My spouse and I dined at Bud and Marilyn’s for
brunch on a Monday afternoon in late December 2018 (New Year’s Eve). The
restaurant is open daily for weekday lunch, weekend brunch, dinner, and drinks.
(Note that the restaurant closes daily for 2 hours between the end of
lunch/brunch service and the beginning of dinner service; it does not office
continuous service.) You can reserve a spot using the online Open Table
reservation system; however, the bar, chef’s counter, and some tables in the
dining room are saved for walk-in guests.
Bud and Marilyn’s, located in the Midtown Village neighborhood
of the city, is named for the chef’s grandparents, who operated a Wisconsin
restaurant called The Spot; the Philadelphia restaurant is an homage to that venue.
Bud and Marilyn’s is part of the Safran Turney Hospitality Restaurant Group (the
name features the last names of the chef/owners), which also operates Lolita,
Barbuzzo, Grocery, Verde, Open House, Little Nonna’s, Jamonera, and Marcie
Blaine Chocolates. (We dined at Barbuzzo in June of 2017; see our review titled
"Mediterranean Kitchen and Bar - Farmhouse Chic Atmosphere for Delicious
Rustic Food".)
The restaurant space offers several places to dine:
the drinks bar, with small tables for two adjacent, a food counter, the chef’s
bar (where we requested to sit), and at tables and booths. Kitschy decor
harkens memories of the 70s: paneling on the walls, Formica counters, old-timey
paintings. Even the uni-sex restrooms and the wall shelves opposite keep to the
theme, filled with appropriate bric-a-brac (including toys and TVs).
Bud and Marilyn’s serves unique takes on comfort
food. We started by sampling their Winter Sour cocktail and a
beer. For our starter, we shared the “liver and onion” (chicken liver mousse topped
with sautéed and raw onions and served with thick grilled brioche bread
slices). For entrees, we shared the breaded chicken bucket (a half chicken plated
adorably in a paper bucket atop thinly cut French fries, arranged on a small
tray with a dish of coleslaw, jar of pickles, and a small bottle of hot sauce),
and the chilaquiles verde (tortilla chips loaded with pulled pork, black beans,
guacamole and a very spicy salsa verde). We couldn’t resist ordering the banana
cream pie for dessert (an individual round pie crust filled with rich cream, topped
with [seemingly canned] whipped cream, and garnished with bruleed banana slices).
Our app and dessert were our favorite dishes of the meal; with the fried chicken
coming in third; the chilaquiles were our least favorite item because the verde
sauce was too fiery for us (and we like spicy food!), plus most of the chips
were soggy rather than crisp (the top few crunchy chips that we ate initially were
excellent, however).
We enjoyed our lunch at Bud and Marilyn’s; after a
successful meal there and at sister restaurant Barbuzzo, we look forward to
trying more of their restaurants.
