Archive for the ‘in Philadelphia’ Category
vedge-ing out
t says: A few weeks ago, g’s colleague had to turn down a reservation at Vedge. g was all over it like white on rice, having agreed to go well before even checking to see if I was free. Fortunately for me, I was free! And so off to Vedge we went … after years and years of wanting to go …
September 2013, Friday Dinner, Party of 3. I didn’t quite know what to expect on the inside – I had never seen pictures of the dining room. In my dreams, I imagined a small restaurant, with cute framed pictures of bizarre vegetables (either black-and-white photos or hand-drawn/painted), and displays of antiquated gardening equipment … ok – not really … but I guess my point is that whatever I thought could have been inside the restaurant was in fact not. It actually was quite classy in there! Lots of rich tones of brown against gleaming white. No clutter, no frills. This was a nice restaurant – not “expensive” nice, rather, “date” nice. Did not see that coming …
And the food? Well, I was quite lost on the menu because there were at least 17 things I wanted to try. It was good we had three people, because between the three of us, we were able to order 10 items (and dessert!). But rather than show you EVERYTHING we got, I’ll give you a small sampling:
“fancy radishes”: this was an amazing array of radishes that is photographed extraordinarily poorly. I have to say that I did not think I could possibly enjoy radishes this much – but I can see why this dish is often compared to a sashimi platter in terms of its beauty. The leg up that it has over sashimi is that the textural differences between the different radishes and preparations are all over the place – so it was quite the adventure! (not that raw fish don’t have different textures …) This one probably wins my award for best dish of the evening.
carrot: I often joke about vedge, saying “why would I want to eat a carrot for dinner?” And this is the answer: carrots “shwarma style”. I have no idea what “shwarma style” means, but I know this carrot was nicely seasoned and served with some black lentils that g just could not get enough of! For me, I dock it some points because I’m not a carrot fan (I’m not sure that’s fair but I don’t care), but as far as carrot goes, the texture was beautiful and the non-carrot flavors were right-on … BUT … I couldn’t help but wish the carrot was replaced with a piece of pork belly/shoulder/cheek.
Other dishes included an eggplant “braciole” that was my second favorite dish of the evening, and the Brussels sprouts side dish that was served up like a small salad but with such a fresh flavor that it kept g coming back for more and more. We did, however, get a grilled tofu that was super-disappointing (despite the gouchuchang it boasted in the ingredient list, there was no flavor!). The desserts, on the other hand, were uniformly awesome. The chocolate uber chunk hand us swooning for that malt custard that was like a budino gone rogue. And then there was the strawberry sorrel bread pudding which was the perfect light-and-lively accompaniment to the rich chocolate uber chunk.
So do I agree with one Mr. Trey Popp that “Vedge might be one of the best restaurants in America. period?” Nope. Can’t say I do. Is it a good restaurant? Sure! Is it a great restaurant? Maybe! But to say it is flat-out one of the best in America? Geez. That’s tough. I think that Vedge gets some big points for cooking precision – every vegetable was prepared to perfection – not a single bite I had was felt to be under- or over-done. They did a nice job with seasoning as well. Additionally, given the sheer quantity of vegetables, I have to say that my gastrointestinal health was probably the best after that one meal than it’s been for the past decade. BUT – does that mean that every dish was a symphony of flavors that blew me away? Not really. It was more like a carnival – I wanted to go on every ride and after finishing each ride, it’s not like I wanted to go on any particular ride again and again, rather, I just wanted to go and check out the next ride. So, in short, maybe I’d like to go speed-dating at Vedge, but then marry Bibou’s pig’s foot? Hm – that’s a weird metaphor … but you know what – I typed it, so I’m leaving it there!
g says: … but I wanna be the lentils …
happy bday v!
t says: We’ve been celebrating v’s birthday quite a bit – but that’s because she’s worth it! Well – yesterday featured the latest installment of the v-b-day series – an “after hours” session at DiBruno Brothers!
For those of you who only go to the CC location, the Italian Market one will feel cramped and small. But! It’s a great venue for one of these tastings, where you have several rounds of finger foods (antipasti, olive oils & salts, cheeses, charcuterie, dessert) and you’re allowed to taste anything you want in the store for no additional cost! No. For real. Anything. And it doesn’t have to be “planned” ahead of time. Like v totally asked off the cuff, “can I try some pate?” and boom – 90 seconds later we had a head-to-head pate tasting. After seeing this, I kinda went a little “high-maintenance” and just started picking out random expensive things to try. For example – a $30/lb cheese? Yes I’ll try that! Jamon Iberico that’s $130/lb? We’ll have a sample for everyone please! The only thing they didn’t let us do was operate the meat slicer … But I have to say that as much fun as it was to pick out things to try, the pre-set courses that were coming out were also no slouches, either! Between the surprisingly-good prosciutto they had (it was like prosciutto 2.0 – twice the flavor!) and the “cheesecake” dessert (they topped a wedge of Delice de Bourgogne with some cherries and stuck a candle in it, and voila! Instant savory birthday “cake”), we were wow’d at every turn. I don’t have many pictures to show because they reveal our identities, but what I do have a picture of is this:
s’more … it was max 365 gruyere topped with homemade torrone and a piece of stone ground chocolate – all of which I’ve had in the past and not really liked – but holy crap – putting them together was a roller-coaster of flavors that blew me away. It was insane.
EDIT: Nevermind! Others took pictures!!
the store in all its glory!
![cheese[cake]!](https://afterdinnersneeze.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/photo-3150.jpg)
cheese[cake]!
oh – yea – the hand-pulled mozzarella – you haven’t had mozzarella like this before (well, unless you’ve had this mozzarella before …)
the s’mores
crazy cheeses
a sampling of meats … each one more delicious than the next
the menu for the evening – it’s a lot of food! it could totally replace dinner.
tashan … a fortress of [delicious] solitude
t says: The other day, a and I hit up Tashan for a workday lunch – a had a groupon burning a hole in his pocket and he owed me some payback for some recent wine acquisitions – so it was perfect!
September 2013, Lunch, Party of 2. While a was nice enough to secure a reservation, it turned out that we did not need it at all – we were literally the only occupied table in the joint. But that means that the kitchen could focus entirely on our food, right? Check it out:
a and I didn’t go too creative on the entrees – saag paneer, butter chicken, and that nan-wrapped kobe beef kebab roll. Now, every single item was nicely done – certainly a step up in technique from your standard Indian take-out. Take the Saag paneer for instance – it was whipped to perfection, reaching a state of matter somewhere thicker than a mousse but with a surprising “fluffiness” that I’ve never had in Saag – quite a treat! I kind of preferred Ekta’s depth of flavor in their Butter chicken to Tashan’s, but the chicken cookery, itself, was superior at Tashan. And that kebab thingee was quite delicious – a nice spicy punch in the mouth to make sure you were awake (I’m not sure if being “kobe” really added anything to the beef, as the fat-iliciousness wasn’t really appreciable). Really, I had no problems with any of the food, and by the end of the meal, I was wishing my stomach was larger so it could fit more! Be that as it may, I’m not sure if Tashan is truly giving Indian cuisine the sex appeal that its owner intends (the place’s finishes, layout, and colors remind me of a wannabe nightclub), but I liked the upscale touches on the food. I’m certain that traditionalists will continue to crucify this place for not being “authentic” … but I hope those people buckle up their seatbelts for …
… INDIAN WINE!! dun dun DUN! This is not yo’ momma’s mango lassee. This is real-deal wine from India. AND – they were offering it by the glass, so I just had to try … after ensuring it was really from Indian grapes …
Sooooo … I ordered up a glass of the stuff, being a sucker for Sauvignon Blanc, especially those with petrol/rubber. The server came over and offered me a “taste” at first, warning me that in his experience, not every patron liked the wine. After such a preview, I prepared for something that would taste like a cross between garbage and butt. However, as I swirled and swished, mulling over the flavors, I wasn’t repulsed. He suggested, “a little green, huh?”. I completely disagreed. Actually – this wine was quite good! It was very different than a NZ or CA or French Sauv Blanc – but still had that minerality and acid. There was a more plush stone fruit up front that immediately went to a floral/rubber taste and a hint of grass on the finish. Great evolution of flavor on the palate. We inquired and the server guessed it was in the neighborhood of $10-14 per bottle (if it can be found). At that price, hell yeah I’d buy some more – and I’d bring it to every wine snob’s house and make ’em taste it blind. It’s that much fun! (P.S. if you like chardonnay or Santa Margherita, you’re not going to like this wine).
So overall, this was a great showing by Tashan – and this is without their original chef. a and I were impressed. We are sad, though, that the place was just way too empty; we fear that they’re just not going to be able to stay open with this [lack of] traffic. Such a shame! On the up side, if you wanted to plan a surreptitious romantic meal with no witnesses, then this would be the place to do it. Of course, you’d probably feel like you were on one, even if you were just two friends going to lunch …
the “secret supper club”
t says: a, v, g and I are huge Aimee Olexy fanboys. We can’t help it. Be it the Table or Garden, we just love to go. And now: Talula’s Daily. We came, we saw, we ate, and we were happy …
the menu for the evening sounded reasonable – nothing too crazy-or-exciting – just a pasta dinner, right? trust me – it’s more!
the squid was served on a single plate and it was lovely – nicely done and coupled with pickled watermelon rind and those super-hot-peppers. the aioli was a little bland (we were hoping it’d be a little more herb-y), but I think that we were pleasant surprised overall with the homey-yet-better-than-an-Italian-restaurant appeal. a solid start!
this salad rocked my socks. seriously – why would I ever eat a salad with un-grilled vegetables ever again? every single component had the perfect texture (forkable, but with enough bite so you weren’t just eating mush) and that corn on the bottom was so vivid in flavor. i really think this salad ruined salads for me …
now we thought the pasta was going to be the main event … but we were wrong – the meatballs were! we were alotted so many meatballs that i cried uncle well before the food ran out. they were soft in texture, with great flavors of pig and cow, and then covered in a pasta sauce which was made with ORANGE PEEL. It was like a summer-kissed tomato sauce – very unique. Now, I can see how traditionalists might poo-poo this kind of tinkering with tomatoes, but even g, the through-and-through-South-Jersey-“my-mom-makes-the-best-gravy”-Italian liked it! So mad props to the chef on this one!
the cheese melted our faces off … like, we entered the restaurant with faces, but we left with nothing more than a few specks of blackened skin clinging on a singed skull … i can’t remember what the cheeses were (my temporal lobes were also damaged in the aforementioned face-melting incident), but they were all so delicious, with unique personalities of flavor and texture that i don’t care. Sure, there was dessert, which included a lovely home-made-lookin’ crisp and ice cream, and sure, it was also a wonderful close to the meal, typical of a meal at neighboring Talula’s Garden, but they had us at the cheese …
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 …
after dinner sneeze 