Changes at Fanny’s seem to happen slowly. It’s a conservative place. This long-standing restaurant has been in the same location on Sheridan Drive for many years, with its black-and-white-checked floor, its tables arranged on tiers. The menu features popular dining favorites. By far the best place to sit, I think, are the cozy and private high-backed booths on the upper tier — very glamorous.

Not only that: The booths are comfortable and wonderfully secluded.

One fairly new feature at Fanny’s, however, is the three-course Early Supper Menu, served from 4 to 6 p. m. every day but holidays. It’s composed of a choice of soup or salad, bread and choice of entree (the price of the entrees runs from $13.95 to $16.95 and determines the ultimate course of the meal). Finally, there’s dessert, which is the chef’s option for the evening.

We decided to go the Early Supper route and began with a nicely composed and generous mixed salad (although I got charged an extra $2.50 for it, because I asked for crumbled Roquefort cheese, and this threw it out of the format). Then I opted for the calves liver ($14.95), which turned out to be the favorite dish of the evening. I asked for the liver “just pink,” and “just pink” is how it came out. Tender and pleasantly textured, there was no question that the meat had come from a young animal. There was a lot to eat here; the meat was fine. An eight-ounce New York Strip ($16.95), accurately cooked medium rare, turned up with the same nice vegetables.

Dessert — the chef’s choice, remember — was a slight disappointment. It was a huge slab of cake layered with ice cream — and that ice cream helped a lot. The cake itself was dry; maybe the dessert had tarried a tad too long in the freezer.

But you may find a different menu. Early Supper entrees change from day to day or week to week. When we were at Fanny’s, there were six choices. The entrees included chicken breast with piccata or marsala sauce, listed for $13.95. There was also Haddock Italiano with plum tomatoes for $14.95; same price for the pork loin, while the grilled salmon with mango salsa was $2 higher.

Curious palates had to know: Just to see what we might have been missing, we tried an appetizer from the regular menu as well.

Bad idea.

Tasting for Two for $20 — which also could be known as “Variations on a Bread Crumb Theme” and was more expensive than an entire Early Supper meal— was a disaster. Not that the darn thing wasn’t generous. There was plenty of what is usually thought of as “luxury food.” We noticed stuffed shrimp, calamari, stuffed zucchini, clams casino and the like, but everything tasted the same. There were those bread crumbs, for instance, on everything in sight. And lots of tomato sauce.

Maybe the escargot appetizer (with Pernod on a baguette, $10), the seafood bisque ($7) or even the foie gras in port wine sauce ($17) would have been more satisfactory.

Several pasta dishes appear on the regular dinner menu, too. Pasta and peas; Pasta Romeo (with roast eggplant); and Pasta Rachael, with shrimp, avocados and mushrooms, with salad are in the $20 range. And there’s rack of lamb ($40!), filet mignon, and duck and veal dishes, too, for which the preparation varies according to the mood of the chef that evening.

As for us? We liked most of our moderately priced meal. And we’re sticking with the Early Supper menu.

FANNY’S

Three stars

WHERE: 3500 Sheridan Drive, Amherst (834-0400). A long-standing upscale restaurant that offers popular standard foods in glamorous surroundings. A three-course Early Supper Menu is offered from 4 to 6 p. m. every day except holidays. Credit Cards: American Express, MasterCard and Visa.

FAVORITE DISH: Calves liver (Early Supper menu)

NEEDS WORK: Tasting for Two appetizer

PRICE RANGE:Dinner entrees with salad, potato and vegetable from $22; dinners with salad from $16. Early Supper from $13.95.

SERVICE: Very good. HOURS: Lunch, Monday through Friday. Dinner, 4 to 10 p. m. Monday through Saturday (Early Supper from 4 to 6 p. m.)

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes

PARKING: In the lot.

RATINGS:Stars reflect the overall dining experience at the time of The News’ visit — including service, ambience, innovation and cost — with greatest weight given to quality of the food.