Dining Out: Danville's Amaranta enticing but uneven

Cradling a warm burrito or scooping up goopy rice and beans from a too-hot-to-touch plate holds pleasures that go well beyond taste.

But this comfort food connection many have with Mexican food can also pose a challenge to restaurants like Amaranta, which aspires to deliver traditional flavors with style.

Amaranta opened four months ago in Danville's Rose Garden center, aiming to satisfy with the complex character of chiles instead of the lazy thrill of bubbling cheese and sour cream.

In addition to the original Amaranta, which opened last year in Southern California, owners Eduardo and Sylvia Rallo own seven Bay Area restaurants, mainly Mexican enterprises in San Francisco (Colibri Mexican Bistro and Zazil) and San Jose's Santana Row (Consuelo Mexican Bistro and El Jardin Tequila Bar). The sterile tone that often develops with a growing empire is evident at the Danville location, symbolized by the plastic bowl that separates the molcajete, or mortar, from the $9 guacamole that's mashed for you tableside (more lime and salt, please).

But the potential for a soulful cocina Mexicana is still great; the restaurant, like a new baseball mitt, just needs a little breaking in. Many dishes already satisfy.

Well-made enchiladas

The enchiladas, for instance, which comprise about a third of the entrees, are neither drowned in sauce nor baked to oblivion, so the handmade tortillas and quality fillings show off their character. Enchiladas Amaranta ($15) brings tender shredded pork, flecked with green chiles and napped with a tangy and assertive salsa roja.

The mole poblano is another naturally rich sauce, delicious on shredded chicken enchiladas ($14) or topping one of a pair of mini tamales ($9). To fully enjoy this rich puree of nuts, chiles and chocolate, try the chicken with mole poblano ($15), where the bittersweet, sesame-accented sauce coats a half chicken like hot fudge - without a cloying note.

When Amaranta misses, however, it can really leave you cold, especially if the restaurant is as empty as it was on a recent Tuesday night visit - when our server was ready to go home before we were.

Fajitas arrachera ($14) amounted to a pile of oily peppers topped by a few strips of chewy, overmarinated skirt steak. The accompanying pyramid of rice was mushy and the puree of black beans was bland, thick and lukewarm. My companion's plate of camarones al ajillo ($18) - six plump shrimp - was good but one-dimensional, served in a deep pool of surprisingly bland garlic oil.

But you can always fill up on chips at Amaranta, served with a trio of salsas, including a creamy green one that's innocent looking but fiery, and, my favorite, a dark rough-textured salsa with a haunting flavor and medium heat.

All of the appetizers I tried were satisfying. A trio of quesadillas ($9) brought a wonderfully sloppy chorizo quesadilla and one tastefully stuffed with plump strips of poblano chiles. The third was less successful, filled with tired chicken and a congealed lump of cheese.

If you strike out with entrees, make up for it with one of the generous and inexpensive desserts, like the creamy coconut custard ($5) or warm, custard-stuffed churros served with vanilla ice cream ($5).

Tasteful decor

Amaranta is tastefully decorated but designed for a full house. Immense drapes, hanging like icicles throughout the dining room, are a stunning effect but tend to amplify the emptiness when there's a sea of unoccupied tables. Window screens of abalone shells add warmth, however, particularly the ones by the bar, echoing the colorful Tequila bottles displayed in checkerboard shelving. On slow nights, consider dining here or on the outside patio, where live music is offered Wednesday through Sunday nights.

No blenders