A feast at Sbraga and cocktails at Bar Volvér

Warning: If you are hungry in any way, shape or form, close your browser tab now. You can come back to this post after you have a fuller tummy. Really. You've been warned. 

After a long work week, we had the pleasure of meeting up with some wonderful friends for a delicious dinner at Sbraga. It only took us about two months to get this dinner scheduled (we're all very important people, duh) but it finally worked out and we had the feast of all feasts. Bry and I had come to Sbraga shortly after it opened in October of 2011. We absolutely loved our meal, but unfortunately when you're in a food mecca like Philadelphia, there are so many new places to try out, sometimes it takes a while to get back to the ones you loved. Finally, we made it back, and somehow, this time it managed to blow us away all over again. Get ready for some serious food porn below. Gentlemen suitors above, fine foxes below. 

There's really no way to go wrong at Sbraga. The spring menu is absolutely amazing, but I'll give you a brief recap of the stars at the table -- the gemelli and bucatini pastas dishes were both incredible, also a surprise hit of the second course was the ancient grain dish with the poached egg on top. For the entrees, the game hen which is fried and covered in delicious Indian spices was the hands down winner, it was so incredibly moist and crunchy! The black bass and dry aged pork were also big hits. Last but not least, the popover and foie gras soup are unbelievable, and you're in luck, because everyone gets these two as starters. 

Our meal started off with perfectly cooked gruyere popovers and foie gras soup (soup not pictured, because I inhaled it the moment it was placed in front of me.) Then pictured above top to bottom is the beef tartar with country bread, eggplant terrine, caesar salad and spring vegetables. 

Next course from top to bottom: gemelli with escargot, saffron bucatini, cauliflower, barley risotto, agnolotti, and ancient grains.

Obviously, before we headed into the main course we needed to stock up on some new beverages. 

Main course top to bottom: Old fashioned, spring lamb, game hen, black bass, spring lamb (pictured again), octopus and lobster special, dry aged pork for two. 

The boys got a little gnaw-ty with the pork bones! 

And if you thought we could be sufficiently stuffed at this point, you'd be right. But that didn't stop us from diving right head-first into dessert. Hot fudge sundae for Bry, coffee cake for me, and a cheese plate for Ana. Followed up by some rare and delicious dessert wine! 

Following dinner we took a little stroll to find a bar where we could grab some more beverages. We were passing by Volvér, Jose Garces' newest dining establishment located in the Kimmel Center and saw some open seats at the bar. While, we will have to wait for a special occasion to take advantage of the full dining experience, we took advantage of the open seats and ordered some of their most delicious cocktails. The head bartender has created some unique cocktails, like the Smoked Marcona Old Fashioned (which actually tastes smoky!) and the refreshing Basil Chile Smash, which comes with a spanked basil leaf for no additional charge.

We made some new friends and enjoyed some fancy cocktails before moving on to a slightly less classy establishment. 

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