Restaurants : Pancho Wellington’s a Tasty Combination

There is something endearingly coy about the local penchant for christening restaurants with Spanish forenames and Irish surnames.

An attractive playfulness attaches itself to a name like Carlos O’Brien’s or Jose Murphy’s. This sort of moniker implies that here will be found an Irish pub that serves Mexican grub, and it conveys an unmistakable invitation to eat, drink and be merry.

This same cheerful invitation is issued by the name of one of La Jolla’s newer bar/cafes, Pancho Wellington’s. If the substitution of an English for an Irish patronymic seems to imply a certain formality, it should, as this eatery is slightly dressier than the norm and offers a menu that transcends the rice ‘n’ beans orientation of most Irish-Mexican restaurants.

Mexican cooking does, however, seem to be this restaurant’s strong suit. The soups (especially the classic sopa de tortilla) are exceptionally well-prepared, and such items as the carne asada, the chicken enchiladas in green sauce and the Mexican pecan tart can be quite pleasing.

Pancho Wellington’s features the sort of menu that encourages snacking as much as dining, as it offers a particularly broad selection of hefty appetizers and substantial salads that could be ordered by themselves as a light meal. The luncheon and dinner menus are virtually identical, although the evening list offers a few extra entrees and the prices of some items are higher at night.

This restaurant takes a rather clever approach to Mexican cooking, in that most of the dishes are simultaneously familiar and refined. Presentation seems to play a key role in making most dishes seem a touch more sophisticated than those served elsewhere. For example, the obligatory salsa and chips that presage the meal arrive in small bowls, thus hinting that this lagniappe should be enjoyed in moderation. (The salsa, by the way, is based on fresh ingredients sparked with a bit of hot pepper that seems somehow to have a delayed reaction, so that a spicy glow spreads through the diner about 30 seconds after ingestion.)

The appetizer list includes such expected offerings as ceviche , nachos, quesadillas and guacamole, and adds a French twist to the popular Mexican cheese-before-the-meal theme by featuring a round of Brie baked inside a covering of slivered almonds. The taquito plate looks something like an edible representation of a Mexican fiesta because the tiny, rolled tacos (some filled with chicken, some with beef), are arranged in a starburst and decorated with chunks of tomato, shredded cheese and chopped lettuce. Guacamole and sour cream round out this plate, but neither seems as at home with the taquitos as the salsa, which gives these tasty mouthfuls a needed dash of piquancy.

Avocado and sour cream do, on the other hand, lend an extravagant richness to the sopa de tortilla. Whoever stirs the soup cauldrons at Pancho Wellington’s has a marvelous touch, especially with this zesty, slightly hot concoction based on tomato-enriched stock. Triangles of corn tortilla, previously crisped in hot fat, give the soup bulk but, more importantly, endow it with a curious but certainly delicious flavor.

A similar richness and spiciness enlivens the caldo largo, which again begins with a tomato-thickened stock, but is enriched with small shrimp, chunks of fish and fat cubes of green bell pepper. Perhaps because of the spices and bell pepper (and garlic, surely), this soup has a Creole flavor that seems more pronounced with every spoonful.

Chicken figures more prominently on this menu than on most, appearing in various guises in almost every department of the meal. Its earliest appearance is in the taquitos mentioned above, and it can be had as the main ingredient of an entree-sized salad, the chinoise (Chinese). This crisp mound of shredded greenery tossed with fragile fried noodles, slivered chicken and a sweet, soy-based dressing closely resembles the Oriental chicken salads that lately have become standard on local Chinese menus. It is notable for the manner in which the various textures play off one another.

A preparation that is more French than Mexican, the roasted breast of chicken with mango chutney could be considered an unusual approximation of duck a l’orange, as the fowl is slowly baked inside a coating of chutney mixed with orange peel. The flesh is quite moist and the flavor good, but because of its rather excessive sweetness, this dish may not appeal to everyone.

Poultry teams with beef in the carne asada plate, a likable combination in which a tender cut of beef tenderloin is paired with a chicken enchilada. The meat, although quite tender, does not seem to have been marinated in the strongly seasoned bath that recipes for this dish usually specify; perhaps this is because of the spicy and delicious green sauce that covers the enchilada and works equally well with the beef. The plate includes a garnish of black beans, which have a nicely deep flavor and are much more agreeable than the pasty brown goo that some Mexican restaurants insist on serving.

Both the luncheon and dinner menus offer flautas (large-scale versions of the beef and chicken taquitos), molletes (slices of French bread baked with a topping of beans, cheese and salsa) and a pair of hamburgers, one with guacamole and salsa and one with bacon and cheese. The latter version, a resoundingly north-of-the-border treatment of this favorite sandwich, comes off quite well; it is thick but not so generously sized that it can’t fit into the average mouth. The sesame-studded bun is brushed with tarragon-flavored butter, so that only a dab of mustard is required to make this burger entirely satisfactory, and the french fries (cut in the currently fashionable corkscrew shape, so that they look like so many pig’s tails on the plate) are crisp and plentiful.

The majority of the desserts are prepared off premises, but one homemade pastry, the caramelized pecan tart, is superb. It includes a good deal of sugar, cooked until thick but not hardened, so that it has a smooth texture that perfectly highlights the meaty pecans. The light pastry seems intended primarily as a means of holding all this richness together.

Change apparently is in the wind for Pancho Wellington’s, in the form of additions to its management, and some refinements in the menu and service doubtless will occur in coming weeks. Barry Berlin, who recently terminated a lengthy career as food and beverage manager for various Sheraton hotels, has acquired an interest in the restaurant, and Joy Cornwell, who for two years has managed the prestigious Sheppard’s at the Sheraton East, has come aboard as manager.

Pancho Wellington’s 1025 Prospect St. (downstairs in Prospect Square), La Jolla. 459-0538 Lunch and dinner served daily, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. Prices vary considerably, but a meal for two, with one glass of house wine each, tax and tip, should cost about $17 to $45.