WEEKEND RECAP
Friday: HH with J Sho, fish tacos and bourbon, drinks at Locust Rendezvous - the ultimate dive bar - with Jessica, Mogg and other HS buds, swooning over a fleeting crush on our bar server (what? she was adorable and edgy at the same time!), creamy drinks and more bourbon pours.
- Jose Pistolas - GREAT BEER selection, awesome bartenders, okay table waitstaff and forgettable food. J and I were super excited about the fact that they had 3 different kinds of fish tacos on the menu (fried grouper, grilled mahi mahi, seared tuna), but we ordered the grouper and mahi and both landed somewhere in the range of okay to bad. She didn't even finish hers! We also got a half order of the nachos and I can see the potential, but they weren't particularly great. However, since we didn't get them with meat or guac, I concede that they could be awesome and we just didn't get them the right way.
- Locust Rendezvous - This is the kind of place that can either by depressing or awesome - I think it would mostly depend on your mood/state of mind. I found myself totally digging the chill, dark and bare-bones bar feel of it. Plus, our hot server was really attentive, funny and totally engaging, which really helps when you're surrounded by sad, frown-faced old dudes with scotch on the rocks. The most notable event of this part of the evening was that Jessica can now drink White Russians and not vomit. YAY!
Saturday: brunch with one of my favorite couples/family (the DINGS + 1 Erik), SYTYCD finale on DVR, Step Up 3D (aka the worst movie of all time) with "ChiLex," a beer and snackies at Varga Bar, impromptu dinner at Garces Trading Company with the Caldwells including Baby Caldwell, then Grace's bday drinks at Lucy's.
- Adsum Brunch - full review below
- Step Up 3D - ok really... I know you may laugh, but I was really excited about this movie. Say what you will about the Step Up movies, but no matter how corny they are, they're still enjoyable. NOT really so with this installment. It felt like it was just an hour and 40 minutes of terrible scripting, a crude mechanism for showcasing the effects of 3D without actually paying what's due to the integrity of awesome choreography. A total hot mess. Sad. ChiLex (I think I still prefer ChiFong), Soopah and I basically just giggled the entire time.
- Varga Bar - this is the best place, period. But, also the best place to wait until your table is ready at Garces Trading Co! Thank Goodness they have good IPAs on tap again. Was a bit disappointed at the lack thereof the last time I was there. Plus, hello - how can the fall off the bone wings always be so consistently good and arrive at your table so quickly? HOW, Varga bar, HOW?
- Garces Trading Company - you know how I feel about this place. Those feelings still stand. Plus, any dinner with adorable Baby Caldwell is going to be a good time. I will note that this place and our server really surprised me because they were SO adept at handling a toddler at the table - super kind and attentive, and great about handling his egg allergy as well. It was Julie and Jim's first time here and they really enjoyed the prosciutto pizza and scallops. Thanks for dinner, guys!
These full weekends really make me appreciate all that Philadelphia has to offer. I sit back and remember that I'm super fortunate to have the friends and connections that I have here - and I acknowledge that having lived in the same town for most of my life does have some benefits.
So, right - BRUNCH REVIEW.
:: Adsum ::
address: 700-702 South 5th St, Philly
what we ate: chorizo corn dogs, omelet, egg pancetta and potato hash
Located at the corner of 5th and Bainbridge, Adsum is one of the new, "hot," restaurants right now. You can't look through food blogs, news or twitter without seeing several mentions of this place. It's not surprising since they just opened their doors a few weeks ago and Exec Chef Matt Levin is of Lacroix fame. You can see from the creative and adventurous menu that he has the goods to back up his pedigree.
Lately, Soopah and I have been making an effort to hit up as many great brunch spots as possible so we knew this was a must hit place. What cemented Adsum as our brunch for this weekend was the Foobooz post from Friday with the full menu... I'm fairly certain "UHM, does that say CHORIZO CORNDOGS?!" was our immediate reaction. What made the experience even better was that my very dear friends Michelle, Kwan and Erik just so happened to be in Philly for the weekend and were planning on joining us for brunch.
We arrived a good 15 minutes late and found my awesome friends sitting at an outdoor table, on the shaded side of Bainbridge, Slyfox Pale Ale, Mimosa and Porter on the table, aviators on, just being cool and waiting for us. <3 these guys. So we sit down, order a dogfish 90 and a mimosa, and immediately tell our server what we want to eat and so brunch begins. Mind you, the point of this last paragraph (other than to share how awesome these guys are), was to mention that Adum has a great beer/drink selection. :)
Beignets are this French, fried dough concoction - usually rolled/covered in sugar... so essentially, a DOUGHNUT. Which is primarily why I'm not really much of a fan. However, these beignets were really delicious. Amazingly, the dough tasted light and buttery and crumbly in the perfect way, but at the same time had this rich denseness that was bursting with flavor. It was probably a bit sweet for a starter, but I'd definitely recommend as a dessert.
chorizo corndogs: fried hen eggs + black beans + cilantro crema
Clearly, this was the dish that I was excited about - and apparently so was the rest of our table. Michelle, Kwan and I all ordered the corndogs and we were not disappointed. The breading was crumbly and crispy - and the chorizo sausage was spicy and salty. The cilantro cream was a nice bright counter flavor to the heat of the chorizo and the beans helped to settle all the flavors down. The fried eggs were perfectly cooked and was delicious with each bite of corndog. I don't know if this was a perfect dish though - I mean, I enjoyed it thoroughly, but I don't think I'd order it again. I wish the chorizo would have been a bit more... moist, perhaps? It was quite crumbly and I thought maybe it was the round shape of the corndog that wasn't optimal. I think because they were basically corndog balls, the chorizo to cornbread batter ratio were off towards the center. But yeah, I'm really nitpicking here.
poached eggs + pancetta + shallot-potato hash + hollandaise
SOOOOOO GOOD. I was surprised but the shallot-potato hash seems like it's their potato mainstay - like Adsum's version of home fries - and it is ridiculously good. The potato is shredded and formed into a triangle of awesomeness. There were pancetta pieces throughout (of course I wished there was more) and the eggs were placed on top. The poached eggs were a tiny bit overcooked, but still really tasty so I would imagine the perfect execution of this dish would make it even better. We were surprised to find a relatively thick layer of caramelized onions between the potato and eggs, but they really added that extra something to the dish that took it to another level.
omelet: heirloom tomato + chimichurri + farmhouse cheddar
I didn't try this, but Erik said it was quite tasty. It also came with the potato hash YUM! Plus, I love anything with farmhouse cheddar.
OVERALL, I liked this place a lot, and the menu items are definitely the draw (though the interior decor and outside dining are quite nice and memorabl), but definitely on the pricey side. With the mimosas, beers and food, our bill racked up pretty quickly. Besides, I wouldn't say it even makes my top 5 brunch places in Philly, BUT it was extremely solid and makes me look forward to when we return for dinner.
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