An Old City BYOB, a new kind of contemporary

Maybe it's the lucky number.

Or maybe it's the all-natural ingredients. Maybe it's the skill of chef/owner Michael O'Halloran. Maybe it's the austere decor.

But whatever it is, it works.

Bistro 7, a tiny restaurant in the heart of Old City, is a relatively new addition to the Philadelphia BYOB scene, but it's a strong one - the mix of wholesome contemporary cuisine and a sparse atmosphere makes for a unique dining experience that sets bars high and satisfies.

Take the smoked rabbit appetizer ($14). The rabbit - tender and un-gamey - sits unobtrusively among mushrooms and Pappardelle noodles, an almost-Italian combination that's rare in American cuisine but domestic-tasting nonetheless.

That's the sort of plate that defines Bistro 7: Understated, but wholly original.

Kind of like the decor - solid green paint covers the dining room, broken up by candles and-mirrors that provide coziness amid the Zen-like setting.

It's a different set-up from White Dog Cafe, O'Halloran's old haunt. While that restaurant seems frenetic in its conjured dining-room hominess, Bistro 7 takes a different tack; a spare atmosphere shifts emotions of contentment away from the decor and to the cuisine.

"It really allows you to focus on the food," my date suggested.

And that's not a bad thing to focus on.

The Moroccan tagine of lamb ($24), for instance, arrives like a casserole in a red clay dish. Dressed-up comfort food, it feels like shepherd's pie, but with goat-cheese gnocchi instead of mashed potatoes and braised lamb shreds instead of ground beef. Familiar but foreign, it's the essence of the restaurant's aesthetic.

So, with flair added to each otherwise customary dish, Bistro 7 creates a new kind of contemporary that surprises and soothes.

Maybe it's not just the lucky number after all.

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