Kennett Restaurant

Last night brother Mal and I met up at Kennett Restaurant to begin work on our nanobrewery business plan, and we made some good progress on that score. Mal's lovely bride joined us for brainstorming and along the way we did some barnstorming of the menu.

Apropos of today's Meal Ticket feature on the new wood-burning oven at Kennett, we sampled the "porchetta" pizza: pulled pork, farmer's cheese, whipped lardo and herbs. The crust was nicely blistered and the lardo disappeared into the other toppings, lending them a salty, piggy perfume.

Porchetta pizza

Business planning can give a man an appetite. So despite the pizza's richness, we sampled a few other items: the puy lentil salad, brussels sprouts, and roasted parsnips, in addition to the burger.

Puy lentil salad

Roasted brussels sprouts and sunchokes with bacon and crushed coriander

Roasted parsnips with parmesan

The burger is topped with bibb lettuce, pickled onion and anchovy mayonnaise. The latter lends a rich and savory counterpoint to the onion. Our specimen was cooked to a perfect medium-rare; the addition of bone marrow to the beef means that cheese isn't necessary.

Burger with bone marrow, pickled onion and anchovy mayonnaise

In addition to all the great food, the beer list is impressive. We sipped on Yards Love Stout (a fine choice when served on nitrogen), Left Hand Fade to Black Smoked Baltic Porter and Long Trail Hibernator Ale.

The nattily dressed staff was cheerful and attentive, the dining room cozy from Edison bulbs and the glow of the pizza oven. Kennett is one of those spots that make me wish I lived in the neighborhood. I look forward to returning soon to sample more of the menu.

Kennett Restaurant

848 S. 2nd St.

Philadelphia, PA 19147

267-687-1426

Rumours and sundries

Amanda and I went to Girard Avenue's Kraftwork for lunch last monday. We happened to sit next to the owner, manager and head chef as they were discussing how to get a 2-bell review out of Laban. Judging on the quality grub we lunched upon I don't think that will be too difficult. The "BL...Trout" was awesome, 'specially if you love rainbow trouts like I do. The Lefthand Polestar Pilsner paired perfectly. ALLITERATION!

For Papa Egan's 65th we went whole hawg and got bbq pulled pork and chicken from Bebe's BBQ in the Italian Market. On Sunday, Austin and I waded through a sea of humanity (also known as the Italian Market Festival) to the 9th St. shop. While we were waiting for our 4 (!) pork shouders and 5 (!) whole chickens (way, way too much for a bunch of yanks but so damned good) we were treated to complimentary pork sandwiches and this delicious tidbit: Bebe's is getting in on the food truck game. They've purchased an old Tastykake truck and are in the process of tricking it out. No word yet on when/where it will be rolling.

Also, we've been steady brewing some damn good beer. We supplied some of our Pale Ale and our Coffee Stout for an event at a local urban farm. The brews went over pretty well and we're hoping to do a couple other parties or events this summer. Next up is a Thai-inspired wit beer. Its our first time adding spices and fruit to the mix. Hope it turns out!