February 17-23, 2005

food

Sweetness Reincarnate

HOLY ORDERS: A sushi deluxe, with scallops, shrimp and slices of salmon, tuna, yellowtail, eel and sea urchin, arrives at Nectar's bar. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Nectar's Buddhas and bustle may seem familiar, but gain originality with their soft spirituality.

by Maxine Keyser

OK, so I was wrong once more. I thought that a large, French-influenced Asian restaurant with a world-class chef, an idea Buddakan has made so successful in Center City, would never fly in buttoned-down Berwyn. But co-owners Scott Morrison, who also owns Tango in Bryn Mawr and Basil in Paoli, and Michael Wei of Yangming have proved how short-sighted I was, even if the comparison between Nectar and the downtown trailblazer is marked.

I was impressed with the bravado of bringing in the peripatetic David Rockwell from New York to create this wonderful expanse of candlelit glass and lush fabrics. The vast bar adjacent to the pristine sushi counter is busy on the cold, rain-soaked weekday evening when we visited. The surroundings have niches that hold little statues of Buddha, and diners sample an extensive list that includes steak tartare and foie gras among its more prosaic items. Wok chef Kenny Huang wields his knives over a sushi deluxe that includes scallops sparkling with salmon roe, plus tuna, salmon, yellowtail, shrimp, eel and my favorite, sea urchin. I also like the idea of kai san don, which pairs sea urchin with salmon roe, flying fish roe, lobster, scallop, tuna, yellowtail and more, over sushi rice.

Into the restaurant we go, where beige and dark wood banquettes that are dominated by a $250,000 silk-print Buddha, its colors echoed in the velvet curtains that resemble monks' robes. It, most of all, will bring Buddakan to mind, but this place is softer, more spiritual in feeling — candles in every conceivable spot, a glass-enclosed balcony that shimmers in the soft light. Unfortunately, the noise level is the kind that shatters glass. The New Age music with an intrusive soprano makes things worse. This is my only caveat about Nectar, where chef Patrick Feury (from Avenue B, Susanna Foo and Suilan at the Borgata) turns out wonderful food to match the million-dollar setting. Feury may be boyishly eager, but he is a seasoned, sophisticated chef who shows off his French training more here than ever before. He confides that, in this location, he can take advantage of all the neighboring farms, so his produce is infallible. He can also put more of a French spin on things, which is evidenced by our first appetizer, a terrine of foie gras. The port wine puddle beneath it is sweetly suave, and a baby arugula salad adds crunch. (I may have said that I was tired of foie gras, but never in a terrine.)

The wine collection, shown off in glass cabinets at the rear of the room, is food-friendly. Under the direction of Inez Ribustello it is categorized as "bright, forward fruit," "honeyed," "lush," "creamy," "spicy." Of these "nectars," we choose a Riesling, and it is just right.

We settle down, try a sake martini for starters and admire the orange chopsticks that repeat the color of the hanging silk lanterns. We have the pork pot stickers, glazed with soy and cooled by the cucumber napa slaw, and pronounce them to be quite tasty. Not as much, however, as the dumplings of duck confit and foie gras that float languidly in the intense Peking duck consomme. The Asian mood disappears with our first taste of celery root and pear soup, a creamy, French-tasting emulsion, enhanced by a goat cheese crouton crusted in panko that melts into the soup and in your mouth.

I see France, too, in the pan-seared wild striped bass, which is so laden with a stew of chanterelles and a king's ransom of truffles that it almost obscures the succulent white fish. A companion goes for tea-smoked duck, the chunks of luscious, not too smoky meat happily mixed with sundried tomatoes, leeks and tender Chinese eggplant. They also have moo shu pork, but other meat selections include braised short ribs, hanger steak, filet mignon, rack of lamb, roasted squab and venison with chestnut puree that also sounded wonderful. Back to the fish section for the tea-smoked arctic char, delightfully accompanied by the Gallic touches of roasted fennel with creamy parsnips, sweet against earthy truffles, all capped by a light pinot noir sauce. The lobster and scallop combination beckons, and the roasted monkfish, mainly for the cauliflower sauce and more chanterelles. Glorious and unusual vegetables stud the Nectar fried rice topped with a ginger egg.

For dessert, we try the minidonuts with sauces of chipotle-chocolate, espresso, creme anglaise or apple-cider caramel. They are warm, sugary and cinnamony, but frankly, they are so over. We do enjoy a chocolate praline bread pudding with banana frites, which is as gooey and delicious as we expected. Quince strudel, paired with pungent Epoisse cheese, is definitely French, but quince is adored by both the French and the Asians, as well as moi.

The noise has abated somewhat by the time we leave, but not our feeling of satisfaction with both the food and our surroundings. Nectar may aim for spirituality, but there's a very sensuous edge to it. The menu states: "Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon." The Dalai Lama said it, but it could easily have been Richard Gere.

Nectar
1091 Lancaster Ave. Berwyn, Pa. 610-725-9000

• Lunch: Mon-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
• Dinner: Mon-Thu., 5-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 5-11 p.m., Sun., 5-9 p.m.
• Sushi available 2:30 p.m. until one hour after kitchen closes.
• Appetizers: $5-$15; Entrees: $15-$29
• Reservations recommended.
• Wheelchair accessible.
• All major credit cards accepted.
• Smoking not permitted.