Falco’s Clever Twists Leave Each Plate Full of Charming Treasures

The century-old Louis Bank of Commerce Building in the Gaslamp Quarter takes a purely rococo pleasure in its decoration and provides a nearly inexhaustible visual buffet. The building may or may not have inspired its newest restaurateur tenants, Gunther and Linda Emathinger, but the urge to decorate--to poise garnish upon garnish until the simplest plate becomes a layering of tiny treasures--clearly is an imperative in the Emathingers’ kitchen.

Gunther Emathinger previously was chef at the charming and reliable 515 Fifth Avenue a few blocks south. At his new restaurant, Falco (named for a rock musician from Emathinger’s native Austria), Gunther continues his penchant for clever modern cooking. The style seems an entirely personal composite of the classic and the new.

The simplest example of Emathinger’s one-of-a-kind style might be the vegetable plates that accompany all entrees. Each component is finished in a very basic way, but the plate adds up to a small masterwork that begs a certain amount of contemplation before it can be tasted.

One of these plates recently included a pair of grilled asparagus spears--defiantly crunchy--surmounted by some languid, wilted spinach that in turn was topped by a few pungent cloves of roasted garlic. This in itself was impressive, but the plate also made room for a halved red potato deliciously dressed with crumbled bacon and chopped parsley, and for grilled oyster mushrooms decorated with slivers of meaty shiitake mushrooms. The literal effect was of a garnished garnish, rather like a stone gargoyle clutching a stone rose on the parapet of a Gothic cathedral, and there was a loveliness to both the effort and the thought behind it.

The Falco menu builds in this vein from start to finish and is utterly charming. It also is rather inexpensive if you can bring yourself to show restraint; entrees are priced from $8.50 to $12.50, very reasonable sums for the fine plates served. But appetizers average $6, and there are extra courses available such as sorbets --this may be the only place in town that lists them on the menu as a separate, optional course--and two dandy cheese offerings that segue so neatly between entree and dessert as to be nearly impossible to bypass.

A trio of guests agreed, after reading the menu, that it presented a rare occasion upon which the waiter simply could be told to bring anything, because nearly every dish sounds fascinating. The cornerstone of the menu, the appetizer list, includes such choices as smoked salmon with potato blinis, a fried quail egg, creme fraiche and Sevruga caviar (it’s quite a combination) and grilled seafood sausage in a bouillabaisse broth garnished with both bok choy and peppery rouille mayonnaise.

A strudel of lobster and shrimp with mango, papaya and macadamia nuts (Emathinger employs fruit frequently, and favors those from the tropics) was constructed rather like a coif and was delicate, suave and utterly delicious with its perfectly balanced curry sauce. A ragout (the term here implies a sort of quick stew) of crayfish and sweetbreads arrived under twisted knobs of buttery puff paste; adorned by savory buttons carved from various vegetables, it, too, was exquisite.

Emathinger shores up the standing menu with a good list of daily specials that recently included a beautifully arranged salad of Dungeness crab piled over a spiral of sliced melon and pear, with sprigs of watercress arranged like leaves in the interstices. The lime-based dressing added a beguiling tartness.

The entree list opens with a dish Emathinger used to cook at 515 Fifth, a plate of finely cut noodles tossed with rock shrimp, mild chilies, corn, cilantro, Fontina cheese and cream. If it is rather stridently Southwestern in tone, it also is a brilliant interpretation, a description that carries perfectly to a grilled, sliced chicken breast arranged over black bean sauce. A toasted quesadilla of Fontina and smoked Cheddar shares the plate, along with an orange-jalapeno relish, and the effect is reasonably astonishing.

Emathinger seems inclined to use relishes in place of sauces, which is a rather novel approach that works happily with things such as the grilled lamb--slices of rosy, deliciously crusted meat arranged in a coronet over a “ratatouille” of diced eggplant, onion and garlic seasoned with a variety of savory herbs--and with the grilled venison, similarly arranged over plums poached in Merlot but also moistened with a thin, tangy black pepper sauce.

His cleverest offering may be a circlet of broiled pork tenderloin slices, each topped with a crazy peanut souffle. A wonderfully pungent compote of rhubarb and ginger occupies the center of the plate and makes it sparkle.

For $1, guests can precede entrees with any of a trio of sorbets ; the choice includes a bitter, astringent but seductive combination of Champagne flavored with tarragon, and a tomato-mint ice that weighs in as a close second. For $4, guests can follow the entree with either a salad of apples, watercress and fried Brie in a pecan vinaigrette or a “pate” of Gorgonzola rolled in a crust of chives and crumbled pumpernickel. The dishes not only are outstanding, but locally unique to Falco.

Emathinger bakes various breads daily--many herbed or spiced or studded with nuts--and sends them out hot and fresh through the meal. He also bakes a sufficiently large variety of pastries, mainly fruit tarts, to cover both tiers of the dessert cart, and these rich confections are uniformly excellent.

The best time to come for dessert, however, may be at lunch (the same menu is served, with most entrees priced a dollar or two lower), when one can request the elaborate afternoon tea menu that is served between 2 and 5 p.m. The fact of tea service is laudable, but whether it will catch on remains to be seen; in any case, Emathinger reaches sweet heights with such confections as the Vienna savarin , a miniature sponge cake ring that is filled with berries and chopped fruit and buried beneath whipped cream streaked with chocolate sauce.

There are many other elaborate choices, as well as assorted coffees and even hot chocolate, and sidewalk tables to go with them. All that it would take to complete the picture would be a crisp fall day and a group of Viennese students arguing at the next table.

The dining room decor is comfortable but simply dressed with cream-colored linens and a collection of painted studies of women in various moods. The 20-foot ceilings and ornate chandeliers locate Falco very much in the Gaslamp Quarter, and offer a fine sense of place.

* FALCO

835 5th Ave., San Diego

233-5687

Lunch, tea and dinner served Tuesday through Saturday; closed Monday and Sunday.

Credit cards accepted.

Dinner for two with a modest bottle of wine, tax and tip, $50 to $80.