New-American
Posted by Foobooz on December 5th, 2012
Trey Popp calls Will on Passyunk Avenue the “BYO of the year” and praises the cooking of Chris Kearse.
You could label Kearse’s approach French, or seasonal, or postmodern, and be right every time. But add it all up—a red-wine béarnaise of almost liqueur-like depth; the Mexican cucumbers, as small as caper berries, that Kearse scored cheaply from a farmer at Headhouse Square; the crunchified quinoa and puffed wild rice that joined those micro-cukes in a late-season tomato salad—and what you really have is ADHD cooking.
But that’s praise, not criticism. Dish after dish here offered a busy variety that bordered on impatience but never fell victim to it.
Three Stars – Excellent
Philadelphia Restaurant Review: Will [Philadelphia Magazine]
Will [Official Site]
Related: From the Magazine, Reviews, BYOB, French, New-American, Reviewed, Trey Popp, Will
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Posted by Foobooz on November 19th, 2012
The chicken at Chris Kearse’s Will BYOB is far from ordinary or boring and it is Craig LaBan’s example of what is happening at this modernist Passyunk Avenue restaurant.
Paired with pureed Kabocha squash firmed into a cube with agar-agar and Tuscan kale two ways (baked into chips; creamed and rolled into a log set with “reverse gelatin” that holds as it warms), the once-boring chicken has been willed and worked into unlikely status: a Kearse-ified poularde star. Gorgeous, complex, intriguing, yet still comforting to eat.
Is there a more inspired example of avant-garde cooking in Philly now? If so, they’re few and far between.
The challenge for Kearse is harnessing that magic on every dish. And there are still too many experimental slips to earn unqualified praise.
Two Bells – Very Good
Will BYOB [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Will BYOB [Official Site]
Related: Food, Reviews, Chris Kearse, Craig LaBan, East-Passyunk, Modernist Cuisine, New-American, Reviewed, Will
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Posted by Foobooz on October 19th, 2012
We’re not sure anyone does a better risotto in Philadelphia than Lee Styer at Fond. And now he’s added luxurious lobster, hazelnuts and truffle to the dish. That’s when we started drooling, the rest of the menu is just as appetizing.
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Related: Food, News, BYOB, East-Passyunk, Fall Menus, Fond, Lee Styer, New-American
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Posted by Foobooz on October 9th, 2012
This Sunday Jason Cichonski kicks off brunch at Queen Village’s Ela. Biscuits, Benedict, bone marrow and butternut squash highlight the fall flavors, and that’s just the “B”s. Among the other brunch highlights, ginger snap pancakes, cranberry crepes and short ribs benedict. Accompanying Cichonski’s food will be craft Bloody Marys, spiked Vietnamese iced coffee and a caramel apple mimosa.
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Related: Food, News, Brunch, Ela, Jason Cichonski, New-American, Queen-Vilage
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Posted by Foobooz on September 24th, 2012
Craig LaBan has several excellent meals at the Nicolas Fanucci’s Le Bec Fin where the Inquirer critic finds chef Walter Abrams is creating contemporary and adventurous dishes. But the question remains, can Le Bec Fin be of the here-and-now?
I’m still savoring some of the most elegant plates from our tasting menus: the meaty chunk of grilled cobia set beside the fresh pop of baby black-eyed peas; the ethereal crimson stream of chilled borscht poured tableside over tiny Mexican gherkins, puffed wheat, and tart yogurt; the pure silk of foie gras terrine, shaped like a gold brick beside fresh figs and a little baba cake dipped in coffee; the rosy glow of lamb chops with Fairytale eggplant; the juicy tenderness of St.-Canut Farms suckling pig with tart gooseberries and earthy farro.
Three Bells – Excellent
Le Bec rising [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Le Bec Fin [Official Site]
Related: Reviews, Center-City-West, Craig LaBan, French, Le Bec Fin, New-American, Nicolas Fanucci, Reviewed, Rittenhouse-Square, Three Bells
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Posted by Foobooz on September 12th, 2012
Chefs and friends, Michael Dorris and Michael Santoro are opening The Mildred this evening in Bella Vista. The restaurant will showcase seasonal American cuisine with influences from the pair’s experience in Europe. Santoro will handle the kitchen and Dorris the front of the house. Both are committed to creating a fun and inviting restaurant that welcomes the neighborhood.
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Related: News, Opening Soon, Bella-Vista, Michael Dorris, Michael Santoro, Mildred, New-American, Tale of the Tape
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Posted by Foobooz on September 4th, 2012
Yellowfin tuna, soy vin, sweet tomatoes,
Craig LaBan is the latest to praise the toasts at Vernick Food & Drink but they are hardly the only thing worth talking about.
Even more memorable was the perfectly steamed halibut, a brick of pristine white over the forest-brown collage of wild mushrooms in broth, a contrast so pure it was stunning.
More purely vegetable-focused dishes, like the salad pairing sweet wood-roasted carrots with crunchy ribbons of shaved raw ones, or the heirloom tomatoes glazed green in basil vinaigrette, or the crunchy potatoes with flash-fried shishito peppers, show a gift for amplifying natural flavors.
Three Bells – Excellent
A way with sourdough makes him a toast of Rittenhouse Square [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Vernick Food & Drink [Official Site]
Related: Food, Reviews, American, Center-City-West, Craig LaBan, Greg Vernick, New-American, Reviewed, Rittenhouse-Square, Three Bells, Vernick Food & Drink
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Posted by Foobooz on August 27th, 2012
Trey Popp reviews Vernick Food & Drink, the first solo restaurant of Cherry Hill native Greg Vernick.
[F]or the most part, simplicity is Vernick’s watchword. Sidle up to the smooth poured-concrete bar to nibble on crispy potatoes with shishito peppers, and bask in the breeze wafting through the windows, wide open to Walnut Street. Or belly up to the kitchen counter in back, past the stack of split cordwood, and tug at cool tubes of fresh mozzarella—pulled twice daily—spattered with rhubarb jam and crumbs of pumpernickel toast. The upstairs dining room offers another distinct atmosphere, splashed with light streaming in through the balconied windows but cozy beneath the short ceiling.
Three Stars – Excellent
Philadelphia Restaurant Review: Vernick Food & Drink [Philadelphia magazine]
Vernick Food & Drink [Official Site]
Related: Food, From the Magazine, Reviews, Center-City-West, Greg Vernick, New-American, Reviewed, Trey Popp, Vernick Food & Drink
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Posted by Foobooz on August 22nd, 2012
Photo by Felicia Perretti
Oops, a foie gras froth winds up on the plate of Christina Perachio’s pescatarian guest at Rittenhouse Tavern.
The next dish is a doozy: five large day-boat sea scallops, perfectly seared on top with a golden-brown crisp sitting in a heavy-handed amaranth truffle butter sauce with fresh and tender chanterelles and turnips that stand on their own. They are gorgeous, rich and delicious. And their inclusion in our meal comes as a result of my companion’s request for an entrée fit for a pescatarian. Which is why, the next day, when I call to double-check the ingredients, I’m startled to learn that they the scallops were topped with a vanilla foie gras froth.
Simple and Seasonal Fare at Rittenhouse Tavern, With an Unexpected Surprise [Philadelphia Weekly]
Rittenhouse Tavern [Official Site]
Related: Reviews, Center-City-West, Christina Perachio, New-American, Reviewed, Rittenhouse Tavern, Rittenhouse-Square
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Posted by Foobooz on July 30th, 2012
Trey Popp checks in on Le Bec Fin alum Nick Elmi to see what he’s doing at Rittenhouse Tavern, the latest restaurant to live in the Art Alliance building on Rittenhouse Square.
[S]ummer found Elmi breathing real personality into his creations. Plancha-seared octopus arms sprawled across a black smear of blood sausage, fermented garlic and squid ink—a brilliantly funky foil for the half-moons of apricot glistening above it. In a cool, minty potage of pureed romaine, spinach, cucumber, peas and dill, he had hidden a globe of horseradish ice cream between citrus-poached shrimps. It didn’t burn so much as sparkle.
Two-and-a-half stars (Good to Excellent)
Philadelphia Restaurant Review: Fresh Surprises at Rittenhouse Tavern [Philadelphia Magazine]
Rittenhouse Tavern [Official Site]
Related: From the Magazine, American, Center-City-West, New-American, Nicholas Elmi, Reviewed, Rittenhouse Tavern, Rittenhouse-Square, Trey Popp
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