Ate last night at Scallop's Edge, which is in the shopping plaza at the Manchester MA train station. I'd been enticed out by friends to try a Greek place in Peabody, but as we came in we were met with a Greek tirade to the effect that they didn't serve food because they were renovating, uh huh. The place is opposite the Orthodox church and O Fado and the New England Meat Market (all worthy destinations) on Walnut St.; it's notable for the nice new blue awning that says stuff like "food served since 1914" (funny; nobody had ever noticed it there before) and "taberna tou mparmpa gianne" (its name). So we headed to Somebody's Harborside in Manchester, which had been recommended to us, but as we got there it was clear that the restaurant was, shall we say, bereft of life. The next stop was Scallop's Edge, which was jolly and crowded. We were given the choice of inside or outside, and I don't generally like to eat outside, but one of us felt pretty strongly that outside is the way to go in the summer. The outside area is pleasant enough, with a nice view of the train station, and large wildlife abounding (read man-eating mosquitoes). The first thing to say was that the service is slow. I guess that they hadn't counted on being quite so full at 8 on Friday night, when normal people are either at the movies or the pickup bars, and everyone from the hostess (ineffectual) to the owner (ineffectual, plus he scratched his ass in public) was being put to work busing tables. We encountered the usual phenomenon - we were given about 42 seconds to read the menu and then were asked if we were ready to order ... of course, we weren't, and then we didn't get approached again until we'd had the menus down for ten minutes or more. Menu is decent, the wine list superior. Appetizers run about 5-8, soups 4, pizzas 7-9, entrees 10-18, desserts 4. The menu descriptions are silly and precious and not always quite accurate - they describe various garnishes, for example, and you might or might not get exactly what you expected, a normal hazard I think in a place that describes half a dozen different kinds of croutons. Also, in the description that follows, please note that a small and uncomplicated meal took us over 2 hours. I could have shopped for the ingredients, cooked, served, and consumed it myself in that time. We started with a big bottle of Pellegrino, which was fine. I don't know how much it costs, because I don't order such things as a rule. It was cool but not cold. That was also fine, but the bottle of Domaine des Salices Viognier (Lurton) 1994 ($20) came icy cold; bad for a wine that did not have a large amount of varietal distinction. We took the wine out of its chilly marble sheath, a move that rather disappointed our very young and eager (though as everyone seemed to be in this newish restaurant, inexperienced) waiter. The wine, which we used throughout the meal, was pleasant but a little thin - not much of that burst of fragrance and none of that rich sensation on the tongue that I so love from a wood-aged Viognier. My friend Ian writes that he doesn't trust the Lurton brothers, because they vinify all their wines in stainless; I see why. The soup of the day, listed on the menu at $4, was $5, a fact that the waiter very carefully told us. It was a striped bass minestrone, which I thought a dreadful idea, but someone at table ordered it. It was a dreadful idea. The soup was okay, better than Campbell's, but it tasted as though perhaps someone had let the bass swim through it once. No fish in it, and next to no fish flavor. The kitchen said that the base was "striped bass stock." Yeah, right, is all I can say to that. The calamari appetizer ($6 or 7, I forget) was my highlight. Perfectly fried, tender, greaseless, served with a slightly oiled salsa of fresh tomatoes and onions. Accompaniments - those multicolored chips that are so popular these days and a handful of fancy greens, ditto. Serving generous. Pizzas are the specialty of the place, and they are pretty good. The margherita (good fresh Mozzarella and decent fresh tomatoes) was nice, and the mushroom one (regular and portobello with spinach) was better. The crust was a compromise - too thick to be a Fig's-style [BTW, what on earth is so special about Todd English and his unsubtle cooking?], too thin to be a real crust. A little dense and chewy but quite acceptable. They serve 1 generously, 1 1/2 okay, 2 maybe with appetizers. Mussels in garlic-butter-wine was the special appetizer of the day, and I ordered it as my main course, because cheese bothers me. The mussels were somewhat imperfectly cleaned and debearded, and they had been a little overdone to my taste, but the serving was adequate and the sauce was excellent - people dunked their pizza crust in it, a fine idea. Nobody bothered with the regular main courses. It was late, and we weren't all that hungry anyhow. We almost skipped dessert, too, but the fruit tart and the tiramisu sounded good. They were. I thought them a little overgelatinized, but nobody else minded. Neither was cloying - in fact the tiramisu was rather tart and hardly sweet at all, a refreshing new twist. Desserts are worthwhile - and the chef paints the plates nicely with fruit purees and chocolate sauce. At first I thought that the plate that the tiramisu came on had a pattern of birds fired into it, but in fact that was drawn to order; the guy came out, fully conscious that his efforts would be appreciated, and they were. The fruit tart, with its kiwi and berries, was set on a floral still life, the colors supplied by kiwi, raspberry, and mango purees and chocolate. A pleasant ending, and both espresso and decaf espresso were first-rate. Regular coffee was regular. I'd say not worth a special trip, but if you're in the neighborhood, you'll do well enough. But if they decide to take that extra amount of care, someday they will have a first-rate restaurant. ___ Blue Wave/386 v2.30
Massachusetts