The Dutch ‘another charming new entry’ to South Philly breakfast scene, receives two bell review from Laban

After Fourth and Cross closed in Pennsport, a nicely renovated restaurant space was left empty. Lee Styer of Fond and Joncarl Lachman of Noord and Restaurant Neuf decided the spot was perfect for them to team up for a new breakfast concept called The Dutch.

A photo posted by Jess Leplon (@jessleplon) on Jul 23, 2016 at 7:38am PDT

The Inquirer‘s Craig Laban paid the restaurant a visit, giving it two bells. He applauds The Dutch for serving one of Philly’s more distinctive steak and eggs dishes, along with a pretty great eggs Benedict, but noted mixed feelings towards dishes including the banana pancake and the Dutch baby.

More from Laban’s review:

As for the menu, Lachman and Styer aren’t trying to reinvent breakfast so much as improve on the basics with good ingredients, a few creative winks, and scratch preparations. And it begins with those eggs, collected from Deep Roots Valley Farm in Mohrsville run by a farmer friend of Styer’s from high school. You can have them on a Dutch-Dutch open-faced egg sandwich called a uitsmijter, with grilled rye, pickles, salad and guanciale from Lansdowne’s 1732 Meats, or whipped into American-style omelets (half-moons with a little pan color) folded over truffled mushrooms and taleggio, among other choices. I’m not sure those eggs will appeal to everyone once poached to a tie-dye pink in red vinegar and beet juice, but with a nice hunk of grilled flat-iron beef beside them, the plate makes for one of Philly’s more distinctive steak and eggs dishes.

Even better, when it’s available, is the decadent hash made from pork belly. If you’ve had it, you’ll know Styer’s pork belly at Fond is still the city’s best – a brick of tender flesh edged with a side so sheer and crisp it cracks with the delicacy of a crême brûlée. Minced into unctuous smaller bits here with potatoes and topped with two more of those eggs, it’s a brilliant second use for the trimmings of a famous entrée.

In his review, Laban also noted that 4th Street seems to be the new go-to for breakfast street throughout the city. With a new bakery having opened a little farther south from The Dutch with breakfast treats, Grindcore House nearby, plus Fabric Row’s spots like Hungry Pigeon and Famous Fourth Street Deli, it is becoming a street with plenty of great food options.