Two Bells for Gemelli

Craig LaBan certainly has some complaints in his two bell review of Narberth’s Gemelli. But he also has some nice things to say about chef/owner Clark Gilbert’s cooking.

Tops on my list is Gilbert’s inventive take on the classic Italian “vitello tonnato,” a dice of tuna tartare molded atop a cylinder of braised veal cheek meat that’s been cooked into the shredded texture of rillettes. Each ingredient heightens the other, the tuna a ruby spark of raw freshness against the savory intensity of the pâtélike meat, accented with a capery Caesar dressing. A special peekytoe crab salad was equally satisfying, an unbound crab cake whose briny sweetness was tuned up by a lemony herb vinaigrette, then enriched with a silky layer of avocado mousse.

Two Bells – Very Good

Gemelli [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Gemelli [Official Site]