Spotty Service Fails to Discourage Lovers of Italian Delicacies

Il Fornaio opened in Del Mar Plaza one year ago and in just about no time managed to set the local restaurant community on its ear.

Tables became scarce overnight, a result not just of the several tons of marble spread around the place and the nearly perfect view of shoreline and ocean, but of the regional Italian menu that offers dishes not readily found in San Diego County, including Venetian pot roast and lasagna layered with duck ragout. The wonderful breads that issue from the wood-burning oven and are served plentifully through the meal also had much to do with this instant success.

But something happened early on at Il Fornaio that, oddly enough, seems to have had no particular effect on the availability of tables. The service became the source of frequent complaint, and, over time, developed into something of a minor legend among regular patrons. In my own experience, the service at times has been reasonably good and at other times farcical or glacially slow. According to a first-person account of a recent occurrence, a man suddenly rose at his table in the center of the room, cupped his hands around his mouth and, in strong terms, conveyed the information that his party had grown tired of waiting for its meal. Patrons at the other tables grew silent for a moment, then burst into spontaneous applause.

A couple of recent visits turned up service both dismal and excellent, as well as the reason why Il Fornaio continues to pack its dining room and terrace--the cooking. If anything, the food seems better than it was a year ago. In addition, the menu has undergone a few slight refinements that have added several appealing dishes.

The appetizer list quickly announces the menu’s general tone by opening with a hearty plate called bomba! , which consists of domed-shaped focaccia bread covered with speck , a smoked ham of Hungarian origin popular in Venice and its environs since the days when the Austro-Hungarian Empire claimed the region. Il Fornaio concentrates on the cooking of a tier of provinces that runs across the upper part of Italy, most notably Tuscany, Lombardy and Venice.

Among other starters, the grilled eggplant rolled around goat cheese, capers and sun-dried tomatoes has its moments, as do the marinated shrimp with white beans and the house salad of tender greens tossed with a dressing both more complex and softer in flavor than the usual Italian oil-and-vinegar mix. The nicest of all may be the chilled, stuffed artichoke, delightful with its surprisingly sprightly filling of chopped, marinated artichoke hearts, bread, tomatoes and radicchio.

The wood-fired oven allows the kitchen to offer crisp bread sticks and other excellent breads that vary in their assortment but occasionally include crusty rolls flecked with aromatic herbs or, best of all, chopped olives. The bakers also cook up a variety of pizzas based on a good crust; the toppings run from the usual sausage or four-cheese offerings to cheese-less versions decorated with eggplant or tuna. The calzone was sampled recently and found to be one of the few truly disappointing offerings here. This football-shaped package of dough, puffed to immense proportions by the intense heat of the oven, contained a filling of nearly raw bacon combined with finely ground meat and other ingredients that, when combined, oddly captured the taste of tinned meat paste.

Most of the pastas are unfamiliar in these parts, a fact rather beside the point that this section is the weak link in the menu. One of the better offerings is a huge casserole of macaroni baked with cream, peas, prosciutto and several cheeses, including a richly musty Gorgonzola that adds a beautiful and intense flavor.

Grilled and oven-roasted meats are common in Italy but rare at local Italian restaurants. Il Fornaio makes much of them, however, and offers chicken, rabbit, Coho salmon, veal chops and even a vegetable plate cooked in one or the other of these manners. The most impressive of the grills is the bistecca alla Fiorentina, a very special and traditional Tuscan dish that to the novice looks simply like a Porterhouse steak. Certain rules surround the preparation and service of this steak, such as the lack of seasoning except the lemon offered at table and the garnish of white beans cooked in their own steam with a little salt and olive oil (nice or very nice at Il Fornaio, depending on your degree of fondness for beans). The steak also must be cut quite thick, and the kitchen sent out a specimen that could have fed two or three diners quite amply; it had been given excellent attention as it cooked and was remarkably tender. This over-sized entree also included garnishes of good sauteed spinach and crisp, oven-roasted potatoes.

Another really traditional dish, the brasato di manzo (call it pot roast and you’ll have the right idea) also is carried off with considerable flair. This specialty of Venice is first marinated in herbed red wine and then slowly braised with tomatoes and forest mushrooms; the resulting roast, carved in generous slices, has the special succulence peculiar to meat cooked in this manner, and the sauce is also special since it has been permeated with meat juices. Chunks of grilled polenta, or corn meal mush, garnish the plate, and, although polenta at times is a tedious thing, it works well in this context.

Among the changes introduced well after the place opened is the daily specials list, which usually mentions a couple of fish, a pasta or two (one night’s ravioli with salmon stuffing and a sauce of chopped shrimp, saffron and cream sounded rather nice), a few meat dishes and special wines offered by the glass.

The big deal among the desserts continues to be the Valentino vestito di nuovo , a sort of terrine or pate of three chocolates that goes down very easily and is so rich that the best idea is to share it. Other choices include a poached pear in chocolate sauce, an assortment of cookies from the restaurant’s bakery and an old fashioned bianco mangiare , or almond custard in caramel sauce.

The service does continue to be uneven here, and one night became a sort of burlesque that drew bitter comments from a neighboring table, largely because of the reliable absence of the waiter whenever anything was desired. A second table consistently was served plates ordered by yet another party. On another occasion, however, a different waiter offered thoroughly professional service, so that it seems that the luck of the draw may be the rule. In any case, waits for tables are common and reservations remain an excellent idea.

IL FORNAIO

In Del Mar Plaza, 1555 Camino Del Mar

755-8876

Lunch and dinner daily.

Credit cards accepted.

Dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, $30 to $60.