• Phillymag’s Trey Popp says “you’ll never meet a globe-trotting veteran fine-dining chef who can do toast any better” than Vernick Food & Drink chef-owner Greg Vernick. Beyond fire-grilled bread, Vernick’s “watchword” is “simplicity.” “Plainspoken herbs” bring “exotic notes” to split, stuffed and charred eggplant, and Indian-style candied fennel seeds bring “a subtle anise undertone to the liveliest plate of beets [he’s] had in months.” Desserts were the “only real weak point” in this three-star review. [Phillymag]
• At NoLibs pioneering gastropub, Standard Tap, Adam Erace finds “the scene, the smell, the way the burger winked at me” captivating, and the seasonal bluefish preparation “so tasty” that he swears he would eat it “with sides of thumbtacks and sawdust.” Angie’s eggplant dip serves as the chef’s “clever riff on baba ghanoush,” and the stewed peaches and blueberries bubbling beneath a warm, crunchy oatmeal, walnut-and-brown sugar topping shows the bar “doesn’t shortchange dessert.” [Courier-Post]
