The Farm and Fisherman

The Farm and Fisherman
1120 Pine St, Philadelphia, PA 19107 (267) 687-1555
Tuesdays - Sunday: 5:00-10:00pm | BYOB
www.thefarmandfishermanbyob.com/

The farm and fisherman is a small 30 seat restaurant owned by husband-wife team Josh & Colleen Lawler. Its premise as the name implies is a focus on sustainable, locally-sourced organic ingredients in the nearby area to go from "farm" to "tabletop".  The menu is another highlight which fluctuates quickly due to availability of foods and the changes in seasons. One will never tire of dining here as the restaurant consistently puts out fresh takes on seasonal dishes. The restaurant is unimposing and does not have an exterior sign save the simple fishes logo above the door. It could easily be mistaken for a residential house and in my opinion is one of the better kept secrets of Philadelphia.

Here is a view of the interior of the restaurant, done in a contemporary elegant style with gorgeous chandeliers, white table clothes and a pretty decent crowd. I was impressed that in such a small space, they were able to fit so many people and not make it seem very cramped.  One caveat I must warn about is the seats abutting the wall (one of which I happened to be seated in) unfortunately have inter-spaced air vents for the air conditioning and I was sitting directly on top of one of them. It made for a chilly dinner until I was able to switch seats with my dining companion.

Frosted green doctor tomato gazpacho.  Summer squash, canteloupe, cucumbers, tomato cloud. Lovely lemon verbana cream and cucumbers gave this soup a most refreshing summer feel. It was an excellent way to start into the evening and definitely highly recommend this dish--that is if it is still on the menu.

Summer vegetable salad: green beans, tarragon, shaved roots, tomatoes.  The tarragon are the thin green herbs seen on the plate which added nice flavor to the dish. All the vegetables were so fresh it was ever apparent these were straight from the farm to the table.

Grilled rosa bianca eggplant. almond puree, currants, burrata, roasted tomatoes. Rosa bianca is spanish for white rose, and represents the specific type of eggplant used which is generally a little ligher and sweeter than most varieties. The almond puree was tasty and the burrata was the perfect cheese choice. Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream.

Gemmeli pasta: Walnut basil pesto, heirloom tomatoes, ricotta. This was not bad, but personally, I thought the eggplant much better. The pesto and pasta mixed with the creamy ricotta cheese.

New England Pollack.  Baby green beans, ruby streaks, soffritto, white garlic.  Soffritto is carrots, onions and celery with some garlic that can be used to make base sauces in Italian cuisine. It is basically finely chopped vegetables. Ruby Streaks will change your mind about mustards with its tempting beauty and mildly pungent flavor that's deliciously fresh in salads. It is the purple tinted greens seen in the above picture.

Natural Beef Ribeye. NJ brown rice, saffron, heirloom sweet peppers. Had wonderful taste to it.  The au jus was very good as well. Excellent choice to the meal.

Dessert consisted of coffee and the ginger panna cotta.  Summer berries, oats, almonds. Fantastic.  Loved the addition of the black berries.

Classic carrot cake. Walnuts, cream cheese, peach butter. Very good as well.  I can't decide if the carrot cake or the panna cotta was better.  Both great finishes to excellent meals.

Of Note:

The Farm and Fisherman is a BYOB.

Restroom areas were clean and maintained.

The interior walls of the restaurant.

The gorgeous cutlery and place settings.

Diners enjoying the meal.

Menu detail.

Chandelier detail.

Vernick

Vernick Food & Drink Restaurant
2031 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19103 (267) 639-6644 | vernickphilly.com/
open Tuesday-Sunday 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM dinner 4:30 PM to 1:00 AM bar

Located in the Rittenhouse Square section of Philly, Vernick, named for Chef and proprietor Gregory Vernick, uses locally sourced ingredients to create this modern American cuisine restaurant. The drinks featured are some of the best in the city and Vernick also features some homemade sodas and other refreshing beverages such as lemonade which are certainly worth a try.  I must comment here on the Pimm's Cup--certainly the best in the city.  The Dandelion's rendition of the Pimm's cup had been reigning supreme until now.  Award for best Pimm's Cup in the city--Vernick.

We were seated in a sunny upstairs dining area with beautiful open air windows out onto the street. Ethan was our server and he was prompt, unobtrusive and professional.  He catered to our every need and was knowledgeable and accessible.

Vernick's rendition of the Pimm's Cup: Pimm's #1, vernick lemonade, mint. Vernick makes its own lemonade and it tasted divine.

jack rose in honor of ‘the society’ applejack, lemon, house grenadine, peychaud’s

We started dinner with a wonderful amuse bouche.  Light biscuit with a chilled soup.  Very tasty.

tuna poke, macademia nuts, sweet soy. Poke is just another word for raw tuna. It was delicious. Perfectly seasoned and much better than ahi tuna or ceviche. This was quite a treat.

This is arctic char, crispy skin, dill. Not one of my favorite dishes of the evening partially because the fish tasted too close to Sashimi-- kind of bland, tasteless. The char was interesting and crunchy though not very well seasoned.

fromage blanc, pickled cherries. Fromage blanc (also known as maquée) is a fresh cheese originating from the north of France and the south of Belgium. The name means "white cheese". It was served with olive oil and bread and tasted amazing.

peach and lamb confit salad. Confit is a French method of cooking that bakes meat slowly in fat. This fatty lamb combined with the delicious in season peaches made for a sweet, succulent aftertaste that was accented by the mixed vegetables served with the dish.  Outstanding dish here.

This was a delicious palate cleanser prior to our main course.

pork blade steak, glazed radishes and plums, plum mustard. One word: fantastic. The main course was outstanding and was served with mixed greens which accompanied well.

The mixed greens.

berry rhubarb crisp. cream cheese gelato Stand back because this dessert will make you want to have your cake first. Unbelievable finish to a meal.  It was pretty consistent too throughout the courses that there was quality, presentation, and overall great taste to almost all the dishes.  I personally didn't care for the arctic char but that is just because I tend to shy away from sashimi dishes. Consistent quality and service.   Highly recommend this restaurant.

Of Note:

A contemporary steel cabled staircase leads to the second floor.

The serving island on the second floor.

The downstairs bar area.

Clean restroom facilities.

An open kitchen layout gives diners the opportunity to observe food as it's prepared as well as the staff preparing it.

View of the open kitchen area.

Overlooking the first floor from the staircase leading to the second floor and balcony area.

Amada

Amada
217-219 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (215) 625-2450 | philadelphia.amadarestaurant.com/
Hours: DINNER Sun—Thur 5:00pm—10:00pm Fri & Sat 5:00pm—11:00pm BRUNCH Sat & Sun 10:30am—2:30pm LUNCH Mon—Fri 11:30am—2:30pm.

With extensive hours and lots of offerings, it is easy to see why this Garces restaurant has become a Philadelphia favorite. Opened in 2005, this is Chef Garces' flagship restaurant offering diners a taste of Andalusian tapas.  The restaurant offers a private dining area, a bar area reminescent of a Spanish bodega and a dining area with intimate seating and dimly lit tables. On that note, perhaps a little too dim, though I am biased as I wanted better lighting for my food photography. We decided to get the: ESPECIAL—65 Enjoy a special selection of inspired Andalusian tapas from our dinner menu alongside original off-menu, interpretations crafted by our Chef.  With the tasting menu ordered, the food began to arrive.

Complimentary garlic bread served with tuna, capers and black olives.

Pretty much instantaneously, a tray of meat arrived so I am not sure of the exact description of the items here, but Amada offers the following charcuterie options: CHORIZO PAMPLONA 7 JAMÓN SERRANO 9 LOMO EMBUCHADO 9.5 CHORIZO BLANCO 7.5 SALCHICHÓN 7.5 JAMÓN IBÉRICO 27.

The meats above were served with pickles (left), a honey mustard dressing (center), and peppers (right).

I can't recall for the life of me what this dish was.

AGED MANCHEGO Truffled Lavender Honey

10 minutes into the meal and our table looked like this.  Dishes came out entirely too fast and from a food blogger's perspective, it was a nightmare.  Dishes were dropped at the table sometimes without hardly a single explanation and it was hard to understand the ones that were explained sometimes due to how quickly the servers talked.

COSTILLAS DE TERNERA Beef Short Ribs, Horseradish, Parmesan, Bacon 14.  This was tasty and the horseradish gave it just the kick it needed.

PULPO A LA GALLEGA Spanish Octopus 12.  Potato rounds and paprika.  Served with a lemon wedge.  I didn't think I was going to like the octopus but it was surprising good and not really chewy like I was expecting. Lemon wedge served up just enough sour to balance out the spice of the paprika.

TRUCHA A LA NAVARRA Tasmanian Sea Trout, Artichoke Purée, Toasted Pine Nuts, Chorizo 19. Probably the best dish of the night.  Trout was tender and the pine nuts added sweetness. Little pieces of sausage (chorizo) added just the right amount of spice.

BERENJENAS Roasted Eggplant, Whipped Goat Cheese, Raisin Escabeche 9. Very good as well. I especially liked the whipped goat cheese- both creamy and delicious. The raisins added sweetness as well to this vegetarian offering.

 Lamb Chops: A LA PLANCHA (from the grill). Tender and juicy and perfectly adequate though I would argue just a tad salty.

Olive oil cake, figs, lemon custard, chipped cheese, honey/cinnamon ice cream.

Complimentary cookie after dinner.

Of note:

Interior of the restaurant (large dining area).

The bar area complete with hanging Spanish Serrano ham.

The hanging hams.

A view from the opposite side of the dining area.

A table lantern detail.

The back dining area where we ate. Quite dark back here.

A candlelit hallway to the restrooms.