Schuykill River restaurant provides a pleasant surprise

By Cory Anotado
Collegian Editor
August 30, 2006

You would think that ordering a glass of water from a restaurant positioned on the Schuylkill River would be a bad idea. Much to my surprise, the water was crisp and clean, which was one of the many pleasant surprises in store at Water Works.

As a building, Water Works is beautiful. The restaurant is located in the restored engine house of the old Fairmount Water Works. Built in the early 1800s, the building was one of the first municipal water works in the nation. Falling into disarray in the early 1900s, the location was converted first into a city aquarium in the 1960s, then a city swimming pool, which closed in the mid-1970s. Now it’s an upscale restaurant overlooking the river.

The owners of the restaurant are Greek, and that influence shows throughout the menu. Heavy onions, feta cheese and olives are prevalent throughout the menu, although their presence isn’t overwhelming or cloying.

The head chef at Water Works is Adam Trinidad, former chef at Stephen Starr’s El Vez. His Mediterranean and American dish experiences are well represented in the menu, and Trinidad’s Mexican heritage also shines through.

My date and I arrived at 7:15 p.m., and the place was bustling. We had reservations, so there was no worry about getting a table, but getting a seat on the terrace without a reservation would have resulted in a wait. We opted for an inside table.

The atmosphere was confusing, but not unpleasant. The lights were dim, the music was a low-volume upbeat tempo and all the waiters were moving quickly. Our waitress was prompt and friendly, giving us the history of the room we were in, the history of the Fairmount Water Works and information about the restaurant.

Our appetizer was seared watermelon, topped with feta, red onion, mint and aged balsamic. As unappealing as that sounds, the pan-seared watermelon was warm but still juicy, and the saltiness of the feta and the onion flavor actually complimented the subtle sweet of the watermelon.

The house salad was very heavy, with a lot of feta and oil, beautiful brown olives, big chunks of tomato and plenty of greens. We tried the lobster bisque, and it was smooth and creamy, with the essence of lobster infused throughout the soup. The chunks of lobster meat floating in the soup were cooked excellently, chewy, but not overly so.

My main course was black pepper-crusted duck breast, with mashed sweet potatoes, pickled sliced fennel and a duck demi-glaze. The glaze was impressive, and the mashed sweet potatoes complimented the tender duck meat well. The fennel was a nice touch and was cooked well, even though I’m not a fennel kind of guy.

My date had the mustard seed-crusted salmon, with dill and yogurt spaetzel, mustard emulsion and micro greens. The fish was, for lack of a better word, perfect. The essence of the salmon was encapsulated perfectly, and the mustard seeds gave it crunch and texture. The spaetzel, although funny to say and fun to spell, was somewhat bland and didn’t add much in terms of taste to the meal.

The dessert menu was a bit pricy, but it was worth it. My date had the warm chocolate truffle cake with candied cherries, Greek Manouri ice cream and fresh crème with nutmeg. The cake itself was warm and creamy, and the cherries added a nice fruity flavor. The Manouri ice cream wasn’t that hot, but it complimented the cake well.

My dessert was candied orange rice pudding with spiced citrus mousse, walnut cake and vanilla bean anglaisse topped with fresh clementines. The fresh clementines on top were a good compliment to the creamy pudding, and the orange flavor was pleasant.

Overall, Water Works was a great experience. No other restaurant in the city has the scenery, the food or the history that Water Works has. Water Works is located behind the Art Museum in Center City Philadelphia. Free parking is available, but you’ll have to walk a little to get to the restaurant; valet parking is available in front of the restaurant.

anotadoc1@lasalle.edu