Evil Genius

A new chef brings Devil's Den's kitchen up to par with its heady beer list.


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Published: Jun 3, 2008

Michael T. Regan

THAT'S RICH: Chef Allen Dann sears sea scallops, then lets them swim free in a deep, decadent sauce infused with vanilla rum.

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The devil is a demanding master, so they say — and he's probably especially impatient with servants who thwart his appetite. Such seems to have been the case at Devil's Den in South Philly. After two months on the corner of 11th and Ellsworth streets, the word on the kitchen's offerings was distinctly short on praise, and apparently there was no time like the present to make a change. In came Allen Dann, a journeyman who'd been doing some catering around town, and just like that, there was a new menu tucked in between the lists of draught and bottled brews.

Up until that point, those two lists were the best things going for Devil's Den. They contained just about every beer style a body could want — from clear Kolch to dark Schwarz to the unbeatable summer pleasure of Flemish sour ale — at prices that were tough to beat. The 20 or so draught options included about half a dozen that I'd never seen in Philly — and in the space of two weeks, about half of them had been cycled out and replaced with equally varied choices. Better yet, the friendly servers were able guides.

The food was another story — and not just because every other dish featured some ridiculous reference to the Angel of Darkness. "Devil's greens" were a salad of unappealingly stemmy watercress and tomatoes that tasted of tin. The barbecue sauce over a rock hen was nominally of mango derivation, but you couldn't taste much beyond sugar, and the breasts were overdone even though the bird had been spatchcocked — a technique designed to prevent that flaw. And where to begin about the weird ground-chicken spring rolls served with "napalm sauce"? Just what is meant to be appetite-whetting about the incendiary best known for burning the flesh off the bones of Vietnamese peasants is a question for another day — my problem is that the sauce wasn't even spicy.

Some of the original offerings were successful — particularly a pork belly served atop a nicely tangy sauerkraut that mingled with a subtle mustard-beer broth — but the dominant impression was of a kitchen whose reach exceeded its grasp. Just about every dish left at least one thing to be desired, and the missing items added up.

Fortunately, Devil's Den 2.0 has corrected many of these flaws. The menu is shorter and more focused, and has wisely retired most of the kitschy descriptions. The dishes I tried during my third and final pre-review visit didn't lack anything at all. Two were daily specials that I would promote to regular offerings right away.

A chilled cucumber soup offset its hint of creaminess with just the right kick of spice, and got even better when you dragged the central tower of diced avocado down into the mix. Perfect for a hot summer evening. Same goes for the thick cut of butterfish that was the centerpiece of another special. It came atop a mound of wheat berries studded with orange segments and asparagus spears — the al dente whole grain providing an ideal counterpart to the buttery mustard sauce covering the rest of the plate.

The seared scallops on the regular appetizer menu came with another buttery sauce, this one infused with vanilla rum for extra depth. When I conveyed my sadness over the missing fava beans the menu had led me to expect, our server brought out two extra bowls filled with them — an unusually kind gesture, considering that you have to shell those twice.

There were other small touches that should go some way to winning back whatever business Devil's Den may have lost during its rocky start. The bison burger, which had lacked something juicy to punch up the lean meat, has been converted back over to beef. The chicken breast in a focaccia sandwich has been sliced, making it a lot easier to eat than those can sometimes be.

Dessert still needs a little work. Flavor-wise, the chocolate layer cake of my last visit was an improvement on the overcooked chocolate lava cake the time before, but its solid texture made it impossible to eat with the spoon accompanying it. Even with a knife, I had some trouble.

But phase two has been under way for only a couple of weeks, and Dann has done an admirable resurrection job. The kitchen is now on par with the sunny service and the solid beer menu. Next up, management hopes to add an upstairs level and install a little sidewalk seating. But even without those additions, the new tavern is a pleasant place to be. The airy interior is lined with exposed-brick walls, there's a comfy lodge-style fireplace astride the dining room and the long bar makes for mellow drinking. It's a worthy neighborhood pub in a neighborhood that can use one.

The only real head-scratcher left now is what in the hell any of it has to do with the devil.

(t_popp@citypaper.net)

Devil's Den | 1148 S. 11th St., 215-339-0855, devilsdenphilly.com | Hours: Daily, 11 a.m.-2 a.m.; brunch served Sat.-Sun., 11 a.m.-3 p.m. | Appetizers, $6-$9; Entrées, $7-$24 | Wheelchair accessible