Bambou, 2634 Del Mar Heights Road, Del Mar. 259-8138.