VILLAGE NEWS LA JOLLA
THE FOOD ISSUE
LA JOLLA’S PREFERRED SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS
San Diego Community Newspaper Group
THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011
Scott Appleby & Kerry ApplebyPayne A Family Tradition of Real Estate Success
858-775-2014
DRE#01197544 DRE#01071814
www.SDNEWS.com Volume 16, Number 36
Degradation of LJ Shores:
Who’s to blame?
Fire and ice For nearly 30 years, local restaurant has been nothing short of extreme
BY MARIKO LAMB | VILLAGE NEWS
manner, sautéing sliced bananas with brown sugar and butter, adding rum and banana liqueur to make the room light up. He also adds a touch of cinnamon (which he calls “gunpowder”) as the dish flares, making sparks fly like a firework fountain. He lets the hot mixture cool slightly, then serves it over vanilla ice cream. “When I start the flambé, everyone stops and watches,” he said. Another signature of the Maitre D’ dining experience is the swan-shaped ice sculpture that every guest receives before the main course. Filled with sorbet, “to cleanse the palate,” Zalesjak makes the sculptures — “my babies,” he calls them — using silicone molds that fit inside fivegallon buckets that are placed inside the restaurant’s two freezers. Zalesjak said he paid $10,000 for the molds themselves (six of them), and the frozen swans aren’t light. “They are about 15 pounds each with the plate,” he said. “I only have two hands and I serve and do flambé for almost every table.” Zalesjak truly is involved in every part of his customers’ experience, and as he says, “People don’t come here to eat; they come here to dine.” Zalesjak is not only the host, server and chef, but he’s also the musician. After every
La Jolla Shores Tomorrow (LJST) is an ad hoc committee created by Vaughn Woods and Dale Naegle that “seeks to preserve the charm of La Jolla Shores,” according to the group’s Facebook page. The catalyst for the creation of LJST and the notable development that the committee opposes is the Whitney Project — a controversial three-story mixed-use building proposal by Bob and Kim Whitney on their corner lot, located at the corner of Avenida de la Playa and Paseo Grande. The Whitneys’ proposed development includes a 2,300-square-foot retail space on the street level with two stories of condominiums above and a parking structure below. “The Whitney Project is a mixed-use project that substantially alters the existing charm and character of La Jolla Shores by building a massive three-story structure overshadowing Piatti’s Restaurant,” the LJST states on its Facebook page. “Such changes will open the door to threestory developers forever changing the walkable open community we know and love.” The Whitneys, however, have retaliated against claims made by LJST, namely pointing out that Woods and Naegle have received citations indicating building code violations on their own properties, located on 2226 and 2210 Avenida de la Playa, respectively. “Ironically, while this group claims they want to preserve and protect La Jolla Shores, the Naegle’s and Mr. Woods’ own buildings are in serious violation of our La Jolla Shores Planned District Ordinance (LJSPDO),” he said. Woods and Naegle were issued Civil Penalty Notice and Orders by the City of San Diego for building violations on their own properties in February and April. The violations include unlawful conversion of their carport or garage, non-permitted use of their retail ground floor space and illegally posted signage on and off their property. “The issue of the Civil Penalty Notice and Order is nothing less than sour grapes pressed by Mr. Whitney. Who complained or reported the carport conversion? Why do you think it was reported?” said Fritz Liebhardt, a La Jollan who has built several projects in the area. Naegle said that, ironically, everyone on the block who opposed the Whitney building was issued a Civil Penalty Notice and Order. He also said he secured permits prior to any alterations on his house, and there was no secretive conversion attempt. “Now that the city has explained, ten years after the fact, that our permit was issued in error, we will need to seek an appropriate resolution.
SEE MAITRE D’, Page 5
SEE WHITNEY, Page 4
A frozen house-made Russian vodka containing peach, lemon and lime, and swan-shaped ice sculptures are two signature finds at the Maitre D’ in Bird Rock. CLAIRE HARLIN | Village News
Above: A massive iron door and 1,700-pound window coverings acquired from the San Diego Museum of Art during the museum’s remodel make the Maitre D’ stand out on La Jolla Boulevard. CLAIRE HARLIN | Village News
Louis Zalesjak prepares a flambé Banana Foster dessert at the Maitre D’, located at 5523 La Jolla Blvd. CLAIRE HARLIN | Village News
BY CLAIRE HARLIN | VILLAGE NEWS As they say, things change. But the Maitre D’ is not one of those things. Owner Louis Zalesjak, 76, has been serving the same menu to many of the same loyal regulars at the Bird Rock restaurant for nearly 30 years, never concerning himself with things like specials, promotions and advertising. And why should he? Ninety-five percent of his upscale restaurant’s guests are return customers, he said, and they keep coming back for the same experience and food. Competition simply isn’t in Zalesjak’s vocabulary, as he’s in a category all his own. “After 20 years of coming here, people know what they want,” said Zalesjak. “If I changed the menu, my guests, they would say, ‘What happened to my Steak Diane? Where is my Cherries Diable?’”
The mysterious, white house at 5523 La Jolla Blvd., that doubles as Zalesjak’s oceanview apartment, is not a hot spot for locals — only about 10 percent of his guests are from La Jolla, he said. But the experience that takes place inside the unassuming two-story building has undoubtedly put Maitre D’ on the map in a broader sense. Many who have stumbled upon the restaurant keep returning, year after year, from places all over the world, and Zalesjak will proudly tell you that he’s the only chef on the West Coast — from “Tijuana to Vancouver,” he said — who does tableside preparation of flambé. Some 80 percent of his guests order the Steak Diane or Steak au Poivre, which Zalesjak cooks right in front of the customer within about three minutes, adding a touch of cognac that makes a flame at least four feet high shoot to the ceiling. He also does tableside preparation of a bananas foster dessert in the same