Thursday, August 18, 2011

The reason I take all Philadelphia Magazine Restaurant Reviews with a grain of salt....places like Kennett

As the title of this post plainly states, I ALWAYS take Philly Mag's "Best of Philly" lists (regarding food) with a grain of salt ( I mean they ranked Barbuzzo #10, c'mon!!). With that being said, I think it serves as a decent guideline when making a bucket list of Philly restaurants. Kennett Restaurant, on South 2nd Street, won "Best New Pub 2011" and being that it's right around the corner from us, it was only a matter of time before Kay and I tried it.

Upon entering, you notice that nothing really sets Kennett apart from any other gastro-pub in the city. It's a dimly lit, intimate setting - somewhere you'd want to sit and engage in conversation with a small group of friends or date. The only distinctive aspect at Kennett was the wood-fired pizza oven in the rear of the restaurant. Unfortunately, that same oven was the bane of my entire dining experience. Kay and I were seated at the very back of the restaurant in a dark corner directly next to the pizza oven. Needless to say, the temperature was just slightly uncomfortable; something I would have been more accepting of if they made up for it in the food. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Our menu selections included:

  • Mixed Plate (2 cheeses and 2 items from charcuterie, cornichons, toast points, and whole-grain mustard)
  • Porchetta Pizza (Slow roasted pork, farmer's cheese, and honey)
  • Gnocchi Parisian (house made from organic flour and butter, farmers cheese, peas, radicchio, ramps, pistou)
For the mixed plate, we chose the Pressed Duck and Pork Belly Terrine and the Prosciutto from the Charcuterie and the Aged Cheddar and Fresh Sheep's Cheese. The terrine was above average - the duck and pork belly worked very well together to create an earthy compliment to the relatively spicy mustard. The prosciutto was very much below average. I'm not sure whether it was imported or domestic (if I had to guess, I'd say the latter given it's light coloring), but it was devoid of any discernible flavor. The cheeses were average and mixed well with the rest of the accompaniments. The toast points were literally, rock solid. I feared for my teeth! Needless to say, I've had much better cheese/charcuterie plates in Philly (Varga and Parc are just a few that come to mind). The Porchetta Pizza was the dish recommended by Philly Mag, but I didn't know that until right after I ordered it and found the review on my phone. This was, by far, the most disappointing dish of the night. If the pork was removed, leaving the farmer's cheese and honey, this could easily pass for a dessert. It was far too sweet for a main course, and the honey completely overpowered the porchetta (which was bland to begin with). I think the chef knew of this sweetness and tried to counteract it with crushed red pepper, but to no avail. It lacked overall depth. There was a sweet, a savory (tasteless as it may have been), and a spicy element to it, but nothing bitter/salty to round it out. Kay suggested I take some of the capers from her dish and try them on my pizza, so I did. While it wouldn't be the ingredient I'd choose, it certainly provided the aspect that was missing from the dish! As for the gnocchi, they certainly weren't the heavy balls of dough that I grew up with, and that wasn't a bad thing. While I adore the Southern Italian version by the same name, this was a lighter, more refreshing dish, due in equal parts to the fact that the gnocchi was sans potato and red sauce. While gnocchi isn't something I'd normally order on a hot summer evening, the mix of vegetables, fresh cheese and airy pasta made it light enough to enjoy any time of the year.

The beer list at Kennett leaves something to be desired as well. It's completely centered around domestic craft beers, which I like just as much as the next person, but a little variety wouldn't hurt. Also, they don't carry the domestic staples (Miller, Coors, Bud, PBR, etc.) for those in your company that don't enjoy craft beers.

If you had any doubts about my theory regarding Philly Mag's food reviews, I hope this changed that. Don't get me wrong, they do get things right occasionally, including only allowing 4 Stephen Starr restaurants in the Top 50 [placing 18th (Morimoto) ,19th (Butcher & Singer), 35th (Parc), and 46th (Stella) respectively]. However, more often than not, my experiences don't meet my expectations (which usually transpire from their reviews). I tend to be a forgiving person, and will probably give Kennett a second try, but the chef seems to have trouble creating cohesive dishes. I admire nothing more than someone willing to step outside the box, especially chefs, but restaurants are businesses and can only tolerate so many failed attempts. I hope they can get their shit together and make this concept work because Queen Village could certainly use more restaurants, but I'm afraid if they continue this way, that it just wasn't meant to be.

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