I love bread service. I usually (sometimes unfairly) judge a restaurant for the quality of its bread service. It's the reason I fell in love with Kanella, but it’s also the reason why restaurants like Olive Garden can fuck right off with their pale excuse for breadsticks. So I had no idea what to think when our eccentric waiter Anthony announced, “bread service!” and then plopped a pail of popcorn on our table.
A few furtive bites turned into a free–for–all between my friend and I, and before we knew it we were gnawing on unpopped kernels, waiting for our next pail. It was the perfect bread service. The popcorn was flavorful, lightly seasoned with thyme and truffle, but it was also insubstantial, so no matter how much we ate, our appetites remained unspoiled.
For our dinner, we each chose the 4–course meal for $39, a sort of perennial Restaurant Week deal. Our first course came from their charcoal grill. My lamb skewers were perfectly cooked and simply seasoned. The uncomplicated meat/onion/red pepper combo was fantastic. My friend’s quail legs were similarly simple, but delicious, though we were soon cursing quail anatomy for failing to put enough meat on their skinny little legs.
After a few more handfuls of popcorn, our second course came out. Elsewhere in this Dining Guide you’ll read grumbles about a couple restaurants’ mac and cheese, where the chief complaints were watery cheese sauce and odd noodles. My crawfish mac and cheese suffered from neither. It was just creamy enough, with generous hunks of crawfish that lent the added benefit of scaring off the wandering fork of my shellfish–averse friend. On the other hand, I was more than happy to pick away at her beef tartar, edged with Dijon and coated in the brilliant orange of a quail egg.
For our main course, we doubled down on duck and wagyu beef. The duck breast was so tender my knife slid through easily, but it was the accompanying sweet potato mash and Brussels sprouts that punted the dish to divinity. The wagyu beef was similarly tender, and while its mashed potatoes and carrots won’t win any awards for creativity, they were absolutely satisfying.
The portion size for both entrees was pleasantly large, but it made eating dessert a happy agony. The beignets were light and fluffy and delicious, but the show–stopper was the But- terscotch Pot de Creme. The caramel/coffee/ toffee custard was light but creamy, and very easy to enjoy after a heavy meal.
Now that the weather is finally bowing to spring, it’s so much more tempting to hop on the 40 bus and make a day of exploring the Old City. While William Penn’s old neighborhood is now filled with restaurants, the Twisted Tail is a clear standout destination for your wandering feet and growling stomach.
