English

Kings Corner Public House Opens In Jenkintown

Posted by Alex Tewfik on April 10th, 2013

“Ye cometh hungry, ye cometh thirsty, ye cometh primed for soccer, ye will have a great time.”

That’s what they promise, and they’re sticking to it. There’s a new English soccer pub in Jenkintown called the Kings Corner Public House, and they’ve created quite the atmosphere for the avid soccer fan, the avid foodie, and the avid beer snob. They’ve created a menu that boasts pub classics like fish and chips (their house specialty), bangers, shepherd’s pie, lamb stew, rabbit stew, and even venison. All of that, a full bar, 12 drafts, 80 bottled beers from around the world, and a Happy Hour between 4 p.m. – 6 p.m., there’s nothing not to like.

Unless you don’t like soccer. And if that’s the case, there’s beer for that.

Kings Corner Public House [Official Site]

Review: Forest & Main Isn’t Perfect But It’s Just Right

Posted by Foobooz on December 5th, 2012

Trey Popp’s second review in the December issue of Philadelphia magazine is of Forest & Main. Popp finds that the Ambler brew pub might not be perfect but it’s just right. And the beers sound worth the trip as well.

Endicott learned brewing at the University of Sunderland, near Newcastle, and it shows in ales that derive their personality more from bacteria and wild yeasts than high alcohol. My favorites were the Lunaire, a pitch-perfect Belgian sour fermented partly in old chardonnay barrels, and the Zaftig, a dark farmhouse ale with a buxom malt bill and slight barnyard funk. At four and five percent alcohol by volume, respectively, each was a refreshing departure from our high-gravity craft-brewing zeitgeist.

Two Stars – Good

Restaurant Review: Forest & Main [Philadelphia magazine]
Forest & Main [Official Site]

Old Swanky Bubbles Goes British With The Victoria Freehouse

Posted by Tara Nurin on December 4th, 2012

When it opens next spring in the club formerly known as Swanky Bubbles, The Victoria Freehouse will add an old-school European vibe to Old City with classic British cocktails (shaken, not stirred, we presume) and a beer lineup consisting exclusively of English and English-style draughts–which, coincidentally, are not traditionally very bubbly.

The UK-themed restaurant is being opened by the Brit and the Yankee step-son who operate The British Chip Shop in Haddonfield. The menu’s not posted yet but the pair is billing the Freehouse as an authentic restaurant and bar, and their nascent website shows pics of fried green beans and curried coconut mussels. We take this as an indication that owners are allowing some colonial influences to seep into their offerings–happy news for those diners who prefer options beyond break-your-teeth scones and mushy toad-in-the-hole.

Entrees will range from $10-$30, dress is casual, and if any of the servers act snooty, go ahead and make fun of their teeth.

The Victoria Freehouse [Official]

The British Are Coming to Lansdowne

Posted by Foobooz on January 17th, 2012

Celebrate chef Sam Jacobson’s homeland with him at Sycamore tonight. The English chef is preparing a special dinner of British classics. The five-course dinner costs $49 and features smoked trout, braised Guinea hen and Lancaster Hot Pot.

Jacobson prepares a different tasting menu each Tuesday. Next week will be an all-seafood dinner and the 31st will feature unique vinegars from around the world.

Read the rest of this entry »

What Makes the Perfect Fry-Up

Posted by Foobooz on April 29th, 2011

Drew Lazor goes out in search of the proper English/Irish breakfast of as much fried food as he can muster. He manages to visit eight different spots as he learns what makes a perfect fry-up.

Among the restaurants and bars tried:

Bards
British Chip Shop (Haddonfield)
The Dandelion
Fado
Hibernia Deli & Coffee Shop (Drexel Hill)
Ida Mae’s
Irish Coffee Shop (Upper Darby)
Pub & Kitchen

Full Loaded [City Paper]

Dandelion: Annotated Menu

Posted by Foobooz on March 29th, 2011

Photo by Jason Varney | Fussing with Forks

We’ve seen two glowing reviews in the last week of Dandelion so we’ve compiled the reviews of Craig LaBan, Trey Popp and an earlier review by Adam Erace into Dandelion: The Annotated Menu.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dandelion Is Dandy

Posted by Foobooz on March 28th, 2011

Craig LaBan fawns all over The Dandelion in his glowing three bell review.

I taste the lovely, gamy tang of lamb steeped into the ragu of crumbled meat tucked beneath the shepherd pie’s piped mash of cheddar-laced potatoes. Sublimely tender morsels of rabbit are a pot-pie delight in creamy gravy studded with mushrooms, cipollini onions, and bacon below a puff pastry lid. A pinch of curry adds sparkle to the deviled eggs. Beer and grain mustard perk up the cheesy smear of Mornay that gets broiled to a speckled brown glaze over Welsh rarebit toasts made from puffy buttermilk bread.

Three Bells – Excellent

Dandelion offers classic British food in a warren of cozy nooks [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Dandelion [Official Site]

Best of British Pub Fare at Dandelion

Posted by Foobooz on March 25th, 2011

Trey Popp declares the fish and chips at Dandelion are the best in the city he also says the burger is just as good as Village Whiskey’s.

But there’s a lot more to Robert Aikens’s game. Like crispy-skinned black sea bass under a pile of watercress, in a sweet-and-sour raisin-citrus vinaigrette that shines against a mellow, creamy cauliflower puree. And an appetite-whetting rendition of lemon-and-chervil-dressed crab, with chilled Jonah and lump crabmeat in place of the traditional Devon variety, lightened with a crisp chiffonade of gem lettuce. And, especially, an inspired pairing of sea scallops and black (blood) pudding, the sea-sweet and savory meats brought together with shredded-and-sweated brussels sprouts and Guinness beef jus under a tart confetti of sautéed apples. If that doesn’t sell you on the potential of the British pantry, nothing will.

3 Stars Excellent

British Invasion [Philadelphia Magazine]
The Dandelion [Official Site]

Getting Beyond the Scene at Dandelion

Posted by Foobooz on March 10th, 2011

Underneath all the glitz and theater Adam Erace finds that Dandelion is a “pretty good restaurant.”

Foie gras fared even better. It came as a generous pad seared and served with crisp bacon, balsamic-shallot jus and a sunny-side-up duck egg basted in foie fat — something Aikens used to do at his twin brother Tom’s Michelin-starred restaurant in London. He’s convinced me ham hocks are a good idea for ultra-rich mac and cheese, and he’s gotten Rittenhouse princesses to try black pudding when they’d likelier go for the ladylike (and flavorful!) butter lettuce salad dappled with honey vinaigrette. Aikens imports his blood sausage, but I’d only want it housemade if he could replicate this version’s haunting clove scent. The perfume carried through the scallops that the inky sausage hid beneath, a modern surf-and-turf rising from a carpet of wilted Brussels and fruity apple purée.

This Old House [City Paper]
Dandelion [Official Site]

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