Kind of Blue

A very colorful cantina deals in gray areas.

by Trey Popp

Shirley Nicole Fonner PLATO FUERTE: Seared sea scallops are one of the stronger entrées at Azul. They're served over a spicy corn purée with cilantro and fried shallots. (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

"I wouldn't recommend it," the server said before I could even get to the second prong of my dessert order. The most intriguing thing by far on Azul's postres card was a chocolate tamale, but our man jumped in front of that request like a goalkeeper deflecting a penalty shot. Or perhaps like someone stirred by visions of a shrunken gratuity.

"Why?"

"It's the least favorite of anyone here," he replied. "And customers haven't liked it, either. It hasn't been sweet or chocolatey enough. The kitchen's still trying to get it right. It's kind of a work in progress."

That strikes me as an apt analogy for Azul itself, which opened at the end of May on the corner of 10th and Spruce streets. The name doesn't lie — the place is blue, from the awning above the sidewalk tables to the ultraviolet hue that bathes the tequila bottles behind the dark granite bar. The bric-a-brac décor even includes a wooden picture frame whose empty interior calls still more attention to the intense cerulean wall paint.

The candid service ethic at this casual Mexican spot is certainly in full flower — before discouraging us from the chocolate tamale, our guy counseled against tacking on extra apps to our dinner order (good thing, since portions are ample) — but other parts of the metaphorical plant could use some pruning and training.

The best dishes at Azul suggest that the culinary soil is plenty fertile. A seared sea scallop entrée, for instance, was among the best main courses I've had in a while. Half the plate was covered in a corn purée that got extra oomph from hot chiles de arbol. The moist scallops rode above, each crowned with a tuft of cilantro, a smattering of shallots that had been fried to a crisp and a squeeze of lime that injected a breezy brightness into the rich assembly. A side of grilled, intensely flavorful chayote squash came completely unadorned, which was just right.

Guacamole punched up with flying fish roe, cilantro crema, smoked salmon and more of those fried shallots also made for a multihued and many-textured winner.

But if I were running orders at Azul, I'd have to add a few to the list to avoid. The steak sliders were boring; a bland black-bean spread did nothing to spice up this small plate, and the grocery-store-grade buns seemed to suck up whatever flavor there was. The mahi mahi in the fish tacos was too dry, and the pineapple salsa tucked next to it was weak. (The cooked pineapple that came with a rice-pudding flautas dessert, however, was quite nice.)

Some dishes were a mixed bag. A thick, mescal-brined pork chop had a lot of flavor, but the bed of braised red cabbage it came on didn't do much for me. And although I really did like the thicket of pea shoots on top of the salmon entrée, which lent a springy note to the mango and lobster caught in its tangles, the fish was overcooked and the rice could have used a little something extra. I wish the arugula in a tomato salad hadn't been so beat-up; the cilantro vinaigrette dressing it was really tasty.

The food, in other words, is uneven. So how about the drinks? Inside and out, Azul is a perfectly pleasant spot to suck on a margarita.

Stick to the versions that are one notch up from the basic rendition, which I found a little watery. The addition of blood orange made for a perfectly tasty summer quaff, as did another that had been injected with a melon purée. Ask for a chili-salt-encrusted rim even if the one you order doesn't feature it. Most of the margs run $6 or $7 and give you plenty to sip on, which isn't such a bad thing in this weather.

Come to think of it, that might be a swell accompaniment to the chocolate tamale, which wasn't perfect but had a lot more going for it than the oversweet and off-puttingly grainy chocolate cake we also tried. The bittersweet filling, redolent of its corn husk envelope, reminded one of us of an interesting handmade chocolate in Guatemala. A pool of agave nectar made sweetening a custom endeavor, which I liked.

But the server was right. Like much else at Azul, it's going to take a little more tuning to achieve its full potential.

(t_popp@citypaper.net)

Azul Cantina | 941 Spruce St., 215-627-5200, azulcantina.com

Dinner served daily, 4:30-10:30 p.m.; Late-night menu available daily, 10:30 p.m.-1 a.m.; Brunch served Sat.-Sun., 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Appetizers, $6-$12; Entrées, $17-$22

Wheelchair accessible