The Cheat Sheet: Reserve

A new hot spot in Old City, Reserve is a steakhouse with an old-school feel. Slightly skeptical of the typical steakhouse vibe, I was curious to see how easy it would be to spot the less indulgent items on a menu stocked with beef and potatoes au gratin. Fortunately, the chef is more than willing to accommodate even the pickiest customers, so the options were more plentiful than I expected.

In typical steakhouse fashion, the portions on most dishes are not, should we say, small. Take that into consideration, as an appetizer could easily count as a meal. The house made bread is brought out warm and very inviting, but I promise you this: the rest of your meal will be far more tasty and worth the calories, so skip it.

Here are my picks for Reserve:

Salads
• House salad with red wine Dijon vinaigrette, field greens, seasoned vegetables, pickled red onions and organic goat cheese
• Seared day boat sea scallops with baby greens, citrus vinaigrette, oranges, fresh herbs and shaved fennel

Appetizers
• Tuna tartare with ponzu sauce, wasabi-lime aioli and crispy wontons
• Jumbo lump crab cake with herbs, lemon-braised greens and whole grain mustard emulsion >> This one’s a huge portion and can by all means be your main meal.

Steaks
• Reserve certified angus beef 10-ounce filet mignon >> Yes. you can have steak—as long as you share and save room for some sides.

*Fish
• Broiled swordfish with braised greens and shellfish emulsion
• Monkfish “Osso Bucco” with red grapes, white beans, garlic braised kale and pancetta butter
• Crisp skin striped bass with charred cherry tomatoes, asparagus, parsley sauce and citrus relish

*All fish can be requested without sauce or with minimal use of butter and oil.

Sides
• Grilled asparagus
• Sautéed local wild mushrooms
• Garlic spinach

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Have a restaurant you’d like us to Cheat Sheet? Let us know in the comments!

Restaurant menus are reviewed by Phillies dietitian and owner of Healthy Bites Katie Cavuto Boyle. In most cases, the individual restaurants were contacted for specific ingredient and recipe information. Note: Many restaurants have seasonal menus and some items may not be available.

>> See Cheat Sheets for other Philly restaurants here. And for Katie’s healthy dining-out tips, go here.