ONE of the more beautiful dining rooms in the county lies within a mauve clapboard roadside house that is Bistro Twenty-Two. Inside, perfect lighting, a soothing color scheme, carefully appointed tables and, not least, trained personnel have marked this restaurant’s graceful style for more than two decades.
The charm and politesse of Vasco Cabral, the seemingly ever-present owner, has much to do with the pleasant ambience. Sensitive to the desires of his guests, he chats or not, suggests or not. There is always a warm welcome and thanks at diners’ departure.
I have long loved this restaurant for its polished atmosphere, service and fine food. So it is sad to report that the meals served over the course of four recent visits were wildly, curiously uneven.
On the first visit, everything was up to the mark. Appealing and discrete dishes assured us that business here was as usual. But each subsequent visit brought preparations less and less professional. One evening, so many items were burned that we were convinced that the cook was in love.
Compared with this restaurant’s offerings of just a year or two ago, recent menus have been dumbed down, with lackluster and perfunctory descriptions, more like a punch list for the cook than a menu created to excite the diner about the meal to come.
Dinner each night began with a choice of good rolls — sourdough, walnut, French or cranberry — as well as a trio of butters, like sweet, olive and herb. And appetizers had their high points. The bread salad called panzanella is a wonderful choice for summer eating, and the version here was refreshing and beautifully presented: wafers of cucumber and a drizzle of basil oil and balsamico edged chunks of fresh mozzarella and tomato (though not heirloom as promised) and crisp croutons.
Of lesser interest but still pleasing on a hot evening, the ceviche and avocado cocktail included a few pieces of seafood with a citrus and avocado mash. A gentle guacamole came on the side of a small but crabby enough crab cake. But the five big shrimp in the Bloody Mary shrimp cocktail were tasteless, perhaps because they were served icy cold. The Caesar salad seemed to be composed mostly of white lettuce and croutons.
A few offerings were oddly out of sync with the season. Mushroom caps stuffed with escargots was an old standard, the dish awash in shimmering-hot garlic butter laced with Pernod. Ladled on a nest of tagliatelle, wild boar Bolognese — dark and heavy — would have been more welcome on a cold January night, as would the simple and dry charcuterie of smoked and cured meats, hard cheese and crumbling pâté.
Some dishes arrived burned (cranberry rolls, duck, fruit tart, crème brûlée) or seriously overdone, like the Dover sole, but other selections, particularly among the entrees, showed the excellence the kitchen was capable of. A crisp-skinned, herbed and terrifically juicy chicken half — boned except for the wing — luxuriated in a creamy sauce scattered with sweet roasted cloves of garlic while sitting atop a mound of mashed potatoes and a layer of fresh spinach. The lightly grilled salmon was beautifully flaky, but its tart sauce is best served on the side, to be employed at will. Chopped, sautéed napa cabbage formed a lovely soft bed for halibut, the extra-thick cut of this fish preserving its moistness and delicate flavor.
Loaded with masses of forest mushrooms, the New York strip steak was full of meaty flavor and came cooked to order. Diners who like the smoky bitterness of harissa will find it well-rubbed into the Moroccan rack of lamb, although we liked those sweet, dainty little chops better with a less aggressive treatment. Big lumps of luscious lobster deserved a vehicle better than inedibly salty risotto.
The wait for the dessert course to arrive was overly long. Besides this restaurant’s famous white chocolate ice cream, the best of an unimpressive and unappealing lot was soft banana baked in a perfect jacket of phyllo, the still-warm package melting the vanilla ice cream that accompanied it.
Bistro Twenty-Two
Route 22, Bedford Village.
(914) 234-7333
GOOD
THE SPACE Stunning, hushed dining areas done in soothing earthy tones and punctuated with illuminated bouquets. Wheelchair accessible.
THE CROWD Romantic couples to dignified groups. Excellent, charming service.
THE BAR Tiny, sparkling full bar near the entrance. Solid wine list with fairly priced bottles and half-bottles in every price range.
THE BILL Dinner entrees range from $22 to $35.
WHAT WE LIKE Panzanella salad, crab cake, chicken with garlic cream, grilled salmon, halibut, strip steak, banana in phyllo.
IF YOU GO Dinner, every evening from 6. Reservations always a good idea. The restaurant closes for vacation from Aug. 21 to Sept. 4.
Reviewed July 30, 2006
