Outer Limits

RINGS OF FIRE: Alison at Blue Bell's chili-coated squid served with wasabi and mango slaw. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Alison Barshak chooses a mellow setting away from the city for her return to form.

by Maxine Keyser

Alison Barshak's return to Philadelphia has been without any of the ignominy that marked her departure. Still smarting from the failure of her much-vaunted Venus and the Cowboy, she left town, and worked at various other venues (including the Maritime Restaurant in Rockefeller Center). Now, she has returned, in a decidedly lower key, and her restaurant in a small strip mall in Blue Bell shows all the promise with which she began her career. Perhaps she just needed this smaller scale and a bare-bones atmosphere in which to ground her work, for she has come up with an imaginative and exciting menu, and a pleasant young staff to put it into action.

The walls are pale yellow with wooden sconces and sheer blue curtains. The tables are scrubbed oak, and though the whole feel is uncomplicated and rustic, the food is anything but. We open our first bottle of wine and start on a platter of very tender, ginger-fried squid. There's heat in the chili coating of the squid and the wasabi drizzled over it that is a great counterpoint to the cool and sweet mango slaw. A taco filled with shredded duck and a tomato salsa has intense flavors and a toothy texture. Even a wilted spinach salad achieves glamour from shards of duck confit, mushroom and a vinaigrette that, with foie gras whipped in, is almost mousse-like in its depth. A daily special of grilled asparagus with bacon, olives and Parmesan is everything an early spring salad should be, and a potato chive soup seems a bit too thick, but is so full of good tastes, including a smoked scallop as a centerpiece, that we forgive its texture.

By now, we are well into our third bottle, and the entrees look even more interesting than the appetizers (a rare thing, I find). My favorite, skate, comes dusted with chili, and includes a citrus snap in the traditional browned butter; the avocado salad on the side convinces me that skate and avocado are a heavenly match. Heaven exists, too, in all the licorice hints that accompany the thick, dulcet crab cake with lemony fennel hash and an understated tarragon sauce. Even the Portuguese-style cioppino works. This mixture of clams, shrimp and chorizo can be overcooked and gloppy, but these sea creatures in their tomato sea, on a raft of garlic toast, float right onto your tongue.

As with any chef worth her salt, Barshak puts a lot of emphasis on sides and vegetables, sometimes eclipsing the protein part of the platter. Such is the case with a gratin of goat cheese and cauliflower, spectacularly good with robust wild salmon and napped with a whole-grain mustard sauce as well. Pistachios in the couscous and a vinaigrette of pomegranate and figs elevate an already luscious dish of rosy baby lamb chops. Yes, there is meat on the menu, although Barshak obviously leans towards seafood. A good hanger steak with frites is usually available.

Do leave room for desserts, which are house made with panache by Amelia Dietrich. An old-fashioned upside-down cake is delicious with mangoes, in lieu of pineapple, and gets vanilla ice cream on the side. A subdued mocha, rum and pine-nut tart is different, with none of the ingredients overpowering, while the sour cream apple pie is exceedingly sweet and complemented by butterscotch ice cream. A double-chocolate brownie sundae is just as indecent as it sounds, but my favorite is a delicate lime tart with a hint of fennel in the meringue and dribbles of citrus caramel.

It was an imaginative and tasty meal, then, with new flavors and some of the characteristic Southwestern and Asian touches that are part of Barshak's repertoire. She has matured and settled into a comfortable format, but will it be comfortable enough? She has, in the past, reached for the moon when she should have been satisfied with the stars. And, if you plan to have an open kitchen, Alison, please tidy it up a bit. It's a bit jarring to enter to this discord in an otherwise delightful experience.

ALISON AT BLUE BELL

721 Skippack Pike, Blue Bell 215-641-2660

Lunch: Tues.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Dinner: Tues.-Fri. 5:30-9:30 p.m.; Sat., 5-9:30 p.m.

Appetizers, $5.25 - $9.50; entrees, $16.50-$28.00

Wheelchair accessible. BYOB. Smoking is not permitted. Reservations are recommended. Credit cards are not accepted.