San Diego Spotlight : Boondocks a Pleasant Oasis in the Midst of Civilization

Some years back, a virtually unknown (or so you might have thought) restaurant in La Mesa surprised the local trade and utterly delighted itself by being chosen, over all the usual big-name contenders for the distinction of most popular San Diego-area restaurant in a poll of American Express credit card holders.

The Boondocks, if not really situated in a backwater--Grossmont Center looms just around the bend, after all--is at least tucked rather distantly into a corner of an even less-distinguished-than-most strip center. The Boondocks is so easy to miss, or, more precisely, so unlikely to be noticed from any of the busy nearby streets, that the proprietor’s choice of name is instantly understandable. The clientele of this casual restaurant, however, in many ways dine better than patrons of flashier, uptown sorts of places.

The interior of the restaurant has an unusual (for an eatery), organic sort of quality, as if it gradually had grown and aged into its existing form rather than been purposely decorated in the style of a comfortable backcountry rendezvous. The dark wood paneling has that softly aged look that only long association with cooking and crowds can bestow, and it supports numerous folksy photos of groups at play. The seating primarily is in deep, well- broken-in booths of some comfort. The most endearing touch, however, is without question the pianist in the lounge, whose homages to the major crooners of other decades wash through the dining room and back into the bar, and who attracts a steadily growing crowd of followers--many of whom appear to be regular visitors--as the night wears on.

The menu reads like the generic Southern California restaurant list, right down to the offering of rice pilaf as an optional accompaniment to the prime rib, steaks, Alaskan king crab legs and teriyaki chicken. The Boondocks’ popularity presumably owes as much to how it treats these foods as to the selection. Because it lacks the rolling ocean vistas common to so many of the restaurants that serve this menu, the kitchen must cook with care.

This menu also has the virtue of expanded choice, as it were, or of building on a theme to offer patrons who like this sort of fare more options than do most places that are pleased to place a filet mignon and an Australian lobster tail on the same plate. Offerings such as shrimp in garlic butter or tempura batter can be regarded as points of departure for such relatively more interesting preparations as crab-stuffed shrimp and scalone (a hybridized seafood “steak” compounded of squid and abalone) amandine . The only-too-typical teriyaki chicken breast in turn is followed by mentions of sauteed chicken with amaretto and almonds, and another breast finished with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and the house version of Bordelaise sauce.

Prime rib, available in three cuts (moderate to Gargantuan), top sirloin and filet mignon only top a meat list that also offers Chicago-style pepper steak, a hamburger steak (increasingly rare in these dissolute days), thick-cut pork chops and rack of lamb, this last imported from New Zealand to stay within the rules of the restaurant’s genre.

The breaded, deep-fried zucchini fingers so typical of this style of dining are known here as “Boonie zucchini,” and are offered as a sizzling lagniappe before the arrival of the soup or salad. The difference between these and the great run of zucchini fingers marks the essential difference between the Boondocks and similar restaurants: They not only are hot, but, quite simply, very good, a comment that applies equally to many of the plates that issue from this kitchen.

Instead of the ubiquitous clam chowder, there usually is a choice between a tasty but wildly rich Cheddar cheese soup and a brew of the day, recently an excellent vegetable-beef that gave every sign of built-from-scratch preparation. The house salad, if ordinary compared to the exuberant plates of greenery served at some restaurants, was fresh, well-arranged and finished with a competent, homemade dressing.

A fish or two of the day and a meat special typically complete the entree list.

Careful, knowing cooking characterized a recent meat special, a piccata made with pork tenderloin rather than the usual veal. The advantages of this, for restaurant as well as patron, are not only a lower cost, but a somewhat different flavor. The pork, thin slices of tenderloin pounded to both flatten and tenderize the meat, in any case took to this preparation quite successfully and was delicious under the sauce of capers, lemon and garlic in butter.

The Chicago-style pepper steak takes a hearty view of the French pepper steak by burying a grilled New York sirloin beneath a flavorful mound of sauteed mushrooms mixed with cracked black peppercorns and bits of bacon. This is an excellent idea that should stop right there, but the kitchen adds a coating of thick brown gravy (one hesitates to say “sauce” in this instance) of little flavor and a viscosity that goes off the chart. The meat, sufficiently tender if no more than that, picks up sufficient flavor from the garnish and needs no sauce, although a real Bordelaise would not be out of place.

The dessert list leans heavily on catered cheesecakes but does include a homemade frozen chocolate mousse cake that, although of no great finesse, should satisfy any craving for something sweet. Another featured dessert, premium ice cream “cocktails” flavored with the liqueur of choice, are served from the bar rather than the kitchen.

THE BOONDOCKS

8320 Parkway Drive, La Mesa

465-3660

Dinner nightly

Entrees $10.95 to $19.95. Dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, about $35 to $60

Credit cards accepted