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Eight months after closing his restaurant Ansill, chef David Ansill has found a new home at Ladder 15 (1528 Sansom St.). Owners Max Tucker and Mike Mastellone, unhappy with Ladder's less-than-stellar food reviews, sorted more than 150 chef resumes before receiving Ansill's. "I called my partner immediately," says Tucker. "I was so excited. Our vision was for phenomenal food, and you need a phenomenal chef to make it happen — I can't believe we got David Ansill."
Ladder's new menu, which is still in development, is essentially bar food. "This is the food I like to eat," says Ansill. "I'd rather sit at the bar and order a few apps instead of an entrée. It's affordable, social and very beer- and wine-friendly." The fryer gets a workout with curried lamb-filled "empanadas" ($9) and a fried cauliflower plate ($7) that Ansill freely admits he"stole from Mike Solomonov at Zahav. It does have a different sauce." Perhaps the pièce de résistance is the new Ladder 15 burger — ground sirloin topped with wine-braised shortribs, mushrooms and caramelized onions on a Metropolitan Bakery brioche bun, sided with a bone of roasted marrow, black truffle aioli and a wee pitcher of truffle jus ($18).
New wine lists and rotating draft beer selections are currently in the works, but have been overhauled once already. Zach Smith, who opened the restaurant as a bartender, has taken the reins of the cocktail list, banishing the overly sweetened drinks that so annoyed City Paper critic Trey Popp in his May '09 review.
Check out the new menu here, and look for my debut booze column, Spirit Sister, in the March 11 print edition of City Paper for more on the story behind the big changes at Ladder 15.
UPDATE: Check out Ansill's full menu below.
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Go Dave go! This menu looks great. I can't wait to come in to eat.
The Korean Taco's are great, the grilled chorizo is killer, and David Ansill has done an amazing job with the food at this joint. This is a dream come true for me as I live on 15th and Chestnut. I come to this place often for the drinks and the scene and now I can enjoy really good eats too. My only gripe is the place gets really crowded but that's why I go during the week.
The Korean Tacos are one of the best bar foods in the city...and several other parts of the menu are outstanding. I was happy to see that they kept the chicken lollipops (their version of wings) from the old menu...very good. Zach is also a great bartender...their beer selection is a little boring though...hope they get a few big interesting beers on the list (Stella, Leffe, and most of the others can be found in any hotel bar). With that one addition, would be a top spot....and is pretty darn close to that already...
Yeah, food is much better- but the ugh, the crowd is still painful.
Beer list is having a complete overhaul. Look for the details tomorrow. Some big big surprises on the new 'opening tap list'.
[...] 15 rejiggering its entire concept after the arrival of chef David Ansill. Check out Flea’s previous coverage of the bar here on Meal Ticket. Felicia D’Ambrosio’s new City Paper column, Spirit [...]
[...] we mentioned a few weeks back, David Ansill has landed at Ladder 15 and tonight he debuts his new menu with free bites after 8pm. Ladder 15 has also revamped their beer and drinks menu to better [...]
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