Sbraga
440 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19146
My
fiancé gave me a great gift for my birthday last year, she took me Sbraga to
sit at the Chef's counter. I was beyond excited about it because it was my first
trip there, and I had heard nothing but good things. We have been big fans of
Kevin Sbraga's since the season he won top chef on. We watched the whole season
and were pulling for him since hes from a town close to mine in Jersey. From
the moment we walked into the restaurant, we were treated like royalty. We had
a special menu waiting for us when we got in, and a hand written birthday note from
Kevin Sbraga and his staff. I thought that was super nice.
The
menu looked fantastic. We were greeted by Ben Filleccia, the GM, and he stood
next to us on the line pretty much the whole night and joked with us and talked
to us quite a bit. Our meal started out with a deliciously whipped and light
chicken liver mousse on pumpernickel bread. It was fantastic. The texture of
the mousse was masterful, and the nice crunch of the pumpernickel bread was the
perfect textural contrast. As we were indulging in the mousse and our first
cocktails, old fashioneds for both of us, they brought out the truffle and
gruyere popover that they serve was bread. Its these little things that places
like Sbraga do they put them in another category. It was a fantastic popover,
rich and cheesy, but still light, fluffy and crusty.
Next
up were the beet tartare with smoked mackerel and the carrot soup with Thai
chili and ginger. I really liked the carrot soup. It was sweet with just the
right amount of spice from the chili and it had a nice kick from the ginger as
well. The marshmellow on top was amazing. It was sweet paired well with the
carrot flavor. The beet tartare was good, but it wasn’t my favorite. I really
liked the smoked mackerel on top, but the beets themselves needed a bit of
seasoning, maybe some fresh herbs or some salt. We had mentioned to Ben that we
were hoping to get to taste the famous foie gras soup with our tasting menu. He
walked away and got us two small tastes for us to try it in addition to our
whole menu. What an awesome thing to do, and what a tasty soup! It lived up to
the hype. It was velvety and creamy and incredibly rich.
Before
the hake came out, the chefs asked us if we had ever seen it before, and when
we said we hadn’t, they told us not to look it up before we ate it. Of course
we did anyway, and it is one hell of an ugly fish. Thank god it tasted way
better than it looks. It was seared beautifully, and it flaked apart so nicely.
The whole wheat ramen with the miso broth was delicate, but still very tasty. I
loved the crunch of the fresh vegetables as well.
I
also ordered a drink called the Not Toddy. It was one of my favorite drinks in
recent memory. It had black tea infused bourbon, honey and lemon. Pure
deliciousness. At this point Ben explained that the chef really takes
inspiration from foods that he likes to eat and then makes his own riff on
things. The next dish was a play on Italian roast pork and I don’t think itll
ever taste the same way. It was phenomenal. It was roast pork, stuffed between
pork belly, with a provolone bread pudding, long hots and a pork jus. I looked
nothing like Italian style roast pork, but hot damn if it every bite didn’t taste
just like it. It was an amazing riff on that classic dish and definitely my
favorite of the evening.
For
dessert we were served dirt pudding with house-made gummy worms. It was just the
perfect amount of dessert to end the meal. It wasn’t too sweet, but just sweet
enough with some crunch and creaminess. It was the perfect finish to a perfect
evening. Except of course when Kevin Sbraga himself came in and we caught him
on his way out and chatted for a bit. One of the nicest guys ever. And then,
when we walked outside, who was there but Marc Summers? Awesome times two. The real kicker was the to go fresh rigatoni they gave me for my birthday and the pesto recipe that accompanied it. It was amazing!
Four
pints for Sbraga. This is a fantastic restaurant with great service and
fantastic food. The chefs counter is totally worth it and an incredible
experience. I cannot wait to return. The food is a great value. You should check
it out because I know you will love it too. Cheers!
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