FIGTREE'S CAFE FOCUSES ON HEALTH, BUT SHOULD HEED NEED FOR SPEED : THE FACTS.Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic Figtree's Cafe, established on Venice's Ocean Front Walk since 1978 and now in the new, somewhat isolated Gelson's shopping center in Calabasas, promises on its menu ``delicious healthful health·ful adj. 1. Conducive to good health; salutary. 2. Healthy. health  ful·ness n. food in a relaxing and friendly environment.'' A neat, casual place in its new quarters, it certainly lives up to the relaxing and friendly environment part. Attractive tile-topped tables, comfortable chairs and a big open circular window leading out to an attractive patio in front add up to obvious allure. Inside, there are cleverly ``stressed'' ceilings and wall areas to give it a touch of proletarian earthiness. Locals in jeans and blouses or flannel shirts sit around and kibitz kib·itz intr.v. kib·itzed, kib·itz·ing, kib·itz·es Informal 1. To look on and offer unwanted, usually meddlesome advice to others. 2. To chat; converse. after dinner. Some of the patrons seem to know each other as Calabasas-area neighbors. But though it wouldn't be much of a stretch to agree that there's fare here that fits into the ``fresh and healthful'' description, just don't expect it to come to the table with any degree of speed. Even when there's hardly anyone in the dining room, the kitchen seems to take an inordinately long time to deliver food to the table. Order a couple of starters and a couple of entrees, and you'll see other diners who perhaps requested solo items get theirs before you receive your appetizers. Service might accelerate after a while, but there was more than one visit where long waits were experienced. Meanwhile, the food, once it arrives, is usually attractively arranged on distinctive plates and is not everyday stuff. Touches of the Southwest, of the Miditerranean, of Asia, creep into the recipes. And sometimes they work admirably. I've enjoyed a fish chowder chowder, stew of fish or shellfish with potatoes, onions, and pork (usually salt pork), thickened with crumbled hard bread. The name chowder seems to have originated from the French word chaudière ($3.75) chunky with swordfish and halibut halibut: see flatfish. halibut Any of various flatfishes, especially the Atlantic and Pacific halibuts (genus Hippoglossus, family Pleuronectidae), both of which have eyes and colour on the right side. and a noodles noo·dle 1 n. A narrow, ribbonlike strip of dried dough, usually made of flour, eggs, and water. [German Nudel. dish ($9) with thin pasta in a sesame ponzu sauce with peanuts, ginger, scallions and firm tofu tofu Soft, bland, custardlike food product made from soybeans. Believed to date from China's Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220), tofu is today an important source of protein in the cuisines of East and Southeast Asia. cubes. Chicken satay sa·tay also sa·té or sa·te n. A dish of southeast Asia consisting of strips of marinated meat, poultry, or seafood grilled on skewers and dipped in peanut sauce. ($6.75) with a spicy, green-tinged, crushed peanut dipping sauce comes up as generous ovals of good-tasting grilled chicken on wooden skewers. And pot stickers ($6.75) stuffed with chicken sausage are the lighter, fluffier type rather than the leaden ones. Also on the plus side are Figtree's Navajo corncakes ($7.50), an appetizing grouping of green onion pancakes with black beans, feta fet·a n. A white semisoft cheese usually made of goat's or ewe's milk and often preserved in brine. [Modern Greek (turi) pheta, (cheese) slice, from Italian fetta, slice cheese and greens, certainly enough for a light lunch main course. However, roasted chicken ($11.50) was dry one night and the turkey meatloaf ($10.50) merely passable pass·a·ble adj. 1. That can be passed, traversed, or crossed; navigable: a passable road. 2. Acceptable for general circulation: passable currency. 3. . Also, mascarpone mas·car·po·ne n. A fresh soft Italian cheese with a high butterfat content, made from cow's milk enriched with cream. [Italian, augmentative of dialectal mascarpa, whey cheese. polenta po·len·ta n. A thick mush made of cornmeal boiled in water or stock. [Italian, from Latin, crushed grain, barley meal.] Noun 1. would seemingly have been sweet on the palate rather than bitter, which it was one evening in a dish of grilled portabellos ($9.50). Figtree's small 15-label wine list without vintage dates has a few superior bottlings from Swanson, Byron, Kenwood and Navarro, but no great bargains. Beers (mostly $3.50 each) are probably a wiser choice with the more assertive dishes. And a beer seems to last longer than a glass of wine while you're waiting. The restaurant: Figtree's Cafe. Where: 22239 Mullholland Highway, Calabasas. Also in Venice. When: Open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, for breakfast from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday through Sunday, for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., for dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. (Coffee bar opens at 8 a.m. daily). Recommended items: Fish chowder, chicken satay, pot stickers, corncakes, ginger noodles. How much: Starters and sandwiches from $3.50 to $8.50, entrees and pastas from $8.50 to $14.50, desserts from $2.50 to $4.50. Beer and wine. AE, MC, DC, V. Wine list: Small 15-label list lacks vintage dates. Six bottles under $20. Eight wines by the glass from $4 to $6. Reservations: Suggested. Call (818) 222-6699. Our rating: Two and 1/2 stars for food; two stars for service; two stars for wine. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Chef Feliciano Curiel pours wine for co-owners Lori and Bob Bernstein at Figtree's Cafe on Mulholland Highway in Calabasas. John McCoy/Daily News |
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