Much Loaf Love for High Street on Market

High Street on Market is the new darling of Old City and for good reason. Though Chef Eli Culp teased us with sandwich making in action Vines, the lunch staple formerly known as Fork etc transitioned quickly to High Street and continued providing baked goods and lunch to the neighborhood. Take out and dine in are both still possible. The main difference, besides the newly developed dinner menu, is that everything has been slightly elevated while maintaining a reasonable price point. And though the name might suggest a menu of pizza topped with Funions and Twinkies dipped in Nutella, its more of a place you can use to casually impress an out of town relative  than a stoner’s retreat.

Starting with the bread service is the best way to taste what High Street’s bakery can do. Breads are made fresh daily; they say  they use locally milled flour and grains if footprint monitoring is your thing. My favorite was made from vegetable ash; it had a thick, crispy crust, while the bready part inside was soft and airy. This is probably one of the best breads I have ever had; the kind that made me call up my bread obsessed parents and tell them I met the one. I took a loaf home.

On the sandwich menu, 5 out of the 6 feature meat, so vegetarians might want to look to the salads. Behind the counter, a gorgeous pink pastrami was in the process of getting sliced. It comes on rye bread ($10) with mustard and a sweet combination of a slaw and Russian dressing. I liked the thickness of the slices and that it wasn’t too fatty.

Now, the dessert options are either a buttermilk oat panna cotta or affogato with sweet corn ice cream. I hate the taste of coffee but was so intrigued by the sweet corn ice cream that I got two scoops of it without the black sludge. Very refreshing, there was even a slight bitter char taste to give depth beyond the sweet corn flavor.

For another bit of sweet, the pasty section is worth a look. A Pistachio Escargot ($3) has candied pistachios on top and raisin cream in its folds. Its a nice balance of sweetness, though the snail element has to do with the shape. Silly me thought there would be some little snaily pieces inside.

Sure, there are other of places in Philly that nail the fancy sandwich and salad thing, but few can come close to the level of baking that is happening at High Street.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

  • Best bread for miles
  • Balanced desserts

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

  • Small menu

High Street on Market,  308 Market St  (@ 3rd ), 215-625-0988

ADVERTISEMENT

1 Comment

Leave a Reply

You must log in or register to post a comment.