if wine were a cocktail …
t says: We invited over dz and smn a night or so ago for some take-out and wine (and dessert … don’t forget dessert*). With pizza from Gusto’s, I went into my “cellar” and pulled out a pinot noir. Now, I had never had this particular Pinot, so I was gambling a bit, because when it comes to a new Pinot, I never know what I’m going to get. As soon as I hear “Pinot noir” (assuming I’m talking about red still wine), the two flavors that come to mind are red cherries and earth. This is interesting because depending on the absolute intensities of cherry and earth as well as the cherry:earth ratio, different pinot noirs can be very different from each other. You can get some over-extracted, over-the-top, fruit-bomb pinot noirs that coat your mouth and and scream “cherry” (or even darker fruits) from the top of its lungs, or you can get an elegant symphony of fruit and leather and earth and wood that moves you to tears. To paraphrase that dude from the movie Sideways: “when it’s great, Pinot noir produces the most complex, hedonistic, and remarkably thrilling wine in the world.” I assure you that the wine we had was not such a wine, but of course, it’s pretty unreasonable to have such expectations for under $20 … and with some take-out pizza.
2009 calera pinot noir
2009 Calera Pinot Noir (USA, CA, Central Coast; $24.99 at PLCB, but <$20 everywhere else). The first thing I noticed about this particular bottle was that this was unlike any closure than I had ever encountered. Here’s a closeup:
what’s the deal with the glass stopper?
That’s right – it’s not real cork, it’s not synthetic cork, it’s glass! How interesting! Maybe I need to drink more wine or something, because this is the first time I’ve seen it. g did the honors and popped it with ease. Wow! No corkscrew necessary! While I’m sure this will affect/limit any attempt to “age” the wine over time (or am I?), it’s definitely darn spiffy. Plus, if there’s any left, you just pop it back into place and it’s [relatively] sealed once again.
The wine itself was intriguing because it didn’t quite remind me of pinot noir. I’ll let g explain:
g says: I smelled “jazzy strawberries”. It wasn’t just plain old strawberry – there was something else there – a lot like mint. When I smelled it, it made me feel like I really wanted to drink it, if that makes any sense. It tasted just like it smelled, with strawberries, other red fruit, and a strong minty flavor (the fresh-cut herb, not like peppermint or spearmint). It also felt like it had a little bit of carbonation on my tongue. I guess it was kind of like a cocktail! If t finds more at under $20/bottle, I think he should get some.
t says: I completely agree with the above assessment. As a matter of fact, we both mentioned red fruits (strawberry in particular) and mint independently and when I checked the Wine Advocate tasting note, I was not surprised to see that the wine critic found those two kinds of flavors as well. The wine critic then mentions “polish” and “elegance”, but I’m not so sure I’d go there. It does have this moderate-length finish where you continue to taste the pitter-patter of berry-mint flavor well after you swallow which is very pleasant, but it’s definitely not-so-much “elegant” as it is “flirtacious”. To be truly “elegant”, I’d expect something else to come into play to balance the cocktail-ness (or maybe “cocktaility”?) of the wine. There was some mouth-watering acid (which probably made it feel a little fizzy), but not a single bit of bitter tannin or funk/earth anywhere on the palate. I did get some earth on the nose, but that’s about it.
Impression and Plan: The Calera is an easy-going wine with flavors of mass-appeal (?who doesn’t like strawberry and mint?). Overall, g quite liked it and she expects that kp will like it, too – we’ll see. I feel that if it were $4 cheaper, I’d consider buying a bottle and having it on hand for emergency party situations. g feels differently, and would pay up to $20. I guess I just like something a little darker and a little more brooding.
*Noteworthy aside: smn made this super-awesome lemon pound cake thingee from Ina Garten. Holy crap it was amazing. Between the lemon pound cake and the chocolate cake balls, she’s a pretty darn talented baker. She was kind enough to let us have the remaining slice or two. I will eat them when g’s not looking …
a and v give Morimoto a second chance
a + v say: We wrote the following letter after a visit to Morimoto:
Dear Managers of Morimoto and Steven Starr Events,
Our party of six attended Morimoto this past Saturday (22nd, 2011) for a 9:15pm dinner reservation. We all frequent the top restaurants in Philadelphia but for our friend’s birthday, we chose Morimoto. First, let me praise the chef and kitchen staff for an exquisite meal. The Omakase challenged and surprised our palates with every course.
Sadly, what we will remember is frustration, which began with a thirty minute wait for our table. Thirty minutes is objectionable at most restaurants and unacceptable at a place of Morimoto’s caliber.
The night’s real disenchantment was the result of our server, Jacob. Although he was aware of the situation, he made no attempt to amend our wait, was impersonal, and hard to understand. More importantly, he forgot to acknowledge our friend’s birthday even though it was noted on the reservation and reiterated upon our arrival. Several other glitches throughout the meal paled to the egregiousness of receiving a bill ($1500) that was double the correct amount of our dinner.
One of these shortcomings is forgivable but together, given the circumstances and the server’s lack of rectification, made for an extremely disappointing night. We have great respect for chef Morimoto and owner Stephen Starr, and know our experience is not representative of their expectations. We hope this letter ensures these standards remain, which is what we have come to expect from your other fine establishments.
Sincerely, a + v
With an experience like that who would return? We did … after the apology we received – a $400 gift certificate with a note thanking them for sharing what happened. Now that is customer service!
On our return visit with the same group one year later (January 2012), we opted to order a la carte. We preferred this option, as it allowed us to try a variety of dishes and share with each other. The Cha-Soba Chilled Greed Tea Noodles with Chopped Scallion, Fresh Wasabi, and Dashi-Shoyu Sauce for Dipping, were great. a ordered the Duck Duck Duck (Madras Roasted Duck Breast, Confit Fried Rice, Duck Egg, Mandarin Oolong Reduction) and v ordered the Seafood ‘Toban Yaki’ (Sweet Prawns, Scallops, King Crab, Bok Choy, Manila Clams, Oyster Mushrooms, Citrus Butter). Both dishes were plentiful. While the flavors in the Seafood ‘Toban Yaki’ were delicious and the quality of the seafood and the care taken to prepare the meal stood out. a described v’s seafood dish as a Japanese Bouillabaisse. According to a, all three duck preparations were good, but the confit fried rice was “off the hinges”. Overall, our second experience was very good. The pork belly was very well prepared. The service was better this time. Our server was attentive, professional, and friendly. The room is a bit noisy so it was hard to hear her at times, but this did not interfere with our experience. As for Jacob – he surprisingly still works there.
big boy showdown
t says: Last time, we talked about the good times and good food had at Marigold Kitchen. But, as you might have noticed, after all that hype in the beginning of the post, we didn’t have time to discuss the wine! Just a reminder: the setup was that a and I each brought a bottle of wine unknown by the other. After a little discussion and thought, we decided to make it a Cabernet Sauvignon showdown … a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon showdown …
I decided to pick up a spendy bottle of Cab from the PLCB; we needed a good splurge after the holidays. Plus, I just found out that I could return my medical books to amazon.com for way higher than anyone else would buy them from me (Score!). I searched high and low for what I should bring (our home cellar doesn’t have many spendy options that are “ready” yet). And then I found it. I found a bottle that would have some special meaning as well as fall within our budget (i.e. less than the $$ I got from the books I sold). Basically, I was almost obligated to try it. I should note that I technically didn’t buy the wine from a state-run “store”, rather, the state-run website: finewineandgoodspirits.com. When you search for a wine, you can click the tab that says “special order” or something like that and see what’s lying around in the state’s warehouses (which I’ve read are kept at 65 degrees … however … with how tight moneys are nowadays in the state/nation/world, I seriously doubt anyone’s checking the thermostat regularly). So yes, it was a risk. With a vintage bottle of wine like the one I got, the risk is that it may have been improperly stored for several years and the consumer (little ‘ol me) would never know until I pop the cork. That said, I do my best to minimize risk. The most common problem with these warehouse-stored bottles (if there is a problem), is dried out corks (leading to air creeping down the sides of the cork and oxidizing the wine). Consequently, as soon as I get home, I cut the foil off the top and check the cork. And, if there’s the slightest bit of suspicious creepage of wine up the side of the cork (or less-than-perfect ullage or a cork that protrudes out the top some), I take advantage of the awesome PLCB return policy (i.e. no questions asked). As previously blogged, I have run into a cooked wine, and I imagine if I ever run into a corked or oxidized wine from the PLCB, I’ll be returning it for sure.
Sooooo … I bought the wine, prepared it (i.e. decanted it), and brought it to the restaurant, ready to go toe-to-toe with a’s selection. The waiter brought out the wines with the appetizers (i.e. after four or so amuses). We tasted, analyzed, pontificated, and, right before entrees came out, revealed the wines’ identities. This was followed by more tasting, analysis, and pontification. In short – it was a lot of fun and something we’ll definitely do again (except a more fiscally responsible next time … or g will have my head …).
Now for 1/2 of the big reveal:
t's pick: 2002 dominus estate
2002 Dominus Estate (USA, CA, Napa, ?Yountville?; $97.19 at PLCB) I had seen identical bottles going for $150 in NJ so I just had to give this one a whirl when I found it for under $100 at the state store. Furthermore, Dominus holds a special place in g’s and my hearts, as a 1999 Dominus was the wine at our rehearsal dinner (we still have the empty magnum and cork) … and 1999 was a special year because that’s when we started dating <insert obligatory “aww” here>.
By the time we had gotten around to tasting, our ’02 had been decanted three times (once into the decanter, once back into the bottle, and once into the restaurant’s decanter) and allowed to sit for a total of 2.5 hours. Because he’s tasted far more wines than I, I’ll let our wine guy take over:
a says: To start, thank you t for bringing out the big guns. At first, on the nose, I found this a little underwhelming and mainly dominated by funky (but not FRENCH-funky) earth. On the palate, it was lighter than I would have expected for what I knew at the time (big cab from Napa) with much less fruit. Plain and simple, this wine was dusty with lots of dirt and leather. The grip was excellent and the tannins quite smooth, however, the aftertaste ended abruptly. As this wine decanted, it evolved with the meal and became more enjoyable and less dominated by library/earthy flavors; the fruit woke-up on the nose and palate along with some nice chocolate notes. When I learned of the bottle’s origin, I was genuinely surprised… by the label outside and restraint inside. Having never had Dominus, this was not what I would have expected. This drank more like a 3rd growth than a cult napa cab. It was definitely an enjoyable bottle, especially as it opened up, but that being said, was it worth the coin? I can’t say it was. And unless we popped this guy during a dumb phase, I have a hard time believing the drinking window purported by Parker. I would say this is ready now and quite possibly on the downhill.
[on to the next wine:]
a's pick: 2004 Chappellet Signature Cabernet Sauvignon
2004 Chappellet “Signature Cabernet Sauvignon” (USA, CA, Napa; $40 in NJ some time ago) This knocked my socks off. This was a good year from Napa Valley but I didn’t expect such a round wine from a lesser known producer at this price point. At the start, beautiful color with a lively nose of dark fruit and typical green vegetal notes. On the palate, I found blueberry jam, mocha, and some nice heat. This evolved to get a little more earthy [we mentioned baby-poop at one point] on the nose and peppery in the mouth, while beautifully lingering on the tongue. The heat did turn up during the final sips which could have been caused by warmish wine or just serious aeration for the last drops. Baller. (I have another bottle that I’ll give a little more time in the cellar.)
t says: I agree with a here. I think my unrefined palate may have gotten the best of me, as I, too, preferred the mouthfeel and plushness of the Chappellet. With a slightly longer finish, a little less heat, and a bit smoother tannin, I would have be scouring the net right now to find every last bottle I could. On the other hand, what the Dominus really needed was some sex appeal. It had some funk, it had structure, and it had silkiest tannins I’ve had in a while, but it was missing the center-stage fruit. It was like a Britney Spears music video without Britney (n.b. the Britney circa late-90’s, not the current Britney). Compared to the ’99 we had back in the day, this ’02 had less fruit, less acid, and smoother tannins. Parker-points-be-damned, the ’02 needed some oomph! Nevertheless, I now look forward to future bottles of Dominus, as Christian Moueix’s later vintages are known to be a bit showier. Dominus vertical in 2019? Who’s game?
Marigold Kitchen hangs with the big boys
t says: a got in on a free Savored.com reservation a while ago and was gracious enough to suggest that it be our January FTC meeting. And where would we be going to kick off the new year? As we pondered the list of 30%-off restaurants , we spotted one place where we absolutely had to go: Marigold Kitchen. a and v had been for restaurant week the past fall and loved it. g, kp, and I had never been. It was go-time!
Since making the reservation in 2011, there were a few [free!] times that the dinner needed to be rescheduled, increasing our anticipation (or maybe it was just my anticipation). At one point, a and I got talking about the wine for the dinner. I suggested that we add some element of a blind wine tasting. It was eventually decided that a would choose a bottle, I would choose a bottle, and the rest of the table would have no idea. It was going to be a show-down and we were pretty sure that it was going to be fun!
In preparation for dinner, I decanted the wine and sent teaser pictures to a. I’m mean like that.
poor corksmanship on my part
my mystery bottle decanting ... (I have no idea why I poured it into my half-bottle decanter)
I poured the wine [with a funnel] back into the original bottle and g and I headed off to the restaurant. Taxis conspired against kp, but g waved her magic taxi-finding wand and we saved the day by picking up kp and arriving at the restaurant only 10 minutes late. Fortunately, v and a were there and situated.
As we settled in, a explained to the server what was going on regarding the wine. The server guy seemed a little lost; I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. In case he mixed up the decanters, I had already tasted my wine beforehand (it was the first time I had ever had it) so I was pretty sure I could pick it out if I needed to.
The menu looked delicious – I found at least three apps and three mains that I wanted to try. It was almost painful trying to narrow the options – the blind double red wine tasting that was to come helped me out. Little did I know that what I was choosing was only half of the dinner experience. Actually – it was more like 1/3 of the dinner experience. One-third of the dinner experience was the wine. And the last 1/3 was the food that just comes out of the kitchen – it was amuse bouche galore! We were sent no less than 7 amuse bouches for the meal. While we wrote down all of the amuses, I think I can say with complete confidence than the “best” ones were probably the simplest:
it's not cappuccino ... it's butternut squash bisque with thyme foam!
Yea – it looks extremely boring, but the taste was so vivid. It tasted even more like butternut squash than actual butternut squash (e.g. like when you eat Capo Giro gelatos and they’re “mango” is even better than actual mangos!). And I know that foam is super-frilly (e.g. maybe they could have just added thyme to the soup), but I believe that there really was something special about having such a powerful flavor in a light foam. Maybe it’s because it’s very pleasant to have a little thyme foam mustache to lick off your lips and accent the butternut squash flavors lingering after your last gulp. Whatever it is, kp is going to steal this simple flavor combination for future soups – all he needs is one of those foam canister thingees. Done deal.
Another awesome amuse was our first amuse: the mango lassi (not pictured). v preferred the chestnut ravioli with fennel salt. Everyone had their preferences among the amuses, but the butternut squash cappuccino was on everyone’s list.
My vote for “most interesting” amuse was the foie-stuffed grape:
looks like a few grapes, right? WRONG. There's foie in there!
When the waiter came around with this little spoon that looked like a sprig of grapes (one for the each of us), we were perplexed. Foie? In grapes? And how’d he get it to look so natural? As I ate my grape, my mouth was so confused. The exterior skin was totally grape. And then the foie’s texture was kind of like a softer, over-ripe grape, so that was still expected. And then the unmistakeable butteriness and flavor of foie crept in. Confusion!! And then v swore there was some kind of chocolate taste going on her mouth and I could’t help but agree (but as far as I know, no chocolate was in it). So weird. I wanted to do it again! But alas – we had none left.
breakfast-style foie
Another impressive dish was the foie appetizer: “breakfast style foie”. It had a slice of foie torchon with cinnamon foam what I think was a blueberry compote. The other side had a nice slice deeply seared. If I closed my eyes and smelled the dish, I swear it was like French toast made from blueberry muffins and a side of some kind of breakfast meat (?breakfast sausage?). And it kind of tasted like that … but 10x better. As I’ve said before – I’m not a huge fan of foie by itself as it’s a very powerfully gamy flavor and a pretty mushy texture – but when chefs find a way to mix the foie with other flavors, I’m a happy guy. This foie presentation totally hangs with the likes of Fond and Bibou. It’s fussy, yes (more foam!), but how can you complain if it tastes this good?
The main courses were pretty solid (three of us got venison, two of us got rabbit), but I think compared to all of the amuses and appetizers that we had had beforehand, none of us were really blown away. I did the venison dish, which featured a small-but-thick slab of venison accompanied by a venison scrapple. Both preparations were “very very good”, as it was technically executed quite well, but all of the whimsy and creativity of flavors and cooking in the amuses were absent, so it came up shy of “excellent”.
a says: I agree with t on all counts. The mango lassi and soup were the most flavorful and interesting dishes of the night. My marinated boquerones were a pleasant surprise in that I don’t normally love anchovies but found these fresh, light, and well-paired to the apple salad. My experience with the venison was much like t’s – a nice preparation but I thought the scrapple had more going on. (v interjects: The helping of scrapple was outstanding. I ate scrapple twice in the same day, once at Cochon – they have an updated menu for brunch which is excellent – and once at Marigold. Both were great, but I preferred Cochon’s.) My profiterole and mint ice cream dessert was imaginative and whimsical but lacked something, in the end. [It was] one of the most enjoyable meals from start to finish that I’ve had in Philly. However, none of the dishes had the depth of flavor – that ‘wow’ factor – of say a Bibou pig’s foot or the fish soup at Han.
t says: Oh yea! My dessert was the chocolate-chocolate-chocolate one – it was chocolate in all kinds of forms and textures. The whimsy was back, which I appreciated, but the depth of chocolate wasn’t all there. They backed away from a deeper/darker chocolate and went for a sweeter, milkier chocolate that, while fine, didn’t really hold up to the red wines that were on the table.
In conclusion, I will say that I believe that the amuses prop up the meal to something really special. I mean, it was probably a 3.5 hour meal and at no point was anyone bored. At one point, with a glisten in my eye, I remarked that I felt like some of the tastes reminded me of Bryan Sikora’s cooking – back in the old days of Talula’s Table (and Django) … back when he’d surprise you by making something that looked unfamiliar taste familiar, or something that looked familiar taste completely new … back when his food kept me on my toes and kept me thinking … Oh those were the days …
I only wish that some of that fun would find its way into the mains. Regardless, I believe that Marigold, like Cochon, is one of those under-the-radar Philly restaurants that are making wonderful food and pushing boundaries, even if no one is giving them any credit. Better make reservations and go there while you still can …
But wait! There’s more! We forgot about something! What could it be … ?
the wine! we forgot about the wine!
It’s been a pretty long post, so we’re going to have to save the wine showdown for the next one. It’s coming, I promise.
Thomas Keller outpost in Philly?
t says: I’m reading inbetween the lines of this update about Perrier and how he’s giving up Le Bec-Fin to someone with ties to the TK organization. More importantly – with the change in management, does this mean that they’re finally going to remake Le Bec into something super-sexy and worth going to, like a Per Se or French Laundry?
g says: Do you think they’ll keep the name?
t says: It’d be cool if they made it awesome again and kept the name. Of course – after a two-bell review from LaBan, maybe it’s time to ditch the name and start fresh.
“is he just reading adsz and mailing in?”
t says: Craig LaBan’s “best of the rest” bit highlights a lot of great restaurants. As I looked through them, I saw a lot of faves from our list. Also – hooray for those restaurants that got upgraded (looking at you, Fond!).
a jokes: Is he just reading adsz and mailing in? I think so …
t says: I doubt that Mr. LaBan bothers with this little slice of cyber-space, but that’s ok. If we and he both like the same restaurants, then clearly that means these restaurants are doing something right in order to appeal to “professional eaters” like him and plebeians like you and me …
The two biggest discrepancies I find is our take on a.kitchen (we didn’t like it as much) and the absence of Marigold Kitchen on his list … Of course – our bit on Marigold debuts tomorrow, so stay tuned!
Oh … and I wanna check out that sushi place in Haddonfield, too! … Maybe some parents will join us? … Maybe j will be in town? … Just talkin’ out loud here …
best pie in the world
t says: Imagine this. You’re walking down Walnut. Its getting dark. Alluvasudden, a black, tinted-out limo pulls up next to you, matching the speed of your pace. The window rolls down and a mysterious sun-glassed passenger asks in a raspy, smoker’s voice: “where’s the best pie?” What would you say?
Now I’m sure there are great pies in Philly (I hear Percy Street makes ’em pretty good), but if a mysterious guy in a limo is involved, I’m not gonna screw around with the unknown. I need a sure thing, as the last thing I want to do is piss off a scary guy in a limo … but that’s just me. So I’d direct this guy to the best pies I’ve ever had: Penza’s Pies (at the Red Barn) in NJ.
Yea, this place is in the middle of absolutely nowhere.
I’m going to post the pix of what it looks like to go there, because it’s not like it’s in a city or anything. It’s kind of like a farm stand on the side of the road:
driving down a NJ road
they don't call it "red barn" for nothing ...
But, go into that barn and you’ll see a pretty small area with lots of pies. It seems like there are quite a lot in the picture below, but this one shot has pretty much all the pies they have on hand (unless they’re hiding some in the back).
pies pies pies
As you can see, the ingredients that are on top of the pie identifies the kind of pie they have. In the past, we’ve had their pumpkin pies (and pumpkin ricotta pies) which are fabulous. g’s fave might be the “multi-fruit pie” which has basically every berry that’s in season. We’ve done apple-blueberry, strawberry, plain apple. All fabulous. My personal favorite is the one I bought most recently (and the inspiration for this post):
apple cranberry with a twist of orange ... i'm surprised i even made it home with the pie intact
our pie (enlarged to show texture)
Unfortunately, I forgot to take a side-shot of the pie when sliced, so I’ll just have to let you imagine what it looks like. I guess I’ll have to leave some of it to your imagination. And the taste and textures are always perfect.
The drawbacks of Penza’s are as follows:
1) Limited availability. Especially during the holidays, it’s wise to call them to see what they have in stock
2) Expense. For a pie, they charge $20. But it’s not a big pie. I’d say that a single pie will give 8 “normal” slices (they’re pretty tall, but length and width per slice will look unimpressive). However, realistically, because the pie is so damn good, I’d be inclined to say that it’s better to cut the pie into 6 slices and really give people a stomach-filling serving.
3) It never tastes as good the second day as it does the first. That crumb topping slowly absorbs the moisture from the pie, so it’s really the best on day 1. Fortunately, the pie never lasts much further than day 2 when I’m around.
Now I know what you’re thinking. You probably think I’m crazy. You probably think that you’ll never go that far into NJ for just a pie. You probably think that this was a wasted post. Why must I taunt you?! I don’t know. But for those who know us, if they fork up the cost of the pie and give me a slice, I’ll be happy to pick one up the next time I’m in NJ. As for that dude in the limo … well … he’ll just have to ride his limo about an hour or so … but trust me, he’ll be happy!
after dinner sneeze 