San Diego Spotlight : In Going Solo, Palms Chef Includes His Unique Touch

Among the chefs who have left their marks on local cooking, few manage to indelibly inscribe their signatures on the city’s bill of fare.

Neil Stuart, who served for several years as executive chef for the Pacifica restaurants and thus supervised the cuisine at Cafe Pacifica, Pacifica Grill and Pacifica Del Mar, is one member of the small group that has had a recognizable, lasting impact on San Diego cooking. He was among the first to offer a version of Southwestern cuisine, and among the first locally to devise the synthesis of that style--California cuisine and Asian cooking that is now known as “Pacific Rim” cooking. Stuart is both inventive and a good technician, so it should go without saying that he cooks with a certain flair.

He certainly does things well at his new The Palms, near La Jolla Cove, although he does them a little too familiarly, in the sense that if you’ve dined at a Pacifica restaurant in the last few years, you probably have encountered most of this menu. Depending on your point of view, this is either a happy situation or a display of a certain creative block on Stuart’s part. Because he actually owns this restaurant (in partnership with manager Robert (Bo) McMahon and can cook exactly as he pleases, it would be preferable to see him create a menu more specific to The Palms.

Those who know Stuart’s food will greet such items as the ahi “takoshimi,” the chile-crusted lamb ribs, the Japanese-style clam chowder, the mustard-coated catfish and much more as old friends. And those to whom these dishes are new will find much to enjoy, especially the entree of king salmon, barbecued Yucatan-style and endowed with a buttery quality that transcends ordinary fish and becomes something quite special. The citrus- achiote marinade in which the fish reposes before a brief visit to the grill has much to do with this quality, of course; also likable is the garnish of baby carrots, asparagus and beans, simply but perfectly cooked and so slender and elongated that it would seem Stuart must have them grown especially for The Palms. In this age of “boutique farming,” such things are possible.

If the entrees seem reasonably priced at $13 to $16, the starters seem somewhat steep at $6 to $8. Opening bites include smoked pheasant spring rolls, spiced corn and artichoke fritters (not agreeable on the occasion they were sampled), Dungeness crab cakes and pot stickers stuffed with wild mushrooms. Most of these, along with the “takoshimi,” are available on the “mixed thrill” sampler, served for a minimum of two guests and priced at $9 per person. If you’re hungry, this is a good way to fill up quickly and take a fairly comprehensive gander at Stuart’s assorted styles.

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All of these seem to combine Western and Asian themes, most successfully in the spring rolls, which are crisp and light, but not at all well in the soggy, dull-flavored pot stickers. The crab cakes, crisp, moist and beautifully flavored, would be happier with less sweetness in the accompanying sauce, while the clever “takoshimi” (the word, like the dish, combines elements of tacos and sashimi) would benefit from a bit of hot wasabi paste. Still, the idea of stuffing charred-edged slices of buttery raw ahi and shredded cabbage into folded won ton shells is enormously clever.

Stuart’s menu continues in a familiar vein with his signature Caesar salad, in which smoked salmon jerky from the Pacific Northwest more than successfully substitutes for the usual anchovies (and also creates an earthier salad); with a toss of spinach and duck carnitas and with a selection of quesadillas, all quite different from the typical kind that concentrate on cheese alone as topping. Choices in this category include a papaya and smoked jalapeno version and another with smoked shrimp and sun-dried tomatoes. And there are pastas, naturally, all given a twist, as in the penne with grilled mahi mahi and macadamia nut pesto, and the linguine with lobster, shrimp and spicy black bean sauce.

Chances are that the pasta’s spicy black bean sauce repeats from the entree called “grilled lamb chile,” a conceptual creation that mimics chili con carne but does so from a California-Southwest cuisine perspective. This is essentially a dish in layers, with chili-flavored black beans at the bottom, cubes of fresh avocado, slices of freshly grilled, quite tender lamb loin and a topping of crumbled goat cheese. There are a lot of disparate flavors here, and the effect is strong, but this is quite nice when you’re in the mood for something with a lot of personality.

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The same could be said for the “Shanghai pepper steak,” which treats a basic, French steak au poivre (a New York sirloin coated in crushed black peppercorns) to an additional garnish of sauteed sweet peppers and a strong sauce that is simultaneously sweet, spicy and salty. Soy and other Asian elements definitely enter this sauce, but what gives the dish its special character is the melange of sauteed peppers. Among other offerings are a beef filet with lobster and sweet corn salsa, a pozole garnished with grilled chicken and a plate that combines Chinese-style barbecued duck with grilled scallops. This dish appeared at Pacifica Del Mar a few years back and is sensational.

The dessert list could be more ambitious, and not surprisingly starts with a Stuart-Pacifica favorite, creme brulee . What is especially likable is the day’s fresh fruit tart, which recently consisted of mixed berries layered over exceptionally buttery leaves of phyllo dough, the whole smoothed with a fine, sweet cream.

The Palms occupies one of La Jolla’s more unusual restaurant spaces, a ziggurat-like configuration of rooms that rise in steps above lower Girard. The Cove is nearby, and the arrangement of rooms, all fronted by broad windows, affords the greatest number of diners a good view. The best table of all, according to McMahon, is No. 104, which in his words offers “a view to moon,” at least on a clear day. The decor is simple but sufficient, but The Palms could use both more flattering lighting and a better selection of tapes; the sound system delivers something a step or two below elevator music.

THE PALMS 8008 Girard Ave., La Jolla 454-2320 Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily Entrees $13 to $16. Dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, about $40 to $70. Credit cards accepted