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Photo caption about delicious food at this BYO.

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This Issue 09/11/2008

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From the “cheeses” portion of the menu, we chose a dish Hora described as “oh-so-easy:” the ruby pear and fresh goat cheese tart ($10) in strawberry champagne molasses. A big fan of goat cheese, I was distracted by the cake-like sweetness of the pear. The pea shoots also drew attention away from the cheese with their crisp texture and tart flavor. More attention to the crust of the tart and a little less sugar overall would have perfected this dish — the goat cheese itself was just too good alone.

Moving on to the impressive list of entrees, Hora informed us that the oxtail and rabbit raviolo ($15) was Root’s most popular dish to date. Our taste buds agreed with the masses; this dish was by far one of the most interesting, savory and delicious creations I have ever experienced at a restaurant. Artistically presented and adorned with a bright green stalk of bok choy, each open-faced raviolo was bursting with flavor. The meat was tender and salted to perfection with just the right amount of uni beurre blanc drizzled on top to complete the unconventional taste combination. My experience with rabbit has always been an obnoxiously chewy and gamey one; however, the oxtail and culinary prowess of Hora seems to have solved that issue.

The dessert menu ranges from classic to deconstructed, with a $3 buttercream “birthday cake” for the conservative and a French toast soufflé with maple bacon ice cream for the daring. We ordered the latter as well as the highly recommended cheesecake, a small mascarpone and crème fraîche cake sitting in a boysenberry “soup” with a walnut ginger snap perched atop. The cake itself was light and not-too-sweet, but lacking the thicker texture one would expect of cheesecake. Furthermore, the walnut ginger snap was so reminiscent of my morning cereal that its fusion with the creamy cake had me thinking breakfast, not dessert. Fortunately, the French toast soufflé had creativity on its side and thus restored our faith in the breakfast-after-supper idea. The maple bacon ice cream was astoundingly good, acting as a buttery, flavorful accompaniment to the bread-pudding-like texture of the soufflé. This dish confirmed my inkling that Chris Hora is having fun with his restaurant and is willing and eager to entertain with every single one of his dishes.

Root has barely been open a month now, but Christopher Hora’s experience and driven vision have secured his place in the Philadelphia restaurant scene. Every dish is influenced by a different part of the world, yet all come together to form a very cohesive menu that is bound to please anyone’s palate. If you go, you’re almost certain to meet Hora himself (he does everything from cooking the food to busing the tables), and that alone is a treat.