Meat and vegan share a table at Inn's Kitchen

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Meat and vegan share a table at Inn's Kitchen Mandy Erickson, Special to The Chronicle Wednesday, January 25, 2006 view chart Printable Version Email This Article My friends and I could have used a place like the Half Moon Bay Inn's Kitchen & Cocktails when we were in college. One time, a group of us decided to eat out together -- but with a vegetarian, a lactose-intolerant and a meat lover among us, we failed to agree on a place and dined our separate ways. While finding vegan dishes and beef on the same menu is unusual, what's more surprising is that the restaurant manages to serve herbivores and

carnivores a very good meal. The cheese- and egg-less chile relleno ($15) proved to be quite good, with its crispy panko-breaded chile, smoky tomato sauce and spiced tofu stuffing, though I must confess I missed the cheese. Served at the same meal, red-meat lovers' prime rib ($24, Sundays and Mondays) is also expertly cooked. As part of the inn, the 3-month-old restaurant has a lodge feel, with high ceilings, cast-iron chandeliers, and Oriental rugs atop hardwood floors. A large, U-shaped bar divides the dining room and adds to the noise, which can reach some pretty high levels. For those diners aiming mid-spectrum, Kitchen & Cocktails serves a superb chicken potpie ($12), a special that is destined for the regular menu, which arrives with a flourish, in a small soup tureen with a square of puff pastry on top. The signature seafood chowder ($10) is full of fresh salmon, mussels and clams in the shell, potatoes, bacon and a tad too much sherry, but

otherwise it's an excellent dish. Timing was something of a problem at Kitchen & Cocktails, though its servers are generally competent. On our first visit, we waited too long for every course, and my prime rib suffered for it. The creamed spinach, although made with fresh, robust greens, was unevenly heated as only a microwave can do, and the roast potatoes had withered. On a second visit, half our party was served several minutes before the rest. On a third, however, service was smooth. We also encountered another sort of confusion. When we arrived for brunch at noon on a weekend, the maitre d' refused to hand out a breakfast menu, telling us that we had arrived an hour too late. We appealed to the waiter, who assured us breakfast dishes are served until 1 p.m. That was fortunate, because the artichoke eggs benedict ($11) were the best version I've had. Two expertly poached eggs sat atop slices of rich, salty ham and vinegary artichoke hearts, all topped

with a velvety hollandaise. The Dungeness crab sandwich ($14) is made with toasted brioche that enhances the sweet crab. Not everything succeeds. The Caesar salad ($7) sported a fine dressing, but the lettuce was tired. And the meat loaf ($13) proved to be a flavorless mixture accompanied by equally lackluster mashed potatoes. Desserts are as Americana as the rest of the meal, but one selection spoofs the local topography: Devil's Slide ($5), a pecan brownie topped with ice cream, then hot fudge -- all sprinkled with more nuts, presumably representing rocks. The Pink Lady apple cobbler ($6) is excellent, too, cooked long enough to caramelize the apples. However, the warm pineapple upside-down cake ($5) missed the mark, two small round sponge cakes tasting too much like a mix. There was also a burned spot inside one of the cakes, likely from a microwave. Kitchen & Cocktails might cause some vegetarians to fall off the wagon -- especially

when a juicy T-bone ($20) alights across the table. But by the same token, dishes like a smoky, satisfying roast tomato-garbanzo soup ($5) could convince carnivores there's more to vegetarianism than tofu. E-mail comments to food. Kitchen & Cocktails (at Half Moon Bay Inn) 401 Main St. (at Mill Avenue), Half Moon Bay; (650) 560-9758. 11 a.m.-midnight Monday-Thursday; until 2 .a.m. Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-midnight Sunday. Full bar. Reservations and credit cards accepted. Easy street parking. Overall: TWO STARS Food: TWO STARS Service: ONE AND A HALF STARS Atmosphere: TWO AND A HALF STARS Prices: $$ Noise Rating: FOUR BELLS . Pluses: Most dishes are very good. Decor is elegant and comfortable. Minuses: Service can be slow and disorganized. A few dishes are

disappointing. RATINGS KEY FOUR STARS: Extraordinary THREE STARS: Excellent TWO STARS: Good ONE STAR: Fair (box): Poor . ($) Inexpensive: entrees $10 and under ($$) Moderate: $11-$17 ($$$) Expensive: $18-$24 ($$$$) Very Expensive: more than $25 Prices area based on main courses. When entrees fall between these categories, the prices of appetizers help determine the dollar ratings. . ONE BELL: Pleasantly quiet (under 65 decibels) TWO BELLS: Can talk easily (65-70) THREE BELLS: Talking normally gets difficult (70-75) FOUR BELLS: Can only talk in raised voices (75-80) BOMB: Too noisy for normal conversation (80+) . Chronicle critics make every attempt to remain anonymous. All meals are paid for by the Chronicle. Star ratings are based on a minimum of three visits. Ratings are updated continually based on a least one revisit. Peter H

 

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