A European Theme Dominated by French Accent at Twelve Stars Cafe

The impending monetary integration of 12 countries of Western Europe into the European Economic Community is likely to generate less excitement in San Diego than the next Over-the-Line tournament. Even so, a new eatery in Hillcrest has chosen to name itself the Twelve Stars European Cafe in honor of the motif of the EEC flag.

Partners Andre Vautrin and Danielle Renaud claim a pan-European inclination for their bistro-like establishment. But the presence of Portuguese caldeirada (a fish soup), Spanish paella and Italian braised veal shanks does nothing to conceal the essential and quite charming French accent that speaks loudly over the Babel of competing culinary tongues.

The cooking is French, French, French--and that is just as it should be, because Vautrin (Renaud handles the front of the house), as a Frenchman, cannot bring himself to compromise in the kitchen.

At dinner, Vautrin offers both a light cafe menu and a more complex, formal list, the latter fleshed out by at least one full page of specials. The treasures lie primarily on the specials card, which recently forced a party of guests to agonize among such choices as jellied deer pate, sauteed foies de pintade (gray pheasant livers), snails in vodka, and Maine lobster prepared in any of 10 distinct styles. This same list also offered pheasant with grapes, saddle of rabbit (served for two), hind leg of rabbit, salmon pate, king salmon in beurre rouge (a butter sauce based on red wine) and filet of Atlantic sole in a creamy Champagne sauce.

An essential point is that this menu is French French rather than American French. Vautrin has cooked in San Diego since 1985, when he and Renaud opened Le Rendezvous (now closed) in Old Town, but he has not learned to Americanize his plates. The result is lovely, savory cooking that homes in on flavor by using herbs, aromatics and indeed all seasonings with a lavish Gallic hand. Vautrin is not alone, because several French restaurateurs now offer truly French food and each one that comes along is welcome.

The standing menu’s hot goat cheese salad nicely displays Vautrin’s talents. Goat cheese is a trendy food at present, and well may it be, because its soft, sensual pungency is attractive both by itself and when paired with greens.

But while many restaurants are content to melt the cheese over a bed of lettuces, Vautrin chose to spread it on croute -like zucchini rounds and toast them under the broiler to give a special character. These and a lightly dressed mix of mild and bitter greens were arranged around a shredded carrot salad, which, for that final touch that separates the French from the boys, was studded with ruby-red pomegranate seeds. It was quite a salad. (A pomegranate yields a lot of seeds, and Vautrin uses them like a jeweler, arranging one each, for example, in the center of the spinach leaves that garnish some entree plates. This painstaking approach to plate decor rarely is found outside the French and Chinese cuisines.)

Some of Vautrin’s cooking is Burgundian ( bourguignon ), but his snails refreshingly are not, and he offers them both cooked in vodka and a la provencale , which is to say drenched with garlic butter and buried beneath mixed herbs in a red-hot casserole.

His appetizer of fowl livers with fresh noodles, offered as a daily special, is another deeply flavorful preparation. The pasta serves primarily to cut the richness of the liver, while bits of caramelized shallot, fried parsley, garlic and tomato team to make this an entrancingly strong and robust dish.

In an interview, Vautrin described his cooking as “ la cuisine du marche ,” which translates as “the cooking of the market” and means, quite specifically, that he constructs his lengthy daily specials menu after he goes shopping. One result is that Twelve Stars is in the middle of a Maine lobster festival, with 10 preparations mentioned, all at the menu-topping price of $19.80.

These are relatively simple, and range from beasts in tarragon, pesto, Cognac, Champagne and lemon-chive sauces to the classic Thermidor and the engaging homard a la dieppoise . This version consists of a split lobster poached in a rich, saffroned fish stock and served in a bowl as a sort of combined entree and soup, the broth to be spooned up after the lobster has been dealt with. It is delicious and quite typical of French bistro cooking, but quite untypical of French cooking in these parts.

Also typically French but rare in San Diego were the two special rabbit offerings, a saddle (the choicest cut) served for two and an elegant leg that was remarkably meaty and tender. Domesticated rabbit cannot be treated in the same manner as game--the flavor is too delicate--but it still can stand up to a rustic treatment, and Vautrin served the beautifully browned meat with a stewed garnish of pearl onions, mushrooms, bacon and plenty of fresh thyme.

Not every dish is so strongly seasoned. Veal scallops in a butter-enriched sauce of pan juices and aged Sherry were rather tame, and less than a highlight of this menu.

In the case of the veal, in fact, the show was stolen by the sizzling casserole of diced potatoes sauteed with garlic and parsley that came on the side. Other dishes from the standing menu that take a milder approach would be the veal cutlets in picatta and Florentine styles, the strip steak in herb butter, and the mixed saute of fish and shellfish “St. Tropez.”

The cafe-style menu, which is available alongside the formal list at both lunch and dinner and offers considerably less expensive dishes, runs to salads, pastas and such simple fare as lamb with carrots and the classic marmite , the French “boiled dinner” of beef and vegetables served in the strong broth in which they simmered slowly for several hours.

The pan-European inspiration of the restaurant’s name is a bit more evident here, given the three kinds of Spanish-style rice dishes and the salads with Danish, Greek, Italian and Spanish garnishes.

Although a meal ordered from the formal list can be expensive, the mood of the place is quite undressy and casual and, once again, French in a way rarely encountered in San Diego. One guest was so moved by the high, dark red ceiling, the dim vistas of the long, shadowy room and the montage of vintage photos of Brigitte Bardot and Jean Paul Belmondo that he said, “If it was raining outside, I’d think I was in Paris.”

There is a nice Parisian feel to the place, but it is more reminiscent of Montmartre than of the Place Vendome, and guests who expect French formality and elegance to be part of the experience will be disappointed.

DAVID NELSON ON RESTAURANTS

* TWELVE STARS EUROPEAN CAFE

412 University Ave.

298-3032

Lunch and dinner served Monday through Saturday; closed Sunday.

Credit cards accepted.

Dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, $40 to $70 from the formal menu, and half that from the cafe menu.