#19 Pumpkin - Sandy's synopsis

Pumpkin was one of the first farm-to-table restaurants I'd heard of in Philly and having finally got the chance to go, it was worth the wait. We went for their Sunday dinner - a prix fixe, 5-course menu for $40. Every dish on this menu was amazing. The kind of amazing that makes you want to savor every bite in your mouth. The kind of amazing that makes you wish your meal would never end.

So let us begin this journey.

Our first course was a cold beet soup

It looked gorgeous and deep red with a very nice consistency. Rich beet flavour. Perfect.

The second course was our appetizer and it came with a choice between a pork terrine (with almond, arugula and mustard) and a chowder (with smoked mussles, potato and leek). I went with the chowder because I love me some mussels.

The mussels were delicious, steeped in a lovely light broth that you were eager to sop up with some bread. I did get to taste the terrine and it was fantastic and definitely had the  richer flavour between the two.

The third course was a cheese course - Gruyere, with a carrot salad.

Yes, the cheese was very good but what got me was the salad. I usually do not like carrots (or salads for that matter). I did like these carrots. They were tangy and refreshing.

Let me take a detour here and talk about the ambiance. I understood immediately when I walked in why it was so hard to get a reservation for Pumpkin - it is a very small restaurant. We needed a table for 6 people and we could only get a reservation about a month from the date we booked. Ergo, you will need to book well in advance for a larger group. The decor is soft on the eyes and rustic. There is light music in background that I didn't even notice was playing until half way through our meal. Despite our large group in this small place, we didn't seem to be intruding into any other table.

It is a BYO so as we drank our wine and beer and chatted, it was time for our next course - our entree.
It was a choice between: Verlasso Salmon (with beet, lemon and fennel) and pork cheek (with coddled egg, polenta and a smoked pepper vinaigrette). Verlasso is a company that farms salmon sustainably. Sigh, sustainably is not a word. In a sustainable manner then I suppose.

I went with the pork cheek because I'd never had that cut of meat before and I'm not the biggest fan of salmon (or tuna) cooked. It was a fatty piece of meat from what I remember. I remember enjoying it, but I don't remember any particulars.

I do remember being very happy when I was done eating it. Happy enough to get myself a damn fine cup of coffee. Yes, this meal was that amazing. The coffee was really really good too so I inquired into their bean source. They get their beans from Philly Fair Trade Roasters (www.phillyfairtrade.com) and you can order beans from them online. If I wasn't a broke graduate student - I would.
Onwards to dessert then! Another choice between: butterscotch pudding (with rum raisins and ginger snap) and almond financier (with lemon curd and berry confit). I'm wary of anything with almond flavouring but I'm also wary of anything with raisins. Dilemma. Raisins you can pick out if you want to, so the butterscotch pudding it is.

I didn't have to pick out the raisins. Rum does make everything better. And the butterscotch pudding was just melt in your mouth heaven. It was a damn near perfect night with great company and great food. Thank you Ed, Atrish, Sandeep and Scott for coming out with us. As for everyone else - this place is a little expensive, so it might not be your everyday meal kind of option. However, if you haven't been here yet, save up some. Then draw that saved money out from an ATM (they are cash only) and have yourself a wonderful evening with the folks down at Pumpkin.

Pumpkin

1713 South Street

Philadelphia PA 19104

215-545-4448

www.pumpkinphilly.com