Stark but Chic, Montanas Grills Up a Concept in Search of Substance

Tom Bensel turned to the dictionary to find the right name for a new restaurant that would showcase the regional cuisine of the Rocky Mountain states.

Webster’s held the answer, montana , a Latin word that refers to any mountainous region and is, of course, the name of the largest of the Rocky Mountain states. Since Bensel wished to include the whole chain of states that run along the Great Divide, he pluralized the word and came up with Montanas.

This slick new Hillcrest eatery subtitles itself an “American Grill,” which describes the menu rather succinctly. The bill of fare is, in a sense, a concept in search of substance, because Bensel, a chef-turned-restaurateur, said his research discovered only a limited number of preparations that could be certified as indigenous to the Rockies. Dishes from the Pacific states--particularly from the California cuisine school--supplement such offerings as the Big Sky chili, the Porterhouse steak and the black-eyed peas that garnish many entrees.

But, if Montanas makes a stab at folksy mountain cooking, the style of the place is 1990s high tech--and something of a departure for San Diego. High-style quartz lamps hang over the beautifully crafted wooden bar and direct shafts of light at the realistic photos of harsh rural scenes that hang on some of the walls in the two dining rooms. The rich marble floor seems at odds with the empty white walls; mostly, though, the high ceilings and soaring walls give an impression of square angles used as some sort of statement. The overall effect is stark but chic.

Much the same comment could be made about the menu. The cooking isn’t quite stark, but the simple, unfussy approach it takes does seem rather chic in contemporary terms. The restaurant calls itself a grill and means it; virtually everything is grilled, from the barbecued Tomales Bay oysters (sweet and plump, and cheerfully compatible with their mildly piquant sauce) to the elegantly slender asparagus spears that garnish an excellent salad of sliced, vine-ripened tomatoes.

Chef Jeff Dugger turns in a largely credible performance, although, oddly enough, one of his star offerings is neither grilled nor a main dish. It is instead a garnish, an American-style gratin of potatoes (listed on the menu as “oven brown potatoes”) enriched with cream, Jarlsberg cheese and paprika, baked until the mixture melts into a crusty, savory mass that is good to the last gram. It garnishes only a few entrees but is available as a side order for $3.95, which at most times would seem a steep price for a potato casserole but here may lie within the bounds of reason.

The kitchen houses an alder wood smoker and offers a daily selection of three smoked fish as an appetizer. Other starter choices include roasted garlic with sourdough toast points, grilled Anaheim chilies and marinated prawns with oregano and feta cheese. Some of these occasionally turn up as members of the day’s mixed grill, an entree plate that includes three items garnished with roasted potatoes (not nearly as good as the oven browned) and grilled vegetables.

One night’s cream of summer vegetable soup was out of character for the place--it was a well-crafted French puree--and tasted mostly of carrots, although there seemed to be an undertone of squash bobbing beneath the surface. Freshly made garlic croutons added interest and a redeeming crunch. Among the salads, the Caesar made an effort but lacked the bite of the real thing, while there was plenty of bite to the plate of mixed greens with Asiago cheese and glazed pecans, a fine mix of flavors and textures.

There are, of course, pastas, although most of them would be startlingly unfamiliar to the large Italian community in Butte. The simplest and most traditional tosses angelhair with fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil; the most California cuisine-ish tops linguine with smoked chicken, roasted peppers and cilantro, which at Montanas’ presumably constitutes a salute to New Mexico.

The menu really comes into its own with the entree list, which is something of a paean to simple American foods. The fresh fish of the day are grilled, as are pork chops (served with black beans) and Porterhouse steaks, which are garnished with roasted garlic to remind diners of their surroundings. The Big Sky chili, of course, is not grilled, but seems a fairly good version of this favorite stew and contains hand-shredded beef and not too many beans in a thick, orange, moderately spicy liquid; crumbly corn bread makes an appropriate garnish.

The mixed grill plate may include portions of several entrees and can be a winner. One night’s version included triangles of skirt steak that had been soaked in a racy marinade and grilled to a toothsome finish; the perfect match to these was a grilled Anaheim chili stuffed with three cheeses. The third item, a few shriveled marinated prawns, was easily ignored on this plentiful platter, which the kitchen arranged to look like a Modernist pastel brushed by a South-of-the-border artist; all the items were tilted, as if they were looking at one of the photographs on the wall. A grilled length of zucchini occupied its own corner successfully, but the black-eyed peas were leaden, lumpy, tasteless and unlovable. As icons of all-American fare, they fit the bill, but as an example of something you might like to eat, they missed by a mile.

Other good choices include the peppery smoked sausage (a frequent star of the mixed grill) and the full rack of meaty, barbecued ribs, slow-cooked to a tender, nearly greaseless finish and tangy with wood smoke. A respectable hamburger was slapped inside a fine home-baked roll that the kitchen, in a salute to the happier days of American cooking, actually buttered and toasted.

Regional American cooking certainly is rich in desserts, and Montanas offers some dandies, including a black cow made with real sarsaparilla that takes one rocketing back to childhood, and a fudgey adventure of a chocolate tart drenched with a deep, dark, down-and-dirty caramel sauce. In the right mood, one might rationalize having the black cow with the hamburger as a beverage, and the tart as dessert. It certainly would be an all-American gesture as grand as the Rockies.

* MONTANAS AMERICAN GRILL

1421 University Ave.

297-0722

Lunch and dinner daily.

Credit cards accepted.

Dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, $25 to $70.