It was stormy night, long ago in Philadelphia. On the last night of a week long conference, after smiling in front of customers and running up the Rocky stairs, I was ready for Silk City Diner. Other than the fact it’s a DDD and it’s foundation is a old school diner, I knew little about this Philadelphia icon.
Since I was already an expert in the Philly landscape (based on my previous walk to Honey’s Sit n’ Eat), I lead my band of fearless eaters down Spring Garden St to our destination. The diner was a little more than I expected, housing a lounge on one side and a beer garden on the other. Despite the promise of a late June storm, we weathered it out and sat in the latter. Adorned with metal trellises, Christmas lights and coloured stools and picnic tables, it looked like it could have been decorated by Don Ho or a creative grade 7 class inspired by Claude Monet.
The Thai Style BBQ ribs were delicious…meaty and flavourful and likely the best thing I ate that night. The pickles, peanuts and hoisin sauce was an odd combination but it worked so well.
Other than a little joint in Toronto (see grand electric in this blog), this is the best fried calamari I have had. It was an abundant pile of hot, tender and spicy all rolled into one.
Philadelphia may not be the haven for comfort soul food, but Silk’s buttermilk chicken reminds me of the deep south (well not really…I’ve never been to the deep south but it did have collard greens and a corn muffin!); a delicious, big ass home cooked meal. Crunchy skin, juicy chicken and all the fixin’s.
In a world filled with burgers approaching $20, a $10 burger (well..$12 with the guacamole and long hots) is an endangered species. Silk’s offering was simple and solid.
The pork belly empanadas were decent but not the highlight of the meal. The slaw and the mango attempted to add some different flavour and texture to the dumplings, but they were a bit doughy. The cilantro cream did little to enhance the dish.
I can’t turn down bread pudding, so I was happy to see Chocolate Banana Brioche Bread Pudding on the menu. It was a little more bread than it was pudding so I let out a little sigh or two.
This is another let the pictures do the talking place. The food is diverse and tasty and there’s a bit of something for everybody. There’s plenty of cocktails and a great beer selection, ranging from $2.50 Tecates to a $4 Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils. The portions are huge and the prices are cheapish. The environment is fun and lively, even in the midst of a pending summertime storm.
Verdict: 5 Guyz!
Fare..Eat..Ales 