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The qualities that lead to a restaurant's success are as intangible as the reasons behind President Clinton's popularity. The food, service, location and ambience must reach a certain level, but after that it seems to be up to the fairies. 28 East had lots going for it. A stone's throw from the wildly popular Esparza's, the airy, pleasant spot served fine, often excellent, basic Northwest cooking with generally congenial results. But it didn't make it. In its place has emerged Alligator Pear. The new owners have warmed the place up by changing the paint from that ever-present rustic mottled tan to the newly ever-present celadon green. Thick Oriental carpets now cover the stone floor, and rattan chairs surround simple low tables. The vast windows looking out onto Northeast 28th Avenue serve as both the best and the worst feature: They allow ample people-watching and excellent light, but they make the interior a bit drafty, and passersby often look into an almost empty restaurant. Sheer drapes would help. The food faces its own challenges. In these times of radicchio soufflés, sage ice cream and caramelized beet soup, many diners want to be amazed. But when neighborhood grocery stores sell yucca, radish sprouts and buffalo meat, restaurants no longer serve as the sole means for savvy diners to experience new dishes. Comfort food has had its own rebirth, but restaurants rarely offer plain mashed potatoes with squares of melting butter--instead they tout a roasted garlic and arugula potato smash. Alligator Pear attempts to appeal to all camps by offering simple Northwest food that's comforting and interesting. But often the food doesn't go far enough in either direction to be successful. There are some impressive dishes. Among the appetizers, the Roman artichokes make a luscious indulgence. Delicious artichoke hearts, cooked tender in an herb broth, arrive with a sharp aioli. The garlic brandy cream mushrooms, served with crusty bruschetta, is another rich starter. On the (slightly) lighter side, there's an enormous spinach salad that comes in a deep bowl. Excellent bacon bits sautéed with onions and mushrooms are poured over the spinach leaves. The udon utopia is another surprise. The menu describes the dish as "very vegan," which seems like a euphemistic way to say "very tasteless." In fact, it's a flavorful and satisfying combination of the freshest vegetables with chewy udon noodles in a heady herb broth. The Madras curry chicken salad involves exquisitely roasted chicken tossed in a tangy yogurt sauce served over fresh greens, dates and pistachios in a garam masala vinaigrette. These unusual but impressive blends of textures and flavors show a creativity that could benefit the rest of t menu. The simplest food here is the least satisfying. Alligator Pear serves some serious meat: beef roast, lamb shanks, rib eye, pork chop. Most people aren't eating much meat these days, so when they do eat it, it had better be good. The red-wine broth braising the lamb shanks helps lose some of their natural fattiness, but that also leaches away some of the flavor. The rib eye is unmemorable; but the accompanying scalloped potatoes with Tillamook cheddar are worth remembering--and not just because of the extra laps you'll have to run to work them off. In such a meat-focused restaurant, it's the non-meat dishes that stand out. There's a colorful shellfish linguine with rock shrimp and clams studding noodles tossed with a sun-dried tomato pesto. Grilled polenta topped with chunky tomato sauce comes with vegetables on the side, perfectly cooked and chosen for looks as well as flavor: white cauliflower, red cabbage, green broccoli and beans. For a new restaurant, there are many nice touches. The bread basket comes with olive, plain and seeded bread and is accompanied by pungent garlic butter. Each table gets its own pepper mill and the coarse salt is served in a dish with a spoon. The servers are conscientious and unobtrusive. Though the menu needs some work and focus, Alligator Pear has promise. Now if they can just get the stars to align. |
