BLUE STONE BAR AND GRILL

Ambling down Aurora Street, it’s hard to miss the Blue Stone Bar and Grill, with its startling blue-lighted façade. Douglas Gruen, a Culinary Institute of America graduate who’s knocked about starred restaurants in New York City and, more recently, in Santa Cruz, and his wife, pastry chef Nancy Gruen, came to Ithaca in search of a sensible place to raise a family and run a business. Since arriving here, they have kept the local quarry and neon sign makers busy.

The focus of Blue Stone’s dining room, accented by its quirky beaded lighting fixtures, is an impressive looking bluestone-topped bar. Bluestone is the local limestone – called Llenroc. Taking our cue from the bar’s smartly stocked shelves, we started our evening with a pair of topflight cocktails: a surprising Magellan martini, its blue blush a product of an iris infusion, and the freshest, fruitiest, summeriest margarita we’ve sipped in ages.

We blissfully kissed our diets goodbye – at least for an evening. Not that they don’t have an excellent selection of salads, but. . . The Gruens sent out a dazzling and tastebud-boggling parade of appetizers. A warm baby artichoke soufflé with little chunks of pecorino romano took the chill off the evening. Chunky-wonderful black bean crab cakes, served on a whoopee cushion of beans with a cap of chipotle tartar sauce, had a delicate flavor followed by a warm and tingly after-burn – nearly better than sex. Char-grilled strips of chicken breast floated in a Thai-esque peanut sesame sauce with a side of cilantro-laced cucumber and red pepper salad, an adventure in freshness. Bacon-wrapped scallops, tender and sweet, were served up in their shells – well, in somebody’s shells -- laced with a creamy Green Goddess sauce. And as we wondered how we’d ever have room for the entrees, a final affront to our diets arrived: rich puff pastry beggars’ purses stuffed with warm brie, pistachios, and dried cranberries, in a pool of raspberry coulis. Aaaaaaahhhhh! Arghhhh! Onward!

We determined gourmands eschewed the beef entrees – Kentucky Bourbon Black Angus sirloin, and grilled filet of beef – to sample a couple of the menu’s more unusual offerings. Jamaican jerk catfish was cooked perfectly, subtly spiced, served over bright, wilted spinach, its flavors brought to life with a sauce of cilantro and lime, with sides of a heavenly sweet potato and caramelized onion hash and meringue-light fried plantains. Across the table, a grilled eggplant half, stuffed with tomatoes and topped with creamy baked goat cheese, had the look of an oversized lobster tail, and a delicious flavor and tenderness. Its side was a homey conglomerate of couscous, lentils, and roasted red peppers. At some future date we look forward to sampling the roasted wasabi salmon with hoisin sriracha chili sauce, and the garlic chicken with a sherry-lemon pan drippings reduction. Bluestone’s chef has a great gift for combining unusual flavors. We were happy to find all presentations blessedly horizontal. The challenge is not in deconstruction, but in cessation.

Though we could barely open our mouths to it, we dutifully report that the carrot cake is moist and satisfying, and the flourless chocolate torte is everything one should be. Either would be delightful with an after-theater nightcap, say a warming brandy, or one of those goofy chocolate things that calls itself a martini.

Next morning we shunned the tyrannical bathroom scale. The day after, we were missing two pounds. We’ll never understand how that happened, but we’d love to fantasize that the Blue Stone diet is the wave of the future. Prices are reasonable. We were lured into writing this review by reports of great hamburgers at lunch. We’ll be back to sample those – and the salads. The place is cozy enough for the waitstaff to monitor patrons’ needs, but large enough to permit privacy – if that’s what you seek. Three cheers for Blue Stone’s friendly, attentive service. The wine selection, though reasonably priced, was a little disappointing, with only one Finger Lakes offering, but we were pleased to see a good number of wines offered by the glass. Blue Stone Bar & Grill, 110 North Aurora Street, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. For information, reservations, and catering, call 272-2371.