|
|
|
Phyllis Stein-Novack is feeling the French fare at Will
Whoa! Three and a half tips of the toque for will!
Phyllis Stein-Novack is feeling the French fare at Will
This week South Philly Review restaurant critic Phyllis-Stein Novack is checking in at EPX BYOB Will (1911 East passyunk Ave.) where she finds Christopher Kearse's tweaked French fare to be quite to her liking.
If you're wondering why it took PSN and husband Edward so long to make it to Will it's probably worth mentioning that Will's warm weather open window policy was a little off putting to Stein-Novack in the summer months so she decided to wait until temperatures dropped and windows shuttered.
Beginning with warm bread and softened herb butter, braised to perfection baby artichokes and gloriously flavored head-on shrimp, PSN's meal was off to a great start.
Although PSN is not a fan of molecular gastronomy, she was fascinated by Kearse's modernist onions in an heirloom carrot salad:
"Two tiny, and I mean tiny, sweet red whole onions were marvelous in flavor and texture. I never ate anything like them. Our server described them as small balls that pop in your mouth oozing a flavorful liquid. They were cold, so I assume they could have been frozen with liquid nitrogen. Still, the intriguing balance of flavors, colors, textures and ingredients made this a memorable dish."
And the seafood foam accompanying perfectly cooked Jersey Shore scallops intrigued her taste buds.
Duck served three ways was the star of the evening with confit, juicy breast and duck sausage incorporated into a lasagna. Although the dish was satisfying, Edward would have preferred to have had a few more vegetables on his plate.
Aside from being a little on the dry side, when it came time for dessert a pistachio-tarragon financier brought PSN back to her days spent in Paris.
And while PSN was not without complaints about her meal at Will (too small portions, monochromatic scallops) she went ahead and awarded it a stellar rating: three and a half tips of the toque!
- barstool scientist
- Booze
- Brew Revue
- Chef Salad
- Closings
- Coffee
- Contests
- Dealage
- Dirty Dishes
- Don't Front
- Eat This Immediately
- Field Trip
- Food and Art
- Food and Holidays
- Food and Movies
- Food and Music
- Food and Politics
- Food and Sports
- Food and Web
- Food Blogs
- Food Books
- Food Events
- Food News
- Food TV
- Gifted
- Happy Hour Hopper
- How-To
- In Print
- Interview
- Meal Ticket
- Menu Time
- Not So Quickfire
- Notes from the Weekend
- On Wheels
- Openings
- Patio Drinking
- Philly Beer Week 2010
- Photos
- Private Chef POV
- Product Placement
- Recipes
- Snack Time
- Stiff Drank
- SUPPER
- Tea
- Testing
- Ticket Stubs
- Top Chef
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Video
- Weekly Candy
- Weird Regional Foods
- We're Here to Help
- Where'd We Eat?
- Drew Lazor's Ill-Advised Rant Factory
- Pregame
- Ill-Advised Ranting
- The Week Without Meat
- Philly Beer Week 2009
- Real Big
- Where'd I Eat Last Night?
- Top Chef Masters
- The Good Word
- Next Iron Chef
- Arterial Terrorism
- Food and Radio
