As much as we enjoy indulging, its always a relief to have the option to truly eat well. We recently drove out to the King of Prussia Mall to check out the new True Food Kitchen, the seasonally inspired health-driven restaurant. Co-founded by integrative medicine expert Dr. Andrew Weil and eight-time James Beard Award nominee for Restaurateur of the Year Sam Fox, the restaurant’s progressive and flavor-forward menu is rooted in the principles of Dr. Weil’s anti-inflammatory diet.
Executive Chef Benjamin Amerling leads the King of Prussia culinary and kitchen team, working closely with Dr. Weil to develop nutrient-rich, seasonally driven items, salads, healthful sandwiches, entrees and antioxidant-packed desserts which cater to all diners with a variety of gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan offerings. Open daily for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, True Food Kitchen offers a rotating menu that regularly allows guests to experience great-tasting ingredients and produce. Reservations can be made via OpenTable.
True Food Kitchen at King of Prussia Mall features a lively dining room with 215 seats and an open kitchen designed to bring guests closer to the restaurant’s culinary craft. A small outdoor covered patio will seat approximately 68 guests in season. Indoors, natural woods and vibrant, locally inspired artwork add a contemporary touch to the earthy color scheme, natural elements and greenery, including indoor / outdoor garden basins filled with fresh herbs and spices. Eco-friendly materials are utilized throughout the restaurant, such as the hardwood floors, which are made of reclaimed wood and dining chairs made of recycled soda bottles.
The new Fall menu allows guests the opportunity to experience great tasting menu items featuring the season’s ripest ingredients and produce at the peak of their freshness. Grab a drink from the restaurant’s scratch bar which is brimming with freshly pressed juice, including the Carrot & Turmeric Tonic for Fall and Pressed Apple Soda natural refreshers, plus local beer, wine and seasonal handcrafted cocktail like the Orchard Bourbon Sour.
We began out meal with the new Roasted Heirloom Carrot starter featuring zahtar spiced carrrots sprinkled with crushed pistachios over a greek yogurt and dill sauce. The new Winter Squash Toast was also a big hit topped with crispy brussels sprouts, caramelized onions, lemon, saba and hazelnut. If you’re looking for something simple, we’d recommend the Farmers Market Crudités which is a massive bowl of chilled raw seasonal vegetables served with a side of tzatziki and black olive dip. This dish is definitely recommend to share. The Kale Guacamole with pink grapefruit, cilantro, roasted poblano, sprinkled with sunflower seeds and served pita chips is also a fun twist on a classic dish.
We love that True Food Kitchen has a large assortment on small plates so that you don’t have to commit to one dish. The Wild Caught Albacore Tataki is light and refreshing, while also being gluten free, made with avocado, jalapeño, toasted sesame, and yuzu ponzu. And the Edamame Dumplings are one of the most popular vegetarian plates with dashi broth, white truffle oil, and sprinkled with Asian herbs.
Filling salad portions at True Food Kitchen easily make them a meal. The new Autumn Ingredient Salad is a beautiful blend of fall produce including brussels sprouts, butternut squash, cauliflower, white bean, pomegranate, toasted mulberry, and served with a horseradish vinaigrette. We love the Grilled Chicken Salad loaded up with medjool dates, dried cranberry, jicama, apple, manchego, farro, marcona almond, and a champagne vinaigrette dressing.
Pizza lovers will enjoy the new Fall vegan Butternut Squash Pizza, featuring smoked onion, organic kale, vegan almond ricotta and dried cranberry. We loved the Brussels Sprout & Wild Mushroom Pizza topped with taleggio, garlic and grana padano. Because we can’t resist a cheesy white pie with vegetables on top.
Lest us forget there are many delightful main dishes at True Food Kitchen. If you like it hot, then you can’t miss the gluten-free Spicy Panang Curry with organic potato, long bean, bok choy, carrot, thai basil, and coconut shrimp broth. It definitely has an authentic Thai kick! We also enjoy the Asian flavors in the Sustainable Seabass with broccolini, sugar snap pea, roasted mushroom, ancient grains, and umami sauce.
The Fall menu also brings a new Grilled Salmon entree, simply seasoned to let the ingredients shine, this fish is served alongside smoked onion farro, arugula, roasted beet, and with a cilantro pumpkin seed pesto. We also enjoy the Poke Bowl entree which is almost a larger version of the Wild Caught Albacore Tataki starter. This dish features freshly diced wild caught albacore, avocado, quinoa rice, mushroom, snow pea, cucumber, cashew, and served with turmeric ponzu.
Make sure to save at least a little room for dessert! The nutrient-packed Squash Pie dessert new to the Fall menu is True Food Kitchen’s spin on the standard pumpkin pie featuring a gluten free and vegan graham crust and coconut whipped cream. Chocolate lovers and those who enjoy gluten-free dining should try the Flourless Chocolate Cake with caramel, vanilla ice cream, and cocoa nibs.
Next time we’ll be sure to try the vegan and gluten-free Chia Seed Pudding made with banana, and toasted coconut. And the most unique dessert on the menu is probably the Sea Buckthorn Sorbet with luxardo cherry. This vegan and gluten-free sorbet is a truly sublime balance between tart and sweet, similar in flavor to that of dried apricots.
Background
Entrepreneur and restaurant visionary Sam Fox opened the first True Food Kitchen in Phoenix, AZ in 2008. A progressive restaurant concept with a menu rooted in the principles of Dr. Andrew Weil’s antiinflammatory diet, True Food Kitchen emphasizes wholesome, simple ingredients with simple preparations to highlight the natural health benefits and flavors of each ingredient. Today, the restaurant has 20 locations throughout Arizona, California, Colorado, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Each True Food Kitchen is designed to reflect the local character of the region in an upscale and sustainable environment.
A world-renowned leader and pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, Dr. Weil is a best-selling author and editorial director of DrWeil.com, the leading online resource for healthy living based on the philosophy of integrative medicine. Dr. Weil’s books include the national bestsellers: Spontaneous Healing; 8 Weeks to Optimum Health; Eating Well for Optimum Health; The Healthy Kitchen and Healthy Aging. Dr. Weil is an internationally recognized expert for his views on leading a healthy lifestyle, his
philosophy of healthy aging and the future of medicine and health care. As a columnist
for Prevention and TIME magazines and a frequent guest on Larry King Live, Oprah and the Today Show, Dr. Weil provides valuable information and insight on how to incorporate conventional and complementary medicine practices in one’s life to optimize the body’s natural healing power.
philmytummy.com 