R2L: Elevated Eats/Cozy Chic

37 floors above the chaos of Chestnut St., I’m looking out a floor-to-ceiling window playing a round of “name that Philly hot spot.”

“Wonder what that place is with the crazy lights?” my friend asks. “That’s Vango.” I reply. “Haha, no it’s not. You think so? How do you know that?” “No,” I insist, “that IS Vango! See the lights! Look at the corner, it’s opposite the Continental. Can you see the olive from here? See! So that’s West Philly that way.” “Are you sure?” “Yes I’m sure and that’s Market, come here, look from here.” I motion for my friend to join me. “Ok, ok….your right…”

The view is really cool. I’m slightly reminded of circling the Philadelphia airport as I gaze down at the dazzling lights of the city.

R2L is cozy chic. The combination of the view, the lighting, and the booth seating, give off a cozy, classy, old school vibe. I can feel the warmth of a roaring fire as I sip my bubbly Domaine chandon and gaze at the city beneath me (although I can assure you there was no fireplace). Yet, it certainly has a hip, art-deco thing going on. You’ll start your night with a “mission impossible” elevator ride straight to the top, then be greeted by animal print, silverware artwork, and an open kitchen. David Stern’s reinvention of his old place Rae (R2L-Rae 2 Liberty), takes American food and gives it just the right twist, so that it’s anything but ordinary.

This place is all about the individual portions, from the risotto appetizer (which are actually risotto balls), to the multiple mini apple pie dessert. Those little risotto nuggets are served with some delicious “dippable” cheese sauce. I can cut the beef short rib with my fork, and once I discovered the sauce on top, and spread it around, it was pretty great. The salmon was salmon, fresh and tasty, but the mushroom sauce was really lovely and the black trumpet fries were crisp and flavorsome. I would tell you about the Macaroni and Cheese, but that info is tucked away in the classified files for “Mac and Cheese Tour 2010”. All I will say is if you go to R2L, and are thinking about ordering it….do!

The desserts were the most interesting. The pie was served as 3 scrumptious baby pies, warm (naturally), with thyme ice cream (threw me for a loop, but the thyme was refreshing and not overpowering). The panne cotta was the adventure of the evening. Wasabi is an ingredient I can’t seem to turn down lately, and the fact that it was in a dessert, felt more a challenge than deterrent. So, I went for it!

Ok…not exactly a homerun, the panne cotte was yummy, the bitter chocolate texture seemed strange and the wasabi…well, it didn’t quite fit. Which shouldn’t seem like a surprise to most, but I was hoping that this was one of those times where the weird ingredients somehow morph into a new super dessert. “When our powers combine, we are SUPERYUMMY!” In this case? Not quite…although I’m glad I tried it because I could momentarily pretend to be a judge on “Iron Chef”.

Next time I’d order 2 apple pies! Lovely atmosphere, delectable food, oh and the wait staff was extremely knowledgeable. R2L: A pleasure.