Chef comebacks and ambitious newcomers in Shore dining

The mild May breezes may feel like spring, but dinner prospects are already heating up down the Jersey Shore for what is shaping up to be a potentially tasty summer of chef comebacks and ambitious new projects from familiar names.

No comeback is more intriguing than the reemergence of Tony Clark, one of the biggest stars of the '90s. (Remember Tony Clark's on what was then known as just "Broad Street"?) He recently debuted the Old Grange by Tony Clark in a building attached to the 1850s-themed Cold Spring Village in Cape May. It has been more than a decade since the former Four Seasons vet suddenly blipped off the public radar to work as a private chef for Radnor's soiree-throwing gourmand Norman Cohn. Clark is also inheriting a historic white-clapboard property that had racked up a notoriously bad reputation under previous operators.

But with his kids now mostly grown and a recent divorce behind him, Clark has thrown himself into rebuilding his restaurant life with extra bounce-back motivation, refurbishing the 80-seat dining room on a modest budget, but serving up the kind of sophisticated contemporary American fare that he has long been known for. Dishes like "shrimp pillow ravioli" with lemongrass tomato water, rack of pork with rutabaga mash, and his signature Cape May seafood pot pie crowned with puff pastry are some highlights from the early menu, with entrées expected to hover in the mid-$20s once the season hits.

"This is where I want to be," said Clark, 49, who got his start in 1974 at Layers Dutch Kitchen just outside Cape May. "I'm doing what I know how to do best."

Clark is hardly the only big Philly name who hopes to make a splash at the beach this year. Georges Perrier's partner, Chris Scarduzio, who already operates Mia at Caesars, has plans to bring a high-end steak house (creatively named Scarduzio's) to the Showboat Casino by mid-July. He'll be reprising the steak-centric theme that marked the first incarnation of Table 31, with huge cuts of broiled prime meats and his trademark Italian twist, with fresh pastas, a pizza oven, and - sushi? ("Hey, we have a big Asian clientele, too!" says Scarduzio.)