A Gourmand's Life

By now it should be clear that I hate brunch, although I may not as yet expressed my particular loathing for hotel brunches, those all-you-can-eat buffets where generally execrable food is made even more unpalatable by someone playing the harp. So it may seem strange that I chose to visit Lacroix at The Rittenhouse Hotel for brunch during my recent trip to Philadelphia, but Lacroix is quite different – this is an attempt at brunch for serious gourmands.


In spite of their reputation as one of the top rated restaurants in the city, brunch is not an afterthought at Lacroix. The food selections are serious, but the atmosphere is relaxed and playful. As the dining room itself is rather small, many of the buffet stations are actually set up in the kitchen, where you can watch executive chef Jason Cichonski and his staff at work while you help yourself to their array of creations. Before that, however, m you will want to avail yourself of the cold seafood station, where you will find oysters, individual shrimp cocktail shooters, and house-smoked salmon, as well as reasonably good paddlefish and salmon caviars.


The hors d’oeuvres station has numerous warm options, but since it would take a competitive eater to actually try everything on offer, I passed on most of these, except for the delightful Foie Gras Malted Milk Lollipops. Among the cold salads, Chinese Broccoli with Hearts of Palm, Orange and Muscavado-Mustard Vinaigrette, Grilled Cuttlefish Salad with Grapefruit and Chilled Peanut Vinaigrette, and a Mac “n” Cheese option consisting of elbow pasta, aged gouda, celery and apples were well executed, if not terribly exciting.


In the kitchen you will find individual buffet stations devoted to fish, meat, charcuterie, vegetables and breakfast items. Despite my intention to methodically work my way through each of these, I became distracted and missed the seafood items, which consisted of a Giant Scallop Sausage as well as Black Pepper, Caramel-Glazed Salmon. That was probably a mistake, as the meat options were unsuccessful; an Herb Crusted Lamb Rack was woefully underdone while Braised Pork Belly, while well cooked, was wan and uninteresting. Short Ribs were expertly braised but overwhelmed by kaffir lime, and the undercooked chickpeas that accompanied them were prepared in the style of baked beans, adding to the jumble of jarring flavors.


The vegetable selections had more successful flavor profiles. Brussel sprouts were combined with pine nuts, raisins and a bit of black truffle, and Salsify, one of the most overlooked vegetables, was inventively prepared Lyonnaise style.

At this point you will enter the sweet kitchen, quite literally. In addition to a table of assorted miniature pastries, you are invited to the pastry station in the kitchen to observe, as a dessert is prepared using liquid nitrogen. Next to this are dark and milk chocolate fountains, with various choices for dipping. Needless to say, these were the highlights of the day for my five year old.


The miniature desserts are all well made, including Cardamom Crème Brulee and a Pineapple and Coconut Financier.


My favorite sweet of the meal, however, was Fried French Toast with Toasted Cedar Syrup – an addictive combination that tasted like Christmas on a plate.

The brunch at Lacroix is nothing if not interesting - Chef Cichonski is very talented, and to his credit, he doesn’t attempt to tame down his ideas and seasonings in order to pander to a less sophisticated diner at brunch. But like many young chefs running kitchens these days, his ideas hit the plate running – perhaps before they have received proper consideration. And the sheer number of dishes prepared for this meal guarantee that a number of them will fall flat in both conept and execution. But if brunch fits the bill for a special occasion, Lacroix is the best option, by far. Bring the kids and have some fun in the kitchen.