The Other Critics

a.kitchen Gets ‘Unexpected and Novel’ With Gnocchi; Boozy Generosity Flows at Monkey Bar

• What Monkey Bar’s mojito “lacks in minty freshness,” Brian Freedman writes, “it makes up for in boozy generosity.” The “flaky haddock” fish tacos were “simple, confident and stellar.” [PW]

a.kitchen’s “smoky curls” of grilled Spanish rock octopus were a “triumph” for Adam Erace, and the gnocchi, with its “diced summer squash, béchamel and luscious house-smoked haddock in a buttered gratin dish.” was “unexpected and novel.” [Citypaper]

• Trey Popp revisits Fishtown burger joint Sketch, and discovers that the “no-bullshit, what-you-see-is-what-you-get ethos is a welcome blast of cheeseburger-scented air.” And the burgers? They are “good-value patties that people of all ideologies and income levels can get behind.” [Phillymag]

• Phyllis Stein-Novack notes that Shiroi Hana’s edamame “were piping hot but lacked salt,” and “simply grilled” chicken teriyaki “was not a bit overcooked,” but “needed salt and pepper.” [South Philly Review]

a.kitchen Gets ‘Unexpected and Novel’ With Gnocchi; Boozy Generosity