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Carving Out A Culinary Corner
“That’s Ed Moore,” I say with a chuckle. The Third Corner, Edmund Moore’s newest restaurant, makes its home in the space that for so many years was known as The Belgian Lion. Moore purchased the restaurant last May from the retiring “Lion” owner, Don Coulon. Across the street, on the opposite corner, sits Moore’s Thee Bungalow, a cozy, classy cottage featuring contemporary French country cuisine. He purchased the restaurant in 1987 and has spent the past 15 years building a grand following. Years ago, on yet another corner of this culinary intersection, Moore owned a little restaurant called Livingston’s Chicken Kitchen. The Third Corner must have been an obvious, even inevitable, choice. The new venue seems to be more of a playground for this chef/entrepreneur than a workplace. Moore, a graduate and former instructor of Le Cordon Bleu School in Paris, changes the menu often and without warning, so if you fall in love with a dish, go back soon because it may not be there on your next visit. Moore is a consummate shopper who works closely with local growers, ranchers and fishmongers. He seeks out the latest and greatest of what’s available and rearranges the menu accordingly. The “Small Plates” section of the menu offers a large variety of dishes perfect to share either as an appetizer or as an entrée for those who want a lighter meal. I’m a big fan of the small plate theory. Not that I want to eat lightly, mind you, but so that I can order several plates for the table. I want to see, smell and taste as much of the chef’s handiwork as possible. The “Wild Mushroom Strudel” ($9.95) is a great combination of hearty flavor and light texture. A blend of shiitake, oyster and white mushrooms is baked in a filo casing and served over a creamy shallot and wine sauce finished with black truffle oil. While the strudel is incredibly light, the earthiness of the truffle oil makes a bold flavor statement.
Three goodly sized housemade “Crab Ravioli” ($9.95) are served on a bed of creamed leeks and tucked under a blanket of lemon-butter cream sauce. Although Moore uses fresh blue crab, he is certainly not a stingy stuffer since these ravioli look more like plump pillows. If it’s available, don’t make the mistake of passing over the “Duck Confit and Wilted Spinach Salad” ($10.95). A warm dressing of grain mustard, rice wine vinegar, canola oil and a smidgen of apple wood pork fat is tossed with baby spinach and topped with pieces of confit-style duck, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts and hard-cooked eggs. Every now and then you will bite into a bit or two of bacon and I bet you’ll find it delightful. The “Main Course” section covers all the bases: Oven-roasted chicken, pan-roasted lamb loin, paella, bouillabaisse and even a “Lobster Stew en Croûte.” As is true of many modern restaurants, Moore offers entrées an ounce or two smaller than in the old days, but priced considerably lower. This practice is ideal for those of us who possess so little self-control when it comes to the starters that by the time the entrée is served we’ve already enjoyed a bit too much. The “New York Steak Frites” ($23.95) is a perfectly cooked, 10-ounce striploin finished with a veal-stock-based port wine reduction. It is crowned with Stilton cheese and served with salty, skinny fries and fresh green beans. The Third Corner 2265 Bacon St. • Ocean Beach (619) 223-2700 A 7-ounce piece of fleshy “Swordfish” ($19.95) is quickly grilled, then placed on a mattress of au gratin potatoes so buttery and delicious that even Julia Child would ask for a second helping. This tender fish, topped with a tomato, caper and olive sauce, is served with fresh green beans. The wine list may be small compared to the list at Thee Bungalow, but the very reasonably priced selections make great companions for the dishes, particularly since Moore marks his wines up considerably less than is standard. I guess he would rather sell it than shelf it. While the rest of us may wish otherwise, Moore may well be relieved that there is no fourth corner at this intersection with which to contend. — Terryl Gavre
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One night at a stoplight at the three-way intersection of West Point Loma Boulevard and Bacon Street in Ocean Beach, a harried man in white chef’s gear weaves his way through traffic, illuminated only by my bright headlights. He crosses the street, cradling what looks like an apron full of tomatoes.