Ever since my gf and I dined at Amada, I’ve been a big fan of Jose Garces. He’s an extremely successful chef who’s only in his 30′s and owns six Philadelphia restaurants. Garces has also recently become the next iron chef…beating out all the competition (I have yet to watch all the episodes I’ve DVR’ed). I’ve also had the pleasure of meeting him at Share our Strength’s Taste of the Nation food charity event last summer. During Philadelphia Restaurant Week, I had the chance to try Chifa, a Peruvian/Cantonese “fusion” restaurant which Garces opened up fairly recently (within the last year or so). More recently, Garces opened up Village Whiskey, next to his wine bar, Tinto within the past 6 months…
As soon as I found out about this place, I knew I had to make a trip. Unfortunately, the wait for a table was an hour and a half…so my friend and I just walked around the bar area and the back. Fortunately, a couple was leaving and my friend and I were able to snag a stand up spot along the back wall.
VW’s menu sports a lot of great offerings. They have a bunch of finger foods such as cheese puffs, oysters, and pretzels as well as different kinds of pickles (cipollinis, beets, onions). Of course, what stands out in my mind from the menu though are the Whiskey King burger (w/ maple bourbon glazed cipollini, rogue bleu cheese, applewood bacon, and foie gras) and the duck fat french fries! Had I not been heading up to a crazy alumni weekend at Lehigh after this, I would have ordered those. Instead, I opted for a Village Burger with rogue bleu cheese and caramelized onions. I also ordered a Brooklyn Brewery Chocolate Stout to go along.
The service was great despite the place being packed. The meal came out within 15-20 and had a pickle on the side. If you know me at all, you know I’m not crazy about pickles…but I ate this one! As I took my first bite, I wandered off into a bit of burger heaven. It was just so damn delicious. The bread was perfect. The burger was juicy and just right. The forementioned plus the other additions all came together to make this easily one of the best burgers I’ve ever had.
Due to the pretty awesome drink menu and great food offerings, I have unfinished business here and will without question be back in the (hopefully) near future.
DEFINITELY, definitely check this place out if you can!
Village Whiskey
118 S 20th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
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