Bacon And Broccoli: Rotisseur Review

In our new column, Bacon and Broccoli, written together by best friends Allie and Molly, we plan to give you a taste of our edible adventures from two very different (but very delicious) perspectives. While Allie tends to lean towards the hamburger-extra-cheese side of the spectrum, Molly is a veggie fanatic who can't go a day without some greens. We decided to create this column to bring the best of both worlds to our readers with our varying views on some of our favorite restaurants. For our first article, in honor of midterm week, we found it imperative that we test out a delivery place to make our studying in the (not so) beautiful Van Pelt Library just a little bit tastier. We chose Rotisseur because our friends have raved about their chicken —and they had some delicious-sounding vegetarian options as well.

First, we'll start with the "Bacon" perspective. I decided to opt for the chicken breast and wing platter that comes with two sides. I went with roasted potatoes and a side Caesar salad (to my dismay, they were out of mac-and-cheese). The portions of the salad and potatoes were slightly small, but combined with the sizable amount of chicken they give you, it makes for a pretty filling meal. The chicken had a classic, simplistic flavor with crispy skin and tender meat. The only complaint I had about the poultry portion of my meal was the fact that the take-out box it comes in makes it more difficult to effectively (and neatly) cut up and consume the chicken. Not gonna lie, my fingers were substantially greasy once I was done. The salad was pretty standard —definitely not the best I've had, but the creamy, homemade-tasting Caesar dressing was on point. The roasted potatoes complimented the other dishes well, although they could've used a little more salt and seasoning and tasted slightly dry without ketchup. Hopefully next time I'll be able to try the mac-and-cheese instead. Overall, this meal was definitely satisfying and made for a pretty good study break.

Now for the veggie view...

Rotisseur is unique in the sense that while its main draw is the chicken, it has enticing and creative vegetarian options as well. The menu has two sandwich options as well as salads that you can add tofu to if you're looking for a lighter choice. As opposed to exclusively having not-so-healthy options as side dishes, there are kale chips, pickled vegetables and beets to fill out your meal. As a huge fan of the traditional Bahn Mi sandwich I was excited to see it as an option of the menu. I'm used to this traditional Vietnamese hoagie from a small and very authentic place near my house so this sandwich was a bit different than what I'm used to. $7.50 for the hoagie is also way more expensive than the $3 Bahn Mi in South Philly, so I was a bit skeptical. The bread is key for the Bahn Mi and they did it right —perfectly crusty. The tofu was missing some flavor but the vegetables on the hoagie were crispy and refreshing and they added just enough jalepeño, which I loved. I regret not also ordering the BBQ tofu sandwich (which is vegan!) but next time I'm feeling nostalgic for summer flavors I'll be getting down on this saucey specialty.

I love anything pickled so I screamed of excitement at the thought of ordering both kimchi and the pickled veggie sides. The vegetables were crisp and not overly brined, and complemented the sandwich nicely. Kimchi isn't a fan favorite but I love it, especially the way Rotisseur did it as it had just the right amount of funky fermented flavor. I would love to see some hot vegetable sides added to the menu as an additional healthy option though. I enjoyed being able to order something I actually wanted to eat from the same place as my chicken and cheese loving friend and this meal definitely made studying a little more tolerable.

Address: 102 S 21st St, Philadelphia

Hours: 11:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m., daily

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