Ladder Fifteen

[Al x]

Headed up to 20th and Market to get my weekly fix of the crazy Felafel dude-best way that $10 that can be spent on edible products. As is the way of creative genius, not there for no discernible reason(If anybody has some insight to his schedule I'm all ears). What to do, what to do. I remember that Ladder 15 has just opened, recall seeing a fairly creative bar menu and decide to mosy on over.

The good news- The place looks great. Very industrial with exposed brick, high ceilings and metal accents. Service was also friendly if not a little clumsy and rehearsed. Hopefully with some time the servers will seem a little more natural. Several Manager types also stopped by the table to see how we were doing.

The bad- The food. Not good at all. The menu itself seems to be jumping on the on the Gastropub fad with offerings such as Sweet Potato Pierogies with Shaved Chocolate, Black Truffle Flatbread and Duck Breast and Fig sandwich. The first thing that seemed odd is that the waitress indicated the servings were very small and recommended ordering at least two items for each person. Well the menu consists of a lot of sandwiches and platters that at least upon description would appear to be a one person item. I'm also not sure if it's a very good policy to tell bar patron that portions "are very small". As I took the place in there was a little alarm bell going off inside my head saying I better keep my order simple. As a result I went with the Burger although it was frou-froued up- Red Onion Marmalade, Smoked Paprika Mayo, Manchego Cheese and served on Sourdough Toast. A friend got the Chicken Gyro and we shared some Truffle Fries. The Burger, ordered medium rare, came a hockey puck shaped medium that only took up about half the area of the Sourdough Toast. The Red Onion Marmalade had zero taste(odd because red onion is so strong) saw and tasted no evidence of Smoked Paprika Mayo and the cheese could have been a slice of govt. cheese for tha impact it made on the burger. At a pricey $12, this burger doesn't come close to stacking up against it's CC competition. The fries came in one of those cone thingies, which to me is the first sign the are not going to be very good. Score one for intuition- way too crisp on the outside and nothing going on on the inside. I didn't taste any truffle although that taste was possibly supposed to be transmitted through the Parmesan Aioli. Unfortunately the Aioli looked like a congealed pile of yellow gunk. It tasted slightly better than it looked , but not by much. Since I didn't taste the Chicken Gyro I will keep my observations to a minimum- fairly small portion on a way overcooked pita.

I was really hoping for good things since it's located so close to my office. Maybe with some more time they will get things straightened out, although the have a long way to go based on my one meal. My intuition tells me(there it is again) they liked the sound of a gastropub type menu but don't really have the means to execute it. I wouldn't be surprised to see them simplify their menu and lower their price points not too far down the road.

On a positive note they brought us some complimentry Pretzel Fudge with the check. Quite tasty and by far the best part about our Lunch.

P.S. The beer menu wasn't all that impressive, particularly with the increased awareness of craft beer in the Philly area. Seemed to be the usual cast of characters with a couple of micro-brews thrown in.

[KatieLoeb]

Al:

What did the cocktail menu look like?? A pre-opening email blast I received from Philly Thrillist seemed to indicate lots of sugary sweet nasty cocktails. I'd be happy to hear that wasn't the case, but if it's true, combined with your review I can't say I'll be darkening their doorstep anytime soon. You can't eat or drink the decor, y'know.

Edited April 1, 2009 by KatieLoeb (log)

[Al x]

Katie,

Since it was Lunch and I was being good, as well as the fact I am more of a beer and wine guy, I only took a cursory glance at the cocktail menu. My friend and I did laugh at how "girlie" some of the cocktails sounded(no offense intended) so I bet you are right on with the sugary sweet guess.

[mattohara]

Off-topic but fries in cones can be killer! next time you're in NYC:

and it's byob.

Edited April 1, 2009 by mattohara (log)

[Andrew Fenton]

Off-topic but fries in cones can be killer!  next time you're in NYC:

and it's byob. 

Yeah, those are really good! There used to be a cone fries place on South St, but they closed: I guess there just isn't the same walk-by business as there is at Times Square. Go figure.

edit: whoops, my spies tell me that the Times Square frites place closed a while back. Shows how often I go to Times Square when I'm in New York...

Edited April 1, 2009 by Andrew Fenton (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Katie,

Since it was Lunch and I was being good, as well as the fact I am more of a beer and wine guy,  I only took a cursory glance at the cocktail menu. My friend and I did laugh at how "girlie" some of the cocktails sounded(no offense intended) so I bet you are right on with  the sugary sweet guess.

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No offense taken. I am, after all, a girl. But a girl that enjoys a properly balanced cocktail, not some high fructose Kool-Aid like sugar bomb with booze in it. I totally understand the implication of "girly drinks" and there's no good that comes of it, to my taste. Give me a boozy Old School drink any day...

As if we needed yet another place to get oversweetened cocktails.

[I_call_the_duck]

Off-topic but fries in cones can be killer!  next time you're in NYC:

and it's byob. 

Yeah, those are really good! There used to be a cone fries place on South St, but they closed: I guess there just isn't the same walk-by business as there is at Times Square. Go figure.

edit: whoops, my spies tell me that the Times Square frites place closed a while back. Shows how often I go to Times Square when I'm in New York...

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Haven't been to Pomme Frites in ages, but it was awesome! 2nd Ave just south of St. Marks.

OK, back on topic. I'm a girl, and I'm not that big a fan of overly-sweet drinks.

And what is Pretzel Fudge?

[Tim Dolan]

I believe the people who run Ladder 15 are the same people behind Mad River, so I'd imagine that this place will fall into the same set up as the other two places. Which is to say geard toward 20-ish Main Liners who descend upon the city on the weekends.

[KatieLoeb]

...Which is to say geard toward 20-ish Main Liners who descend upon the city on the weekends...

Philly's own version of the dreaded Bridge & Tunnel crowd.

[MarketStEl]

The Burger, ordered medium rare, came a hockey puck shaped medium that only took up about half the area of the Sourdough Toast.

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Flashback to the 1980s, which PGMC reprised two weekends ago:

"It's a really big bun."

"Yes, it's definitely a big bun."

"Where's the beef?"

...Which is to say geard toward 20-ish Main Liners who descend upon the city on the weekends...

Philly's own version of the dreaded Bridge & Tunnel crowd.

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Thought those were the despised "Yellow Tags" who clog your part of town, Katie.

But I guess we should have something more distinctively Philadelphian, for New York gets those too. It would be most Philadelphian for our obnoxious louts to come from the upper and not the lower middle class.