awesome[-chocolate-]sauce
t says: Yesterday, I ate a spoonful of homemade chocolate sauce for dessert. g thought it was disgusting. I disagreed – it was delicious! And, as bw has pointed out, my chocolate consumption could have some very significant positive implications down the line …
Philly’s new Asian eateries
t says: We checked out two cool Asian-centered eateries that somewhat-recently opened. Here they are in lightning-round style …
Jane G’s. September 2012, Restaurant Week (and some a-la-carte), Party of 3.
Props: The mains were sizable and quite tasty. Check ’em out!
hunan lamb – think of it like the best Chinese-takeout-beef-and-vegetable-stir-fry ever (except that this was way better because it was tender yummy lamb) – the sauce had a nice balance of savory and sweet, and the veggies were a nice texture … but the greens on the right were pretty dumb though – they had no purpose!
crispy half duck – it was actually crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, and the largest amount of duck i’ve ever seen a restaurant put on a plate ever! (and it was for restaurant week). the sweet potato was pretty much an afterthought, and the veggies were “ok”, texturally.
The popcorn rock shrimp was pretty solid (it gets rave reviews online) – but to be honest, it really is nothing more than some fried shrimp and wasabi aioli. Be that as it may – it’s still pretty tasty. Dumplings are similarly solid – not earth-shattering, but good! The tiramisu … once again – not “great”, but it was pretty good – with solid tiramisu flavors and a format more reminiscent of a cake than a real tiramisu – we ate it!
Slops: The service was W-E-I-R-D. Our dude checked on us every two minutes in a very direct in-your-face manner. And it’s not that he was impolite – it was more of a lack-of-politeness. For example, instead of asking, “would you like another drink?”, he pointed at my empty glass from a few feet away and stared at me. He was a little too intense for us. On the flip side, whenever we had a need or want, it was accommodated.
Take-home: I’m worried about Jane G’s. On one hand, they have “good” food – not mindblowing, but good. On the other, their service needs some work, and their prices on the normal menu are pretty high! If Jane G’s is trying to be “fancy Chinese”, then I think they are unsuccessful because all of the “garnishes”/accompaniments were mediocre at best. But if it’s trying to be “one step above Chinese”, then I think we’re right-on. I’ll keep it in mind for future restaurants weeks …
Spice28. August 2012, Friday Dinner, Party of 4. No pictures of this one – just words.
Props: Excellent cumin lamb – as flavorful as Han, but even more tender. Duck crepes were nice, too! Furthermore, the total bill was as cheap as Han when you share among people (seriously – our bill was $20/pp including tax/tip).
Slops: Cold sesame noodles – not as flavorful as Han, and mooshier. Pineapple fried rice was a little boring. No longer BYO. The desserts seemed uninspiring (but that’s ok – Capogiro’s closeby!)
Take-home: It’s an interesting alternative to Han Dynasty. Definitely a different vibe to the restaurant (a little more “modern” – riding that line between “cool” and “too cool”), but at least there are less undergrads. I’d definitely check it out if Han’s booked in the future!
a.nother chance for a.kitchen
t says: It’s been a long while since we’ve gone to a.kitchen, and we’ve received some email suggesting that we try out the place again. So we put it on our list … and there it stayed for quite a while – we just never got around to it! Nevertheless, we still recommended that others give it a whirl and let us know how it was … and now – someone actually has! Welcome to the blog, bw!
bw says: The main problem with a.kitchen is that it doesn’t really know whether it wants to be a regular restaurant or a tapas restaurant. You sit down to a menu of “plates”–no appetizers, no mains, “plates”. The dishes are all described like mains (a central item plus a side with a second taste), but priced suspiciously reasonably (i.e., in the high teens) for a fancy restaurant right on Rittenhouse. The fact that some items (e.g., lobster and steak) are priced much higher somewhat relieves you of your doubt. The service was very prompt and friendly, but they didn’t really guide you through the menu. Specifically, no “Is this your first time dining with us? Our menu is organized in [such-and-such] a manner.” Or, when each of us ordered one item, they didn’t say “maybe you want some more food as the plates are [blank]-size”. The “plates” live on that schizophrenic border between main and tapas. They definitely weren’t small, but they left you wanting just a little more food. Probably for the two of us, we should have had three items, which would have been at a price I would have expected for a main at a Rittenhouse restaurant. But three is an odd number. If you’re going for tapas, you’d generally probably get four or five items for two people. Who thinks to themselves “I really want to eat one-and-a-half things”? No one. In case you were wondering if there was a Goldilocks-style dish-size in between “too small” tapas and “too large” mains, there isn’t–it’s just awkward.
So, how did the food actually taste? I got the “blue crab salad with Sardinian couscous and summer pesto”. (Again, sounds like a main, right? OK, I made that point.) It was really good. The crab “salad” was mostly crab, with some crème fraiche and a few green sprouts. The flavors were nice together, although it could have used a little more greens to balance the crab. The couscous was also really interesting (going in I didn’t know what Sardinian couscous was): it was very large couscous, about the size of barley with the same toothsome quality as al dente barley. It was a good texture and a welcome contrast to the crab. My friend got the black bass (I can’t remember the side), and she said it was really good. The rest of the menu seemed interesting. It had a seafood predominance, which I’m a fan of, being in seafood-withdrawal after the midwest.
On to dessert, which we mostly got because we simultaneously said “that wasn’t a lot of food.” We both got the apple cobbler, so no ability to review the variety here (although the options generally all sounded tasty). As you know, my dessert-out-at-a-restuarant judgement criterion is “can I make a better version of this at home?” And here, I would have to say the answer is “yes”. The cobbler just wasn’t that good. The apple-filling and the streusel topping seemed disjointed and weren’t magical together. The apples were just baked apples–nothing special. And the topping was too dry in texture without any real flavor too it. Making a good streusel isn’t all that hard; so I was pretty disappointed. The caramel ice cream that topped it was, however, really good. Unfortunately, it melted so fast that I couldn’t enjoy it with the apples–I essentially had to eat it quickly right at the start.
So, I would definitely go back. Knowing what I now know about the menu, I would either order more, or go for something like a late dinner after having appetizers at a bar somewhere. But I would look elsewhere for dessert, although I guess I could give their pastry chef one more chance.
t says: It’s cool – Capogiro’s close by … so when we goin?
FedNuts 2.0 … just as good, now with improved proximity!
t says: The new FedNuts is open …
d o n u t s
The new digs are a bit larger/cleaner/sleeker than the original. And the proximity … of course … is much easier to get to than 2nd and Federal. And the donuts are just as delicious (actually – there’s a “Strawberry and Fennel” hot-and-fresh donut that is RI-DI-CU-LOUS). Thank you Solomonov. This almost makes up for you increasing the price of Zahav’s tasting menu to >$40 … almost …
Napa in pictures … Day 2
t says: Day 2 started off pretty early in Napa – I popped in Bouchon Bakery for some delicious pastries. Unfortunately, I took no pictures … let’s just say it was awesome. Oh – and also, let’s just say that if you go any later than 7:30am on a Saturday during tourist season, you’re going to wait (fortunately, I got there at 7). After breakfast, g got her nails did (it’s becoming a vacation tradition!). With full bellies and g’s finished nails, we got down to business with our first tasting of the day: Ma(i)sonry.
Maisonry serves a variety of wines to taste in an indoor-outdoor gallery, including a garden with sculptures. It was a wonderful setting in which to drink wine.
g and I elected for a tasting of a crap-ton of high-end cabernets. 5 in a row. Tasting notes include: “an immature teenage punk-rocker with tusseled hair”, “a classy alluring woman at a skinny black dress”, “a sexy vixen with whips and chains”, “raisins gone wild”, “a baby’s bottom”. End result: Kristine Ash’s offering (the vixen) and Tor’s offering (the baby’s bottom) were our favorite, with Tor getting the slight edge for grace.
Ma(i)sonry is a great place to go to taste some phenomenal cabs from a variety of winemakers and vineyards. Yes, it’s pricey, but this was clearly the best “tasting” we had on our trip because it allowed us to compare similarly-pedigreed/priced cabs head-to-head, with no bias or pressure to buy. Now if only we could afford more of those bottles to bring home with us … maybe next time … Grade: A.
we proceeded to lunch at TK’s ad hoc …
the best fried chicken i’ve ever had … seriously … the crust could not be any more perfect! Even the cornbread was wondrously fluffy – however – you feel your arteries clogging with every buttery bite …
ribs and a piece of shoulder … it evoked memories of bbq’s of my childhood but with a length and complexity that i could probably only now recognize. the sauce that was oh-so-addictive – i would use it on every sandwich ever if i had access to it
the potato salad and corn were pretty good – not super-remarkable, but not bad, either …
and here it is: an Ad Hoc cookie … the base recipe for my own cookies … i kinda-gotta-say it: I like mine better – a darker chocolate and a lighter cookie in both flavor and texture – sorry TK!
Our next wine stop was Ehler’s Estate. We don’t have pictures, so you’ll just have to take my word that they do a nice job there, with a few solid cabs, of which the 1886 comes out on top (predictable, as it’s their top bottling). Personally, I feel that their more interesting offerings were the non-cabs (Petite Verdot and Cab Franc), but maybe that’s just me being picky (or maybe I still had Kristine Ashe on my mind …). Grade: B+ (A fun place to visit, but I’m not sure we’d go again on our next trip).
By this time, g wanted a pre-dinner nap, so while she slumbered, I ventured into Napa for another wine-tasting:
Bounty Hunter Wines. This. Place. Is. Awesome. For real! It’s part wine bar and part wine shop (and part bbq joint). They have an impressive selection of wines by the glass (and by the “taste”) including a few bottlings unique to Bounty Hunter, and the food looked darn tasty (not fancy – just plain ‘ol tasty). The had a very nice pinot from Brittan vineyards that I’m currently trying to figure out how I can get more into PA. We’re definitely going to revisit this place on our next trip – I wanna go back with g! Grade: A+.
Napa Vintner’s Collective. This little tasting room is most similar to the Carlton Winemaker’s Studio that we visited in Oregon. The shtick is that it serves as a tasting room for a lot of very tiny vineyards/winemakers throughout the valley. It had a pretty reasonable tasting fee ($25), but they don’t allow you to pick every wine you want to try – it’s all subject to whatever they have open at the time. Grade: A-.
For dinner, we went to Bouchon …
Bouchon has a bustling bistro feel, with some very attractive entrees on the menu (think homely French – not quite as rustic as Bibou, but not fancy-shmancy, either). As you can seen above the meal started off nicely …
… but then the lights went out! At first it was very romantic. g made an astute observation, “this is kind of like our version of camping!” Yep – she’s right-on. In any case, the restaurant ultimately had to close down, cutting our meal short. At this point we had had our appetizers (I had an octopus appetizer that was actually quite rubbery – g’s salad was ok), and were kinda-sorta forced to eat our entree in the dark (after the lights went out, we were served our mains in the dark without being asked whether or not we’d like to continue dining). I have to say that I was a bit nonplussed about this experience and contemplated asking the manager if we could abandon our entrees (or at least mine – the gnocchi dish was actually not a great dish to eat in the dark), but he appeared very busy/preoocupied with all that was happening. We sucked it up, paid the full bill (they made no offers to comp anything and I was too irritated to raise a fuss), and walked out. Sorry Bouchon – two sad courses out of four and a disregard for patron’s dining experience … you get a D- (the good bread helps you evade an F) <g interrupts: Holy crap! You gave Bouchon a D-? I think that’s a little harsh!> back to t: Ok, then maybe a D … but the point is that it’s so not worth a Michelin Star or the tariff we paid. I did attempt to contact the restaurant to talk about the experience, but no response yet …
Fortunately, I had some Kara’s Cupcakes to put a smile on my face back the hotel room. Thank goodness for Kara.
the hits just keep on comin’
t says: iPhone 5 … check. (And yea – it was totally worth it …)
Next: iPad mini. Hmmmmmm …
a says: iPad mini = yawn …
FedNuts 2 opening tomorrow = amazeballs!
after dinner sneeze 