San Diego Spotlight : Peohe’s Serves Up a Varied Menu Along With Its View

The gulf between Coronado and San Diego is a gentle one, softened further at this time of year by the emeralds and rubies--the reflections of the holiday lights on the big city’s spires--that skip along the ripples in the bay.

There is no better place to regard San Diego from than Coronado, and, again at this season, no warmer place than from a table at one of the restaurants at the northern end of the peninsula. The window tables at Peohe’s, none more than a fork’s toss from the water, provide as good a place as any from which to enjoy the reflections of the skyline as well as to reflect upon all the really good restaurants that have sprung up across the bay in the last dozen years or so.

Peohe’s in some ways epitomizes the various transformations of San Diego dining. Owned by the San Diego-based Chart House chain, it pays as much attention to theme as to cuisine, an attitude that certainly has been a hallmark of restaurants in this tourist-oriented city. But while the salad bar-steak-cheesecake routine that Chart House established and still maintains dominated this city for years, Peohe’s offers a much more varied and imaginative menu. The same can be said of San Diego in 1992.

You will not leave Peohe’s belabored by the impression that you have just had an important gastronomic experience. Nor will you find your experience inexpensive; Chart House chooses only the most prime locations, and prices reflect the drama of the view and decor. But there is much to savor here, especially the surroundings, a lush Hawaiian garden of palms and greenery through which streams tumble and play; the sound of flowing water laps soothingly at the ears through the evening. The lighting designer deserves compliments for creating an environment that, viewed across the room, looks romantically dim, even while plenty of light shines down upon the individual tables.

The menu is themed primarily with dishes that suggest the flavors of South Seas islands, sprinkled with plenty of the simpler fare that Chart House has discovered to be so unshakable a foundation for success. Thus the appetizer list runs from such prosaics as shrimp cocktail and oysters Rockefeller to such relatively daring items as the “poke” of raw tuna marinated in spiced soy sauce and the mussels steamed in an Indonesian-style curried broth.

Sometimes the restaurant handles the simple dishes best. The Peohe’s salad of sliced sweet onions, beefsteak tomatoes and avocado is a colorful plate of top-notch produce, and the flavors blend beautifully. The Caesar salad is for the bold (but not necessarily the beautiful), since a pair of anchovy filets are crossed menacingly at the summit of the mound of crisp Romaine leaves. The dressing, heavy on citrus notes, lacks the mellowness of sufficient olive oil and also wants a strong dash of Worcestershire. The soup “sampler” offers a trio of small bowls as well as several garnishes, including rice and chopped onion for the flavorful black bean soup and a cruet of Sherry with which to add a little verve to the lobster bisque. The Thai onion soup, flavored with lemon grass and lime juice, presents an instance of concept triumphing over taste.

The entree list delays the islands theme until it has passed the hurdles of prime rib (with Yorkshire pudding, no less) and New York sirloin with sauce bearnaise. More in the swim of things, the first islands represented are far from Hawaii, since the Caribbean-style pork tenderloin is seasoned with a dash of Jamaican spices and sided with a pear chutney and none-too-expert banana fritters. Overall, this is quite a good dish. The same can be said of the grilled sea scallops, tender, nicely cooked and topped with a citrus sauce that contains chunks of grapefruit.

The coconut-coated fried shrimp probably are more an invention than a genuine South Seas preparation, but are nonetheless delicious, particularly with the teriyaki sauce offered along with sweet-sour and cocktail dips. There’s drama to this presentation, since the fat, golden prawns rise a good six inches above the plate on a mound of fried (if not especially edible) rice noodles.

Paella, prepared for two, appears on the menu above the “Peohe’s-style lau lau” or red snapper soaked in a mixed-metaphor marinade of coconut cream (Hawaiian), pancetta bacon (Italian) and cilantro (Mexican/Chinese). This may or may not be good, but it certainly is an invention rather than a straightforward preparation of a traditional dish. The fish list includes Norwegian salmon baked in parchment, halibut sauteed with bananas and macadamias, grilled red snapper with sauce maltaise (orange-flavored hollandaise), and New Orleans-style barbecued shrimp. Should you want a baked potato, it costs $2.50 extra; a plate of the fried Maui onion rings is large enough to feed the table, but the order sampled was soggy and certainly not worth the $4.50 price tag. Most plates include assorted limp vegetables and the eternal, soggy rice that remains a trademark of local restaurant dining. Some things don’t change.

The desserts are sweet and largely magnificent in their extravagance. The no - ka - oi (which the menu translates as “the best”) piles macadamia ice cream in a chocolate crust and floats the huge wedge in a sea of bittersweet chocolate sauce. Of all the things in life that are bittersweet, none is better than chocolate, and there is perhaps no better taste to have in the mouth as one ends a long repast with words of farewell.

JUST A TASTE

HIGHLIGHTS OF OTHER NELSON REVIEWS

PACIFICA GRILL, 1202 Kettner Blvd., San Diego, 696-9226. With more reincarnations than Shirley Maclaine to its credit, downtown San Diego’s Pacifica Grill once again has taken on a new life. Redecorated but down-scaled for the nineties, the renamed Pacifica Grill & Rotisserie offers lower prices and a simpler but attractive menu. Opening courses remain a specialty and include fine crab cakes, duck fajitas and tiny corn cakes decorated with spicy shrimp. Among entrees, rotisserie-cooked chicken and duck have been added to a list that includes grilled veal liver with caramelized onions, stuffed prawns and braised veal shank in red wine sauce. The desserts continue to be rich and delightful, especially the peach bread pudding. Pastas and entrees priced from $7.90 to $16.50. Moderate.

THE FRENCH SIDE OF THE WEST, 2202 Fourth Ave., San Diego, 234-5540. The price has crept up at Midtown’s French Side, which several years ago offered a fixed-price, four-course menu at $12.50 and now offers menus priced from $17.50 to $23.50; the entree determines the size of the bill. This remains perhaps the only local establishment to take a traditional French approach to food service, however, and meals open with the most traditional of starters, a plate of pates, French salamis and other savory bites. The meal continues with a choice of soup or salad, a range of handsomely garnished--if not always expertly cooked--entrees (various preparations of seafood, beef, veal, lamb and duck) and such classic desserts as creme brulee and chocolate mousse. Moderate to expensive.

LITTLE INDIA, 4633 Convoy St., San Diego, 277-4419. This small, modest eatery explores no new ground but does offer a comprehensive selection of familiar Indian dishes, spiced aggressively on request. The kitchen prepares most offerings well, with the exception of the chicken tikka , but the stuffed samosa pastries, freshly cooked breads and curried lentils all are quite nicely done. The lengthy list of entrees includes authoritatively seasoned lamb curry, the similarly flavored jinga massala , which substitutes shrimp for meat, and several vegetarian and chicken curries. Entrees priced from $7.25 to $9.50. Moderate.

PEOHE’S, 1201 First St., Coronado, 437-4474, Lunch and dinner daily, Entrees $14.75 to $26.95. Dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, about $50 to $90. Credit cards accepted