Common Potato Is King at Stratton’s Encino

The waiter sneaked a French fry. He was careful and did it without touching any of the others, of which there were a lot on the plate anyway, and it might have looked as if he were just picking off a burnt one before the plate left the kitchen, only I could see him chew.

This was impressive. Waiters tend to get sick of the food they smell all day long, and here was one risking his job over a French fry. I demanded a plate of those fries double-quick.

There are at least two philosophies about French fries. Some people like them soft and pale: mashed potatoes in geometrical form, or what you might call a sort of pasta in salsa di catsup. Others, such as this correspondent, instinctively pick through a plate for the brownest ones.

These were the browned sort, really browned , browned to beat the band, almost as stiff as shoestring potatoes and every one of them giving off the elegant aroma of browned potato. I finished a whole heaping plate and even fished around for the little broken bits at the bottom. Stratton’s Encino is the well-done French fry capital of the entire universe.

Hold on, I’m way out of line here. I’m giving the wrong perspective on things. Stratton’s is not just a spudteria. It’s a steak-and-chophouse with Italian overtones, related to a couple of Westwood restaurants, the linen-tablecloth Stratton’s and its mesquite-oriented sibling Stratton’s Grill. I want to make this clear: It serves plenty of things besides potatoes.

Although there is a separate section on the menu for potato selections (I kind of like the potato pancakes, although they aren’t really pancakes but thick, fried patties of string-thin potato shreds). But that could just be part of the hearty steakhouse/businessman’s lunch motif of the place, like the Victorian bird-cage structure over the marble-topped bar or the magnificent, lurid mural suggesting the scene in a ‘30s boxing movie where The Woman shows up during The Match.

No, the order of things around here is definitely meat, then potatoes. A sizable veal chop, loud with garlic and rosemary. Solid braised short ribs. A thick, juicy cheeseburger on a sesame bun with white Cheddar. Steaks with masses of thin-sliced fried onions and more masses of heaped watercress.

There are some items that break the mold a little, like braised duck leg, very meaty though on the salty side (the carrots, turnips and potatoes that came with mine were unusual for being soggy and overdone). There’s no clue why grilled chicken breast (with some black beans and tomatoes on it) is more expensive than the grilled chicken, except it does have some of those great French fries.

There is a whiff of Italy here: an antipasto plate including bufala mozzarella and prosciutto with lemon. There’s also a bottle of olive oil on the table. On the whole, though, the appetizers are steakhouse/businessman’s lunch sorts of thing like a light and faintly sweet lentil-vegetable soup (the menu doesn’t mention the lentil part). The onion soup has plenty of onion flavor and isn’t overloaded with cheese, though the strong thyme-and-pepper flavor is somewhat startling.

However, the clam chowder, though not overloaded with potatoes, could be said to be underloaded with clams. In the chopped vegetable salad some of the vegetables are cooked, and a bit overcooked, and the fact that they are held aloft by a layer of lettuce means that the dressing drips away.

At dessert time, Stratton’s Encino has a clear idea of what it wants to do, and that is to make candy. Fair enough; that’s what a whole lot of diners want too. For instance, the caramel torte is a walnut caramel candy in a crust; the chocolate cake is a chocolate-hazelnut candy.

On the other hand, the cheesecake has scarcely any cheese flavor, it’s like a lemony pudding, but it has a light, fresh charm for all that. The only dessert I’ve had at Stratton’s with a classical antecedent is the tarte tatin (“apple tatin,” it’s called). The apples are thoroughly baked, sweet and dense and caramelized, though the crust they’re on seems to be filo.

But I keep coming back to the French fries. A wise man said that if potatoes weren’t so easy to grow, people would gladly pay as much for them as they do for truffles. He was a guy who knew his potatoes, and so does Stratton’s.

Stratton’s, 16925 Ventura Blvd., Encino. (818) 986-2400. Open for lunch 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday, for dinner 5 to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, till 11:30 p.m Friday and Saturday. Full bar. Valet parking. All major credit cards accepted. Dinner for two, food only, $26.50 to $79.