Making East an eden

Chef Pietro DelViscovo spent 2 1/2 years driving up and down Route 128 and around Boston searching for the perfect place for a trendy eatery, a place where he could design the room and showcase his culinary skills.

His final choice? A corner spot in East Boston's unrefined Orient Heights, which DelViscovo calls the new North End.

''East Boston is the new place coming up," he said. ''They are fixing it to be a nice place. They are putting up nice condos, new houses. Lots of professionals are moving in. It's going to be great."

At least a half-dozen eating establishments have sprung up in East Boston in the past 16 months, hoping to cash in on the budding hip environs. But the droves of customers predicted for Boston's latest hot spot have yet to materialize.

Despite massive advertising campaigns in local newspapers and reduced prices, most of the new restaurants are not serving full dining rooms.

''They just haven't caught yet," said Ernie Torgersen, executive director of East Boston Main Streets. ''Some nights they are packed, and sometimes they are empty."

Some say the restaurateurs might be serving the entrée before the aperitif. East Boston is still some years away from becoming a destination along the lines of the South End or Newbury Street, according to Torgersen and other business leaders in the area.

''We are way before that," he said. ''With the new influx of restaurants, they are fighting for customers. They will win. They just need some time."

Officials have thrown around words like renaissance and rebirth when discussing East Boston since the early 1990s, but believers say that East Boston's time in the spotlight really is approaching. They point to the construction of thousands of condominiums and luxury apartments in recent years.

Yet, homeowners are only just beginning to settle in the area. Despite efforts to promote East Boston as a thriving neighborhood, the area, long home to low-income families and immigrants, remains unknown to many outsiders.

''There has been a lot of publicity about East Boston as an up-and-coming neighborhood," said Robert Loiacono, who just stepped down as director of the East Boston Chamber of Commerce. ''The population is growing. There's plenty of people, but it's still not a destination place."

There is little commercial space available in bustling Maverick Square, where renovations of the Blue Line T station and a waterfront park have attracted people looking for business opportunities. As a result, new restaurateurs have gravitated to Orient Heights and Day Square. Both are primarily residential districts with small commercial centers, Torgersen said.

Stepping away from East Boston's traditional Italian stronghold, many of the new restaurants serve up international dishes. Some are Latin, reflecting the neighborhood's growing Hispanic population. Others are pancultural, like Carmen's Kitchen on Bennington Street, set to open this week, which serves Italian dishes as well as some American fare.

DelViscovo's Zafferano restaurant, which opened about 15 months ago, stands out amid the Chinese take-out restaurants and nail salons in Orient Heights. Inside the high-end eatery, tables are adorned with linens and crystal glasses. Black-and-white photographs of Grottaminarda, DelViscovo's hometown in southern Italy, grace the walls. In the corner is a small wine bar.

DelViscovo is optimistic. His food is good, he says, and the customers will follow. But so far, there is ''room for improvement," at least according to his bottom line.

''Right now there doesn't seem to be a lot of foot traffic where we are," he said. ''We are hoping things will be happening very quickly."

Down the road, at the slightly more lively Day Square, Latin and Italian restaurants frame the street. Traffic whizzes by, and parking is more plentiful.

Francisco E. Perlera is hoping that will add up to good odds for his Salvadorian restaurant, El Buen Gusto, which opened in July. Perlera said that he has had to adjust some menu prices, but that the food has received positive reviews from his customers.

Perlera talks of an East Boston lined with elegant cafés and colorful boutiques, something akin to Newbury Street or Harvard Square, he said.

''Things are moving very quickly," he said. ''People see that change is going to happen."

Speculation on East Boston's future varies among locals. Competition could create an evolution of food in East Boston, said Councilor Paul J. Scapicchio, who lives in East Boston.

''It seems to me that you might have the situation where only the strong survive and the best of the best get through," he said.

Loiacono said it could take up to five years before East Boston attains new cachet. ''Right now, it's kind of trendy but still off the beaten path," he said.