Discreet Diner: Blue Eyes

Blue Eyes, the Rat Pack-style supper club in Sewell, Washington Township, has updated its lunch menu and added a patio bar.

Executive chef Ian Palagye, who was trained at the Culinary Institute of America and noted Philadelphia and South Jersey restaurants, felt the four-year-old steak house needed a bit more variety.

About three weeks ago, he added coconut shrimp with pork-fried rice; pan-seared veal diablo; fiesta salad with a made-to-order shell and Cajun dressing, and shrimp salad in a grilled pita. Sandwiches include hand-carved beef, turkey, pork and ham, and Peter's Porta, a vegetarian offering built around the meaty portabello mushroom.

Even still, steak remains the most popular menu item, Palagye said, comprising 50 to 60 percent of dinner orders.

That's why on my first visit, I went with the grilled prime rib sandwich ($13). Black Angus beef was garnished with carmelized onions and mushrooms and served on a crisp baguette. The accompanying fries were sinfully delicious.

The Thanksgiving wrap ($10) enclosed an entire holiday meal in a flour tortilla: roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, asparagus and cranberry sauce. "Everything but the stuffing," my dining companion said. Tasty sweet potato fries come on the side.

On a second visit, I really got a sense of Palagye's creativity. The soup of the day ($4) combined fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes with giant lumps of crab in a memorable bisque. I went on to the fish special ($14): grilled mahi-mahi with a mango salsa, accompanied by saffron rice and sauteed spinach. While the actual piece of fish could have been better, the dish expertly contrasted sweet, bitter and spicy flavors. And the presentation of white, orange, red and green was stunning.

Our server the first time was a bit confused and slow, but on the second visit, the waiter was attentive while unobtrusive.

Owners Lee Zweben, Barry Rosenberg and Jerry Glick opened Blue Eyes in 2004 with the idea of transporting diners back in time to a late 1950s/early 1960s Las Vegas lounge. Indeed, its avocado green, tangerine orange and muted blue color scheme, silver beads between the lounge and dining room, curved sofas in the bar, and most of all, martini etched in the glass door bespeak another era. During our lunches, recordings by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and friends crooned "All of Me," "Love Me Tender," "Luck Be a Lady Tonight," "Jeepers Creepers," and "It's Only a Paper Moon."

Yet despite its relaxed retro mood, Blue Eyes wisely recognizes the need to change over time. The new menu and new space give diners a reason to stop back.

139 Egg Harbor Rd., Sewell.

856-227-5656.

Hours

: Monday-Wednesday 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Thursdays 11:30 a.m.- 11 p.m.; Friday 11:30 a.m.-midnight; Saturday 4 p.m.-1 a.m.; Sunday 3-9 p.m.

Parking lot

: Yes.

Reservations

: Yes.

Cocktails

: Yes.

Handicapped accessible

: Yes.

Children's menu

: No, but the lounge menu offers good options with smaller portions.

On the Web

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» READ MORE: www.blueeyesrestaurant.com

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