Five Lamb Dishes to Try
Lamb’s neck bastilla, Zahav There’s no better place in Philly than Michael Solomonov’s kitchen to try every part of the lamb prepared every which way—ground, grilled and even raw. But the best version is lamb’s neck, braised with rose hips, apricots, persimmons and pistachios and baked into a dainty phyllo-dough pie. $9 at 237 St. James Place, 215-625-8800, zahavrestaurant.com.
Braised lamb, Bindi There are plenty of Indian restaurants serving lamb, but few preparations are as sophisticated as this: a fall-off-the-bone-tender shank over potatoes mashed with mustard seed, almond-based curry, and a just-spicy-enough horseradish raita. $24 at 105 South 13th Street, 215-922-6061, bindibyob.com.
Lamb burger, Kennett If beef-burger ennui has set in, may we suggest as a replacement Kennett’s ground-lamb option? It’s aromatic with toasty cumin and unexpectedly—and deliciously—crowned with a combo of bracing purple cabbage and cooling cucumber-and-yogurt slaw. $15 at 848 South 2nd Street, 267-687-1426, kennettrestaurant.com.
Lamb brochetas, Tinto The presentation couldn’t be prettier (and it would be hard to make it taste better): smoky bacon-wrapped lamb loin, skewered and sunk into slender glass tubes, accompanied by cubes of smoky eggplant. $14 at 116 South 20th Street, 215-665-9150, tintorestaurant.com.
Lamb sandwich, Argan The lamb here is cooked until it’s almost creamy, then tucked into a semolina-dusted pita with your choice of three vegetarian fillers like roasted potatoes or tomatoes (although we like ours with the house-made baba ghanoush). $7 at 132 South 17th Street, 215-568-8354.
