bistro sophisticate

Dining out in Orange County can be a surreal experience even for someone who grew up in the Big Orange. Who would suspect that one of the county’s best restaurants, possibly the best French bistro in all of Southern California, is somewhere in Costa Mesa’s sprawling South Coast Plaza?

I say “somewhere,” because it’s not easy to find Troquet. First, drive into the towering parking structure next to Nordstrom, then take the elevator to the fifth floor and stroll over a bridge to the next building. (Here, goods from Hermes, Chanel and other big-name boutiques beckon--another reason it’s easy to get lost.) Then look for bistro tables and chairs set out along the windows.

Just over 2 years old now, this is the second, more casual restaurant of Tim and Liza Goodell, who own the marvelous little Newport Beach restaurant Aubergine. Step in the door and you’re greeted by the enticing scents of garlic and sizzling butter. Tables along the windows are inviting and cozy, and a luxurious double-sided banquette upholstered in rich red brocade runs the middle of the room. At the back is an open kitchen with wood-burning oven. It looks a bit like one of the new-wave bistros in Paris.

Newport Beach native Tim Goodell is one of the Southland’s most accomplished chefs. Believe me, it would be impossible to get a reservation if Troquet were in Los Angeles, where no one is cooking such polished bistro food. When everything is going right, it’s on par, I would say, with restaurants spun off by two-star chefs in Paris. His cooking is sensual and precise. Everything is beautifully plated, but it’s taste that’s most important to Goodell.

He serves pristinely fresh Malpeque oysters on the half shell with a vodka tarragon mignonette. Plump Prince Edward Island mussels are steamed in white wine with Manila clams (or sometimes cockles), shallots and Italian parsley, the perfect accompaniment to a crisp white wine. Five-onion soup au gratin is as graceful as any I’ve had. One day there’s a delicious celery root puree garnished with duck confit and pears. Just as beguiling is a salad that Troquet has been serving since Day One: Maytag blue cheese with D’Anjou pears, toasted walnuts and a swirl of black peppercorn gastrique. Maryland crab meat goes into a beautifully seasoned, tender galette, or cake, wrapped in kataifi (shredded filo) and sauteed to give it a light and crunchy crust. Garnished with a smoky chipotle aioli and fried capers, it’s about as good as crab cake gets.

Like those of restaurants in France, Troquet’s menu offers a couple of plats pour deux, that is, main courses meant for two. There’s a whole roasted free-range chicken or a splendid whole prime-rib chop roasted in the wood-fired oven and accompanied by a svelte marchand de vin sauce and coins of marvelously rich bone marrow. This is one where you’ll have to share the bone: it just wouldn’t be fair for one person to get it all. And with either of those you get the choice of excellent, buttery pureed potatoes or fries.

The current menu offers Goodell’s signature slow-braised veal cheeks--yes, cheeks, a remarkably tender cut of meat that’s slowly braised in a rich broth with root vegetables and presented in a charlotte mold. It’s something like a souped-up pot au feu. For pork lovers, there is a trio of pork, which includes tenderloin wrapped in bacon, a piece of delicious pork belly and some back ribs, all with tiny, earthy green lentils de Puy, which makes for much more interesting eating than just a single hunk of meat.

Lamb often comes as a “duo”--the shanks braised as an osso buco, along with the pan-roasted loin. It’s paired with fresh egg noodles and a jus made with Creginola olives. Now that’s intelligent cooking. Goodell has a way with sweetbreads, too, often cutting them into medallions, cooking them quickly and serving them with caramelized salsify, wild mushrooms and a parsley emulsion with a few drops of aged aceto balsamico that brings out the sweetness of the ris de veau.

Goodell’s fish is similarly excellent. The salmon is Scottish, the turbot is wild, the swordfish is line-caught. He often features fish, such as Great Lakes walleye pike or wild Maine black bass, that I rarely see on Southern California menus. He’ll take

Maine diver scallops, sear them perfectly to bring out all their delicate flavor and present them with veal jus for an inspired pairing of sea and land. Swordfish is enhanced by an applewood-smoked bacon jus. Sounds odd, but it works.

The wine list has selections from Provence, Alsace, Burgundy and the Loire Valley mixed in with bottles from Germany, Spain, Napa Valley, Sonoma and Santa Barbara. Finish off that red wine with a cheese course. It’s Liza Goodell who searches out the farmhouse French and American cheeses, keeping the selection small so that every cheese is at its perfect state of ripeness.

I have to say I’d worried what would happen to Troquet once the Goodells reopened Aubergine last year after more than a year of remodeling. Tim Goodell would naturally need to devote most of his attention to that jewel of a restaurant. Yet Troquet’s sous chef, Jeff Armstrong, is turning out plates that are, for the most part, as delicious as Goodell’s, although occasionally the kitchen has an off night.

The Goodells worked as pastry chefs previously, and the desserts show their bias. If you’re nostalgic for Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, try “Coffee and Donuts,” fluffy, sugar-bedecked beignets with a frothy cafe au lait. There’s a lovely coconut petit pot de creme that is about the richest little custard I’ve had in a while, topped with cream and served with an array of dainty cookies. Another standout is the hot Valrhona chocolate souffle cake, luscious enough on its own, but with prune Armagnac ice cream and an espresso sauce, it’s positively decadent.

Those so inclined should check out the little list of after-dinner drinks, which includes a half-bottle of beerenauslese from Alois Kracher, one of Austria’s greatest dessert winemakers, along with wines and spirits by the glass. If you haven’t yet tried Germain-Robin’s artisanal brandies from Ukiah, here’s the chance to compare two of its best.

All this tells me that having a restaurant is more a passion than a business to this young couple.

Prices have crept up since the restaurant opened, but lunch is still a good deal, especially the $23 prix fixe menu, which includes a first course, main course and dessert, with two choices in each category. It’s probably a good idea to inform the waiter of any time constraints. During my last lunch there, the food was slow in coming, and my companions kept checking their watches. Otherwise, just enjoy the interlude in the day, which is what the French do, after all.

*

Troquet

3333 Bristol Ave., Costa Mesa,

(714) 708-6865

cuisine: French

rating: **1/2

*

AMBIENCE: Sophisticated French bistro with brocade banquettes and wood-burning oven in Orange County’s most famous shopping mall. SERVICE: Crisp and professional. BEST DISHES: Maytag blue cheese salad, steamed mussels and cockles, galette of Maryland crab meat, slow-braised veal cheeks, whole prime rib chop, trio of pork, hot Valrhona chocolate souffle cake with prune armagnac ice cream, petit coconut pot de creme. Dinner first courses, $8 to $45. Main courses, $20 to $36. Corkage, $15. wine PICKs: 998 Morgad 3/8o Albarino, Spain; 1997 J.L. Chave St. Joseph “Offerus”, Rhone Valley. FACTS: Lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. Parking in lot next to Nordstrom.

Rating is based on food, service and ambience, with price taken into account in relation to quality. ****: Outstanding on every level. ***: Excellent. **: Very good. *: Good. No star: Poor to satisfactory.