Lunch @ a.kitchen

We've been trying to make it to a.kitchen for a while. We finally arrived on Tuesday for lunch. I didn't know about Craig LaBan's 3 bell review where he mentions "vivid nibbles." A combination of hype, along with management and culinary pedigree, made it a must visit for a snapshot of state of the art grubbing, Rittenhouse Style.

The layout wasn't what I was expecting and was a little closer than I imagined. A decent sized, prominent open kitchen communicated a  very food-centric design.

I found the menu items alluring and was tempted by plenty of the dishes. It took a few minutes of negotiation to decide on four plates.

After the server took our order I was viewing the kitchen when this guy (horns) walks in from a side door. With no one on the line, he reaches in and grabs something out of a bowl to nibble on!  Open Kitchen indeed.

I ordered the salad with the poached egg. The warm egg was served with a tortured hash brown, greens and bacon. I would have liked the egg bigger, hotter and brighter in flavor and color. The hash brown was not unlike versions served in hospital cafeterias, except it was overcooked. The greens were tender, crisp and lightly dressed. The dressing was pleasantly unctuous but lacked zingy brightness.

 

Lil lady had the beet salad. We agreed that the 'chevre' in the salad could have been mistaken for mascarpone. The flatness of the cheese element was a big problem in this dish. The veggies in both salads were prime.

I had the cheese steak. My sandwich was served with home made potato chips. Chef put them on my plate from a bowl behind the line. You know the bowl I'm talking about, right? I prefer chips that are lighter, crisper and saltier. They tasted more like oil than potato. The steak sandwich was a disaster. The chewy roll with the pre-chewed meat is a poor match. I couldn't taste the cheddar but I bet it contributed to the overall greasiness factor. None of the traditional steak sandwich garnishes were offered.

Lil lady was served lamb Bolognese. The menu description says "with tagliatelle." Right away we were both expecting an explanation from the server about the noodle substitution. None was forthcoming. This dish was tasty, but a thick lasagne like noodle with ragu doesn't fly like a tangle of freshly prepared tagliatelle. It was a disappointment. I checked LaBan's review and it seems like he had the same noodle. He writes about a "frilly-edged tagliatelle." What?  I referred to The Geometry of Pasta to confirm my suspicion of shenanigans.  The book says that tagliatelle was invented by Chef Zefirano to mark the marriage of Lucrezia Borgia to Alfonso I d'este and that, "...the pasta was supposed to be so thin that the Basilica di San Luca could be seen through it, via the cooks window."  The noodles served with this dish were nothing like that. They were tasty enough but not, to my taste, what makes tagliatelle de rigeur with ragu Bolognese.

Bread and butter are not part of lunch service. I'm not a fan of a pricey lunch that doesn't include this essential element of hospitality.