Meritage

Her use of house-made salts and oils infused with various spices (fragrant with Szechuan peppercorns, chiles, or five spice) helps layer the exotic seasonings deep into a dish, like the slow-roasted pulled-pork sliders, or the pork tenderloin that gets smoked over tea and jasmine rice for a memorable "duo of pork" alongside a morsel of tender belly braised in palm sugar and Xiao-shing wine. The chile oil adds an earthy but subtle spark to a gorgeous seared cod swathed in the light richness of lemongrass emulsion. A simple bistro dish of chicken with brussels sprouts and mashed parsnips is transformed with a Vietnamese pho-spiced brine, and chewy little bits of Chinese sausage studding the sauteed sprouts.

I'd like to interrupt this lovefest for a moment to say Meritage isn't quite perfect yet. Coll's menu is unwieldily large and harbors a few weak spots. The truffled mushroom risotto was overly rich and uncharacteristically one-dimensional. The salmon with lentils was a bore (a point of agreement, since it's already been replaced). The sesame-crusted crab lollipops were eye-catching, but rubbery. And there was an unfortunate pair of bones in the roasted black cod - the only flaw in an otherwise standout five-course tasting menu that was a relative bargain at $39.

Meritage's lightened look is an overall improvement, with a lively bistro feel that better suits its new mission as a neighborhood hang. If only those four-seat butcher-block tables weren't so knee-knockingly small, and the dim lighting had a slightly brighter, sharper focus.

Those who appreciated the old Meritage's emphasis on fine wine will still find some high-end vintages anchoring the reserve cellar. But DiPietro, who worked with wine at Buddakan, K.C. Prime, and Smith & Wollensky, has focused her efforts on finding some worthy international table wines, with 50 bottles around $50 or less, and glasses at $8. In general, these are food-friendly values, not great bottles, but the best include a well-balanced Spanish monastrell blend (Altos del Cuco) and a CMS blended white from Hedges in Washington that was full of fresh, exotic fruit. (Avoid the Capestrano passerina, which was a bit too funky the night we tried it.)

If the wines have been scaled back for affordability, there seem to be no quality compromises coming from Coll, which is impressive at these prices.

Even the desserts, a frequent cut-corner in local kitchens, had memorable flavors, from the silky five-spice pumpkin creme brulee to an intense chocolate-espresso pot de creme with pistachio biscotti and the irresistibly fudgy dark chocolate torte with house-made mint ice cream (and dried-cherry compote) that was like eating a peppermint patty for grown-ups.

For a restaurant that's finally come of age under its new owners, this sweet finish is only the start.

Contact restaurant critic Craig LaBan at 215-854-2682 or claban@phillynews.com.