Hoof + Fin in Philadelphia celebrates flavors of Argentina

Contrary to my early assumptions, the chuckle-inducing name of this new Queen Village bistro - Hoof + Fin - was not the product of an English-as-second-language mistranslation.

Jersey-bred co-owner Deanna Ebner insists that neither of the Argentine men in her orbit - chef and co-owner Carlos Barroz, and her husband, Lucas Manteca - can claim ownership of this too-clever twist on surf-and-turf: "That would be me. . . ."

The visually minded Ebner was simply aiming for a moniker that conveyed the menu's meat-and-seafood focus, but was also campy enough for the stick-figure logo she had in mind for the window and the garage sale's worth of tchotchkes she's used to decorate the little BYOB, where a paint-by-numbers horse picture, bare Edison bulbs, butcher-block tables, and dark, varnished wood wainscoting lend the minimalist space a retro bistro feel. Servers in Hee-Haw plaid shirts and jeans add to the kitschy-casual, down-home look.

As for whether she's heard titters over the name - infectious-disease punch lines, wisecracks about feedlots - Ebner deadpans: "Not to my face, I haven't."

Then again, this charmed but noisy little dining room (formerly Gayle, and Azafran before that) is so deafeningly loud on weekend nights, it's a good bet she wouldn't hear it anyway. But Philly foodies, many of whom first met Ebner on their Shore vacations to Stone Harbor, where she and Manteca once had Sea Salt and still own Quahog's, are likely to cut her some slack in her first Center City venture - especially with a chef as skilled as Barroz paying homage to the rustic flavors of Argentina.

If one thing is true, in a hoofy sense, it's that Argentines are unapologetic about their love of cattle ("Not many vegetarians in my country," concedes Barroz.)

And the 32-year-old veteran of the Manhattan scene (Sushi Samba, Toloache) has upped his game here from the simple seafood-shack cookery at Quahog's to deliver some deft modern renditions of his favorite South American flavors - many of them beef.