Before actually moving to West Conshohocken, we noticed that
the local papers started a lot of buzz regarding the growing food scene in this
northern reach of the Main Line. Stella Blu always seems to come up.
Located at the corner of Ford St. and Conshohocken State Road it is also a
convenient 800 feet from our front door. We actually use this spot as a
landmark when describing where we live. “Oh we’re up the street from Stella
Blu.” Some get it, some don’t but the point is made.
It only took up 5 months of living 2 blocks from Stella for
us to finally stop by see what the fuss is about. The dining area
integrates the bar with an open “casually elegant” motif. It does not
have many seats but it is definitely not cramped. The wait staff is
polite, attentive but lacks a vast knowledge and pizzazz for their menu items.
The wine list is small but unique enough and surprisingly
good as well as reasonably priced. The cocktail list, on the other hand is
adequate sized but lacks any of the above mentioned pizzazz. The cocktail that
I got certainly had much more potential, being gin based with club soda,
pomegranate, and lime. And when I told the server I was between this and
another cocktail, the best advice he could give me was, “Pomegranate sounds
good.” Not very promising. And it didn’t live up to much. And I have a feeling
none of the others would have either. I should have went with win.
We started out our meal with one of their small plates of
roasted figs with gorgonzola and prosciutto. “Small” is definitely an
understatement and the plate had all the accoutrements of sliced grapes,
apples, kiwi and a balsamic glaze. It was different than expected but in
a good way. The dish was chilled, the primary flavors of the cheese, fig
and prosciutto blended well for sweet/salty/savory flavors. The fruits
make this a tremendous summer dish for sure. But mid January with the threat of
snow (which came an hour later), not exactly what one would call “seasonal.”
Roasted
Figs with accompaniments
For a main course I (Rob) selected their signature homemade
meatballs with spaghetti. The two very large meatballs were plump and
tasty of the blend of beef, pork and veal. The homemade marinara was standard.
The portion was very generous, definitely a bit too much for one sitting. I
(Cassie) got the sweet potato gnocchi with short ribs, arugula, and a lovely
gorgonzola cream sauce. Also a large portion, it was filling, not too heavy,
and satisfying without being quite amazing. The sauce was certainly something I
could easily see myself craving, but the short ribs could have been done
better.
Homemade
meatballs with marinara sauce
Sweet
Potato gnocchi with short ribs
Stella Blu is labeled as a “fine Italian dining” by its link
in Google Search. Well, they got the “Italian” portion correct.
Fraschetta in Bryn Mawr has Italian that is vastly superior.
Unfortunately Stella Blu is a restaurant that falls into the stereotypical Main
Line dining experience; average food that is grossly overpriced. Don’t
let this review completely deter you. The atmosphere was very comfortable and
the food was certainly enjoyable, but we have had better and at a lesser price.
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