Snack Bar!

[Andrew Fenton]

Sheesh! I've been waiting seven hours for Phil A. to post some photos of our brunch at Snackbar, but no such luck. The guy's slipping, I tell you.

Anyway, we went and at $20, it is a great deal. The snackburger on brioche with a fried egg was terrific, as was the bloody Mary. The cheese grits were, I thought, another real high point: sort of the breakfast version of their taleggio polenta.

It wasn't perfect: I'd avoid the tater tots until they get a deep-frying station set up (they're doing it in the oven at the moment, which just doesn't get them crispy enough). And the custard eggs had a great texture, but were only lukewarm when they got to us. But there are a lot of great dishes on the menu, enough that it'd take a lot of Sundays to try them all.

We were also dumbfounded to see just how crowded it wasn't. I don't know whether it's because they don't take reservations, or because people don't know about it yet, but we had the place more or less to ourselves. Give it a try.

[KatieLoeb]

Sheesh! I've been waiting seven hours for Phil A. to post some photos of our brunch at Snackbar, but no such luck. The guy's slipping, I tell you.

Cut him a little slack. He just dropped me off a couple of minutes ago and is winging his way home to post photos I'm sure.

We just had a lovely meal/drinks at Xochitl which I'm certain will yield some great pics as well.

[philadining]

Brunch!

Bloody Mary (with horseradish foam), Mimosa

Turkey Scrapple, Custard Eggs

Egg, Sausage, Mushroom Fry-Up

Burger

Cornflake-Crusted French Toast, Bourbon Maple Syrup

Oyster Omelet

extra tots

extra grits

Edited May 14, 2007 by philadining (log)

[mrbigjas]

so wait, it's a $20 prix fix? or andrew, do you mean you happened to spend $20 each?

[Andrew Fenton]

Sorry, $20 prix fixe, plus tip and tax and whatever extras you order.

[philadining]

As Andrew said, it's a set $20, but as that includes coffee, a bloody mary or mimosa, a brunch entree and one side, it strikes me as a pretty good deal.

As you can see from the pix, it's pretty straight-up brunch comfort food, just done very well, and with good ingredients. My French Toast wasn't so alarmingly different from various other renditions of this, except that it was cornflake-crusted, and accompanied by a very tasty bourbon maple syrup. (I think that was a cranberry compound butter too, whatever it was, it was good...) But more importantly, it was executed perfectly, I'm surprised how often I get mushy or slightly-burnt French Toast.

As my side, I chose the bacon (I could have had the tater tots, or grits, or a couple of other things, anybody remember?) The bacon was notably good. I haven't perfected my bacon palate enough to identify it, but it was assertively smoky, not quite Benton's-level smoke-alarm-triggering, but really nice.

I stole a bit of the oyster omelet and really liked it. The fry-up looked pretty standard, but that's fine for brunch, I might get that next time. Burgers aren't easy to share, and I resisted the urge to distract Andrew and take a bite while he wasn't looking, but he seemed to enjoy it. I like that egg-on-top thing for brunch.

I'd actually meant to steal a taste of the Turkey Scrapple but got distracted. Apparently it didn't especially thrill, but then it's scrapple... Even homemade from good stuff, scrapple is only going to be so exciting!

I'm sadly going to have to join the chorus in dissing the tater tots. They weren't outright bad, we ate a lot of them, they just needed to be a bit more of a crispy on the exterior and creamy on the interior. I think Andrew hit on it: they need to be deep-fried...

But overall, I loved the brunch, and would go back anytime. We had actually anticipated that Mother's Day might be a good time to sneak in here, given that they don't take reservations, and many folks wouldn't want to risk it with mom. Add-in the place's reputation for experimental food and I'd joked that nobody would be crazy enough to take mom here for Mother's Day!

We never imagined that theory would work so well. As noted, it was a pretty sparsely populated room. They've only been doing brunch for a little while, and Mother's Day is an odd time, so I'm sure that was an anomaly, they told us a few sundays have been wall-to-wall. But it looks like there might be a good chance to sneak in here before everyone catches on, especially if you go right near 11am when they start. They serve brunch until 3pm.

But despite my joke perpetuating the stereotype that the food here is "weird" or unfamiliar, the brunch menu is not experimental or intimidating, just well-made comfort food. (The main dinner menu seems to have made some concessions to the less-adventurous crowd too, so if you've been reluctant to try it, thinking that you, or your dining partners, would be disoriented by avant-garde food, there are some more familiar offerings now.)

There was a good crowd there as we walked by during dinner time, all the outdoor tables were full, and several inside too, so they seem to have recovered from the Mother's Day weirdness. Food looked good, going to have to get back there for dinner soon...

Edited May 14, 2007 by philadining (log)

[mrbigjas]

As Andrew said, it's a set $20, but as that includes coffee, a bloody mary or mimosa, a brunch entree and one side, it strikes me as a pretty good deal.

that's a nice price point. judging from the atmosphere would we have been ok dragging a baby in there? it's definitely not that kind of place for dinner.

[Diann]

As Andrew said, it's a set $20, but as that includes coffee, a bloody mary or mimosa, a brunch entree and one side, it strikes me as a pretty good deal.

that's a nice price point. judging from the atmosphere would we have been ok dragging a baby in there? it's definitely not that kind of place for dinner.

←

Well, WE (me, jeff, pedro and the fentons) were basically the entire crowd for brunch yesterday, so you would've been totally fine with the baby. In general, snackbar is probably more baby-friendly at brunch than at dinner.

$20 for all of that food and drink great deal, especially since the food is well-executed. I had the fry-up, which was tasty (yes, it's just eggs and sausages and mushrooms, but sometimes you want someone else to make that for you.) Grits were reminiscent of the polenta they used to serve at dinner - yum. Tortilla espanola was another entree option -- maybe next time?

The tots were interestingly spiced (oregano, and a bunch of other things) but as previously mentioned, not up to the level of Jones, for example. (Jones serves a surprisingly good brunch -- biscuits, eggs, tater tots...)

[Andrew Fenton]

I'd actually meant to steal a taste of the Turkey Scrapple but got distracted. Apparently it didn't especially thrill, but then it's scrapple... Even homemade from good stuff, scrapple is only going to be so exciting!

I actually thought the scrapple was pretty good. The missus (who ordered it) didn't, but I think she had never had scrapple before, and didn't know what to expect: it was too cornmeal-y and not meaty enough for her.

On the tater tots: they know that they need to be deep-fried, but (as it was explained to us), they've been having structural issues with getting a deep fryer working. Once that's in, I imagine they'll be rockin' the tots.

Speaking of tots: James, you definitely would have been fine bringing the boy along. Hell, he could have had a table to himself. I think that even if and when it's more crowded, brunch would be baby-friendly; much more so than in the evening.

[I_call_the_duck]

Wow that looked great! And that Bloody Mary?!

How were the oysters in that omelet prepared? It looks like they were fried, which would mean I'd automatically order that.

[philadining]

That was a really good Bloody Mary. I actually don't order them much, but I remembered both Jonathans saying that they were really into them, so I figured I'd be well-served to try one. Glad I did. We're told there are more variations coming!

And yes, the oysters were fried. I'm not sure I'm used to having crunchy things inside an omelet, but it worked...

[philadining]

Managed to try some new dinner things.

Salad with Romaine, Goat cheese, slow cooked egg.

Close enough to a Caesar to please the crowds, different enough to be interesting... I liked it.

Octopus

This was nice and tender, with a smoky paprika glaze, but it also had a slight sandy texture. Not sure what that was, just a little distracting...

Salmon with Basil Foam, Fennel and Strawberries.

Good fish perfectly cooked is good enough, but the vividly floral, herby foam complimented it nicely in that ethereal way only foams can. And who knew? strawberries and fennel....

Mussels

The shellfish themselves were delicate and tender, on the smallish side, which is how I like them. I don't recall what was in the broth, but it had bright, herbal perfume that I really enjoyed. It's rare that a mussel broth needs salt, but we felt like this one did, but that was easy enough to tweak, just a small touch put it back in balance. And could I just put a vote in for that airy toast as maybe the best broth-sopping medium ever? Someone predicted over on the mussel thread that snackbar's version would make my best of philly, and although I'm not sure I'm going to put them at number one, they're up there... might need to try them again. darn.

Pudding!

Chocolate pudding, chocolate soil, mango purée. Light, soothing, familiar yet slightly exotic, with some interesting textural contrasts. Very tasty, just careful with that soil, don't inhale at the wrong moment...

the menu's a little more summery and approachable, with larger dinners along with the small plates. There's a Pastrami Burger, a basic chicken with mashed potatoes, as well as a few of the old small-plate faves.

Lovely night to sit at a table out on the sidewalk, food was good, company entertaining. I'm feeling the need for a burger...

[rae]

I like Snack Bar more and more every time I go. So far we've been twice this week. By the time the octopus and mussels came I was way too full, hopefully I'll be able to try those next time. That salad is great, I've had it twice this week. I could have it at least two more times and still not get tired of it.

My favorite of the night was, by far, the melon soup with shrimp, cucumbers and creme fraiche or cream (Phil, where's the picture of that? Did I snatch it up and dig in before you got a chance to take the picture?)

I also really liked the pudding. The texture was very liquidly, which I'm fond of (once I made pudding and my whisk was defective and the cornstarch didn't mix in fully and I loved it much better than the thicker pudding... this pudding was like that). The dirt was coffee I believe, not chocolate. I love food made into dirt. The mango added a nice refreshing counterpoint, although it could have had a little less mango.

Looking forward to brunch on Sunday.

[mrbigjas]

The dirt was coffee I believe, not chocolate. I love food made into dirt.

perhaps you'd like to come out to the suburbs and meet my parents' compost pile.

[KatieLoeb]

The strawberry and fennel garnish on that fish dish got my brain reeling on an idea for a cocktail. I made tarragon simple syrup last night and will be fooling with this idea a little more when I get to work today.

Amazing where inspiration comes from sometimes...

[philadining]

Apparently you didn't get the memo: there are no maverick chefs or experimental mixologists in Philly, so settle down, and work on some fruity vodka martinis, like any self-respecting Philly bartender would!

[KatieLoeb]

Apparently you didn't get the memo: there are no maverick chefs or experimental mixologists in Philly, so settle down, and work on some fruity vodka martinis, like any self-respecting Philly bartender would!

←

Riiiiggghht. I forgot for a minute.

Carry on. I'll go back to finding new uses for 15 flavors of vodka.

[Holly Moore]

Had brunch today at SnackBar.

As Philadining pointed out more politely, the brunch menu is kinda mundane compared to the dinner menu. Little of the sense of adventure found in the evening. Hopefully that will be changing.

That said, everything was excellent, from bloody mary, to the fried oyster omelet with remoulade sauce, to the wierd cheese grits.

They serve the bloody mary with a straw which is counter intuitive to the horseradish foam. Would be a shame if people sipped the bloody mary through a straw rather then layered with the froth.

The cheese grits were different from any preparation I've come across. No grittiness. Pureed perhaps? Great flavor.

Edited May 20, 2007 by Holly Moore (log)

[Andrew Fenton]

I tried to go to Snackbar for brunch today: showed up a little after 11, but the place was shuttered and dark. Does anybody know the story there? Are they still serving brunch?

[Vadouvan]

They stopped serving brunch sundays, not enough attendance.

[philadining]

bummer.

[Andrew Fenton]

bummer.

Indeed. I really enjoyed brunch there on Mother's Day.

[rae]

They stopped serving brunch sundays, not enough attendance.

←

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! How will I survive without their french toast?

[matthewj]

unfortunatly restuarants are can not sustain business with egulletors alone. I wish that was the case. Brunch is a very difficult segment to tap into in Philadelphia. It takes a long time to break into that market to make it sustainable.

[Lisa1349]

Heading to SB tonight. Looking forward to it as I haven't seen such a polarizing topic since babies in Bell restos. I going with not-so gourmands so I'm interested to see their reaction. I'm hoping the food will taste like NY. Will report back.