in photo: anniversary roses from my baby :-)
So I honestly can't remember exactly when and where I found this place but a long time ago I decided that The Witch American Bistro in Philly was where I wanted to go for my 3 year anniversary dinner. Some might think the name sounds a little strange but I assure you the only witch craft involved in the night was magically delicious food. The thing that appealed to me most about this place was their Chef's Tasting Menu on Tuesdays. It consists of 4 courses for $20 which is an amazing deal. I knew my anniversary fell on a Tuesday this year so it seemed perfect. They release a new tasting menu every Tuesday so I wasn't sure what our options would be until the day of but the ones from the week before looked tasty so I had high hopes. For each of the four courses there are about 3 options to choose from, usually 4 options for the main course.
Gary and I actually both looked at the menu during the day and had our options picked out before we even arrived at the bistro. Their website didn't have any mention of wine so we were intersted to see what wine options were available. The wine was actually the only disappointment of the night. They had a wine list by the bottle but since we know the wine business pretty well, we couldn't imagine paying 20 something dollars for a bottle that retailed under $10. Gary ended up choosing a Golden Monkey beer for $5 which was a pretty good deal and I went with a dirty martini that had the name "witch" in it. I thought it was festive since it was a title drink for the place. The martini was only $6.50 which is an excellent price, especially for Philly and it was made with Absolut which is a decent vodka.
Below is the menu we had to choose from for the night with reviews on our choices:
Chef's Tasting Menu for Tuesday 1/18/11
4 courses for $20
First Course (choose one)
*Classic Caesar
*Field greens with almonds, gorgonzola and a winterberry vinaigrette
*Loaded baked potato soup
For the first course, Gary and I both ended up choosing the loaded baked potato soup. It was excellent, creamy and delicious. Since we both ordered the same thing, we didn't bother trying eachothers and considered round 1 a tie!
Second Course (choose one)
*Mussels in a coconut broth with toasted almonds
*Sausage and goat cheese stuffed mushrooms
*Artichoke and roasted red pepper bruschetta
For the second course, I ordered the artichoke and roasted red pepper bruschetta and Gary ordered the sausage and goat cheese stuffed mushrooms. My bruschetta was tasty, the bread was crisp and toasted and the atrichokes were plump and delicious. It probably would have even been tastier if Gary's sausage and goat cheese stuffed mushrooms weren't to die for! He was sweet and let me try them and then gave me a second taste after I begged for more! He only got two mushrooms so it was very nice of him to share. Gary definitely won round 2!
Entree (choose one)
*Grilled chicken breast with garlic mashed potatoes, green beans. and roasted shallot cream sauce
*Grilled pork loin with garlic mashed potatoes, green beans and a bourbon barbeque sauce
*Vegetable lasagna
*Pan seared salmon with garlic mashed potatoes, green beans and a orange-grilled scallion salad
For the main course, Gary chose the grilled pork loin and I went with the pan seared salmon. Gary's pork was moist and succulent and the bourbon barbeque sauce was excellent. On the other end, my salmon was perfectly pink, flaky and delicious! Our sides were the same except I also had the orange-grilled scallion salad on top. Both entrees came stacked on the plate, with the green beans on bottom, with the mashed potatoes on top of them and the meat on top of that. People who like to keep their food separate would not have been a fan but that's exactly how I like to eat my meals, a little bit of everything in every bite! Gary thinks he won round 3 but I think we tied. My salmon was excellent, but I feel like salmon is often excellent, I think it's hard to do salmon wrong. I'll give Gary's pork props that it was definitely some of the best pork I've had in my entire life, but since they were both great, I'm going to stick with it being a tie for round 3. So with the ties, it's 3-2, Gary's edge.
Desserts (choose one)
*Cheesecake with a mint syrup
*Choice of ice cream or gelato
*Banana bread pudding
Mmmm dessert. Cheesecake is always a favorite of mine but it has to be done right. Everyone knows that pizza is pizza, good pizza is great but bad pizza is still pretty good. That is not the case with cheesecake. Good cheesecake is fantastic but bad cheesecake can be terrible. Usually the bad cheesecake comes from diners or cafeterias though so I had high hopes for a bistro in the city. I went with my gut and ordered the cheesecake with a mint syrup even though I wasn't quite sure about the mint syrup part. Gary chose the banana bread pudding which didn't interest me but he's a big fan. My cheesecake did not dissappoint. It was rich and creamy and the mint syrup was just a hint of mint like when you put mint sprigs in a mojito. My only issue with my dessert was that it was so good and I was so full that I had trouble finishing it. Gary liked his banana bread pudding as well. I tried it but was not a fan. That isn't saying anything bad about his choice, I'm just not a fan of bread puddings. It could have been excellent but it just wasn't my taste. He did admit that my cheesecake was better though so ding ding, round 4 goes to me!
So ultimately our dining experience at The Witch was wonderful. It was delicious, affordable and fun to try all the different courses. Gary and I ended up tying with our choices, a final score of 2-2. The portions may seem tiny to some but they are perfect for four courses. We were full about halfway through dessert so we were more than satisfied. The courses were also well spaced apart, usually you got the next course right after finishing the one before. The only course that took slightly longer was the main entree but it was nice to have some time to let the first two courses settle in your stomach before the main event. They were also very good about keeping your water re-filled so our other drinks lasted us the whole meal. We definitely agree that this is a place we'd love to try again on a Tuesday to see what else the chef whips up. They also have a BYOB Wednesdays and a brunch with make your own bloody marys on Saturday and Sunday. No matter which night or day we choose, I look forward to visiting again sometime soon!
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