Unbreaded

Lunch At Alison Two: What I Did On My Summer Staycation

This year everybody is a little gun shy about taking that big summer vacation.  Mooching at the shore is at an all-time high.   So while you’re taking your use-it-or-lose-it vacation time at home, don’t do stuff around the house – treat yourself to a really good sandwich instead.  Lunch at Alison Two in Ft. Washington gives you a travel inspired menu full of exotic and delicious flavors and that feeling of getting away, even if you don’t go very far.

Old Pennsylvania is a charming piece of preserved history.  The architecture is still standing in many locations, the stone bridges are still holding.  Among the sprawling hills and endless woods of back-roads Ft. Washington lies an enclave that has managed to remain beautifully green.  Here, inside a 150-year-old building is Chef Alison Barshak’s second and more ambitious eponymous restaurant.  The 2008 James Beard nominated Chef Barshak served as Executive Chef at Philadelphia’s Striped Bass before spending time in Santa Fe, New York and traveling the world.  Alison Two brings Chef Barshak’s diverse culinary influences to life with a cosmopolitan menu that still rings true when Alison passionately recalls her favorite green chile cheeseburger from a little café in a gas station near the Wal-Mart in Santa Fe.

The menu changes frequently.  And by frequently, we mean “printed twice daily.”  Produce, fish, bread and dairy all come from local/trusted sources so you can be certain that the food is fresh and natural.  The sandwiches (which we do expect will stick around) are diverse and each is substantial in its own right.  A po’boy with parmesan crusted oysters; a soft shell crab flatbread with a dipping bowl of curry soup; a meaty burger with sweet and spicy onion marmalade; house-smoked salmon served up like pastrami sandwich; a tuna nicoise sandwich served with limoncello aioli.  Chef Barshak and Sous Chef Eric Goods have developed a lineup of sandwiches that are immensely satisfying and rich with flavor.

The dinner menu’s popular parmesan crusted oysters emerged as a crunchy and satisfying po’boy on a crusty French baguette with fire roasted jalapenos and mustard aioli.  The tender oysters have a crisp and salty coating; the creamy mustard mayo helps cool the kick from the jalapenos.  Served with sliced grape tomatoes, arugula and shaved parmesan.

The soft shell crab on fresh tandoor flatbread comes plated with a dipping bowl of curry laksa, an Asian soup.  Fresh Maryland soft shells are dredged and fried, paired with pickled daikon and carrots, cucumber, red onion and cilantro to give it a bright vinegary flavor that complimented the rich curry dipping soup.  We found the best way to eat this sandwich was to roll it up and dip it into the soup, creating an experience similar to the kati roll, a popular Indian street food. The flatbread soaks up delicious flavors from the laksa, yet stays fluffy and crisp.

The house-smoked salmon on pumpernickel would satisfy any fish eater’s craving for a pastrami sandwich.  Kind of a cross between a reuben and a special, slices of hickory-smoked salmon (cured 36 hours) are topped with creamy cole slaw, sliced gruyere and served on buttery toasted pumpernickel.

The grilled tuna nicoise sandwich is more than a salad on a roll, thanks to the brilliant limoncello-inspired aioli.  Sure, it’s got all the usual fixings for a classic nicoise salad: tender poached tuna, capers, olives, egg, anchovies, potatoes and haricots verts on a toasted sesame roll, but the star of the show is the homemade lemon vinegar that is really a mock limoncello.  A white balsamic base is fermented with just a hint of alcohol, mustard, red pepper flakes and sugar until it becomes a bright lemon drizzle that brings this sandwich to life with a burst of flavor.

The juicy burger on seeded homemade bun places crispy fried onions and an onion marmalade atop a juicy patty of ground chuck and smoked aged cheddar.  The onion jam is a flavorful mixture of onions, chipotle, sugar, mustard and red wine vinegar, which gives the burger a sweet and firey zing.

As for Chef Barshak, whose extensive travels and culinary adventures have exposed her to countless ethnic sandwiches, she has come to a few conclusions: a grilled ham & cheese sandwich is just about as good as it gets.  And the pan fried cod sandwich at Mary’s Fish Camp in NY is also as good as it gets.  Get a muffaletta from the Central Grocery in New Orleans.  In Paris, there is only one sandwich you should eat: cheese and ham on a baguette with that unmistakable French unsalted butter.

Chef Barshak likes the interplay of hot and cold on a sandwich, like with souvlaki or schwarma, mixing lamb with cool yogurt and cucumber on warm bread.  She implores you to smash some chips in your tuna hoagie to give it crunch, and  pickles are a must have on the sandwich.  Barshak hinted at a few sandwiches that may show up on the menu in the future, including a monkfish torta and a skate sandwich she’s been tinkering with.  Whatever the future menu does hold in store, it’s a sure bet we’ll be there.

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Alison Two
424 S. Bethlehem Pike Ft. Washington, PA 19034 (Google Map)