Boring "American Cooking" Anyone?

When someone asks you what your favorite kind of food is, you normally give examples like Italian, Japanese or Mexican. Not once have I ever heard someone say American Cooking. What does that even mean?

That is how Malabar, a Natomas based restaurant, describes itself.
So, what does “American Cooking” mean to them?
It means that they specialize in many different kinds of food. I guess they are trying to say that their menu is very diverse, just like America.

There are Asian, Mexican and Italian references and tastes for almost anyone’s craving.
Unfortunately the first thing that I thought when I saw so many different dishes was, “Can they possibly do them all well?”

Upon arriving the outside of the restaurant was huge and seemed as though it was a business casual place, although I showed up late in jeans and a t-shirt and fit right in.
The front door however had the appearance of a back door that might lead to the dumpsters and did not give you the “Come on in!” appeal.

The dining area and especially the bar was surrounded by big flat screen televisions that were set to the presidential election coverage and football. Very pro-American.
The lights were dim and it had a very cozy feel along with the booth that comfortably fit five people.

The waitress came to the table with a sincere smile ready to take our orders.
It didn’t take long before there was a glass of chardonnay and colorful plate of rare ahi tuna sitting in front of me. Along side the tuna came a balance of hot and sweet cilantro-wasabi vinaigrette and a soy glaze.
As I looked around for chop sticks I realized I was not in a Japanese restaurant where I might normally order this, so I ate it with a fork instead.

After taking my time to eat and enjoy the company of my fellow classmates, some of us decided to order dessert.
After salivating over the classic cheesecake description, I decide to order it and share it among the others at the table.
It was a classic cheesecake with a drizzle, emphasis on drizzle, of raspberry sauce.
When it was placed in front of me the cheesecake looked amazing but the “drizzle” of raspberry sauce was a couple of little swirls on the plate.

It was after seeing this that the waitress explained that it is more of a garnish, but that wasn’t going to cut it for me and I decided to order a side of raspberry sauce to pour on top.
The cheesecake was light with a slight vanilla bean flavor and was not too rich as some have a tendency to be.

When it came time to get the check the waitress didn’t hesitate to get us all separate checks.
All in all it was a good dinner, although very mundane. It wasn’t great but it wasn’t terrible, it just was.
It looked, acted and tasted like every other chain restaurant I’ve been to. There were no sparks or unique flare that stuck out, just a forgetful face in the crowd.