Taylor Barnebey is wearing a groove in the concrete that lines 20th Street between Lombard and Rittenhouse, beating a path between his Meritage Philadelphia and his airier new acquisition, Out of the Blue.

For 17 months, Barnebey and co-owner James Colabelli made Meritage Philadelphia this city's most exacting yet elegant eatery.

Their tasteful Spanish Mission-style, club-couched space with magnetically genuine Euro-Indio-Asian cuisine courtesy exec chef Grant Langdon Brown offers '60s-era classics (lobster thermidor, Russian zakuski) and authentic region-specific items (Thai braised veal cheeks with coconut curry, Spanish chicken livers in oloroso sherry with Marcona almonds) whose Byzantine completeness was matched by Colabelli's wine choices.

The only thing tastier than Meritage's sumptuous menu? Its dedication to decadence—little, hokey things like presenting guests with a certificate of dining if they chose Tunisian Meritage, Brown's magnificent trio of sybaritic North African lamb dishes.

Pork trotters in mustard sauce. : photo by Michael T. Regan

"I'm sure we seemed a little overly serious at first," says Barnebey, holding back a smile.

The 28-year-old Barnebey shouldn't stop smiling. Though he's lost Colabelli—an opera singer-turned-sommelier and Institute of Masters of Wine candidate—to the Four Seasons Hotel, Barnebey, Brown and Meritage sous chef Francisco Mateo will bring to that Rittenhouse corner something its previous owner, David Fields, never could: flavor. For a restaurant named Salt, Fields' place was surprisingly bland. Yes, Barnebey got interested in the Salt space due of its proximity to Meritage. But he and Brown wanted, too, to do something more easygoing than Meritage, offer casual Americanized menu items that didn't fit into Meritage's formalism or authenticity.

And everything about the BYOB Out of the Blue—colors, feel, energy, food—lends itself to casualness. Then again, anything would be more casual than Meritage, which has become known for its Old-World (if the world had ended about 1967) charm, in regards to its savory menu choices, wines and overall dedication to customer care.

"When we opened we were looking for elegance beyond the stuffy—fine dining, of course, pamper the customer with full service, and stay upscale," says Barnebey. "But I hesitate to use those words because they seem pretentious. And that's not what I wanted Meritage to be."

If the 2,700-square-foot Meritage is all fusionless foreign intrigue made modern, the 1,500-square-foot Out of the Blue is a cooler, more Americanized take on that mod dining experience, utilizing an all-ethnicity palate of ingredients for its zesty nouvelle takes on panko-crusted pike with Parmesan-Reggiano or Cajun meatloaf.

"We're not looking to go on a journey—we're kinda just cooking," says Barnebey of Blue's menu.

Blue is far simpler and lighter a dining endeavor all around in terms of price points ($20 versus $30), richness and thought process. "Going to Meritage is a special night," admits Barnebey. "Out of the Blue is everyday."

A breezier, more colorful take on what the Salt space used to be ("Bland doesn't entertain," says Barneby), Blue offers a series of whites and blues capped off by a fireplace surrounded by sunburnt orange and yellow flower paintings and a back wall of marbleized blues soft-clothed with robin's egg, navy and emerald. Being a BYOB is a big part of Blue's easygoing atmosphere: "What could be more relaxed than letting people bring their own wine?" asks Barnebey.

Still, it's Brown's and Mateo's dishes that offer the big chill—items like Cornish game hen breast stuffed with figs, dates and pistachios fanned out beside a game hen b'steeya—a puff pastry filled with chicken—garnished with an Indian-spiced molasses sauce. Or their hanger steak—a not-so-beautiful cut of meat with a flavor to die for (thanks to the red wine and pink peppercorn sauce) and horseradish-pickle mashed potatoes to kill for. Or Blue's farrotto—a wintry dish in which the farro grain is cooked risotto-style then dressed up with roasted pear, radicchio, Parmigiano-Reggiano and tons of sauteed veggies.

"I think I eat at Blue more often than I do Meritage now," says Barnebey.

With this enthusiasm for his new baby and as well as his papa Meritage, the question arises: Is he looking to be another Philly restaubar mogul? "I didn't think I'd ever be—or want to be one—in the first place," he says. "Out of the Blue was just a great opportunity—something we wanted to do to counterbalance Meritage. I guess if another opportunity like that came along … with the same proximity?" He pauses. If you see him walking along that block, beware. He might just be wearing another groove into the ground.

Out of the Blue, 253 S. 20th St., 215-546-3635.