Euro-Asian and Asian-American crossover cookery is all around town these days, thanks in large part to pioneering chefs Yoshi Katsumura of Yoshi’s and Roland Liccioni of Le Francais. Even the purest sushi bars today feature California maki with avocado and other Western ingredients, while cooks at local diners think nothing of tossing a little fresh ginger and soy sauce into their turkey hash. In California, where the trend started, they don’t even call it crossover anymore–it’s “Pacific rim.” In Australia, which is rapidly becoming a world culinary capital, the style is ubiquitous.
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The East-West culinary crossover caught fire in the mid-1970s, but its roots are in 19th-century European colonialism. Whether in Haiti or Vietnam, the French left a unique imprint in the kitchens where they settled, and fittingly French-Vietnamese was among the first haute crossover cuisines. Maintaining the lightness and character of the indigenous fare, the French subtly incorporated butter as a cooking medium for some dishes, tossed in an occasional vinaigrette, introduced a vegetable or two, and then laid things out in an “artistic,” Western presentation. Vietnamese chef Viet Tran does the same at Le Colonial, an interesting effort to re-create a Saigon restaurant of the prerevolutionary 1920s.
The place looks terrific, with ivory-colored enameled walls, a deep burgundy stamped-tin ceiling, and gently swirling fans. Its front wall of windows, set at an oblique angle to the room, has bamboo curtains. There are comfortable wicker chairs, with potted palms and banana plants everywhere, contributing to a somewhat authentic look that veers just to the tasteful side of hokum. Upstairs is a bar with deep cushy chairs and sofas and a small outdoor terrace that overlooks Rush and Oak.
Also oily was the tempura entree. There were big shrimp, fresh and intrinsically well flavored but marred by the oil, and an assortment of veggies, including huge green beans and slices of zucchini that wound up underdone because they were too big for tempura frying ($14). The ahi tuna steak, on the other hand, was quite wonderful–cooked sashimi-rare as requested, with a fine cilantro crust ($16). The accompanying basil-infused mashed potatoes were superb, though the pale sauce for the tuna really needed more tang.
