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FeedSecond Coming
Alison Barshak shines with another namesake eatery.
Photos by Steve Legato Published January 15, 2009 at 02:06 AM
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Chances are, if you’re into food and you’ve been in the area awhile, you’re familiar with redheaded culinary temptress Alison Barshak. Her rise to fame began when Neil Stein tapped her for landmark Center City eatery Striped Bass in 1994 after discovering her at Central Bar & Grill in Bryn Mawr. She became nationally known when Esquire named Striped Bass Best New Restaurant that same year.
A lot has been written about Barshak since then, including some stretched truths when she first ventured out on her own. The negative press surrounded a soured relationship with an ex-beau and a deal gone south that resulted in an ugly lawsuit. “I’m very direct and intense, and that scares people,” she told City Paper in 1998, a couple of months after news of the legal action broke. “I think whenever people suspect that a woman is becoming important in any biz, it’s because of her sexuality or because she’s a b---h.”
Barshak isn’t the only woman to face such scrutiny, but she remains a minority in her field. A decade later, there’s still only a smattering of female-run kitchens around Philadelphia. You don’t have to be an industry insider to realize that her success was earned with equal parts talent, passion, perseverance and grit. Most people don’t know that—other than a three-day seafood purchasing, storing and prepping course at the Culinary Institute of America—Barshak has had zero professional training. Yet she’s an amazing chef capable of transforming the most humble of ingredients into a meal fit for royalty.
These days, Barshak is riding a renewed wave of praise for Alison two, a bigger, bolder version of her original Alison at Blue Bell just minutes up the road in Fort Washington. Though notably flashier, with trendy décor and a hip bar loaded with equally hip spirits, Alison two retains the organic energy of its older sibling, a BYO that opened in 2003.
For those who’ve never met Barshak, what you see is what you get. She’s wholly herself, which means you always know where you stand. Her food may be tangled up in layers and innuendo, but Barshak is as straightforward and focused as a stiff cup of espresso. Although she readily alludes to Alison (the restaurant and the person) as a “journey,” she’s not following life—it’s following her. 
“I love food, but I’d have no control over my destiny if I didn’t have control over the business end,” she says. “If you can control the financial [part], you have the freedom to do anything.”
Barshak took quite a risk leaving Striped Bass’ five-star fold in 1996, but history has proven that decision to be the perfect move. Where most people seek fame and fortune, Barshak’s drive was—and still is—about finding freedom.
When Alison two opened last Octo-ber, some male customers saw it as a woman’s restaurant— surprising when you consider that the new space is darker, with wine lockers, spacious banquettes, and plenty of wood and wrought iron. There’s also a cozy-swank living room with a fireplace, leather sofas and a large flat-screen television. Maybe it’s the vibrant palette of yellow, periwinkle and purplish cobalt that throws the guys off. Or the sunny, narrow glassed-in vestibule and rich velvet draping that hangs throughout. Even so, there’s a far edgier feel here than in Alison at Blue Bell—kind of the difference between a garden party and cigar night.
