The Whip Tavern

1383 N Chatham Road
Coatesville, PA 19320
(610) 383-0600
Website

Looking for a weekend getaway from the city without spending three hours in the car and another three hundred dollars for dinner? The Whip has you covered. I can't believe it took this long to get here, but I sure am glad I made it. The drive to The Whip Tavern takes you close to Longwood Gardens, and then cuts into stunning horse country, where it is as though time moves more slowly. Winding roads spotted with grazing equines and green rolling hills, its the Delaware Valley we all too often forget about (likely to locals delight). One of the only places around for dining is also the best, with a beautiful old structure producing English style fare.

The first appetizer was a special, and is one of my all time favorites. Pig wings. Braised, fried pork shanks. These had a sticky, sweet, and spicy glazed that punctuated the fall off the bone tenderness of the swine underneath.

Another one of my favorites, the Scotch Egg, a hardboiled egg wrapped in sausage, breaded, and fried. I can find no fault with this. The creamy egg, crunchy exterior, and salty pork are a match made in heaven.

Look at the color on that yolk.

What is British cuisine, without some bangers and mash? Two roasted pork banger sausages served with garlic whipped potatoes and onion sage gravy, simple perfection. The snap on the casing was outstanding, and the savory gravy sopped up with mash was both comforting and ethereal, I am salivating thinking about it.

The finely ground sausage wrapped in snappy casing was all I need in this world.

Not to be outdone, an order of the fish and chips featured Atlantic cod hand dipped house-made batter, fried golden brown and crispy and served with thick cut fries.

A side of coleslaw made me feel like I was eating a "salad" with it, so it basically was calorie neutral.

The fish was flaky, delicate and addictive, especially with some tarter sauce and malt vinegar fries. A tremendous rendition.

The winner of the entrees, however, had to be the weekly special, Chef Anne's Luxury pie. New England lobster, Gulf shrimp and bay scallops in a lobster-infused shellfish sauce with lemongrass and ginger, under garlic whipped potatoes. Are you kidding me? It was a flavor explosion, punctuated by rich shellfish and creamy mashed that were JUST slightly blistered from a trip to the broiler. If you are there on the week they serve this delicacy, you would be remiss to abstain.

Last but certainly not least, sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream, paired with a Wells Sticky Toffee Pudding Ale.

Everything was just right, and the atmosphere made you want to stay and drink English style ales and stoudts all night while watching some footy. I am a new fanatic, and am already planning my next trip.

Stockyard Sandwich Co.

1541 Spring Garden Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 977-9273
Website

Stockyard has been on my list for a while, ever since my friend over at Better Home Chef told me about it. I finally got a chance to partake, and I was not disappointed. Don't mind the Long River photo bomb back there.

The first two sandwiches were the whole pig banh mi, and the white fish po' boy.

The po' boy had cornmeal crusted whitefish, cabbage, carrot, onion, and remoulade on a baguette. This was a delicious riff on the original NOLA po' boys with a nod to the venerable Philly fish cake.

The cornmeal crusted fish was fried perfectly, and the batter made for a nice textural contrast.

As much as I liked the po' boy, the suckling pig banh mi was even better. The pork was rich and sweet, with carrot, cabbage, cucumber, cilantro, onion, jalapeno and XO mayo served on another delicious baguette. 

Look at the juice, and the sprigs of cilantro to freshen it up. Cabbage brought the crunch.

At this point, I was feeling over stuffed, but I persevered. There was still a braised beef to try. A farm-to-table cheesesteak of sorts. Tender beef, house-made Whiz, onion, mushroom, and yet again, all packed nicely into the same crusty baguette. The beef was tender, flavor packed, and well rendered. 

The cheese made for a perfect suspension to keep all of the ingredients firmly in place.

This place reminded me of a farm style Paesano's. It is in an area that is underserved for a truly great sandwich, and I think it fits the bill quite nicely.

Bocci's Steakhouse & Comedy Cafe

1400 S Christopher Columbus Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(484) 466-5260
Website

I was recently invited to a night of comedy and food at the somewhat newly opened Bocci's, which is located right next to the Riverview theater in South Philly. I couldn't remember anything being in this location, right next to Warmdaddy's, and I am always interested in some jokes, so it was an easy yes. I later came to know that many years ago, this used to be a Friendly's...

Bocci's used to be located in South Jersey, but relocated to this spot due to the owners of the real estate loving the food at the Jersey location. They had a giant wall wrap when to walk in to let you know this place was about the comedians as well as the food.

Bocci's history is laid out on the back of the menu. It is nice to see the mission statement and know that there is some family history and passion behind the place.

This place is a BYO(!), so I brought a six pack of IPA (Troeg's) and got ready for some food. The first thing up was the crab fries. These were different than most, in that the "crab" is actual snow crab, not a shake of Old Bay. The drawn butter centerpiece really pushed it over the top. I was quite surprised with how good these were. The fries stayed crispy, the sweet snowcrab was not out of place, and the butter indulgence was unlike any fry experience I have had.

The fresh parsley BASICALLY makes this a salad.

These disappeared so quickly, I could have eaten another order. The fries had a slight battery coating which kept the outsides crispy while the insides stayed hot and steamy and fried to perfection.

The seafood platter came out after. The shrimp were my favorites by far. Crispy with a nice paprika and light cayenne seasoning, they were like the soul food version of Dmitri's pil pil.

The crab cake was tasty as well. Not too much filler, and a generous portion.

I was not a huge fan of the whiting, but I am generally a shrimp guy anyway.

They also offered three sauces - hot sauce, cocktail, and mustard. Kind of a "chose your own adventure" for your seafood plate.

The shrimp and grits were no joke. The shrimp were nicely plumped and tender, and the grits had just a touch of butter. My fondness for butter aside, they had a great creamy texture and were rich, even for savory grits.

After the previous courses, I was starting to fill up on these.After the previous courses, I was starting to fill up on these.

The cabbage side was totally delicious. Vinegary and tender, I could eat a lot of this stuff. It reminded me of my Polish roots and had the salty flavor and perfectly wilted texture reminiscent of one of my favorite halushki dishes.

The T-Bone was the final entree. The crust on the steak was fantastic. Look at those beautiful char marks.

It was a bit overcooked for my taste (I like to see some pinkish-red in the center), but the meat was surprisingly tender, and the char added so much flavor. It can be difficult to get the maillard reaction to work with a thinner cut of meat.

At this point the stand-up comedy was starting. Holy shit, open mic night was hilarious. I was deliriously full, and thought I might bust a gut laughing. Make sure you check the schedule and see what is going on. There were so many performers, and almost all of them were on point.

I was literally ROTFL most of the night and was surprised to discover so much hidden comedic talent right here in South Philly.

As if this wasn't enough of everything, the dessert came out last. Belgian waffle with cream cheese drizzle and vanilla ice cream. It was so damn good. I didn't think I could eat one more bite, and this whole thing disappeared.

Crispy, perfectly executed waffle with a drizzle of love. Seriously go check out open mic night (or any of the shows here) and prepare to hurt with laughter, and some good food made with loving care.