San Diego Spotlight : Cindy Black’s Still Has the Right French Touch

Cindy Black’s “bouillabaisse” of spinach and fennel floats a web-like pattern of melted Gruyere that adheres, as if magnetized, to the spoon.

This is disloyal cheese, however, since an incautious diner quickly enough will transfer the strands from spoon to chin, at which point no elegant means exists with which to speed the Gruyere to its ultimate destination.

Black’s menu lists the soup in quotation marks because it is done in the style of a bouillabaisse--an important distinction--and is heady but absolutely seafood-free. Fennel and tomato are pureed as a base for tender spinach leaves, for more than a little chopped garlic and for a crust of bread topped with the garlic-and-red pepper-infused mayonnaise called rouille , which when blended through the soup throws all the flavors into exciting relief.

It takes more than a moment to describe Black’s vegetarian bouillabaisse, and not by chance. French dishes are constructed like edifices, and while they are built upon solid foundations that remain largely out of sight, they top out with Rococo cornices and Baroque gewgaws that entrance both eye and tongue. The careful, exact but exuberant planning of French cooking sets it apart from all other cuisines, and these qualities attach themselves to everything served at Black’s intimate, low-key La Jolla restaurant.

A return visit to Cindy Black’s reminds that French cuisine persists locally, despite the Armani-shouldered army of Italian restaurateurs that in the last decade has swept through the city seemingly on the wings of farfalle , or pasta butterflies. Certainly they have pushed most of the Frenchmen out of the way, and, although the concept of an elegant dinner in San Diego once specified bisque, orange duck and chocolate mousse, it now indicates carpaccio, veal chop and tiramisu. Nicely apropos the situation, both the French and the Italians have an expression that translates as, “the more things change, the more they remain the same.”

Black, the Wellesley graduate who left the halls of academe for the gas-fired precincts of the kitchen, cooks in a newer French idiom that is lighter yet more strongly flavored than the version of French haute cuisine that once prevailed in San Diego--which explains not only why she has survived the Italian onslaught, but maintains numerous admirers.

Black has also adopted certain Italian influences. The menu now incorporates a heading of “rice and pastas” that lists a vegetable risotto, another risotto with cabbage and spicy chipolata sausages (these are elements from Southwest France, where Black received her training) and spaghetti with crisped sweetbreads and a sauce of mushroom essences. Among entrees, there is a fritto misto (“mixed fry”) of squid, shrimp and sweetbreads, albeit in a lemon sauce of French inspiration, and a thoroughly handsome arrangement of grilled veal scallops with a “chutney” of shredded basil and prosciutto. It takes good veal scallops and a good cook to allow for successful grilled veal, which this was; the chutney, unique in conception, had the boldness of a relish and was a brilliant ploy with the meat.

The menu allows some leeway price-wise by including the grilled, marinated leg of lamb and the Provencal chicken stew that star on Black’s abbreviated Sunday supper menu; these are priced at $13.75 and $10.95 respectively, or fairly bargain basement for a restaurant of this caliber. At its most extravagant, the menu reaches to $22.95 for the Dover sole meuniere , a Black specialty; by and large, entrees are priced under $18, and starters from $3.95 to $7.95.

The costliest opener, a giant Portabella mushroom grilled with a basting of rosemary oil, is well worth the price. In the candlelight, the darksome slab looks quite like a prime steak, and there is a meatiness to the flavor as well, pointedly accented by the sharp, garlic-rich wine sauce. Just as sharply pungent, but flavored in a different direction, the salad of arugula, roasted peppers and anchovy dressing performs a delicate balancing act among three highly individual but deliciously compatible main ingredients. Other interesting appetizers are the avocado and grapefruit salad with hot grilled shrimp and curry dressing; the hot crab cake that crowns a mound of spicy, marinated vegetables and the barbecued eggplant salad.

At its most classic, the entree list offers the Dover sole, a rack of lamb crusted with parsleyed crumbs and the striped bass bonne femme , baked with mushrooms, chives and dryvermouth. Beyond these are such pleasures as the grilled flank steak (very simple, but tender and tasting very much like prime, buttery beef, flavored slightly with rosemary) and the “mustard seed” swordfish, coated not only with whole mustard but with a few peppercorns, for crunch and bursts of flavor. This is a fine, exciting way to deal with swordfish. Black adds a “mayonnaise” of crushed garlic and chickpeas and a few capers for extra piquancy.

Black knows chicken, too, a standard item that few of her contemporaries seem to understand or love. The French do prize chicken, of course; in any case, Black’s saute of chicken with chanterelle mushrooms tastes like chicken, right to the bone, and the mild brown sauce of natural juices and wine is perfect for the dish. Garnishes vary somewhat from plate to plate; this one included a buttery saute of spinach and an excellent, highly imaginative timbale (molded custard) of macaroni and shredded basil. All meals also are accompanied by the gratin of the day, a signature casserole dished at the table. This recently was based on red pepper linguine, cabbage, peas, fennel and ricotta and Gruyere cheeses.

Such touches as the gratin are in themselves a form of dessert, but there are, of course, numerous sweets, including a tender caramelized pear tart, fluffy crepes filled with raspberries (and doused with raspberry sauce, since this is French restaurant), and a fairly light chocolate mousse flavored with Mandarin orange liqueur. All are excellent.

CINDY BLACK’S 5721 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla 456-6299 Hours: Lunch on Friday only, dinner Tuesday through Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday Entrees cost $9.50 to $22.95; dinner for two, including a moderate bottle of wine, tax and tip, about $50 to $100 Credit cards accepted