Magical makeover

Racer 5 IPA Pork Ribs with a sweet chili glaze is served at Alexander's at the Timber Cove Inn. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)

Over the last four years, Timber Cove Inn just north of Fort Ross has been given a much-needed makeover. New owners have turned the once funky hostelry into a clean and pleasant spot, and the restaurant, called Alexander’s, into a place worth a visit for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

It can also serve as a place to calm your shaky nerves after the harrowing drive on Route 1 from Jenner to Fort Ross, as the road hugs sheer cliffs hundreds of feet above the ocean, sometimes without protective guardrails.

The Sonoma County coast is justifiably renowned for its powerful, elemental beauty, and at Alexander’s, you are right in the middle of it. Floor to ceiling windows in the dining room look out over the immensity of the Pacific Ocean. Walls of native boulders and timbered rafters give the feeling of a coastal cave. Lucky diners during the gray-whale migrations in January and early spring may get to see these magnificent mammals not far offshore.

Chef Benjamin St. Claire’s cuisine is California-American eclectic, but the wine list is decidedly Sonoma Coast and Russian River. A glass of David Hirsch’s Pinot Noir, bottled expressly for the Timber Cove Inn, is $12 a glass. For a well-made big red, check out the Thumbprint “Dry Creek Valley” Zinfandel at $13 a glass. And if you’re in a splurgy mood, the always excellent Flowers “Sonoma Coast” Chardonnay is $18 a glass. There’s a by-the-bottle list, too, including the best of the region, like the 2007 Hirsch “San Andreas” Pinot Noir for $94 and the 2006 Failla “Hirsch Vineyard” Pinot Noir for $110. The big prices for Hirsch wines reflect the exceptional quality of his fruit and the subsequent strong demand for wines made from it. Corkage is $20.

Pinot would be a good choice for chef St. Claire’s style of cooking. His Ahi Coco Beche ($11 **½) finds some chunks of raw ahi perched on a bed of peeled cucumber slices. The fish is given a flavor boost from pickled ginger and it’s sprinkled with black and white sesame seeds and dried bits of coconut, which add very little to the experience. Each bite is really all about the ahi and ginger.

Fish tacos topped with raw cabbage and avocado creme

Fish Tacos ($10 ***) are assembled classically, but with flour tortillas. Sauteed flaky whitefish is loaded in, then topped with green and purple cabbage and green avocado crème, plus a wedge of lime. Fresh salsa and a small pot of hot sauce are served on the side. You get two tacos per order.

The puffy, crispy Onion Rings ($6 *½) are served with samurai sauce. This is a spicy mayonnaise from Belgium by way of the Netherlands by way of Indonesia, where Dutch traders of yore learned to add sambal oelek (fiery chili peppers) to mayonnaise. If these rings weren’t so oily, they’d be great.

Which brings us to Beef Poutine ($9 *). Here’s a dish that tries hard to be cool, but ends up being just nasty. Poutine itself is a French Canadian fast food and consists of French fries covered with melted cheese and brown gravy. Chef has added chopped beef bits to the gravy, which only makes the dish even less appealing.

Things swung back into the green zone with the Racer 5 IPA Pork Ribs ($12 tasting portion or $24 full entrée ***). Three tasty baby riblets (the tasting portion) were cooked with the beer-based barbecue sauce and glistened from a sweet chili glaze. Gnawing the tender pork from the bones gives lots of pleasure.

The best — and costliest — main course of the night was Lamb Chops ($15 tasting portion, $30 full entree ***). Two local chops (the tasting portion), thick and cooked medium-rare as ordered, had oodles of irresistible lamb flavor enhanced with a veal demiglace made by roasting veal bones, boiling them until the liquid is reduced to a thick syrup that congeals when cooled into a gelatin that is the distilled essence of meaty flavor.

Potato Gratin ($6 **), also known as scalloped potatoes, carried a flavor-packed load of browned, cheesy goodness. The tasting portion of Scallops in Puff Pastry ($13 tasting, $26 full **) featured two long boats of puff pastry, each with a scallop given a spoonful of tomato mousse at either end. Unfortunately the tomato flavor, strong and intense, steps all over the delicate taste of the scallops.

The mixed berry crepe, filled with Grand Marnier whipped cream and drizzled with Nutella and creme anglaise

Mixed Berry Crepe ($10 ****) for dessert was outstanding. Ripe blueberries, strawberries, red raspberries and blackberries with whipped cream came wrapped in a delicate crepe and drizzled with vanilla and chocolate crème sauces.

To sum up: Timber Cove and its restaurant have been reborn, better than ever.

Jeff Cox writes a weekly restaurant review column for the Sonoma Living section. You can reach him at jeffcox@sonic.net.

ALEXANDER’S
Where: 21780 Coast Highway 1, Timber Cove
When: Open daily for breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and dinner from 5:30 to 9 p.m., except to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Reservations: Call 847-3231
Price range: Moderate tasting menu and expensive to very expensive full entrees from $18 to $30
Website: timbercoveinn.com

Wine list: **½
Ambiance: ***
Service: **½
Food: **½
Overall: **½

**** Extraordinary
*** Very good
** Good
* Not very good
0 Terrible