San Diego Spotlight : Avalon Boasts of Quality Food for Moderate Prices

A benefit of the recession--if such an occurrence can be said to be beneficial in any way to anyone--is the move toward more realistic, more affordable pricing made by at least a handful of restaurants.

Several of the big-time places, including George’s at the Cove and Top O’ the Cove, actually have established bar menus (both recently reviewed in this column) that cost a great deal less than the menus offered in their main dining rooms. And just this week, the Grant Grill introduced a revamped dinner list that features three entrees quoted below $13, which in this setting can be considered bargain-basement pricing.

Avalon, a new restaurant in La Jolla, of all places, is doing its very best to capitalize on whatever degree of price resentment and resistance may exist among diners. The menu bears the bold motto “A revolutionary concept in dining--value,” and, although nothing is more traditionally American for any sort of business than to claim to offer value for low prices, Avalon does support its claim with a decent, varied menu that, on the entree side, tops out at $12.95.

A pamphlet distributed by the restaurant suggests that clients should think of dining here as “saving money,” since, “When your check arrives, don’t be surprised to find out you can eat at Avalon twice as often as you can eat at some pretentious restaurant.” Most San Diego restaurants are far too busy bragging about the sterling culinary expertise of their busboys-turned-chefs, especially with such demanding preparations as prime rib and steak-and-lobster, to promote themselves from this point of view.

Avalon chef and co-owner Tom Smith, who cooked for a decade or so in the New York metropolitan area before heading out to La Jolla, has written a brief but solid menu that remains in the reasonable range as long as you steadfastly bypass the starter courses (priced mostly at $5.95). Since meals include a handsome house salad, this is rather easily managed.

Seafood dominates the menu, an obvious bow to contemporary tastes at a place that makes many such bows; the unusually chatty menu also informs guests that only olive and corn oils, “which are low in fat and contain no cholesterol” are used in cooking. For a restaurant to note these things up front is commendable. Avalon does serve butter with the crisp, fresh, French baguette from a local baker, but also offers a cruet of olive oil infused with rosemary and blanched garlic as a flavorful alternative.

The appetizer list opens with chowder, which, depending on the day, may be the tomato-enriched Manhattan style or the classic, white Boston chowder (sometimes both are available). White chowder is, of course, San Diego’s all-time favorite among soups, and Chef Smith has the texture down far better than most of his fellow local toque-wearers. The flavor was rather nice, too, although the bits of red and green pepper added a surprisingly and distractingly hot accent, which chowder purists would quickly reject.

Other starter choices, none of them sampled, include fried calamari; a salad of tomato and fresh mozzarella; eggplant rolatini (slices rolled around a filling of basil and mascarpone cheese, and baked under streaks of white and tomato sauces); clams garnished with minced pancetta bacon, peppers and herbs, and raw oysters drizzled with lemon juice and Stolichnaya vodka.

The porcini mushroom risotto and both pastas include shellfish garnishes, which makes life a little difficult for the many among us who do not like seafood. Servers do stress when they offer the menu that it should be considered a starting point, and that the chef will attempt to make any dish requested, but, by and large, restaurant diners prefer to have the choices spelled out for them. Shrimp dusted with lemon pepper accompany the risotto ; fleshy Gaeta olives dress up the linguine in white clam sauce, while shrimp and scallops--and not too many of either--decorate the fettuccine in “light Alfredo cream “ flavored with shallots, thyme and dry vermouth. The “Alfredo” treatment was so light, in fact, that the pasta seemed quite dry, and, since there was so much of it in relation to the shellfish count, it quickly became boring to consume.

In addition to the fish of the day, Avalon offers king salmon, gulf shrimp, mako shark, ahi, mahi-mahi and baquetta bass, broiled or grilled as the case may be and all basted with a mixture of olive oil, lemon and herbs unless requested simply spritzed with lemon. Presentations are cautiously and effectively wrought. In the case of the shrimp, neatly butterflied and curled, each specimen rested on a thin slice of tomato, the congregation spaced neatly around the bottom of the plate, while pale green slices of cucumber dusted with feta cheese occupied the upper half. The olive oil basting gave a good flavor to the shrimp and the lightness of the combination was appealing, while there certainly was plenty to eat. Rice pilaf is the standing alternative to the potato of the day, but the potatoes can be interesting--Smith recently offered excellent croquettes.

There are but three meats, a grilled New York sirloin garnished with a lime-cilanto-garlic-ancho chili salsa; a roasted whole chicken breast basted with oregano-flavored oil, and seared veal medallions in a fine, tasty brown sauce flavored with rosemary and beautifully enriched with shiitaki mushrooms, which seemed as meaty as the veal and set up a pleasant echo of textures.

The pastry assortment, baked on the premises, takes a French turn that throws calorie considerations out the window. It is a long time since San Diego has seen such lovely French fruit tarts, golden oblongs of crackling puff paste filled with pastry cream, fruit and glazes; the strawberry version was excellent and the less-typical banana tart, coated with apricot glaze, simply exquisite.

The restaurant occupies the premises of the former Le Corbier, and has toned down the decor considerably to suit the informal mood. The place is bright and comfortable, the terrace is open during dinner, and the servers work well and enthusiastically.

Avalon 6941 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla 456-2535 Dinner nightly, Saturday and Sunday brunch Entrees cost $10.95 to $12.95; dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, about $35 to $55 Credit cards accepted