Vague Disappointment

by Alex Richmond

The New Wave Café ditched its status as the cross-street waiting room for Dmitri’s long ago, and has established itself as a proper restaurant. But there’s now been a further change; new executive chef Jason Seraydarian has created a Mediterranean-themed menu, with heavy emphasis on grilled flatbread pizzas, which were the specialty of his prior place of employment, Gonzo in New York City. Philly is a town that loves pizza -- but will people go for ’za that’s as flat and crispy as a chip?

Seraydarian’s new menu has a wide range of prices and selections. The flatbread pizza, while tasty, is priced rather high at $11-$14 for one portions. A typical dinner special features margarita pizza, Caesar salad and dessert for $23 -- kind of extreme for a local joint, even if the napkins are linen.

On our first visit, there were missteps with other entrees and appetizers. The steamed littleneck clams (($10) were delicious, but not properly cleaned: There was visible grit still in the shells. One sandy mouthful was enough for my dining partner, and he left the rest of the clams on the plate. The crunchy sprout salad ($7) with jicama and pecans was interesting but bitter. The fresh fry ($11) had a complex dipping sauce of miso and soy, but the calamari batter was too dense. The same problem dogged the tilapia ($19): Topped with a floury roux, it turned soggy and heavy. My friend loved the grilled sirloin ($22), but I found the cut to be too sinewy and chewy for my taste.

A second visit to the New Wave proved more low-key and gratifying. Sitting at the copper-topped bar is the perfect spot for enjoying pub fare, with baseball and Jeopardy! projecting silently from three TV screens. Seraydarian’s sandwiches go down wonderfully. The seared Atlantic salmon club ($10) is rich, and I loved the grilled flank steak sandwich ($8), with Swiss cheese and grilled onions. Caesar salad ($6) is sweeter than traditionally served, with a mustard-based dressing: Its soft pretzel croutons are fun, as is the crispy parmesan wafer on top.

As for dessert: The lime tequila cheesecake was smooth, though we could detect no trace of tequila (maybe our taste buds were dulled by our red wine). Seraydarian brought us a fabulous, warm chocolate cake, created for a Planned Parenthood "pro-choice, pro-chocolate" charity event.

The New Wave is still a great neighborhood bar with pub food. However, the entrees and pizzas are over-ambitious, priced too high, and come out of the kitchen with not enough care. Stick with sandwiches, and you’ll be good.

New Wave Café

784 S. Third St., 215-922-8484
Appetizers, $6-$11; entrees, $8-$22
Daily, noon-1 a.m.
Not wheelchair accessible. Smoking section provided. Reservations not necessary. All major credit

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