Scupper for supper

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Do you like seafood? Ha, ha ‹ see food!

One year ago this week, the Rusty Scupper temporarily closed its doors for extensive renovations. Five months later, the restaurant was back, with a new look and a new emphasis on contemporary gourmet seafood.

At 501 Long Wharf Drive, the Rusty Scupper makes the most of its New Haven Harbor location, with huge windows and a curved dining room. Every table has a view of the harbor, and summer visitors can choose to dine outside on the restaurant's outdoor patio.

The restaurant offers appetizers that pair traditional favorites with flavorful garnishes. Calamari are lightly fried and served with an anchovy-seasoned tomato puttanesca sauce. The crab cake is paired with celery root slaw and chipolte aioli. Although New England clam chowder is a standard on any seafood menu, the soup here is hearty, filled with clams and large chunks of potato.

The portobello mushroom strudel uses a unique combination of leeks, balsamic onions, and garlic. Unfortunately, this puff pastry contains so much goat cheese that the overall effect is too heavy. The large duck and vegetable spring roll is a good starter, especially when eaten with the strong red wine-cooked cabbage. The restaurant offers three standard salads: field greens, arugula, and the traditional Caesar salad.

The Rusty Scupper focuses on entrées that take advantage of its wide seafood selection. The restaurant offers reliable favorites such as king crab legs and whole Maine lobster, yet the overall menu appeals more to the adventurous eater. Relatively mild fish are plated with flavorful sauces and creatively cooked vegetables. The Chinese barbecued salmon is a great example of this principle at work. Tangy barbecue sauce and sesame seeds coat the salmon filet and sufficiently complement the dish's crunchy base of vegetables and rice sticks.

The grouper "Tabac" is another good fish choice, lightly crusted with porcini mushroom and paired with excellent chive mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus. Yet the amount of roasted garlic oil on this plate should be reduced so that it doesn't overwhelm the mild fish. Shrimp tempura with wasabi sauce is one of the restaurant's most popular dishes. Diners can also enjoy five varieties of freshly grilled fish.

In addition to seafood, the restaurant prepares both meat and poultry dishes. Steak lovers will find two sizes of filet mignon, served with a thick wine sauce and potato pancake. For those with large appetites, the Rusty Scupper offers a 14-ounce New York strip steak. Although there are not any vegetarian entrées on the menu, the chef accommodates to the needs of such diners. He recently created an excellent meat-free orechietti pasta with vegetables and a tomato-chard sauce.

As tempting as it is to fill up during the main course, it is important to save room for the decadent desserts. The terrific Toll House is a pie-sized slice of a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie. It's even better when combined with the accompanying vanilla ice cream and
rich hot fudge sauce. The signature Rusty Scupper ice cream pie is perfect for coffee fans. A graham cracker crust is filled with mocha chocolate and fudge ripple ice creams, then drizzled with caramel. The creme brûlée is smooth, with a taste reminiscent of roasted marshmallows. Cheesecake and various ice creams and specialty coffees are available every day.

The Rusty Scupper is open for both lunch and dinner, Monday through Saturday, and for brunch on Sundays. Reservations, however, are recommended. The food at the Rusty Scupper is quite good, but, not surprisingly, it is also expensive. Appetizers may range from $5 to $12, entrées from $17 to $29, and desserts are all approximately $5. With its harbor location and emphasis on fresh fish, the Rusty Scupper is one of the area's best sources for seafood.

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