Moorestown Mall made a splash a few years back with the notice that they were starting to re-vamp the mall with new restaurants from big name local chefs. While Vetri’s satellite has since closed, Distrito by Garces and some other places still remain including local suburban staple Harvest. With locations throughout the Philly suburbs, the farm-to-table restaurant specializes in locally cultivated meat dishes.
We went with friends from north Jersey, Eric and Dana, as they were in town for the night. Having a late reservation at 8:30, the place was surprisingly packed at that time and remained so for most of our meal. The server was knowledgable and patient with our decisions, guiding us as far as entrees go. An extensive wine list with well priced bottles was a notable plus early on in the meal. In addition, there is a well-rounded cocktail list that included a “harvest fig bourbon’ which was a unique take on a classic old fashioned.
With a late dinner, the appetizers were chosen quickly and there were four of them in all.
A baked goat cheese dish was a nice start and sated our hunger but was not exactly memorable. The charcuterie plate consisted of 4 meats, the liver pate was by far the best with appropriate accompaniments of pickles and mustard. The steak and mushroom flatbread pizza was also underwhelming, with too much cheese and not enough mushroom. Finally, the smoked duck pot stickers were one of the better ones, mainly because they were done just right and accompanied by an amazing cherry marmalade.
We all chose pretty boring entrees. The guys got the filet and the girls got the lamb shank. The lamb shank was on bone and served with a parsnip puree and cranberry demi glaze. While the lamb was done well, the cranberry demiglaze was a little too much on the sweet size. The dish didn’t seemed balanced because of this and made it hard to appreciate the dish as a whole.
The filet, by contrast, had slightly charred outer but a buttery, tender preparation that was perfectly media rare. The creamy garlic mashed potatoes and haricot verts serve as good accompaniments. There was nothing too flashy about the filet, but it was very well prepared and presented.
The experience was overall underwhelming but not overly so. The service was good, especially considering we were kind of a pain in the ass to serve. The wine selection was quite good and the dishes were for the most part well executed if not exactly awe-inspiringly innovative or original. Not returning any time soon but would not say absolutely not if anyone wanted to try it out.
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