San Diego Spotlight : Modern Setting Belies Traditions of Old Venice

There is a taste of Venice, California in the style of Old Venice, the long-running Point Loma restaurant.

The hip look of the place--spare white walls, trendy black-and-white photographs, a couple of free-standing, square-paned glass doors placed in the center of the dining room just for the sake of artsiness--is reminiscent of a few of the trendier places on quiet side streets in the Venice to the North. The decor frankly is somewhat at odds with the menu, and, although the restaurant looks ever so au courant , the cooking stands squarely with both feet planted in the simple, Southern Italian traditions that ruled in San Diego before carpaccio, wood-fired pizza and pasta primavera became commonplace.

A certain charm brightens the menu; it is nice, once in a while, to see a listing for “half-and-half,” the once ubiquitous oval platter divided between spaghetti and ravioli, both so shrouded by tomato sauce that a fair amount of excavation is required to uncover the pasta.

The setting shares this charm, particularly the courtyard, itself divided half and half, so that some tables are partly shielded by a lattice while others are naked to the night. The sense of whimsy that seems to have decreed some of the decor extends to table appointments, notably the sheets of white paper that cover the cloths and are meant as disposable canvases to be decorated with the colored marking pens supplied as an encouragement to doodlers.

Whether the cooking will seem particularly charming depends very much upon what is ordered. Most of the basics seem well within the kitchen’s grasp, others elude it--little, for example, is more typical of local Italian menus than veal Marsala, a dish of some finesse that actually requires relatively little expertise. Even so, Old Venice sent out a plate of tough, unpounded scallops, doused not so much in sauce (and certainly not in the buttery, unctuous pan deglazing sauce standard with this dish) as in a heavy splash of wine flavored with garlic. It looked unappetizing upon arrival, and, in this case, looks certainly were not deceiving.

On the other hand, eyes that feasted on the pizzas being rushed to other tables accurately informed the taste buds what to expect. Served on metal stands lined with doilies, these pies start on solid foundations of good, thin but puffy crust that is a pleasure between the teeth--this crust has some bite to it. In addition to the basic cheese model accessorized to taste from a list of standard toppings (not entirely standard, however, since the options include walnuts), there are several house specials. Notable among these are the “Greek Goddess,” a strongly flavored pizza made distinctive by the Greek olives, feta cheese and oregano mixed among the other toppings of tomato and mozzarella and Jack cheeses, and the asparagus marinated artichoke combo, a sort of Gallic-Italian pairing that sounds rather good.

Pasta threads its way through the menu to the point that it seems inescapable, not that there is any particular reason to want to escape it. The appetizer list includes such items as ravioli Manhattan (dressed with a tomatoed cream sauce) and tortellini in creamed pesto; the pasta list occupies a page of its own, and virtually all of the chicken, veal and seafood entrees arrive bedded on spaghetti or linguine.

Other starters include “eggplant pomodoro ,” or eggplant Parmigiana by another name, served as a smaller version of that entree; “magic” mushrooms, in this case stuffed with crab and shrimp, and rather good garlic bread--which arrives gratis with the meal, anyway, and hardly needs to be ordered on its own. Most items include the choice of soup or a simple but well-composed salad, but the antipasto salad--greenery with assorted cold cuts and cheeses rolled into logs and spaced over the lettuce with pepperoncini and olives--is nicer, if a la carte, and a good dish to share.

Among the pastas, the half-and-half may be as good a choice as any, since the spaghetti is cooked perfectly al dente , the ravioli have a tasty-enough filling and the meat sauce offers strength and savor. This is an example of simplicity having its virtues. This sauce reappears on the cannelloni and baked rigatoni; marinara sauce coats the manicotti, and a creamed tomato sauce the tortellini Roma. Perhaps the one macaroni that pays a little attention to contemporary styles is the angel hair Galioto, tossed with a sauce of fresh tomatoes, basil and capers. Homemade fettuccine appears under its own heading and is offered with pesto, or in two styles with cream sauce, one mixed with mushrooms and clams in the “Old Venice” version, the other with smoked bacon and minced onions in a less-convincing carbonara edition.

Chicken breast appears in five guises, all standard except for the fedeli , finished with mushrooms and a Sherried cream sauce; the chicken itself seemed tender enough, but the old saying that a sauce tastes no better than the wine that flavors it certainly was true in this case. In addition to the veal Marsala there are piccata and saltimboca versions, but a little more originality is shown in the seafood department, which runs to such dishes as the calamari Venisia (breaded steaks in garlic butter, wine and lemon) and the seafood cacciatore , a mix of sea creatures, bell peppers and olives in marinara sauce. In translation, the name is amusing, because cacciatore means “hunter-style,” and it is difficult to envision anyone stalking a squid through the tangled undergrowth of an Old World forest.

The contents of the handsome pastry tray are virtually all catered, but there is a bright spot, a baked-on-the-premises cookie the size of a sandwich that may take the concept of the chocolate chip cookie as far as it can go. Walnuts and oatmeal are added to the dough, and, when baked, the cookie is sprinkled with pecans and extra chips to give it a very homemade, down home appeal.

OlD VENICE

2910 Canon St., Point Loma

222-5888

Dinner served nightly

Pastas and entrees from $7.25 to

$14.25; dinner for two, including a

glass of wine each, tax and tip, about

$30 to $45

Credit cards accepted