Fountain Restaurant- Four Seasons Philadelphia

Last night, my parents took Todd and I out to dinner to celebrate my graduation from Grad School.  I finished Grad School in December, so this celebration was a little delayed…but I’m not complaining!  We were treated to an incredible dinner at Fountain Restaurant in Philadelphia’s Four Seasons Hotel.  I have been looking forward to our night out for a while now, so I was really excited when we the day finally came!

This restaurant is not one that I’m able to go to on an everyday basis but it is the perfect restaurant to go to when celebrating special events.  According to their website, “Fountain Restaurant is considered one of the city’s – and the country’s – best restaurants, having been rated the number one restaurant in Philadelphia by Zagat Survey, and receiving top honours from the Philadelphia Inquirer, AAA and Bon Appétit.”

 

Fountain Restaurant allows you to choose from ordering a la carte (which is just ordering regularly from the menu) or the chef’s tasting menu.  Our table decided to order the 6-course tasting menu.  It was really awesome because the menu was not preset.  Rather, we were able to choose our own meals from the regular menu and they portioned our choices appropriately for the tasting menu.

After we placed our orders they came around with a small complimentary dish which consisted of a slice of potato, topped with a parmesan crisp and tomato compote.

One of the things that I love about this restaurant…the traveling bread basket.  They have a large basket full of several different types of bread that gets carried around the restaurant.  They stopped by our table several times to ask if we wanted more bread.  I chose two rolls, the multigrain roll and a French roll.  Both were awesome and very fresh.  I am always a fan of good bread baskets.

 

First Course

I ordered the Roasted Beetroot Salad, Warm Goat Cheese, Fennel Pollen, Pistachio, Mâche Lettuce, Lancaster Honey Lavender Dressing.

Both of my parents and Todd ordered the Maine Lobster Bisque which was served with popcorn rice, purple potato, and tarragon oil.  I thought it was pretty neat how they poured the soup into the bowls at the table.

Second Course

For my second course, I ordered the Jumbo Lump Crab and Hawaiian Red Papaya Cocktail, Purple Cabbage Greens, Shiso, Lady Apple, Blue Agave Cumin Dressing.  I loved this and thought it was very light, refreshing, and flavorful.

 

My Mom ordered the Fountain Salad, Boston Bibb and Mesclun Greens, Snipped Herbs, Shallots, Jerez Vinegar, Olive Oil.

 

Todd ordered the Sauteed Stuffed Sea Scallop, Curried Quinoa, Green Cabbage, Paprika, Warm Smoked Tomato Vinaigrette.

I tasted this and it was so good.  I’m not quite sure how they cooked the quinoa, but it was crunchy and tasted awesome.  It was crunchy like uncooked quinoa…it was crunch in a good way.  Maybe the baked it?

 

My Dad ordered the Spicy Ahi Tuna Ceviche, Cucumber, Breakfast Radish, Crisp Avocado, Ginger, Kaffir Lime, Coconut Water.

Third Course

For my third course, I ordered the Black Squid Ink Ravioli with spicy shrimp and some type of leek cream sauce.

 

My Dad ordered the Roast Squab Breast, Compressed Sweet Potato, Wilted Baby Bok Choi, Candied Walnuts, Cinnamon Squab Sauce.  I was definitely tempted by this on the menu…but I ultimately decided to go with the Ravioli.

 

Todd ordered the Steamed West Coast Halibut Medallion, Forbidden Black Rice, Crisp Zucchini, Cashew Butter, Thai Red Curry Scallion, Asparagus Broth.

 

My Mom ordered the Grilled Lamb Tenderloin, Indian Spiced Tomato, Chickpea and Pepper Stew, Goji Berry, Garam Masala, Green Oil.

Fourth Course

I ordered the Roast Veal Tenderloin, Crisp Sweetbreads, Spaghetti Squash, Baked Fontina, Porcini, Tomato Veal Reduction.  This was delicious.  The veal was very tender and cooked perfectly.  I also really loved the baked fontina ball…it was like a mozzarella stick in the shape of a ball…except of course it was fontina…not mozzarella!

 

My parents both ordered the Sauteed Wild Rock Bass, Tiger Shrimp, Lobster Paella, Bomba Race, English Peas, Chorizo Oil Saffron Sauce.

 

Todd ordered the Guinea Hen which came with a baked ricotta ball and beets.

Fifth Course

The fifth course was a cheese course. The first cheese on the left was a type of Goat Cheese. The middle was a type of cheddar cheese paired with a whole wheat crostini and the one of the right was a type of blue cheese with a wine reduction.

Sixth Course

Finally, course 6 was dessert.

Decisions, decisions, decisions…

After we made our selections, they brought us over a small taste of Thyme Panna Cotta….yes, Thyme…the herb.  It was surprisingly really, really good!!

However, for my real dessert, I enjoyed the Vanilla Buttermilk Cake which came with Vanilla Ice Cream, Sauteed Bananas with Rum Sauce.  According to the menu this was supposed to come with Salted Caramel Ice Cream, but they informed us that it would be served with Vanilla Ice Cream….I guess they were fresh out of Salted Caramel Ice Cream.  While Salted Caramel Ice Cream sounded amazing and may or may not have swayed my decision to order this cake, I thought the Vanilla was a good alternative and paired nicely with the flavors of this dessert.  I thought this dessert was amazing and it was the perfect size as well!  My Dad also ordered this.

Todd ordered the Raspberry-White Chocolate Ice Cream with fresh berries.

My Mom ordered the Vanilla Creme Brulee…which is the only thing I did not get a picture of!

As if all of this food wasn’t enough, they brought out a tray of candies.  Do you see those chocolates in the middle?  Yes, those would be one of my favorite types of chocolate ever…dark chocolate salted caramels!

If you couldn’t tell, we obviously had a really, really nice experience at Fountain Restaurant in Philadelphia.  While this was a lot of food, I thought that each dish was properly proportioned.  By the end of our meal, I was very full but also very happy.  I would be delighted to return to Fountain Restaurant again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Tagged as: 6 course tasting menu, Baked Fontina, Black Squid Ink Ravioli, cheese course, dark chocolate salted caramels, fountain restaurant, four seasons hotel, Guinea Hen, Halibut, Lamb Tenderloin, Paella, Philadelphia, Raspberry-White Chocolate Ice Cream, Roast Squab Breast, Roasted Veal Tenderloin, Thyme Panna Cotta, Tiger Shrimp, Vanilla Buttermilk CAke