B"Y"OB is for Ava's -- Errrr, I Mean Novita Bistro

Inevitably, it was going to happen. Restaurants come and go, especially in this economy. When this blog started, the first restaurant on the list -- Azul Cantina -- went bye bye within a month. And now, near the tail end of our journey, we were stymied by Ava's Cafe, whose closing was announced in the Dec. 17 Philadelphia Inquirer. But no worries, loyal reader -- put down your egg nog because this only required a minor audible to visit the runner-up for our latest vote, Novita Bistro.

Novita Bistro reminded me of a Seinfeld episode. It's the episode where Jerry walks into the restaurant across the street from his apartment owned by Pakistani-born Babu. Jerry looks through the menu quizzically, wondering why there are franks and beans, along with other traditional American items, on the menu instead of Pakistani dishes. It just didn't make a lot of sense. While it wasn't quite to that extreme, there were several things about Novita Bistro that make you stop and say, "Babu? Is that you?" For anyone who has been reading along these last few months, this unfortunately is not a unique issue for supposedly "ethnic" Philadelphia restaurants.

On its website, Novita Bistro bills itself as a Lebanese outpost. There are some very good Middle Eastern restaurants that remain true to their roots -- Figs in our neighborhood is an outstanding example -- that have managed to figure out how to tweak traditional dishes to be more palatable to a wider audience while remaining true to their unique roots. But ravioli? Gnocchi? Scallops with mushroom sauce? No. Nein. Nyet. All three of these were options on the menu at Novita Bistro.

Unfortunately for the wife, she had not done her homework and ended up with some of the lesser items on the menu -- the sickly looking scallops and the gnocchi that certainly did not appear to be homemade. I stuck with something that was more along the traditional Lebanese lines -- lamb tagine with cous cous -- and was rewarded with an excellent dish. The lamb was cooked and seasoned perfectly, it was properly presented in a tagine cylinder (I don't know what it's actually called but it is specific to tagine), and the cous cous was decent and plentiful. Unfortunately, that was the lone highlight of the meal.

The ambiance was similarly confusing. Novita Bistro is located in an attractive space and smartly decorated with a open kitchen in the back. But a music mix one part Middle Eastern and the second part Sinatra? Just bizarre. I'll give them a little leeway since we were the only patrons in the restaurant, which as always was a little off putting, but it was still a strange choice.

Novita Bistro has a lot of potential to serve as a neighborhood hotspot (it's near Graduate Hospital) catering to an up-and-coming yuppie crowd. Supposedly, according to a customer who came in to pick up a takeout order, it usually is crowded and is doing well. The weather and the date of our visit (Christmas Eve Eve, a few days after the big snow) probably meant it was a slow night for a lot of restaurants, but I couldn't help wondering if Novita Bistro would be going the way of Ava's unless they get their act together and figure out that people don't go to a Middle Eastern restaurant for Italian food.

On to the full review...

THE FOOD: "All of our desserts are homemade," our waiter told us as he listed the evening's options (tiramisu? creme brulee? Ugh). There was not a single ethnic item on the list -- would a baklava or something similar have killed them? -- so we got the lemon tart. I don't know what "home" it was made in, but there was nothing fresh or particularly interesting about it. Not a good capper to the meal.

THE DRINK: It's a BYOB. Nice wine glasses.

THE STAFF: As much as I hate being the only table in the restaurant, it is nice just to be able to shout out your order. Our waiter, though, wasn't very simpathetic when we expressed our displeasure with the food. More of a, "Sucks for you" attitude.

MAD PROPS FOR: The location of Novita Bistro is great. It's not an area well known for its restaurants, but there is a huge potential clientele. If I were to open a neighborhood-focused restaurant, this would be a prime location.

OVERALL: Another disappointing overall meal, although my entree was quite good. Nothing else, however, from the plain old white bread with olive oil, the wife's dishes, and the desserts, were above average.

THE CHECK: $65, with tip.

At long last, 25 meals later, we have reached the final entry for the year (and just in time too as the calendar reminds me).

Ineligible restaurants for round 26...

• Zahav -- I know that a lot people love this Old City Israeli restaurant (I also know some people who don't). I'm pretty much stuck in the middle.
• Zakes Cafe -- You could do worse for suburban Sunday brunch.
• Zorba's -- I probably should go again since it's so close, but there just is something about Fairmount's Greek restaurant that turns me off.

Candidates for round 26 (a surprisingly robust number of "Z" restaurants to choose from, so we're back to our usual setup):

• Zavino -- Talk about a last-minute option. Set to open Dec. 30, it's going to be a small pizza shop with a few antipasto dishes. http://www.zavino.com/
• Zento -- I'm amazed at the number of small sushi joints there are downtown. Here's another one. http://www.zentocontemporary.com/
• Zinc -- Still looking for our first high-end French choice of the year. http://www.zincbarphilly.com/
• Zocalo -- Authentic upscale Mexican in West Philadelphia. http://www.zocalophilly.com/