Dinner at Ants Pants: Take Two

The popular South Street brunchery Ants Pants Cafe added dinner service about a year ago.  We visited soon after (unfortunately, we still haven't been for brunch or their infamous coffee) and liked it, but weren't overly impressed with the simple sandwich-heavy menu.  Recently, the restaurant hired a new chef (Nicole Loesch, formerly of Fork) who has revamped the menu.  We were invited back to sample the new eats, and happily obliged.

The menu still includes some of the original dinner options, including an Aussie-themed burger and sweet potato fries- pretty solid basics, so we can see why you'd keep 'em around.  However, the rest of the menu is much more inspired, including a few delicious daily specials.

One of these specials was the mussels du jour, a crazy big bowl of bangin' shellfish for only $5.  The flavor of the day was Thai chili & coconut, a great sweet and spicy combo.  Tiny discs of sliced chilis found their way into the open mussels and gave it a good kick.  We all wanted a spoon to slurp up the rest of the broth, but the perfectly grilled baguette served that purpose well enough.

We were clearly on a seafood mission, so also opted to order the salt n' pepper calamari.  These two dishes make up 2/3rds of the appetizer choices-- they're going for quality over quantity.  The calamari was another generous portion, freshly fried, and served with lemon myrtle aioli ($10).  Lemon myrtle is an indigenous Australian herb, so this sauce was a delicious shout-out to Ants Pants' Aussie roots.

Between our apps and the arrival of our entrees, our server cleared the entire table and brought fresh silverware- just another little touch that brings the experience up a notch.  The service was perfect overall, with a single server adeptly managing all of the tables with a smile (granted there are <10 total tables, but still!).

My entree was another special of the day, a grilled sea bass with homemade kimchi and rice ($16).  The kimchi was thickly cut, not the long thin strips of cabbage I'm used to, but it worked well to deliver an addition of texture and crunch.  The sea bass was well cooked, but I did discover a few small bones- nothing I couldn't eat around, but I can see it making other customers unhappy.

We brought our mom along since our dad was out of town, and she instantly decided to order the scallops with pumpkin risotto ($16).  A smaller portion than some of the other dishes, but rich enough to satisfy, with plenty of creamy risotto and crunchy macadamia nut topping.  Risotto does tend to be a hit-or-miss dish, and may be a little too ambitious for such a small cafe.  We thought it could have used a bit more salt to balance the sweetness of the squash.

The Ants Pants Burger is actually NOT the Australian burger, but instead includes all of the American favorites- melty Roquefort, lots of crispy bacon, and sautéed onions ($15).  A bit of sliced tomato and a pile of arugula complete the sandwich, which we compared to the infamous Good Dog burger.  Although the cheese is on the outside, not stuffed into the meat, I'd say that's a pretty big compliment.

The Pork Bahn Mi represents a total 180º from the original Ants Pants sandwich options.  It might not be the most authentic bahn mi you can get in the city, but it's pretty darn good, with lots of crunchy pickled veggies, sharp spicy jalapeños, grilled sliced pork and a salty pate spread ($12).  The option of a (large!) lightly dressed side salad is always appreciated, too.

Our server pushed us to try some of Ants Pants coffee options, so we ordered a decaf "short white."  Huh?  Yeah, we were also confused to see this option on the drink menu, next to "tall black."  This lingo stands for two common espresso drinks: a small latte and an Americano.  The decaf version was both easy to drink and lovely to look at.

The restaurant treated us to three of their signature desserts, which absolutely blew us away.  If I lived nearby, I'd stop in just for dessert on a regular basis.  All three were desserts I know I couldn't get anywhere else- an espresso and anise pot de creme, a Lamington cake with Tim Tam ice cream, and a fruit Pavlova ($7-8/each).  The pot de creme was creamy, rich, and full of flavor- even our mom, who notoriously hates even a hint of coffee, loved this dessert due to its strong licorice flavor.  The Lamington is a traditional Aussie sweet, with layers of sponge cake dipped in chocolate, sandwiching a bit of cream between.  As for the ice cream.. well, if you've never had a Tim Tam, you're missing out.  The pavlova may have been our favorite, however, as it has an extremely interesting texture.  Named after famed ballerina Anna Pavlova after she visited Australia, it is a super light meringue yet eats "like a gummy bear" once you hit the bottom layer.

I'm not going to lie, besides the general cafe decor and our awesome server, it's hard to believe this is the same restaurant we visited last January.  The new chef definitely stepped it up many notches, and is producing affordable dishes with a special touch.  The nod to original Australian eats remains, but with a much more sophisticated feel.  If you went once and weren't impressed, we definitely recommend another visit.  Thanks again to Ants Pants for treating us to a dinner I'm still thinking about!

Ants Pants Cafe
2212 South Street

** Our meal was provided complimentary by Ants Pants but all opinions are our own**

Eat This Now: Spring Lettuces Salad @ Strangelove's

Sometimes we just have that one killer dish that we want to share.  Last night we had a quick dinner at Strangelove's, which we've enjoyed previously.   After a lot of Thanksgiving indulgences, we were both in the mood for a serious salad, and Strangelove's has a few offerings on their "Greenery For Your Scenery" section of the menu.  I got a repeat dish- the Russian Kale Salad, which is still a really refreshing bowl of crunchy kale, sweet roasted beets, edamame, and lots of nutty farro and pecans.  A creamy dressing takes a little bit of the earthiness out of the kale.

However, we also tried the Spring Lettuces salad, and while seemingly out-of-season, it makes for a killer meal.

The combo of soft baby lettuces, crunchy fennel and radishes, cherry tomatoes, and green olives offers a ton of texture and flavor.  A sharp sherry vinaigrette adds that necessary acidity.  Although random, a perfectly cooked chicken breast slathered with cilantro-heavy guac is just... really darn delicious.  Eat this ASAP!

Strangelove's 
216 S 11th St

Fall Menu at P.F. Chang's

Remember a few months ago when we made a visit to our closest Pei Wei to try some of their new menu items?  The restaurants PR folks kindly sent us a gift card to try it out, and we were happy to do so-- they are still serving those delicious, fresh lettuce wraps too!  Although Pei Wei is a solid spot, it's more of a quick weeknight dinner kind of place.  P.F. Chang's represents the company's more upscale offerings, with 20 years of "Asian-inspired" eats across the country (and world!).  Typically found in or near a shopping mall, I think of P.F. Chang's as the Asian version of the Cheesecake Factory- seats hundreds, is just as friendly for a date, a group dinner with friends, or a family meal (kids meal included), and offers more options than you will ever be able to eat.

Not my picture (source), but those horses impressed me!

This has been a crazy year, so apologies if I haven't kept you up to date- my husband and I now live about 45 minutes from the city, significantly closer to NJ than Philly.  Thus, our nearest P.F. Chang's is in Princeton.  This restaurant also came with another Cheesecake Factory classic- a wait.  You can make reservations in advance, which I was unaware of, so we ended up waiting about 40 minutes for a table for 2.

The PR folks were nice enough to send us another gift card, this time to try the newest Fall menu additions.  These are highlighted in a special section of the enormous menu, making it easy to hone in on them- and they sounded so delicious that I hardly looked at the regular options.  We started with an order of Crispy Korean Chicken Wings ($10.95 at the Princeton location).  The menu picture of these is seriously irresistible, plus who doesn't like wings AND Korean flavors?

Korean Wings; P.F. Chang's Pic

Korean Wings, the real deal

Somehow the chefs finagle the wings so that the meat is bunched at one end, and the bone becomes a cleaner handle.  Great in theory, but somehow it made the amount of meat seem very small-- and the "crispy" portion thus took over a bit.  Although the batter:meat ratio was quite high, the flavor more than made up for it-- the sweet, sour, spicy mix that Korean food gets just right.  You also get 8 wings for the price- a great deal.

I also chose a Fall menu addition for my entree, the Citrus Mustard Prawns ($17.95).  Tail-on shrimp are very lightly battered and wok-fried with a mix of vegetables, including zucchini noodles, which kind of blew my mind.  I knew that you could make this magical vegetable pasta, but have never actually had it.  I honestly believed that my plate had noodles AND zucchini ribbons until I was eating the leftovers the next day.  It's all made from the green squash!

Although the plate wasn't the prettiest, I loved every bite.  The dish came with at least a dozen large shrimp. making it too much to handle in one sitting.  The mustard sauce might have been the best part-- made with a significant amount of that delicious nose-tingling Chinese mustard.

My date (also known as my husband) took his Sweet and Sour Chicken duties very seriously (he also ordered this picky-eater's-favorite at Pei Wei over the summer).  P.F. Chang's version is- not surprisingly- very similar to Pei Wei's, although you pay $4 more ($12.95 vs. $8.95).  I ended up eating the leftovers a couple days later, when it was probably even better (more time for the flavors to meld).  However, the dish came with many chunks of candied ginger, dyed red (a bit of a surprise to bite into-- I thought they were syrupy cherries at first!).  Although this wasn't a seasonal menu item, it's a good dish to try to get a feel for the basic talents of an (Americanized) Asian restaurant.

I wish we had more room to try additional items-- the autumn menu even includes dessert, such as Caramel Apple Wontons- hello!  P.F. Chang's does a good job at reinventing some comfort favorites with an Asian twist.  For you city folk, the nearest restaurant is probably in Cherry Hill, NJ, so next time you're at the Cherry Hill Mall, take the opportunity to satisfy your Asian cravings.

P.F. Chang's

**Thanks again to Karwoski & Courage PR for the gift card.  This is not a sponsored post, and all opinions are our own.**

Brunch at Dandelion

Did you guys know I'm obsessed with brunch at Parc (warning: link to an OLD post!)?  I think I've mentioned it a few times :)  There's just something magical about the combination of delicious food, authentic atmosphere, and really great service (something you can always count on at the Starr establishments).  Just a few blocks down the street, another Starr spot delivers an equally magical brunch experience: the British-style pub, The Dandelion, provides a very fun experience with delicious eats.

When you're catching up with a few girlfriends, an order of scones for the table is a necessity to start ($9.25).  Round, dense, and crumbly, they're pretty darn near perfect (minus those pesky raisins, which I admittedly childishly picked around).  The house-made raspberry jam was a key component, adding a bit of bright sweetness and additional moisture to each bite.

We split a couple of dishes between the two of us since we struggled to decide what to order from the fairly expansive menu- always a problem with us.  The English Breakfast ($16) is filling enough for two, since almost every item on the plate is particularly hearty.  It includes two eggs (any style; over easy for us), a fat, juicy Cumberland sausage link, baked beans, crispy bacon, fried brioche toast, a small side of roasted tomatoes and mushrooms, as well as a piece of black pudding (for the more adventurous of us.. not my favorite).  That's a heck of a lot of food!  I might be one of the few people I know who actually wants to eat baked beans in the morning-- I think I'd fit in well in England.

To accompany that hearty breakfast dish, we also split a bowl of the fresh tomato gazpacho, which I don't believe is currently offered on the menu-- it's such a summer dish!  It was a wonderful counterbalance, with lots of acidity and nice garnishes of crispy toast with olive tapenade, watercress leaves, and some high-quality olive oil.  Super refreshing and light, and can I please comment on how adorable the china is?

Another super popular dish at The Dandelion is the burger, which both of our friends ordered.  I've actually reported previously on the burger (found here), which has gone through some transformation since that first visit long ago.  A little pricier at $16.50, but a LOT better.  This is definitely one of the best in the city, with all of the best burger components served just right- a buttery bun, shredded lettuce, thinly sliced red onion, bacon, pickles, and a "Churchill" sauce (alright, that's a new one).

The burger comes with a cute little tin of triple cooked "chips" or thick steak-cut fries (my favorite!).  Even though there are so many authentic British dishes on the menu, this burger is seriously worth an order here.

Although I didn't fall in love with The Dandelion when I first went for dinner (almost three years ago), I'm completely sold on the brunch experience.  The intimate spaces and bright sunshine streaming in the bay windows is a completely different atmosphere than the dark, "pub-y" nighttime vibe.  Take your girlfriends, your mom, or your lover here for brunch, and pretend you've woken up in England if just for a couple hours.

The Dandelion Pub
18th and Sansom Streets

Noord

Since the parents became native Philadelphians, they've wasted no time diving right into the restaurant scene.  Although my dad is currently taking a "concentric circle" dining approach- eating at restaurants starting as close as possible to their Rittenhouse condo and moving outwards from there- I recently convinced him to take a nice walk down to Passyunk Avenue with me.  His half-Finnish heritage made Noord, the new-ish Scandinavian restaurant, a good choice.

 

The owner, Joncarl Lachman, has a very noticeable presence in the dining room, checking in on patrons and even pouring water.  He showed us to a small two-seater smack in the middle of the restaurant- a longer, narrow room that seats 35.  Nice weather allowed wide-open windows and a nice breeze, though the noise levels did get a bit high with the outside traffic and inside BYOers.

We were treated to a big hunk of house-baked barley bread and soft butter chock full of roasted garlic.  The haphazard shape gave it an uneven char and required some slightly awkward ripping, but we were glad to get our hands dirty.  Dense and ever so slightly sweet, this crusty loaf is a good enough reason to pop in.

The menu has plenty of options and had us stymied for quite some time.  Almost every entree was a contender, but unfortunately there were just two of us and decisions must be made.  And honestly, the menu is VERY approachable.  It really isn't all herring and lingonberries. 













However, we did start with a couple of rather "traditional" appetizers.  The bitterballen ($10) are advertised as fried pork meatballs, but forget ground meat.  A thick, crispy, hush-puppy-like outside gave way to a creamy, nutmeg-scented pulled pork filling.  A sharp, grainy mustard sauce and a few sprigs of baby lettuce finished the plate. These aren't IKEA's Swedish meatballs by a long shot.

 

My dad has an affinity for pickled herring, so the Holland Sliders ($9) were an easy choice.  Lachman sources his herring from the local purveyor Samuels & Son, already packed in a wine sauce.  Here, the fish is served simply on fluffy potato rolls with a sweet, crunchy bread and butter pickle.  A little plain for my taste- I try not to order things at restaurants that I could make at home.

For the main course, we compromised and decided to split one fish dish (seafood makes up half of the options) and the braised pork shank ($23), a dish I would expect to see at Cochon.  A huge piece of slow-cooked, super tender, bone-in pork is nestled in a pile of firm brown beans and cider-braised collards.  Comfort food at its finest, with pieces of a potent vinegar-infused apple gastrique revitalizing our tastebuds from time to time.  Lachman told us that this was standard dinner fare growing up in South Philly, separating his family's identity from that of their lasagna and meatball-eating Italian neighbors.

Choosing a fish was difficult- they all sound amazing- but we settled on the stuffed rainbow trout ($25), complete with head and tail.  The flaky white meat was easily accessible under the thin skin, complemented by artichokes and sweet onions layered between the fillets.  Braised collard greens made another appearance here, but the best part by far was the dill and white wine broth.  The creamy concoction really showcased every flavor, soaking up essence of fish, sweetness from the onion, and just an overall richness without being overpoweringly buttery.  This fish and that bread and I'm all set. 

The best part of the experience, apart from the delicious food and casual four mile round trip stroll from Center City, was the interaction with Lachman.  He is the definition of friendly, with a genuine smile, warm laugh, and engaging personality.  Even though he was constantly attending to other diners, checking on food before send-out, and generally running the show, he took a few minutes to chat with us without seeming at all in a hurry to rush off to something else.  It truly made the dining experience memorable.

Noord
1046 Tasker St. (corner of 11th and Tasker)