Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Fit For a King

Rex 1516's Bacon & Blue Burger
After weeks of traversing the highlands, the king has returned to his castle. Yes, our older son is home after six weeks of sleepaway camp in the Poconos. Since he hadn't been to a restaurant in over a month, I decided to take him out to lunch in Philadelphia after picking him up from the drop-off on the Main Line. He bit when I suggested brunch at Rex 1516 (1516 South St., 267-319-1366).

The restaurant's menus are inspired by Chef Regis Jansen's origins. The Alabama native often uses Southern-style ingredients such as Andouille sausage, okra and grits in his dishes.

King's Gateau
The blackened shrimp and cheesy grits dish on the gluten-free brunch menu was intriguing, but we both opted for the more traditional hamburger. The 8-ounce patty was served on a warm, house-made gluten-free bun that largely stayed intact with each bite. Sandwiched between meat and bread was a sweet onion marmalade, a few half-strips of bacon, and a dollop of pungent blue cheese. We passed on the fries since the fryer had been used earlier in the day for wheat items, but the kitchen prepared a bright side salad.

As good as the burger was, the highlight, prepared by pastry chef Shamus Moriarty, was the King’s Gateau. The flourless chocolate cake, plated on a puddle of chocolate sauce, was enrobed with a peanut butter mousse and topped with a scoop of banana ice cream and homemade peanut brittle.

The bar has a selection of wines, cocktails and - currently - two hard ciders: Ace Apple Cider and Angry Orchard Ginger Apple Cider.

Rex 1516 on Urbanspoon
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3 comments:

  1. This looks amazing. Even my wife who isnt GF wants to try that burger and bun.

    Thanks again for all of your information.

    Tonight I head to the Phillies game and will try the cheesesteak, and Saturday we make a trip to South St to try that burger.

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  2. Wow, looks delish! I searched the Rex website but don't see any info about gluten free . . . how did you find out about it? And do you know if they have gf menus for lunch or dinner?
    Thanks!

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    1. @bMore - I read about the GF menu on the internets. I have the menus posted at my Restaurants page.

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