FARMiCiA Food and Tonics - Philadelphia, PA

The owners of White Dog Cafe and Metropolitan Bakery present to the Philadelphia food scene FARMiCiA Food and Tonics. A group of friends and I decided to check out this lunch spot, and it has definitely become one of my new favorite spots. The restaurant is located in a quaint location in Old City, and the food was absolutely amazing. 

Duck Trap Nova Salmon 

We were waiting on half of the group to come, so we decided to order an appetizer as the rest of us waited. The duck trap nova salmon was an excellent choice. The salmon was served with dijon-rye toasts, caper cream cheese, sliced tomato, and red onions.

Grilled Goat Cheese on Sourdough

This was one of my favorite dishes of the meal. The goat cheese and the sourdough bread really complimented each other, providing a nice flavorful bite each time. The salad was also surprisingly good and the farthest thing from bland.

Pumpkin Pie French Toast

For our sweet dish, we decided to get the french toast. Usually, french toast tends to be very sweet and difficult to eat after a few bites. However, this dish was just sweet enough to keep eating the whole thing.

Jumbo Crab Omelette

The jumbo lump crab omelette was also a great choice. The omelette consisted of the crab, sauteed spinach, sour cream, and mushrooms. 

Website: http://www.farmiciarestaurant.com/#about

XIX Nineteen - Philadelphia, PA

I went to XIX Nineteen in the past week for a friend's 21st. The ambiance and decorations were beautiful (perhaps the only good thing about the place). Of course, being at the Bellevue, the restaurant has to at least look nice. It is a bit awkward to get to the restaurant as you need to go down a few different hallways to actually get into the restaurant. Even after you get into the restaurant, the initial "cafe" area is completely empty because it is only open during brunch / lunch hours. You finally see people when you get to the bar area, which has a classy ambiance. You continue down the hall, and you finally come to the dining area, which is spectacular. 

The food on the other hand was not that great. The entrees were overpriced, and the meats were overcooked to the point of rubberiness. Although the taste wasn't on par, the food was at least plated nicely!

Bread Basket

It was nice surprise to be served a bread basket before our meal. They actually provide two types of breads: a plain white bread and a cranberry raisin bread. The cranberry raisin soft and sweet, which was delightful to start off with.

Pork Osso Buco

The deconstructed berkshire pork osso buco was disappointing. The meat was overcooked and on the bland side. I was surprised that the meal included bone marrow, which was the better part of the dish. It was fatty and slightly sweet, which was a welcomed aspect of the meal. The caramelized apples on top also complemented the dish with its sweetness. The braised collared greens kind of just laid there and did not really add anything to the dish other than balancing out the meat dish with some green aspect.

There are definitely better restaurants that I would rather eat at again than here. However, if you're looking for ambiance, you probably won't find a great rooftop restaurant such as XIX Nineteen. 

Website: http://www.hyatt.com/gallery/nineteen/xix.html

Grind House Killer Burgers - Atlanta, GA

Over the break, I grabbedd some frickles (fried pickles) and greasy burgers at this cool place called Grind House. I would compare it to a southern version of Shake Shack. The food came out in metal trays, which immediately reminded me of its northern counterpart. However, unlike Shake Shack, the appetizers are all fried, and the burgers are super greasy. Just the way I like it.

GrindHouse Style Burger

The GrindHouse Style Burger had american cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, pickles, and grindhouse sauce in it. I'm not quite sure where the lettuce was; however, the cheesy goodness made me forget that lettuce needed to be there. 

Frickles (Fried Pickles)

I don't know many burgers places with frickles in the North, but these are a staple in the South. These delicacies were just salty and crunchy enough to compliment the burgers. The chipotle ranch dipping sauce did a nice job in matching up well with the fried coating.

Cheesy Poofs

I was really excited to learn about cheesy poofs. These things are awesome. Inside the fried coating is a delicious pimento cheese filling. It comes with a sticky hot asian dipping sauce that provides a nice kick to the appetizer.

Sweet Potato Kettle Chips

The sweet potato kettle chips were awesome, mostly because of the fact that they came out so fast. I don't think we sat down when it arrived at our table. The hot blue cheese dip was a bit bland, but the chips did a good job in keeping our hunger at bay until our other dishes came out.

Overall, excellent establishment. 

Website: http://www.grindhouseburgers.com/

Rx The Farmacy - Philadelphia, PA

Rx the Farmacy isn't just for brunch (check out the blog post here), but the restaurant also has a dinner menu. I thought I would check it out since the brunch menu looked so good and the restaurant is so close the campus!

Mushroom Risotto

The risotto was a little on the salty side. It wasn't anything amazing, and it could have definitely used some sriracha. Then again, anything could use more sriracha.

Mussels

The mussels were actually great. The broth in which the mussels were soaked in was indeed tasty.

Wings

And what's a good meal without some wings? These parm covered wings were pretty run-of-the-mill. They weren't anything noteworthy. I don't really remember what it tasted like, which says a lot. 

Locanda Verde

To kick-off a lazy Sunday morning (that would lead into a productive Sunday afternoon), we made the trek from Mid-town Manhattan to TriBeCa in order to eat at Locanda Verde, a popular brunch spot known for their pancakes. It was way more than worth it. Being a big bruncher, I like to think I’m not easily blown away anymore by your typical brunch. This one definitely wasn’t. The atmosphere was really nice and festive, with decorations ready for the holiday season. The space was on the larger size, but not too large, and had both a bar area and regular dining. Plenty of light came in through the wide windows (a must for quality picture-taking).

We began with an order of sheep’s milk ricotta infused with truffle honey that came with a delicious burnt orange toast. The restaurant also sent along a tasty basket of bread with onion and spices that was a real treat. I was a bit nervous, as cheese can be a hit or miss for me, but I was extremely impressed with this dish. The subtle hints of honey in the smooth and light ricotta were delicious in a delicate and simple way. I was tempted to just eat spoonfuls of the ricotta by itself towards the end. We also ordered an apple cider doughnut from the pastry section. It had caught my attention right away and sounded so interesting I just had to try it. The doughnut turned out incredible – firm on the outside, but moist on the inside, and tasted just how I imagined (like apple cider in case you were wondering…duhh ^-^).

Sheep's milk ricotta 

Bread :)

Apple Cider Donut

For our main dishes, we ordered their famous lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberries, lemon curd, and sprinklings of powdered sugar, as well as the hazelnut-crusted French toast with assorted chunks of citrus fruits and mint. It’s always a struggle to choose between sweet or salty, so to compromise, we also ordered sides of crispy garlic potatoes and homemade pork sausage. Both the pancakes and the French toast were absolutely delicious. I really liked how the pancakes were so light and simple, but still so flavorful. The French toast was a lot of fun – every bite had a mix of hazelnuts, grapefruit, orange, or fluffy toast. I also really enjoyed the potatoes, especially the small pieces that soaked in a lot of the garlic flavor. They were super crunchy as well, just the way I like them. Personally, I like to dip my sausage in a bit of syrup for a sweet, salty, and slightly spicy contrast, but the sausage was great by itself as well. 

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Hazelnut-Crusted French Toast

Crispy Garlic Potatoes

Homemade Pork Sausage

If the food wasn’t so incredibly delicious we probably wouldn’t have been able to finish all of it between the two of us, but as it was, we were pretty stuffed by the end. We left the restaurant full and very happy with our meal. 

Jamonera - Philadelphia, PA

This draft post kind of got lost under all the other posts that we have been doing; however, this was actually one of my favorite restaurant that I have been to over the past semester. Sorry for not only the delay on this one but also the dark photos...

We decided to tackle this one together, which makes it the first collaboration post! We randomly chose this restaurant because of its association with Barbuzzo.

Jamonera is a quaint little wine bar with a great tapas menu. Surprisingly, all the tables were occupied by reservations, so we ended up grabbing seats at the bar. (Make sure to make some reservations if you're looking to grab a meal here.) The atmosphere is classy and intimate, which is perfect for a date or even a casual night with friends. The bartender makes an effort to become your friend instantly, which really reinforces that intimate and friendly atmosphere. Overall, great restaurant. We can safely say that we would definitely be down to go back to try some of the other tapas. 

The Papa Frita was a great tapas to start off with. It was made of crispy skin potato with wood smoked garlic aioli, brava salt, and house made sherry vinegar hot sauce. As an avid lover of hot sauce, this hot sauce was great with the entire meal. 

Papa Frita

Moving away from all carbs, we had the Camarones de Ajillo, which was just garlic shrimp with arbol chile, roasted peppers, lemon, and grilled bread. The shrimp could have used a bit more seasoning, but the hot sauces from the papa frita took care of that.

Camarones de Ajillo

We also had the pork tenderloin to include at least one meat dish to our meal. The pork tenderloin was so tender and well-seasoned, and the flavors really worked together.

Pork Tenderloin

Website: http://jamonerarestaurant.com/jamonera/ 

The Fat Ham - Philadelphia, PA (PART 1)

In place of that wine bar that I'm not sure anyone went to before, Top Chef winner, Kevin Sbarga, has just opened his newest restaurant, The Fat Ham. Once I heard "Top Chef" and "southern comfort food" in its descriptions, I knew it would move to the top of my list for new eats. I planned on trying out the place on Sunday; however, I randomly ended up here on opening day with a friend who is a huge enabler. Since I'll be here twice in the span of a weekend, I will have two posts to cover the restaurant! 

Just as a preface, this place is southern inspired and involves a lot of meat. This means that if you don't eat meat or fried food, this is probably not the place for you. So let's move on to the food:

Baked Mac and Cheese

The baked mac and cheese was awesome. This isn't your run-of-the-mill mac and cheese that you can find at FroGro. Trust me, I would know as I had a few pounds of FroGro mac and cheese over Thanksgiving. The Fat Ham M&C had a nice, creamy cheese with potato chip crust. The contrast between the crunch from the crust with the pasta soft shell really made this an interesting dish that sets it apart from other M&C. The ambiance here feels very southern farm-esque, and this is really reflected in the dish aesthetic. Where else will you be served M&C in a skillet?

Hot Chicken

As a southern kid at heart, I was, of course, drawn to the fried chicken. Perhaps, this dish could have used a bit more seasoning, but the spicy aspect really made this dish. If you're really looking for something spicy, this is definitely what you'll want to try here. The hot wings top off a white bread with ranch dressing and pickles. As you see here, the plate aesthetic is well thought out and really reflects the theme. 

Apple Cobbler

Who doesn't like a-la-mode cobbler? The apple cobbler was warm and tasty, and the bourbon molasses ice cream really topped it off well. Probably my favorite dessert dish here.

Banana Pudding Doughnut with Spiced Sugar

The banana pudding doughnut was essentially an egg tart filling in a donut hole. The pudding was nice and warm; however, it wasn't particularly tasteful. You really wouldn't be missing much by skipping this one. 

Definitely loved some of the dishes I've tried here, but I'll give my final take on it soon! Look out for my next post.