A.Meal from A.Kitchen

Twice a year Philadelphia has restaurant week, a magical time of year when (mostly) high-end restaurants offer a progressive meal at a discounted rate. Now, some restaurants will try to scam you, have you pay $35 for a cheese quesadilla and a piece of chicken. No, don't fall for the cheap places that claim to give you lots of meals. It's ok. I'm here to help you see how to get your money's worth, find places that are worth it (?). And a good, spontaneous meal with good friends makes a day so much better...now my friends are all going to send me sappy texts. So, relax and live through me reliving my meal.

When evaluating a deal, you must first study the menu. Again, don't fall for a cheap appetizer or an overly simple dish you can get at home. I chose toast. But, this toast was amazingly complex for a breakfast staple.

The base: a charred, slightly dark wheat bread.
On top: light and delicate ricotta juxtaposing the darkness below and the earthiness it was topped with.
Topping: an assortment of mushrooms that looked like they were plucked right from a tree trunk (that's a compliment), bespeckled with fried rosemary fronds and a drizzling of fruity olive oil. 


Overall, the dish was woodsy but not murky or one note like many mushroom dishes. This was probably due to the balance of darker elements with fruity olive oil and creamy (but fatty) ricotta and bright, fresh herbs. My friend described this dish as purple, a deep purple. I think this dish is best described as what you would eat if you wandered in a beautiful forrest, like the kind described in a fairytale. And while you were walking in the woods, you found a clearing inhabited by a kingdom of squirrels. The advanced squirrels and their king would feed you this dish. I'm not crazy, I swear.

Next course, chicken. Ok, I'm not gonna lie, chicken isn't exactly a top-tier dish or one that is usually super creative, but I also chose to go out to eat and make a reservation in a matter of minutes. But, for a classic roast chicken, this one was very good. Crispy skin, bright lemon, bitter greens, buttery and nutty pine nuts. Hits all the checkmarks for a balanced flavor profile. I don't have a ridiculous scenario to compare this roast chicken to.

Now, here's where I'm not sure I got my full money's worth. Dessert was "assorted cookies." That doesn't sound super unique. I also imagined an amazing chocolate chip cookie with Gottard chocolate and maldon sea salt. That's not what I got. I got two tiny cinnamon biscotti and a coconut "cookie" that had the texture of what would happen if a cookie and a petit four loved each other very much. But, they were g o o d, I guess. And it was lunch so they weren't going to pull out all the stops.

In the end, my spontaneous restaurant week lunch was worth it. If I was a little short of running an amazing scam to get over $25 worth, I made up for it with actually having fun and not worrying about plans. What a rarity! So, plan your meal but not your happiness.

Eating better cookies (maybe served by squirrels),
Christina

Location: 135 S 18th St, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA

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