Fresca

When I reviewed The Cafe in July, I wrote the 2000 block of Walnut Street has become an area for moderately priced restaurants. The Bards, the Irish Pub and the delightful Monkey Bar offer drinks and dishes that won’t burn a deep hole in one’s pocket. The added bonus is they are open for late-night noshing.

Fresca is the newest member of this ever-growing list. The chef-owner is Scott McLeod, who has worked at numerous restaurants throughout the country and ended up on opening night at Denim Lounge more than two years ago. At Denim, a restaurant/nightclub, he received high marks for his intricate and tasty dishes.

McLeod has gone a full 360. Fresca, which reminds me of any number of cozy New York East Side casual spots, serves chopped salads, pizzas, beer, wine and dessert. That’s it. But a limited menu does not mean you won’t enjoy the meal. We surely did.

Fresca is housed in a former restaurant. The place is long and narrow with an exposed brick wall, lots of shiny chrome accents, appropriate lighting, good acoustics and comfortable black leather booths.

Chopped salads have become very popular here. Many have roots in the Middle East, particularly Israel with some of the finest I’ve ever eaten in Tel Aviv. McLeod produces some fine versions of this dish. Each is priced at $7. If you want to create your own "chop," the cost is $6 with each additional "chopping" 50 cents.

He has named his "chops" after specific cities. Greek salads are all over thanks to the numerous pizza shops that can neither make a decent pizza nor prepare a real Greek salad. Fresca’s Athens chopped salad is made with red onions, imported black olives, sweet cucumbers, red peppers, ripe tomatoes and imported feta topped with a light dressing of olive oil, oregano and fresh lemon juice. I particularly liked the freshness of the ingredients and the strong nod to the Greek islands with the use of lemon juice and oregano.

From Athens we traveled to Santa Fe for a taste of the American Southwest. This chop was prepared with black beans, shredded cheddar, fresh sweet corn, red onions and cilantro topped with a chipotle/lime dressing. Here is New Mexico on a plate. Each ingredient had a reason to be there, from the beans and corn to the coriander, the herb of choice in Mexican and Southwestern cooking. Smooth, sometimes smoky, chipotle peppers gave the salad a bit of pep.

The Philly chop is fresh and simple and has nothing to do with cheesesteaks or soft pretzels. It was comprised of shredded cheddar, fresh Jersey tomatoes, chopped hard-boiled eggs and crisp bacon bits all topped with a homemade creamy ranch dressing.

I prefer simple pizzas like tomato and cheese or white with spinach and roasted garlic, but I am always game to try something new like McLeod’s duck confit pie ($18). He mixed bits of boneless duck with oven-roasted tomatoes, chopped red onion and Fontina cheese before topping it off with a touch of truffle essence. The combination was nice, but I think it would have been better without the cheese. The Fresca pizza ($15) was prepared with fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, slices of ripe cherry tomatoes and fragrant basil. I particularly liked this one because of its simplicity. The only pie I did not care for was the Mexican ($17). There were too many ingredients that just did not make it. McLeod used chicken spiced up a bit with chipotle peppers, salsa, corn, green chilies and topped with chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice.

The pies, by the way, are square and the ingredients were immaculately fresh. Although the crust was not as crisp and thin as I prefer, it was much better than the run-of-the-mill pies served up in ordinary shops.

You don’t have to order a whole pie, though. A slice of Fresca is $4 with a piece of a specialty pie costing $5.

There are two desserts ($5) and both were winners. Churros are fried pastries made with caramelized sugar and served with a rich chocolate dipping sauce. In a way, they reminded me of beignets, the marvelous fried pastries native to my beloved New Orleans. The brownies were good, as well – nice and rich and loaded with chocolate.

Wines are moderately priced, going for $6 and $7 a glass and $23 to $28 for a bottle. Bottled beers are $3.50 and $4.25.

Two tips of the toque to Fresca.

Fresca
2005 Walnut St.
215-557-0222
Credit cards accepted
Wheelchair-accessible
Open seven days