Archive for February 2012
Marigold Kitchen hangs with the big boys
t says: a got in on a free Savored.com reservation a while ago and was gracious enough to suggest that it be our January FTC meeting. And where would we be going to kick off the new year? As we pondered the list of 30%-off restaurants , we spotted one place where we absolutely had to go: Marigold Kitchen. a and v had been for restaurant week the past fall and loved it. g, kp, and I had never been. It was go-time!
Since making the reservation in 2011, there were a few [free!] times that the dinner needed to be rescheduled, increasing our anticipation (or maybe it was just my anticipation). At one point, a and I got talking about the wine for the dinner. I suggested that we add some element of a blind wine tasting. It was eventually decided that a would choose a bottle, I would choose a bottle, and the rest of the table would have no idea. It was going to be a show-down and we were pretty sure that it was going to be fun!
In preparation for dinner, I decanted the wine and sent teaser pictures to a. I’m mean like that.
poor corksmanship on my part
my mystery bottle decanting ... (I have no idea why I poured it into my half-bottle decanter)
I poured the wine [with a funnel] back into the original bottle and g and I headed off to the restaurant. Taxis conspired against kp, but g waved her magic taxi-finding wand and we saved the day by picking up kp and arriving at the restaurant only 10 minutes late. Fortunately, v and a were there and situated.
As we settled in, a explained to the server what was going on regarding the wine. The server guy seemed a little lost; I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. In case he mixed up the decanters, I had already tasted my wine beforehand (it was the first time I had ever had it) so I was pretty sure I could pick it out if I needed to.
The menu looked delicious – I found at least three apps and three mains that I wanted to try. It was almost painful trying to narrow the options – the blind double red wine tasting that was to come helped me out. Little did I know that what I was choosing was only half of the dinner experience. Actually – it was more like 1/3 of the dinner experience. One-third of the dinner experience was the wine. And the last 1/3 was the food that just comes out of the kitchen – it was amuse bouche galore! We were sent no less than 7 amuse bouches for the meal. While we wrote down all of the amuses, I think I can say with complete confidence than the “best” ones were probably the simplest:
it's not cappuccino ... it's butternut squash bisque with thyme foam!
Yea – it looks extremely boring, but the taste was so vivid. It tasted even more like butternut squash than actual butternut squash (e.g. like when you eat Capo Giro gelatos and they’re “mango” is even better than actual mangos!). And I know that foam is super-frilly (e.g. maybe they could have just added thyme to the soup), but I believe that there really was something special about having such a powerful flavor in a light foam. Maybe it’s because it’s very pleasant to have a little thyme foam mustache to lick off your lips and accent the butternut squash flavors lingering after your last gulp. Whatever it is, kp is going to steal this simple flavor combination for future soups – all he needs is one of those foam canister thingees. Done deal.
Another awesome amuse was our first amuse: the mango lassi (not pictured). v preferred the chestnut ravioli with fennel salt. Everyone had their preferences among the amuses, but the butternut squash cappuccino was on everyone’s list.
My vote for “most interesting” amuse was the foie-stuffed grape:
looks like a few grapes, right? WRONG. There's foie in there!
When the waiter came around with this little spoon that looked like a sprig of grapes (one for the each of us), we were perplexed. Foie? In grapes? And how’d he get it to look so natural? As I ate my grape, my mouth was so confused. The exterior skin was totally grape. And then the foie’s texture was kind of like a softer, over-ripe grape, so that was still expected. And then the unmistakeable butteriness and flavor of foie crept in. Confusion!! And then v swore there was some kind of chocolate taste going on her mouth and I could’t help but agree (but as far as I know, no chocolate was in it). So weird. I wanted to do it again! But alas – we had none left.
breakfast-style foie
Another impressive dish was the foie appetizer: “breakfast style foie”. It had a slice of foie torchon with cinnamon foam what I think was a blueberry compote. The other side had a nice slice deeply seared. If I closed my eyes and smelled the dish, I swear it was like French toast made from blueberry muffins and a side of some kind of breakfast meat (?breakfast sausage?). And it kind of tasted like that … but 10x better. As I’ve said before – I’m not a huge fan of foie by itself as it’s a very powerfully gamy flavor and a pretty mushy texture – but when chefs find a way to mix the foie with other flavors, I’m a happy guy. This foie presentation totally hangs with the likes of Fond and Bibou. It’s fussy, yes (more foam!), but how can you complain if it tastes this good?
The main courses were pretty solid (three of us got venison, two of us got rabbit), but I think compared to all of the amuses and appetizers that we had had beforehand, none of us were really blown away. I did the venison dish, which featured a small-but-thick slab of venison accompanied by a venison scrapple. Both preparations were “very very good”, as it was technically executed quite well, but all of the whimsy and creativity of flavors and cooking in the amuses were absent, so it came up shy of “excellent”.
a says: I agree with t on all counts. The mango lassi and soup were the most flavorful and interesting dishes of the night. My marinated boquerones were a pleasant surprise in that I don’t normally love anchovies but found these fresh, light, and well-paired to the apple salad. My experience with the venison was much like t’s – a nice preparation but I thought the scrapple had more going on. (v interjects: The helping of scrapple was outstanding. I ate scrapple twice in the same day, once at Cochon – they have an updated menu for brunch which is excellent – and once at Marigold. Both were great, but I preferred Cochon’s.) My profiterole and mint ice cream dessert was imaginative and whimsical but lacked something, in the end. [It was] one of the most enjoyable meals from start to finish that I’ve had in Philly. However, none of the dishes had the depth of flavor – that ‘wow’ factor – of say a Bibou pig’s foot or the fish soup at Han.
t says: Oh yea! My dessert was the chocolate-chocolate-chocolate one – it was chocolate in all kinds of forms and textures. The whimsy was back, which I appreciated, but the depth of chocolate wasn’t all there. They backed away from a deeper/darker chocolate and went for a sweeter, milkier chocolate that, while fine, didn’t really hold up to the red wines that were on the table.
In conclusion, I will say that I believe that the amuses prop up the meal to something really special. I mean, it was probably a 3.5 hour meal and at no point was anyone bored. At one point, with a glisten in my eye, I remarked that I felt like some of the tastes reminded me of Bryan Sikora’s cooking – back in the old days of Talula’s Table (and Django) … back when he’d surprise you by making something that looked unfamiliar taste familiar, or something that looked familiar taste completely new … back when his food kept me on my toes and kept me thinking … Oh those were the days …
I only wish that some of that fun would find its way into the mains. Regardless, I believe that Marigold, like Cochon, is one of those under-the-radar Philly restaurants that are making wonderful food and pushing boundaries, even if no one is giving them any credit. Better make reservations and go there while you still can …
But wait! There’s more! We forgot about something! What could it be … ?
the wine! we forgot about the wine!
It’s been a pretty long post, so we’re going to have to save the wine showdown for the next one. It’s coming, I promise.
Thomas Keller outpost in Philly?
t says: I’m reading inbetween the lines of this update about Perrier and how he’s giving up Le Bec-Fin to someone with ties to the TK organization. More importantly – with the change in management, does this mean that they’re finally going to remake Le Bec into something super-sexy and worth going to, like a Per Se or French Laundry?
g says: Do you think they’ll keep the name?
t says: It’d be cool if they made it awesome again and kept the name. Of course – after a two-bell review from LaBan, maybe it’s time to ditch the name and start fresh.
“is he just reading adsz and mailing in?”
t says: Craig LaBan’s “best of the rest” bit highlights a lot of great restaurants. As I looked through them, I saw a lot of faves from our list. Also – hooray for those restaurants that got upgraded (looking at you, Fond!).
a jokes: Is he just reading adsz and mailing in? I think so …
t says: I doubt that Mr. LaBan bothers with this little slice of cyber-space, but that’s ok. If we and he both like the same restaurants, then clearly that means these restaurants are doing something right in order to appeal to “professional eaters” like him and plebeians like you and me …
The two biggest discrepancies I find is our take on a.kitchen (we didn’t like it as much) and the absence of Marigold Kitchen on his list … Of course – our bit on Marigold debuts tomorrow, so stay tuned!
Oh … and I wanna check out that sushi place in Haddonfield, too! … Maybe some parents will join us? … Maybe j will be in town? … Just talkin’ out loud here …
best pie in the world
t says: Imagine this. You’re walking down Walnut. Its getting dark. Alluvasudden, a black, tinted-out limo pulls up next to you, matching the speed of your pace. The window rolls down and a mysterious sun-glassed passenger asks in a raspy, smoker’s voice: “where’s the best pie?” What would you say?
Now I’m sure there are great pies in Philly (I hear Percy Street makes ’em pretty good), but if a mysterious guy in a limo is involved, I’m not gonna screw around with the unknown. I need a sure thing, as the last thing I want to do is piss off a scary guy in a limo … but that’s just me. So I’d direct this guy to the best pies I’ve ever had: Penza’s Pies (at the Red Barn) in NJ.
Yea, this place is in the middle of absolutely nowhere.
I’m going to post the pix of what it looks like to go there, because it’s not like it’s in a city or anything. It’s kind of like a farm stand on the side of the road:
driving down a NJ road
they don't call it "red barn" for nothing ...
But, go into that barn and you’ll see a pretty small area with lots of pies. It seems like there are quite a lot in the picture below, but this one shot has pretty much all the pies they have on hand (unless they’re hiding some in the back).
pies pies pies
As you can see, the ingredients that are on top of the pie identifies the kind of pie they have. In the past, we’ve had their pumpkin pies (and pumpkin ricotta pies) which are fabulous. g’s fave might be the “multi-fruit pie” which has basically every berry that’s in season. We’ve done apple-blueberry, strawberry, plain apple. All fabulous. My personal favorite is the one I bought most recently (and the inspiration for this post):
apple cranberry with a twist of orange ... i'm surprised i even made it home with the pie intact
our pie (enlarged to show texture)
Unfortunately, I forgot to take a side-shot of the pie when sliced, so I’ll just have to let you imagine what it looks like. I guess I’ll have to leave some of it to your imagination. And the taste and textures are always perfect.
The drawbacks of Penza’s are as follows:
1) Limited availability. Especially during the holidays, it’s wise to call them to see what they have in stock
2) Expense. For a pie, they charge $20. But it’s not a big pie. I’d say that a single pie will give 8 “normal” slices (they’re pretty tall, but length and width per slice will look unimpressive). However, realistically, because the pie is so damn good, I’d be inclined to say that it’s better to cut the pie into 6 slices and really give people a stomach-filling serving.
3) It never tastes as good the second day as it does the first. That crumb topping slowly absorbs the moisture from the pie, so it’s really the best on day 1. Fortunately, the pie never lasts much further than day 2 when I’m around.
Now I know what you’re thinking. You probably think I’m crazy. You probably think that you’ll never go that far into NJ for just a pie. You probably think that this was a wasted post. Why must I taunt you?! I don’t know. But for those who know us, if they fork up the cost of the pie and give me a slice, I’ll be happy to pick one up the next time I’m in NJ. As for that dude in the limo … well … he’ll just have to ride his limo about an hour or so … but trust me, he’ll be happy!
St. Henri disgusts me
t says: I was super-pumped after I saw one of these Chairman’s Selection wines: 2005 St. Henri Shiraz half-bottle. That’s a screaming deal! I stopped by the store on 19th and Chestnut, picked up a bottle, and immediately started planning how it was I was going to drink it.
After I got home, I then noticed something that took me by surprise:
2005 St. Henri ... well ... not really ...
As you can barely see in the above picture, this was a 2004 St. Henri … NOT a 2005. That’s an entirely different year. And, through some quick googling, I found that it was quite an inferior one. Darnit! Nevertheless, I pressed on and opened it up a week later for a tasting with g’s dad.
2004 Penfolds “St. Henri Shiraz″ (half-bottle; Australia; $14.99 at PLCB). Upon opening the bottle (the cork was in great shape!), I was greeted with a familiar smell, but I couldn’t quite place it. It was something vivid and in-your-face, but my mind was blocking. So I poured it into a decanter. As I swirled, I remembered: raisins. It smelled of raisins. Kind of like a port … uuhhh-ooohhhh. I tasted it, and it tasted like – surprise – raisins! Double-darnit! That’s a cooked wine if I ever tasted one. Basically, the bottle was kept at a very warm temperature for far too long a time. The result of this is a very obvious raisin taste that takes over everything. It’d be one thing if it then proceeds to taste good … trust me, this did not, as you can see from the title of this post. It was bad news, man. Bad news. I was nonplussed as some might say. So I poured the wine from the decanter back into the bottle, recorked it, and walked over to 19th and Chestnut with my receipt in hand. I returned that mo’-fo’. Got my money back, fo’ shizzle.
Other bottles of St. Henri in the state may not be cooked, but I wasn’t risking another bottle from that store. Actually, I’d probably just not bother with the 2004 at all – there’s a lot of great Australian Shiraz to be had at under $30/bottle (remember, this one was $15 for a half-bottle). If I happen to find a real 2005 St. Henri, I’d jump on it in a heartbeat. And – even if it was improperly stored like the above one, I have no qualms about returning it. They asked me no questions whatsoever. That’s perhaps the best thing about PA state stores: no one there knows a single thing about wine so they have to just take your word for it. You could probably just “not like the way it tastes” and get away with returning it.
congratulations to the 4-bellers!
t says: As many of you know, Craig LaBan has selected a new group of four-bell restaurants. Fallen are Le-Bec and Lacroix. Veterans Vetri and Fountain are joined by Bibou, Talula’s Table, and Zahav. Personally, we here at adsz don’t really think that Zahav is actually four-bell material (the food + service + ambience are all “very good”, but are by no stretch flawless in any category – it must be the novelty of the cuisine), but are happy to congratulate them on their accomplishment, as they do a phenomenal lunch during Restaurant Week.
It’s a shame that trying to get reservations at these places is now going to be impossible. Oh well. We were at least fortunate enough to have nailed down some key reservations or several of these restaurants before this whole 4-bell business hit the airwaves … I’m sure Charlotte will never have an open table on a weekend ever again …
not just “chicken” at Rotisseur
t says: Lately, I’ve been going to Rotisseur in Center City a lot. I mean a lot. g actually makes fun of me a little for how often I go, but that’s probably because her dad’s a known chicken-o-phile and could probably eat it twice a day forever if allowed. He once had chicken for dessert. He’s serious about chicken … So … back to Rortisseur. This place is incredibly close to where we live, so when I’m looking for a quick lunch during the weekday, that’s where I go. And really – I just don’t think you can go wrong there. The chicken is seasoned very well and is super tender/moist/juicy. The kale chips and cornbread are delicious. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of their mac-n-cheese, but it seems like a lot of other people like it because I see people ordering it constantly.
As good as these are, I have to say that the true shining stars of Rotisseur are those chicken sandwiches. I’ve seen Chicken Bahn Mi, Chick Italiano, and BBQ chicken. I’ve tasted the first two on several occasions. They are absolutely delicious. Juicy chicken chunks, nice condiments, and, most notable of all, absolutely perfect bread (crisp outside, soft inside, and not soggy … unless you wait too long).
chicken italiano = chicken + broccoli rabe + pepper + sharp provolone
It’s hard to make a chicken sandwich sexy-looking, but what it lacks in visual pizazz, it makes up for in taste. It reminded me a little of Tony Luke’s Pork Italiano sandwich (which I also love) except that because this is chicken, I am able to convince myself it’s healthier. It’s gotta be healthier, right?
The downside of Rotisseur, and the thing that makes me cringe 50% of the times I go, is that they have no good “system” in place to execute food in an efficient manner. At times when they’re not busy, things run smoothly, as one person preps the chicken and the other does the sides and rings you up. However, if you walk in at 12:30pm or at 6pm, when groups of people show up hungry for chicken, you’re screwed. It’s during these crowds that the three people behind the counter try their best to deal with multiple orders simultaneously, but the end result is a disorganized, chaotic, hell-on-earth cluster-fluff. Once, because I happened to walk in right as a group of 6 people were placing their order, I was left hanging out at least 15 mins before my order was taken and 10 mins to receive my food (and would have had to wait even longer had I wanted mac-n-cheese because they ran out). I know they’re trying to do right by their food by carving chicken to order and making their sides in small batches, however, they completely fall apart during the lunch and dinner rushes. Hell, even the tried-and-true “take a number” system’s gotta work better than the off-the-cuff multi-tasking they’re doing now. Also – they seriously need to scale up their most popular sides – it’s not like they have a ton of room for patrons to stand and wait for roasting veggies for a grab-n-go lunch. Of course, what do I know? I have no restaurant experience and am nothing more than a consumer who wants food as fast as possible. Patience is a virtue I need to work on … and efficiency is a necessity they need to work on … but hot-damn those sandwiches are so good that they keep me coming back for more!
after dinner sneeze 