This is how they suck you in.I’m so excited that The Ugly American opened up on the corner of Front and Federal in Pennsport this past December. Why? Because it’s right around the corner from my Philly digs.
We went the other night for our first time (holidays delayed things), and our server was the friendliest server I’ve ever encountered, but walked the line of too friendly. She told us all sort of amusing personal tales – the male pattern baldness in her family, her trip to
A complimentary basket of biscuits landed on our table with a cheerful interjection, “Don’t you love us already?” Yes, we do love you. And we love the biscuits. The biscuits at The Ugly American are tender with a crispy, greasy crust, but sweeter than the biscuits you make at home. I loved their biscuits, even though I know biscuits are not supposed to be that sweet. Sugar is a powerful drug.
In our party of two omnivores, one pescatarian, and one vegetarian, the flesh eaters ended up ordering the two vegetarian mushroom ball entrees, so I don’t have many dishes to report on.
The two omnivores ordered the exact same thing – the potato and leek soup, and the vegetarian mushroom ball po boy with escarole, goat cheese, and side of macaroni salad.
They both enjoyed the truffle oil on top of the creamy potato and leek soup. One thought the mushroom sandwich could have used sauce; the other argued that the sandwich was just fine if you got a bit of goat cheese with each bite.
The side of macaroni salad that accompanied the mushroom ball po boy was generous, and my favorite dish of the night. Cold macaroni salad is one of my guilty pleasures, and The Ugly American’s version is sweet, creamy, and absolutely perfect. (Some pics missing; too sloshed to hold camera steady.)
You can also get the mushroom balls atop pasta with julienne vegetables and truffle cream. I’ve never had anything quite like these mushroom balls – dark, musty, and flavor packed. They are excellent, but I’m glad the dish comes with only three balls, as I find them a bit over powering. If you like truffles, you’ll love these mushroom balls.
I had to order the macaroni and cheese entrée. At $16, I thought this oversized side was a bit pricey, as was most of the food and drink menu. I found the creamy cheese sauce bland, and I don’t normally like vegetables in my mac and cheese, but was happy to find a little variety with peas and cauliflower in what could have been a very bland meal of cheesy pasta. Of course – duh – I’m picky about mac and cheese, but most of you will love The Ugly American’s mac and cheese.
The dessert list has a couple interesting items. We were torn between the apple pie with cheddar cheese ice cream and the cookie plate with root beer pudding. We went with the cookie plate with root beer pudding. There were four types of homemade cookies – sugar, peanut butter, chocolate chip, and ginger snap. All of the cookies were of the hard type, so if you’re a soft cookie person, this is not for you. The root beer pudding most definitely tasted of root beer, and was quite interesting, but root beer pudding just should not exist. This dessert is for die-hard root beer lovers only.
So, a little hit and miss for, mostly, me at The Ugly American, but I’ll definitely be back. Our friendly and forthcoming server says the grits are awesome, and she’s from the South, so knows good grits. I was torn – mac and cheese or grits – but had to get the mac and cheese out of the way first. Round two for grits is slated soon.
The Ugly American
215-363-1100
Mon.-Thurs.,
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