Berwyn's new go-to BYOB

The exposed brick, the industrial pipes snaking along the ceiling, the windows looking out onto the street, the almost painfully hip music floating from the speakers: If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn I was an extra on the set of “Friends” and not in a new American restaurant attached to a beloved Jewish deli in the heart of Berwyn.

But that, of course, is the nature of much modern dining in the Philadelphia area these days, and in that regard, Bistro M reminded me of certain Center City BYOBs: quietly sophisticated and unarguably cool.

Bistro M has, ever since new chef Joseph Dougherty began cooking from his own menu back in January, taken drastic leaps forward in terms of creativity of conception and sensibility of execution. As he continues to grow into the space, and as he becomes even more confident with his own ideas, Bistro M should become a real suburban destination.

Like you’d expect of any restaurant associated with a Jewish deli, the portions were, in general, more than generous. (I could actually hear my mother in the back of my mind praising me for finishing such well-loaded plates.) And when they weren’t, the food itself was rich and hearty enough to fill you up regardless of how much you actually consumed.

Local corn and chanterelle chowder ($8), for example, was as hearty as its name implied, which, oddly enough, is not always the case. This one, with its marjoram cream (which has since been 86ed) and heirloom potatoes, possessed enough of a backbone to warm even the chilliest wintertime bones. The only problem was the overuse of those mushrooms; their earthiness was a little heavy, and rather than setting off the sweetness of the corn, the flavor bordered on overwhelming.

A special goat-cheese cake with a toasted pine-nut crust, accompanied by a little pyramid of dressed mixed greens ($10), possessed enough lactic tang to balance out the sweet Port-rehydrated cranberries crowning it. What struck me most about that appetizer, in fact, was the way in which it reimagined both the cheesecake dessert as well as the classic salad with goat cheese and dried fruit. And while it may prove to be a bit sweet for some, it was laudable for the gusto with which it was imagined and assembled.

Saffron risotto with pine nuts ($9 for an appetizer portion), one of Chef Dougherty’s daily Arborio specials, was deliriously perfumed and seasoned exquisitely, but would have benefited from a bit more cooking liquid. As it was, the crunch of the pine nuts and the texture of the individual grains of rice, almost basmati-like, were easily confused on the palate.

Tender, silk-soft diver scallops ($13) were gently buttressed by a brushstroke of pureed sweet potatoes painted onto the plate and a potato-chip crunchy slice of prosciutto whose salty, earthy snap made every other component even better than it already was.

Seared ahi ($24), though underseasoned, took on a real sense of excitement when dragged through the tiny puddles of chimichurri dotting the plate. The composition of the accompanying salad was typical of Chef Dougherty’s way with flavor—thoughtful and hitting all the major taste notes it intended. My only wish, aside from a heavier hand with the salt and pepper, would be for the components of that salad to be roughly chopped and incorporated into the whole more completely. This would make it easier to appreciate the flavors of the arugula, green olives and roasted red peppers without having to spend so much time spearing the various components, some of which didn’t seem to want to stay on the fork.

On the new menu, Dougherty’s own sage and lemon organic chicken ($20) is a seriously stepped-up take on the traditional home cooked version always could have been but never quite was. The crispy skin was brightened by just the slightest application of Vidalia onion marmalade off to the side, the deeply caramelized fingerling potatoes and the gentle sage jus. Everything was fully developed in terms of flavor and judiciously balanced.

Pork tenderloin ($24), a big enough portion for two moderately hungry people, was especially notable not just for its apple-sweet barley base, but also for its cooking temperature. It takes real guts and a solid sense of respect for your guests to send out pork cooked just barely medium rare. Most of us have grown accustomed to the more familiar shoe-leather variety of tenderloin; this reminded me of just how much flavor we’ve all been cheated out of for so long.

Desserts, too, were successes. The flourless chocolate cake ($8) was exactly what every brownie should aspire to be. And the apple cake ($8; not baked in-house), a dense, velvet-textured affair with a center of caramelized apples heady with the aroma of cinnamon, was dangerously easy to eat in its entirety.

Bistro M has taken huge strides since Chef Dougherty set up shop in the kitchen, and if the restaurant keeps on improving as it has this past winter, the Main Line will have a new go-to BYOB. Just make sure you arrive with an appetite.