July 29, 2001|By Elizabeth Large | Elizabeth Large,Sun Restaurant Critic
Every once in a while, a restaurant comes along that's so quirky it's hard to make critical judgments about it. Either you like it and accept it for what it is, or you don't. Either you love the unusual combinations and exotic ingredients or you hate them. Either the cutting-edge design turns you on or it leaves you cold.
When it first opened, the Joy America Cafe in the American Visionary Art Museum was one of those restaurants. Ixia is another. It's the new restaurant in the spot where Louie's the Bookstore Cafe -- and then for a short time Scotto's -- used to be.
The transformation of the space is startling, given that it's mostly cosmetic. Louie's mezzanine, long bar and original architectural details are still in place. But the interior has been painted an intense blue accented with gold. The room has the look of a stage set, with gauzy curtains hanging from the ceiling, a waterfall behind the bar, chandeliers dripping beads and lush lavender roses on the tables. Bold contemporary paintings add pop to the decor -- a large, bright heart and a Jackie Onassis portrait in off-beat colors.
The owner has been quoted as saying she wanted to open a 1940s-style supper club, and the furniture does have a retro feel. But the '40s never saw anything that looked like this.
The owner is Un Kim, who also owns the Papermoon Diner on 29th street. The name, Ixia, has nothing much to do with anything except that it's interesting and strange -- a graceful flower native to South Africa.
But come to think of it, Ixia's food and decor are also interesting and strange. Each dish contains at least one ingredient most Baltimoreans have never heard of. Take something as simple as the house salad, basically greens and spiced pecans dressed with vinaigrette. But the lettuce includes the leafy green tatsoi, and the vinaigrette is a creamy yuzu dressing. (Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit).
The menu, printed on vellum, rarely lists an ingredient without adding both its pedigree and an adjective or two. Or three. A dish as simple as crab cakes becomes "Sauteed Crispy Crabcake Towers: crunchy seafood croquettes, crispy julienned sweet potatoes, citrus-mustard butter sauce." But if you can get past the language, you'll find the food itself is often delectable and elegantly presented with a Japanese sensibility.
There were a few duds, like a curried duck and lemon grass soup that was too greasy to eat. But then there was the grilled baby octopus, arranged with matchsticks of vegetables, capers and vinaigrette. The flavors were complex, and the plate was a study in fine design.
The delicate sweetness of ravioli stuffed with sweet potato and ricotta was beautifully set off by its sage and brown butter sauce. And although the seafood spring rolls didn't have the visual impact of the ravioli, we loved the concept of wrapping them in romaine lettuce leaves. The almost bitter tamarind-ginger dipping sauce, though, did nothing for them.
You will be happiest at Ixia if you like highly spiced foods and sharp contrasts of flavors. The superb "Crispy Fillet of Red Snapper With Sirachi Chili Bouillabaisse" married fresh, delicate and perfectly cooked fish, scallops, crab meat and mussels with an explosion of heat, a fragrant broth and crisp, not "crispy," croutons.
Flaky white fillet of sea bass stir-fried with glass noodles, sang with chili and ginger and a fiery ratatouille made with Chinese eggplant.
There are more sedate dishes, like a fat, butter-tender tenderloin cooked as ordered, with a classic peppercorn sauce, exotic mushrooms, mashed potatoes with a truffle accent and -- regrettably -- a stack of fried onion rings. I say regrettably only because the kitchen is capable of much more intriguing accompaniments, and this steak deserved them.
The same could be said of the juicy slices of roast pork loin, subtly flavored with Asian five-spice powder, which for some reason came with French fries as well as gingered sweet potatoes and sauteed apple slices.
Ixia's desserts were as full of surprises as the rest of our meal. The densely delicious chocolate macadamia nut torte came with a sweet wasabi cream. (Yes, it was flavored with the Japanese equivalent of horseradish.) Asian pear fried wontons sounded heavy, but ended up being four crisp bites filled with pear puree and gently bathed with creme anglaise. A napoleon made of macaroons and coconut ice cream with a mango coulis was nothing short of terrific, while a passion fruit tart with blackberry coulis was as refreshing as it was visually stunning.
In spite of a few glitches, this is fine food. If I had to change anything, I would add more vegetables to the mix. It seems odd in a restaurant so influenced by Asian cuisines that the kitchen doesn't use them more.
As long as I was making changes, I would let people make reservations for 7 p.m. (We were told there were seatings only on the half hour.) And I would tell our waitress, who was in every other way excellent, not to put on perfume until her shift was over. Our food began to taste of it.
IXIA
Food: ***
Service:***
Atmosphere: ***
Where: 518 N. Charles St.
Hours: Open daily from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Prices: Appetizers, $5-$12; main courses, $16-$20
Call: 410-727-1800
Rating system: Outstanding: ****; Good: ***; Fair or uneven: **; Poor: *
