South Philly Review

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One of my favorite pastimes is watching a Phillies or Eagles game in a pub or casual neighborhood restaurant.

Sunday, the Eagles played the 49ers at 1 p.m. while the Phillies game was slated for 8:30 p.m. The time for kickoff and the first pitch made my choice easy. Edward and I decided on Sunday brunch and the Eagles.

I looked through the Zagat Guide and surfed the Web for some inspiration. Two weeks ago, we drove to the new Superfresh in Northern Liberties. It’s a 50,000-square-foot culinary wonderland across the street from Darling’s Diner, where the pancakes reign supreme. We walked by Darling’s and over to view the menu at Kings Oak. I called the restaurant and found out they serve weekend brunch and lunch dishes.

Kings Oak once housed Apollinare, an upscale Italian restaurant that I truly enjoyed. Edward and I slid into a roomy booth and talked over the menu.

The room has a warm, rustic feel. There’s a bar in the entranceway along with tables and booths in the adjacent room. There are televisions all over the room for sports viewing.

A bloody mary ($6) was mid-size and tasted of too much Lea & Perrins. Still, it had a nice kick because I like horseradish. It lacked the true rich tomato flavor so I would give it a C. I had to ask our smiling server, who bore an eerie resemblance to Paris Hilton, for silverware and a napkin because my hands were wet with lemon and lime juices.

The menu features egg dishes, French toast and pancakes along with sandwiches, chili, nachos, wings, burgers and the like. Prices are moderate, and the daytime atmosphere is conducive to families. There were several tables filled with youngsters and teens when we brunched.

After long consideration, Edward ordered the French toast ($10) while I decided on the royal feast ($12).

French toast is best made with an egg bread such as challah or brioche. Kings Oak cooks take an Italian baguette (that’s the menu description although a baguette is French in origin), which is dipped in beaten egg, sautéed and topped with strips of maple-flavored bacon and mascarpone, drizzled with maple syrup and caramelized peaches.

I looked at Edward’s plate and thought he would not touch it. He does not care for ingredients to be piled on top of one another. It lacked eye appeal and all of the ingredients were plopped on top of the bread, but he liked it. This was a surprise.

My brunch was less than mediocre to say the least. It consisted of two pancakes, home fries, a choice of breakfast meat, toast and two eggs any style. I wanted the pancakes on a separate plate because melted butter and maple syrup running into toast and scrambled eggs is most unpleasant.

My eggs were cool and overcooked. It took a while to find our server, who forgot to bring butter for the pancakes. She brought over four almost frozen butter pats wrapped in foil and told me a fresh order of eggs was on its way.

The pancakes were doughy and undercooked. They should be a nice, golden brown on top, but these were anemic blond. I took a few bites and realized they were not properly prepared.

The fresh order of eggs arrived hot, but still a bit overcooked. Cooks must respect the egg, the hardest ingredient to cook spot on. The hash browns consisted of tiny cubes of sautéed potatoes with pepper that were tasty. All they required were a sprinkling of salt and pepper. The butter was melted all over two slices of honey-sweetened farm loaf toasted just right. This was a nice touch although someone forgot to place the fruit on my plate.

One tip of the toque to Kings Oak. SPR

Kings Oak