Archive for the ‘in Philadelphia’ Category
Distrito: Better than Tinto?
t says: I had the great fortune of going to Distrito yesterday. I had even greater fortune in that because the meal was for work, it was being picked up by my boss. While I cannot reveal the nature of the business taking place (makes it sound mysterious, right?), I can reveal that the five of us were given free reign to order whatever we wanted. That, my friends, is a recipe for disaster … a good kind of disaster …
6/2010, 7pm, Party of 5. When we arrived, we were informed that our table was being cleared. Not more than 2 minutes later, we were escorted upstairs by a hostess and shown our seats. We were in one of those circular booths along the wall on the upper floor. On the way I noted that even though I knew the inside of this place was pink, I apparently forgot just how pink it was. Yea – it’s pretty pink in there!
Because it was the first time at Distrito for some of the members of our party, we listened to the server’s spiel; she recommended 2-3 plates per person. That sounded like not enough food, but we listened to her instructions and everyone picked out 2-3 plates, and I ordered some guacamole and the vegetarian nachos for the table (someone else ordered that as one of their dishes, so we got two).
I’ll talk about the food in a second – first let me talk about this drink: “honeysuckle”. This drink is not a very manly drink. The name isn’t manly. The ingredients aren’t manly (Bluecoat gin, muddled mint, lime, and honey). The taste isn’t manly. But manliness be damned – it was so good. I’m not sure if it was my sweet tooth or if it was because I had a rough day at work – but that drink was delicious. The sweet, rich honey was livened up by the mint and lime and citrus flavors of the gin. I didn’t get any of the burn from the gin, either. This made me suspect that perhaps there was very little alcohol in the drink. My suspicion was wrong. When I stood up at the conclusion of the meal, I found that this drink was kind of like sake … the alcohol sneaks up on you like a ninja.
Now, we had a lot of dishes of food on the table. It’d be incredibly boring to describe them all. The highlights were the nachos (trust me – these aren’t just “nachos”), the queso fondido (who can say no to cheese and meat?), the ceviches (we had the hiramasa and the lobster – Garces makes great ceviches), and, from what I could see, the kobe beef tacos (I didn’t have any – but they looked amazing). The surprise awesomest dish award of the evening goes to … the steamed corn! That’s right – steamed corn. You know – I can’t explain it – but just go there and order it yourself, and, as you dive into the warm parfait cup, mixing the layers of corn and some sort of orange-colored cream, I dare you to try and tell me that you’ve had better corn at a restaurant. Also – because you don’t have to eat it off the cob – no corn in your teeth!
Unfortunately, there were a few misses. The shrimp ceviche wasn’t as bright and lively as the other two – it was muddled in a tomato-based sauce that, even though it was layered above a puree of avocado, took over the palate completely – maybe some lime and cilantro would have helped (or using slices of tomatoes instead of a puree). The carnitas taco was also a disappointment, as the meat was a little dry, under-seasoned, and lacking the porky punch I was desiring. Of course, we had a lot of other dishes that I can’t currently remember, and they were all at the very least a notch above “good” – I only remember the highs and lows.
In the end, we actually had to reduce the number of Kobe tacos from two to one, because we were just too full – I give mad props to the waitress for letting us do that (she could have said, “I’m sorry, the chef had already made it … here it is”). Unfortunately, I take away the mad props because the person who came to clear our tables gave me only half of the leftovers to take home. Had I been paying for the meal, I would have felt extraordinarily robbed! At least he didn’t give me the carnitas tacos – that would have been a double-whammy.
So what was the disaster? … I was so full that the walk home was fairly uncomfortable. But it wasn’t all that bad, as the happiness courtesy of the honeysuckle allowed me to travel care-free! The flavors in most of the dishes were bold and inviting – so much so that I feel that Distrito’s food has surpassed Tinto’s. I believe that it is now the new #2 – just under Amada. And, you know what, the pink is growing on me …
Tria: Never a Bad Time
t says: Yesterday, I wanted to go to 500 degrees. I really just wanted to bite into a juicy burger. g wasn’t super-enthusiastic about it, but was willing to give it a whirl because it was a new place. But then, as we were walking to 500, we realized that it wasn’t quite burger weather (well, unless you were at a barbecue). It was warm, but not yet oppressingly hot, so we wanted to dine outside … perhaps with a light summer dinner (I had eaten a late lunch) … and some refreshing, chilled wines. In short, it was rose weather. But I had no rose! So where could we find one? Duh … Tria. We decided that if they could seat us soon, we’d stay. We were promised a 15 minute wait, which at Tria, translated into a 5 minute wait. We got seated and were ready to eat and drink.
6/2010, 8pm, Party of 2. The first matter of business was to choose the wine. We were going to find rose. Interestingly, there weren’t many options. g went for some NV pinot noir bubbly from Albequerque (never had a New Mexican wine before) – it boasted that it was made in in the traditional Champagne method (i.e. bottle fermentation), so it had some promise. g was very pleased, happy with the mouthful of cherries that it resembled. I went for a still Pinot Noir rose whose origin I can’t remember (although it was mis-listed as a “white” on the menu). It had some cherry up front, but changed over to a strawberry jam on the finish. It was so good – exactly what I wanted.
We went for the grilled asparagus, bean, artichoke, and pine nut salad. It seemed so simple, but it was wonderful. The beans and asparagus were the perfect textures, while the artichokes lent a bit of zing. I just can’t say enough about this salad … except “go there and try it!”. For cheese, we went for the triple creme from Burgundy. It was like a buttery cream cheese, which is both good and bad. It was good in the sense that it was rich with wonderful mouthfeel and velvety creaminess. It made us want to sit back and slowly indulge in it. But, it really didn’t have much depth of flavor. The allagash cherries it was served with were quite powerful and easily overtook the cheese in my mouth. That said, the cheese’s mild flavors were a nice foil to the “bam” of the salad. However, ultimately, I think if I had to choose again, I would have gone with one of our favorite Tria cheeses: Tete-de-Moine.
I guess we weren’t that hungry because we were full by the end of the meal (although we did go through an extra serving of bread with our cheese). The food was great, the wine was great, and the service was great. Really … we’ve never had a bad time at Tria.
Melograno: Oxtail Sadness
t says: I’m sure you’re tired of reading of Melograno, much like you’re tired of reading about Sampan. But, I think I have finally uncovered Melograno’s weakness (aside from the horrendous cheese plate we had on our first trip there some time ago).
5/2010, 8pm, Party of 3. On a recent visit with g and lc, I ordered the “special”: oxtail ravioli. It sounded like a surefire winner, as I love oxtail. Unfortunately, it was not. Despite the profoundly-beefy flavor that oxtail usually delivers, I barely tasted the oxtail at all – it was masked by a tsunami of herbs like basil and rosemary! For the record, a tsunami of herbs isn’t that bad, but when you’re expecting savory meat, fresh herbs is quite surprising. Additionally, there was supposed to be oxtail in the sauce, but I encountered not a single strand … strike 2! Then, I found that parts of the ravioli (where you’d pinch close the pouch) was a bit too firm … strike 3 – you’re outta there! Oh … and what’s this? An intact rosemary leaf to bite into and get stuck in my teeth, leading to mild discomfort and an overwhelming rosemary taste? Yea, that’s like hearing the home crowd’s yo’-mamma jokes as you walk back to the dug-out with your head bowed down in shame …
Of course, g’s wild boar pappardelle was perfection as usual, and lc’s carbonara was delicious (who could say no to pancetta?), so some things were going quite right. I guess even Melograno can turn out a flawed pasta dish.
g says: I don’t know what you’re complaining about. You still ate every last bit, even though you “weren’t that hungry”. Sheesh.
t says: <moment of silence to reconsider> I never said it was so awful I couldn’t eat it … just flawed.
By the way, our server for the night was the awesomest server at Melograno ever. He was very pleasant, didn’t mind giving us gratuitous amounts of bread, and suggested at the end of our meal that if we didn’t want their desserts, there was Capogiro right around the corner … and Melograno even offers gelato on the menu (for 50% greater cost)! I love the honesty – the only thing left for him to say would be, “whatever you do, don’t get our cheese plate”.
Percy Street BBQ: sr-Approved
t says: My dad is is quite tough to please when it comes to food. Well … kinda. He’s actually quite easy to satisfy with foods of all kinds (there are notable exceptions – but I won’t share them – they’re like his kryptonite), but in terms of going to foodie-approved restaurants, it’s hard to find a place that he’d actually want to go to. The first difficulty is that he doesn’t need glitz and glamour in his food; he’s a manly man with manly man tastes. Shmears of sauces on plates with intricate layering of shrimp and gold leaf so they perfectly resemble the Mona Lisa don’t really matter … well … maybe if the food somehow resembled a Philadelphia Eagles logo or something like that, it might. He’d be just as happy with a pile of buffalo wings as some truffle-infused-this or foie-gras-that (actually, I’m sure he’d prefer the wings). Second, he’s a manly man with a manly man appetite. For places like Melograno, while we’re sure he’d enjoy the food, we know that he would definitely require two entrees just to get rid of his hunger, much less get full. This leads us to a corollary of the second reason: getting two entrees costs double the money. Our grandfather cut down our money tree (inside joke), so getting two entrees (or suggesting that he eat a pre-dinner burger from McDonald’s) is a bit much.
g and I have been racking our brains for a while to find an sr-worthy eatery in Philly. First – it had to have good-tasting food. Sure, Tony Luke’s is great for cheesesteaks, but we wanted a real sit-down place to eat. We also kind of wanted it to be somewhat “cool” or “hip” – not just a dive hidden somwhere in South Philly. We wanted a sizable portion of food for under $25, which is what we often deem as the max we’re willing to pay for food unless we’re celebrating something. And if there was some way that he could use his fingers (without anyone minding that he’d be using his fingers), that’d be icing on the cake. Well – one such restaurant does exist: Percy Street BBQ.
The short version (because we’ve already been there once) …
5/2010, Saturday 6:30pm, Party of 4. g, j, sr, and I all went to Percy Street for dinner. After scrutinizing the menu, and doing some fancy calculations (i.e. counting on our fingers), we decided that the wisest decision was to do the Lockhart. We went all in. It. Was. Awesome. Each of the meats had its own shtick. The sausage and chicken had smokey flavors unlike I had ever tasted in sausage or chicken. The pork belly was spot on [again]. j liked the brisket. And there’s not a person alive who can resist ribs – it almost doesn’t matter what they taste like. At the very least, the sides were “good” or “solid” (e.g. cole slaw, black-eyed peas) – but the baked beans and chilis showed the most flavor. Somehow, we still managed to forget to get the cornbread – darn. Percy Street also debuted a new bbq sauce – it was their sweet version. I think we all felt it was too sweet, but it was much better when you mixed it with the Louisiana hot sauce. The regular bbq sauce was pretty good (although we realize that bbq sauce tastes vary widely among people), but we know we have to go back when they get their spicy bbq sauce going (apparently they’re still figuring it out).
The desserts were completely new to us, as the last time we went, we didn’t have room. While two of us had the root beer floats, g ventured the red velvet cake, and I went for the ice cream sandwich. The red velvet cake was pretty good – not as moist as Isgro’s, but very nice; the “homemade” cream cheese icing was the star of that dish. The ice cream sandwich was awesome. It had crunchy chocolate cookies with a raspberry ice cream – very nice (although g was looking for the classic soft cookie-esque thing that is on normal ice cream sandwiches). Nothing like ice cream to wash down some bbq – I wish it had a bit more ice cream, however.
In the end, we think sr liked it quite a bit. He liked how open the restaurant was. He liked glass vessels that you could order beer in. And the price wasn’t too bad, either – considering that all of us were most definitely full … even him.
Good job Percy Street. Now if only you had something for mom, too …
GTC: We found GTC’s Achilles Heel
t says: In the world of Garces restaurants, we like GTC a lot. It’s a fun concept that reminds us a little of Talula’s Table, but with slightly heftier/fancier lunch options available; you can get good food without having to do the whole formal sit-down thing – which is great. And, as far as the food is concerned, I think between our experience, and k and cm’s experience (k and cm fully approve of the vichyssoise and flatbreads as well as the ability to pick up a nice, inexpensive bottle of wine), we haven’t yet found something wrong with GTC. I even bought a mess of their desserts for an Easter celebration, and they were all delicious – g’s mom said that their lemon tart has the best lemon substance she’s ever had! That’s some serious praise.
Well … today we may have stumbled upon GTC’s weakness. It all started when I saw scones while waiting in the checkout line. They were peach-ginger-cranberry. It sounded promising. I started having visions of the lemon-ginger scones at Talula’s Table, which makes the best scones that g and I have ever had. Could it be possible that these are even half as good as those? I could get a scone fix without going to Kennett Square? If anyone could do it, surely Garces could, right? I ordered it on a whim and g fed it to me in the car as we made our getaway.
The result: salty. That’s right – the scone was salty. It actually reminded us of the time we made David Chang’s Momofuku shortbread biscuits, but used Morton’s kosher salt in lieu of Diamond Crystal brand – it was ridiculously salty. g pointed out that she hit some sweet sections that were less salty and very delicious, so perhaps it was a mixing issue, and not a salt level issue. In any case, I really couldn’t taste much of the peach, which was sad. Cranberry was the biggest non-salt thing I could taste, but the bits of cranberry were more like Craisins than actual cranberries, so they were a bit tough to chew. The cake was also a little dry, so maybe it was sitting out for too long (although we’ve had day-old Talula’s scones on several occasions without a problem). Well, I hope that Jose fixes this problem soon (as I’m sure he’s an avid reader of “the sneeze”). Then again, it’s not like if he didn’t fix it that I wouldn’t go to GTC … I just won’t get the scones, cuz everything else we’ve had is awesome.
Cafe Estelle: Nutella and Scrapple – Duh!
t says: I actually completely forgot that we went to Cafe Estelle! Only when we recently saw our Cafe Estelle brunch-mates did it click that we went! Because my memory has faded, I’ll give you the short version …
Setting: Honey’s Sit-n-Eat was completely packed at 10am. We were sad. As we sat in line, we were cold. We decided that being warm was more important than Honey’s. Sorry Honey’s. Our friends suggested Cafe Estelle. We walked briskly.
5/2010, Sunday 10:30am, Party of 4. We were told that the wait was going to be 40 minutes. We had a sneaking suspicion that they were lying. Indeed, they lied; we were seated 10 minutes later.
I found stuffed French toast on the menu. I felt the allure, having experienced delicious stuffed French toasts before at Sabrina’s. Then I found that the special was chocolate-hazelnut-cream stuffed French toast. I was sold. Then I read “house made scrapple”. Yes please. When we ordered, the very nice waitress expressed her concern that others at the table would be envious of my meal. I agreed and began planning my defense just in case they attempted to overtake me for my food.
Result: The French toast by itself was good – the nutella filling was great (I wish it was a little thicker or a little fluffier – it was a little soupy). Add in the scrapple, and wow! Of course, this scrapple was “home-made” and you could see the textural difference as it felt like it was actually composed of fine shreds of meat – but let’s face it – you don’t eat scrapple because it’s meat! Scrapple is clearly a meat-like-thing and should be crunchy on the outside and smooth on the inside (like pre-chewed sausage). Consequently, the “homemade-ness” of the scrapple didn’t win me over (don’t get me wrong – it was good – but not better than a well-executed not-homemade scrapple). The nutella-scrapple combo however was dynamite. I will now carry nutella with me to South Jersey diners if there’s a chance that I might order scrapple (best non-homemade scrapple: Mayslanding Diner ca. 2000).
Definitely a great meal and worth revisiting – especially if Honey’s has the audacity to make you wait in the cold.
after dinner sneeze 