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| Vietnamese with a
Twist Tamarine brings creative, winning cuisine to Palo Alto Michael Bauer |
Sunday, January 12, 2003
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Anne Le and Tammy Huynh know how to run a Vietnamese restaurant - their family opened the Vung Tau restaurants in San Jose and Milpitas. With Tamarine in downtown Palo Alto, they're building on that knowledge and taking a contemporary look at their native cuisine. In this 3-month-old restaurant, the partners have created a perfect marriage between tradition and innovation in a handsome space that housed Perry's and, before that, Crescent Park Bar and Grill (a former home base for chef Christopher Fernandez). While other operators obviously -couldn't cut it, the prospect for success for Tamarine looks very good because the owners offer something unique: a fresh take on an approachable, popular cuisine. Along with groundbreaking restaurants such as Slanted Door and Ana Mandara in San Francisco, Tamarine shows how contemporary Vietnamese food has evolved in a way that no other Asian cuisine has been able to match. At Tamarine, the creative food is complemented by a sophisticated interior that features earthy colors and high-quality work by six Southeast Asian artists. The tasteful slim-backed upholstered chairs are arranged under white- clothed tables set with celadon plates and wine glasses that are changed out to go with the ordered varietal. Woven vinyl flooring mimics tatami mats. A long, 18-seat table separating one of the dining rooms from the bar is designed for large parties or walk-in guests. The slate-topped bar, backed with frosted glass emblazoned with images of bamboo, creates a dramatic pattern that becomes a focal point to the other dining room. When paired with the dark-wood paneling, white parchment-shaded chandeliers and taupe-colored walls, Tamarine is the picture of class. The waiters - who wear black pants and shirts with white bistro aprons tied at their waists - scurry through the room transporting the bronze-colored plates that feature Huynh's riff on classics. Huynh, who holds a doctorate in pharmacology, began cooking in 1996. She learned her craft from her mother, Chac Do, who brought seven children to the United States in 1977. Through hard work, the family has created a successful business, much like the Phan family has done with Slanted Door. Every Vietnamese restaurant serves soft rice paper rolls filled with crunchy vegetables and shrimp, but at Tamarine, Huynh wraps soft egg, Chinese- style sausage, carrots, jicama and basil and serves it with thick hoisin sauce ($5). The dense sausage plays against the crispness of the vegetables and the velvety softness of the egg and wrapper. The chef also uses rice-paper wrappers to enclose prawns ($8), fried to a flaky tissue-paper crunch, ready to be dipped in a vibrant green dipping sauce redolent of lime and mint. The crab egg drop soup ($9) is another example of a riff done right: The thin, spring-green broth successfully brings together a balanced triad of vegetables, chicken broth and a touch of coconut milk. Wontons plump with sweet flakes of crab float on top. The traditional pan-fried Vietnamese noodles ($10) flash fried in a wok with soy sauce, onions and chunks of beef - another traditional staple - are given an update with tender pieces of broccoli rabe woven through for color, texture and a refreshing burst of flavor. Everyone does shaking beef ($17), tender cubes of tenderloin, but Huynh adds a jolt of black pepper and a crisp watercress salad beaded with a vinaigrette. Onion-caramelized chicken ($13) also features a corresponding refreshing counterpoint. The chicken, flavored with onions, chiles, lemongrass and garlic, is accompanied by a juicy marinated bean sprout salad with carrots and chives. Lemongrass bass ($19), with its velvety texture, yellow from the coating of turmeric and other spices, is paired with cooling rice noodle salad with cilantro, mango, carrots and other vegetables. Huynh adds a twist to just about every dish: She tosses huge prawns, the size of small lobster tails ($19), with a house-made tamarind sauce, and she glazes pork chops ($16) with onion, garlic and lemongrass. One of her best vegetable creations is the chile lime aubergine ($7); it's so creamy and rich it could double as a pate. The chef coats the eggplant with a chile lime sauce, drizzles onion oil and tosses it in crisp fried strings of leeks. Main courses can be mixed and matched with a half-dozen infused rices ($2 a serving) flavored with coconut and vanilla, or turmeric, lemongrass, ginger and cinnamon, for example. Only a couple of dishes disappointed. The salt-and-pepper calamari ($13) sported a nice crust, but the squid needed a dipping sauce to save it from monotony, and the dish seemed expensive when compared to what's offered on the rest of the menu. The wild tea leaf tuna ($8) is a nice idea: cubes of raw fish mixed with chile, lime, peanuts, ginger and roasted coconut and served on a bright green leaf, but the wrapper was tough and you -couldn't really taste the fish. Desserts are also imaginative, particularly the wontons filled with chocolate, mint and banana ($6.50), served with an artistic splash of raspberry puree and vanilla ice cream. There's also a rich pot de creme ($6. 50) flavored with Grand Marnier and chocolate and served with sugar-dusted orange slices. Beggar's purse ($7) consists of a large crepe with sauteed pears, tied into a bundle and served on a thick espresso creme anglaise studded with chopped pistachios. Service for the most part is smooth. Plates are changed regularly, wine and water glasses are continually filled, and the staff makes a point of stopping by at each course to see if everything is OK. At times there can be longer than normal pauses between dishes, but when the food finally arrives, it's obviously worth the wait. Tamarine has gotten increasingly busy during the last month. Word
of mouth is a good thing in the restaurant business, and clearly
Tamarine deserves to be praised. WINE, SPIRITS BRIDGE THE GAPIn the last few years restaurants have become much more sophisticated in pairing Asian food with wine. Tamarine is the latest restaurant that succeeds admirably in making the bridge from east to west. The 75 labels represent a wide variety, but most selections share a high level of fruitiness. About two-thirds of the selections are white, starting with Riesling and followed by Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Gruner Veltliner, Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc. There are only five Chardonnays, including the 2000 Flowers Sonoma Coast ($65) and a few Rhone and Italian varietals. The red wine selection begins with rosˇ and continues with Gamay Noir, Merlot, Syrah and Southern French varietals. If choosing wines to go with the widest variety of dishes, I'd head for the 2001 Chateau St. Michelle "Eroica" Riesling ($34) or the 2001 Alana Estates Sauvignon Blanc ($24) from New Zealand. In red wines, consider the 2000 La Chaize Brouilly Gamay ($28) or the 2000 Benton Lane Pinot Noir from Oregon ($30). For matching purposes the list highlights 20 wines by the glass, priced from $5 to $10. Prices are slightly higher than at other places, but the service is good, the glassware is first class and the staff is helpful. The beverage list also includes an exotic collection of cocktails- such as the Gingermint with rum, ginger, mint and lime. There's also a well-crafted list of sherry, cognac, Armagnac, scotch, bourbon and rum. Corkage is $15. -M.B. Michael Bauer is The Chronicle's restaurant critic. E-mail him at mbauer@sfchronicle.com. |
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