Archive for the ‘in Philadelphia’ Category
Mexicali … because a burrito needs to be more filling.
t says: Last week, also at the recommendation the Flake-loving friend, I visited Mexicali in West Philly. Mexicali has some sort of complicated history with a food truck that was or was not open for a certain amount of time – I have no idea. The story was told to me, but I wasn’t paying attention because I was too busy ingesting this:
This, my friends, is a chicken burrito. It looks like every other burrito at first glance (i.e. a mish-mash of stuff shoved in a tortilla). However, you’ll notice that towards the left-hand side of the burrito, there’s a lot of “golden brown” – it looks like extra tortilla folds or something. But it’s not. It’s french fries. That’s right:
“Just when I thought you couldn’t possibly be any more filling … you go and do something like this …”
So Mexicali shoves fries into their ?San Diego? burritos – and they’re pretty damn good fries, too – nice and crispy, not soft and soggy like at Greek Lady. The meat and veggies were tasty, but really, it’s the addition of fries that totally steal the show. I consumed the entirety of the burrito, and soon felt the after-effects as I nearly fell alseep standing up while at work. These things are dangerous. My recommendation: don’t operate heavy machinery after eating this burrito.
PS That bottle that says “Fred” is a bottle of water. I have no idea why it’s named Fred, but it’s pretty funny, right?
a.kitchen review is up!
t says: I wrote a little review on a.kitchen for Penn Appetit. I was going to put up a little teaser or something, but I didn’t want to stop you from going to read it on their website. So instead I’ve decided to put up a completely uninformative picture that won’t make ANY sense until you read it on their blog.
Happy reading!
This photo intrigues you, no?
Birthday Fun: Talula’s times 2, and Zama
t says: For my bday this year, g and I went to a variety of food-related places. We hit up Talula’s Table for some lunch (we were heading back from Total Wine in DE so we made a pit-stop). We hit up Zama with my parents for dinner on one night, and then we hit up Talula’s Garden for dinner on another. Here’s the quick-and-dirty …
Talula’s Table is still cute inside. I wish it was closer so I could go more often, but it’d probably make us go broke, so it’s better that they’re not so close. We sampled some cheeses, ate some pesto pasta (yum), and Aimee sent out an Almond Joy dessert with a candle in it – she’s very thoughtful.
Zama served us up some fantastic sushi. We did what I call the “bizarro sushi sampler” which featured 4-5 maki that had odd combinations (e.g. fig and cucumber and something else) and some other, more normal maki/nigiri/sashimi. My parents seemed content, but I don’t think anything really blew them away. I ordered the Bibou roll (featuring escargot). In retrospect, I should have taken g’s advice and ordered the Vetri roll (featuring eel), as no one except me liked the snail on the Bibou roll (just snail in general, not having anything specifically wrong with the roll). Darn. The meal was fairly pricey – I promised to go to all-you-can-eat sushi places in the future.
We returned for our fifth visit at Talula’s Garden. Don’t worry if you’re sick about reading about this place, because after this, I’ll just have to stop writing about our visits. What we can say is that we think the food is getting even better over time – the chef and crew are really hitting their stride, it seems. Our recommendations are the following dishes:
Best App: Sturgeon Rillette. This was the appetizer we ordered most recently, and, quite frankly, I think it’s the best appetizer we’ve ever had. Something about this rillette is oh-so-addictive. It’s zippy and salty and sweet and has a little accompanying mustard seed to give it some aggression. The mini-salad off to the right has some profoundly fresh lettuce (that’s weird, right? “profoundly fresh lettuce?” it’s just “lettuce” – but g did remark upon trying it, “hey – taste this lettuce” – so something about it tasted like you just pulled it out of the ground) but is dressed simply so your focus is definitely the rillette. Yes, the goat tortelloni and the braise rabbit pasta are delicious and deeply flavored (and are tied for second place – but in the colder winter months, they might overtake the rillette because they’re served warmer), but for the summer, and as a light start to your meal, the rillette wins.
For mains, this most recent visit we went for the mushroom gnocchi and the beef that we encountered at our first visit. They were even better this time and retain the title of our personal faves. The muhroom gnocchi is absolutely amazing (that raisin puree is out of this world) – just make sure you mix it up using the egg yolk. And that braised short rib is fabulous (the other cut of beef is good, too, but that short rib with the sauce is ridiculous).
The best surprise dish we ever received was this duck dish pictured below – or at least, we think it’s duck. We actually have no idea how it was prepared, and it’s not on the menu as far as I can tell (maybe they took it from the duck dish that is on the menu?) and added some sort of green vegetable and shaved pecorino. It was ridiculous – more ridiculous than the foie-based concoction we had some time ago. I hope I see it on the menu soon!
My favorite dessert has to go to the dark chocolate cremeaux we had on our first visit (the bacon was ground finer the first time so it was easier to eat – the bacon was a little more chunky last time). g prefers a cheese plate – doesn’t matter which one …
Finally, we do want to mention that they swapped out the brioche with ramp butter that I complained about last time. Now it’s some sort of multigrain or wheat bread with apricot butter that g likes to roll her eyes back and say “it’s soooooo good”.
In summary, if you haven’t gone yet, you now know our choices for an optimal first impression (if you like the kind of food we like). If you have and weren’t impressed (I’ve been informed that not everyone has been was as blown away as we were), don’t write ’em off yet – they’re getting even better.
P.S. This most recent visit we were taken into the back and shown the kitchen – we even spent a few seconds to say hi to Chef Santoro. He’s much younger than I was expecting, but seems like a nice guy. I wish him the best of luck in churning out the dishes that keep us coming back for more. Of course, he probably thought we were teenagers or something (g and I look fairly young) so I’m not sure we made the best first impression on him, but over time, maybe we’ll sway him with the many more compliments sent back to the kitchen …
Bistrot La Minette – not bad, not great
t says: Right before our recent trip (i.e. those pics from Vienna), g and I realized that we had no food in the house. Consequently, we just had to go out for dinner. We decided to go to Bistrot La Minette, as we had never been before …
June 2011, Weekday Dinner, Party of 2. g and I met the host, who showed us to our table. Right before parting, he said, “and I hope you enjoy your meal” – but he said it with such finality that g responded [to me, quietly], “I guess we’re not going to be seeing that guy again.” Lo and behold … we didn’t.
We were seated right next to the bread-cutting-table. Thankfully, we were not hit with any errant pieces of crusty bread. The bread was actually quite delicious, with a nice crispy crust, but a soft, forgiving interior. And they served it in a mini-bucket!
Bread bucket.
Easily some of the best baguette I’ve ever had in a restaurant. I was psyched!
My next course was the escargot, which was presented in individual little “pots”.
9 individual snails, waiting to be eaten.
The escargots were pretty good. Great texture and made in such a way to show off the flavors of the snails, themselves (and garlic …). Personally, I prefer Bibou’s, which impart a bit more flavor due to the surrounding jus, but that’s just me. Purists may prefer it this way. So this was tasty, but not quite a home-run.
For our mains, I believe g had rabbit and pasta. It was only “ok” for her, as the rabbit (which they serve a large portion of), while being cooked well, didn’t have a lot of flavor, which was sad (she said it was, “like chicken”). And then the sauce, itself, didn’t really do much to help the situation in that it really didn’t complement the flavors/textures of rabbit – it was more like a thick, creamy, way-too-heavy sauce that made the dish seem far heartier than it should have. I had the lamb “stew”, which was more like an entree of lamb cooked two ways (some of it was sous vide I believe) accompanied by some veggies. Once again, the sous vide lamb, itself, was a beautiful texture, but there was no flavor that blew me away. The veggies were fine (peas were a little too al dente for me – call me a pea wuss) but a bit underwhelming in flavor – but nonetheless served a purpose in that they broke the monotony of the lamb. Actually, I almost feel like there needed to be either more accompaniment or less lamb so that I wouldn’t get too “tired” with the dish.
And for dessert, g and I ventured the strawberry cafloutie which was a pretty sad dessert. The strawberry tasted weak, the dough bordered on rubbery/insipid, and the ice cream was forgettable (I actually forget what flavor it was). Bummer.
So, in the end, Bistro La Minette didn’t quite do it for us. Maybe it was because we were just coming off of a dinner at Bibou. Maybe they were having a bad night (some sort of graduation party was going on the back). Maybe it was because my primitive tastebuds can’t appreciate the subtleties in their cooking. Unfortunately, this puts Bistro La Minette in the category of restaurants that we’ll be happy to go to with friends, but not likely returning on our own accord. It’s a bummer because the chef, from what we gather, is a really nice guy. Sorry chef.
Cannele fight
t says: On Saturdays in the Rittenhouse Market, there’s a guy that sells little baked thingees called canneles.
Ever had a canele?
They are these wonderfully delicious cylindrical treats that are a little crisp on the outside (kind of like burnt sugar) and egg-custardy (not like soft serve ice cream – kind of like a really really moist French Cruller) on the inside.
I’ve seen these at Garces Trading Company, too – but trust me they are not the same. The inside isn’t as eggy/moist, and the outside definitely does not have that crisped exterior.
So when I saw the guy on Rittenhouse, I told him how I felt …
me: You know, they have these at Garces Trading Company, too. But to be honest, I yours are better.
him: Yea I think so too. But Garces knows it – he’s had mine a couple of times …
Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery?
The Wedge + Fig Takeover
v says: Just wanted to talk Wedge + Fig which took over OC Cheese Shop. According to the waiter, one of the new owners used to own Flying Monkey in Reading Terminal. The new ownership has brought this location more focus. Dining is the focus now, whereas before the focus wasn’t clear. They still have a nice selection of cheese, which seems reasonably priced. Their selection doesn’t compete with DiBruno’s or Garces, but would definitely suffice in a pinch.
Overall the food was simple yet good, light yet filling. The service was still working out some of its kinks, but generally accomodating and very nice. The draw here is both the simple food and the relaxing ambience. This is by far the most relaxing dining experience I’ve had since living in Central America. The fruit plate was very good, the lox and cream cheese on an everything bagel was great!
They do have a corkage fee of 4$ for brunch, but not for dinner. This is not the place you would go with a bottle of vodka and bloody mary mix. Stick to champagne, wine, and possibly beer.
a says: I agree with v’s assessment. My omelet of the day, with mushrooms, peppers, and chicken sausage, was well executed and plated. I think the flavor could “pop” a bit more but I have faith this will come. Also, the music selection was on-point, if you enjoy mainstream classical. All-in-all, a great way to spend Sunday (or any day) brunch when the weather is on your side.
Night Market Fun
Guapos! You're so far away!! (and no, we don't know the couple standing in front of us)
g and I decided on a hammer-and-anvil strategy. While she waited in line as the anvil, I was the hammer that went off on my own to search for foods could be had for faster. It was hot as bwawls (that’s not a typo), so I craved something cold. The drink lines, even for the lemonade, were very long. And then I spotted Jimmy’s (“Jimmies”).
Cupcakes, ay?
"Jaime Lee Curtis", ay?
A real ice cream sandwich!
Jaimee Lee Curtis cupcake?
We resumed waiting in line and k and cm showed up. They, too, decided to float and cm reported that he was going to retrieve some pizza. k, on the other hand, resumed being the social butterfly that she is and kept running into people to talk to.
Eventually, we made it to the front of the line – whoopee!
So close I can taste it!
But, as I placed our order and waited for it to be fulfilled, I looked over yonder only to see:
A storm's a-brewin' ...
And right as I received our tacos, it started raining. Booooo. I eventually located the rest of the party and we began to consume our foodstuffs. The pizza (?from Nomad Pizza?) wasn’t bad – not superb, but happily identifiable as “good pizza”. The tacos, to be honest, were a little of a letdown. g suspects that this is because we weren’t taking the time to savor each bite (as we were getting rained on and itching to get a move on). I suspect that it’s because the flavors were kind of muddled. I had a bite of the mushroom and chicken tacos and the entirety of a short rib taco. The two meat ones were dominated by their sauces. The short rib one was overly sour-cream-esque (I actually can’t identify what the major component of the sauce was – but it was white). The mushroom one was probably the best, with some good texture and brighter vegetable flavors. But regardless of which one, Tyson Bee’s totally blows guapos out of the water – the flavors are stronger, the textures are more variable. Hell, they even have a larger variety, from buns to tacos to burritos to curries – I’m glad that they’re close by to where I work. Sorry I didn’t have any pictures of the tacos, but my hands were too covered with taco shmutz to bother with fiddling around with my iPhone.
Night market was fun, but I was a little bummed that there weren’t more of the obvious/well-known tents/trucks of food. I mean, there are probably at least three more dessert trucks I can think of! And what about having a few more restaurants show? Midatlantic was there, but they only had a butterscotch krimpet bread pudding (which I really wanted to try but ran out of time). Here’s to hoping that they expand a little more – it’ll disperse the long lines and expose us to more because we’ll spend less time waiting for the obvious heavy hitters like Guapos and Tyson. I look forward to next time!
after dinner sneeze 