Hangin’ With Hansby

When Rockenwagner opened in 1985 as a very personal little restaurant in Venice, where Joe’s is now ensconced, it didn’t take long for word to get out. The idea of genial chef-owner Hans Rockenwagner cooking his heart out in a cramped bohemian space for a loyal, appreciative audience was undeniably a romantic one. Customers felt proprietary about the place and enjoyed introducing their friends to him and his food.

Not surprisingly, Rockenwagner outgrew that modest first home and, in 1991, moved into the Frank Gehry-designed Edgemar complex on Main Street in Santa Monica, where it quickly became a fixture in the neighborhood. Situated at the back of the courtyard, the whimsically decorated space is meant to suggest a town square in the Black Forest, says Rockenwagner, who grew up in southern Germany.

One wall is painted with a dark, brooding sky and gently rolling hills framed by tall poplars. The giant wooden asparagus sculpture that hangs from the rafters was made by the chef himself. Cherub heads peer from the wood beams overhead; a tiny toy airplane floats from the ceiling. Logs evoke rustic architecture. The kitchen is glimpsed through a window at the back, and to one side, a counter is heaped with baked goods and Rockenwagner’s own German-style breads.

Those breads are one of the restaurant’s signatures. As soon as you sit down, a waiter will bring a plate of pale brown pull-apart rolls topped with poppy seeds, caraway or cheese. With good sweet butter, the breads are a welcoming gesture that sets the tone for the meal to come.

Like the menu at Chinois on Main, Rockenwagner’s is divided into two sections: the classics and the new. The one item the chef swears he’ll never retire is his crab souffle, a heavenly cloud of crab perfumed with tomato that’s served with finely sliced mango sprinkled with pink peppercorns and a rich lobster butter. Salmon tempura is another classic: salmon rolled around asparagus and pungent shiso, then wrapped in nori and flash-fried in a gauzy tempura batter. Cut into rounds, it’s meant to be eaten with a bright Asian-inflected slaw of daikon, carrot and cucumbers.

Dominoes of seared rare tuna lined up on a whole-grain “tart,” prettily garnished with sliced baby radishes and daikon sprouts, is another good starter. So were last season’s farmers’ market tomatoes--red, gold and green, in graduated sizes like those Russian dolls-within-dolls. I also like his miniature lobster sandwiches on buttery brioche, accompanied by a coleslaw that’s vinegary and sweet. And luscious black figs paired with prosciutto in a port reduction enriched with a little foie gras. I’m less fond of the short stack of waffled potato chips layered with smoked wild Scottish salmon, creme frache and caviar; the flavors are lovely together, but it’s too hard to eat and the chips get soggy.

At many restaurants, it’s not unusual for first courses to be more compelling than entrees. That’s the case here, though two newer main courses stand out: snowy cushions of grilled diver scallops snuggled in a coconut-accented sweet potato puree surrounded by a curry broth with serious firepower, and New York steak “Vilette” under a coverlet of brioche crumbs bound together with meltingly rich bone marrow. The steak itself, however, isn’t always as flavorful as you’d wish.

Eat here a few times, and you soon realize that there’s no question Hans Rockenwagner can cook. You have only to taste his dreamy potato salad--when it’s on the menu--to see what he can do. Or the crisped, lightly smoked whitefish he serves on a bed of delicious sweet-tart wine kraut in a Champagne grape sauce to understand the delicate balance of flavors he can achieve. Yet he sometimes gets bogged down in trendiness. For example, he can smear pork loin with pungent Montrachet goat cheese, an idea that doesn’t do much for either ingredient. Nor am I a fan of his lamb tian, a fanciful rosette of lamb slices twirled over spinach, mushrooms and roasted tomatoes that’s a mess of flavors and textures. And I have never understood the fascination with air-dried duck. The flesh is rich and moist, but the skin is dark and flaccid. Plus Rockenwagner’s version comes with a cherry-studded sauce that’s sweet enough to stand in for a dessert syrup.

At meal’s end, he makes no bones about playing to the American sweet tooth with a warm chocolate tart that fairly oozes molten chocolate, a napoleon of thin coconut macaroons layered with stiff coconut cream and carmelized bananas and a nougat parfait that mimics a baked Alaska with its frozen center and warm cloak of creme anglaise.

Rockenwagner is unusual in Los Angeles in that it is very much an integral part of its neighborhood. People like to stop for a drink before the movies, settle in for dinner or come by later for schnapps and a cigar. And until weekday lunches were discontinued a few months ago, a casual lunch outside on the patio used to be my favorite Rockenwagner meal. The Tuesday night Stammtisch transforms the restaurant into a kind of village square as diners from the intersecting worlds of film, publishing, journalism, law, music and medicine meet to share a meal and conversation. In Germany, Stammtisch means the table for regulars, and several years ago, Rockenwagner commissioned a local artist, Laddie John Dill, to build a special glass-topped table to seat 16. Often, the chef himself steps out of the kitchen to hang out with his guests and ply them with special German beers or a few new dishes. The evening has become so popular, in fact, that Stammtisch frequently spills over to other tables or moves outside.

A furniture maker and art collector with deep roots in the arts community, Rockenwagner has created a restaurant that’s uniquely Californian both in its style and sensibility. After 13 years in Los Angeles, he’s settled in. I just wish his current cooking had more of that edge of excitement and discovery it had in the early days.

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ROCKENWAGNER

CUISINE: California. AMBIENCE: The Black Forest meets California, replete with lush landscape mural. BEST DISHES: Crab souffle, salmon tempura, grilled diver scallops, lightly smoked whitefish, New York steak “Vilette,” nougat parfait. WINE PICK: 1995 Sancerre, La Croix du Roy, L. Crochet, Loire Valley. FACTS: 2435 Main St., Santa Monica; (310) 399-6504. Dinner daily; brunch Saturday and Sunday. Appetizers, $8 to $15; main courses, $18 to $23. Corkage $15. Valet parking.