Maia

[David McDuff]

Set in a rather antiseptically upscale strip mall and corporate office complex, Maia, the dining and food court megaplex that opened just three weeks ago in the center of Villanova, isn’t much to look at from the outside. Inside, though, there’s something for just about everyone. At least that seems to be the idea as conceived by chefs/owners/brothers Patrick and Terence Feury, along with their partners and investors in a bevy of pan-culinary suburban Philadelphia outposts that, in addition to Feury outpost Nectar, includes Basil, Cin Cin, Tango and Yangming.

The sheer scale at Maia is daunting. 22,000 square feet of showroom floor – the space was previously a briefly lived Fresh Grocer supermarket – allow for numerous subdivisions. Front and left, there’s a white tiled coffee, pastry and juice bar, seemingly tailored to the suburban mom on the move. Behind that is the large bar and lounge area – all brick and dark, right down to the parquet flooring – the site of both an apparently bustling weekend bar scene and of Maia’s full service but casual dining area. Beyond that yet, at rear and center, is an open kitchen clad in polished stainless steel. According to our server, it’s just a fraction of Maia’s absolutely cavernous, luxe kitchen space.

Once past the gauntlet of hostesses in the entrance foyer, the right side of Maia’s ground floor is site to the market portion of the business as well as to its most casual dining space, more cafeteria than café. One entire wall is lined with refrigerated beverage cases, displaying an extremely deep selection of bottled beers. Following along the walls, from right to left, front to rear, there’s another coffee bar, more pastry, a charcuterie counter and, finally, the market’s prepared food selections, displayed in glass cases which run the length of the back wall, eventually converging with the open kitchen area.

And that’s just the ground floor. There’s a full second floor as well, home to Maia’s more formal, fine dining room.

The upside to all that space is the obvious opportunity it provides for diversity, even if it carries with it a certain lack of focus. The downside is an economy of scale in which the scale may just prove too large for the possibility of economic success. Time will tell, I suppose.

In the Feury brothers’ own words, their menu draws on "the rich culinary traditions of Scandinavia, Alsace and the abundance of natural resources afforded by the East Coast's fertile soils." Their “bistro brunch” menu is peppered with Alsatian classics like choucroute, tarte flambé and a charcuterie platter. They take their place alongside a cured fish smörgåsbord and grilled Norwegian salmon, anchored by a balance of dishes that draw equally from French bistro and American café standards.

In addition to the aforementioned tremendous selection of beers in bottle, Maia also pours a solid lineup on draft. Choices are listed by style followed by brewery, name, location and alcohol information. Standouts on the current list include locals like Troegs Pale Ale and Sly Fox Pikeland Pils, and Belgians such as Grimbergen Dubbel and Géants “Goliath.” I whet my whistle with a crisp, refreshing Kölsch from Gaffel, a brewery in Köln, Germany, and then settled into a pint of Founders’ “Centennial” American IPA to accompany my burger. The list of wines available by the glass is a touch less exciting but does include a few reliable choices such as Weingut Huber’s Grüner Veltliner “Hugo” and the Crémant d’Alsace Rosé of Lucien Albrecht. Prices, running anywhere between 2x to 3x markups, are moderate relative to the oft outrageous PA scale.

It will take at least another half-dozen trips to Maia to really come to grips with all it has to offer. The temptation level is certainly there. Heck, even the ham and Gruyere sandwich in their to-go case looked damn good.

Maia Restaurant and Market

789 East Lancaster Avenue

Suite 150

Villanova, PA 19085

610-527-4888

Photos and food details can be found at: Much More Than a Burger and a Beer at Maia.

[Vadouvan]

So it's basically a grocery store that sells food like Wegmans or am I confused that it was a restaurant ?

[David McDuff]

So it's basically a grocery store that sells food like Wegmans or am I confused that it was a restaurant  ?

←

Ah, always the flatterer, V. There certainly is a prepared food supermarket aspect to it, along the lines of Food Source perhaps. But there are also at least two if not three distinct restaurant entities -- the bar/bistro, cafeteria and upstairs fine dining room -- encompassed in the whole.

[Vadouvan]

No offense intended, jusr curious thought it seems like a lot of entities, how is the food in the bistro and fancy parts ?

[David McDuff]

No offense intended, just curious thought it seems like a lot of entities, how is the food in the bistro and fancy parts ?

←

No offense taken. I was thinking more along the lines of the associations people would form, i.e., Maia -- sounds like Wawa.

Based on my brunch in the bistro, some of which was excellent, some of which has room for improvement, there's definitely potential. Food obviously can't be judged by appearances alone, but the goods available in the market side of the business looked promising. I didn't even make it upstairs to see the posh branch of the business.

As to the multiple entities, you're right. Maia's huge scope carries with it a certain lack of focus.

Here are my blog comments on brunch, which I left out of my original eG post for the sake of brevity:

I started with something that showcases the restaurant’s attachment to the buy local phenomenon. Their “Bistro Salad” is an undeniably fresh assortment of arugula, radiccihio and red mustard greens, topped with a few candied walnuts and crumbled goat cheese from local Shellbark Hollow Farm. This may sound ridiculous but it was the best salad I’ve had in ages. Quality ingredients helped it along but what made it for me was the perfectly balanced, deeply flavorful citrus shallot vinaigrette.

The Maia Burger fell a little short of the standard-setting salad. The house ground, dry aged sirloin was intensely beefy. But somewhere between our order and the kitchen, the medium-rare test was failed. I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt on this occasion, as I think the mistake may have been in communication rather than entirely in the cook’s hands. Nonetheless, what arrived was a perfectly shaped (almost too much so) patty that had been cooked into completely gray submission. Choosing such a lean cut for a burger may make that a hard error to avoid. Luckily, the burger, like the salad, was clearly made from prime raw materials. Along with a generous topping of melted Pennsylvania Noble Cheddar, the quality of beef helped keep the burger flavorful in spite of its overcooked state. A welcome spark of heat was delivered from an unexpected quarter – the firm, black pepper potato roll on which the Maia Burger is served.

[edited for spelling/grammar correction]

Edited June 7, 2008 by David McDuff (log)

[David McDuff]

Headed back to Maia recently for a second look at the bistro menu. This time it was for dinner rather than brunch, with a focus on the Alsace-influenced aspects of the menu. Results were mixed again, which may just be an inevitable side-effect of the sheer scale of the place. Photos and details are available at: Maia Revisited.

[percyn]

Earlier this month I attended a dinner at the Maia restaurant (upstairs). Since then I have been back a few more times for lunch and some goodies from the cafe and will post about those visits later.

Restaurant Bar Area

Table setup

Mezzanine level between restaurant and bistro

Bistro

Upon being seated for dinner we were presented with an eye pleasing mosaic of yellowtail tuna and salmon with yuzu gelée and pink peppercorns, which was paired with Burgans Albarino 2007, which lent hints of grapefruit, peach and mandarin. This wonderful pairing heightened the citrus flavors while overcoming the challenge of a potential clash with the pink peppercorns,

The next course paid homage to the local farmer by featuring local vegetable tortellini, warm lemon verbena and sun gold tomato nage. The tortellini melted in your mouth while the vegetable and verbena broth along with the not too acidic tomatoes conveyed the umami of this dish. An Errazuriz Sauvignon Blanc Estate 2007 complimented this dish with notes of apple, pineapple and fresh cut grass.

Our delightful feast continued with an offering of Viking Village scallops served with a timbale of summer vegetables and peeky toe crabmeat. The long, oaky and citrus laced finish from a Pine Ridge Epitome 2005 accentuated the natural sweetness of the scallops and crab while highlighting the citrus sauce on the crab.

As a means to highlight the Maia Bistro menu, we were presented with Copper Ridge farm strip steak with Kobe beef pastrami, served with carrot and hazelnut puree and garnished with roasted pistachios. The thin slices of the Kobe pastrami were sublime and imparted a deep beefy flavor. This dish was a crowd favorite, particularly when paired with the robust and structured Chateau la Dominique St. Emilion Grand Cru 1990 with opulent blackberry, plum, toffee and leather on the nose and licorice on the palate.

The meal concluded with a plate of local cheeses including Hudson Valley sheep’s milk camembert, Penn noble cheddar and Shellbark Hollow farm fresh chevre, which we paired with a BearBoat Chardonnay 2004. Dessert comprised of a chocolate mousse tart topped with rich chocolate ice cream and chocolate covered peanuts, which we paired with Errazuriz Sauvignon Late Harvest 2006.

[Vadouvan]

Good work Percy.

While I don't doubt the flavors since I respect your opinion, I am struck by the fact that the food looks like a high school home economics class as far as presentation goes for such an ambitious operation, seriously that cheese plate is from an episode of what not to wear .......but at the end of the day, taste is everything.

How would you compare the flavors to talularama.

Edited September 24, 2008 by Vadouvan (log)

[Jeff L]

FYI, I got an email from Joe Canal's Lawrenceville the other day:

This Special Evening of Wine and Food With Jonathan Newman Will Be Held At

MAIA RESTAURANT

789 East Lancaster Ave.

Villanova, PA

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Cocktails at 6:30pm / Dinner at 7PM

Cost: $99.00 per person

Limited Seating Available

please call 610.527.4888 to reserve seating

MENU

FIRST COURSE

peeky toe crab salad ~ crispy onion, avocado, grapefruit, shellfish reduction

ferrari carano 2007 fume blanc sonoma county, california

SECOND COURSE

corned duck breast & duck prosciutto ~ warm chanterelle salad

argyle 2006 pinot noir williamette valley, oregon

THIRD COURSE

copper ridge prime strip loin ~ stuffed oxtail, root vegetable gratin, red wine sauce

pine ridge "rutherford" 2005 cabernet sauvignon napa valley, california

DESSERT

chefs dessert tasting

chateau guiraud 2004 sauterne bordeaux, france

[percyn]

Good work Percy.

While I don't doubt the flavors since I respect your opinion, I am struck by the fact that the food looks like a high school home economics class as far as presentation goes for such an ambitious operation, seriously that cheese plate is from an episode of what not to wear .......but at the end of the day, taste is everything.

How would you compare the flavors to talularama.

←

V, while the cheese course was probably the weakest, they cannot compare to the dishes from more intimate dining settings like Talula's table (or the former StudioKitchen), where the chefs can pay a lot more attention to each dish, since it is limited to 10-12 dinners.

This theory also seems to apply if you have the same dish in the restaurant vs the bistro at Maia.

Edited September 25, 2008 by percyn (log)

[johnb102]

It took me the better part of a year to make it to Maia. I had lunch there today, and while the food was good, it is a very strange place. I didn't see the upstairs "fine dining" section because it is currently only open on Friday and Saturday nights.

The original concept was so grand and varied. Now they seem to be trying to figure our something that will work financially. There is still the coffee shop when you enter, and then the bar and cafe areas. The strange part is that when you come to the hostess desk in the dining room, you can ask for a seat at one of the table clothed tables in either the bar or cafe. Instead, we just walked up to the cafe area and placed our order there. The menu is the same, but we were directed to the "communal" tables in the cafe area and not the tables with the tablecloths. Our food was still brought out by a server when it was ready. We had a burger and an omelette, both of which were very good. It just seems weird to have different ways to order the same exact food, and different tables to eat at.

The whole gourmet market section is now empty, except for the international selection of beer and the communal tables.