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It’s Easy to Spot the Dobson Touch at Golden Triangle Eatery

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Paul Dobson has christened his new Golden Triangle restaurant St. James Bar, but you will be safe in taking any odds you like that the popular name for it will be Dobson’s North.

Palatial in size contrasted with Dobson’s signature eatery on Broadway Circle in downtown San Diego, this classy joint fills a desperate need for a top-drawer restaurant in the rapidly growing Golden Triangle.

Anyone familiar with Dobson’s style would have no more trouble identifying the place. The dining room, though gracious, is on the plain side and could use a little livening--even something so simple as fresh flowers on the tables would help. The bar is unmistakably Dobson’s--a massive oak arrangement that takes up most of one wall, the back bar having been crafted a century ago for a saloon in Montana.

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Even if the restaurant resembled a Southern California fern bar, the staff would instantly identify it as a Paul Dobson outpost. The chef, Jacques Pastor, moved up from downtown and brought his menu and his top-notch style with him, and the manager, the energetic but fastidious John Perkins, previously oversaw La Gran Tapa, Dobson’s other downtown establishment. The two make an exceptional back-and-front-of-the-house pairing, and the service functions smoothly.

Menu Modifications Planned

Pastor seems rather like a pleased monarch in his spacious new kitchen and said he expects to modify his menu and take it in perhaps more novel directions as time progresses. For the moment, it is virtually identical to the menu he cooked at Dobson’s, which is in many ways saying a mouthful. Although it is written daily, the menu repeats many customer favorites and always includes the mussel bisque, Dover sole and Norwegian salmon that have become Dobson’s mainstays.

The current bill of fare leaves no room for complaint. A recent dinner list (which will vary from night to night, more in terms of sauces and garnishes than in principal ingredients) included such thoroughly attractive entrees as a half Maine lobster with lobster ravioli in a basil-flavored champagne sauce; broiled swordfish dressed with capers and lemon butter; a grilled veal chop in an unctuous sauce laced with old port (a favorite Pastor flavoring); sauteed veal medallions finished with a creamy grain mustard sauce infused with tarragon, and sauteed saddle of venison in an exuberantly lively sour cherry sauce. Garnishes are lovely; Pastor treats vegetables like tender treasures and sends out neat arrangements of perfectly cooked baby asparagus, French green beans bundled in bacon, gently sauteed potatoes and other gatherings from the garden.

Two obvious innovations and definite improvements over the basic Dobson’s style appear at opposite ends of the meal. The first is the plates of delicate amuse gueules (fanciful hors d’oeuvres) that arrive with drinks; the selection may include truffled duck pate on slices of buttery brioche, shrimp and a tangy tomato concasse (raw tomato sauce), also on brioche, and Armagnac-soaked prunes broiled inside bacon wrappers. These last are very much in Pastor’s Southwest France heritage, and are exquisite.

Tiny Truffles

At the end of the meal, pastry chef Michel Morlass sends out plates of mignardises , the tiny truffles and rich, clever pastries that traditionally accompany coffee at elegant French eateries.

On a grander scale, Morlass daily turns out six or seven elaborate cakes and tarts, of which an exceptionally chocolaty example goes under the name of Golden Triangle cake. If dessert menus seem overloaded with chocolate these days, consider the imperial lime tart, a silken-textured confection with a nicely refreshing bite to it.

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The main events commence with such appetizers as a briny heap of black mussels steamed in cream, wine and shallots; the smooth mussel bisque, which sends up much aromatic steam from under its puff pastry crust when the waiter adds a shot of sherry at table, and a remarkable salad of translucent slices of marinated smoked salmon, formed into a purse around a filling of raw spinach.

Other salads make excellent starters, most notably the rare duck breast slices spiraled over spinach and Belgian endive, the whole livened with raspberry vinaigrette, and the baked goat cheese, musky but demure in its garden patch of radichhio , oak leaf and Boston lettuces.

Simple Entrees

The entrees, despite their Gallic glorification, are essentially quite simple and definitely most satisfying. A rectangle of Norwegian salmon, glamorously hatch-marked on the grill, married happily with its deep-toned saffron sauce. True Dover sole, flown in fresh from Holland, was presented as simply as possible, sauteed in the meuniere style that calls simply for butter and a few drops of lemon juice, and it virtually melted on contact.

Pastor’s personal recipe for osso bucco , or braised veal shank, was executed in a French style and, though nicely presented and beautifully tender, seemed rather restrained compared to the Italian original. Butter-crisped sweetbreads, crowned with sliced truffles and moistened with a scented truffle juice sauce, were perfect; this is another popular dish brought up from Dobson’s. The lobster with lobster ravioli seemed relatively elaborate for this menu, and hinted at other happy complications Pastor may attempt in the future.

When a French chef seasons a rack of lamb with but one herb, he usually chooses rosemary, which Pastor lavished upon a handsomely roasted rack that arrived carved into several meaty chops.

As good as all this was, St. James Bar may become even more notable when Pastor expands into other types of dishes. Plans call for such offerings as breast of Muscovy duck, hot foie gras in Riesling sauce and quail stuffed with sweetbread mousse. Pastor also plans to employ a cook to prepare nothing but souffles, and not only dessert souffles, but entree-sized puffs filled with such savory concoctions as crayfish tails in Nantua sauce.

The luncheon menu, which was not sampled, in many ways echoes the dinner menu, but at about half the price. Pastor’s personal favorite may be a surprise, but he likes the massive hamburger, made with sirloin ground daily in his own kitchen. There are also a number of elaborate salads, and all the same appetizers offered at night. And, there is an excellent wine list of some depth.

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ST. JAMES BAR

4370 La Jolla Village Drive.

453-6650

Lunch served Monday-Friday, dinner Monday-Saturday; closed Sunday.

Credit cards accepted.

Dinner for two, including a moderate bottle of wine, tax and tip, $85 to $110.

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