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A PHOENIX Eating-Out Guide:A Flock of Foreign Food Fare And ACornucopia Of Cuisine Make ItPossible To Eat Around The World InDowntown Brooklyn NeighborhoodsBY IRENE VAN SLYKETHE TASTE OF ITALYAromatic smells of tomato sauces laced with basil and marjoram, boiling mussels and other seafoods greet a diner in many of Brooklyn%u2019s Italian restaurants. They range from simple, hearty home kitchen fare to more elaborate dinners in distinguished decors.Most Italian restaurants in the downtown Brooklyn area specialize in Southern regional cooking where the meals are made of pastas, soft cheeses, ricottas and mozzarellas, shellfish, accompanied by fresh breads. Antipastos before dinner include fresh salads, olives, ham with a simple olive oil and vinegar dressing. In contrast Northern Italian cooking features game, veals, fine cheeses, thin breadsticks and in general a cuisine more related to its neighbors France and Switzerland.QUEEN RESTAURANT on Court Street specializes in dishes from Southern Italy with scungilli salads and hot antipastos in an intimate quiet atmosphere. There are rich home made manicottis and lasagnas for $3.50, all varieties of seafood from shrimp Fra Diavolo for $6.50 to lobster tails for $11. Shrimp and veal Florentine are a delightful surprise with their delicate (and very rich) batter dipped style. Desserts are traditional tortonis, fresh fruits and spumoni%u2014a mousse ice cream. Queen also serves family dinners for three or four ranging from $23 to $34. Queen, with its very busy commercial downtown location, may be the best single Italian restaurant around. Queen Restaurant, 98 Court Street, open 12 noon to 1 am weekends until 2 am, all credit cards, full bar, MA4-9621.FOFFE%u2019S on Montague Street is in a class all by itself. Even though it prides itself on its Italian cooking, it%u2019s possibly best known for its winter game menu and its special game dinners. Entering the dining room with its plain red booths a stranger to the restaurant wouldn%u2019t be able to predict the delights that will soon arrive frmn thf> kitchen. Starting in November there will be venison, wild boar chops, pheasant, duck and quail served daily onthe menu, with wild rice ranging from $14 for $26 for pheasant. Reservations are taken now for the December 1 and 8 special Game Dinners, price $25. Italian specialties, with pastas cooked to order, are sphaghetti with mussels $6, or linguini with lobster and shrimp sauce $8.50. Specials of the week might feature dishes from other countries such as boneless Irish lamb stew or Hungarian beef goulash. Foffe%u2019s, 155 Montague Street, open Mon to Fri 12 to 10 pm, Sat. 1 to 10:30 pm. Full bar. All credit cards. Reservations for groups. 624-9887 or MA5-2558.CASA STORTA on 21st Street off 4thAvenue has an unassuming front door but once inside there is a spacious room with a large open kitchen in the back where the chef and owner Tony and bis cooks are busy preparing dinners. %u201cEverything is made to order%u201d assures the chef and so many items on the menu do not specify a price, but instead say %u201caccording to size and to order%u201d . Appetizers start at $2.50, entrees begin at $5 and go up to $10. Lobster is a specialty. There are many different kinds of fish and fresh seafood such as porgies, red snapper, pompano and sole served with linguini, fetuccini and macaroni al dente. Casa Storta, 186 21st Street, open 6 pm-11 pm weekdays, Fri, Sat. and Sun. 6 pm to 1 am. Full bar. No credit cards. Call 788-8984 or 788-9039.JOE%u2019S RESTAURANT on Waverly Place in Clinton Hill is probably one of downtown Brooklyn%u2019s best-kept secrets%u2014 and aficionados of this delightful restaurant want to keep it that way so they can be sure to get a seat when they visit. All the standard Italian fare is available, but what Joe does in the kitchen turns it into the extraordinary. Worth special mention is his version of Fettuccini Alfredo and Totolinni. A fish stew, usually prepared for two, could be enough food for three%u2014and is great. The taste tells you everything is cooked to order. Joe%u2019s is certainly the best Italian restaurant in this part of town, if not all of Brooklyn. And if the treat of good food, pleasantly served wasn%u2019t worth * i: %u2014:i %u2014 %u2666u itoolf Jc11 C l V C t l U g l l i l l t O i m , U l t ic o v u m i m m v .October 18.1979. The PHOENIX. Page 13