San Diego Spotlight : Gangale Family in the Swim With Seafood in La Jolla

The meanderings woven through the local restaurant trade by the Gangale family intertwine in a tasty tangle that, were Rossini still with us, might be scored as a bubbling scherzo written for pots, pans and macaroni al dente .

Rome natives Salvatore and Raffaella Gangale arrived first, in the early 1980s, to open the still-popular When in Rome in Leucadia. One of the first sophisticated Italian eateries in the county, it accomplished an unusual feat by expanding rather than closing at the end of the first year. When downtown San Diego’s Meridian tower opened, Salvatore and Raffaella leased ground-floor quarters and opened Salvatore’s, another sophisticated establishment at which, following the pattern set in Leucadia, Salvatore manages the dining room while his wife sauces the pastas and sautes the veal.

Perhaps more through design than through the agency of a culinary deus ex machina , Salvatore’s sisters Rosina Gangale and Rosa Maria Ragone showed up just in time to purchase When in Rome. In 1989, Rosina left Leucadia for La Jolla and her own new establishment, Caffe Roma, situated rather prominently at Girard and Pearl but fated never to become quite the smashing success she envisioned. Brother Salvatore recently rode to the rescue, renamed the place Cin Cin da Salvatore, reoriented the menu to seafood and relegated Rosina’s role to that of sous chef in a kitchen now supervised by fellow countryman Sergio Di Casale.

The family maneuvers, if a touch complicated, have brought the county three solid Italian restaurants, each of which presents a broad Italian cuisine--as befits the cosmopolitan tastes of their Roman owners--rather than a limited, regional list. Cin Cin da Salvatore, an unquestioned improvement upon Caffe Roma, has as its primary strength the same insistence upon careful cooking and enticing presentation that characterizes Salvatore’s.

The new restaurant’s name memorializes the toast, “ cin cin ,” often made by Italians when they raise glasses. Since taking control of the place, Salvatore Gangale has not so much changed the decor as softened it by banishing much of the 1980s-chic black in favor of softer tones; the pillars and other architectural motifs remain, as does the wood-burning oven that turns out an unusually eclectic selection of pizzas.

The menu so militates for seafood that it nearly seems to discriminate against confirmed carnivores, although a careful reading turns up a few seafood-free selections. But the growing majority that favors fish and shellfish should appreciate the lavish number of choices, including several dishes unique--at least locally--to this establishment. The prices on the strictly a la carte menu are not modest, but they become more reasonable if you know that the antipasti and pastas are gigantic and can either be shared or ordered in a half portion, in which case the price also is halved. Entrees range from a low of $15 for chicken breasts sauteed with mushrooms, capers and lemon, to $21 for an elaborate preparation of giant shrimp with Gorgonzola cheese.

The sole exception to seafood among the appetizers is the simple mixed salad; otherwise, the choice is among mussels, sauteed with herbs, garlic and fresh tomato, or baked under sprinklings of cheese and bread crumbs; clams steamed in herbed white wine or baked with crumbs and prosciutto; fried baby squid; a colorful salad of chunked lobster, jade-green endive and rosy radicchio, and the rather lovely insalata di mare , which translates as “seafood salad.” This last is arranged on the plate like an open flower, with outer petals of arugula, endive, mussels and clams set around a radicchio cup filled with shrimp, scallops and baby squid, the whole barely tart with a dressing of lemon and olive oil. The freshness of the flavors, and the sweetness of the seafood set in opposition to the bitter greens, together make for a delicious dish.

There may be only five pizzas, but the choice is far from mundane. A list that opens calmly enough with a traditional mozzarella-tomato-basil pie concludes on a startling note with the “pizza Cin Cin,” topped with fish, mayonnaise, mustard and herbs. In between are a pizza with shrimp, arugula and tomato, and another with a broader selection of seafood. Striking a rather pleasant balance and utterly avoiding fish, the capricciosa tops a disc of fluffy, well-browned dough with tomato, prosciutto, artichoke hearts, sliced mushrooms and, unusually but nicely, quarters of hard-boiled egg. It is not necessary to order pizza to taste the well-flavored yeast dough on which it is based, since the bread basket arrives filled with thin squares, baked to a soft, chewy finish and ever so lightly brushed with oil, herbs and bits of crushed tomato.

Some of the pastas repeat from the Salvatore’s menu, including the briny-scented spaghetti alla Trasteverina, baked with a mixture of seafood, and the bavette al granchio , or linguini-like macaroni with a spicy sauce of crab, cream and tomato. There is also fusilli (macaroni twists) with clams and artichokes or clams and broccoli; linguine with scallops and clams; spaghetti with lobster in creamed tomato sauce; seafood lasagna; risotto, or “stewed” rice, again with assorted seafood and, by no means least, the unusual and highly satisfying spaghetti with clams and saffron. A simple dish, it shows off the kitchen’s skills through the fine blending of basic flavors--perfume-like saffron, sweet clams and peppery Italian parsley--with perfectly al dente pasta.

The grilled swordfish and salmon again repeat from Salvatore’s, which does turn out among the handsomest swordfish in town. There also is a fancy cioppino that utilizes all the shellfish and some of the fish in the kitchen’s larder, a halibut with olives and tomato, baked sea bass with wedges of tomato and orange, and several excellent shrimp preparations. One of these, scampi agli agrumi (“shrimp with bitter flavors”), sautees large specimens with strips of orange and lemon peel and glazes the finished product with a transparent, mildly bitter-tart sauce of great interest. Scampi al sapore di Gorgonzola is baked under coverings of mozzarella and Gorgonzola cheeses and tomato sauce, a most unusual combination of flavors that brings a musky richness to the shrimp. Plate garnishes include expertly cooked vegetables and a trademarked pairing of carved lemon and lime halves, arranged Pac Man-like so that one citrus appears to be gobbling up the other.

Desserts include the creamy, espresso-flavored pudding called tiramisu , which the Gangales introduced to this county at When in Rome and continue to make well, and the French-inspired profiterolles , a pyramid of miniature cream puffs stuffed with ice cream and lavished with chocolate sauce. Either suits quite well, as does the excellent cappuccino.

CIN CIN DA SALVATORE

7514 Girard Ave., La Jolla

454-4495

Lunch weekdays, dinner nightly

Entrees cost $15 to $21; dinner for

two, including a glass of wine each, tax

and tip, about $45 to $80

Credit cards accepted