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)

Redefined and refreshing dishes seem to be the main theme at Mémé, the eight month old French bistro by David Katz. The 32-year-old New Jersey native entered the Philadelphia scene in 1997, cooking at Salt, M Restaurant, Avenue B and a short stint at Silk City upon its reopening. After years of technical French cooking, Katz has approached his first wholly-owned venture from a simpler, more down to Earth angle, one very reminiscent of his own personal demeanor. According to him, he has retired the technical chops and focused more on locally sourced ingredients and bold, rustic flavors.

Don’t let our modest description fool you though, the offerings on the recently launched Spring menu at Mémé boast creativity and excitement. Take for instance the Foie Gras Burger, the only sandwich on the menu, that drew us here in the first place. Katz explains his concept, “Everyone does a burger these days, so we thought we’d take ingredients we love like foie gras, and recreate the sandwich in a different way.” The liver is cured for three days in a salt and sugar solution and never seared, to preserve its integrity and flavor, then formed into a thick, round patty. A duck prosciutto which is also cured in house is sliced thin, resembling bacon, and topped with cracklings (golden brown skin) for a slight crunchy texture. The sandwich is served on a toasted brioche bun from Schripp’s bakery which is spread with a sweet but tangy red onion marmalade, speared with cornichons and a side of waffle chips. A bite reveals the perfect blend of sweet and savory, the foie gras melts in your mouth and duck bacon adds just the right amount of salt to counter the marmalade. The toasty brioche, not too spongy or crunchy, brings a flavor complexity of its own. Tasty as it is, the foie gras burger is so rich and decadent, for some it will serve as a delicious novelty, a once in a while treat. This is not a bad thing, as Mémé has so much more to offer returning diners.

Despite Mémé’s seemingly perfect fit for the Fitler Square neighborhood, simple dishes with panache, Katz is a lover of the working man’s food, namely sandwiches. He favors only the best around Philadelphia, naming John’s Roast Pork for his favorite cheesesteak and roast pork, Texas Wieners and Charlie’s in Folsom for a cheeseburger. He is tired of the abnormally large nine ounce burgers that have been wildly popular, insisting “You can’t challenge the integrity of the bread”, and describing the perfect cheeseburger as one that is thin, and cooked on a griddle in its own fat. Here’s a guy who calls a traditional Chicago hot dog the “hot dog hoagie”, only further implying that simple is better. His favorite sandwich to cook at home besides a cheeseburger? A well toasted grilled cheese on white bread with cheddar or American.

The menu at Mémé changes throughout the seasons and the Foie Gras Burger won’t be there for long. Still, David Katz is always conceptualizing, tinkering away at creating the best flavors with the best ingredients. What’s next in the way of sandwiches at Mémé? Well besides the scrapple, egg and cheese with pickled jalapeños served for Saturday brunch, Katz envisions his own take on the Italian hoagie, complete with foie gras of course.

Mémé
2201 Spruce Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 (Google Map)

Christine Nunn, chef and owner of Picnic Caterers in Emerson, NJ was recently taken aback after receiving a threatening letter from Farm Sanctuary, a “farm animal protection organization”. The reason Nunn was picked as a target was for her use of foie gras in a dish at the Ultimate Chef Bergen County Finals. Foie gras has been under fire some time now by animal rights activists, leading to picketing of restaurants, a 2 year ban in Chicago (which was recently lifted) and plans to ban the sale in the entire state of California starting in 2012.

Debate aside, threats and blackmail are not cool and Christine Nunn sent a letter to Farm Sanctuary and decided to show her dislike for the actions in the most tasteful way possible: a sandwich. The “Foie You” consists of foie gras, smoked duck breast and sliced pears topped with balsamic blackberry jam atop a crossaint.

Unfortunately, these incredibly delicious looking sandwiches were made available to the public on April 21st, and are all gone. We applaud Chef Nunn for her creativity and decision to use her cooking skills to fight for her rights.

[Via Off The Broiler]