email this
print thisSAVE AND SHARE
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
The Main Course 6-25-08
Rating: 
Congratulations and hats off to the owners, investors, designers and staff of the new Maia bistro — a market, fine dining restaurant and café in Villanova. Their new mega-dining emporium is already a stupendous success.
The casual bistro on the ground floor, with its integral gourmet takeout market, is all contemporary chic, with high ceilings, lots of exposed brick and a commanding, square, faux marble bar that draws the eye.
The huge, new fine dining restaurant on the second floor is breathtaking, with a white onyx bar and a 20-foot “communal” table of rare African wood, etc. There is also a separate café next to the bistro. The entire combination comprises 22,000 square feet of beautifully designed space, capable of seating over 200.
I visited on a Wednesday night, before the formal dining room was open, so I can only report on the Euro-style casual bistro downstairs. The place was jumping. The smooth, hard surfaces reflected the high noise level, though the high ceilings helped somewhat. The menu favors the culinary flavors of Western Europe, from Scandinavia to Germany and the Alsace, while as much as possible using fresh ingredients and viands from local farms and producers, curing, smoking and cooking them in-house.
We studied the drinks menu (still being developed) with its already large list of draft and bottled international craft beers. The small wine list included a magnificent Chas. Krug sauvignon blanc ($10 per glass, $50 per bottle) my favorite white. I ordered it as a “Kir” (with crème d’ cassis slipped in), the bartender making it into a work of art with a spiral twist of lemon rind.
We started with two hot and delicious soups ($7 each) served in classic deep French white porcelain soup crocks. The French onion boasted gratinée of four cheeses: gruyere, parmesan, swiss and goat. Purée of potato and leek was creamy smooth and sported halves of succulent dill marinated shrimp on the side.
We were served an amuse bouche, a mini-sashimi of tuna, salmon and yellowtail with lemon chili and celery salt, to tease our tastebuds. For an appetizer, we went with the charcuterie plate ($17) of house-cured sliced meats (pork loin, landjager, rosette de Lyon, mortadella) and patés (calve’s liver, duck with cherry and almond), enough for four, really.
We also were impressed with the brown butter sautéed herb agnolotti (ricotta stuffed pasta) with dreamy wild mushrooms. Friends of mine who live nearby have already been frequenting Maia and told me they enjoyed the unusual “Cape May” white pizza with top neck clams ($12), and highly recommend the Bistro Salad ($9), arugula, radicchio, goat cheese, candied walnuts in a citrus shallot vinaigrette.
The best was yet to come. We had decided to share one entrée — the “Grilled Norwegian Salmon ($22) on a bed of sautéed baby spinach with a soft-cooked egg and bits of fingerling potatoes and horseradish shavings. It was easily the best salmon filet main dish I have ever had. The salmon is given a light one-hour Norwegian gravlox-type citrus cure and then flash grilled at a high temperature French grill, imparting a cross-hatching of grill marks. It came away on my fork in large succulent flakes. The spinach was sublime.
A return visit to the bistro is planned for the house-smoked Kobe beef pastrami sandwich ($14) and a Choucroute (homemade knockwurst, bratwurst, frankfurter, $15) plate.
Part-owners and chief kitchen talent at Maia are the incomparable Feury brothers, Patrick (Le Cirque, Borgata, Nectar) and Terence (Le Bernardin, Ritz Carlton, Striped Bass). The managing partner is Scott Morrison (Tango, Basil Bistro, Nectar), and the key investors include successful restaurateur Michael Wei (Yangming, Cin Cin, Nectar).
Lastly, Melissa Monosoff, the Culinary Institute of America-trained sommelier (Striped Bass, Four Seasons) will put her oenological knowledge at your service. The friendly, black-garbed wait staff have been well trained by these experts, and it shows.
Overall Rating: MMMM 1/2 (out of 5 m’s) Maia is the Main Line’s new destination restaurant.
Contact food reviewer Mitch Davis at MdavisMainCourse@aol.com.
Location: 789 E. Lancaster Ave., Villanova
Phone Number: 610-527-4888
Cuisine: West European focus, eclectic
Hours: Open daily for lunch and dinner
Prices: Appetizers, Soups and Salads $7 to $17; Entrées, $14 to $26
Ambiance: Contemporary chic; high-energy and noise level
Reservations: Strongly recommended
Credit Cards: All major accepted
Alcohol: Two full-service bars, large beer selection, developing wine list
Wheelchair Access: Yes
Smoking/Non: Non
Special Features: Homemade breads and charcuterie; gourmet takeout market
