MidAtlantic

The Friday seafood stew, a zippy bowl of crab boil brimming with skate, poached lobster, and littlenecks, was a proper ode to the region's Shore bounty. The fresh burger, meanwhile, makes a convincing case for the delights of both a deep-fried doughnut roll (beignet batter without the sweet) and the savory oomph that a little beef-kidney fat can provide. The shatteringly crisp fried potatoes are among the best morsels to eat here, period.

But perhaps Stern's plate of obligations may simply be too full. I never saw him once in the kitchen during my three visits, and he's obviously also preoccupied with the nearly simultaneous opening a second restaurant, upscale R2L on the 37th floor of Liberty Two. He has a trusted team of Gayle vets running MidAtlantic's kitchen. But they're clearly not tasting enough as they cook.

How else to explain the nearly inedible "pig wings," tender nuggets of crisply fried pork tossed in an otherwise intriguing molasses glaze, that exploded like tiny sodium brine bombs? The oysters on the half-shell weren't chilled enough, and were filled with errant shell. I loved the creamy wedge of lima bean polenta one night. But a retry brought a bean-and-corn pudding so amazingly oversalted, it should never have left the kitchen. Likewise, I appreciate the effort to concoct the tray of unusual mustards and antique ketchups, including favorites like the celery root puree and barley mustard. But the rendition of mushroom ketchup, a fermented fungi brew drawn from Mary Randolph's Colonial-era tome The Virginia Housewife, was like swallowing undiluted Worcestershire sauce - an intense flavor enhancer, but not a palatable table condiment.

Which signals the nut of MidAtlantic's challenge: capturing the essence of rustic regional food is not simply an intellectual exercise, but an emotional one. And I'm rarely convinced the kitchen feels it quite yet.

Even the repertoire of nouveau scrapples - with crab or venison or fermented veggies blended into an oaty mush of kasha and buckwheat - has yet to nail the right textures and vivid flavors to go beyond "that's interesting" to something I'd crave to eat.

The desserts, on the other hand, are another story. I devoured that creamily deconstructed butterscotch krimpet bread pudding. The root beer sticky buns were fantastic. And the deep-fried apple long johns? These long-legged fritter braids, stuffed with sweet apple shreds and shined with apple glaze, have just the taste I'm looking for - an elusive bite of the country served up on a city pedestal.

With a little more focus in the kitchen, that shouldn't be so tricky for the rest of MidAtlantic's fascinating - and important - menu to achieve.

Next Sunday, restaurant critic Craig LaBan reviews Gemelli in Narberth. Contact him at 215-854-2682 or claban@phillynews.com.