The Path of East Insistence

Foxfire’s neon sign reads “Extraordinary Cuisine.” For once, this sort of hyperbole is justified.

Extraordinary cuisine might not be what you expect when you see the place. It’s elegant in the most resolutely old-school manner. The dark, clubby main dining room is awash with rich wood paneling and tapestry-upholstered booths (complete with velvet curtains that can be drawn shut for privacy). There are hunting-themed lithographs on the walls and loads of cozy bric-a-brac on side tables.

If you don’t like that room, there’s an enclosed patio where you can dine on faded green cast-aluminum designer chairs at tables with white tablecloths. A third dining area, a more formal room in the rear of the restaurant, is well suited to large parties and special functions.

In short, Foxfire looks like the kind of old-fashioned special-occasion restaurant you’d take the parents to. It is, however, no longer a meat-and-potatoes dinner house--not with Eric Nguyen running the kitchen.

This highly imaginative and accomplished 28-year-old, who emigrated from Vietnam at the age of 10, already has a resume long enough for a man twice his age. He learned to cook from his grandmother at a family-owned restaurant in Avignon, France. He also has worked in several big-name restaurants in France and the U.S., including New York’s renowned Lutece.

I first encountered Nguyen’s cooking at Claes in the Hotel Laguna, where he served as sous-chef under Todd Clore and eventually rose to the position of executive chef. Nguyen did especially wonderful things with fresh fish at Claes. Here, he has expanded his culinary horizons with a menu that is powerfully eclectic.

Some of the appetizers reveal his Asian roots while putting an original spin on these dishes. Chopped New England cherrystone clams, mixed with couscous, opal basil, lemon zest and a touch of crab meat, are returned to their shells for serving.

Another wonderful starter is shrimp and shredded Savoy cabbage. These are almost a cross between Japanese hand rolls and burritos, flour crepes stuffed with tender rock shrimp and cooked cabbage that you dip in a Peking-style plum sauce laced with halved walnuts.

The lobster ravioli, filled with a mousse of lobster and mascarpone cheese, is, by my lights, sabotaged by the Asian influence. The porcini mushroom broth tastes mostly of lemon grass, and a purist like me would say it distracts from the central idea of the dish.

Salmon en tangos is a tangle of delicately cured salmon and spicy smoked salmon mounted on toasted sesame crackers daubed with creme frai^che and a tangy onion-caper relish. The richest appetizer might be escargot bourguignon and smoked eel, served in a powerfully reduced Pinot Noir essence.

The entrees are even more creative, and the chef is a master with fish. He serves perfectly pan-roasted halibut on top of a delicious hash of smoked trout steeped in a sweet corn broth. Hot cedar-smoked salmon, my favorite here, is a medium-rare slab smoked to order, topped with thin, crisp strands of fried salmon skin.

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Sometimes the chef’s creativity gets the better of him. Roasted poussin looks awfully appealing in print, and this bird (a very young chicken; the menu calls it “suckling poussin”) isn’t on many local menus. But what I got was a bit rubbery, and the basmati rice pilaf was over-complicated with saffron, lemon, garlic, pine nuts and raisins.

The tender, juicy rack of Colorado lamb comes in a caramelized shallot-port reduction, and it’s very nice, though the pretty fava beans on the plate may be undercooked.

Nguyen makes one of the best uses of ostrich I’ve yet tasted. He sears this surprisingly beef-like red meat in pepper-crusted slices and serves them in a gamy brown sauce with sauteed pea shoots, a brilliant juxtaposition.

The desserts are simple but accomplished. There are smooth, richly flavored fresh sorbets such as mango, strawberry and cassis and a creme bru^lee of filo pastry, a sort of Napoleon with two layers of custard and a crackling layer of caramelized sugar on the top sheet of pastry. One of the best is the rich coconut ice cream, served in a snazzy parfait glass, on top of hot fudge made in-house and sliced bananas.

Perhaps this is optimistic, but I’m guessing Nguyen is destined to become a local celebrity. He’s gifted, and if a few of his dishes don’t sparkle as they might, you have to remember that he has only a three-man brigade in the kitchen, which doesn’t allow him much time to check each dish.

The question is whether this style of cooking will play in Anaheim Hills. The jury is still out. On the evenings I visited, the parking lot--and the bar--were packed, but the dining rooms were half full, while such nearby chain restaurants as Claim Jumper and Cheesecake Factory are turning away business left and right.

I certainly hope Nguyen finds his clientele. At the moment, Foxfire is the only restaurant in eastern Orange County worth a drive from outside its vicinity. As for meat and potatoes, you can get them anywhere.

Foxfire is expensive. Appetizers are $6-$10. Entrees are $16-$29.

BE THERE

Foxfire, 5717 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road., Anaheim Hills. (714) 974-5400. Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, dinner 5-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 5-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday; brunch 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sunday. All major cards.