The Birthday of a King

Fifty is a dreadful birthday for the age-sensitive, best played down, even lied about.

Not so for El Rey Sol, said to be the oldest French restaurant in Mexico. It marked its golden anniversary in May with four days of festivities and a surprise presidential visit.

On the agenda were two $100-a-plate parties, a wine tasting, a waiter’s race, a vineyard picnic, an art show, a fashion show brunch, a buffet breakfast and a “Tour de France in Ensenada” bicycle race.

Then, as if the restaurant’s staff didn’t have enough to handle, Mexico’s president Ernesto Zedillo, here to inaugurate a new naval base, harbor walkway and park, slipped away for dinner with his family at El Rey Sol. (Their order, FYI, included rack of lamb, steak, abalone, Swiss enchiladas and French pastries.) After dinner, Zedillo dashed outside to unveil a bronze anniversary plaque mounted near the entrance.

Meanwhile, 300 guests were celebrating “A Night at Versailles by the Sea” at the home of El Rey Sol’s proprietor, Jean-Loup Bitterlin. They paid $100 apiece for what turned out to be an all-night party.

Early on, they gathered around the swimming pool to drink Baja wines and snack on quail’s egg canapes and other fancy tidbits. Then they trooped into a huge tent filled with tables lavishly swathed in gold lame. Tiered centerpieces held fruit tarts and mysterious white tubes that were programmed to go off simultaneously in a dazzling burst of sparks.

Waiters bore trays of pates, quiches, terrines and, later, Champagne sorbet and French cheeses; they wore white wigs and frilly costumes from the era of Louis XIV, the French monarch known as the Sun King. That’s El Rey Sol in Spanish.

As an orchestra played Faure and Verdi inside and mariachis gathered outside, Bitterlin sneaked away to join Zedillo at the restaurant. Well after midnight, he returned to a party that was just getting lively as the guests switched from wine to margaritas, the mariachis played on and fireworks lighted the sky.

By the wee hours, people were tucking into bowls of pozole and menudo, Mexico’s traditional hangover remedy.

Not long after, the restaurant’s staff prepared for a long day of double duty, thanks to Zedillo. Giving one day’s notice, his staff asked El Rey Sol to cater a lunch for 450. The menu included shrimp medallions, bluefin tuna with cilantro sauce and plenty of pastries.

Within a few hours, the staff staged the formal $100-a-plate grand finale anniversary dinner in the restaurant. Among other things, they served smoked salmon canapes, rabbit pa^te, mussel bisque, a plate that paired this coastal town’s signature lobster and abalone, then Champagne sorbet in an intricately carved lemon basket. The sorbet was a moment of relief before the arrival of rack of lamb, salad, imported cheeses and a trio of mousses in white and dark chocolate baskets.

El Rey Sol didn’t start its life so lavishly. Founded by Bitterlin’s mother, Virginia Geffroy de Bitterlin, it was a modest five-table eating place in the beginning, serving only a dozen dishes.

Virginia Geffroy was the daughter of a French mining engineer and his Mexican wife. The family lived peacefully in the copper mining town of Santa Rosalia on the Gulf of Mexico until malaria struck. Four of the eight children died in the epidemic. Virginia was sent to live with relatives in France, where she studied at Le Cordon Bleu cookery school.

Eighteen years later, married to French artist Jacques Bitterlin, she returned to Mexico. To entertain themselves, Virginia and her relatives staged cook-offs, which gave her a chance to refine her skills.

In the 1940s, the French mining operation in Santa Rosalia wound down, and the family looked for other opportunities. Virginia’s sister Mayo and her husband headed here, where they joined other investors in founding the motel Casa del Sol. A restaurant would enhance the motel, and Virginia was the obvious choice to run it. It opened May 23, 1947.

El Rey Sol became so successful that larger quarters were required. Two years later the restaurant moved across the street to its present location on Avenida Lopez Mateos at the corner of Avenida Blancarte in the heart of the city’s tourist district.

The specialties advertised in an early brochure included coquilles de St. Jacques (scallops), snails a la Bordelaise, lobster Thermidor, tournedos and chateaubriand. Mexican dishes included Beef Tacos Don~a Pepita (Don~a Pepita was Virginia’s nickname), sometimes made with lobster instead of beef.

There was a time here when lobsters cost $3 a dozen and a lobster or abalone dinner was $1.75, said Bitterlin. A chicken dinner was once the restaurant’s most expensive dish, a costly $2.50. “You had to feed the chicken,” he explained.

The restaurant now seats 250 and has a considerably larger menu. The main dining room is plush and dark, intimate at night, cool and soothing on a hot day. It is hung with paintings by Jacques Bitterlin, whose mural of Versailles decorates one of two smaller dining rooms.

Executive chef Candido Pacheco started in the kitchen at age 12. He grew up on a farm where Virginia Geffroy had produce specially raised for the restaurant long before Chez Panisse in Berkeley started the trend in American restaurants. “We beat Alice Waters,” says Bitterlin. “We were doing that 50 years ago.”

The pastry chef, Elvira Pozo, trained here and at Ecole Leno^tre in Paris.

El Rey Sol never claimed to be Mexico’s oldest French restaurant; its right to this honor was ascertained by CANIRAC, a Mexican restaurant organization. What is undisputed is its position as the top spot for the city’s elite.

A smartly dressed crowd arrives early to breakfast on freshly squeezed orange juice, scrumptious breads and pastries, eggs Benedict, huitlacoche crepes, shrimp omelets with cilantro sauce and abalone chorizo.

The daily prix fixe lunch might start with a marinated quail egg and strip of puff pastry, followed by cream of broccoli soup and fettuccine with chicken. Other entrees to choose from might include breaded squid with garlic sauce, Swiss enchiladas, chicken with mole sauce or beef tacos.

Among the chef’s special dinner entrees in June were coq au vin (it was such a hit at the anniversary picnic that it’s being tried out on the regular menu), rack of lamb with mustard sauce, sweetbreads with green peppercorn sauce, rabbit Portuguese style and grilled tuna seasoned with black pepper.

In 1992, the restaurant added a tiny tea salon and European pastry shop. The next addition will be an exclusive small dining room upstairs with a piano bar. The atmosphere will be dressy: no casual resort clothes allowed.

Virginia Geffroy would approve of the improvements--and the fact that many of the proceeds from the anniversary parties went to charity, primarily La Ciudad de Los Nin~os Don Bosco (City of Children Don Bosco), a shelter that she founded in 1987 for orphans and children with parents too poor to support them. It was her “ultimo suen~o” (final dream), said Bitterlin. Geffroy died in 1989, a few months before the first children moved in.

“She was a woman of tremendous push. Goals were very important to her. Excellence was very important to her,” Bitterlin said at the final anniversary party. “My mother was not a professional cook but a housewife who loved cooking. She never dreamed that what started as a hobby would take her this far.”

COQ AU VIN

Chef Candido Pacheco’s version of the French classic coq au vin was a highlight of the vineyard picnic that followed a winery tour during El Rey Sol’s anniversary celebration.

1 (2 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces

Salt

2 tablespoons oil

10 green onions, tops removed

4 strips lean bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

8 large mushrooms, halved

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup Cognac or brandy

1 1/4 cups Cabernet Sauvignon

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons beef stock or demi-glace

Freshly cracked black pepper

2 sprigs thyme

8 crouton rounds (see Chef’s Tips this page)

Remove bones from chicken pieces, reserving wings for another use. Lightly salt chicken. Saute in oil in large skillet over medium heat, turning until both sides are browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Stir in whole green onions, bacon, mushrooms and bay leaves. When bacon is browned, about 5 minutes, add Cognac and ignite. After flames have died, add wine and cook over high heat until wine is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Stir in beef stock, pepper and thyme and cook over low heat 5 minutes longer.

Divide chicken between 2 dinner plates and top with sauce. Garnish each serving with 4 croutons.

2 servings. Each serving:

940 calories; 807 mg sodium; 176 mg cholesterol; 64 grams fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 45 grams protein; 0.51 gram fiber.

ENSENADA CALAMARI COCKTAIL

This tangy alternative to shrimp cocktail, developed by chef Candido Pacheco, tastes like ceviche. But there’s one difference: The squid is cooked, not marinated raw in citrus juice. For best flavor, use the juice of small yellow-green Mexican limes available in some Mexican markets.

2 quarts water

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 white onion, plus 2 tablespoons chopped

1/2 pound calamari steaks

2 tablespoons chopped tomato

2 tablespoons shredded carrot

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

6 pitted black olives

2 tablespoons lime juice

3/4 cup catsup

White pepper

Lime wedges

Cilantro sprigs

Bring water to boil in large saucepan. Add soy sauce and 1/4 onion. Add calamari and bring to boil. Cook about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. Chill 1 hour.

Cut calamari into bite-size chunks and place in large bowl. Stir in tomato, carrot, green onions and remaining 2 tablespoons chopped white onion, chopped cilantro and olives. Add lime juice, catsup and white pepper to taste and stir.

Spoon into cocktail or margarita glasses and garnish with lime wedges and cilantro sprigs.

2 large or 4 small servings. Each of 4 servings:

139 calories; 1,652 mg sodium; 132 mg cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 18 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams protein; 0.37 gram fiber.

BEEF TACOS EL REY SOL

Virginia Geffroy’s taco recipe has been a favorite since El Rey Sol opened 50 years ago. For the filling, use meat that will shred easily, such as chuck. Cook the meat until very tender in water to cover, with onion, garlic and other aromatics of your choosing. Drain the meat and shred it with 2 forks. Another option: Buy the meat cooked from a taco shop or Mexican deli. Accompany the tacos with rice, refried beans and fresh salsa.

2 tablespoons oil

1/2 small onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 Anaheim chile, finely chopped

1/2 pound shredded cooked beef

3 tomatoes, diced

1 cup tomato juice

Salt, pepper

6 crisp taco shells, preferably homemade (see Chef’s Tips, H3)

1 cup shredded lettuce

3 tablespoons cotija cheese

Heat oil in large skillet. Add onion, garlic, chile and beef and saute until onion is tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in 2 diced tomatoes and cook until softened, about 1 minute. Add tomato juice and salt and pepper to taste and cook until heated through, stirring to blend.

Spoon filling into taco shells. Top with lettuce, remaining tomato and cheese, dividing evenly among tacos.

6 tacos. Each taco:

229 calories; 192 mg sodium; 36 mg cholesterol; 14 grams fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 13 grams protein; 0.84 gram fiber.

MUSSEL BISQUE

Turmeric heightens the warm color of this sophisticated soup.

1 tablespoon butter

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons minced carrot

1 tablespoon chopped green onions

1 tablespoon finely chopped white onion

2 tablespoons finely chopped tomato

1 dozen fresh mussels in their shells, cleaned

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons fruity white wine

2 cups chicken stock

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

White pepper

5 drops Pernod or sherry

Finely chopped parsley

4 crouton rounds (see Chef’s Tips, H3)

Melt butter in saucepan. Add garlic, carrot, green and white onions and tomato and cook 2 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly. Increase heat and add mussels. Stir until mussels begin to open and give off juices. Stir in flour and wine. Cover and boil 4 minutes. Add chicken stock and turmeric. Cover and boil gently 7 minutes. Remove mussels.

Set aside 2 mussels in shells for garnish. Remove remaining mussels from shells. Continue boiling soup base. Add cream and white pepper to taste, stirring constantly. Add shelled mussels and Pernod and continue to stir 2 to 3 minutes.

Ladle bisque into 2 soup plates. Garnish with parsley. Open mussels in shells and place one in each soup plate. Garnish each with 2 croutons.

2 servings. Each serving:

408 calories; 1,107 mg sodium; 102 mg cholesterol; 26 grams fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 17 grams protein; 0.28 gram fiber.

SHRIMP MEDALLIONS DON~A PEPITA

Created by El Rey Sol’s founder, Virginia Geffroy, these medallions are composed of shrimp twined in a circle and held in place with a slice of bacon.

2 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

20 shrimp, shelled, deveined and butterflied

2 strips lean bacon

2 tablespoons fruity white wine, such as Chenin Blanc

Scant 1 tablespoon flour

2/3 cup half and half or milk

2 tablespoons drained capers

Salt, pepper

Blend butter with minced garlic, cover and store in refrigerator at least a few hours to blend flavors. When ready to use, remove from refrigerator to let soften.

Set aside 2 shrimp with most perfectly formed tails. Remove and discard tails from remaining 18 shrimp.

Open 1 butterflied shrimp with tail and place cut side down on work surface with tail standing up. Twist slightly at base of tail so it will remain erect.

Place 5 tailless shrimp, open side out and slightly overlapping, around standing shrimp. Repeat with 4 tailless shrimp to form second layer. (Note: Medallion should be about the diameter of a beef filet.) Wrap medallion with bacon strip and secure with 3 to 4 toothpicks. Repeat for second medallion.

Place medallions in large oven-proof aluminum or cast-iron skillet over low heat. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon wine over each medallion. Top each with 1 tablespoon softened garlic butter. Place under broiler until bacon is very slightly browned and shrimp give off juices, about 6 minutes. Remove to warm platter and set aside.

Stir flour into shrimp juices in skillet. Add half and half and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute. Add capers and salt and pepper to taste. Place shrimp medallions in skillet and cook over low heat 1 to 2 minutes, spooning sauce over as medallions cook. Serve topped with sauce.

2 servings. Each serving:

399 calories; 707 mg sodium; 178 mg cholesterol; 32 grams fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 19 grams protein; 0.01 gram fiber.

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Kitchen Tip

*To make the croutons used for garnish with the Coq au Vin and Mussel Bisque, saute baguette slices in butter until golden brown.

*To fry tortillas for taco shells, heat 1 cup oil in skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot enough to sizzle small piece of tortilla, add corn tortillas one at a time. Fry until tortillas are soft enough to fold, then fold in half with tongs and continue frying partially cooked, about 1 minute. Fold each tortilla in half with tongs, then return tortilla to oil until crisp, 1 to 3 more minutes. Drain on paper towels and fill quickly. Note that the freshest tortillas are not the best for frying. Drier tortillas absorb less oil and crisp up more evenly.

*Buy mussels with tightly closed shells; avoid gaping or broken shells. To clean, put them in a bowl of cold water to cover. Add about 1 teaspoon salt per pound of mussels and stir well. Let stand 30 minutes to purge any grit. Pull or cut off the tough tendrils known as beards. Rinse well.