RESTAURANTS : Hungry for World’s Greatest Chowder? How About Above Average?

The Los Alamitos Fish Company does not have the world’s greatest chowder. Yet that’s exactly what the place advertises, on a huge sign above the car wash next door. The boasts go even further; on the menu, right under the heading “chowders,” it claims that critics have said “it’s the best.”

Well, the white clam chowder may be thick and creamy, with lots of potatoes, little bits of fresh minced clam, and a bracing, natural flavor, and the red version might be spicy and distinctive, but the world’s greatest? Nah. About 15 different chowders simmering at various clam stands in Massachusetts immediately spring to mind, plus the bacon-flavored one served at Pasadena’s Parkway Grill, a creation of Boston superchef Jasper White. The Los Alamitos Fish Company is just going to have to settle for above average in my book.

In fact, most things at this labyrinthine restaurant are what I would call above average: This may be the best restaurant of its genre in Orange County. The design is somewhat precious, intended to resemble a fin de siecle Victorian suite of rooms. There are exotic flowers like anthuriums on many tables, and the walls are covered with ornately patterned paper. Elegant wood and cozy wrought iron fixtures add some charm, and hanging lamps give off a glow more brassy than relaxing. All things considered, the restaurant has the contrived look of a singles bar in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury District.

But there is little contrivance in the cooking. Enter through the restaurant’s ornate brick passageway and you come face to face with a giant glass case filled with fresh-looking fish, priced by the pound (that’s because the restaurant doubles as one of the area’s busiest fish markets). With such a quality product, I would say the best way to eat fish here is to have it broiled simply over mesquite on the restaurant’s giant circular grill. Other methods of preparation are a bit dicey. Fried seafoods are thickly battered. Sauteed items are impossibly rich.

The first thing you notice when you start eating are the terrific sourdough rolls which the restaurant serves with everything. They are round and crusty and no bigger than a softball. And they go nicely with an appetizer called smoked fish with dill sauce, a description which does not nearly do the dish justice. The fish is albacore tuna, as moist and tender as can be, and the portion is generous.

Good steamed clams are served in a bucket filled with a garlicky broth, which you can soak up in the bread. Another good starter is the tangy Dungenesscrab cocktail.

I ordered a whole steamed Dungeness crab instead, and the meat was as tasty as I can remember it ever being on Fisherman’s Wharf. But real crab lovers had better take note: When the crab is cleaned, the tomalley (liver) is removed. I asked why, and the waitress informed me that most customers seem to like it that way. When I told her that I didn’t happen to be one of them, she informed me that the chefs would be happy to let me clean one myself. Such a deal.

A large selection of fish changes daily and constitutes the heart of the menu. I had four fish--swordfish, monkfish, Mexican sea bass, and Norwegian salmon--broiled as recommended. All were sweet and fresh, especially the salmon which came with a dill butter. I asked for my fish slightly undercooked, and that’s exactly how they were brought, no mean feat since mesquite can make fish quite dry.

I tried several other dishes. Poached salmon with a passable Hollandaise was good, workmanlike. Fried catfish had a batter made with corn flakes, instead of the more traditional cornmeal, and the taste just didn’t come through. Seafood with saffron shrimp sauce on linguine was fine--halibut, shrimp, scallops, and fresh mushrooms in an intensely yellow butter sauce.

Most of the specialty dishes at the Los Alamitos Fish Company seem to be corrupted versions of the originals, so I would pass. Hangtown fry, the San Francisco oyster omelet, substitutes cheese for bacon. Blackened red snapper is too peppery: It takes intense heat to burn off the excess peppers used in coating the fish, and this kitchen doesn’t supply enough. Bouillabaisse, a much-sullied word these days, even in serious French restaurants, turns out to be a generic shellfish soup. At least I can say the shellfish are fresh.

That’s also true of desserts, all of which are made on the premises. A great caramel custard gets the blue ribbon, and others are not far behind. There is a knockout chocolate mousse pie, a blackout cake with chunked chocolate right in the batter, and a soft, tart lemon mousse pie with Graham cracker crust. All are first-rate despite the thick, waxy leaves of baking chocolate someone gloms onto every piece. The chocolate sticks out like a chowder sign on a car wash.

Prices are moderate. Appetizers are $2.95 to $6.95. Salads are $2.95 to $10.95. Sandwiches are $5.45 to $6.95. Dinners, which include good side dishes like cole slaw and a butter drenched garlic fusilli pasta, are $9.95 to $20.95. There is a small, pleasant selection of wines by the glass.

LOS ALAMITOS FISH COMPANY

11061 Los Alamitos Blvd., Los Alamitos

(213) 594-4553

Open Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m. Fish market open daily at 8 a.m. All major credit cards accepted.