Also this issue: Off The Menu -Frank Lewis

April 24-30, 2003

food

A Fish Story

Live by the sword: Adriaticaâs chargrilled swordfish with lobster mashed potatoes and asparagus. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Despite a few rough edges, a trip to Adriatica is smooth sailing.

by Howard Altman

All too often, marine life’s journey from ocean to table is fraught with as much peril as a salmon’s spawn. Sometimes, the fish is less than fresh. Sometimes, the chef has the subtlety of a mallet. Sometimes, those who serve up the catches of the day get lost at sea.

And sometimes, what hits your plate is a thing of beauty.

Which brings us to Adriatica, chef Mustapha Rouissiya's new seafoodery on Chestnut Street in Old City.

Rouissiya, who grew up in Morocco, certainly knows his fish. His menu, which includes several whole fish dishes as well as crustaceans of varied sorts, shows that he carries no mallet -- in fact, Adriatica falls nicely between the overdressed overkill of Striped Bass and the blandness that helped undo Bookbinder's. Rouissiya smartly knows enough to rely on the goodness of fish and not flash.

As for freshness, a recent tour of the kitchen and storage facilities showed that this is no problem at Adriatica; the raw fish has that marvelous ocean-salty-sweet telltale perfume of the freshest catch.

That said, a recent Lunch Bunch trip to Adriatica was like a day of deep-sea fishing -- a bit choppy at times, pricey but, ultimately, rewarding.

The tour started out with a lurch -- a request for butter to go with the bread had to be repeated several times before our very friendly, congenial, yet forgetful server (named Jonah, I am not making this up) finally answered the call. This proved, sadly, to be an omen of flubs to follow.

We started out, quite naturally, with soup and appetizers.

Both soups we sampled were marvelous. The shrimp chowder ($3.90 for a cup) was "positively gloopy," according to CP Listings Editor Juliet Fletcher -- small, succulent shrimp and corn in a sweet, creamy, peppery chowder, just the way it should be.

The pureed red pepper soup ($3.90 a cup) "had the consistency of pulped red pepper rather than any kind of creamy soup," said Juliet. "This was surprisingly thick, the flavor of the veggies left entirely unadorned."

"My favorite appetizer" ($8.35) was also a hit. "The secret of this one," said Juliet, "is all in its presentation: four slices of tuna sashimi fanned out across a plate, accompanied by the requisite fresh ginger, seaweed salad and swirl of wasabi. This dish, despite its cute name, proves that a serious fish restaurant knows how to change tack to encompass sushi and other raw dishes with panache."

The cold seafood sampler for two ($29.80) offered a fresh array of shellfish -- clams, oysters and a half lobster. The crustaceans were right out of the briny deep and the only disappointment was no butter dipping sauce.

The filo triangles ($5.50) were yummy: two on a plate, each packed with savory Mediterranean ingredients like mushrooms, spinach and goat cheese and served with mint tahini as a garnish.

Mussels with white wine and garlic sauce ($6.50) were really top-notch, raved CP Staff Writer Daniel Brook. "Plump mussels deliciously prepared, meeting even the high mussel standards of Philadelphia. The garlicky liquid was not wasted -- it was great for dipping my bread."

As good as the appetizers were, the ride got a little choppy when it came to the entrees.

We had to ask several times for salt and pepper. And the striped bass ($25.13, or $16.75 per pound) I ordered filleted was served whole. The fish was not bad, but I spent more time spitting out bones than I wanted. Daniel found his baked sole with butter herb sauce (same price) tasty but uninspired. Personally, I think tasty is all you need.

CP Staff Writer Deborah Bolling ordered the poached salmon ($7.50) and was dismayed that it was served so rare, even though she marveled at its fresh taste. I wound up finishing the salmon because that's the way I love it.

There was only oohing and aahing at the endive salad ($7.90). "This was a piquant arrangement of smoked trout, broken up and mixed with citrus fruit -- Seville oranges and pink grapefruit," said Juliet. "A tangy, healthy plateful of fresh flavors."

Any disappointment was soothed by dessert, all made on premises.

The key lime pie ($6) was "firm-set creamy filling, surrounded by molasses-dark, crumbly pastry and sparingly served with lime zest," said Juliet. "Excellently retains the flavor of fruit within an extremely rich dessert."

The nectarine bread pudding ($6) also pleased. "I usually avoid any food that sounds even vaguely British, but I took the risk and it paid off," said Daniel. "The pudding was warm, moist and sweet but not overwhelming. Ice cream, whipped cream and a sprig of fresh mint only made things better."

The pyramid of chocolate ($6) would make the pharaoh cream, which is an interesting thought, I noted to our very friendly if forgetful waiter, during the Passover season.

Serving swells aside, Adriatica offers the freshest of fish the way it was meant to be cooked.

Adriatica

217 Chestnut St., 215-592-8001

Appetizers/salads, $5-$9.90; entrees, $13.90-$25

Mon.-Fri., 11:30-2 a.m.; Sat., 5 p.m.-2 a.m.; Sun., 9 a.m.-midnight

Wheelchair accessible. Smoking section provided. Reservations recommended. All major credit cards except Discover.