a.kitchen - 18th and Walnut St

a.kitchen opened up around the same time as Serafina did just across the street but with decidedly a lot less fanfare.  Bryan Sikora, who is the man behind a.kitchen, is an accomplished chef but his pedigree was no match for the hype and crowds that greeted the NYC import on the other side.  So opening week, I of course, fell in line, and lunched, and wrote my review of Serafina, putting off a.kitchen for another day.  Well that day finally arrived as I continue my week of wallet busting lunches.  

The view from the entrance.  Bar to the right, seats to the left and an open kitchen surrounded by bar seating in the back.  

In case you want to get an up close and personal with the kitchen staff you have the option to be seated right in front with a full view of the work kitchen.  

The styling is clean and modern.  Wood tables with wood benching and black plastic seats.  The interior space is not very large but outdoor seating is available.  18th street can become very busy during this time, especially with this nice weather, so I opted to eat indoors.  

1) Spicy Fried Potatoes with saffron aïoli - $8

Heavily seasoned old bay potato wedges is what we have here.  The saffron aioli was nice and definitely added kick to these potatoes but overall this was just ok. Also, $8..seriously?

2) Chorizo Stuffed Calamari with tomato fondue - $14

There was definitely something missing from this dish.  The chorizo was good, the calamari was tender and the tomato fondue was nice and light but there was nothing here to mesh them all together.  An added starch component and this would've been a much more enjoyable dish.  Also, portions are on the smaller side. This was like 5 bites.

3) Cheese Steak cheddar sauce, mushrooms and sweet onions - $15
Really, this is what drew me to a.kitchen, the epicurean idea of a $15 cheesesteak.  I know, I'm a total lush, but curiosity got the best of me and being a Philadelphian I had to see what this was about.  What arrived was surprisingly decently portioned.  I kept hearing about how small the plates were here, as with the previous dish but I guess you can't really shrink a hoagie roll.  On my first bite I got a the a full blast of that cheddar sauce.  It was sharp and oozing and made me want to order wit cheddar sauce on all my future cheesesteaks.  But really, the decadence ended with the cheese and I can't say I would prefer this sandwich over one from an established cheeseteak purveyors.  In reality, the cheesesteak is a blue collar sandwich and making it fancy almost doesn't make sense. Skip this.

4) Six Point Righteous Rye, Brooklyn 6.4% - $5

Resembled a beer I enjoy often, Dog Fish Head 60 minute IPA.  

Overall LTE score [6.5/10] I left a little underwhelmed by a.kitchen.  It was certainly Rittenhouse priced but in the case of the Chorizo Stuffed Calamari, the portion was small and the dish was lacking something.  The cheesesteak was pretty good but it made me appreciate what I could get for much cheaper around the city.  I hate to compare it to my experience at Serafina but they both left me with a similar impression, overpriced.  

http://www.akitchenphilly.com/

Parc - 18th and Locust St

A Parisian bistro dropped right into the heart of Rittenhouse Square is the idea behind Stephen Starr's Parc restaurant.  Now I've never been to Paris so I can't compare the experiences but with menu items like steak tartare, trout amandine and escargot, surrounded by some of the best scenery in Philadelphia, this has to be pretty close to that idyllic scene I imagine a Parisian bistro to be. 

View of the interior from my seat.  Nothing flashy here, rustic would be a good word to describe it.  I remember hearing that it was styled after a train station and with the speakers on the columns, the mosaic tiled floor and faux weathered furniture you can definitely see it.  But honestly, I only took a quick look around the inside because the real draw of eating at Parc was not to my right.  

The view of the outside from my seat.  This wasn't the best seat for enjoying the scenery of Rittenhouse Square but I'd say it's still better than any of the other restaurants in the area and I think this side is a little quieter.  On a perfect day like today they could have served me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and I would've been blissfully happy here.

We're offered a basket of bread to which we happily accept.  Included are sour dough bread, cranberry walnut bread, and a baguette with a side of butter.  The bread was awesome and combined with what was to come we left this basket mostly empty.

1) Escargots - $14 

Started with this playfully miniaturized pot of escargot and mushrooms in a hazelnut butter sauce. French cuisine in all its buttery drenched glory was on display here.  The snails came already extracted from their shells and soaking in this uber rich sauce waiting to be devoured.  And devour we did. Only the prospect of suffering a coronary did I not indulge in sopping up all every last drop of hazelnut butter from this crucible of delightfulness. 

2) Warm Shrimp Salad - $16.50

Shrimp seasoned with truffle oil, avocado, and a slice of Parmesan cheese with a lemon beurre blanc dressing.  The shrimp were huge, were talking U10's, and they had an ever so slight hint of the truffle oil.  The rest of the plate was fresh, as to be expected, and the lemon beurre blanc completed the french in this salad...heavy cream and butter!  It was lightly dressed so it didn't feel heavy. 

3) Moules Frites - $17.50

Massachusetts mussels in a white wine, shallots, garlic and of course butter sauce.  Fries with an aioli dip.  What can I say other then I'm eating freaking mussels for lunch.  Everything here was as it should be, simple yet delicious.  The remaining sauce was sopped up by the aforementioned bread and 25 mussels and a handful of fries later I had reached nirvana.

Had one mussel that didn't open and maybe 3 with some sand in them.  Overall a good bowl of mussels.

4) Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier - $6
Hefeweizen, Brauerie Weihenstephaner, Germany, 5.4%
A beer I had to point to on the menu to order. I wanted something different and light so this wheat beer fit the bill. $6 for about a beer and a half is a good deal.

Overall LTE score [9/10] Parc has to be one of the most frequented nice weather spots in all of Philly.  It's packed every time I walk by here and when you sit down to eat it becomes apparent it's not only because of the view.  The food here is top notch and despite the cost I feel it's absolutely worth it.

http://www.parc-restaurant.com/

Village Whiskey - 20th and Sansom St

Village Whiskey is Jose Garces' whiskey/cocktail concept bar, planted right next to Tinto, his Spanish inspired wine bar.  This is an interesting departure from his previous Latin inspired restaurants so my curiosity was peaked.  Let's see how it turned out.

1) Pickled Green Beans and Shallots - $8
This was served with Black Olive Tapenade, Whipped Ricotta & Toasted Sour Dough.  Big fan of the ricotta and the tapenade but the picked green beans and shallots could have used some more time in the pickling jar. I like my picked veggies to be potent.

2) Cobb Salad - $12.50
Romaine, avocado, blackened chicken, bacon, bleu cheese.  This was ordered because of a review on Yelp singing it's praises but even though it wasn't as mind blowing as that reviewer suggested it was still pretty good.  Chicken was nicely seasoned, the bleu cheese had a good bite to it with that distinctive apple taste of fine bleu cheese. Everything was fresh as to be expected.

3) Jamie's Lobster Mac - $18
Fontina, Mascarpone, bread crumbs and obviously lobster. Very creamy and the coverage was good. The lobster was cooked perfectly and there were enough chunks of it in my bowl for me not to feel silly for paying $18 for a bowl of mac and cheese.

4) Whiskey King - $26
Flashback review.. I went here opening week and had the Whiskey King - Maple bourbon glazed cipollini, rogue blue cheese, applewood bacon, foie gras.
My first experience with foie gras was on this burger.  I was reluctant to order it at first. There is a growing awareness of the questionable ethics behind foie gras production but it's not something I see on a menu everyday so I decided to ignore my moral objections and enjoy some force fed duck liver.  The burger that arrived, was thankfully not one of those pretentious(ignoring the foie gras), borderline slidder burgers you might expect from a high end restaurant.  This was a serious patty of beef.  The foie gras was perched right on the burger with the blue cheese topped with a perfectly formed sesame seed bun.  I decided I should first try the fois gras by itself.  It was rich and creamy, almost buttery but a distinctive flavor it did not have.  I wondered how it would stand up to the strong flavors of the burger and blue cheese.  Combined, the fois gras disappeared into the background.  The burger itself was excellent but I think the fois gras was overkill and really only served to enrich an already rich burger.

Overall LTE score [8/10]  Again, Village Whiskey is of those spots where if I could afford it I would lunch often.  The burgers are top notch and some of their side items are excellent as well.  Do yourself a favor and try the duck fat fries, they are very good.  Even without enjoying a sip of whiskey or bourbon or any of the other fine liquors stacking the bar, Village Whiskey is a great dining establishment.  The only issue I have is the limited seating, get here early because this place fills up fast and they don't take reservations.

http://villagewhiskey.com/

Latin Farmer - Love Park (Closed)

The food truck phenomenon rolls on as Center City is introduced to Latin Farmer, the latest in a growing number of "gourmet" food trucks in the area.  This is a trend that I accept with open arms.
We all know that the street food scene is a little weak here, especially when you compare it to the other side of the Schuylkill River in University City.  I've always kind of wondered why this was.  I guess maybe the preexisting stigma of getting food from a truck has a part in it and also the availability of street space is probably a hindrance.  But thanks to the ever increasing acceptance of restaurant quality food coming from a truck and open spaces like Love Park we're seeing the renaissance of food trucks finally coming to age in Philly.

From their website: "Latin Farmer is a sustainable, local and responsible approach to Latin food...We try our hardest to use fresh ingredients, biodegradable and compostable supplies, and use local products and resources as often as possible in efforts to minimize our footprint while also giving back to our community."
Being the hippie that I am, this mission statement gets a definite plus in my book.

El Menu.  Notice the Friday special, I assume this will change from week to week.

1) Bocadillo - $8

First up the Friday special. Malta braised pulled beef, chipolte peach aioli, chayote apple slaw, queso de papa.  The pulled beef was tender but a bit on the under seasoned side.  The queso de papa and aoili saved this sandwich from being too boring.   [7/10]

2) Skirt Steak Collard Wrap - $8

Tomato chimichurri, chayote apple slaw, queso fresco.  The same braised beef from the sandwich before but unfortunately there was nothing to give it that kick it needed as the queso de papa and aoili did in the Bocadillo.  The leaf wrap itself though is pretty awesome so even though I was a little disappointed in the flavoring the concept was nice.  [7/10]

3) Choripan - $7

Chorizo, sugarcane stewed onions, queso de papa, banana ketchup/pineapple culantro grain mustard.  Now this is a real gourmet hotdog.  I thought it worked well as I'm a huge fan of chorizo and equally a huge fan of hotdogs.  I would've liked it more had the sausage had more bite and snap to it.  Nevertheless I would definitely order this again.  [7.5/10]

4) Roasted Sofrito Hummus w/ Seasoned Plantain Chips - $4
The hummus was very good.  Plantain chips were an interesting choice for dipping instrument, unfortunately one I didn't really care for.  I would've preferred something more neutral to enjoy my hummus with. [7/10]

5) Cucumber Mojito Agua Fresca - $3
Wish I got more juice here because with the size of the cup combined with the amount of ice included I drank this non alcoholic mojito in 4-5 sips.  The flavor was distinctively cucumber with just enough sweetness to make it interesting.  It was good but next time I'm bringing a flask of rum. [6/10]

Overall LTE score [7/10]  Love Park is quickly becoming the flash mob meetup spot for food trucks.  I think this is a very good thing for the food scene in Philly and hope this can spread throughout the rest of Center City.  Latin Farmer is a welcome addition and it delivers in a lot of ways.  I think the price could use a reduction, $8 for half a sandwich with no sides is a bit steep but maybe when they get a better idea of their business those prices will adjust.
At the time of this review they will be serving in Love Park on Wednesdays and Fridays only.

http://www.latinfarmer.com/