Unbreaded

Smiths Restaurant: A Sports Bar Where The Food Is The Star

Chef / owner Brendan Smith opened Smiths Restaurant in 2007 after serving two years as Executive Chef at Rittenhouse Square’s Smith & Wollensky steakhouse.  His concept: a high-end sports bar with fresh, unique, legitimate food.  No gallon-jugs of mayo; his sauces and spreads are made fresh daily and the sandwiches have a kind of sophistication that is uncommon in a typical beer-and-a-ballgame environment.  Chef Smith likes the interplay of different textures on his sandwiches, like warm meat on crusty bread and melted cheese with crispy bacon.  A small business owner himself, Chef Smith proudly supports local farms in South Jersey and Pennsylvania, sourcing his meats and produce as locally as possible.

50% of customers order sandwiches at lunch at the 90+ seat Smiths.  During the day, white collar professionals from the local office towers fill the restaurant; at night, locals from the neighborhood come in to watch a Phillies game and hang out.  Each month there are specials (June offers a Salmon BLT; July will be BBQ) but the regulars keep coming back for their favorites, like the Kennett Square burger.  Named for the mushroom capital of the United States, the Kennett Square serves up 8 ounces of 80/20 chuck on grilled brioche with lots of wild mushrooms and creamy manchego cheese.

The Black Angus Roast Beef sandwich offers melt-in-your-mouth meat with a creamy horseradish zing.  The soft and crusty house baked roll is the perfect accompaniment to the house roasted and thinly sliced beef with aged Vermont cheddar that is sharp enough to stand up on its own, but does not overpower the sandwich.

The carved turkey sandwich embraces Philadelphia’s love of pretzels with a pretzel roll designed specifically for Smiths by the Philadelphia Pretzel Factory.  The bread is more roll than pretzel; soft and pillowy with just a hint of pretzel flavor – not the salty, crusty affair we typically find at carts and shops around the city.  The turkey is thin sliced, warm and moist, with melted provolone and smoky applewood bacon.  A spread of sweet and creamy red pepper aioli gives the sandwich a clean finish.

The Ahi Tuna BLT is messy, for sure, but the creamy avocado and medium-rare tuna are a delicious pair.  Avocado shows up twice on this sandwich: sliced on top of the fish and as a spread on the seeded brioche bun.  Crunchy bacon accents the tuna, offering a bite that is creamy, crisp, hearty and tender.

For Chef Smith, sandwiches are quick, easy, and everybody likes them.  And in today’s sandwich culture, he sees that sandwiches have to have spreads – “chipotle aioli is standard.”  Tomato-jalapeno relish and marmalades are condiments now, one the exclusive domain of fancy restaurants.  At home, Chef Smith makes Chicken Milanese sandwiches with his kids, lined up to pound and bread the chicken breasts like an assembly line in their own aprons.  And when he goes out for a sandwich, he looks to Jim’s for a finely chopped cheesesteak and Nick’s for a roast beef sandwich.

Gallery

Smiths Restaurant | Lounge
39-41 S. 19th St., Philadelphia PA 19103 (Google Map)