Southern California Cooking from the Cottage (2 page)

It came as a revelation when we discovered how good lunch and dinner are at the Cottage. It was a happy accident. We were hunting up and down the San Diego shores in search of the best fish taco. Fish tacos have been the city's signature dish since 1983 when Ralph Rubio discovered them down in Baja and brought the idea north to open his first (of many) Rubio's Fish Tacos restaurants. We really like fish tacos, but a steady diet of them can be—how shall we say?—extremely filling. The standard configuration is a cloddish slab of cod that has been immersed in a thick coat of spiced batter and deep-fried then piled into a shell with cream sauce, cabbage, and a spritz of lime. After a few days of fried cod tacos, we decided we needed culinary relief, an antidote to the fry-kettle, if you will. So we tried to think of the freshest, healthiest, brightest, cleanest restaurant we knew. The choice was obvious. We went to La Jolla and found the Cottage for lunch.

There on the lunch menu we saw . . . yes, fish tacos. Duty demanded we sample them. What a shock! Here were fish tacos that were not lumbering. Neither were they fancy or overwrought; they actually were
elegant
. Chunks of mahi-mahi were grilled, not deep-fried, but there was a crunch to their fire-seared crust that was ever so much more satisfying than the mire of dense batter on a common fried fish filet. And instead of thick white sauce, the tacos came with a cilantro-avocado condiment, black beans, and chunky papaya salsa. As we perused the menu, we noticed that nothing at the Cottage is deep-fried; the kitchen doesn't have a Fryolator. That day we also had a gorgeous grilled chicken quesadilla and a classic Cobb salad, plus to-die-for banana cake with chocolate frosting. We walked away from the meal realizing that not only were the fish tacos first-rate but that here was exactly the kind of restaurant we are always looking for: simple, unpretentious, and fairly singing of its place and region.

We have since confirmed that belief time and time again. In fact, we don't know a clearer and more delicious definition of Southern California cuisine than the breakfasts, lunches, and dinners we have eaten here. It is always our first-morning destination when we visit the San Diego area because it is where we know the trip will start out right. And it is often the place we go just before we leave town, knowing full well that no matter where else we travel, we will find no meals that evoke the joys of sunlight, ocean spray, and clean Pacific air like those served at the Cottage.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
CUISINE

H
onest
is the word John and Laura Wolfe like to use to describe the kind of food they serve at the Cottage. That means no obscure ingredients, no weird combinations, no convoluted cooking techniques. “Southern California cuisine is fresh, simple, clean, light, colorful, and casual,” Laura says.

“It reflects the lifestyle here,” John adds. “We like the outdoors; we are upbeat and ocean-oriented; we eat healthy . . . although health food has all kinds of other connotations. What we serve is healthy, but it is not
health food
.”

As a native Southern Californian, John has a clear and purposeful of the culture in which he grew up. He sees the term “California cuisine” general carrying connotations of fussiness, even pretension.
Southern
general carrying connotations of fussiness, even pretension. California cuisine, on the other hand, is totally easy-going, part of a lifestyle that especially values fresh air, ocean spray, and meals that are unfussy.

It is a cuisine that is difficult to define because it is at least as much about atmosphere and ambience as it is about a canon of specific dishes.
“Sunlight is vital,” Laura says. “The Cottage would not be the Cottage without our patio and without sunshine streaming in the windows.”

Still, there are specific culinary hallmarks that delineate what is served here as the cuisine of Southern California. Breakfast as a big
meal of the day is one defining characteristic. Fresh fruit juice is another—orange juice always, tangerine juice when available. There is a buoyancy about everything served. Nothing seems heavy, not even the pancakes or coffee cake or stuffed French toast. Unlike other fish tacos, which are rib-sticking lodes of fried cod, the Cottage's fish tacos are elegant, built around gentle hunks of mahi-mahi that is grilled rather than
fried. Instead of being served with a creamy sauce, the tacos are accompanied
by a refreshing salsa. In fact, weighty cream sauces are an anathema in the Cottage kitchen.

To help explain the personality of the food served in the restaurant, John introduces us to Teodoro Ortiz, kitchen manager and now partowner
of the Cottage. Originally from Vera Cruz, Teo was washing dishes when the Wolfes arrived. “I learned to cook here,” he says. “Now I train people in the kitchen.” He bakes the muffins every morning at 6 A.M., but his favorite thing on the menu is the same as Laura's. “Like her, I have Mexican soup every day,” he laughs, referring to a popular chicken and rice soup with cheese and tortilla strips.

“I was a Mexican in my past life,” declares John to further justify the strong south-of-the-border influence in his kitchen's food. “We make
extensive use of chipotles, jalapeños, and poblanos. Mexican is probably the single most recognizable element of our menu—the quesadillas, fish tacos, and salsas—but our menu also reflects the Pacific Rim, the Southwest, and classic Americana. Our wines are French, Australian, Chilean, and of course, Californian.”

Southern California is as much a state of mind as it is a geographical description. One day as we stood with John Wolfe on the shore overlooking the great rolling waves and sandy beach known to surfers as Windansea, he said bluntly, “This is Southern California. This is what most people think about: the ocean, the sand, blue skies, fresh air. Really, ‘Southern California' as an image isn't more than that narrow band of the state from I-5 west.”

Similarly, the foodways of Southern California are defined less by specific meals and more by a style of eating that takes full advantage of
the balmy climate and fresh local produce. “The original idea of Southern California cooking was what you could do in your backyard on the grill,” John says. “If you have a party in this area, people will show up in shorts, huaraches, and Tommy Bahama shirts.” To prove show up in shorts, huaraches, and Tommy Bahama shirts.” To prove his point, he sweeps his hand over the customers sitting at tables on the restaurant's patio. “Look around. We have kids in jeans and surfer T-shirts, college kids, grandmas. Everybody's comfortable. Our vision of you are.”

• BREAKFAST •

Breakfast Burrito

Breakfast Chiliquiles

Eggs Benedict

California Benedict

Crab Cake Benedict

Carmel Brunch

Eggs Del Mar

Eggs La Jolla

Fresh Vegetable Frittata

Joe's San Francisco Special

Laura's Meatloaf Hash

Cottage Breakfast Potatoes

Monterey Scramble

Country French Toast

Bread Pudding French Toast

Stuffed French Toast

Oatmeal Pancakes

Buttermilk Pancakes

Plain Omelette

California Omelette

Chicken, Mushroom, Brie & Sun-Dried Tomato Omelette

Cove Omelette

Mammoth Mountain Omelette

Mashed Potato Omelette

Mediterranean Omelette

The “Bam” Omelette

Wild West Omelette

Quiche Lorraine

Fresh Fruit Bowl

BREAKFAST BURRITO

L
a Jolla is so close to the border that we feel obliged to include a Mexican egg dish on our breakfast menu.

1 tablespoon butter

12 eggs, beaten

1 cup shredded Jack cheese

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

4 (12-inch-size) tortillas

1 cup Black Beans (page 141)

½ cup chopped tomatoes

4 tablespoons sour cream

In a medium sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the eggs and scramble them. When the eggs are soft, stir in the cheese and cilantro. Microwave the tortillas and black beans until warm. Lay each tortilla on a plate and spoon one-fourth of the scrambled eggs down the center of each tortilla. Top each with one-fourth of the black beans and the tomatoes. To make the burritos, fold in the sides of the tortillas, and roll the tortillas up so the food is encased. Top each burrito with a tablespoon of sour cream.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Note:
This is good served with Salsa Fresca (page 135) and Cottage Breakfast Potatoes (page 18).

BREAKFAST CHILIQUILES

I
n Southern California many people eat scrambled eggs with tortillas. Our chiliquiles take the idea one step further and stack the tortillas and eggs on top of each other.

2 cups canola oil

12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

3 tablespoons butter

12 eggs, beaten

½ cup sour cream

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

3 cups Salsa Fresca (page 135)