La Leyenda Chef Cooks Up Best Area’S Mex

Shortly after La Leyenda’s Plantation opened last fall, I made my first visit with mouth watering.

I’ve long been a fan of Steve Quinones, the former executive chef at La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla, Calif., whose Mexican meals at the original La Leyenda on Second Avenue always had a surprising French twist. (Can you say butter sauce?)

Most recently, Quinones spent several years cooking at the ill-fated II Moon Cafe. After the Moon started waning, he left and teamed up with new backers, vowing to wow diners with great food and good service.

In September, however, his new place had the unfinished feel reminiscent of the II Moon. The decorative fountain in the entry way was dry. There was a temporary divider separating the dining room and the lounge. Walls were bare. And one of the stalls in the ladies room already had an out-of-order sign on it.

It felt like deja vu all over again.

Happily, in the ensuing months, the decor has come together (though the fountain’s still not working) and the kitchen is in fine form, cranking out the best Mex in the area.

La Leyenda’s Plantation is located in a building on Sprague that’s been around forever. Well, since 1926, anyway.

That’s when the original owners hauled stones and timber from the Dishman Hills for the massive fireplace and the heavy beams across the ceiling.

Outside, there’s more history in the form of a smooth stone pyramid marking the spot of the pioneer trail blazed by Captain John Mullan some 140 years ago.

In its long life, the sprawling structure has been home to The Boots and Saddle Club and a onces-wanky spot called The Plantation, where you could order a filet mignon dinner for $2.75 in 1959. In the ‘80s, the old Plantation attracted the two-stepping crowd and a couple of years ago, it switched gears again to become Donohue’s sports bar.

These days, a fire glows again in the stone hearth (albeit, a gas fire). Colorful blankets and somberos announce the restaurant’s casual, south-of-the-border leanings. Walls are bathed in a festive shade of tangerine and carpets are deep green.

Even the ubiquitous chips are colorful, with red tortillas mixed in with the crispy corn chips. They were warm and the salsa was smoky, with bits of roasted peppers making it hard to resist.

During a recent midday visit, service was swift enough to make it a true lunch “hour.” That allowed for ample time to admire the skillfully grilled carne asada and the lime-drenched fish tacos.

The lunch menu includes those dishes, along with various enchiladas (the shrimp version is bathed in a champagne cream sauce), burritos and such non-Mex entrees as grilled chicken with a creamy linguine, fresh fish sauteed in butter, jalapenos and Riesling and a cheeseburger with darned fine jo-jos.

The thin sirloin steak used for the carne asada was marinated in beer and cooked medium, so the meat was still pink and juicy. It was topped with a vibrant fresh tomato sauce. Corn tortillas bought fresh during Quinones’ regular trips to Pasco make a fine wrap for the carne asada.

Even the rice and beans on the side are a step above the the typical plate fillers.

The made-from-scratch pintos are left whole, not mashed with lard, so they had a toothsome texture. They weren’t covered in a puddle of gooey cheddar, either. And the vividly seasoned rice was bolstered with bits of tomato, onions and mild peppers.

The dinner menu is more extensive, with the focus divided between seafood specialties, steaks and Mexican dishes.

Calamari steaks are prepared two ways, with a grapefruit and ginger sauce or sauteed with Anaheim peppers, tomatoes, capers and sprinkled with pine nuts. I sampled the latter and was impressed with the balance of flavors and the tenderness of the squid. If it’s cooked just a minute longer, calamari can be as chewy as a pack of Doublemint.

Other fish dishes include Mexican shrimp finished in a tangy grapefruit sauce, seafood linguine and salmon or exotic fresh fish baked or sauteed. There’s also a little lobster the restaurant brings in from Baja that’s called langosta.

It’s smaller than your average Maine lobster, but it sure was sweet. The whole langosta was split and flame-broiled. The tail meat was tender and so tasty it didn’t even need the butter that was served on the side.

The meal is pricey at $22, but it comes with rice and beans and flour tortillas, so you could make a mighty lobster burrito. I wouldn’t have minded some guacamole and shredded cabbage or chopped tomatoes as additional accompaniments, either.

On the steak side, one of the people at our table showed his faith in the chef by ordering something that sounded downright wacky. The Far East steak is served with a slightly spicy peanut curry sauce. The sauteed bananas and bits of pineapple took the Asian preparation on a detour through the Caribbean.

It was wacky, but it worked.

The only minor disappointment during that dinner was a chili relleno, a mild Anaheim chili stuffed with marinated, grilled chicken and Monterey Jack. The problem wasn’t what was inside, but the relleno’s cornmeal coating. It was just too dry, like a bad tamale.

The youngest members of our party gave two ketchup-stained thumbs up to the kid’s menu - five choices for $4. And that includes a drink and a sundae.

All grown-up meals come with a choice of three salads or two soups, though they had run out of gazpacho on a busy weekend evening.

The greens were very good - a Caesar, a romaine tossed with mango and raspberries and dressed in a sweet vinaigrette and the signature Leyenda with mushrooms, bacon bits and avocado in a Dijon-spiked creamy dressing. All salads were on the verge of being overwhelmed by their vinaigrettes. (Still, too much of a good thing is better than too little.)

When one diner pointed out that the Leyenda was missing its sliced avocados, our able server rushed back to the kitchen to correct the oversight.

That gracious waiter really added to our enjoyable experience. Though the dining room was busy and we had a big crew at our table, he was attentive without being intrusive.

We were all too stuffed for dessert, but the list of sweets includes flan, a poached pear stuffed with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with caramel and raspberry sauces and a chocolate mousse served in a deep-fried flour tortilla with fresh fruit.

Whether or not the Plantation’s fountain ever flows, I’m delighted to find that Quinones has finally found a home (be it ever so funky … ) to show off his considerable talents.