Restaurant Review Number Three

iN RiVA- Modern yet rustic, the two words to best describe not only this awesome restaurant's style but it's cuisine as well. Located minutes outside of Philadelphia, in East Falls along the Schuylkill River, Philadelphia-born Chef Arthur Cavaliere is creating unforgettable tapas-esque dishes and oven fired pizza with blends of flavors from his native city with inspiration from Naples, Italy. His experience at top area restaurants such as, Steven Starr's El Vez and Parc and Iron Chef Jose Garces' Amada show through on his creative, and diverse dishes. 

Appetizers -When you sit down, the waiter immediately brings over a bowl of fried chickpeas and pistachios dusted with a house blend of spices. This quick snack is a delicious holdover while you are waiting for the waiter to bring your drinks and your appetizers to come as well.  The star of this menu is the Agrodolce Pork Ribs. These succulent, fall off the bone ribs topped with shredded apple are so soft and juicy they melt like butter as soon as they hit your mouth. Those Ribs were probably the top two or three best things I've ever eaten!

Entree- With the Restaurant being advertised as tapas style yet specializing in wood fired pizza, we were a little confused on what to do portion wise. The excellent staff helped explain everything making you feel a lot more comfortable. We decided to go with the Fiondette pasta dish which included wild mushrooms, braised pork and oregano. This dish was a little to busy, it was overloaded with herbs and an awkward richness that was overbearing. We also ordered the Mushroom and Zucchini pizza which was highly recommended by the waiter but was also ended up disappointing. On this wood fired pizza, there was fontina cheese, black truffle and red onion. While this all star list of ingredients seemed like it couldn't be any less than amazing, it was pretty disappointing. The Pizza was lacking any strong flavors or that melty/salty cheese that you expect with any type of pizza and worst of all charred, burnt crust. 

Beer Pairings -  With the appetizers i decided to go with the Benediktiner Weissbier, a rich and smoky wheat beer with a robust flavor profile. With dinner, took the waiter's recommendation and tried the Italian Import, G. Menabrea E Figli Amber. At first sip i knew this would become one of my favorite beers of all time. This amber, Vienna style lager had similar smoky notes as the aforementioned Weissbier but also some citrus and pine flavors as well. When you think of Italian Beers, you typically think of light,golden beers like Peroni so it was a nice surprise to get a amber beer with a lot of flavors. 

Final Opinion - While iN RiVA has an excellent atmosphere and a diverse menu, it was rather inconsistent. The meal started off well, accompanied excellent service and probably the best appetizer ever made it was followed by disappointing entrees . The decor and atmosphere was beautiful and i definitely will have a return visit when the beautiful outdoor bar overlooks the Schuylkill opens up!

Ratings

• Appetizers   -  9/10
• Drinks  - 8/10
• Entrees  - 3/10
• Appearance  - 8/10
• Service - 10/1o
• Overall   - 7.6/10

Beer Of The Week #1

Harpoon IPA

The Rundown

Brewery: Harpoon Brewery - Boston, Ma

Type: India Pale Ale
ABV: 5.9%
IBU'S: 42
Hops: Northwest Cascade
 BA Score: 83

Impressions: From the first sip of this extremely refreshing IPA, I was impressed! When I think of India Pale Ales, the first thing that comes to mind is not necessarily refreshing, but more along the lines of complex flavors and a high alcohol content. The aroma of Harpoon IPA has hints of pine, floral and definite citrus flavors providing a different experience all together. Harpoon's rendition of the IPA is a lot lighter and flavorful than most other IPAs on the market. 

The smooth taste of this beer can be partially attributed to Harpoon's Proprietary Yeast Strain which they claim makes the fruity flavors stand out more. They also use three different types of malts to add Toasted and Malty Flavors, while The Northwest Cascade Hops used are known to add Citrus Flavors. The fruity and floral flavors that come  through after the first few sips last until the last drop. As far as beers in general, this is a fantastic brew and one of my favorites, however since it is an IPA I expected a little more complexity and a higher alcohol content. 

Food Pairings: Seafood, Grilled Meats, Mexican Food, Spicy Sauces

Ratings

Look -5/5

Taste- 3.5/5

Smell - 4.5

Overall- 4/5

Restaurant Review Number One

Derek's Restaurant - Along Main Street of Manayunk, PA lies Derek's, a very modern and stylish restaurant unlike the rest of the college bars and pubs along Main Street. The restaurant features outdoor seating and a beautiful indoor decor. We were seated in the "skybar" which features a view of Main St and I-76 (definitely a nice place for a date!) The service was pretty quick and they had a good selection of beer and wine. Our waiter was very knowledgeable on the menu and beer list; he suggested a SlyFox Dunkel Lager, which is a pretty tasty local brew. 

Appetizers -  We decided on two appetizers. One was a baked Lancaster goat cheese spinach dip with caramelized shallots and brioche toast points, and the other was the vine-ripened tomato and mozzarella salad with micro greens, pesto reduction and twelve year balsamic. Let me start by saying that I am a huge tomato lover and even bigger lover of Caprese Salad. The goat cheese dip was very tasty, somewhat reminiscent of a thick creamy potato soup. The crunchy outside and super soft inside of the brioche toast points made for the perfect vehicle for this delicious dip! I would highly recommend this dish for anyone that is a fan of goat cheese and creamy soups! Now, to the tomato and mozzarella - Best I've ever had! Beautiful thick slabs  of juicy vine ripe tomato sandwiched between layers of fresh mozzarella cheese, tenderly topped with micro greens and a light pesto reduction with accents of aged Balsamic. This could have been enough be my whole dinner, a five star appetizer for sure.

Lancaster Goat Cheese Dip and Caprese Salad

Entrees- As my main entree, I ordered the braised pork shoulder, which was the winner of Philadelphia Magazine's Entree of the Year. The entree consisted of smoked Berkshire pork, sweet corn basil grits, and crispy hominy in a Pinot Noir sauce. My girlfriend ordered the jumbo lump crab cake with avocado corn relish and cilantro lime butter along with a side of Asparagus Risotto! The waiter highly recommended the pork and said it's a customer favorite. Normally, I order a nice filet or some sort of seafood but I figured if the dish won Entree of the Year, it must be pretty damn good.

When our food arrived, I was kind of put off by the appearance. When I imagined the braised pork shoulder I envisioned a large hunk of meat on my plate smothered with the Pinot Noir Sauce. However, what I got was what looked like pulled pork on a bed of cous cous. I was ready to count this entree out, but once I took my first bite of pork I was amazed. Not only did it not taste like barbecue pulled pork, it had the taste, consistency and juiciness of  a beautiful ribeye. I was intrigued, confused and amazed at the complexity of this pile of pork in front of me. The basil corn grits were nothing special; they reminded me of under cooked cous cous. The combination of corn, basil and honey works well in a lot of dishes but this one, not so much! The crabcake was plated very well... somewhat "Iron Chef" like along with the asparagus risotto. According to my girlfriend, the crabcake and avocado corn relish was spot on, but the cilantro lime butter ruined the dish. She has high expectations for crabcakes, but I would have to agree; the sauce was over powering and tasted like grass. 

Final Opinion -  Derek's  is a great place for a date night out. The entrees are hit or miss but the appetizers and appearance of the restaurant make up for it. Service was pretty standard, no interruptions or noisiness and the restaurant was very clean! I would recommend trying Derek's and letting me know what you think!

Ratings

• Appetizers   -  4/5
• Drinks  -  5/5
• Entrees  - 3/5
• Appearance  - 4/5
• Service - 3/5
• Overall   - 3.8/5