It Was a Year for Tasty Changes on the County Restaurant Scene

Early this year, meat loaf put up its dukes, came out of its corner swinging and promised to KO any other entree that challenged it for the title of Leading American Dish of 1987.

Meat loaf aspired to be in 1987 what ersatz-Cajun blackened redfish was in 1985: king of the hill, lord of the menu and trend-setting dish of the year.

The odd thing about this (odder even, perhaps, than anthropomorphic meat loaf) was that the attempt failed, especially in San Diego County. The great restaurant-going public, which recently has adopted the food trend of the year as willingly as its children adopted the toy of the year, yawned and bought relatively few tickets to the fray.

The real restaurant news of 1987, as surprising as this may seem, is that the year generated very little news. Not only was there a dearth of earthshaking openings (unlike 1981, when Gustaf Anders challenged other restaurateurs to introduce really refined, modern cuisine, and unlike 1983, when Dobson’s proved that quality would draw diners to a re-emerging downtown), there also were no significant closings. Not a single eatery of past or current fame went to that great restaurant row in the sky.

Of equal interest, no single food fad managed to capture the attention of many San Diego restaurants or their patrons. The city’s two new diners, Hillcrest’s Corvette and Mission Valley’s California Earthquake Cafe, did attract followings but failed to inspire other restaurateurs to follow suit in offering meat loaf and other nostalgic cuisine.

Southwestern Cuisine

In terms of other trends, Pacifica Grill, going through its annual identity crisis (here, such episodes usually are productive), switched in early December to a Southwestern American menu. It is far too early to tell, however, if Pacifica Grill’s move will prompt other restaurants to do the same, although there is much to be said for the new Southwestern cuisine, and it should appeal to San Diego, which because of its long acquaintance with local Mexican cooking, already has acquired many of the necessary tastes.

All this should not be taken to suggest that 1987 was without interest. Ethnic restaurants opened at a steady clip (the county even acquired its second Afghan establishment, La Jolla’s elegant and excellent Pawinda), and with a difference:

As in other major metropolitan areas, more and more ethnic eateries are offering the stylish environments and high quality service associated with fine dining. Mom-and-pop places have by no means vanished, but guests who value comfort now have more of a choice when seeking out Vietnamese, Thai and other exotic cuisines; frequently, the extra amenities add little to the bill.

Downtown San Diego continued to acquire new restaurants through the year, including a number of high quality establishments in the low- and mid-priced categories. It seems certain that the area will continue to reassume its logical role as the region’s entertainment hub, since several major openings have been announced for 1988. There is also always the hope, however forlorn, that at least a few of downtown’s ever-more-numerous deluxe hotels will introduce a cuisine that approximates the fineness of their dining rooms’ decors.

In 1987, the county continued to steer toward increasingly sophisticated Italian cooking, which has become so mainstream that it is no longer considered ethnic cooking. Although there were no truly epochal restaurant openings, there were several big ones, and most were Italian, notably Salvatore’s downtown and Scalini and Villa d’Este in North County. Many middle-range Italian houses also opened around the county.

A Lot Going for It

Which establishment ranks as the year’s most significant new restaurant? The answer to this knotty question almost requires a coin toss, but the nod probably goes to Vincent’s.

This pleasant Encinitas restaurant has almost everything going for it, most of all the inspired presence of chef/co-proprietor Vincent Grumel, a man who always can be trusted to put a saute pan to its best and highest use. Although less grand and formal than the classic French restaurant, Vincent’s turns out a cuisine that is reliably savory and usually delicate, even when the dish is one of the robust, country-style concoctions of Southwest France that Grumel especially favors. He likes duck, and, trust him, he does it well, in such guises as confit de canard (duck preserved in its own juices), roast duck with honey-lime sauce, duck liver mousse and so forth. Both savory dishes and desserts are based upon the kitchen’s very fine puff pastry (even the elegant appetizer pizzas start with this buttery crust), and Sybarites always find room for the remarkable bavarois au chocolat, an elaborate and supremely rich dessert. (Vincent’s, 581 Westlake St.)

Runner-up in the best-of-the-best category would be Salvatore’s in downtown San Diego. Stylish almost by necessity (it occupies ground-floor premises in the Meridian tower), Salvatore’s is a beautiful restaurant and one that serves an Italian cuisine to match. Among the starters, the spectacularly colorful Catherine di Medici salad makes one of the better choices; among the pastas, good bets are the penne with Gorgonzola, the rigatoni alla Cornelia and the rich canneloni.

The entree list relies primarily on veal but does best with seafood, notably the scampi alla marinara and the glamorous, trompe l’oeil swordfish steak that looks like a pineapple but tastes ever so much better. Tirami su, the espresso-flavored Roman dessert of cake and sweetened mascarpone cheese, brings the meal to a satisfactory end. (Salvatore’s, 750 Front St.)

Scalini boasts a nice style, thanks in equal parts to its town-and-country clientele, its pretty decor and its well-trained staff. The menu succeeds most of the time, especially with the pastas (when available, the agnolotti stuffed with pumpkin and sauced with cream is superb) and veal dishes. Osso bucco, often offered as a daily special, is especially good here. The kitchen also turns out fine ricotta tortes and pastry horns filled with sweetened mascarpone cheese. (Scalini, 3790 Via de la Valle, Del Mar.)

Villa d’Este, reviewed in the Dec. 17 edition of The Times, does poorly with dessert but manages the other courses of the meal quite well. A plate of antipasti selected from the buffet makes a pleasing starter, the fettuccine with forest mushrooms is superb, and both the stuffed veal chop and the heavily herbed lamb chops are excellent. Ask for a table in one of the two back rooms. (Villa d’Este, 2282 Carmel Valley Road, Del Mar.)

Delmario’s, a kind of stepchild to the much grander Remington’s, of which it basically is a branch room, offers a much more pedestrian Italian menu than Scalini and Villa d’Este. The place does have a lively mood, however, and the kitchen performs well within its chosen range.

Red sauces predominate here, somewhat over-herbed for some tastes but still respectable, and are used on simple pastas as well as on such dishes as veal and eggplant parmigiana. At its most ambitious, the restaurant offers good renditions of bistecca pizzaiola (here called steak Delmario) and of sea bass picatta, or sauteed sea bass finished with a lovely, lemony butter sauce. An order of the unusual, cheese-laden garlic bread is more or less de rigueur . (Delmario’s, 2010 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar.)

San Diego proper by no means missed out on the Italian renaissance. At the top of the city’s list would be Busalacchi’s, a chic, enjoyable, medium-priced Hillcrest establishment that offers plenty of good pastas and a number of Sicilian specialties.

Sicilian Potato Salad

The caponata appetizer is excellent, as is the Sicilian potato salad (which requires a healthy appetite, however) and the rigatoni alla palermitana , or macaroni tossed with crumbled sausage, fresh tomato, capers and black olives. Among the entrees, the spiedini (stuffed, skewered and grilled veal rolls) and the sweet-and-sour liver with onions make good changes of pace; on the seafood side, try the buttery steamed clams, the swordfish steak or the Sicilian stuffed squid. The chef/proprietor’s mother makes the exquisite cannoli that star on the dessert tray. (Busalacchi’s, 3683 5th Ave.)

Presto, which replaced Pax on La Jolla’s restaurant-lined Prospect Street and is managed by Gustaf Anders, turned in a somewhat uneven performance when it opened but offered consistently good pastas in addition to a well-arranged antipasto table and an excellent, lemony roast chicken.

Among the pastas, the stand-outs were the ravioli stuffed with shellfish mousse, the penne baked beneath blankets of meat sauce and mozzarella, the capellini with fresh tomato and basil and the herb-stuffed spinach tortellini in Gorgonzola sauce. The dessert tray is kept well stocked by the Gustaf Anders bakery. (Presto, 1025 Prospect St.)

The best news of the year may be in the ethnic category, which has been enriched by several really fine restaurants. As an added bonus, almost all of these places are relatively (and these days, this term is used with caution) kind to the wallet.

The top-ranked ethnic restaurant of the year is without question Hillcrest’s Celadon, which offers beautifully executed Thai cuisine in surroundings of equal beauty. The service likewise hits the mark.

Thai food often is incendiary, although Celadon tends to take a moderate approach; however, those who like it hot can order the pla goong salad of onion, garlic, ginger, chili peppers and shrimp. In a more moderate mood, try such starters as the popia , or Thai-style egg rolls; poo ja , or fried crab and pork cakes, and satay , or skewers of grilled pork. Thai cooks make good soup, epitomized by the sweet-sour tom yum goong soup of shrimp in pungent broth. Among the entrees, the spicy chicken kaprao , the scallops in “burnt” sauce and the abalone cooked in a clay pot are all winners. (Celadon, 3628 5th Ave.)

Traditional Afghan Dishes

La Jolla’s surprising Pawinda also offers elegance, as well as traditional Afghan dishes cooked so well that the restaurant should have been instantly popular. However, the place encountered resistance to its original price structure, which rightly or wrongly seemed high for an ethnic establishment.

The cooking, however, is wonderful, starting with the hot, home baked nan bread, the crisp, savory samosa turnovers served with flavorful Afghan chutneys, and the garlicky chicken liver appetizer called kalejee . The entrees are uniformly excellent; best of the lot is the lamb tikke, a kebab of lamb cubes marinated overnight in spiced yogurt and grilled medium rare. Other good bets are the chapli kebab , complicated ground beef patties that are to a hamburger what caviar is to canned tuna, and cherg , a half-chicken marinated and grilled in the manner of the lamb tikke . Both the rice pudding and the soupy date pudding called sheer khorma are excellent. (Pawinda, 1110 Torrey Pines Road.)

There was very little improvement on the Mexican restaurant front this year, with the exception of Baja Lobster, a cheerfully decorated National City restaurant that tries very hard--and succeeds to a degree--to capture the moods and flavors of the lobster houses in Puerto Nuevo.

The refreshing, Mexican-style seafood cocktails, which incorporate cilantro, minced chilis and lime juice in their seasoning, give the meal a good start, as does the unquestionably first-rate Caesar salad. The Baja-style lobster does less well (it’s good, but not as good as at Puerto Nuevo’s better places), but the non-traditional lobster Newburg succeeds nicely and the camarones (shrimp) a la Mexicana are very good indeed. (Baja Lobster, 1430 E. Plaza Blvd.)

A final bright spot in the 1987 picture, La Taberna Espanola, should be kept in mind when a trip to Tijuana is on the program.

Authentic and Pleasing

This minuscule eatery sandwiched among the shops of a trendy new shopping development offers more than 40 types of tapas , the appetizers and small dishes served in profusion in bars throughout Spain. The flavors are sharp, authentic and pleasing, and are probably as much a novelty for those accustomed to the flavors of Mexican food as to those who know only the blander American cuisine.

Everything sampled was good; especially attractive were the classic potato omelet called tortilla ; the spicy, meat-filled empanada a la gallega , and the gambas al ajillo , or shrimp with garlic and red pepper. The restaurant is less than one mile south of the San Ysidro border crossing. (La Taberna Espanola, La Plaza Fiesta, 10001 Avenida de los Ninos Heroes.)