Sunday, June 15, 2014

The Corner Review

If you're caught up on the food scene on 13th street, you undoubtedly know that The Corner has undergone another transformation - this time to its name as well. On June 2nd, it reopened as Mamou, highlighting South Central Louisiana cuisine. The executive chef recently opened Strangelove's and served as sous at Parc.


The first time I went to The Corner was back in 2012 - they had a great burger and an awesome pork belly slider app. Since then, things have gone downhill a bit, but I wanted to take a trip down memory lane and look back on The Corner's second run.  


One of the perks of The Corner is their outdoor rooftop patio, but that's only open after 5PM. So the GF, our friend, and I sat inside for brunch. 

Expatriate ($9)
Pimms, mint tea, gin, lemon, cucumber
  

The girls had the expatriate - Pimms is always nice, with the mint and gin on the forefront and the citrus coming through on the end. 

Coffee and Cigarettes ($9)
Famous Grouse Scotch, cold brew, demerara, fernet, egg white 
  

I went with the Scotch-based tipple. Made with Famous Grouse, this had nice peat which melded well with the cold coffee. Smoky, with a hint of citrus, with the coffee and demerara brown sugar coming through on the finish. The froth of the egg whites helped to create a somewhat creamy concoction. 
Breakfast Burrito ($13)
Chorizo, pico de gaillo, avocado, scrambled eggs, homefries
  

The GF went with the breakast burrito. You got a nice hit from the chorizo, but overall, the burrito could have used more seasoning. Still, it was filled to the brim with plenty of chorizo, eggs, and avocado. The home fries had some nice bit to it, mixed with sweet red peppers.


Crab Cakes Benedict ($16)
Creamed tuscan kale, poached eggs, Old Bay hollandaise 


Our friend and I both had the crab cake benedict. Unfortunately, the hollandaise came out cold and the Old Bay was faint, if any. Also, I'm sure not if the creamed tuscan kale were the bits of miniscule green on the plate, but I'm not sure where that came into play. Still, the crabcakes were solid and the poached eggs were on points. The corn was a nice element to the dish as well.


Cheesy Grits ($4)
 

I couldn't help but order some cheesy grits and frankly, this was one of the best bites all morning. The grits were exceptionally creamy, with some sharpness from the cheddar. The bite from the onions really made the dish.


Overall, The Corner didn't blow my mind the second time around and clearly, it wasn't doing it with all the exceptional competition on 13th street. Also, I was looking forward to the foie gras doughnuts, but unfortunately, they were out. Possibly another reason this place has gone downhill. How can you be out of something you should ideally be selling out the door? Add this to the fact that there was only one server on a Saturday for brunch - it's clear that The Corner was on its way out. Hopefully Mamou will do much better in this bright space.  

The Corner
102 S. 13th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 735-7500
www.thephillycorner.com

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