THE GOSSIPING GOURMET: Small plates can deliver big tastes

The town is buzzing with talk of K’ya in the Casa Del Camino “” but not just about the “rooftop” brouhaha. Denizens are dishing about the new small plates menu created by chef Craig Conole. Whether they will ever get to eat them on the roof is still up in the air but down below, they are serving them up as fast as they can churn them out.

Even on a Monday night, usually the slowest night in the restaurant business, the place was packed. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that locals get a 25% discount on their bill on Mondays, if they know to ask. Locals can also get bottles of wine at half price on Sundays.

The extensive small plate menu lists 28 items ranging from $3 to $18 with 18 offerings at $9 or less. Portion sizes vary and some are more filling than others but you can certainly put together a fun and inexpensive meal with a veritable smorgasbord of tastes.

The bargain of the century “” and what is becoming K’ya’s signature dish “” is the flash fried Thai calamari. At $5 this large portion could easily make a light meal. On Monday’s that would be dinner for $3.75 assuming you could stop yourself from ordering the three cheese macaroni ($7) or the meaty, Maui style BBQ beef ribs ($5).

It took us a long time to finally make up our minds and we ordered seven different dishes, all the while nibbling on the fabulously crunchy crust of their Italian bread accompanied by a nice little crock of herb butter.

A word of advice: If you order everything at once, it will all come out at once. We made that mistake; so unless you eat as fast as Popeye, before you get to them, some of the dishes will already have reached room temperature. Hot dishes taste better hot! Remedy: Order them in pairs. Take a break and order some more. This will also give you the opportunity to see what looks good that other people are eating or discuss with nearby diners at adjacent tables what they liked best. People seemed eager to share their opinions.

In our previous review of the restaurant, we had the flash fried calamari in the huge appetizer portion and adored it. So we thought that with 27 other choices, we should skip it but our resolve was weakened by the mouth-watering memory of those crunchy fried nuggets. But, for $5, what the heck!

Much different from the classic Italian preparation with its marinara dipping sauce, these crackling, crispy critters share the plate with a salad of carrots, bean sprouts and peanuts all tossed together with a sweet and spicy Thai-style sauce. We usually like our calamari in the thinnest possible batter but in this case there’s more crusty batter than calamari and it functions like croutons in the salad. The commingling of flavors and textures creates a tongue-tingling delight.

If you’ve ever read this column before, you know that we never met (nor et) a foie gras we didn’t like. But of course, there are some we fancy more than others. This portion was very generous for the price. The lovely lobe was rapidly seared and served with caramelized pineapple and a thin sliver of black truffle. Although we love the pairing of the salty, buttery foie with almost any fruity, acidic element, we found the pineapple just too sweet. It overwhelmed rather than enhanced the delicate liver. Also, the foie gras itself was cool in temperature. It’s very tricky to sear the outside without overcooking the inside, which should be served pink and rosy. Nevertheless, it should be warm. Even so, it still tasted mighty fine.

Next, we dived into two plump scallops resting on a bed of mashed potatoes, sitting in a puddle of cream sauce, enriched with butter and perked up with lime. They were accompanied by a portion of sautéed spinach and arugula. The scallops themselves were somewhat non-descript but altogether the dish had plenty of flavor.

We followed them with potato cakes topped with smoked salmon, caviar and crème fraiche. The mashed potato cake was really just a vehicle for getting the excellent smoked salmon into your mouth. The lumpfish caviar provided an extra touch of crunchy saltiness and the crème fraiche furnished a creamy balance.

Good quality ahi is crusted with sesame seeds and curry powder in the spicy curry grilled ahi. There was a light soy-based sauce, a small mound of rice and the same spinach/arugula mixture that came with the scallops but we couldn’t find anything that was spicy, as promised.

Chicken empanadas were a bit of a disappointment. The filling was mostly a boring puree with tiny bits of chicken, seasoned with Mexican spices and the fried dough was bland. We used a lot of the spicy mayo with which they came to add some flavor to these little turnovers.

Almost anything tastes appetizing in garlic and herb butter but the three good-sized, juicy crustaceans in the spicy grilled shrimp were especially good eating and the sauce was even better when enhanced by a touch of chardonnay and lemongrass.

At this writing, the rooftop is open for business serving appetizers only (not small plates) but five of the items on the small plate menu are served up there in larger portion sizes: ahi poke with papaya and avocado, the garlic and herb shrimp, the grilled petit lamb chops, the flash fried Thai calamari and the grilled lobster and portabello mushroom in garlic basil sauce.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: K’ya (949) 376-9718

WHERE: 1287 S. Coast Hwy.

WHEN: Breakfast daily: 7-11

Lunch: 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., roof top

Cocktails and appetizers: 2:30-9 p.m., 2:30-10 p.m. weekends, roof top

Dinner: 5:30-10:30 p.m.

PRICES:

Small Plates: $3-$18

WINE:

Bottles: $24-$260

By the glass: $7-$15

Corkage Fee: $15

ELLE HARROW and TERRY MARKOWITZ owned a la Carte for 20 years and can be reached at themarkos755@yahoo.com.