Unbreaded

Beer, Bourbon And Burgers At Village Whiskey

A burger is a blank canvas, a universe of options and interpretations, and we love the idea of putting the creativity in the hands of the customer.  With Village Whiskey, Chefs Jose Garces and Dave Conn are taking the build your own burger concept to a whole new level.  Toppings include the classic fried egg, crisp applewood bacon, artisanal cheeses, sweet caramelized cippolini onions, artichokes, even white truffles.  So you can try Chef Conn’s favorite combination: avocado, bacon and a fried egg, or create your own signature burger.

With only a few precious seats, and no shortage of burger and whiskey lovers willing to wait for them, it’s a pretty tight squeeze to get in the door. The restaurant offers the basic 8oz Village burger with thousand island dressing and a range of great toppings, each for just a couple dollars.  The all-natural Angus beef comes from Wolfe’s Neck Farm and is ground fresh daily at the new Garces Trading Company Commissary, where they also bake sesame seed buns exclusively for Village Whiskey.  Pastry Chef Ann Giles’ twice-proofed bread recipe yields an airy texture with a light sweetnes and mild buttery flavor.  The restaurant actually shares kitchen space with sister restaurant Tinto, which Chef Conn (who manages both kitchens) said presented a set of organizational adjustments, but they have found the workflow that keeps everything moving efficiently.

An expansive whiskey list is the headliner at Village Whiskey, but the burgers are the real stars of this show, led by the Whiskey King.  A hefty 10oz patty with award-winning Rogue Creamery Oregon Blue, crunchy bacon, maple glazed cippolini onions and a serving of foie gras, the Whiskey King will engage culinary thrill seekers and expense account eaters alike.  Less ambitious diners can get the same cheese, bacon and onions on a Village Burger.  The meat is tender and melts in your mouth, juicy and peppery.  Rogue offers the first blue cheese ever produced on the West Coast, smoked over hazelnut shells, with a tangy flavor and melts creamy over the burger.

A heaping portion of shaved white truffles on your burger, a far cry from the “fixins bar,” costs $30 for 5 grams (varies according to market price).  Chef Conn recommends skipping the Thousand Island when you order the truffles, and simply getting a fried egg on top of the burger to get the full taste of the truffles.  The cheese selection offers a range of flavors: Rogue Blue, a balanced aged cheddar from the Cellars at Jasper Hill in Vermont and creamy, lemony Haystack Mountain Chevre from Boulder Colorado.

Pickles are a big part of the experience at Village Whiskey.  A selection of pickled tomatoes, beets, carrots, artichokes and onions are the product of more than 8 vinegars and unique seasonings, plus the house pickled kerbies that accompany the burgers.  Besides the burgers and veggie burger, the menu includes the BBQ Pork Sammy, a braised and shredded pork butt with a sweet-heat BBQ sauce; and the Lobster roll, a 1lb lobster poached to order in butter and served on a brioche hot dog bun.

Aside from the Whiskey King, the most popular combination so far has been caramelized onions, egg and avocado. And some customers like bacon on their veggie burger.  The toppings list will evolve over time, and Chefs Garces and Conn are tinkering with some new menu additions, including pickled root vegetables this fall and maybe a South Philly inspired hot dog.  With such a robust pickling operation, we’d like to see some pickle options for the burger, or perhaps a Chicago style dog in the tradition of Chef Garces’ home town.  But in the meantime, there are plenty of burger combinations still to try.

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Village Whiskey
118 South 20th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 (Google Map)