Mirror photo by Cherie Hicks / The Bison Burger at the American Ale House and Grill

STATE COLLEGE — The American Ale House & Grill has been tucked in the wooded Toftrees neighborhood for 25 years. But if you haven’t been lately, it’s time to check out the recently renovated restaurant that continues to focus on freshness and attention to detail.

“A lot of detail, a lot of thinking goes into our dishes,” said general manager Emily Bates.

Most of that is done by Chef Gus Aranguiz, who has been here since 2001 and carefully considers the sources of food.

“We have access to the best purveyors…,” said Aranguiz, a Queens native who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., in 1996, and worked in New York and abroad before finding State College.

For the Black Garlic Crusted Salmon, the source is the Faroe Islands between Iceland and Norway, where sustainable farming takes place in the middle of the North Atlantic and where the fish is rich in healthy Omega 3 fatty acids, Aranguiz said.

The Certified Angus Beef is from a South Carolina farm that also serves some of the best restaurants in New York and Philadelphia, he added. The Amish Chicken comes from a Lancaster farm where the fowl is raised organically, antibiotic free and in a free-range environment. And the bison is from a select farm out West.

Crispy Octopus was added to the menu shortly after Aranguiz was traveling in Spain in 2008 and heard about a distributor based at the Northwest Coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It’s gently blackened and cooked just right so it doesn’t have a rubbery texture; it is served with chorizo (a sausage), pineapple, jicama (a Mexican turnip), scallions, almonds, poblano peppers and a sweet-and-sour sauce. The generous-sized appetizer is $14.

Another appetizer is the Roasted Bone Marrow; it is the bone of beef or veal that is split and the marrow roasted off, prepared with pickled mushroom, lemon peel and a chimichurri sauce. Served in the bone, it can be spread on toast and is “super flavorful,” said Bates.

“Bone marrow is a luxury item, but we don’t luxury price it,” she added. The appetizer is listed at $12.

“We’re not just a steak and burger place,” Aranguiz said.

Indeed, it has a reputation for its steamer bar, the menu for which is only available between 5 and 9 p.m. in the expansive bar, which serves a full line of adult beverages.

“We’re known for our oysters,” and they don’t come from any one place, he said. He weekly checks sources all over for freshness, availability and a variety of salinity levels for taste.

The options have included Wildcat Cove in Washington, Salten Rock and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and Gigamoto, British Columbia, Canada. The menu explains the flavors; Wildcat Cove, for example, has a mild brininess and the Gigamoto has a medium brine.

“Sometimes, there can be a wait for oysters,” especially on the weekends, Aranguiz said. He has shucked as many as 375 in a matter of hours. They start at $2.50 a piece, but you can get the variety special of a dozen — two of each kind — for $25.

Nine large salads with variations are on the “greens” menu and include a Seared Scallop Salad and a Filet Mignon Salad.

Last week, Stacey Sharpe of Spring Mills said she “was in the mood for a salad,” and remembered visiting American Ale House years earlier, so decided to give it a try. She said theGrilled Chicken Caesar Salad was “great.”

Suzy Knorr of Altoona was in State College on business and said she visits regularly “specifically for the Thai Chicken Salad.”

“I’ve never found one as good anywhere else,” she said.

Knorr’s lunch companion was Andrea Schurr of Hollidaysburg.

Schurr said she frequented the restaurant years earlier during her college days at Penn State, and her Chicken Taco, the sandwich of the day, was as good as she remembered.

Aranguiz and Bates said it’s hard to say what the most popular menu items are.

“It depends on the time of year, but people come in to eat steaks, the steam bar, the burgers,” he said. “We’re known for oysters. But we have so much to offer, I really can’t pinpoint any one thing.”

Bates said the portions are generous.

“You’re not going to walk away hungry,” she said. “Our steaks are as good as the $75 ribeye in Philadelphia. You can have a simple dish, but it’s so good because of the quality ingredients.”

The Sheepsmilk Ricotta, an appetizer served with Serrano and house-made tomato jam with charred bread ($9), comes from Wisconsin.

“Everything on our menu is unique in its own way, even the sandwiches,” Bates said. “We put the same amount of care into our sandwiches.”

Choices include New England Lobster Roll, Kobe Corned Beef and 3 Cheeses & Asparagus.

To finish off the meal, Aranguiz said the desserts are tremendous. “We make everything in-house, including the ice cream,” he said.

He said the most popular is the Vanilla Cheesecake with strawberry ice cream, usually macerated strawberries and white chocolate. Other choices include Beignet Trio and Rum Cake.

Dining options vary. A deck already has been used this year during the unseasonably warm February. A solarium dining area was added in the most recent renovation that included an expanded, open kitchen.

The old kitchen remains in use as the restaurant looks to boost its catering business; it already is popular for tailgate parties and off-site events, as well as private parties of various sizes on-site.

The building formerly housed a coffee shop, among other undertakings. The three partners Linda Silveri, Tommy Wareham and Scott Lucchesi founded American Ale House, and today, you can find Wareham entertaining in the piano bar every Friday and Saturday night.

“We’ll have people come in here to watch a sporting event or celebrate an anniversary” in a fine-dining-like atmosphere,

Televisions can be found in the bar, and a few are scattered in the dining room. More are brought in if Penn State is playing on TV.

“You can wear shorts or you can dress up,” Bates said. “You can make the experience what you want it.”

Mirror Staff Writer Cherie Hicks is at 949-7030.

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Behind the Plates

American Ale House & Grill

821 Cricklewood Drive, State College

(814) 237-9701

Online: AmericanAleHouse.net

Atmosphere: Upscale casual

Entre Price Range: $19 for Marinated Tofu to $35 for

16-ounce Certified Black Angus Ribeye

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Full bar 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Special Notes: A steamer menu includes oysters and other seafood. A Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. includes a Bloody Mary bar in which you can create your own. A piano bar features regular entertainment in the evenings. Kids menu is available.