Townsend

161074821

Chef Townsend Wentz is one of “Papa’s Boys.” “Papa” was the affectionate nickname given to chef Jean-Marie LaCroix by his brigade when he opened The Fountain in the Four Seasons Hotel 31 years ago. During the long tenure, he trained, in his gentle and perfect way, many chefs. Wentz was not with LaCroix in The Fountain’s early years. When LaCroix moved to The Rittenhouse Hotel, Wentz went with him and spent 10 years with “Papa.”

Wentz was the executive chef at the now-shuttered Twenty21, a dazzling restaurant where I enjoyed my first taste of wild salmon from the Pacific Northwest many years ago. He spent a few years in New York City and returned a few years ago when he took a neighborhood tavern and placed it on the culinary map. I have been a regular at McCrossen’s for many years.

Wentz has an impressive pedigree. I knew his background when I made a reservation at Townsend, his first restaurant, located on East Passyunk Avenue. He could not have found a finer site.

The bi-level space, which once housed Salt & Pepper and Sophia’s, has a front bar and dining room awash in soothing dove gray walls, perfect lighting and soft music. Tables are covered in crisp white linen.

You will dine in France here, and I could not have been happier. Cocktails such as a martini ($10) and a Negroni ($11) are served in Marie Antoinette coupes. Warm French bread and slightly salted butter kept us content as we read the bill of fare. Our server, who knew every inch of the menu, told us about the specials.

Beef tartare ($12) was a mound of beautifully seasoned hand minced beef softly mixed with creamy bone marrow and tiny bits of chopped cornichons. We spread it on toasted croutons and forgot every worry in the world.

Sweetbreads ($13) paired with grilled veal tongue resulted in a contrast of textures that made culinary sense on the plate. The creamy-on-the-inside sweetbreads were seasoned and seared, but I found them a little salty. White asparagus, which was included on the dish, tends to be fibrous and woody, but Wentz knows how to cook them. He cut them into small pieces, added some frisee for bitterness (good bitterness, not in a bad way) and finished the dish in a sauce he calls Spanish gribiche. It imparted a slightly spicy, not hot, tomato flavor that made this dish a standout.

We shared a gnocchi appetizer ($12) that turned out to be small pillows of potato goodness napped in a light tomato sauce with spinach and mushrooms.

Our server told us about La Boutanche, ($8 a glass) a fruity Beaujolais that is made only in France during the spring. It had a deep ruby red color and was slightly chilled as Beaujolais must be.

From the four entrees, we selected roasted organic chicken ($25) and Icelandic cod ($26). The chicken leg was roasted as a galantine as it was boned and rolled. I thought the perfectly cooked breast meat was a little salty but adored the sauce made with natural pan juices and Madeira. Spring peas, speck and morels, which are in season now, made this a fine dish.

I chose the cod because it included brandade, a marvelous mix of salt cod and seasoned whipped potatoes that I rarely see on menus. The fish was beautifully seared to a translucent splendor, but I found it a bit salty. Peas and fava beans, which retained a bit of crunch, were nestled in a creamy sauce of sorrel and vermouth cream.

Townsend is a master at making sauces.

Unfortunately, the hot chocolate soufflé ($13) was really a molten lava cake overbaked in a soufflé dish. It was burnt on top, although the chantilly cream was lovely and not overwhipped. Our server removed it from the bill. The Pavlova ($8) was a perfect meringue, not overly sweet, looking much like a white fluffy tutu, served on a pool of strawberry coulis.

Wentz has found his niche with his first restaurant. It is a four-toquer in the making. A few of the dishes were too salty, but certainly not inedible. If there were a three-and-three-quarter tips of the toque, I would award it.

Three-and-a-half-tips of the toque to Townsend. SPR

Townsend

1623 E. Passyunk Ave.
267-639-3203
townsendrestaurant.com

Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.

161074821
161074811