Slades Is a New York Import With Pacific Rim Pretenses

Slades is a restaurant/cafe in search of itself, like the characters in a Pirandello play. This makes for a certain amount of confusion, but at least it doesn’t bore you.

And at least there’s nothing fuzzy about the cafe side. Once you’ve gotten past the makeshift racks of jams, coffees and gifts by the door, you’re in a handsome espresso bar where casual visitors can stop for a frothy cappuccino and a slice of creamy homemade cheesecake. It’s the perfect place to while away a lazy afternoon.

Owner Ira Slade has installed a reading library generously stocked with magazines and newspapers. His original Slades is in Brooklyn Heights, the brownstone capital of greater New York, where cafes such as this abound. It’s the sort of place you’d expect to find a Mia Farrow look-alike chatting conspiratorially with a girlfriend.

But on the restaurant side, the concept gets muddled. Mind you, it’s a pleasant place; Slade has completely redone the former Zeppa, giving it the casual, sophisticated air of a big-city restaurant. The walls are a soft salmon shade, with sepia photographs of New York scenes hung in just the right places. There are comfortable amenities, such as granite-topped tables and cafe-style chairs. People-watchers can dine outside at patio tables, all the more like New York. Even the music makes you think of the Big Apple: Sinatra, Sondheim, Gershwin.

Well and good. Now if the kitchen would just drop the California and Pacific Rim pretenses, things would be in sharp focus. When Slades plays it straight, the cooking is reasonably satisfying. When it does not, you’d be better off eating a New York-style hot dog from one of the carts on the plaza behind the restaurant.

Take the sauteed shrimp appetizer. Slades offers a plate of perfectly plump shrimp with roasted peppers and onions in a garlic cream sauce--and then adds cardamom to it, an oddball touch that clashes.

Hot duck Cantonese, a salty stir-fry served in an oily won ton shell, must contain an ounce of soy sauce per order. And how about a warm breast of Muscovy duck served with greens, grilled Granny Smith apples, pistachio nuts and an orange marmalade vinaigrette? Ever hear the expression “apples and oranges”?

You’ll do better to begin a meal with a salad or one of the more strait-laced soups. The French onion is beefy, muscular, topped with a heady three-cheese gratine. The robust lobster bisque is coral-colored and satin-smooth with chunks of lobster meat concealed beneath the surface. A tad floury, but delicious.

The house salad of California field greens, balsamic vinaigrette and roasted pine nuts is well-balanced. An indulgent Caesar features crunchy garlic croutons and a dressing (that could use more anchovy), with the option of further enrichment from grilled chicken breast or Gulf shrimp at added cost.

The formula for the appetizers--the simpler the better--also applies to the entrees. Order the grilled rack of lamb, the Hawaiian swordfish or the sirloin steak sandwich on a baguette with confidence, but you’re on your own if you choose something that sounds complicated.

Such as the fresh vegetable stir-fry: a mixture of chicken, snow peas, roasted red and yellow peppers, broccoli and onion, all in an insipid peanut sauce--a watery conglomeration without much character. The farfalle (bow-tie pasta) sound good on paper, mingled as they are with vegetables, garlic and extra-virgin olive oil. But, sorry, the dish contrives to be boring.

And one wonders how good the roasted marinated free-range half chicken might have been without its sweetish marinade of sake, plum, ginger, garlic and red wine. The hipper-than-thou marinade is apparently the reason the chicken’s skin isn’t crisp; the unpretentious mashed potatoes served on the side, however, approach greatness.

The grilled foods are fine, though, and there is no disputing that Slades uses first-class ingredients. The lamb rack is a real show-stopper: three enormous full-flavored chops, each a couple of ribs thick and redolent of garlic, mint and rosemary. The swordfish steak is one of the best around, even if the kitchen fancies it up a bit with caramelized shallots and fresh basil.

The chefs do love to caramelize vegetables, one of the few creative touches that works well here. The steak sandwich is a beaut, thanks to the caramelized onions, along with the button mushrooms and horseradish cream sauce.

Desserts are a bright spot on this big, diffuse menu (they’re also available in the cafe). You can get an ultra-rich pecan pie or a huge slice of sour-cream-topped New York cheesecake or a multilayered Belgian chocolate cake so intense it will make your ears ring. I’d come back for souffles, such as the puffy vanilla model, which gets spooned up with a smooth creme Anglaise.

Slades also opens for breakfast with an unusual range of choices: malted buttermilk pancakes with pecan butter, challah bread French toast with Vermont maple syrup, something called a Northwest croissant with soft scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and dill Hollandaise. I haven’t tried any, but I can guarantee you the coffee will be good and the newspapers up to date.

Slades is moderately priced. Appetizers and salads are $5.50 to $10.95. Entrees are $8.95 to $23.95. Lighter fare is $5.50 to $8.95. Breakfasts are $4.25 to $7.50.

SLADES

327 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach.

(714) 640-5422.

Breakfast 6 to 10:30 a.m. Mondays through Fridays, 9 to 10:30 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays; lunch and dinner Mondays through Thursdays 10:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., Fridays and Saturdays till 2 a.m., Sundays till midnight.

All major cards accepted.