Karl A.
Yelp
My girlfriend and I checked out Moonshine over the weekend after we realized we had set out too late to go to nearby The Dutch despite still being in the mood for brunch. Moonshine, even with a full specials page of its menu, wasn't doing much in that line, but we were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed what we ordered, all the same.
There were a good few things that caught my eye on the menu, but I was pretty hungry by this point so I kept it simple and hearty with "The Pennsport Burger"; my gf ordered a mild version of the (no longer-)blackened chicken/gnocchi dish. Drinks wise, I started with one of the $5 special Bloody Mary's (one of the only concessions to brunch), followed by a draft beer.
The food was strong in both cases; my gf wasn't really in the mood for lunch/dinner fair when she ordered, but the kitchen nailed her dish with vibrant, flavorful pesto and satisfying, pillowy gnocchi. I tried it myself and would love to order the dish sometime with the blackened seasoning intact. My burger was also good stuff; I don't know if it was quite medium rare, which is what I had requested when asked, but it was juicy and its toppings made it distinct from your standard bar burger - it has to earn its claim to being the neighborhood's burger, after all. It does so with mozzarella, tomato jam, prosciutto, basil aioli, and caramelized onions. To be honest, I didn't notice the prosciutto much, visibly or in the flavor mix; but each bite of the burger was loaded with flavor, so it's possible the prosciutto just hid in the background, taste-wise. Everything else on there was fully assertive and added nicely to the burger itself, complimenting the beef patty and making it feel different, but not in any overwhelming way that made me forget I was eating a hamburger. It came with tots (I could have had regular or sweet potato fries, alternatively), which were very crisp on the outside and light inside.
Beyond that, the Bloody Mary was fine, though nothing to write home about (hence I switched to a beer to finish out the meal); but then again, it was $5 and only the second Bloody Mary I think I've had in the past year, so I wasn't complaining. We went during lunch on a sunny, warm Saturday, so I was fine with being told that because we didn't have a reservation we could only get the isolated high-top near the hostess' station...but I did find it a bit odd that the rest of the outdoor seats never really filled in to the extent that we couldn't have gotten a more normal seat (granted, there could have been cancelations and they may not have been seating the last stretch of tables along the restaurant's side, but it still seemed unnecessary for us to get relegated to last-ditch table).
All the same, we liked it enough that it's safe to say we'll go back again - especially because the food was the highlight and we generally enjoyed ourselves.