Archive for August 2013
continuing the 13th St love …
t says: So foobooz was so kind as to update the world about these barbuzzo puddin’ pops going on at Verde – and take note: it must be pronounced “puddin'” like Bill Crosy hawking Jell-o. And the world rejoiced: yay! But then in the text, it was mentioned: available 12-2 from Fri-Sun … So basically, if you can’t make it on Friday, just assume you’re not going to get one on Sat-Sun. But I had no fear – in my profession, once a month, I’m done on Fridays by 11am … and that just happened to be on the big debut day! So I had a plan …
I first went to Barbuzzo for a lunch [by myself]. And while most might be afraid to eat alone in restaurant, I have no such fears if the food is good enough – and it was! I enjoyed a nice glass of rose of tempranillo, which had a good amount of spiciness and acidity to it, cutting through the richness of the mushroom and pesto and mozzarella pasta.
and the reward: puddin’ pop! Now, in order to secure these, I did have to go to Verde first, before lunch, so I could buy two, pay for them, and have them set aside for me. Then, after lunch, I came back and picked them up. One of them I consumed in the cab on the way home (I had to get the other one home quick – it was for g, so it needed to make it to the freezer, pronto!). Above is the picture – I’m glad the cabbie didn’t care that I had a rapidly melting ice cream pop in his back seat (don’t worry – not a molecule was wasted). How’d it taste! Pretty darn good! I have to confess that the original budino is better because it has a more optimal ratio of chocolate to budino (the puddin’ pop’s single chocolate ribbon in the middle is pitiful), but as far as ice cream pops go, it’s a winner! I think it’s because there’s a very pronounced creme fraiche flavor in there that keeps it nice and lively so you want to come back for more over and over. Oh – and that salt in one corner was absolutely wonderful on the really nice chocolate shell they had going there – I would have preferred even more salt over the entire thing (but I also like salt …). So while these pops aren’t as amazing as the original budino, they are certainly noteworthy enough to stop by on a hot summer day to snag if you are so fortunate as to find they are still in stock. I think g feels like they’re not quite worth the $5 to buy one, but I’d say it’s pretty close – especially if you consider that a capo giro gelato is ~$5. Just sayin …
jamonera redemption
t says: Some time ago, g and kp and I went to Jamonera and were quite unhappy with it. Apparently, I had criticized one of their dishes by calling it a snoozefest (much like driving a Kia Cadenza) – yikes – I totally forgot about that – it’s a good thing we have this blog to remind us! Undeterred by my “cute hyperboles”, a and v journeyed out to 13th street to sample Jamonera’s vegetarian tasting menu … and were blown away! Check out their tasting menu for $40
t says: they took no pictures, but when we crashed their dinner (literally … we knew they were at dinner, we walked over to the restaurant, and then we invited ourselves over to their table before they had finished eating … I apparently have no manners …), but their summary is “it was the best vegetables we’ve had in Philly!” When I inquired as to which dish was their favorite, they named very nearly every dish – but I suspect that the setas et juevos was their decided favorite.
t says: when we went last time, we didn’t get dessert. Wow – we missed out on the best part! We sampled some of a & v’s this time, and they were out of this world. In the foreground above were some of the best fried dough I’ve had in Philly (with some beautiful caramel + ?chocolate? dipping sauce) …
… and this cake was absolutely delicious. Thumbs WAY up. Sure, both of these desserts are filling/hearty/heart-artery-clogging as all hell (i.e. these are not frilly itsy-bitsy desserts that’ll just slide in to an already full stomach – you need some space at the end of your meal otherwise you’ll be hurtin’!) but boy were they great!
Ok … so I guess the sneeze will have to lift its internal ban on Jamonera and give it another shot … eventually … I think the biggest thing that stops us from visiting now is the wine program. Much like Barbuzzo, it’s not the wine selection that’s a [big] problem, so much as the wine service: the red wine is served at warmer-than-room-temp! We just don’t understand! And this isn’t me just being hoidy-toidy about “correct” temperatures – it’s about cheap Spanish and Italian wines tasting like burning hellfire when consumed at too warm of a temperature – especially during summer! At this point, I’d recommend they just stick all their wine in the walk-in and serve it super-cold … at least that way it’ll pass through an acceptable temperature range as it slowly warms up in the glass. Geez! *gets off his soapbox*. Ok – I feel better. Summary: Go to jamonera. Eat the vegetables. Try a meat or two. Avoid their wine.
are you [cadenza] experienced?
t says: g and I went to “The Cadenza Experience” at Sbraga. We liked it quite a bit (no surprise, given the last time we were there) – but more importantly, a and v got their own reservation to go (it was their first time at Sbraga), so this’ll be kind of a combined post …
a says: With t’s guidance we got on the Cadenza waitlist, and then with v’s sweet-talk, we got a reservation for early Monday night (t says: I wonder what she said?). Having seen g & t the night before (@ jamonera … the post is coming …), we knew we were in for a good meal. And sure enough, Sbraga delivered… for free!
t says: Roll the pictures!!
a says: the drink service was topnotch for a free event, and included mixed drinks and four wine options. We highly recommend the Broad Street and the lovely Italian red blend, with soft tannins that went well even with the salmon (menu below). Our waitress was extremely professional, helpful, and knowledgeable – kudos! t says: g and I enjoyed how when we were inside, there was no further mention of the car anywhere. No server bothered us about it. No more surveys were had. There weren’t Kia commercials playing in the background. I mean, aside from the cheesy light display and ice sculpture (for real – a Kia Ice sculpture), it was pretty much a free meal. a says: By the way, the Cadenza is a perfectly capable car that looks and feels much better than any Kia in recent memory. t says: For $35,900 base price, I’d hope it’d drive better than any other Kia … but dear Lord, that was one helluva snooze-mobile – it could have induced a cataplexy at any moment, it was such a boring/bland car … a says: smartass.
t says: the offered items were straight from the real menu! they weren’t just serving us dumbed-down dishes!
t says: this was the pork belly appetizer. it was exactly the same as the last time we went and it was fabulous. No point in discussing it more – I just liked putting up another picture because this one was prettier than the last one!
a says: I went with the tomato melon soup (which is also what g had). It was a nice riff on a typical gazpacho, which I’ve been eating a lot of lately. This one isn’t as good as Ela’s but it’s up there – acidic yet sweet and very refreshing. t says: When I tasted some of g’s, I was impressed with the smokey-spicy counterpoint that kept me coming back for more – and even the mild cashew’s flavors had a part to play! It really was a well-orchestrated soup!
a says: I went for the roast pork which is the best “deconstructed” DiNic’s pork sandwich I’ve ever had. They even remembered the long hots! t brags: I told you so! I had it again, too! I just couldn’t help myself!
t says: Other dishes that were ventured include g’s pasta dish, which was quite hearty and also delicious (but wasn’t so photogenic, so we left it out of the post) and v’s salmon … which we’re not sure what she thought about it because I kept forgetting to ask her before this post went live (the sneeze waits for no one …)
a says: We ended with the cherries jubilee which had an interesting peppery spiciness thanks to the szechuan ice cream. And the pistachio bread pudding (above) we feel strayed too far to be called “Bread pudding” but was tasty nonetheless. t says: I liked how it had that strawberry rhubarb topping – nice and zippy! I mean, maybe it could have used a bit more chocolate, but that’s just because I’m a chocolate fiend.
t says: We thank Kia for the free meal. I think the event was nicely organized and would be happy to do it again. More importantly, it’s a LOT of fun to say repeatedly say “The Cadenza Experience” in an emphatic manner – it’s going to be our running joke, for sure …
d-feast
t says: g’s cousin, d, along the help of his girlfriend, put together a ginormous feast that was one delicious course after the next …
sliders, spinach balls, mushroom in phyllo cups, crabcakes, stuffed peppers, mango salsa … and that was maybe 70% of the options …
Special thanks to all of the chefs of the evening! Great job!
the fruits of summer
t says: Ahhhh, summer. I wish you’d never leave:
grilled peaches! yay! a light dusting of superfine sugar and some direct heat makes a brilliant accompaniment to some butter pecan ice cream …
(but don’t get me wrong, summer, peaches or not – I do wish you were a little cooler and less humid …)
what the what?
t says: I’m confused as to the mechanism of action of these shoes.
But I do kinda-wanna-try them on …
after dinner sneeze 