2nd Entry in New Del Mar Dining Derby Gallops to the Table a Winner

Del Mar is not only where the surf meets the turf, but also the town where surf ‘n’ turf always has ridden high on the more popular menus. In summers past, the crowds at many eateries have seemed to care much more about horseflesh than haute cuisine.

But the eating habits of Del Mar may have been permanently altered by the opening of Del Mar Plaza, a collection of chic shops and restaurants at Camino del Mar and 15th Street.

Il Fornaio opened first and became instantly trendy for its rustic and unfamiliar Italian menu (although it has lost favor with some Del Mar locals, a number of whom have complained that residence does not guarantee reservations). Epazote’s, an offshoot of the outrageously popular Cilantro’s, is set to begin dishing up its announced menu of “Baja bar food” soon.

The new Pacifica Del Mar lit its stoves in early August as the second entry in Del Mar Plaza’s triple crown of eateries, and on the basis of just one dinner it seems like a sure winner.

This is the third member of our local chain of Pacifica restaurants (the others are Old Town’s Cafe Pacifica and the Pacifica Grill in downtown San Diego), and, like the other places run by proprietors Kip Downing and Deacon Brown, it seems an exception to the general rule that chain establishments offer nondescript fare.

Hip Atmosphere

The menu, of course, is what makes the place special. But the mood is unusual too, and the point could be made that Pacifica Del Mar is hip in a manner much more reminiscent of Southern California than of San Diego County. The interior seems to have been sculpted rather than built, or to have been thoughtfully carved out of a large block of generic building; there are graceful angles, gracefully lit and highlighted here and there with funky and amusing artworks.

The restaurant prints the menu daily, and it is a fine, solid menu, as long as you want something at least slightly offbeat. A recent list opened on a note of coy whimsicality with a starter of “ kim chee crab Martini,” which, while serious fare, was fun to eat, and how often can that comment be applied to cuisine?

The same menu closed with a dish of Balinese grilled beef tenderloin with lobster and macadamia nuts, which went unsampled but obviously was intended as Pacifica’s tongue-in-cheek salute to the eternally popular surf ‘n turf.

Characterizing this menu is not easy--it could be called California cuisine, but with the qualifier that it has progressed far beyond what the term used to mean. In general terms, the cuisine jumbles an international range of ingredients and cooking styles, with a heavy reliance on Oriental seasonings and some emphasis on Western American cooking.

Inventive Dishes

The result is such hybridized dishes as takoshimi , or flash-charred, cracked-pepper-coated slices of ahi dressed with Chinese “salsa”; fettuccine with scallops, asparagus and black bean sauce, and steamed catfish with Beijing barbecue sauce. These dishes, while based on the principles of several cuisines, are native to none and are obvious inventions, but that is all to the good, since invention is the genius of cuisine.

The appetizer list is perhaps the cleverest part of the menu, and while these don’t come cheaply, they are hard to pass because it is obvious that the kitchen takes a real delight in planning them. Recent choices included nut-coated lamb riblets with spicy plum sauce, Chinese smoked chicken ravioli with mustard and scallions, and soft shell crab with onion tempura, Japanese horseradish paste and soy sauce, but if the kim chee crab Martini is available, give it a try. ( Kim chee is an inclusive Korean term for various spicy pickled vegetables, especially cabbage, but here the cabbage and other veggies are raw; when combined with lovely chunks of Dungeness crab and soaked with a bit of gin, the effect is of a tipsy crab cole slaw. Unseen chilies provide the typical kim chee heat. The dish is served in an oversized Martini glass that has been cheerfully--even goofily--garnished with a crab claw tipped with a fat green olive.)

The wok-charred calamari steak with wild mushrooms and cilantro (an herb as common in Chinese cooking as it is in Mexican) was well-cooked but dull, and the rice that filled out the plate made it seem too substantial for a starter. The smoked chicken and mango bisque was a much happier choice, the broth rather too thin to be a real bisque but the flavor delightful with the mingled notes of sweetness and smoke.

Most of the salads, including the Thai chicken with vegetables and the sashimi with fresh fruit and pickled ginger vinaigrette, can be interpreted as entrees, but they also can be split for two to four diners as a salad course. The salad of minced Pacific Northwest smoked salmon jerky tossed with Romaine lettuce and Parmesan cheese is referred to as a Caesar, which is stretching the nomenclature rather far, but it is a tasty and inventive jumble and a real credit to the kitchen.

Seafood Emphasis

The Pacifica restaurants have made their reputation on well-cooked, cleverly garnished seafood, and that emphasis continues in Del Mar. A grilled swordfish steak, glazed with a pungent soy sauce mixture and dressed with a Chinese “pesto” of ginger, cilantro, garlic and scallions, was beautifully finished and wonderfully flavored. The same remark applies to a thick slice of mako shark, which offered exceptionally tender flesh and was happy with its pointedly Southwestern relish of cilantro, sweet corn and cumin.

The brief list of meats offered Petaluma-raised chicken with pistachios and fancy Mendocino mustard and a Black Angus rib-eye steak with forest mushrooms and smoked chilies. A third choice was a California version of a Greek and Italian dish, braised lamb shanks, with Napa Valley Cabernet substituted for the table red usually employed in the recipe. Although the menu specified rosemary in the seasoning, the sauce was quite bland, and, although the meat had been carefully braised, the dish ranked as the least satisfactory of those sampled.

The Pacifica restaurants’ justly famous burnt cream headlines the desserts, but there are other treasures, as well as an oddment or two. The best may be the “Kona chocolate lava torte,” a mousse-like cake (or cake-like mousse) richly flavored with chocolate and coffee, and exotically sauced with passion fruit puree, which is excellent. The layered chocolate and orange “Napoleon” features layers of mousse rather than pastry, but is nice, and would be the dessert of choice for anyone who wants something light. The strawberry “red hots” are a touch too far-out, though; the berries are coated with cinnamon-flavored chocolate and piled on a sorbet that tastes very much like the cinnamon “red hot” candies, and, although it is a novelty, one bite seems sufficient.

The restaurant also offers an extensive and regularly updated wine list, with many bottles available by the glass and sometimes even by the taste. There are, however, far too few choices in the inexpensive range.

PACIFICA DEL MAR

1555 Camino del Mar, Del Mar

792-0476

Dinner served nightly.

Credit cards accepted.

Dinner for two, including a medium bottle of wine, tax and tip, $50 to $100.