Pumpkin

Today my dad and I hit up Pumpkin, a BYOB on South Street.  It is a small, ten table restaurant whose hook is serving food made from seasonal, locally sourced ingredients.  We started with grilled shrimp and a plate of raw, pickled, or slightly cooked summer vegetables.  The colors of the vegetable plate were killer, and the shrimp was very well prepared.  For the main course, my dad had skate served with hearts of palm and a Meyer lemon sauce -- not overpowering, and the fish was again simple but superbly prepared.  I had duck -- seared breast along with leg meat wrapped in pastry.  It was very tasty.  For dessert, I had a warm chocolate cake with coconut ice cream, accented with some cardamom and lemon.  Again, very well done, and I enjoyed the reasonable size of the dessert.

Pros: Very colorful and pleasing plating, fresh flavors, exceptional culinary skill
Cons: Cash only (why do such places exist in the 21st century?), food could be a bit more daring

I'd give Pumpkin a 7 out of 10**, and I would definitely come back to try something from their ever-changing menu.



**Have I rated restaurants like this before on my website?  I don't think so.  So, as a reference, on a scale of 1 to 10, I would put Vetri at 9.5 (the best restaurant I have eaten at in Philadelphia -- not a 10 because I assume that worldwide there is better), most of my top 10 restaurants in Philadelphia around 8 or so, and TGI Fridays around -2.