California Cuisine Offers the Right Blend

To say that the California Cuisine restaurant serves hot food on hot plates is in some ways to say enough, since so few local restaurants observe this once-common practice.

However, there is quite a bit more to be said. Now in its fourth year, this well-matured Hillcrest restaurant is one of the few remaining local practitioners of California cuisine, the exuberant offshoot of the often-outrageous French nouvelle cuisine movement (dubbed by one savvy observer la nouvelle kiwisine for its showy reliance on kiwi fruit with everything) that developed in the early days of this decade.

How to describe California cuisine as it exists in 1987, or in any rate as it is interpreted at California Cuisine? Well--it certainly is adventuresome, and willing to take chances by reworking classic dishes with new ingredients, although it righteously and rightfully relies on the soundest classic French techniques in its execution. There is a boldness to flavors (as in the spicy plum sauce served with a grilled lamb loin), and a willingness to redefine the cuisines of countries other than France (as witnessed by an absolutely brilliant shrimp relleno ).

Artsy presentation is essential; for example, a flower-shaped gathering of sauteed duck livers sat upon a garnish of extra-long chives that shot stalk-like across the plate and right over the rim, the whole suggesting an exotic and savory blossom. Unexpected combinations come into play as frequently as possible, as in a serving of grilled ahi garnished with cactus salad, and in the less likely sounding penne (tubular pasta) Nicole, which tosses the macaroni with duck, lobster, pistachios and diced pears.

Going for the Elaborate

But first and foremost, it simply is quite tasty and sometimes rather exciting. To begin with the example of the shrimp relleno, a cosmopolitan appetizer based on what surely must be peasant origins, it becomes obvious how this restaurant elaborates something new and fresh from a commonplace original.

In essence, the shrimp relleno is a regular old chile relleno (a large, mild chili pepper dipped in egg batter and fried) with shellfish substituted for the usual cheese filling. But the permutations come in with a pair of sauces. The first, a light puree of black beans, is spread across the plate as a bed for the relleno; it has hot aftertastes as well as a subtle spice taste that hints at an infusion of curry powder. To compound flavors and lend the dish an extra dimension, the relleno is streaked with a band of creme fraiche (a smooth, thickish cream, roughly a cross between whipping and sour creams) spiked with plenty of chopped cilantro. The overall combination is pretty impressive.

On a note closer to traditional French cooking, California Cuisine serves a handsome first course of sauteed duck livers finished with meaty forest mushrooms and a nicely textured cream reduction flavored with Madeira. It is an elegant starter.

A third appetizer took a traditional French presentation, quiche, into the 21st Century by filling the flaky-crusted custard tart with smoked chicken, smooth and rich St. Honore cheese and chopped dates ( dates! ) for a brilliant juxtaposition of flavors.

These dishes, like most mentioned in this review, are available from time to time, since a new menu is written weekly. Among other appetizer choices offered recently were eggplant bisque, a chilled Crenshaw melon soup, and green lip mussels with tomatoes, mint and scallions.

Dressier Salads Available

Meals include a simple but well-composed green salad, which, if one has ordered a first course, it is as well to defer until after the entree, at which point it may be considered altogether expendable. There also are dressier salads that can double as light entrees or hearty first courses; among these are a warm chicken salad, a Thai-inspired “mosaic” of carefully arranged ingredients garnished with grilled sea scallops, and a somewhat daring toss of wheat spaghettini, shrimp, smoked Gouda cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and cilantro-flavored vinaigrette.

Last week’s entree list began with a thick, meaty but tender veal chop treated to an imaginative (and quite lively) sauce of creme de cassis, Dijon mustard and cream, and concluded with an unsampled dish of catfish rolled in cornmeal, sauteed and garnished with grilled onions and tomatoes in the pungent garlic mayonnaise called aioli .

In between came several lovely dishes, most notably a beautifully grilled lamb loin treated to a mellow but hotly spiced plum sauce that absolutely sparkled in its clarity of flavors. As is becoming common in better kitchens these days, the meat was speedily cooked over high heat so that the outside charred into a flavorful crust, while the interior remained rare and moist. It takes some talent, more than a little experience and genuine attention to the work in progress to carry this off properly.

A char-broiled half duck was cooked for a shorter length of time than is common in this country (extremely rare duck is the current rage in France, but it sounds mostly like the result of an excessive enthusiasm for novelty), which gave it a firmer, more definite texture and left it somewhat more moist than a long-cooked bird. The presentation--the breast neatly carved and arranged in overlapping slices, the leg served intact--pleased the eye, and the richly toned sauce of papaya and dark, thick rum did a similar service for the mouth.

Perhaps the most California cuisine-ish of California Cuisine’s entrees was a plump, gilded sweetbread, poised like a golden pillow atop a bed of julienned, barely cooked pea pods. A little sea of a mild stock reduction flavored with hazelnut liqueur and fresh pear slices surrounded the main attraction and brought a nice accent to the sweetbread, a meat so mild that it can accept almost any delicate flavorings (one of the chief attractions of this choice meat is its marvelously light texture).

All entrees were accompanied by the one garnish that is an ongoing trademark of California cuisine, a medley of barely cooked baby vegetables, including a grill-roasted red potato that may be rather austere for some tastes.

Despite its labors with other courses, the kitchen takes the trouble to make its own desserts, with happy results. Where California cuisine is light and moderate in most things, it throws caution to the winds when it comes to sweets. A pecan-maple tart, served hot in an exceptional crust, made a nice change from the sweeter, heavier pecan pie of traditional American cooking. A marbled dessert of mixed white and milk chocolate mousses was elegant in its way, but no match at all for the meringue “boxes” which, with a little advance notice, the kitchen will bake and fill with kiwis, strawberries and a tangy raspberry sauce. For an added fillip, the box is dipped in a chocolate ganache cream, making this dessert so rich that activities that require any serious intellectual effort should be put aside for the rest of the evening.

CALIFORNIA CUISINE

1027 University Ave., San Diego

543-0790

Credit cards accepted.

Dinner for two, including a moderate bottle of wine, tax and tip, $60 to $90.