FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD

AFTER ALMOST TWO YEARS WITHOUT a restaurant, chef Claud Beltran is now cooking at his own place, Cayo, in Pasadena, which is a boon for the city of roses. As a young chef, Beltran worked closely with Thomas Keller at Checkers hotel in downtown Los Angeles before Keller opened his celebrated restaurant, The French Laundry, in the Napa Valley. Beltran then surfaced at Dickenson West (now renamed Derek’s Bistro) in Pasadena, where he caught my attention for his polished French country food.

Now he’s back on the scene with Cayo, next door to the Pasadena Playhouse. It’s a spacious, comfortable restaurant with French windows looking onto the lovely Spanish Revival courtyard of the Playhouse and its Spanish tiled fountain. Sad to say, though, on many nights Beltran is cooking his heart out to a house that’s less than full. Most diners never venture far from the crowds on Old Town Pasadena’s Colorado Boulevard. While Cayo’s location is not ideal, the restaurant is perfect for anyone who likes seriously good food before--or after--the theater, or for a quiet dinner with a friend at a place that aims higher than most.

Beltran seems to be in the business because he truly loves cooking. He is behind the stoves every night, as anyone who looks into the open kitchen can see. After starting Cayo, Beltran smartly made few changes in the menu, so his kitchen team had time to master the execution. I’ve watched dishes evolve over successive visits as he and his small crew work to perfect them.

His approach also means that if you fall for his satiny smoked salmon wrapped around creme fraiche and garnished with fried capers or his lacy salad of mizuna greens, potato and slivered smoked trout, it will be on the menu when you come back. Seasonal items do change, however, which probably means the rib-sticking “cayo buco,” braised pork top round with roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts, won’t be back until fall.

One great starter almost always on the menu is oysters on the half shell, which recently featured beautiful Fanny Bays, Kumamotos and Malpeques from the Pacific Northwest. On one occasion, Beltran added plump poached oysters to a richly nuanced mussel soup.

Or you can try Beltran’s dainty crab and leek pie with a haunting and original vanilla-scented curry sauce. One night a special offered beets--golden, pink and dark red--sliced and paired with a chalky fresh goat cheese with a thin layer of caramelized sugar on top. A swirl of sweet basil sauce made it sing. Pan-seared foie gras is precisely cooked, embellished with a honeydew melon compote sweetened with garlic-infused honey. What I like about Beltran’ s cooking is his delicate touch, which allows the quality of the ingredients to shine.

As for main courses, chicken breast is a standout, taken beyond the ordinary by how perfectly it’s cooked and a sauce sparked with saffron and Dijon mustard (but not enhanced by stolid “whipped” potatoes). Pork tenderloin is moister than most and comes with a thatch of skinny green beans, although the real reason to choose that dish is its savory, crispy polenta cake.

As his staff got more comfortable with the menu, Beltran began introducing more unusual entrees. A slab of bluenose bass is terrific one night, golden on the outside, a flawless piece of fish. New Zealand grouper is equally endearing, with a side of haricots verts and fresh shiitake mushrooms. Lately, he’s been serving halibut cheeks, too, those tender morsels of snowy fish, set on a ragout of tomatoes and tender fava beans.

Yet there is room for improvement. The food is sometimes slow in coming, and the waiters could be more professional. And not every dish is successful. Fortunately, most of them have quietly disappeared from the menu, with a couple of exceptions. Lemon and asparagus risotto is one. It’s pretty the way the fat asparagus spears are stacked raft-like on top of the rice. The flavors are wonderful together, yet it falls flat be-

cause the risotto is gummy. The rice has to be creamy and al dente at the same time, each grain separate.

It’s easy to find a wine to try on the well-organized list, which includes relatively unknown, wine-insider selections. Leslie Burns, who put together the wine list, is in the house Thursday through Saturday nights. She’s comfortable with people, really knows the wines and is ready to advise if you have questions about a particular bottle or just want her to choose something for you.

I’ve been impressed with Merilee Atkinson’s desserts, too. Not only does she turn out exquisite classics, she also has an eye for original presentation and flavor combinations. Her strawberry shortcake is terrific: A short, flaky biscuit the size of your palm is split open and heaped with strawberries and softly whipped cream. Her pot de creme, which comes in different flavors each week, is fabulously seductive and beats out creme brulee any day. It’s basically a gorgeous, silky custard baked in a deep porcelain cup and served as is, without the blanket of sugar. Espresso is deeply satisfying, but the best may be the one sweetened with a touch of maple syrup. Our spoons clashed as everyone tried to get the last bit out of the cup. At the height of cherry season, I enjoyed her napoleon of light pastry stacked with pastry cream and luscious black cherries.

A special of s’mores brought out the giggles as we remembered Brownie and Girl Scout campfires where we toasted marshmallows and sandwiched them between graham crackers and a Hershey chocolate bar. This version featured flaky pastry shaped like graham crackers, laced with cinnamon and sugar and served with dark chocolate ice cream cloaked with a dreamy white marshmallow sauce browned ever so lightly in the oven. We may be too grown-up for those tastes, because that night, s’mores was the only dessert that wasn’t finished.

Look for tiny delicacies at the end of the meal, including hand-rolled chocolate truffles and buttery peanut brittle cookies. Unfortunately, on a Friday night at 10, as we linger over these last bites, the place is already half empty (some diners went to the play). Why not go to dinner after an early movie? A day is long and filled with possibilities. And, in Pasadena, Cayo is definitely one of them.

Cayo

39 S. El Molino Ave.,

Pasadena,

(626) 396-1800

Cuisine: California-French

Rating: **

AMBIENCE: Spacious French country restaurant next to the Pasadena Playhouse. SERVICE: Willing, though kitchen can be slow. BEST DISHES: Smoked salmon with creme fraiche, pan-seared foie gras, chicken breast with Dijon saffron sauce, pan-seared halibut cheeks with fava and tomato ragout, strawberry shortcake. Appetizers, $7 to $18. Main courses, $17 to $29. Corkage, $1.99. WINE PICKS: 1997 Havens-Franus, Carneros Pinot Noir; 1998 Green & Red Vineyards “Chiles Mill” Zinfandel, Sonoma. FACTS: Dinner Tuesday through Saturday. Lunch Friday. Parking in nearby lots.

*

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.