5 honey-forward foods in Philly: Glazed fried chicken, spicy soppressata pizza, dark rye bread, and more
Plus: A honey-laced sauce for duck scrapple and a slice of ricotta-slathered sourdough.
Want a taste of honey without investing in a bottle or jar of your own? These five items from Philly restaurants (and one bakery) get powerful shots of flavor from high-quality honeys.
Peach crostone with spruce tip honey
Barbuzzo chef de cuisine Mike Joyce ferments honey by adding water and spruce tips and letting those beneficial ambient bacteria work their magic at room temperature for about a month. “It gets pleasantly sour and pine-y,” he says. He drizzles it over ricotta-slathered Mighty Bread Co. sourdough topped with pickled jalapenos and mint from Lancaster Farm Fresh.
$11, Barbuzzo, 110 S. 13th St., 215-546-9300, barbuzzo.com
Buckwheat honey rye bread
Baker Alex Bois loves big-flavored buckwheat honey from Fruitwood Orchard. When you bake with honey, its subtleties are often overwhelmed, but the buckwheat is so intense it holds up to the heat and the whole grains in this new addition to their styles of bread. “It adds a lot of molasses-y flavor,” he says.
$7, Lost Bread Co., 1313 N. Howard St., 215-739-2904, lostbreadco.com
Spicy soppressata pizza
Chef Bobby Saritsoglou’s menu at Stina Pizzeria features honey as a pizza topping. On this pie, it’s drizzled over the spicy soppressata and a blend of rich, salty cheeses. “Sweet and spicy are great together, plus I’m Greek, so I want to put honey on everything,” he says.
$14, Stina, 1705 Snyder Ave., 215-337-3455, stinapizzeria.com
Duck with duck scrapple, ice plant, and honey-lavender duck jus
Nick Elmi uses buckwheat honey two ways to complement the Bucks County duck currently on the menu at Laurel. It’s mixed into the lavender-scented jus that goes on the duck and baked into a crisp, delicate buckwheat tuile that garnishes the plate.
As part of the tasting menu, $85 or $125, Laurel, 1617 E. Passyunk Ave., 215-271-8299, restaurantlaurel.com
Honey-ginger-glazed fried chicken
On the menu since day one, this chicken is the perfect sweet-savory combo. Get it as a three-piece or five-wing order. Both serve up a double dose of honey, boosted by the honey-dipped dougnut on the side. Chef Matt Fein likes to use a clover honey from New Hampshire. Just want the doughnut? You can buy one at any location after 10 a.m.
$10, Federal Donuts, multiple locations, federaldonuts.com
» READ MORE: Honey chicken, bread, hamburgers: How Philly chefs and beekeepers use raw honey in unexpected ways