Eclectic but Not Gimmicky

Robert Gadsby is not a celebrity chef--at least not yet. But he is cooking some of the most interesting food in Southern California. Gadsby’s cooking at the new restaurant Xiomara (named for owner Xiomara Ardolina) in Pasadena is architectural in its structures, elegant in its flavors.

Though he occasionally uses the ingredients of other ethnic cooking styles, his food is not gimmicky in the way of so many “eclectic” restaurants. In other hands, for instance, Xiomara’s grilled Louisiana chicken salad would be a gloppy mess. But Gadsby’s is a plate of restraint: artfully placed drips of spicy hot sauce, a discreet smear of poblano -spiked guacamole, delicately cooked chicken.

His “fondue” is not a skewer-and-dip party trick but a beautiful, sculpted pile of fresh Maine crab and savoy cabbage, topped with a frizzle of fried onions and surrounded with drops of tomato-cardamom broth.

There may be a couple of dishes on the menu that don’t work, but your waiter probably won’t let you order them. Last week, at least, one waiter steered customers away from the halibut-and-clam chowder because, he said, “everything else is so much better.”

Xiomara, 69 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, (818) 796-2520. Entrees $14-$24.50.