Village Whiskey - Philadelphia, PA

The weather today was absolutely gorgeous, and I only wish we would have had this weather 4 years ago when we got married in Medford, NJ. But even with a little rain, it turned out to be a beautiful day, and one we will both cherish forever!


For the first time since we’ve been married, we really didn’t plan a big, glorious, over the top dinner. In all actuality, we didn’t even make up our minds until the day of our anniversary as where we wanted to go. After wanted to check out Iron Chef Jose Garces Village Whiskey, we figured that today was the day, so we hopped in the Audi, and we were Philly bound.

We found parking on the street about a block away, and walked up to Village Whiskey, only to find that it is right next door to one of Chef Garces’ other restaurants, Tinto (http://www.tintorestaurant.com/) We were greeted at the door by the hostess who said it would be about a ½ hour wait, so we said we’d hit the bar for a drink. Needless to say, we found two open stools, and decided to eat dinner right at the bar. Pretty romantic for an anniversary celebration! ;-)

The bartender was very nice and attentive, came right over, and took our drink orders. I looked over the wine list for a quick second, as Zelda ordered her signature Tanqueray and tonic! I ended up going for a Boulder Pale Ale which I’ve had in the past. Our drinks came out seconds later, and we ordered a few apps from the menu. Zelda chose the deviled eggs which are one of her favorite things to eat, and we also ordered the cheese puffs, and tater tots.

As we waited for our apps, we watched the bartender making Old Fashion after Old Fashion for the patrons. It was interesting to see, and he really has it down to a science, from the way he put the bitters on the sugar cube, to the number of stirs, the number of ice cubes, etc. It was interesting to see. We also got a quick brief on the 30 or so different bitters that they have in the restaurant. Very interesting to say the least, and they even have a celery infused bitters.

First out were Zelda’s deviled eggs. This was 3 egg halves, and she said that they were absolutely delicious, and almost as good as the World Famous Weez’s deviled eggs. Weez is a friend of ours who is now stationed in Europe, and to this day, still have the best deviled eggs.

Next out were the cheese puffs and the tater tots! This is what I am talking about! Comfort food heaven right here! The puffs were nice, baked, puffed pastry, smothered with cheese. They were light and airy, and had nice flavor to them. I think I could eat these by the dozen. The tater tots were a bit greasy, but who am I to complain about a little grease? These had a nice crisp outside, and a soft and chewy center. They were very hot, and very good. This was served with a side of an onion sauce that had some really good smoke to it. All in all, 3 very solid appetizers here.

Meanwhile, I saw a Pear Cider on the menu that I wanted to try, so I ordered it up. This was made by Ace I think, and it was very refreshing. This would be a gorgeous cider to drink on the beach, and just had some great, refreshing, summer flavors! I could drink this for dessert as well!

Our entrees came out shortly later, and Zelda opted for the Lobster Roll. I was really hoping that she was going to order this, as I was very curious to see if it was worth the $28 price of admission. This came out on a delicious, soft, toasted roll that had a really nice texture to it. It was then topped with a long slab of bacon, a slice of lettuce, and a lot of claw and tail meat. It was then covered with a sauce of sorts, and once again, the flavors were very nice. The lobster was cooked nicely, and what is there to say other than awesome here? Wow this was good!

It shouldn’t be a shock to anyone what I went the burger route here, and I ordered it with bacon and caramelized onions. Unfortunately, I must have forgotten to ask for cheese, but it was still good. I LOVE cheese, but this burger didn’t need it. This had a nice dressing of sorts on it, that although wasn’t needed, was still good. The flavors in the meat were nice, and what is there not to like about bacon and grilled onions on a burger? Even the pickle was delicious, but I did however remove the lettuce and tomato, as I don’t think they are needed when you have bacon and caramelized onion.

For our side tonight, we were for the Duck Fat Fries with cheese on the side, and these rocked. These were nice fries cooked in duck fat, but you would never know. I expected them to be a little greasy, but that was not the case at all. Even the cheddar on the side was delicious!

All in all, what is there to say other than the fact that Chef Garces has another winner here? It may not have been a fancy, romantic dinner, but we sure left with happy belly’s…but we did save enough room to hit the gelato shop across the street on the way back to the car! Happy anniversary to us! We’ll be back here in the future! Cheers! -F. Scott

Village Whiskey
118 S 20th Street
Philadelphia, PA
Phone: (215) 665-1088
http://www.villagewhiskey.com/