Innovative and Delicious: High Street on Market

Wharton alumnus Ellen Yin and chef Eli Kulp, both well known in the Philly food scene for Fork, have officially extended High Street on the Market’s (306 Market St) offerings to including breakfast, lunch, and dinner (be sure to check out our review of  High Street’s breakfast here). The menu is eclectic, innovative, and most importantly, delicious. Read on to discover our favorites of the evening.

Craftsmanship is a central component of High Street’s approach, from the food (which we’ll get to momentarily) to the ceramic plates formed and fired by a previous Fork staff member.

The menu is meant for sharing–all the plates allow a table of four to happily try a little of each dish. The entire left side of the menu is marketed as to “for sharing,” but the pastas (NOT to be missed), are easily sharable as well.

Potted Shrimps (whipped foie, nutmeg, shrimp toasts). The Lancaster, PA, cooking traditions were inspired by those of Lancaster, England, with this starter acting as a shout out to those English roots. The preservation techniques  ( used in many of High Street’s dishes) come to light here, in which braised shrimp is topped with ethereally light foie gras and served with fried cracker-like shrimp toasts.

Kale Chips (mixed kale, nutritional yeast, fermented soy beans). Take kale chips to the next level with the addition of nutritional yeast and fermented soy beans. This creates a salty, cheese-like flavor.

Squash Hummus (long hot chermoula, black sesame oil, seeded ginger bread). The long hot chermoula, essentially a spicy squash hummus, comes served warm and is perfectly whipped. Our favorite part of this, however, was the seeded ginger bread, which also arrived warm. This bread is hearty, dense, and somewhat nutty. All of High Street’s breads speak for themselves; given that they have their own bread baker, this comes as no surprise.

Crispy Broccoli (spicy chow-chow). Tempura broccoli is tasty, but it is the spicy chow-chow that elevated this dish. The chow-chow, a chopped relish originating from Lancaster, PA, and consisting of various pickled vegetables, was reminiscent of a less spicy but just as flavorful kimchi.

Fried Razor Clams. This elegant take on fried clam strips–with a  crisp exterior and meaty interior–created a delicious base to the other eclectic dishes we enjoyed. The smooth tartar sauce added creaminess to each bite.

Lamb Tartare (smoked artichokes, anchovy, cultured cashew spread). This was, by far, the most unique dish of the evening. The lamb tartare tasted like a cross between the more common beef and tuna tartare varieties, and as strange as that sounds, it worked. Paired with anchovies and homemade vegan cheese (the cashew spread), this dish is a requisite order for any real foodie.

Dry Aged Beets (aged beet vinaigrette, greens, smoked goat cheese). Thin slices of beets were given a beefy flavor by being cooked with meat. The complex interactions between the sweet, beefy beets, the smoky cheese, and the fresh greens made this dish a standout.

Rabbit & Chestnuts (roasted cauliflower, fried brussels, autumn fruit, maple chestnuts). This dish brought together classic fall flavors in a fresh and unique way. Each component complemented each other beautifully, from the tender and meaty rabbit to the subtly sweet chestnuts.

Mushrooms (sunchokes, smoky eggplant, young kale, farm egg). One of the highlights of our entire meal. The earthiness of the mushrooms (so many varieties!), the richness of the golden egg, and the smokiness of the eggplant merged together to create a wonderfully balanced dish. The hearty broth could warm us from the inside out even on the chilliest of days.

The Walleye (Uncle’s wild rice, charred leeks, smoked trout roe). The buttery rice and leeks was a lovely match with the meaty walleye. The textures of this dish played off one another, from the crunch of the roe and the rice to the smoothness of the leeks and fish.

Walleye Collar. With a long-standing history and strong following in Asia, collars are only just beginning to pop up on stateside menus. Collars are the piscine equivalent of spareribs, a cut from along the fish clavicle behind the gills running from top to bottom (including stiff pectoral fins along the way). We were surprised by the tenderness in this bony cut.

Blooming Glen Cultured Rabe (spicy and acidic rabe, greens, shaved brassicas, mint). This wreath was like a garden on a plate. From the complex, sharp flavor of the rabe to the balance between the acid and the spice, this palate cleanser was a refreshing segue into the pasta courses.

Daily Breads (with Beechwood Organics apple butter, parsnip bagna cauda, and corn-succotash miso). Head baker Alex Bois knows his stuff. We tore into the Ancient Grains (a naturally leavened classic multi-grain loaf with a caramelized crust and toasted seeds), Buckwheat Cherry (made with nutty buckwheat flour from upstate NY’s Farmer Ground and plump, tart sun-dried cherries), and Anadama (crafted from whole wheat flour from Doylestown’s Castle Valley Mill, cracked corn, and molasses) breads. The accompanying dips were perfectly paired, enhancing the matched bread’s taste. Our favorite was the miso butter

The Beet Corzetti (marinated sardines, fresh cheese, hazelnuts) made quite the impression on us, visually and flavor-wise. The individual pasta pieces are stamped to perfectly resemble beets. In fact, the entire dish is a play on a fresh beet salad. The pasta itself looked like beets, had beets in the dough, AND was topped with some beet juice and oils. Now that’s what we call next level.

Seaweed Bucatini (shaved lobster bottarga, scallions). An interesting twist on a classic seafood pasta dish, the saltiness of the brilliantly orange bottarga nicely balanced the richness of the pasta and the sauce. Although we missed the seaweed flavor, the bucatini definitely maintained a delicious earthy flavor.

Buckwheat Orecchiette (crawfish, okra). The nutty denseness of the pasta acted as the perfect base for tender crawfish and crunchy okra; the pasta’s ear shape was just right for scooping up the hearty braising liquid.

Eggplant Agnolotti (jerk spices, caramelized goat yogurt). This dish was a delicious interplay of culture and flavor. Smooth, smoky eggplant create light and puffy agnolotti. The jerk spices and yogurt added a nice tang to the silkiness of the pasta.

Time for dessert!

Trifle (brown butter croutons, ricotta, malted milk chocolate, fruit jams). The silky, intertwining layers worked well together, adding different sparks of flavor as we dug deeper into the strata.

Crumb Cake (buckwheat crumb, coffee sauce, sour cream, pear). The anglaise-esque sauce and diced pear added tangy sweetness to the moist, crumbly, and nutty cake.

 Fall Sundae (buttermilk ice cream, celery mousse, cider caramel, cider apples, candied walnut). One of our favorite desserts on the list, the intricately-crafted flavors melded (or should we say melted?) well together, drawing on the very best of autumnal inspiration. It was the perfect ending to our meal.

High Street expertly captures high-end dining delivered in a casual environment. Ellen, Eli, and their crew strive to be distinct and contemporary, prompting their cooking techniques to draw from the past, using “old-school” traditional fermentation methods. To be modern in the culinary world means revisiting and bringing back the past, and using such methods as a basis where the creative possibilities are boundless.

— Julia Brownstein, Chelsea Goldinger, Nicole Woon, and Elvina Yau