Philadelphia magazine recently sampled the food over at Carmine’s Creole Cafe in Bryn Mawr and found a restaurant that isn’t afraid of high-calorie dishes like bacon gravy, bread pudding and deep-fried jambalaya croquettes:
The crabcake is an eight-ounce jumbo lump whopper held together with garlic mayonnaise, resting on crème fraîche mashed potatoes. Roast duck comes with bacon gravy and fried oysters and andouille-duck jambalaya. Sticky-bun bread pudding sprawls across a dessert plate, ample enough for four. Hasn’t anyone told proprietor John Mims that tiny tastes on tot-sized plates are the reigning restaurant trend? “I don’t do small,” sneers Mims, who moved Carmine’s from Narberth to Bryn Mawr earlier this year.
As noted, Carmine’s recently moved (to what is their third location in nine years). Their relocation to Bryn Mawr meant that they were finally able to obtain a license under the PLCB’s outdated system: The new bar has an extensive martini list and a full selection of choices from NOLA’s best brewery, Abita. Unfortunately, food critic Maria Gallagher cites the proverbial service issues in her review, complaining that “servers can mar the meal” thanks to hovering and inconsistent plate clearing. But, hey, at least the food is spicy.
Hurricanes in Bryn Mawr [Philadelphia]
Carmine’s Creole Cafe [MenuPages]
Carmine’s Creole Cafe [Official Site]
[Photo via Brett Thomas / Philadelphia magazine]
