Canyon Grill Serves Up Flavor of the Southwest

If neighborhood restaurants are among the amenities that give older cities character, it could be said that the newer suburban areas, despite the other advantages they might boast, are poorer for the lack of such places.

Scripps Ranch, affluent and strategically located along the ever more densely populated Interstate 15 corridor, should long have been home to a number of decent eateries but, thus far, has proven less than a magnet to them.

The new Canyon Grill raises local standards considerably. The occupant of a longstanding cafe site (originally, a branch of La Jolla’s French Gourmet occupied this commercial center space), Canyon Grill approaches food with what might be termed “quiet flamboyance.”

The term is contradictory, of course, but so is the restaurant, which seems reasonably enraptured by Southwestern cuisine but makes no formal mention of this bent on the menu and in fact devotes half the space to pizzas and pastas. But some of these are Italian in name only, and, like other dishes, are marked by the imaginative use of flavors that are typical of Southwestern cooking. The kitchen is not afraid of hot seasoning but does not seem to overuse it.

The decor similarly takes a Southwestern turn, but not too noisily, and the look overall is restful. However, the sound system does grow a bit aggressive at times.

Chef Sean Fisher’s single greatest contribution to world gastronomy may be a black bean and rice soup that, at present, appears only as a special, but certainly ought to be added to the standing menu. The style represents his preference for seasonings that make statements, in this case a preference that pays dividends. Cilantro and a sensible amount of “Cajun” spices give flavor but not hotness to what is essentially a big bowl of goodness.

This fondness for zesty seasonings does not always work. The crab cakes, nicely crisp but far too thin, feature a spicing that, quite unreasonably, makes them taste rather like breakfast sausage. Crab meat, delicate and costly commodity that it is, requires more conservative handling.

The standing menu offers numerous other opening possibilities, including a plate of grilled prawns wrapped in basil leaves and prosciutto, fried artichoke hearts with herbed mayonnaise and a “chopped” salad of diced salami, cheese and greens with garbanzo beans and mustard vinaigrette. Entrees, by the by, include a nicely done house salad, and the kitchen regularly dispatches hot, baton-shaped rolls brushed with garlic butter and plenty of herbs.

The list of entrees also is solid and largely enticing, but Canyon Grill offers so many daily specials in this category that a server actually lost his voice while reciting them. Choice is nothing to quibble with, but when more than two or three specials are to be offered, the restaurant would do best to write them on a card; it’s impossible to remember everything available.

Among recent specials was a rather clever toss of penne pasta, lobster cream sauce, chunked Norwegian salmon and pink pepper corns, which are crunchy as well as explosive. Technically, this could be classified as Italian, but such an amalgam of styles could only be considered as representative of contemporary cuisine. More distinctly Southwestern, another special combined linguine with nopalitos (bits of tender cactus leaves) and grilled chicken that had been brushed with a tequila glaze.

The standing list offers focaccia pizzas, or hearty crusts garnished with both a basic combination of tomato sauce, mozzarella and herbs, and a piquant pastiche of capers, black olives, sun-dried tomatoes and cheese. The pastas similarly range from the simplicity of angle hair with tomato, garlic and basil to noodles with grilled shrimp and spicy peanut sauce.

Shrimp also star in an entree noted as the chef’s recommendation, but for all the seasonings and ingredients that go into the “ achiote shrimp,” the final flavor is that of an elaborate barbecue sauce. This is not to deny that the plate has savor, but the glaze flavored with tequila, yucateco peppers, citrus juices and honey ultimately seems like something you might brush on ribs.

And the menu does offer ribs, named “kick ass ribs” and noted as award-winning; they were not sampled. The entree list finishes with filet mignon in a Bourbon-flavored cream sauce, the fish of the day and a breast of chicken topped with prosciutto, Fontina cheese and wild mushrooms.

The desserts are catered by a good supplier and are enjoyable if not beyond the norm.

Canyon Grill

9823 Carroll Canyon Rd., Scripps Ranch Calls: 271-4052

Hours: Lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday

Cost: Pastas and entrees $9.75 to $15.75; dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, about $35 to $70