Presto, Chango: Energetic, Italian Restaurant Replaces Pax

It seems unlikely that a local calypso-rock band called Tribal Lunch Box will ever perform in the sedate dining rooms of La Jolla’s hallowed Gustaf Anders.

However, this group plays most weekends in the bar at Presto, the pointedly avant garde Italian cafe that recently debuted as the newest brainchild of Gustaf Anders whiz kids Bill Magnuson and Ulf Strandberg.

Takes Over Pax Building

Rock, roll and risotto are the three R’s of the restaurant biz as spelled out by Presto, which by consensus is understood to be La Jolla’s answer to Hollywood’s endlessly in Spago. It occupies the space the formerly housed Pax, which in its own way attempted to be San Diego’s big-time Italian house, and which failed notably in the effort.

Presto is militantly youthful and chic in a style evidently geared to contemporary big-city standards (standards which, probably for better than worse, would seem to deny San Diego major metropolitan status). By design, the servers all wear jeans, and white shirts with the sleeves rolled up--the white shirts help guests to distinguish servers from patrons; classic rock ‘n’ roll issues from the top-rate sound system. The lights are bright and the energy level high, especially when Tribal Lunch Box has the younger clientele dancing among the tables on the restaurant’s terrace.

The decor features stark white walls accented with splashes of red and hung with bold works from young artists; the style is hard-edged Italian high tech, and possibly reflects Milan’s mood of the moment. As at Gustaf Anders, the artworks change periodically and may be purchased, making the place a gallery as well as an eatery.

Menu Is Light, Unpretentious

Thus far, Presto sounds as much theater as restaurant, but because of the Gustaf Anders connection, you can be sure that the place takes food very seriously. The menu adopts its tone from the overall mood and is light, contemporary and unpretentious, in a way perhaps more reflective of trends in Europe than here.

This is unquestionably an innovative and attractive menu, and the cooking usually lives up to it. (The kitchen’s one poor performance was during one of the band’s weekend appearances, possibly indicating that cooks are as susceptible to distraction as the rest of us.) Since the term “grazing” has become so unfashionable as to be downright disreputable, one hesitates to say that Presto’s menu is designed for grazing--nonetheless, it facilitates this practice of dining on a series of small dishes. And while the menu presents a full range of pleasant and overall well-prepared main courses, it is the pastas and appetizers that supply the list’s primary interest and charm. Because of this arrangement, it is possible for guests who exercise restraint to pay a relatively small check; on the other hand, it is just as easy to be extravagant.

Presto’s effort to be unlike other local Italian restaurants begins with the table settings, which include a bottle of olive oil scented with herbs and spiced with dried hot peppers, and a pot of olive oil thickened with crushed herbs and garlic. Both of these can be used to moisten chunks of the dry, chewy focaccia (a dense, rustic, rough-hewn Italian bread), a loaf of which is presented to each table upon arrival.

Traditional, Not-So Traditional

In the classic style, the menu begins with an offering of cold appetizers (antipasti freddi, you might say) dished up from a display table, but in the Gustaf Anders style, the selection mingles traditional offerings with less familiar dishes. One night’s selection teamed the usual brown olives and banana peppers (both of the highest quality) with a nicely al dente salad of linguine and sun-dried tomatoes; squares of focaccia topped with eggplant and melted cheese;, a lovely potato salad dressed with olive oil and a multitude of herbs, and a slice of good prosciutto ham adventurously sprinkled with lime juice and cracked black pepper. (Oddly enough, a plate of similarly dressed prosciutto ordered on a subsequent visit was most objectionable, the meat seeming soggy and greasy.)

Another nice and unexpectedly delicate starter was the tuna and black olive mousse, served with tiny toast triangles of no more than an inch in length. Untried, and sounding both untypical for these parts but very Italian, was a shrimp salad flavored with mint.

Presto comes particularly into its own with the pastas, which it handles very well. The closest approaches it makes to familiar San Diego-style offerings are the linguine in pesto and the penne (a tubular macaroni) baked with meat sauce under a covering of mozzarella cheese; this was a savory and thoroughly agreeable dish. Also familiar, if not too common locally, were the gnocchi, or puffy potato dumplings baked with grated cheese in a bath of a heavy cream.

A Noticeable Veer

Herb-stuffed spinach tortellini in a mild Gorgonzola sauce veered more noticeably from the beaten path, and a dish of capellini dressed simply with olive oil and chopped fresh tomatoes and basil was both refreshing and delicious. However, it was a plate of ravioli, stuffed with a shellfish mousse and dressed with a saffron-flavored butter sauce, that won the pasta sweepstakes. A wreath of mussels and thumbnail-sized clams surrounded the serving.

Among the soups, the corn chowder splashed with bell pepper puree came off as a particularly rich and filling brew. Among the salads, the only version sampled was a plate of eggplant slices, purportedly dressed with oil and herbs, that had to be sent back to the kitchen for the dressing and was no more palatable after its return than before.

The entree list takes a surprisingly calm, low-key approach, beginning with a pair of risotti ( risotto is the Italian rice stew that requires some effort if it is to be made correctly) and continuing on with such items as salmon in a tomato-flavored butter sauce, a grilled veal chop, and an eggplant and lamb sandwich. The wild mushroom risotto was a great disappointment, even though the flavors seemed pretty true to form, because it was gooey rather than firm. Risotto, like pasta, should be cooked al dente . A sauteed veal loin came off nicely, though, its simple flavor nicely picked up with a mixture of herbs, and sea bass paired with braised fennel in a light butter sauce had strong, definite and likeable flavors.

Chicken Was Cat’s Meow

Best of the bunch was a serving of roast chicken flavored with lemon (very Italian, and quite Greek, too, for that matter), the chicken beautifully moist and succulent.

As an alternative to everything mentioned above, Presto offers individual-sized pizzas that guests can design for themselves by checking desired toppings off the list on a specially printed order pad. In addition to the usual vegetables, sausage and pepperoni, the list includes shrimp, clams, squid, prosciutto, mixed herbs and Gorgonzola and goat cheeses. The idea is to be as creative as one wishes, but it is useful to recognize that squid and pepperoni might be an unfortunate pairing.

A combination that worked included prosciutto, goat cheese and herbs, the last applied so thickly that they gave a wonderful perfume to the light, semolina-based crust.

The dessert tray offers handsome pastries catered by the Gustaf Anders bakery, and the bar makes a good cappucino.

PRESTO

1025 Prospect St., La Jolla

454-9711

Lunch and dinner daily.

Credit cards accepted.

Dinner for two, with a glass of house wine each, tax and tip, $25 to $60.