Root

This was a unique restaurant experience!
Initially we were the only people in the restaurant, mostly due to its off-​the-​beaten-​path location. The décor is minimalist and comfortable — we were amazed that they did not have any lights in the dining room, but instead used a few candles and the streetlight outside. (Here’s hoping that streetlight does not burn out!)
The food was delightful. While many of the ingredients were not available — the perils of sourcing local ingredients — the dishes we had were flavorful, beautifully prepared, with fresh and interesting ingredients and appropriate (not to large, not to small) portion sizes.
I would not recommend this restaurant for anyone who is easily annoyed by menu inconsistencies, but for a fun experience, this is a must-​try!
Note: not very vegetarian friendly, though they are willing to substitute, and definitely not vegan friendly.

I came here over Thanksgiving break while visiting my family. Living in CA now, I can appreciate the whole sustainable organic local food principle vibe this restaurant wants to maintain. But overall, we had an incredibly spotty experience so I can’t recommend it, although I’d like to give them some slack since they’re fairly new.
The place is dark and stark, which was cool for a bit of atmosphere. Very austere. It was about 8:15 pm when we arrived for our reservation, and the place was empty save for 2 large parties. Yet the 2 waitstaff were running around very busy, often disappearing into the kitchen for minutes at a time.
When we sat down, we were immediately informed that about ¼ of the menu was no longer available for the evening, including some of the best dishes. When my aunt and cousin ordered the sea bass that was supposedly still available, the waitress came back to inform us that the large party to our right had just taken the last portions of the sea bass… my relatives were hard-​pressed to find other things they wanted on the menu. Overall, the menu was a bit ambitious… a bit like the cook just got out of culinary school and wanted to experiment with a bunch of «fancy» ingredients to show off his chops. Seemed a bit crass to me. But I was interested to see if the chef could pull the flavors off.
It took a long time for our food to come. I will say the waitstaff was friendly and competent, but unfortunately, they were dealing with 2 large parties (and a slow kitchen). Anyway, the flatbread that my mom ordered was decent. The fois gras appetizer was cool in places and hot in others — very uneven, and the delicious sauce it was dressed with had congealed on the plate from sitting too long in the kitchen. My beet soup was bland and bitter. Not a good start.
For entrees, my aunt liked her pumpkin ravioli with sage brown butter, but given you can find this dish in many Italian restaurants with better prep, I was not impressed. My cousin liked her chocolate mole monkfish. However, my mom’s quail dish was boring and uninspired. My crispy pork belly arugula risotto came out cold. I was so hungry that I didn’t wait for them to reheat it. It was also salty, and the crispy pork belly, while good, was no different from the crispy pork you get in Chinatown duck houses.
Thankfully, they took the crispy pork risotto dish off the bill since it was cold. We didn’t get dessert — the most tempting dessert (the crème brûlée trio) was no longer available for the night.
To top it off, the large party next to us was obnoxiously loud. Given the room acoustics, their bellowing and shrill laughter was amplified, making it really tough to talk over.
Root had some promise, and hopefully it’ll improve past its growing pains. But based on my experience, I wouldn’t recommend it to my friends.

I was here for a food-​tasting event. I visited the restaurant’s website beforehand, so both the boyfriend and I thought «foie gras? Ew!» but much to our delight, the food was very good and «normal.» The stuffed mushrooms were melt-​in-​your-​mouth delicious, the phyllo pockets stuffed with goat cheese were to die for, the chicken wings with spicy sauce were good– but the highlight was the grilled chicken skewers. I don’t think I’ve had better chicken in my life. I usually don’t eat meat, but totally broke that rule this time because the chef uses local/​grass-​fed/​etc. meat and I can totally get behind that. Speaking of the chef, he’s very down to earth and approachable– something I really value in restaurants, especially those that serve a more «fancy» menu. The restaurant is small but in a cozy way, and their backyard is super cute. If I wasn’t dirt-​poor, I’d go here all the time!

Root was unbelievable last night. Unilocal and Chef Chris hosted a wonderful event. I wish that the entire Philadelphia Unilocal community could experience the romantic atmosphere and sleek design.
The food was delicious… and the service during dinner is also well done. Chicken wings, dumplings, apple cake are a few party highlights. The Fall Menu is just waiting for a return visit — I think reservations are now highly recommended with the success of last night. Everyone deserves a night at Root.

I organize a foodie group that tries out various restaurants in the Philly area. Recently our ROOT experience turned out to be another success and one with quite a good turn out. We had the place to ourselves since they’re usually closed on Sundays. Root uses only fresh ingredients and while the décor is minimal, the food will keep is more than aesthetically satisfied.
Twenty-​nine foodies were rewarded with an onslaught of tasty dishes, brought out to our tables like gifts — one after another– and that kept us happy. Owner/​Chef Christopher Hora was enthusiastic from the moment I first contacted him until the final dish was served. Eager to please foodies, he offered us a tasting assortment from his newly developed fall menu. He stressed that he wanted to get as many dishes in front of us as possible. The solution was a choice of 3 small plates, an entrée, and an assortment of desserts that pushed us over the edge to near food-​coma.
At my table, there was an agreement to share everything to ensure as thorough an audit as possible. Of the small plates, we tried 4 of the 5 since the tare tar flight didn’t appeal to us as much. There wasn’t room left for disappointment, as far as I’m concerned. I noticed each table had a different order of appearance of the small plates, which I suppose was key to keeping the plates coming at a great pace. Just as my table finished indulging in the pumpkin ravioli, which made my mouth … go… um, «Ooooh Yeaaah», the Zelnacka (Sauerkraut & Beer Soup) came out. Both of these dishes I anticipated from the moment Chris emailed the prospective menu and I was not one bit disappointed. The Asparagus & Mushroom Salad and finally the Mushroom Flat bread however surprised me. Though they sounded fine as a menu item, I did not expect to experience the rich, perfectly balanced layers of flavors. Usually the salads with warm bacon vinaigrette often hit you over the head with a biting flavor, whereas here it was pretty much perfect and again, I found myself just in bliss.
Of the entrée selection, my table of 4 ordered 2 of the 3 choices (We skipped the vegetarian dish but word from other tables claimed the Arugula Risotto & Truffle Honey jus was really good) we had the Oxtail & Rabbit Ravioli and Monk Fish poached in coffee & rum. Wow. I cannot vote one better than the other. The Monk Fish was incredible, with chocolate mole that made you remember why it read like porn when listed on the menu. Meanwhile, the Oxtail was delicious and these open faced raviolis were served with saki braised spinach that was just as divine as the ravioli. Chris mentioned the week’s recent city-​turmoil, a result of the Phillies winning the world series (woo hoo!) and the celebration that followed, was to blame for many of his deliveries being delayed or diverted as truck drivers apparently were imbibing in the festivities too. As a result, the Oxtail Ravioli was accompanied with spinach rather than the planned saki braised bok choy, uni beurre blanc and the Spaghetti squash sauté that was intended for the Monk Fish dish had, instead, sweet potato and Jícama that also proved that a good chef can think on his feet creating a meal worthy of a city of champions. (was that too much?, you think? hmm sorry).
I wont even get started on the many desserts that we were offered except my table fell in love with the French Toast Soufflé and the Cranberry-​Pomegranate Pecan Tart above all the others. Um, this is making me hungry. It occurs to me, while writing this, that if our fall menu sampling was this good, then I so look forward to returning to Root for the rest of the menu.
*email if interested in joining the foodie group:

Come here for the food, the service and atmosphere is a bit clumsy. My party and I had great dishes all around, perfectly prepared, and obviously with loving care by the chef (who came out several times to check on our meal and even to personally serve us). The food is expensive, dropped $ 85 just on two people, the total bill being near 200 for four people, however it is locally sourced and delicious.
The problems we had were that the servers seemed a bit confused, there were a couple of spills. The space where they sat us was a bit cramped too, so there was a lot of shuffling. Also, the bathroom door kept trapping all of us who had to use it (it’s a humungous slab of wood on a sliding track).
They seem like they are trying to get everything down, so I’m guessing the awkwardness/​clumsiness will tone down.

Very white restaurant. White as in the walls and ceiling are painted pure stark white. Combined with the low low lighting it makes it super hard to see where the walls and ceiling begin and end. Which I loved. Seems obvious but it’s totally unique. The only thing to break that odd décor is a giant tree root sticking out of the top of one wall.
Warm bacon salad was delicious if standard, flat bread very normal, fried chicken was top-​notch. Root vegetables on this dish left me wanting more interestingness. Pork loin was good, also standard, not overcooked nor undercooked. Again vegetables were something of an experiment, reminded me of something I would cook. Which is to say not too original and not too delicious.
Amazing crème brûlée tasting.
Food: totally acceptable and sometimes outstanding.
Ambience: fun, interesting, stylish but still unpretentious.
Service: great.
Price: maybe just a hair high for what you get. I’d still come again in a heartbeat though.

I love this place. I’ve been three times now in the two months it’s been open so I guess I must really like it!
I haven’t tried everything on the menu yet but everything we’ve had has been delicious, interesting, and perfectly cooked. I reccommend the Rabbit and Oxtail raviolo, it’s excellent. The Tare Tar is now my favorite small plate they offer (it used to be the baby octopus until we ordered this). The French toast soufflé with maple bacon ice cream is amazing as is the Kafir lime tarte.
Last night I was there I ordered the Smoked Steak and it was very nice, perfectly cooked and had an interesting vegetable combination. Next time I go I will order the pork tenderloin (they were out of it last night). He also does this really interesting deep fried spinach side dish. It’s fried in soybean oil and has such a neat texture to it to go with it’s buttery goodness. It’s not on the menu but peeks in every now and then as a replacement side dish for something else if he’s out of a particular produce item. I think he should put it on the menu.
Also, the chef mentioned he’s thinking of opening a beir garten next door. I’m assuming he means in the empty lot next door. I think that’s a great idea.

OK, I will be nice and cut them a break. It should be 2 or 2.5 stars, but I am hoping they will work out the kinks and improve. The menu sounded sooooo wonderful and my friend was keen to try Root — so we went. The place was dead empty when we arrived, but throughout our meal about 8 people were dining. Definitely BYO something — they have NOTHING to drink but water.
Turns out this is the site of the former Palate BYOB. I guess they just couldn’t make it.
The food is really not great. (Which is a shame because they claim to use sustainable and local ingredients and I strive to support it. The tattoo-​covered chef and the server (a nice gal) were hospitable.
Here’s what made the food more like 2 stars. I started with the poached shrimp salad. It came with 2 large, overcooked a bit rubbery shrimp. The greens were shredded and appeared to be romaine and napa cabbage in a tangy vinaigrette. The drizzle of (good quality) balsamic around the plate edge was good.
Now the strange entrée. (We skipped dessert — didn’t want to chance it.) I ordered the rabbit and oxtail raviolo with uni cream. The Oxtail was the best part — rich, and meaty with a delicious flavor. The rabbit really did taste like dark meat chicken. And the sauce was heavy — but tasty. Here’s a the bad part — the crepes were heavy as lead. Kinda like a cross between home-​made paste (flour & water) and Bisquick. Really strange. Not deelicate at all, and certainly not like pasta — more like a home-​made leaden buscuit that fell flat.
It’s really a shame. I am hoping they can figure it out — and they really, really need A/​C or at least a few more fans.
Sadly I am not one of them…