Fond

My husband and I decided to celebrate our second wedding anniversary with dinner at a restaurant in Philadelphia. We often look to Philadelphia magazine’s seasonal “50 Best Restaurants” list to guide our selection. After some thought, we decided on Fond.

Located in the booming culinary section of the East Passyunk neighborhood, Fond serves up contemporary American cuisine. We arrived ahead of our reservation, but luckily were seated immediately.

I decided to start with a cocktail with mezcal and blood orange while perusing the menu. Fond offers a la carte options or a five- or seven-course tasting menu. Since it was a special occasion (and we were hungry), we opted for the seven-course option. My husband and I are fairly adventurous eaters and don’t have any food allergies, so we let our waiter craft the menu for us. Up first, my favorite course, was tuna tartare. The dish came with red curry, avocado, coconut and kaffir lime. It was refreshing but still packed a lot of flavor. Next, we had the chicken liver mousse. While I’m not normally a fan of liver, I enjoyed Fond’s preparation. We then had grilled octopus with tomato, eggplant and feta. It was a perfect summer dish. After a refreshing palate cleanser of strawberry rhubarb sorbet, we enjoyed two main course dishes: scallops with asparagus risotto and pork belly with rice, carrots and snap peas. I enjoyed both, as the proteins were items I never prepare on my own. Our sixth course was a cheese course accompanied with sourdough bread, mustard and ginger jam. The meal concluded with a dessert plate of an apricot tart with pistachio ice cream and malted milk chocolate ice cream with a chocolate crumble and peanut brittle. I am a big fan of the chocolate and peanut butter combination, so that part of the dessert was my favorite.

Overall, we had an incredible dining experience at Fond. The ambiance, service and cuisine help solidify its spot on the “50 Best” list.

Fond

1537 S. 11^th St.

Philadelphia, PA 19147

tel 215 551 5000

http://www.fondphilly.com/