The River Rises
By B.A. Nilsson

The Water’s Edge Lighthouse

2 Freeman’s Bridge Road, Scotia, 370-5300. Serving light fare daily 11 AM-midnight, dinner daily 5-10. AE, MC, V.

Cuisine: continental with red sauce

Entrée price range: $14 (pasta alla Lighthouse) to $23 (filet mignon cipolla fritto)

Ambiance: expansive

It was a soft opening, but if you crossed the river over Freeman’s Bridge Road during the past eighteen months, it was obvious that something was going to happen here.

The Water’s Edge Lighthouse took shape on the site of the former River House, but where was once a loud bar with burgers is now a much more refined (but still fun) place to dine.

Being at the water’s edge means you want to take advantage of the view over the water, and the handsome terrace does just that, offering a pleasant al fresco dining spot. “My wife and I were in Italy last year,” says owner Pat Popolizio, “and that’s where we got the idea for the look of our patio.”

I mention this to tantalize you, I’m afraid, because outdoor service is drawing to a close for the season. The patio harmonizes nicely with the interior design, which features very high ceilings for an airy ambiance, and a use of colors like deep reds to maintain an earthy look.

The property began as an 18th-century farm, and it was once owned by the same Volney Freeman who put up the bridge on the site that bears his name. A 19th-century Greek revival farmhouse was the basis of the building, flourishing during the broom- making era of this part of the Mohawk Valley. The building opened as a tavern in the late 1950s; the Popolizios bought it last year.

The floor staff is well organized and very attentive, with service manager Diane Marsh, a longtime veteran of area dining, to thank. Once you’re seated and nibbling some bread, you’ll study a menu that’s well-tuned to the area.

Start with a cup of minestra ($4, $5 if you want a bowl). This is reliable ground, a nostrum that includes the best of garlic, stock, beans and a selection of greens, including escarole and cabbage. It’s a delicious appetizer, and Popolizio insists that he consumes a bowl of it every day. I can taste why.

The greens were cleverly repackaged as an accompaniment to grilled ahi tuna ($23), a beautiful pair of filets on a plate decorated with parsley and wasabi, with a mound of risotto-like jasmine rice as the foundation of the dish.

I was torn, I told the server, between that special and the crumb-coated Mediterranean Sea bass that’s a regular menu item ($19). “Get the tuna,” she advised. “It’s very fresh. Then come back and get the sea bass.” Fair enough. And she was right. The contrast between the rich, pink meat and the creamy rice was transitioned by the sautéed greens, a skillful touch.

But there’s a solid core of red-sauce dishes at the heart of this menu, a menu concocted by Popolizio and his three chefs, local talent wooed from other restaurants. Chicken cacciatore ($16), for instance, is a classic dish nicely done, with chunky breast segments tossed with onions and peppers and served over linguine with a chewy marinara.

Eggplant roulade ($17), a worthy signature dish for the restaurant, presents thin eggplant slices that have been breaded, sautéed and then rolled around prosciutto and a three-cheese combo. But it hardly stops there. The rolls are laid over artichoke hearts, peppers and mushrooms, and then all of that goes on top of a huge dish of pasta, with the marinara set off this time by pesto.

The seafood roster includes preparations of salmon, shrimp, clams, lobster and scallops. There’s also a best-of assortment, the frutti di mare alla Fra Diavolicchio ($22), that combines clams, scallops, shrimp and calamari in a spicy broth, with—you guessed it—a pile of angel-hair pasta and marinara sauce underneath.

We had all those red sauce dishes during one visit; the next day, as we microwaved the prodigious amount of leftovers, bits of tomato exploded within the oven, leaving it looking like a crime scene.

During a subsequent visit, we put together a completely different dinner array that also included a taste of chicken Francaise ($16), this time presenting tender boneless breast cutlets that have been egg-battered and sautéed, then finished in a lemony, garlicky white wine sauce.

A side dish of potatoes and vegetables gave a pasta respite.

There’s a light menu, served outdoors and at the large bar area, that includes salads and wraps and burgers and wings and a selection of deli sandwiches, priced in the $7 to $8 range. As the weather chills, this menu will be folded into the regular dinner menu, so your options will be plentiful.

Desserts are a fairly conventional assortment of well-chosen items, of which the chocolate-chip canoli is hard to resist. The place is busy, especially on weekends, so you should make a point of calling ahead. We’re kicking ourselves for discovering the outdoor dining option this late in the season, but you can bet we’ll be there next spring.

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