Culinary Contradictions

Mustang Diner

400 Lavaca, 472-2363

Lunch, 7 days a week, 11-2; dinner, Sun.-Thurs, 5-10; Fri. & Sat., 5-11.

Like a collage, the Mustang Diner brims with mixed messages and disparate elements. The name conjures images of budget-priced American standards like ham and eggs and fried hamburgers, to be washed down with iced tea or Coca Cola; in actuality, the place serves up toney Napa Valley cuisine and boasts a three-page wine list. From the outside, the box-like, metallic building looks like an upscale fast-food chain; inside, one finds another downtown power-dining spot, dimly lit, packed tightly with tables, and dominated by a large three-sided bar. This clash of appellation, appearance, atmosphere, and menu could be smoothed over with outstanding food. So far, however, the Mustang kitchen has not succeeded in performing this difficult task, although the potential for doing so is evident.

A recent meal opened with a Caesar's salad ($5.95) and a warm goat cheese tartlette ($6.50). The salad contained impeccably fresh greens, well-seasoned croutons, and shavings of Parmesan cheese. The dressing, however, lacked the zip one expects to find in the Caesarian style; it needed more garlic and lemon juice. The shaved Parmesan, while luxurious, could have bolstered the dressing had it been grated and evenly dispersed over each bite. The tartlette, too, proved a disappointment. In this dish, goat cheese is thinned out (perhaps with egg whites) and baked in a phyllo crust. Unfortunately, the process nearly robs the cheese of its wonderful pungency and creaminess; the flavor is rendered decidedly mild, and its texture almost chalky. The accompanying port reduction sauce might have roused the dish from its torpor, but it appeared on the plate so sparingly that it served as scarcely more than a garnish. The grape and roasted-shallot salsa on the side easily stole the show here.

Entrées that followed were wild hare risotto ($12.95) and chicken-fried ahi tuna ($15.95). I anticipated the former dish with pleasure, for rabbit at its best is sublime. To reach this level, rabbit needs a recipe that can blend the animal's inherent richness and gaminess into an interesting whole, as, for example, in the French tradition of braising it in wine with plenty of herbs and garlic. This version, however, essentially a stew featuring Italian arborio rice, left the chunks of rabbit to fend for themselves with little accompaniment. The sauce that bound the stew provided little nuance of its own, and the portabello mushrooms, while a welcome addition, simply soaked up the flavor of the meat. The result, though not terrible, did not dazzle.

Nor did the fish provide a big payoff. The breaded and deepfried tuna cutlets were cooked well beyond the medium rare stage promised by the waiter, and served over a bed of watery mashed potatoes. The creamy, sweet corn sauce could have redeemed things somewhat, but it existed only in a thin ring around the rim of the plate. The side dish of cole slaw, however, flavored oddly enough with vanilla, worked quite well and hinted at the kitchen's potential for creativity and good execution.

These qualities received a more prominent display at a subsequent lunch visit, when I enjoyed a hearty meal of Greek salad ($5.95) and a frittata ($6.95). The salad combined kalamata olives, feta, capers, marinated red pepper strips, and salad greens, all to satisfying effect. The Mustang version of frittata, a loose interpretation of an Italian-style omelette, places perfectly cooked vegetables and goat cheese (this time, in all its opulence) over a bed of fluffy scrambled eggs. Unlike other dishes I sampled, the flavors and textures mingled beautifully; they cried out for no help from some barely present sauce.

Perhaps the frittata works so well because, aside from goat cheese and wilted arugula, it draws its power, from simple staple foods: roasted potatoes, sautéed bell peppers, and caramelized onions. In the hands of a skilled chef, such ingredients, the very stuff of solid American cooking, can be transformed into a feast fit to be enjoyed with fine wine. When more dishes reach this level, the Mustang Diner will achieve an artful coherence amid its contradictions. n