Ever have a
restaurant in your neighborhood that is so consistently good that you get bored
with it? I know that sounds silly but it doesn't mean it can't happen. I love
Honey Nut Cheerios. It's my favorite breakfast cereal and they are consistently
delicious - no variations in 32 years now. But I just can't eat them every
day. I need to mix it up with Frosted Mini Wheats, Tony the Tiger or some Fruity Pebbles now and then to
keep my sanity.
Such is the case
with Bar Ferdinand for me. It's been one of the anchors of Northern Liberties
and certainly THE anchor of liberties walk for 6 years now. They've stuck
with a very solid menu of Spanish tapas, meats, cheeses and small plates that has won them a consistent following and excellent reviews for
more than half a decade. They were doing tapas before Garces made it cool, and helped to legitimize the neighborhood.
Question is, how many times can I eat bacon & date empanadas or a cerdo
frito sandwich before I become desensitized?
I'm the type of
person that constantly craves the new flavor, a twist on an old classic, a
cuisine I've never experienced before. I had subconsciously held off on doing
our monthly Supper Club at Bar Ferd for a lot of the aforementioned reasons.
I'd been there done that. What have you
cooked for me lately?
Enter Chef David Ansill of Pif, Ansill and Ladder 15 (wtf?) fame. I'd been eating at his various restaurants
for years now, and was very excited to see him take over the helm and put his
touch on the kitchen. While not a complete reinvention, the updated menu has
several new dishes and some updated takes on my favorites. Our experience for
Supper Club was nothing short of extraordinary. For a $40 tasting menu we got
to try 12 different dishes, including a substantial main and two desserts. The
wine was flowing freely (although not cheaply) and by the end of the night you
could have rolled me down liberties walk.
Some highlights:
 |
| shishito peppers |
Blistered shishito
peppers cleverly served on a piece of Cuban newsprint. The peppers are delicious, reminiscent of the
ones we raved about on our trip to Spain last year. Every third of fourth
pepper is a surprise of heat that smacks you in the mouth. Kind of like Russian
roulette with peppers. An excellent new addition to the menu and indicative of
the thoughtfulness in the kitchen.
 |
| manchego frito |
Manchego frito,
apple foam and quince puree. The foam is actually frozen, creating a crazy
mouth sensation of the cold and the hot fried cheese. Not one of my favorite
dishes of the night but an interesting take on an old standby here.
 |
| marinated olives |
House marinated
olives are as good as ever, especially those little purple ones. I could nibble on these all day.
 |
| broccoli & kale soup |
 |
| almond crusted eggplant |
 |
| date & bacon empanada |
 |
| patatas bravas w/ shishito peppers |
 |
| endive "salad" |
 |
| roasted mushroom coca |
 |
| roasted chicken with chorizo and catalan spinach |
 |
| churros con chocolate |
Dessert was an
exercise in fortitude. By this point we had already had 10 tastings and an
entrée. This was going to take serious motivation. Platters of flan with fresh
fruit and churros con chocolate did the trick, and were pretty much obliterated
in 5 minuntes. The flan was surprisingly very good - I'm not usually a flan
person but this was almost impossible light and airy, without any of that thick
syrup that you usually find it floating in. The churros were the star though -
crispy fried lengths of dough and dipped in melted chocolate that would make
Augustus Gloop want to dive right in.
Chef Ansill is the
shake up that Bar Ferdinand desperately needed to stay relevant in our ever evolving dining scene. Staying true to the Spanish
authenticity, but varying enough to keep me surprised and excited with every
course. I feel like I've found a toy in my Cheerios. What a lovely surprise.
Food Baby Rating:
Triplets!
Bar Ferdinand
1030 N. 2nd Street
Philadelphia, PA
19123
(At the eastern end
of Liberties Walk)
215-923-1313
