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.
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/
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