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Tagsanother Philly restaurant review: Pumpkin
OK, I’m pushing the bounds of this blog, but I get emails from people asking about food in Philly more often than you’d think!
Last night, to celebrate the boy’s birthday, we went to Pumpkin, a delightful byo on South Street between 17th and 18th (two blocks from Loop). We’d never been, though it’s gotten good reviews since it opened, and friends I told during the day raved.
It’s small and cute, quite like Pif and some of the other byos I really like. The service was very hands-off (I saw some negative reviews online), but the real important part is the food, right?
First, we split an appetizer of grilled lamb loin on rosemary foccacia over a ragu of tomatoes and chiles, with a yogurt sauce that was kind of spicy. I cannot say enough good things about this appetizer. We requested the lamb rare, and it was the softest, most impressive lamb ever (and I eat lamb whenever I go out). The flavors were perfectly balanced–roasted garlic offest by the chiles, the smokiness of the grill tempered by the yogurt. Excellent, excellent appetizer.
The entrees were good but, in truth, not as good as that appetizer. I got the hanger steak, served with some kind of potato gratin thing and haricots vert. The steak, also rare (yes, I’m a bloody meat girl), was soft and tender but needed some other punch of flavor. Texture-wise, it couldn’t be beat. The boy got pork two ways–a grilled loin and slow-cooked shoulder. I am not a huge pork fan, but I really liked the shoulder. He said, too, that it needed some other layer of flavor. I’m coming off as fairly disappointed in the entrees, and compared with the appetizer I was, but don’t misunderstand: the entrees were still quite good.
For dessert we split the vanilla creme brulee, which was very nice. I’m a huge custard fan, and the custard was rich but soft. The proportion of brulee to custard wasn’t my ideal (this had more brulee than I like), but it was perfectly well done.
We were there for two hours, never felt rushed once. Go! Enjoy.
5 Responses to another Philly restaurant review: Pumpkin
Thanks for the review from another Philly foodie.
The best app I had in a long time was Mussels in a Pernod-Butter at Majolica in Phoenixville. So good, and I generally do not care for anise flavor. So good, in fact, I can’t remember my entree. A stand-out course is a good thing.
I’m so jealous of all the byos you guys have in Philly, I wish we had more of them in NY (b/c I am thrifty like that). And I ALWAYS like to read about food!
On several occasions I have had an appetizer so good that it has made otherwise excellent entrees seem a little dull in comparison. I think because you experience flavors so much more strongly on the first taste (this is true, not just conjecture), and appetizers tend to have small amounts of something very delicioius and very highly seasoned, it’s hard for anything else to measure up, flavor-wise. Perhaps we should all just stick to gruel appetizers for the sake of our entrees. :)
I’ll have to remember this entry. We are thinking about going to Philly for the day in a couple of weeks since we live so close now. Thanks for the review! :)
I LOVE the Philly PYO concept. So smart. I’ll pass this review along to my sister and brother-in-law. I keep trying to get them to go into the city more, but nooo. They are content in New Jersey.
On the other hand, if you ever feel like crossing the Ben Franklin for dinner, I can recommend Tortilla Press (mex, obviously) and Casona (Cuban; consensus is that brunch is the best meal there) in Collingswood very highly. Surprisingly highly, actually.