San Diego Spotlight : Inconsistency Puts Italian Eatery in Hillcrest Off-Track

Blue skies float eternally over the dining room at Hillcrest’s new Dei Binari, thanks to a wall-topping, trompe l’oeil mural of endless azure, flecked with a few cottony clouds.

Even though June gloom never can dim this casually attractive room--the floor is paved in stone, or something like it, and immense, modern canvases are diverting if unfathomable in meaning--guests cannot count upon dining consistently on the sunny side of the street. Chef-proprietor Claudio Lacerva seems to hit more often than he misses, but inconsistency nonetheless was the rule on two recent visits.

“Dei Binari” translates roughly as “to the (railroad) tracks,” and, although that may seem rather a strange name for a restaurant, especially in a neighborhood innocent of any railway or trolley, it is explained by the fact that Lacerva’s father owned an eatery of the same name near the railroad station in Milan. Oddly enough, Dei Binari’s predecessor in this newish building at the corner of 5th and University avenues had something of a transportation theme and was named Piccadilly Circus; don’t feel bad that you’ve been out of circulation if you can’t remember this English bar-restaurant, because it wasn’t there very long. A pleasant feature of this building that cannot be noticed from the outside is a well-designed courtyard complete with fountain and greenery. Dei Binari has set out a large number of tables, some open to the sky, some shaded by umbrellas. The building also offers underground parking, validated for restaurant customers and a welcome convenience in parking-poor Hillcrest.

Lacerva’s menu would have seemed stunning five or six years ago, before the unstoppable Italian tidal wave that continues to inundate the city started spilling through the mountain passes (Italy is to the East, after all). Now that there are so many Italian options from which to choose, the Dei Binari menu still seems more than sufficiently varied, and likable for its generally moderate pricing. Lacerva seems to do well with starter courses, pizzas and other similarly informal offerings, but both of the pastas sampled were disappointing. The entree list, if short, includes several interesting choices.

The antipasto selection specializes in deep-fried preparations but includes a plate of polenta and sausage in wine sauce (you would have to really, really like polenta to order it as an appetizer) and caponata , the wonderful, Sicilian vegetable stew, usually served cold. The eggplant was underdone--it needs to be soft to join properly in this suave menage a la multitude --but still flavorful, and happy in the company of the zucchini, red bell pepper, onion, celery, capers and green olives.

Fried starters include breaded zucchini chips, the increasingly ubiquitous calamari and mozzarella in carrozza (“in a carriage”), usually understood to be cheese sandwiched between sliced bread--the package dipped in beaten egg before it hits the hot fat--but here interpreted as triangular, crumbed, fried slices of cheese. This was vastly better than at the many places that offer rubbery, “fried mozzarella” bar snacks, and was joined on the plate by a good, spicy marinara sauce.

The minestrone leaned heavily on cubed carrot and celery (a combination that made this soup somewhat sweet) almost to the exclusion of other elements traditional in this preparation. The flavor nonetheless was good, and the effect pleasingly light. Lacerva offers quite a number of salads, from an unusual steamed broccoli dressed with garlic, olive oil and lemon juice, to a chopped salad of chicken, salami, tomatoes and basil, a Greek salad and spinach with warm bacon dressing. The Caesar, fresh and boasting crisp croutons made from the restaurant’s own bread, was dry, and stingy on the Parmesan; adding it at the table does not have the same effect as when the cheese is tossed into the mix. If pizza is not on the program, one of the freshly baked thin breads, which are puffy and light and utilize the same dough as the pizza, will go well with anything. In order of elaboration and price (from $2.65 to $3.50), the choices are focaccia, or dough brushed with olive oil; bruschetta , which adds roasted garlic; and schiacciate , which adds Fontina cheese.

The excellent pizza list goes well beyond Italian themes, as do many pizza lists these days, to include a tequila-and-lime flavored chicken pie, and another called the “Rajun Cajun,” with crayfish, andouille sausage, peppers and a spicy sauce. The basic, old-fashioned pizza, available with a choice of typical toppers and sampled with pepperoni and sausage, was just dandy, from the thin, supple crust to the full-flavored sauce and deep lake of molten cheese. Choices that might be deemed more elegant would be the frutti di mare (assorted seafood) and the primavera , or vegetables and Gouda cheese.

Some restaurants use the distinguished adjective bolognese to describe ordinary meat sauce, while others reserve it for this true Italian classic, of carrots, celery, onion, assorted minced meats, tomato, cream, wine, stock and often chicken livers, flavored with nutmeg but usually untouched by garlic or herbs. Lacerva used the carrots and celery--and plenty of them--to pick up an otherwise typical meat sauce, which he finished with fresh, shredded basil. Served over penne , it lacked interest. The lasagna stuffed with wild mushrooms, grilled chicken, spinach and ricotta sounded great, but arrived cold, and, worse, was full of grit from the spinach. Spinach is sandy, of course, which is why it has must be washed carefully and thoroughly. This dish was a disaster. The short, fairly standard entree selection does extend to an involtini di vitello (veal scallops rolled around spinach, mushrooms and cheese) and sauteed chicken breast in a cream sauce flavored with tarragon and brandy. The bistecca alla fiorentina , if good, misappropriates the name, which properly indicates a porterhouse grilled with a basting of olive oil and lemon. The menu forthrightly states flank steak in the English translation of the title, marinated in oil with rosemary and garlic; both flavors showed up well in the finished product, and the bits with the charred edges tasted best.

The dessert tray includes the Italian pudding called tiramisu that is available just about everywhere; the version here is acceptable, but no more than that. The fruit tarts that shared the tray one evening looked discouraging and were not attempted.

DEI BINARI 3900 Fifth Ave., Hillcrest 543-0261 Lunch and dinner daily Pastas, pizzas and entrees from $4.95 to $14.95; dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, about $20 to $55 Credit cards accepted