The Grapes of Rapture - March 2008

Thanks in part to the Food Network's obsession with celebrity and in part to America's increasingly sophisticated palate, creative, classically trained chefs with an air of humility and respect for tradition are disappearing faster than French fries cooked in lard. On both counts, it's enough to make this critic cry. However, after two recent meals at O'Keeffe Café, I have numerous reasons to wipe away my tears.

Within the walls of a 150-year-old adobe structure said to have housed Union troops during the Civil War, a new kind of brigade has taken up arms.

Tea-colored walls, spotless Riedel stemware, stunning photographs of café namesake Georgia O'Keeffe, and candy-apple-red furniture may belie the true history of this space -- but a heated battle is still being fought there on a daily basis. And executive chef Laurent Rea, a recent Santa Fe transplant by way of L'ƒtoile restaurant in San Antonio, Texas, is leading the charge.

After training in Strasbourg in the Alsace region of France and completing a stateside mentorship under the banner of legendary chef Paul Bocuse, Rea now merges his classical training with a delicate approach to modern fusion. Be warned, though: if you're pining for another contrived take on Southwestern cuisine, you'll have to look elsewhere.

Rea's constantly changing menus are deeply influenced by his culinary past, with a reverence for traditional French sauces and a bounty of seasonal ingredients culled from regions near and far. Paired with O'Keeffe Café proprietor Michael O'Reilly's stellar wine list and a knowledgeable service staff that never hovers or stoops to haughtiness, the execution of Rea's vision -- after only a few months of experimentation -- is nearly flawless.

Color this bouche amused

Trying to get three opinionated wine lovers to settle on a single bottle from a list of more than 200 choices is a challenge, but we finally agreed on a bottle of Jed Steele's Shooting Star Blue Franc -- a supple, spicy, berrylicious wine made from Lemberger (also known as Blaufränkisch) grapes grown in Washington state's Yakima Valley. With a cultivation history originating in Germany and France, it's a perfect (and surprisingly affordable) varietal accompaniment to many of the chef's creations.

An amuse-bouche of warm brie on a thin pastry wafer piqued my appetite, just in time for the arrival of a rich, buttery carpaccio of fat-marbled Kobe-style beef with wasabi creme fraiche. An eggplant salad with sake-soy vinaigrette slightly overpowered the beef, but on a later visit, the dish's balance was just right. An appetizer of escargots with porcini mushrooms and garlic-parsley butter in crispy crêpe baskets was a good study on the mushroom's inherent earthiness, but the snails' delicate flavor all but disappeared.

Foie gras is a staple of Strasbourg cuisine, and Rea's au torchon rendition -- marinated, wrapped in cloth, poached slightly, and chilled -- is transcendent. Smooth, slightly sweet, and served with a citrus-apple compote and bread, it bests all foie gras dishes offered by Santa Fe kitchens still bold enough to serve it. A menu-suggested pairing of 2006 Quady Essencia orange muscat from California could not go unexplored; it was a match made in heaven.

My tender, medium-rare elk tenderloin with chipotle chutney and grain-mustard spaetzle was equally superb, its wild mushroom sauce just tame enough not to distract from the dish's other components.

Vegetarian cannelloni with ricotta, spinach, and eggplant with fresh tomato and basil coulis was a triumph on all counts, especially when supped with the wine. Sautéed mahi-mahi with crabmeat and jicama relish elevated an otherwise mundane, meaty white fish to greatness, with the help of a coconut-ginger emulsion. Rea's menus are flecked with small Asian touches like this one, and they serve his palette well.

We passed on dessert and coffee, but I vowed to satisfy my sweet tooth on a follow-up visit.

Paradisiacal pairings

Rea's prix fixe tasting menu is available with or without wine pairings and includes dessert, coffee, and an intermezzo. The chef's classical training shines here, but, thankfully, nothing feels outdated. An amuse-bouche of smoked duck breast and frisée lettuce with a maple vinaigrette atop a fried won-ton skin was hard to manage with a fork -- so I happily declared the dish architectural finger food and slid the delicious bundle into my mouth like a raw oyster.

A spinach-ricotta-lobster ravioli with shrimp velouté came garnished with a small lobster claw. Paired with a generous pour of 2006 Henri Bourgeois sauvignon blanc from the Loire valley, it was my second favorite course of the evening. Next came the Kobe-style beef carpaccio, served with a 2006 Louis Latour Chameroy Macon-Villages. As with every other course, the pairing was perfect.

Seared sea scallops with wild mushroom risotto, truffled nage -- an aromatic broth, in this case enhanced with a little cream and citrus -- and a surprise shaving of black truffle left me speechless. Or was it the 2006 Castle Rock pinot noir from California, whose mellow notes of vanilla, plum, and cedar seemed tailor-made for the scallops?

An intermezzo of mango sorbet swimming in Gruet Brut sparkling wine from New Mexico swept the palate clean, making way for a tender filet mignon of lamb with cumin lamb jus and a wedge of rösti (grated potato cake). A 2005 Silver Palm California cabernet sauvignon stood up well to the delicately spiced lamb, but the rösti's cumbersome chewiness was a distraction.

A warm sliver of dense Chocolate Decadence rested somewhere between a flourless torte and a moist cake. Accompanying coffee ice cream and orange muscat dessert wine made for a perfect ending to a nearly perfect meal. I passed on the coffee, because after taking in Rea's astounding tasting menu, I couldn't imagine being lifted any higher.

Rob DeWalt New Mexican Pasatiempo 3/7/08