Philadelphia Weekly

Season’s eatings: Chef Cassidy’s fingerling potatoes cooked in duck fat would be 
delicious in December.

Photo by michael Persico

Former Top Chef contestant Sam Talbot once famously said, “I could make love in duck fat.” At Sauté—Hector Torres and Nikki Kaufman’s months-old BYOB tucked in the middle of a charming, tree-shaded block of Front Street—executive chef Nicholas J. Cassidy no doubt shares Talbot’s affinity. 


As a sidecar to the new American entrees, fingerling potatoes arrive with a shiny duck-fat gloss that glints under the soft hazel lights of the former La Creole. Poached at 200 degrees in Talbot’s lube of choice, the potatoes are possessed by an intensely ducklike essence. Each bite brings a slick of aromatic grease; a burst of papery, cast iron-crisped skin; a smush of creamy, slow-poached spud; a fleeting finish of concentrated wild game flavor. Topped with chives and a dollop of Daisy, these charmingly misshapen fingerlings are perfect. For December.


Cassidy preaches the gospel of seasonal cooking, but much of his menu at Sauté felt designed to ward off winter’s chill. One second, I’m goose-bumped, toes curled, over the donut-creamy centers of the slow-poached, pan-crisped sweetbreads sprinkled in wild mushroom dust. The next I’m Johnny Jamestown Settler riding out a harsh winter with the hearty bacon-studded white bean ragout over which the offal beauties are served. Don’t get me wrong: It’s good—great, even. It’s just not what I want to eat in May.


At Sauté, where the cooking is as skilled as you’d expect from a classically trained Le Cordon Bleu grad, the calendar crossover isn’t of the subtle variety that only an extremist nitpicker would criticize. It’s not a smattering of California blackberries a few days after their season’s sundown. 


In some dishes, like the roasted chicken, it’s nonsensically obvious. Just listen to the bird’s accents: spaetzle, caper-studded brown butter, apples. With green arrowheads of asparagus, English peas and lemon, what could’ve been bright, light and fresh instead felt like a recipe from a fall collection. Is it even worth mentioning the spaetzle was missing its signature springy chew? What frustrated me most was that the chicken itself came correct with brittle, crisp skin and tender, juicy meat. Ditto for those sweetbreads: as flawlessly prepared as any I’ve had in Philadelphia.


Some items did speak to spring, like pan-seared, dry-packed diver scallops—
again, perfectly cooked, with raw cores and caramel exteriors—posed over silken cauliflower puree, drizzled with white pepper jus and served with lime-splashed strawberry-rhubarb compote. 


Too bad the rhubarb was tooth-
bustingly crunchy, and its astringent nature in its undercooked state blasted the scallops’ delicate sweetness. It was like taking a power-washer to a puppy.


I want to stress that none of the unseasonable accents or execution ticks ruined any of the dishes. They merely prevented them from achieving their full potential. There were bright spots, like the chocolate-buttermilk and bacon fat corn muffin—which would have been even better warm—topped with chocolate mousse too dense and sticky to be called mousse but nonetheless delicious. Cassidy dressed the muffin like an elegant sundae with fresh whipped cream, bourbon-spiked dulce de leche and brûléed bananas. My server kept calling them “rûléed” bananas, but she was so nice I feel bad for pointing it out.


Another winner was the ceviche, a nod to Cassidy’s turn at Alma de Cuba. Despite the sloppy knife work on the hamachi—a sushi chef Cassidy-san is not—the yellowtail cocktail really sang with ruby-red grapefruit supremes, peach coins, pineapple, ginger and lime juices and avocado mousse smoked in-house over apple hickory chips. You look up “vibrant” in the dictionary, you see a picture of this sprightly, refreshing, jewel-toned collage. I can’t think of a better thing to eat under the summer stars in Sauté’s charming 25-seat courtyard.


Cassidy promises lighter touches like these on the upcoming early-summer
menu, though I might skip that anyway in favor of his blind tasting 
featuring foodie-friendly, off-the-cuff creations not available on the regular dinner menu. Recent recipes from the $35 four-course pre-fixe include Chinese
buns stuffed with juniper-berry-
barbecued rabbit, pickled cucumber-chayote-jicama salad, veal and halibut cheeks and foie gras pancakes with vanilla butter and red wine syrup. I can’t tell you how any of them tasted, but damn, do they sound delicious. 


Next time I visit Sauté—and I think Cassidy’s technical skill merits a next time—I already know what I’m 
ordering. ■

Sauté


775 S. Front St. 215.271.9300. 
sauteonline.com


Cuisine: New American.


Hours: Dinner: Mon.-Thurs., 5pm-10pm; Fri.-Sat., 5pm-11pm; Sun., 5pm-9pm. Brunch: Sat.-Sun., 10am-2pm. 


Prices: $7.50-$28.


Atmosphere: : A mellow, dapper dining room drenched in rich, vintage woodwork, candlelight and picture windows.


Service: Warm and neighborhoody.


Food: Unseasonably warm.