Not One to Remember...

Le Castagne

1920 Chestnut Street

Philadelphia, PA 19103

www.lecastagne.com/ 

I had a gift card to try an Italian restaurant in the Rittenhouse area called Le Castagne, and I was hoping to stumble upon something great. There are so many places in the city that you do not hear about on a regular basis, so it’s hard to know if they will be good or not. When we walked in the door, the place was pretty empty. A little surprising for a Friday night, but there was a little bit of weather happening, so I guess there could have been some cancellations. They had a pretty decent selection of wines, and we wound up ordering a bottle. It was pretty good. Our server however was bad. We saw him when he took our order and that was it. Other than that he was nonexistent. 

The beet salad that we ordered was more of a carpaccio, and for the price it was absurd. There wasn’t much flavor going on, it really was not a good dish. The goat cheese cream was incredibly overpowering.

I thought my fiances black pasta with shellfish was ok. The best part to me was the pasta itself. It had retained a nice flavor from the seafood broth. Other than that, it was pretty bland. The mussels were small, as were the clams, and the shrimp were overly tough.

My veal hanger steak wasn't seared properly, so the entire dish was chewy. I liked the flavor of the sauce it was served with, but I couldn't get past the chewiness of the meat. The potatoes were very gluey because they had clearly been over whipped.

The dessert we ordered wasnt very good either. The fried dough balls weren't particularly tasty. They just tasted like fried dough, and the sugar coating wasn't adding much flavor either. We were so disappointed by the results, but we were extremely happy that we had a gift card because it was fairly pricey. 

One and a half pints for Le Castagne. The food and the experience were really subpar here. While nothing was really bad, nothing was really good either. In a city filled with great Italian food, this place is definitely forgettable. Definitely hit up one of the other amazing Italian restaurants in the city. This one isnt worth your time. Cheers!

Beer Game is Tight...

Misconduct Tavern

1511 Locust Street

Philadelphia, PA 19102

www.misconduct-tavern.com/ 

A buddy of mine asked me if I wanted to meet up for some drinks one Friday evening, and my fiancé and I decided it would be a good time to eat at a place we both enjoy very much. That place was Misconduct Tavern. I hadn’t been since they renovated the place to almost double it in size, and I have to say it was pretty impressive. The new layout was awesome, even though the tables by the front were pretty chilly because of the drafty windows. They open the windows during the summer, but something wasn’t right with how they closed because it was cold sitting next to them. Another table actually opened up, so we moved further away and settled in with our beers and ordered some grub.

I was torn when I went to order because I knew that the burgers were good, but I had also heard great things about the mac and cheeses that they offer. I hadn’t had a burger in a long time, so that eventually won out. I ordered a burger with pepper jack cheese, smoked bacon and grilled long hot peppers. I love the beer selection at Misconduct. They keep their beer game pretty tight with all kinds of craft selections to choose from on draft as well as in the bottle, and now that they have much more space, they have corrected the one problem I had with them previously! 

The burger was spot on as I expected it to be. It had a great char to it. The challah bun was fantastic. It held up really well to the juiciness of the burger. Any burger can suck me in with a good slice of crispy bacon and a thick slab of pepperjack cheese. That flavor combination just speaks to me and my tastes. My fiance's pork sandwich however, wasn’t nearly as good as the burger I ordered. It was a little sloppily prepared and the flavor just wasn’t as good as I had hoped it would be. As always though, their fries are delicious. They are always hot and crispy, like larger version of Belgian frites.

Three pints for Misconduct Tavern. I really enjoy hanging out here and having a few drinks with friends. The food is great and the beer selection is even better. It is by far one of my favorite bars in the city to hang out at and one where the food and beer selection actually matches up. Usually one is good or the other, but here, they are both great. Give it a try and let me know what you think! Cheers!

Southern Comfort...

The Fat Ham

3131 Walnut Street

Philadelphia, PA 19104

www.sbragadining.com/fatham/ 

My fiancé and I had recently discovered the magic that is Kevin Sbraga's cooking while we were deciding where to dine one evening. The Fat Ham had recently opened and to some rave reviews, so we snagged a reservation and were super excited to go. 

First off the concept is great. Small plate style southern food, whom would have ever thought that up? Its amazing to watch a master at work. Seeing fine dining's take on classic southern fare is pretty fun. We started with a few cocktails which were pretty delicious; a blackberry mint julep for me and I cant remember what she ordered but I do remember it was even better than mine.

We decided to order a bunch of different things, starting with the Southern Hummus and fried green tomatoes. I really enjoyed the fried green tomatoes. They came out piping hot, with a nice creamy aioli, and an awesome exterior crunch. The peanut hummus was just ok. It came served in a really cool wood bowl, but the flavor just didn’t match up for me. It sounded way more interesting than it tasted. I loved the bread it came with, but the hummus didnt have much pop to it. If i didnt know it was made from peanuts, I never could have guessed.

Next up were the Shrimp & Grits and mac and cheese. The shrimp and grits fell flat for me. Again the plating was really beautiful, with head on shrimp and fluffy pile of grits, but the taste just wasn’t there. The grits were good, but the shrimp lacked seasoning. I think the shrimp definitely needed more flavor to not be lost in the richness of the grits. I thought the Mac and cheese was awesome. The barbeque potato chip crust on top was super original and it worked really well. The textural contrast of the crunch on top to the ooey, gooey mac and cheese was phenomenal.

We couldn’t go to the Fat Ham and not try the vaunted hot chicken. We also decided to order the collard greens and it was a very good decision on our part. Booyah that chicken is freaking tasty. It was spicy, but not overly so, with just enough to leave the edges of my mouth tingling with joy. The juicy, tender chicken came with a hell of a crunch. The white bread and ranch really brought it up another level though. The ranch was incredible. Clearly homemade ranch is the way to go. I had no idea that collard greens could taste so good. It was my first time having them and all I have to say is wow. The flavor of the cooked down greens and the nice chunks of ham hocks dispersed throughout were an awesome combination.

It was dessert time and although they didnt have espresso which normally makes me mad, their coffee is delicious. Our server told us how good it was and he was right. The cookie skillet is simply banging. Only thing I wish is that the scoop of ice cream on top was a touch bigger. It was hard to spread it out enough to get some with every bite. The cookie is incredibly rich and decadent. I loved the banana pudding too. It was a really fun take on it. It came with a crispy nilla waferesque cookie and creamy banana pudding. Homerun. 

Four pints for the Fat Ham. I really loved our meal here. I went to college in the South, so this place made me very nostalgic for that time of my life. Most of the dishes were outstanding, but there are a few that need some little tweaks in my opinion. It is always nice to see Ben Fileccia taking care of people too. Whether at Sbraga or the Fat Ham, the man knows his stuff! We can’t wait to be back. Give it a try because it’s an amazing place! Cheers!

My Way...

Modo Mio

161 West Girard Avenue

Philadelphia, PA 19123

modomiorestaurant.com/

My fiancé and I wandered a little bit further for dinner one evening than we usually do out to Northern Liberties to try Modo Mio. We went here on the recommendation of my fiance's cousin's fiance, and overall we were pretty pleased with our meal. Philly is always a place that offers a vast variety of options in various places. This particular place is a little Italian BYO. We always love the BYO nature of restaurants like this, but hate when they are cash only, mostly because I am lazy and dont like having to go to the ATM. While the restaurant 

 didnt live up to the hype in our opinion, it was a very solid meal indeed.

We went the route of the turista menu, a prefixe of 4 courses for $35, a serious deal. The meal started with a little amuse bouche from the kitchen, consisting of ricotta cheese, caperberry and prosciutto, and then some delicious bread with olive oil and ricotta. The bread was fantastic and the amuse bouche was as well. The freshness of the ricotta was noticeable and it enhanced every item it was used with.

My fiance ordered the beet salad special they were offering and I ordered the grilled stuffed calamari for our appetizers. Both were very delicious. The stuffed and grilled squid was very tender and flavorful. The little bit of crust put onto the exterior was fantastic from the grill. The filling was rich and hearty, as was the touch of sauce it was served with. The beet salad was a pretty good start as well. Beets always go really well in a salad in my opinion, and this one worked really well with the arugula and vinaigrette it was served with.

Next up was the fried gnocchi with pancetta for her and the rabbit agnolotti for me. The rabbit agnolotti was the best bite of the evening in my opinion. The pasta was tender and the filling was savory, seasoned properly and just damn tasty. I love brown butter on pretty much any pasta, and it didn’t disappoint here. I didn’t like the fried gnocchi as much however. I loved the pancetta crisps, but the gnocchi were really dry. I don’t know if its just that I prefer my gnocchi in the more traditional manner, but I really didn’t like the way they were prepared here.  

Following that up was the next course of grilled ribeye for me and the seared snapper filet for my fiance. The snapper she ordered was on point. There was really crispy skin on the fish, and very flavorful. My steak however didnt have the crust I was looking for. The flavor was good, but the lack of the crust kind of doomed the dish for me. I really liked the brininess of the capers served atop the steak. They brought seasoning without being too salty.

For dessert we had tiramsu and panna cotta. Again one was a star, and the other fell flat. The tiramisu was delicious, while the panna cotta was simply ok. The tiramisu was up there with some of the tastiest I have tried. While some tiramisus get overly boozy, this one had the perfect balance of booze to cream to coffee flavoring. The cake was not overly moist as some can be, so it was really a well balanced effort. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The texture was off on the panna cotta, which always messes with the dish. It didn’t have the gelatinous jiggle that I have come to expect from panna cotta and when it doesn’t have that, the texture tends to suffer.

3 Pints for Modo Mio. It is definitely a unique Italian dining experience here. It's a little off the beaten path, but the food tastes as if its straight out of South Philly. Its nice value for money, especially with the Turista menu and the fact that you can bring your own bottle makes it even more attractive. It gets very busy, so make sure you plan ahead. Overall though I think the place has a ton of charm, great service, and very tasty food. I would definitely go back! Cheers!