EAT THESE IMMEDIATELY: Summer specials at Sycamore

The Web site for the award-winning alternative weekly, the Philadelphia City Paper.

0 comments

EAT THESE IMMEDIATELY: Summer specials at Sycamore

POSTED: Tuesday, July 6, 2010, 6:37 PM

Filed Under: Eat This Immediately

Stopped by Lansdowne's Sycamore (14 S. Lansdowne Ave.) over the long weekend to grab a peek at some perfect-for-summer dishes Sam Jacobson has going the British-born chef was kind enough to cook up a sampling of his stuff for us to share with all you city types who don't make it out to the DelCo hamlet with any regularity. Jacobson's lineup rotates frequently based on what's available, meaning he won't be cooking all these dishes every single day, but it's most definitely worth giving a ring to see what's on the menu on a given evening if he's doing even one of these on your night, you're good.

Photo | Drew Lazor

For his "wild mushrooms on toast" starter, Jacobson sautés up a mix of meaty porcini, chanterelle and royal trumpet mushrooms, dresses them with a bit of Green Meadow farm garlic chives and plates it atop a buttery, pan-fried crouton wearing a big, runny truffled duck egg. Messy in the best way and super-shareable.

Photo | Drew Lazor

One dish Sycamore's been doing in surprisingly high volume sounds bizarre on paper Jacobson pairs a crispy caramelized octopus tentacle with a tangy blueberry gastrique (!) and cumin seed sourdough toast. It doesn't sound like it should work, but it really, really does just ask professional skeptics like the Inquirer's Craig LaBan, who was wowed by the dish in a May review.

Photo | Drew Lazor

Here's our favorite: Jacobson's lapin a la moutarde, a juicy Lancaster rabbit leg (plus some pulled meat) braised in sweet Riesling, Dijon mustard and creme fraiche and served on a bed of marcona almond-studded basmati rice alongside crisp Green Meadow Farm carrots and beans. What's nice about this dish, aside from the deep flavor that braise lends to the meat, is its great texture, a result of attention to detail it wasn't just lazily stewed to death for 7,000 hours, then tossed on a plate and sold as "fall-off-the-bone tender." Pour one out for your fallen brethren, Hip-Hop. Eat these immediately.

Tweets that mention EAT THESE IMMEDIATELY: Summer specials at Sycamore :: Meal Ticket :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2010-07-06 13:58:29

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Drew Lazor. Drew Lazor said: RT @mealticket EAT THESE IMMEDIATELY: Summer specials at Sycamore http://bit.ly/cPVZTR [...]

poncho

Posted 2010-07-06 22:10:13

The food at Sycamore is truly wonderful and I hope more people try it.  I grew up in Lansdowne and it's great, for so many reasons, to have a restaurant of this caliber in town.  So everyone go eat at Sycamore!

Memeza

Posted 2010-07-19 17:18:26

I definitely agree. Sycamore is a must visit for anyone in the Philadelphia area.

Meal Ticket’s 2010 in pictures: July :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-12-31 18:22:43

[...] - EAT THESE IMMEDIATELY: Summer specials at Sycamore [06jul10] [...]

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 6:37 PM Permalink | Post a comment

0 comments

Comments (0)

First Gigs: Jeff Ziga, Little Baby's Ice Cream
If you don't know Nutella is bad for you and your kids, then you are a total idiot and a bad parent.
An edible guide to Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival
Notes from the Weekend: May 13
Bar Crawl: What's new at Ortlieb's
Afternoon Snacks: Richard Blais's Ikea Burger, Waffle "tacos," Coffee nerdery, The U.N. wants you to eat more bugs
Extra! Extra! Lobster openings, chocolate closings and lots of free stuff
Spike TV's "Bar Rescue" turns Swanky Bubbles into Sheer
Real Talk: 50 Things They Never Told You About Being a Chef
Hell's Kitchen casting in Philly

About this blog

Founded in October 2008, Meal Ticket is a City Paper blog about food, drink and assorted other things that make you go mmm. We do recipes, interviews, restaurant news, commentary and much more. We don't do restaurant reviews here — those are handled in print, mostly by our critic (and Meal Ticket contributor) Adam Erace. Got a tip, question, thought or concern? Just want to say hello? Please shoot a note to caroline@citypaper.net.

Follow team Meal Ticket on Twitter:

@mealticket | @carolinerussock | @adamerace

Search this blog:

Topics:

Blog archives:

May
April
March

February
January