Jillian’s Review – Farm to Table Perfection in New Kensington

Jillian's Rocks Farm-to-Table Dining

We had the pleasure of having the restaurant's namesake, Jillian, lead us through the chalkboard menu after arriving. We knew we were in for a treat as she explained the restaurant's farm-to-table concept and that dishes marked with “PA” on the menu contained nearly all Pennsylvania-sourced ingredients.

For each dish, Jillian explained the ingredients and preparation in detail, including the suppliers for nearly every vegetable and protein. Being supporters of local farms ourselves, we absolutely loved this touch and recognized the names of many of their suppliers like Coldco Farm, Laurel Hill Trout, and Serenity Hill Farms.

We also love that the restaurant does whole animal butchery, meaning their menu is constantly evolving as they rotate through cuts of each animal.

The drink menu features a few basic cocktails and beers, but we were drawn to the wine list with its variety of both old-world and new-world wines. We shared a bottle of Cotes du Rhone with the table, and it was perfectly juicy and complemented our wide variety of food quite nicely.

We started with several small plates: the bone marrow, lamb shoulder white bean dip, and wings. The wings were huge with juicy meat and a confit garlic and parmigiano reggiano sauce. We loved the bone marrow which was rich and buttery – perfect for slathering on the grilled bread served alongside.

The side salad brought just the right freshness with a well-seasoned dressing and pickled onions. We often judge places by how well they can do something basic like a salad, and this one hit all the marks for us.

The standout small plate, though, was the white bean dip with lamb. Ultra creamy and smooth white bean puree was layered on the bottom of the plate with a massive portion of shredded lamb shoulder on top (so much so that you could consider it a lamb shoulder with bean dip instead). The lamb was melt-in-your-mouth tender, seasoned well with lots of warming spices, with pickles on the side for crunch and acidity. Served with grilled bread, this plate was everything we could have ever wanted.

We moved on to entrees, and naturally we pretty much ordered one of everything: a half chicken, rainbow trout, gnocchi primavera, and a dry-aged ribeye.

The rainbow trout (sourced from Laurel Hill Farm) was an impressive presentation – the fish was served as one massive filet that was deboned for us tableside. The fish was tender and moist, served with earthy mushrooms and a rich brown butter sauce.

The chicken was the essence of spring with a garlicky lemon sauce and roasted broccolini. Although some of the breast meat was a bit overdone for our preference, we loved the bright, fresh flavors in this dish.

The gnocchi primavera was one of our favorite entrees with pillowy gnocchi in a perfectly seasoned sauce with Swiss chard, zucchini, and mushrooms. This dish hit all the right notes for us with perfectly cooked pasta and a well-balanced, flavorful sauce.

The ribeye was another impressive showstopper of a dish. The steak was thick cut and massive, clocking in at over two pounds. Dry-aged for 120 days and cooked to medium rare, the meat had that amazing dry-aged funk and texture. It was juicy, tender, and nicely seasoned.

Although you may do a double take when seeing the price of a large steak like this, remember that it's huge – it was enough to serve four people and we all took home leftovers.

We rounded out the entrees with a pickle plate side dish. We love that Chef Philip ferments all the pickles in house using a variety of different vegetables and spices with them. On our visit the pickle plate was loaded up with pickled ramps, several different cucumber and turnip pickles, ramp kimchi, hard boiled pickled eggs, and pickled onions. They all brought a delightful freshness and crunch to our meal.

Although we were quite full, we had to try dessert – a chocolate creme brulee and a sticky bun. The creme brulee was creamy and rich with a large surface area for the crispy caramelized sugar layer. The sticky bun was amazing and addictive with a toasty outer layer and gooey rich inside chock full of cinnamon. Several generous scoops of vanilla ice cream were served on top and melted luxuriously into the bun.

Were it not for the massive feast that preceded this, I would have housed the entire thing.

Just one more note on portion sizes – we can't emphasize enough how they are huge, and how you should definitely bring friends when you dine here. Even with four people at our table, we took home leftovers which were enough for us to have an entire extra dinner and lunch afterward- certainly giving us a lot of value for our spending.

We appreciate everything that Jillian's is doing so much, from locally sourcing ingredients to making everything from scratch. Although it's an unlikely spot for this type of fine dining restaurant, Jillian grew up in the area and we love that she's investing in the community this way. It would have been easier to open another bar with fried food and cheap beer. But their care and attention shows in every single dish, and we are rooting for them. We will certainly be back soon, with friends!

Jillian's is located at 400 Freeport Street in New Kensington.