Perched in a picturesque second-floor space in an upscale shopping complex in a bucolic section of Villanova, Azie on Main has its look and location together. And its menu of Asian-fusion dishes definitely has the flair and sophistication to match the restaurant’s aesthetic.
The menu does a great job of balancing the familiar with the adventurous and exotic. It’s easy to see why the Azie rock shrimp ($13) is one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes. The shrimp are abundant and flawlessly fried, crisp on the outside and juicy inside. The sauce has just the right amount of spicy and sweet notes to keep more sophisticated palettes interested, without scaring off those with more mainstream tastes. Normally, a bowl of edamame would be in order but for some reason we went with the unorthodox and got the truffle fries ($5), which complemented the shrimp quite nicely.
Azie has a colorful array of sushi rolls on offer. There is also a secret sushi roll of the evening that is not on the menu that more daring diners might want to ask about. We opted not to because we just had to try the New Philly roll ($13). On paper, it really, really, really should not work as a sushi roll: tempura shrimp on the inside with the outside wrapped in Kobe beef and drizzled with cheese and eel sauce. But somehow the unholy convergence of Japan and South Street works, creating a surf-and-turf synergy you have to try to believe. So much so, we’re thinking of asking Ishkabibble’s and Jim’s to start offering eel sauce as a condiment. They’re going to stare at us like we’re crazy, but who cares.
Things really heat up with the Toban Yaki, a sizzling hot plate piled high with an assortment of seafood and/or steak or tofu. The all-seafood ($28) version of the dish was bright and flavorful, with crisp roasted veggies and healthy portions of scallops, shrimp, whitefish and lobster tail. The potatoes, Brussels sprouts and carrots were no slouches either.
Dessert was damn-near magical. The mini banana beignets ($13) may not seem like the most Asian-influenced of desserts, but they belong on the menu all day, every day. They are perfect by themselves, with a satisfying crunch on the exterior and hot banana nirvana on the inside. The dipping sauces of raspberry, fudge and nougat were nice and upped the decadence factor, but the beignets needed no assistance.
With its excellent mix of classic Asian fare and modern, outside-the-box influences, Azie on Main has no shortage of ways to keep things exciting.