Don't fret, "Seinfeld" fans. The series may have ended last night, but the eating's only just begun.  

As Thursday-night devotees can attest, food was a major part of the wacky, top-rated NBC show.  

Who can forget Jerry tussling with a little old lady over a deli's last marble rye? Or Elaine's insistence on really big salads? Or Kramer's overbuying of gas- inducing "Beef-A-Reeno" at a Price Club, which he promptly feeds to a horse pulling a hansom cab - to horrifying consequences?  

If you need even more proof, consider that the gang's most popular meeting place, besides Jerry's apartment, was Monk's Cafe. (Entertainment Weekly added up 286 visits to the eatery over a nine-year period, in case you were interested.)  

So it makes sense that we at Dining Etc. would have more than just a passing interest in the show. (OK, maybe we're a tad obsessed.)  

This means that you, the "Seinfeld" fan, stand to benefit most, because many of those TV food favorites are available right here at San Antonio-area restaurants - and we intend to tell you about them.  

So turn to Page 27 and enter a Seinfeldian world of mutton and mangoes, calzones and caffé lattes. And we promise - not another mention of "Beef-A-Reeno" in these pages again.  

Name: Jerry Seinfeld  

Food tie-ins: Jerry loves cereal, as the numerous boxes that line his kitchen shelves attest to. And despite his germ phobia, he frequents many restaurants, from the aforementioned Monk's to Chinese places.  

But could Jerry be called a foodie? Not likely, as in one episode he bans soft cheeses in his fridge. (And what lover of gourmet food can live without the pleasures of brie?)  

Not us, that's for sure. No, Jerry's record on food experimentation is lamentably low, as seen when Elaine's cousin (and Jerry's short- term girlfriend) cooks him mutton and he pretends to like it. (He stashes the offending meat in his coat pockets.)  

Mutton - lamb that is two years or older when slaughtered and features a strong taste and tougher meat - is, understandably, not commonly found on San Antonio's menus, but Bob's Smokehouse (5145 Fredericksburg Road, 344-8401, and 3306 Roland Ave., 333-9611) serves smoked lamb by the pound. Make sure you call for availability, as the item often sells out.  

Jerry also has a spot of bad luck as a concept man when he offers to help Pakistani restaurateur Babu Bhatt drum up business for his failing little eatery. The solution? Babu should concentrate on the cuisine of his native Pakistan. Babu takes his advice, and, of course, business really nosedives, and Jerry is from then on thought of as a "veddy bad man" by Babu.  

To Dining Etc.'s knowledge, there are no Pakistani restaurants in San Antonio, but the cuisine of India, a geographical and cultural neighbor, has aspects that are very similar to that of Pakistan.  

Sunil Mahajan, manager of Kiran Indian Restaurant, 7075 San Pedro, and a chef for 15 years, says that Indian barbecue, such as Chicken Tandoori, Chicken Tikka, and Shishkebab are all similar to Pakistani cuisine. "Our curry items are also similar to Pakistan's, as well as Biryani, a type of fried rice, and Nihari, a type of curry sauce made with yogurt," Mahajan says.  

Name: George Costanza  

Food tie-ins: George's pudgy frame betrays a healthy appetite, but it's his girlfriend's near-orgasmic penchant for risotto that steals the show in one particularly funny episode.  

We can't promise that same degree of ecstasy, but we hear that the risotto at Massimo Ristorante Italiano, 4263 N.W. Loop 410, is pretty darn good - made creamy and delectable with long, slow cooking and frequent stirring.  

In another episode, George (who finally finds job security working for the New York Yankees despite many attempts to get himself fired) introduces boss George Steinbrenner to calzones - and gets him hooked!  

In San Antonio, many Italian restaurants offer the stuffed pizza pockets, but one of the most satisfying we've had is served at Zingaro's Italian Grille, 459 McCarty. Made with a light, puffy pastry shell, we guarantee this calzone is different from any you've had.  

Name: Cosmo Kramer  

Food tie-ins: In one episode, Kramer is at first furious over a Kenny Rogers Roasters moving in across the street, throwing a blinding red light into his apartment; he begs to trade pads with Jerry, and Jerry complies. But soon, he becomes addicted to the chicken, and is forced to hide his habit from Jerry.  

You may get just as hooked as Kramer on La Madeleine French Bakery and Cafe's version of rotisserie chicken (3 locations: 4820 Broadway, 2000 North Star Mall, 11745 Interstate 10 West). The slow-roasted birds are lavished with rosemary, orange spice, salt and pepper, savory oil and garlic.  

And just because the hipster doofus was banished from his favorite fruit market in yet another wacky episode doesn't mean you need to deprive yourself of fresh fruit. San Antonio is lucky to have several markets that carry exotic and organic fruits. Among them: Broadway Central Market (4821 Broadway), Whole Foods (255 E. Basse Road), Farm to Market (1133 Austin Highway), and Sun Harvest (3 locations: 2502 Nacogdoches, 7243 Blanco, 8101 Callaghan).  

Name: Elaine Benes  

Food tie-in: Big salads (What else?). While salad bars are a great place to make as big a salad as you want, Paesano's (111 Crockett, 555 E. Basse Road) has dinner-sized salads that are already - well - pretty big.  

The Crockett Street location offers a spinach salad, topped with grilled, seasoned veggies, basil- vinaigrette dressing and sweet- potato crisps, and a chicken parmigiana salad, with cranberries and a honey-mustard dressing.  

The Basse Road location features an asparagus salad, served on a bed of lettuce and topped with cold asparagus and a house Italian vinaigrette, and a tri-color salad, featuring three greens: endive, radicchio and arugula.  

If these don't satisfy you, you might be deserving of an Elaine-style shove - and a loud, "Get out!"

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© San Antonio Express-News