San Diego Spotlight : Tutto Mare Proves a Point the Second Time Around

While the French refuse to replicate, the Italians merrily multiply. For the French, a restaurant chain is almost unthinkable. Masters of their fare insist, correctly, that their codified cuisine should be left to individuals. Italians, on the other hand, are not reluctant to branch out.

These corporate owners invest heavily in their new-style palaces of Italian cuisine and tend not to fool around. The fact that most of these places turn out quite good food made last autumn’s dismal opening of the Golden Triangle’s elegantly modern Tutto Mare all the more surprising. Despite the lavish decoration, enormous staff and very well-written menu, much of the cooking was deplorable. Certain mistakes--such as brutalizing salads with unconscionable amounts of lemon juice--became utterly remarkable for the simple reason that they occurred in this setting. It seemed unlikely that Bay Area-based Spectrum Foods would allow such amateurish goings-on to continue forever.

Based on the evidence of a pair of recent visits, the situation at Tutto Mare has been reversed. The lesson of this is, in great part, that corporate restaurants can excel when the will exists. On a more practical level, it is useful to be able to add Tutto Mare to the roster of worthwhile Italian eateries, since the decor and mood both are quite attractive.

Tutto Mare, Sfuzzi, Piatti, Madeo, Il Fornaio and Prego (this grouping sounds, perhaps, like the name of a Roman law firm) have more in common than elaborate settings and menus heavy on items with names (arugula, radicchio, etc.) that mouths formerly accustomed to saying “I’ll have the spaghetti and meatballs” still struggle to pronounce. They are all corporate-spawned. Tutto Mare and Prego, in fact, share a common parent in Spectrum Foods.

Tutto Mare’s original menu remains in force and is devoted primarily to offerings from salt and fresh waters. “Tutto Mare” means “all the sea.” The mixed antipasto plate, quite different from the usual cold cuts-and-cheese combos, has been enormously improved, and now offers (varying somewhat from day to day) such things as a delicate crab salad, a more robust and quite refreshing squid salad, marinated fried smelts (these remain a challenge, but are no longer hard and unchewable), cold mussels in aromatic sauce, tiny stuffed eggplant rolls and a few choice slices of salami. The appetizer list also offers three types of carpaccio (cured salmon, flash-grilled tuna and beef), fried baby squid, marinated shrimp with feta cheese, and the gamberetti e calamari Luciana , a salad of shrimp and squid with garlic and spicy tomato sauce. Squid remains a mystery to many, but this is as good a way as any to explore it.

Besides the big deals of the lobster salad (not sampled this time around) and the dressy primaverile (a handsome, somewhat bitter composition of radicchio, endive, arugula, goat cheese and sharp seasonings), there is the unusual, rather subtle spinaci alla senape in grani , or spinach leaves tossed with grain mustard, olive oil and shavings of Parmesan. The flavor at first seems flat, but the mustard soon enough introduces itself and works with the cheese and spinach to make an unexpectedly rich salad. Soup choices, again not sampled, include a spicy seafood mix, a rustic vegetable blend called carabaccia and the soup of the day, recently a puree of yellow squash, which may be good if you have a taste for this particular vegetable.

There is, perhaps inescapably given the theme of the restaurant, a seafood risotto with tomato sauce, but also a much quieter, very softly flavored risotto with porcini mushrooms. The key to this classic rice dish is constant stirring, which produces a creamy effect but is, of course, a pain in the neck for the kitchen; Tutto Mare does the work and the result is a smooth, toothsome stew in which every al dente grain bursts in tiny puffs of flavor.

The pasta list, if lengthy and stocked with less-than-typical offerings, does not especially excite the eye. A simple choice that may seem not at all interesting, since it is a standard offered by casual neighborhood eateries, the linguine in clam sauce (“ veraci ,” or authentic, as the menu states) makes clear why this dish became so popular. Moistened with olive oil and a bit of white wine rather than truly sauced, the pasta supports tiny, notably briny clams in the shell and a little garlic and parsley. The simplicity, and the directness of the flavors, gives this one an edge.

A list of the day’s fish, most given somewhat complicated preparation, expands a fairly brief entree list that offers seafood stew;, a sliced, herb-dressed steak; grilled giant shrimp with lemon and oil; a mixed grill of squid, shrimp and fresh fish, and the canestrelli di chioggia , or grilled sea scallops in a somewhat intense puree of roasted red peppers. The scallops, notable for their perfect flavor, don’t gain much from this sauce--but a little of it isn’t bad.

Also on the standing list, the salmon medallions alla Borgia take on a rich appearance appropriate to the family honored in the name. Presented as small, lightly sauteed ovals, the fish sports a handsome, sharply flavored coverlet of capers, minced scallions and chopped tomatoes. A seafood special of grilled halibut in veloute (a white sauce based on fish stock) with raisins sounded too unusual to be missed and was surprisingly good, the fish itself excellently cooked and the raisins, sweet but not overpowering, delightful in the mild sauce.

Two pastry chefs labor to fill the cart each day, and the choices tend to be extremely rich. The chocolate-caramel-walnut tart is about as good as it sounds; for something lighter, the thin lemon tart with a light cloud of merengue also satisfies.

* TUTTO MARE

4635 Executive Drive, San Diego

597-1188

Lunch Monday through Saturday, dinner nightly

Pastas and entrees $6.95 to $17.95. Dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, about $30 to $80.

Credit cards accepted

JUST A TASTE: HIGHLIGHTS OF OTHER NELSON REVIEWS

CAFE INDIA, 3760-5 Sports Arena Blvd., 224-7500. Potential diners should follow two caveats when visiting this unassuming neighborhood cafe: Some dishes can be remarkably salty, and portions vary from moderate to immoderately small. Ordering several of the Indian breads, which generally are well done, will make the meal simultaneously more substantial and more interesting. The vegetarian matar papri appetizer, of spiced green peas, is a pleasant starter; the meat-filled samosa pastries and daal (lentil soup) also satisfy. Curries, spiced to a diner-specified degree of heat, are good enough but not exceptional; the lamb curry seems more successful than the related bhuna ghosht . Chicken, egg and numerous vegetarian curries complete the menu. Entrees priced from $3.95 to $8.95. Inexpensive to moderate.

TROPHY’S SPORTS GRILL, 7510 Hazard Center Drive, 296-9600. The dozens of television screens and superior sound system put guests at this sleek, high-tech sports restaurant on the court, in the stands and on the field. The extensive menu of bar snacks, hamburgers, salads, sandwiches, grills, pastas and wood-fired pizza covers all bases quite well, but the cooking seems stuck on an average plane. A good choice among the nibbles is the popcorn shrimp, offered with a zesty “Cajun” cocktail sauce; the hamburger is good if not great, but substantial, a comment that takes in the meaty barbecued back ribs. Pie and chocolate cake for dessert. Entrees from $3.50 to $13.50. Inexpensive to moderate.