Le Paris Is the Place for <i> Price Fixe</i> Dinning

The prix fixe dinner, which specifies a given number of courses at a set price, remained common at leading big city restaurants until the 1960s, when it gradually gave way to the by-the-course menus that reign virtually unopposed today.

That the prix fixe nearly went the way of the bustle may say less about changing tastes than it does about restaurant bottom lines, which in many cases benefit from the pay-as-you-go approach. There is no question, however, that life is made simpler for customers by the ability to choose an appetizer, entree and dessert from a list of choices headed by a clearly stated set price.

Le Paris, opened earlier this year in Fairbanks Ranch Plaza, is one of the very few local establishments to return to prix fixe , although after some months in operation it has added the option of a second, a la carte list of dishes. Run by a trio of Frenchmen--chef Gerard Bourgain, veteran restaurateur Ray LeLarge and his son, Guy--this well-appointed, somewhat formal eatery presents a handsome dinner of four courses, all sized manageably so that at the end you feel you have dined well rather than overeaten. The price per person is set at $24.95, which as a rule is cheaper than any combination of three dishes chosen from the a la carte menu.

Given the onslaught of Italian restaurants and the surrender of some of the few remaining French houses to lightly flavored, lightly bodied sauces, it is pleasant to find an establishment that knows how to cook delicate but fully flavored--and sometimes complicated--French dishes. Bourgain does especially well with sauces and presentations; his meats in several cases seemed rather on the dry side, but flavors never were faint.

The menu itself is particularly well written, and opens with a choice of salad--assorted greens tossed with vinaigrette and a few crumbles of blue cheese--or the “fisherman’s soup Provencale,” a classic, robust broth made by simmering the remains of many fish with aromatic vegetables and other seasonings.

The strained result is served with croutes (toasted rounds of bread) and rouille , a garlic and cayenne-flavored mayonnaise that can be spread on the croutes by the timid or, more properly, stirred directly into the soup, the flavor of which instantly will seem to sparkle.

Both the appetizer and entree lists usually are supplemented by a daily special or two. A typically clever--and French cooking is nothing if not clever--reworking of the old lox-cream cheese theme resulted in the recently available starter of a terrine (not unlike a pate) of shredded smoked salmon, cream cheese and capers, mounded into a conical shape and wrapped in a slice of the same fish.

Good standing starters included a fresh artichoke bottom garnished with a few scallops and shrimp, dressed with a creamy nantua (flavored with seafood essence) sauce, and an assortment of lightly cooked vegetables, tossed with a thin but tasty cream sauce and boxed in freshly baked, very flaky puff pastry. The terrine of sliced salmon and sea bass, embedded in flavored gelatin, was classic but not especially flavorful, although the mayonnaise-like avocado sauce on the side was exquisite.

Specials of grilled tuna with pistou (the Provencale equivalent of pesto, or basil sauce) and a roast duck breast with sweet-sour raspberry sauce filled out an entree list that included calves liver with shallots and balsamic vinegar, poached salmon with onion “marmalade,” and grilled sea bass with a coulis , or puree-sauce, of fresh vegetables.

The tart pungency of the raspberry sauce avoided the cloying sweetness so irritating with duck, but the meat, carefully carved and beautifully fanned over the plate, seemed a little dry. A beef filet with pepper corn sauce, while not unusual, was very nicely done--Bourgain certainly knows his sauces, and this one was explosive.

Fine, definite flavors again characterized the light cream sauce with the veal paupiettes (scallops rolled into tight bundles), to which morel mushrooms were added for sheer and much-appreciated extravagance, but once again, the meat seemed somewhat dry. A lamb filet, sliced and arranged like the duck, offered a moist texture and a pleasantly spicy sauce of sieved bell peppers. Lavish assortments of carefully cooked baby vegetables garnished all plates.

The server warns at the beginning of the meal that souffles take 20 minutes and should be ordered in advance. The lemon souffle, a sweet-tart puff of air sprinkled with powdered sugar, seemed an especially generous option on a prix fixe menu. A smooth, deep coffee sauce somehow lightened the effect of the chocolate fondant , which resembled chocolate pate.

Le Paris

16236 San Dieguito Rd., Fairbanks Ranch

Calls: 759-9011

Hours: Lunch and dinner served Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday

Cost: Prix Fixe dinner $24.95; dinner for two, with a moderate bottle of wine, tax and tip, about $85.