LaScala's
615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 928-0900
www.lascalasphilly.com
Stopped in for dinner here on a Saturday night with an 800pm reservation. LaScala's is nestled in the heart of Philadelphia's historic district, just a short walk from the Liberty Bell, The Constitution Center, City Tavern and many other historic attractions. They pride themselves on offering authentic Italian-American homestyle cooking. LaScala prides itself on reasonable prices and an open dining environment with large windows, lots of glass, and contemporary high-back booths.
The incandescent lights offer a very homey feel and the open brick and large bar offer varied dining experiences for different audiences. The businessman can stop by after work for a beer and the game, a family could eat at one of the large tables and a couple may share an intimate moment in one of the high-booths near the walls. We arrived promptly at 8 for our reservation and encountered a 10 minute or so wait as "the kitchen was backed up."
We ended up being seated in a corner booth along the wall with large glass windows (great for people watching) and views of a large portion of the dining area--a perfect position for snapping pictures of the dining experience.
The restaurant features a private dining area for private events, a large bar with flat screen TVs, and various configurations of tables and booths for various sized parties.
While the restaurant was sadly disappointing in some respects, the bread was not one of them. Delicious fresh bread with a heavenly olive oil, butter and sweet balsamic vinaigrette dip that I could have licked dry. If you eat here, have seconds of the bread.
SIRLOIN BRUSCHETTA Grilled sirloin, gorgonzola, spinach, roasted peppers. Not bad. Could have been better, but an interesting take on bruschetta. Lovely sweet balsamic vinaigrette sauce, soft red peppers sirloin that was not overly dry. I would not return here specifically to have this dish again, but I wouldn't mind seconds if this was the only dish I was having.
STUFFED MUSHROOMS Crabmeat, Hollandaise Sauce. Eh.The presentation was not bad. However, the delivery suffered. Again, not the worst dish of the evening, but nothing to return for, clamoring for seconds.
THE ARUGULA Radicchio, grilled red onions, sundried tomatoes, grilled eggplant, gorgonzola, toasted pine nuts, white balsamic vinaigrette. This was perhaps the most disappointing dish of the evening. Before ordering our meal, I asked our server if ordering a starter, salad, and main course was palatable. He said, "If you're a big eater, sure." I am a big eater, and a salad the size of an entire dinner plate was more than I was prepared for, so, realistically, if you come for dinner, prepare to have 1 side course (either starter or salad) and 1 main course. Ladies- you may only be ordering one thing all night if you get the salad. They are huge.
Anyway, the salad was mediocre at best. The grilled eggplant was rubbery, there was not enough dressing, and the entire thing had a tremendous lack of flavor. Quantity is not quality can not be stressed enough.
THE LASCALA CHOPPED SALAD Romaine, iceberg, provolone, fontina, Italian meats, pepperconcini, tomatoes, red onions, Italian vinaigrette. My dining companion / fellow food critic got the signature salad with a similar result. The taste was sweet/sour with sub-pare quality meat and greens. Also, certainly was large enough to account for a meal in itself, so either the server needs to be more clear, or it needs to be made clear on the menu.
VEAL PICATTA Lemon butter sauce, capers, crimini mushrooms. Again, not bad, but not amazing. Now if you want amazing, go to
La Famiglia. Blows this dish right out of the water. The veal itself was ok, and the seasonings were adequate to the task.
VEAL SALTIMBUCA Sage, prosciutto, marsala wine sauce, sautéed spinach. Not bad, but the Veal Picatta was decidedly better. Again, this dish is much better prepared at La Famiglia.
The dessert tray good. We chose the fudge and mixed nut sundae (right-most dessert).
Close up of our chosen dessert.
Of Note:
La Scala's offers free parking in an adjoining garage. Huge bonus here--most Center City restaurants will require either garage or valet parking which is upwards of $25+. This is definitely a welcome perk of dining here.
Apparently the quality of the food is not the only thing suffering here.
Candle detail.
Menu details.
