Birra

Birra (1700 E. Passyunk Ave), an Italian restaurant located in the East Passyunk neighborhood in South Philly, was a great find. It had what I thought to have an interesting selection of offerings. There were small plates, gourmet pizzas, pastas, customizable pizzas, salads, and paninis. They also have a good number of drink options. Too bad I don't drink but if I did I would have ordered Flying Dog Raging Bitch for its name. It totally got my attention. Also, the restaurant had a nice chill and relaxing ambience. Inside the restaurant there were some table seating and a nice bar area. There was also table seating outside. I usually find that when restaurants offer outside seating, most of the time the tables and chairs are fairly small (I am talking about the restaurants in center city like Parc, a.kitchen, Tria, Rouge, and etc.), but at Birra the tables and chairs are somewhat bigger producing a a more comfortable look. Table clothes were placed on the tables which further enhanced the outdoor seating visuals. 

I got the Mediterranean Orzo. I actually never had Orzo before. It was pasta shaped like large grains of rice. The look and texture reminded me of the fluffy rice that might have been cooked with broth. The orzo was came with baby eggplant, zucchini, calamata olives, cured tomatoes, fresh lemon, white wine, and topped with feta cheese. It had the Mediterranean taste (somewhat sourish, a little salty, and lemony) if you know what I am talking about, but the flavors were more elevated. I attributed this to the white wine, calamata olives, and the crushed peppercorn. The pasta was accompanied by two slices of toasted bread. The bread was good and had a nice crunch to it. It went well with the pasta. The vegetables in the pasta were soft and added to the Mediterranean concept of the dish. Overall, I was very satisfied with the entree; however, it was a little bit oiler than I wanted it to be . When I finished my place, there was noticeable amount of fat on my plate. But then again this excessive oil might be the reason why I enjoyed this dish.

Mediterranean Orzo 

My friends and I shared the Caponata pizza (marinated eggplant, red onions, roasted peppers sopressoto, mascarpone & ricotta, balsamic crema). Of course, we asked the sopressoto to only be present on one half of the pizza since I am a vegetarian. The pizza looked great. The crust was soft. I actually could not make out the eggplant, but I did taste the onions, peppers, cheese, and balsamic creama. The pizza was good and the ingredients really blended together well. My favorite part and what I remembered most about the pizza was the balsamic crema. It gave the pizza a nice sweetness to it. I would definitely like to come back to try other things on the menu. 

Caponata Pizza