Dinner started with a little flirtation: a tiny oval of the most exquisite tuna tartare I have ever tasted: luminous bits of tuna the texture of cooked rice, judiciously moistened with sesame oil and a touch of herbs. The wooing continued with grilled sourdough topped with a mint-flecked, vibrant green pea puree and wispy lardons of house-cured, crisp bacon. By the time the pork blade steak arrived, with its bitter mustard greens and sweet-tart red onion marmalade, I was totally in love with Vernick Food & Drink.
That’s Greg Vernick’s new Philadelphia restaurant, an
internationally inspired American bistro by the accomplished chef who opened a slew of restaurants around the world for Jean-Georges Vongerichten,
but who has now come home.
Open only since May, Vernick Food & Drink is a Rittenhouse Square-area, two-story townhouse, with a sleek downstairs bar with bistro windows opening to the street, an airy upstairs dining room with large windows opening onto a balcony, and a spacious rear dining room with open kitchen and counter seating.
The menu is small. The flavors are huge.
That winsome pork blade steak, crisp-edged and fork tender, seemed to lasso all the robust pork flavor that’s been bred out of today’s ordinary pigs. The wood-roasted carrots that were tossed into a salad with cornichons and an olive-flecked dressing, tasted like they had been yanked from the garden just hours before. Grilled hearts of romaine were delicious in a pas de deux with figs. And ravioli (below), crafted of delicate dough and creamy, dreamy mashed potatoes, and topped with braised lamb and butter-blessed breadcrumbs, were terrific (though possibly more terrific with a bit more seasoning?)
A luscious Butterscotch & Smoked Chocolate Parfait -- with shortbread and pecans -- showed off how the kitchen’s rousing creativity is firmly grounded in the classics. And, did I mention the shishito peppers(pictured above), those darlings of every bar and tapas menu worth its salt? Blistered and salted and paired with impossibly crispy potato chunks, they were reason enough to return to Vernick’s inviting home.
In fact, about my only beef with the experience was that I couldn’t
eat everything I wanted. Ambitious though my son Nicholas and I may be, we
couldn’t order nearly as many dishes as we would have liked. Next time: The
olive-oiled slab of grilled sourdough topped with creamy eggplant and
chanterelles; dressed beets with Moliterno cheese; and the carrot cake that’s
frosted with cream cheese, fromage blanc and vanilla (I’m still kicking myself
that I missed that one).
Vernick is one of the few restaurants that really can be all things to all people. You want to pop in for a handcrafted cocktail and a few nibbles after a concert or movie? Go for it. Want to dine alone without feeling self-conscious? The kitchen counter is the place. Looking for a place to dine leisurely with a group of fussy foodie friends? Look no further.
Vernick Food & Drink. Great food, good looks, a flexible, reasonably priced menu, professional service, and a low-key but unusually hospitable ambiance. What’s not to love?
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