New Dimitri’s in La Jolla Proving More Popular Than Earlier Effort

There is much pleasure to be derived from watching a friend who is normally a cautious and fastidious eater dive into a dish with such enthusiasm that, when the frenzy passed, the plate did not appear in need of a trip to the dishwasher.

Even more pleasure can be gained enjoying the success of a family of restaurateurs who initially found it rough going in San Diego County, but who seem the second time around to have discovered a properly appreciative audience for their first-rate cuisine.

So Much for Retirement

Dimitri and Sally Katson owned several popular restaurants in Washington before they retired here about six years ago. As is the case with so many people who have worked hard all their lives, retirement proved to be something of a burden. The pair, assisted by their children, opened in Solana Beach the very likable Dimitri’s, which happened to be the only and thus, undeniably, best Greek restaurant in that part of the county. Besides very good cooking, Dimitri’s offered as its salient point a menu that over time came to include much more than the typical litany of dishes--moussaka, pastitsio, roast lamb and stuffed grape leaves--to which most Greek eateries limit their menus.

For whatever reason, North County failed to respond with any great enthusiasm, and the Katsons closed their Solana Beach establishment early in 1987. After that, it became a rather sad experience to drive past the empty premises on Highway 101 because the vacant window suggested that quality no longer mattered.

Most restaurateurs who close shop move on to something or somewhere else, and it was quite a surprise to learn that the Katsons recently had opened a new Dimitri’s in La Jolla. It was a pleasure, however, to walk into their relatively large establishment on Fay Avenue on a Wednesday night and find it full; it was even more of a pleasure to read a new, expanded menu that offers a remarkable choice of dishes.

Dimitri Katson, for someone who has retired once or twice, seems an unusually aggressive restaurateur. The new place serves lunch and dinner, and, though he has hired a professional chef, Katson said that he arrives early every morning to begin cooking the rich Greek soups and savory meat specialties that are the stars of his menu.

Fresh Parts Help the Whole

The cooking is especially likable for the immediately apparent freshness of the ingredients, and for the way it pulls no punches--dishes that call for herbs or garlic (and most do) are seasoned until each element stands up and demands attention. In French cooking, this would be a mistake, but in the heartier, earthier Greek cuisine, this lavish approach to seasoning seems essential.

The dish that so ravished, entranced and enraptured a recent guest was a plate of tabouli , the typical Eastern Mediterranean dish of cracked wheat flavored with lemon juice, parsley, scallions, tomato and herbs. This appetizer can be leaden and dull, but at Dimitri’s it sparkled so that it seemed to bring a touch of daylight to a late-night meal.

The generously apportioned meals include soup or salad, so not everyone will want an appetizer. But, if they do, they will find it a difficult choice in light of the twin hot and cold starter lists that offer a dozen selections each. There are some familiar listings, such as tzatziki (a spiced yogurt-cucumber dip), stuffed grape leaves and taramosalata (a wonderful red caviar concoction meant to be spread on pita bread), but there are also horta vrasta (cold boiled greens seasoned with lemon and olive oil) and oktapodi lemonato (octopus marinated in lemon dressing). The lagana , a puffy, appetizer-sized pizza topped with feta and kasseri cheeses as well as garlic, tomato and herbs, made a nice shared appetizer, as did a plate of anginares tiganites , or fried artichoke hearts served with a bowl of tzatziki sauce.

Dimitri’s also is one of the few places to serve the admirable loukanico , a spicy sausage usually flavored with grated orange peel.

The house salad is most acceptable but not exciting compared with the soups, which tend to be made with flair. The traditional avgolemono , or egg-yolk-thickened chicken broth with rice, is available daily and is unusually well-made; it includes bits of the chicken that provided the broth. The other choice changes daily and recently was a nice, not at all heavy, navy bean spiked with bits of sausage.

It used to be that, if one could pronounce moussaka, spanakopita , souvlaki and dolmadakia , one could enter any Greek restaurant and order without consulting the menu. Fortunately, Dimitri’s has gone well beyond that point, and though its moussaka, or layered casserole of cinnamon-scented ground lamb, sliced eggplant and egg-enriched white sauce is quite elegantly assembled and presented, there is much else to choose.

Lamb, of course, is a Greek natural, and those who want it relatively plain will find the menu headed by the traditional roast lamb leg rubbed with lemon and herbs (the roast chicken, flavored with oregano, is finished much the same way), but there is also a roast rack of lamb served in a heady tomato sauce, a typical lamb shish kebab ( souvlaki ), and the exohico , or cubed lamb baked with vegetables in a casing of phyllo pastry. The most interesting of the lamb dishes may be the youvetsi, a meaty baked shank finished with a strong tomato sauce; the lamb has a fine crust and an exceptionally rich, toothsome texture, quite like the meat in an old-fashioned pot roast.

Pasta does indeed appear in the Greek repertoire (particularly in the baked macaroni dish called pastitsio ), but Dimitri’s takes it perhaps further than it typically has gone in a bow to the current demand for pasta dishes on every sort of menu. A particularly likable rendition is the shrimp Dimitri, or fettuccine tossed with basil, chopped fresh tomato and scallions, and topped with a row of large grilled shrimp.

Pasta, this time tossed with butter, kefalotiri cheese and yogurt (it is a kind of Greek Alfredo) also comes as a side dish with many of the entrees, notably the steak a la grecque. This last, sauteed slices of filet topped with a sauce of mushrooms, shallots and herbs, seems more a house invention modeled on traditional lines than a classic dish, but is in any case quite nice.

The menu also lists a number of veal dishes, including a rather glamorous sauteed chop and an earthier preparation called moshari sto filo , which combines veal cubes with artichoke hearts, mushrooms, tomatoes, snow peas, dill--a very, very Greek herb--and kasseri cheese inside a phyllo pastry case. The snow peas certainly are an Americanism, but they fit the context; the dish was likable in concept, but was one of Dimitri’s less successful presentations, as the meat was overcooked and dry.

The dessert course also was a little disappointing. The restaurant offers a superb, home-made baklava, but nothing else is made on premises. Greek sweets--the word suits few desserts so well as those from Greece--can be delightful, and a larger selection should be available.

However, Dimitri’s does offer live, traditional Greek music Tuesday through Sunday, and those who arrive late enough may be treated to the sight of the serving staff, arms entwined and feet unbound by gravity, stepping through some of the more anatomy-defying Greek folk dances. Guests who think they can keep time are welcome to join in.

DIMITRI’S

7580 Fay Ave., La Jolla

459-1413

Lunch and dinner served daily Credit cards accepted Dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, $35 to $60.