Erratic Via Mare Wears the Brown Derby Hat

Ever wonder what happened to the hat that anchored the old Wilshire Brown Derby? For some months, the old bowler has been sitting firmly on a new owner: the second story of a mini-mall-type structure at Alexandria Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard.

There it houses Via Mare, a Filipino-owned seafood restaurant, the work of Glenda Barretto, a top caterer and restaurateur in Manila. The original Via Mare, located in the district of Manila called Makati, has a more elaborate menu and superior food. That judgment is based on hazy memories of dinner there three years ago. In Los Angeles, the menu has been scaled down and the food is erratic, some of it quite good, other dishes needing help. This is not in keeping with Barretto’s standards, but long-distance control is difficult.

The lunch I ate was a fairly pleasing meal. An appetizer plate of smoked tanguingue , a fish flown in from the Philippines, was nice. And scallop ceviche, called kilawen , was wonderful because the scallops were so light and silky.

A plate of huge shrimp garnished with fried slices of garlic was spectacular, although we didn’t get the butterflied shrimp described on the menu. Grilled swordfish in a tangy sauce was satisfying, if you like dense, chewy meat.

For dessert, we shared a thimble-sized serving of dense, rich custard ( tocino del cielo ); an ordinary but acceptable creme brulee ( crema Isabella ), and a meringue confection called canonigo .

I had a glorious memories of canonigo from Manila. There it came blanketed with mango-rum custard and was decorated with luscious fresh mango. The meringue itself was coated with caramelized sugar, like flan, and baked in a tube pan so that when sliced it looked like angel-food cake. Here, condensed milk and canned mango slices accompanied what I can best describe as a caramelized baseball that had lost its resilience.

On another visit, I found that Via Mare has an astonishing concept for meringue: It’s heaped over crab meat on a base of flaky pastry--a seafood baked Alaska, I guess. This dish is called crab delice.

What spoiled lapu-lapu caprice-- pan-fried grouper fillet--was the layer of oil on the plate. A sad-looking sauteed banana stood in for the promised “banana fries,” and the accompanying vegetables, including a potato, were uncomfortably al dente.

Better things followed, meaning one of the best desserts, a crepe stuffed with mango and ice cream, and topped with chocolate sauce. And although bibingka is not on the menu, you can have it brought in from the coffee shop next door, which is also owned by Via Mare. Bibingka is a traditional Filipino rice flour cake that is wrapped in banana leaves and baked in a clay pot with charcoal on top. It is not very sweet and contains salted duck egg yolks, which may not be to everyone’s taste. You eat it with shredded coconut.

The la carte menu can make eating at Via Mare expensive. Appetizers are $4.50 to $8.50, and entrees are $10 to $17. Soups and salads range from $4 to $8.50 and desserts from $3.50 to $4.95. A reasonable twilight dinner was introduced recently. Served from 5 to 7, the dinner includes an appetizer, soup or salad, an entree and coffee or tea for $7.95 to $11.95. The $7.95 entrees are chicken cooked in white zinfandel and braised pork loin.

Via Mare Seafood Restaurant, 3377 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 480-1223. Open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner. Major credit cards accepted.