Horikawa’s Culinary Gifts Are So-So, but They Come in a Nice Package

Horikawa certainly has been blessed with beauty. The entrance is a finely sculpted rock garden worthy of the finest ryokan, or Japanese-style inn. In Japan these entrance ways are accorded the utmost importance; subtle differences between them can create huge price discrepancies in otherwise equal establishments. Horikawa’s garden is so lovely that my friend Hanako-san and her little daughter Sumire-chan spent almost a minute contemplating it.

Inside is further evidence of the Japanese aesthetic. Byobu, rare and exquisite Japanese screens with gold leaf flower patterns, tastefully divide the many dining areas. A roof of traditional tiles is directly over the cashier’s desk. A large tatami room designed expressly for private parties sits right in the middle of the main dining area, looking almost like a movie set. And the teppan room, where knife-juggling chefs prepare delicacies over a metal grill, is upstairs, where any offending smoke or grease is well away from the more serious clientele.

Impressed by the setting, I decided to try the special kaiseki dinner, which must be ordered at least a day in advance. Kaiseki is a traditional, multi-course Japanese dinner, an integral part of sado, the Japanese tea ceremony.

A first course of amaebi, sweet shrimp in a vinegared sauce, and aoriika, marinated squid with grated carrot, was very ordinary. But the second course, tsukuri, a polite way of saying sashimi, was a real disappointment.

“I don’t believe it,” said Hanako-san. “This tuna is not very fresh.” I had to agree. The uni, or sea urchin, wasn’t much better. Only the yellowtail was as soft, pliant and pleasing as we expected.

The next course, dobin-mushi, was another surprise--and again, not a pleasant one. The dobin, a little pot, is typically filled with broth, seafood and mushrooms. Ideally, the mushrooms should be matsutake, the rarest of Japanese mushrooms. But when the waitress approached with the dishes, she immediately apologized.

“We had matsutake yesterday,” she said, “but we ran out.” In their place were the more mundane shiitake . A flavorless broth didn’t make the dish any better.

Then came a slight improvement, kodai no nitsuke, a large stewpot of red cod and baby bamboo. The broth had a steamy, fragrant appeal, and the fish was delicate and flaky. But it was only an interlude.

While little Sumire liked the burning fire under the impressive stoneware crock that next appeared, neither she, mother nor I was much pleased with the scallops frazzled on a metal dish that was set on top. Hanako-san barely picked at them. “How do you like the scallops?” I asked. “They have very expensive serving dishes here,” she replied.

The last three courses were simple, and the lack of tampering seemed to improve them. One was fried shrimp with sea urchin in a light batter. Another was cold noodle in a pungent dipping sauce. There were wonderful iced Concord grapes for dessert, beautifully served on elegant crystal dishes.

Still, for $60 a person, the dinner was a letdown. Why is this food so ordinary?

One answer might be that Horikawa has fallen behind the times. The Santa Ana restaurant has virtually the same menu as the Horikawa in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo. The original restaurant was once a most prestigious address. Even today it is a place of beauty--and it remains the only restaurant in the area with a real ryotei, or special ceremonial room for kaiseki. But newer restaurants serving more authentic Japanese preparations have taken Horikawa out of the limelight.

Again, the best food at the Santa Ana restaurant is the simplest. Beef tataki, an appetizer of sliced filet mignon, is delightful; all the beef, for that matter, is prime and tender. Broiled salmon and sawara sai-kyo, a whitefish, are reasonably good. And the sukiyaki and seafood nabe, although out of season in the summer, cannot be faulted.

But tempura, the batter-fried shrimp and vegetable dishes, are to be avoided: The batter is leaden and the vegetables are overcooked. Another dish to run from is iso-yaki, a giant sizzling platter of overcooked seafood, lobster that has been drowned in a viscous sauce containing far too much sake, and a bizarre mixture of egg, rice, crab and oyster that has been baked in a large shell.

Kaiseki isn’t the only thing that’s moderately expensive here. Hot appetizers are $4.50 to $6.95. Cold appetizers are $5.75 to $7.25. Various sushi samplers and combination plates are available at a wide range of prices. Entrees run from $11.50 to $20.50.

HORIKAWA

3800 S. Plaza Drive, Santa Ana

(714) 557-2531

Open 7 days. Lunch Monday-Friday, 11:30-2. Dinner Monday-Friday 5:30-10, Saturday and Sunday, 5-11. All major credit cards accepted.