Will BYOB

Will BYOB
1911 E Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19148 | (215) 271-7683 | http://www.willbyob.com/

Will BYOB is an intimate house-converted-to-restaurant establishment specializing in both authentic classical French cuisine and its modern accouterments. They offer a simple a la carte menu with a special prix fixe menu on Sundays that is four courses. We decided on the tasting menu.

The meal began with a delicious Plowshare Farms Pumpkin Potage. Pumpernickel. Uni Creme, Onion Confiture.  The uni creme is the edible part of the sea urchin and deliciously balances the sweetness of the pumpkin potage.

Burgundian snails glazed with garlic butter in a country ham Dashi emulsion. Steamed cauliflower, truffle of spinach puree, oyster jus. Dashi refers to stock made from fish and kelp, used in Japanese cooking.  Delicious to say the least, and I am not one to be into eating snails.  However, that being considered, I cleared my plate rather quickly...in 1-2 minutes to be exact.

Whole Roasted Hen of the Woods Mushroom, better known as the Japanese name maitake mushroom, which means "dancing mushroom".  Ricotta, Madeira, Petite Herbs. Madeira is a fortified Portuguese wine made in the Madeira Islands.  Served with some edible marigolds. The mushroom tastes fresh and delicious and not chewy like one would expect a mushroom to be.  It was a delight to eat that while I started cautiously, it turned out to be one of the best dishes of the evening.

The meal was interrupted before the main course with a lovely palate cleanser in the form of a mango sherbet. Delicious.

Florida Cobia Sunchokes. Shishito Peppers. Matsutake Mushroom. Red Wine Bouillon. Very similar to tuna. A very diverse fish. Honey miso surrounds the fish. Miso is a fermented rice based sauce. It added just the flavor the dish needed. Again, another home run at Will BYOB.

Crème Fraiche Coffee Cake. Chocolate Cremeux, Greek Yogurt, Red Wine Caramel.

Dessert course 2

Of Note:

Lovely table settings.

Window sill decorations.

French madeleines to go.

A lovely lantern in the bathrooms.

Make sure to bring a bottle of good wine.

Lovely ceiling fan detail.

Le Virtu

Le Virtu
1927 E Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 271-5626
www.levirtu.com/

Le Virtu prides itself on being based on Abruzzese culinary tradition.  Abruzzo is a region of Southern Italy bordered on the east by the coastal waters of the Adriatic sea and on the west by the outskirts of Rome. Le Virtu, Italian for "the virtues," is based on the concept of presenting unspoiled, wild, unpretentious food either imported from Abruzzo itself or made using locally sourced ingredients. The restaurant prides itself on the quality and authenticity of its food and guests are encouraged to stay and savor the experience.  The restaurant itself is nice on the interior with an excellent covered al fresco dining area.

Traditional Italian fare starting with bread and extra virgin olive oil. Personally, it was good, but nothing too special.

Burrata pugliese: Imported Pugliese burrata, rainbow cherry tomatoes, basil. Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream.  Excellent start.  The tartness of the tomatoes balanced well with the creamy dairy of the burrata.

Shrimp Bisque.  Creamy and rich.  Also a very good start to a meal.

Casarecce al pesto di pistacchi: Casarecce, pistachio pesto, grated ricotta salata. Casarecce pasta is shaped like a very narrow, twisted and rolled tube. It has a green hue from the pistachio pesto.  Ricotta salata is a variation of ricotta that has been pressed, salted and dried. Ricotta salata is hard and white and has a mildly salty, nutty and milky flavor. It can be shaved or grated over salads, pastas and vegetable dishes.

Taccozzelle ali'aquilana: Handkerchief pasta, Abruzzese-style sausage, porcini, black truffle, Navelli saffron.  Navelli saffron, more often called L’Aquila saffron, is generally agreed to be the very best in the world. Its stigmas are longer, its aroma stronger and its colour deeper than any other. And after eating this dish, I'd have to agree.

Trota. Grilled lake trout, heirloom beans, cucumbers, lentils.  Trout was served with the skin, wish it had been taken off, but that is easily remedied. Otherwise, fairly good, nothing to write home about however, but not bad by any means.  Meat was tender and seasoning was perfectly adequate.

Agnello alla griglia.  Smoked lamb top round, chick peas, mint. A far better main course in my opinion. This italian phrase is for "grilled lamb" and it was complimented by the chick peas and mint.  Served with a tasty jus sauce as well. B+ in my book.  It's only deficits were a slight overcooking of the meat and the mint was a bit too overpowering in my book.

Panna cotta d'alloro.  Bay leaf panna cotta, carmamelized oranges, cardamom, citrus biscotti. Fantastic dessert.  We almost left without ordering any dessert.  Glad we changed our minds.

Of Note:

Restaurant interior.

Harvest Seasonal Grill & Wine Bar

Harvest Seasonal Grill & Wine Bar
200 S 40th St, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (215) 662-1100
http://harvestseasonalgrill.com/menu/appetizers/

Well, certainly an appropriate name for a  restaurant dedicated to bringing local farm fresh products to the table. The emphasis at this restaurant is twofold: 1) make most (if not all) the dishes under 500 calories, and 2) bring the green concept to a whole new level.  The bar glass table tops are recycled glass, the ink on the menus is green, they emphasize that they use green cleaning products as well as recycled paper products, per their website.

I started the meal off with the Butternut Squash Soup Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, Local Organic Honey.  Great start to the meal.  I love a good butternut squash soup. Was a perfect start to the meal. Rich and creamy and had a lovely sweetness to it with hints of pumpkin.

I followed this up with a house salad that had a nice mixture of fruit, but there was not enough dressing on this huge plate of greens.  After half the salad, I felt like I was just eating tasteless leafy greens.  While great for my digestive tract to add bulk fiber to my diet, it had little taste in my mouth and as such, was not the best of choices for a salad dish. The house dressing was not particularly impressive either and tasted like any old house dressing, nothing unique here.

Pork Ribeye Shaved Fennel & Apples, Quinoa Couscous Risotto, Cherry Demi Glace. Not bad.  Certainly a redeeming dish of the meal next to the Butternut Squash soup.  It was almost as if the butternut squash soup started so high that the following courses had nowhere to go. Need to build to a main course like this--not cascade down a hill like what happened tonight.

Harvest Moon Chicken Cider Rosemary Glazed, Grilled Apples, Brussel Sprouts, Fingerling Potatoes. This was not so good.  Chicken seemed dry but an acceptable dish none the less.  I wouldn't recommend it, but I wouldn't push it away in disgust either.  It's another one of those dishes that you just eat it because it's in front of you.

Of Note:

Interior of the restaurant.

Outdoor dining area featuring beautiful floral displays and fire pits.