Frederick’s in Solana Beach : Names Have Changed, but Style Remains

Restaurants that are christened with their founders’ names and steeped in their personalities seem unlikely to pass successfully into other hands.

It is hard, for example, to imagine the Anthony’s restaurants without a Ghio or three at the helm, and equally difficult to picture Dobson’s without Paul, or Old Trieste without Tommy.

And few restaurants have seemed quite so personal as Frederick’s, the self-described “bistro” (it is more than that) in Solana Beach. But that odd, funky and endearing little place, at once a well-lighted hole in the wall and a minor temple of gastronomy, seems to be weathering well the transition.

Still One of a Kind

Frederick’s will never seem quite the same without the presence of its founders, but it does seem to have been transferred to perhaps the only partners capable of maintaining its unique style. In a county jammed with look-alike eateries, it remains one of a kind.

During its 10 years, it has typically served some of the better food in the county, ever since former car dealer and sometime racer Chuck Frederick opened the place as a way station on the road to retirement.

The restaurant’s name came quickly enough to be identified not only with the garrulous Chuck, who set the tone for the menu even while acting as sous-chef to his own employees, but with his wife, Jill, a gracious, homey presence in the dining room. The pair placed a personal and personable stamp on the place.

However, the couple put in their final night last New Year’s Eve, and the restaurant passed into the hands of new chef-proprietor David Tannaccio, who already had spent more than four years as semi-official master of Chuck’s stove. And Tannaccio’s partner, Farrell Carson, has capably taken over the role played by Jill Frederick.

The four-course fixed-price menu remains in effect, and the decor of stacked wine cases and nondescript paintings has changed only in the sense that there seems to be more wine than ever; the list certainly is thoughtfully written and of great depth. But even though Tannaccio did the bulk of the cooking in recent years, his imprint upon the new menus, which are written weekly, is unmistakable.

Frederick’s formerly restricted itself to its own style of French cooking, based generally on the principles of both haute and bourgeoise cuisines, but flavored to suit Chuck Frederick’s imagination and inspiration. For example, he introduced shrimp in a cream sauce flavored with dark Jamaican rum shortly after returning from the islands. Overtones of nouvelle and California cuisines checked in and out according to whim.

Cooking by Whim

At the close of a recent dinner at Frederick’s, Tannaccio came out of the kitchen to explain how things will be under his regime. “Whatever I find that’s nice and fresh, I cook,” he said. “I’m not limited to just bistro French; I’ll throw in Northern Italian and a little Oriental if I want.”

Thus, the formerly eclectic menu is now eclectic a la Tannaccio, and it shows in such dishes as the Parmesan-crusted veal in Marsala sauce, the New York steak in black bean sauce and the grilled free-range chicken coated with a Chinese-style hot chili and peanut sauce. There are even robust, all-American digressions, such as the chicken and vegetable soup that tasted like a muster of the garden simmered with a bird that had led a respectable and contented life.

The tradition of a basket of home-baked breads continues, and the loaves are dense, chewy, yeasty and delicious; one recent example was stuffed with chopped scallion tops, an Italian grace note that made this an unusually lively loaf.

The menu, grease-penciled on a tile, usually offers an appetizer or two at extra charge. These are interesting, but should be ordered only by guests with outsize appetites. In addition to soup, the standard bill of fare includes a large, admirably composed salad of baby greens and designer tomatoes (yellow and crimson, with the green tops left attached as an aesthetic but inconvenient gesture). The choice of homemade dressings includes a honey-Chardonnay mix that, in its effort not to be overly sweet, is rather flat; a blend of oil and Balsamic vinegar is homelier but better.

Vegetables for an Army

Assortments of carefully cooked infant vegetables from Chino’s and other top truck farms were always a hallmark of Frederick’s entree plates, and Tannaccio actually has increased the emphasis. At least half the surface of the oversize, rectangular dinner plate now is covered with an appetizing but daunting congregation of our vegetable friends, and the gathering recently included yellow wax beans; slim French beans; chayote; broccoli and its parent, cauliflower; cheerful baby carrots; creamy roasted potatoes; zucchini, both yellow and green, and a gorgeous, just-picked ear of all-American corn, neatly fitted with holders for the comfort of the fastidious eater. That certainly sounds like more than enough, but Carson also brought a plate of hot, exquisite, batter-fried squash blossoms. The table groaned, the diners managed.

Tannaccio left room on one plate for a trio of baby Colorado lamb chops, as plump and rosy as the first apples of fall, and every bit as juicy. These were served on a bed of lentils, which was an interesting idea, although the sauce of port and pancetta (Italian bacon) disappeared into the lentils rather than moistening the lamb. These flavors did the lentils no harm, though, and it was a very fine dish.

New Zealand John Dory, a meaty, white-fleshed fish that also appears in Northern European waters but not our own, was served up with a heady, intense sauce of chopped fresh tomatoes and saffron. The menu also mentioned lobster in the sauce, and there was a hint of lobster stock, but it seemed present mostly as an impression. The saffron, which we rarely encounter with fish in these parts, made the dish.

The menu also includes coffee (there is a small extra charge for cappuccino, which partner Carson fortifies with a touch of Kahlua) and homemade dessert. On request, the kitchen will arrange a dessert sampler for the table to share, and this is certainly the best way to go; it will always include a wedge of creamy, white chocolate and macadamia nut cheesecake, paired with a medley of fresh berries and a slice of apple crisp or an impossibly rich, double-fudge brownie.

* FREDERICK’S BISTRO

128 S. Acacia, Solana Beach

755-2432

Dinner served 6-10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday.

Credit cards accepted.

Fixed-price dinners cost $25 to $27; with a moderate bottle of wine, tax and tip, a meal for two will run about $85.