San Diego Spotlight : More Than Beer Is Brewing at New Bistro in La Jolla

The new Hops! at University Towne Center is a rarity among local shopping center restaurants: It’s a good place to eat.

Intentionally or otherwise, Hops (henceforward, that annoying “!” will be deleted) transcends its self-description as “bistro and brewery.” Serious, thoughtful cooking seems the rule (there are indecisive moments, to be sure), and despite the emphasis placed on beer, the wine list is notable on several important counts.

Chef Russell Hodges presents a menu that, typically for the times, could be described as eclectic, and seems designed to suit a number of tastes. Snacks like the smoked salmon quesadillas and the warm Boursin cheese both have an underlying trendiness and seem intended as beverage accompaniments, but the entree list is serious, well-executed and often hearty, especially in the cases of such dishes as the leg of lamb with white beans and the spit-roasted chicken.

The emphasis on beverages is strong, and unusual--for what is both a casual and a determinedly commercial establishment--in the sense that there seems a genuine concern for quality. More than half the wine card is available by the glass, and the prices, no doubt by design, are gentle for the era; the costliest bottle sells for $19, and there are decent selections priced as low as $13. As it happens, the restaurant’s beverage director, Ed Osterland, is an accredited master sommelier with a degree from the University of Bordeaux.

Hops also boasts a brew master, Julius Hummer, whose Pilseners and lagers issue via refrigerated lines from huge vats that, in a style common to micro-breweries, are visible through broad interior windows. The beers have personality and flavor, and should please those who really appreciate this particular beverage. The brews will change from time to time, but the emphasis presently, given the month, is on German styles, including an interesting wheat beer served with a slice of lemon, and a strong, rich Oktoberfest beer. The raspberry lager requires a broad mind, or simply a taste for such things; it’s certainly different. Hops markets these beers with sophistication, offering each in a tall Pilsener glass or, for those who want to investigate the full range of offerings, a “taster set” of five, 5-ounce glasses. Most unusually, a take-home gallon of any brew also is available.

Relative to the rest of the menu, starters are not cheap, although most can be shared and several could double as a light meal. The choice includes three pastas, including one called a “spicy puttanesca “ that misuses the term by topping linguine with shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes and chilies. More in the appetizer line are the plate of warmed Boursin, naturally tangy and in this instance garnished pleasantly with black beans, a tangy tomato-basil relish and beer-flavored croutons, and a plate of quesadillas stuffed with smoked salmon, sweet Maui onions and chived cream cheese. The flash-fried “Cajun” shrimp, shriveled and too potently spiced, are well worth a miss, especially at $7.

There is, perhaps inevitably, a wood-burning pizza oven, and the trio of pies that issue from it range from the traditional--with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella, and very nice--to the determinedly different. The spicy “jerk” chicken pizza, in which the fowl has been seasoned with a Jamaican-style spice blend, also includes sun-dried tomatoes, mangoes (!) and Jack cheese. That’s weird enough, but if you want to be really different, try the pie that might be banned in Naples; it tops a honey-wheat crust with grilled vegetables and peppers. No one can accuse Chef Hodges of lacking imagination.

That imagination works perhaps to better advantage in other departments. The entree of Alaskan halibut on a bed of herbed, tomatoed cannellini beans is ravishing, the fish beautifully crusted and moist, and the beans the perfect complement, even though the combination sounds quite unlikely. Similarly, the “chicken Margarita” blends themes cleverly by teaming a well-cooked half-bird with a smooth, cheese-enriched polenta and a pleasant, mildly tangy sauce flavored with tequila and citrus juices.

Hodges does equally well with traditional entrees, especially roasts. The leg of lamb, generously sliced, is richly infused with garlic and paired, as in France, with lavishly herbed white beans. The spit-roasted chicken arrives in a simple state and tastes like chicken should, which makes it a rare find; the garlic-flavored mashed potatoes add bite to the plate. In a slightly dressier mood, the entree list also offers a nicely done grilled veal chop finished with an earthy, lightly creamed wild mushroom sauce. Colorful and generally well-cooked vegetable garnishes fill many entree plates to the edge; Hops serves a lot of food for the money.

The kitchen usually restricts itself to a single daily special, recently a salad/light entree of ahi tuna with Napa cabbage salad. While a variation on a currently popular theme that is better executed elsewhere, this is visually attractive, if a little amateurish. The ahi, barely flash-grilled so that it remained basically raw--in which state it can have a sweet, delightful flavor--in this case truly tasted raw, the impression perhaps emphasized by the overly spicy dressing.

Desserts are old-fashioned, rich and delicious, from the excellent apple-cinnamon crisp with vanilla ice cream (there is more than the usual amount of crunchy-sweet topping, a bonus, since it’s so good) to the gooey Jack Daniels-infused chocolate pecan pie and the chocolate poundcake with fudge sauce and roasted banana ice cream. The latter may sound unlikely but tastes intensely, and wonderfully, like perfectly ripe bananas.

The style of the restaurant is acutely contemporary, and, if lively, also not relaxing. The hard surfaces, open kitchen and somewhat harsh lighting may be up to the minute, but they induce a rather brittle mood. Nothing invites you to linger after you’ve finished your meal, and the place needs softening. An amusing potential trend for the Nineties is found in the rest rooms, which feature water cooler-sized dispensers of mouthwash.

HOPS!

University Towne Center, 4353 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego

587-6677

Lunch and dinner daily

Pizzas and entrees $8 to $19. Dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, about $30 to $70.

Credit cards accepted