RESTAURANT REVIEW : Fortunately, ‘R.A. Sperry’s’ Food Surpasses Its Name, Decor

If ever name and decor did a restaurant wrong, Mrs. R.A. Sperry’s Pantry in Glendale is a case in point.

I can understand Bernadette Sperry’s gleeful affection for her husband’s adorable initials, but as a fictitious business name, Mrs. R.A. Sperry’s Pantry seems more appropriate for a Saturday morning kiddy cook show. And Mrs. R’s decor, while not childish, is ultra-feminine, fussy and a bit airless: walls are raspberry-pink to their waists, then bedecked with a busy flowery wallpaper. The curtains are lace, the ceiling white lattice. There are framed Impressionist posters and hanging house plants grown spindly from lack of sun. Altogether, it’s like the bedroom of a neurasthenic heroine in a Gothic romance.

Definitely not a place most men would walk into uninvited. Indeed, Glendale matrons predominate at lunch; their husbands and, occasionally, grown children, join them at night. But this ladies-only image does great disservice to what a good little restaurant Mrs. R.A. Sperry’s really is.

Don’t Judge by Decor

The R.A. Sperrys may not decorate to suit most tastes, but they surely cook good food. The menu indicates Cajun, French, Italian, Mexican, Filipino and contemporary California influences, but the food itself is no hodgepodge. While Bernadette makes the desserts, Mr. R(obert) A(lan) Sperry himself cooks lunches and dinners. His distinctive approach to food is strong, pure and imaginative, uniting the most diverse elements in his highly individual cuisine.

Appetizers range from a good country pate presented with a dab of mustard and a few cornichons, to a startlingly good wonton ravioli with coriander pesto. There’s a buttery, attractive asparagus en croute, a calamary ceviche- type salad, and the slightly disappointing but amazingly greaseless Filipino egg roll known as lumpia. In all cases, the presentation, on pink-and-blue Fiestaware-clone china, is simple, playful and pleasing.

Soups are clean and light: Tortilla soup is a crystal-clear broth with a handful of crunchy tortilla shreds, and the garden vegetable soup is a study in freshness. Even the richer cream of carrot soup with ginger has a delicious simplicity that a heavier hand in the kitchen might have lost. These soups are refreshing, pleasing and pique one’s interest and appetite for the pleasures to come. But salads are just plain old ordinary. The dressings, a mustardy, “vinaigrette,” overloaded with tarragon, and the “ranch style,” which tastes like watered-down sour cream, are not on a par with the rest of the food.

Pastas range from a traditional and respectable linguine with fresh tomato, garlic and basil, to the more exotic and equally good pan-fried angel hair pasta with lobster in black bean sauce.

Good With Fish Dishes

Our waitress recommends the day’s special, Chilean sea bass. “It’s so light, so fresh . . . honestly, it melts in your mouth . . . it’s like eating fish that’s a cloud.” We tried it and honestly, we can’t top her description. As a direct result of eating it, we develop a passion for R.A.’s way with fish. Even something that sounds ominously like a fishy dessert--yellowtail with pecans and pineapple--turns out to be a fine wedge of fish with just enough fresh pineapple and chopped pecans to enliven the palate.

Chicken, whether marinated and in a sandwich or sauteed and served with a sharp, Cajun-mustard sauce, is juicy and tender. Meats, too, are wonderful: osso buco comes in a perfect dark sauce. The pork batangas, bite-sized pieces of pork in a curry coconut sauce, made one dinner companion sit up, shut up, look at her food and gasp with pleasure. The fresh vegetables, jasmine rice, fettucine, and/or scalloped potatoes that accompany entrees couldn’t look prettier or taste better.

Now the Desserts

And just when we think we’ve got the hang of Mrs. R.A. Sperry’s light, deft touch, we order dessert and discover that, all along, this restaurant has been sandbagging on richness: the moussecakes, meringues and ice cream Bernadette makes on the premises are devastatingly rich. Even if, like me, you’re no fan of moussecake, you’ll be seduced by Mrs. R’s handiwork. Even her layer cakes are mostly mousse, and it’s a substance that’s uniformly dense yet fluffy, sweet yet tart or bitter or zesty depending on the flavor--lemon, raspberry, various chocolates. The chocolate truffle cake is a formal looking wedge of bittersweet chocolate in mousse, cake, frosting and cocoa form--a devil in a tuxedo. The lemon crunch cake, described by our waitress as a “lighter” dessert (I think she meant in color) looks like a slice of a mousse-filled moon that’s been caught in an asteroid shower; the homemade crunches are weird, ochre-colored, feather-light things resembling deep-fried sponge or morel morsels; they’re remarkably gratifying to chew. The Sans Rival cake, French buttercream layered with crisp, hard meringue, stays frozen until just before serving, and it’s the first dessert I’ve ever had to chase around a plate and attack with a steak knife. I ate every bite. The homemade white chocolate ice cream with fresh raspberries is slightly less rich, but no less wonderful.

R.A. and Bernadette clearly have a marriage made in restaurant heaven. Unfortunately, the happy fruit of this union--interesting, good, inexpensive food--is available only to those who appreciate-- or are willing to overlook-- a cute name and fussy decor.

Mrs. R.A. Sperry’s Pantry, 1357 E. Colorado Blvd., Glendale. (818) 241-8051. Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday-Saturday. American Express, MasterCard and Visa accepted. Dinner for two, food only, $18-$40.