Screw You, Snow!
t says: So it decided to be cold and miserable out today. Boooooooo! Annoyed with the cold, g and I resolved to stay inside … then we realized we had no food. So we resolved to go outside … to Village Whiskey.
10/2011, 3pm Saturday, Party of 2. We sat at the bar-table-things in the back. Not before long, we were elbow-deep in deliciosity.
Oh short-rib-cheddar-fries ... it's been too long!
Trust us … as good as it looks in the pic – it’s even better in real life! Add the fact that it was cold outside, and voila – a perfect way to warm up. g and I still believe that it’s one of the best things on the VW menu. Nice salty potato and lusciously soft shortrib smothered in golden cheese. The problem is that it’s a huge serving – no single person should consume this entire thing. Even after splitting this between g and me, we knew that there was no way we’d be able to down a burger afterwards (but we didn’t mind some leftovers).
Chicken sandwich with long hot peppers.
The chicken sandwich was kind of bad. Sorry VW – the streak of awesome sandwiches ends here with the chicken. The long hots were indeed spicy and completely overpowered every other flavor that may have been incorporated. Furthermore, the chicken was very dry. When tasted sans chicken/peppers, the mushrooms, cheese, and bread were good – and so were the taro root chips! Nevertheless, the sandwich made me a little sad because I missed my normal go-to: bbq pork sandwich.
g got the ... surprise! veggie burger! It was as good as usual.
A classic g & t drink selection!
g feels that the above picture is a classic representation of our tastes. I go for chocolate and sugar – she goes for fancy mixed drinks … “with heels and accessories” (it’s in a stemmed glass with fruit garnish!). Both were wonderful.
I will say that the one thing that surprised us was that the service did NOT suck! The hostess was nice enough (it wasn’t the super-terse/snobby one with the tats), our server was both competent and expedient. True – no one was bubbly/friendly, but I’m glad to see some changing-of-the-guard going on over there. Figures though – the one time they have not-crap service, I order the boring chicken sandwich. Stupid, stupid t!
Fall Fits Cochon like a Pigskin Glove
a says: October 2011, Dinner, Party of 3. My mother was in town, so we wanted a nice dinner out but nothing too expensive. This likely meant byob and unfussy food. v and I have hit most of these places in Old City several times and wanted to show my Mom something new. I narrowed it down to two finalists, Chloe and Cochon, and after some debate, we decided on Cochon since they recently switched to a fall menu. (I realize Cochon is not located in Old City but it was close enough for our purposes, and more importantly, it never disappoints.) Readers of adsz are already familiar with our (a, v, t, g, and kp) amorous relationship with Cochon’s brunch but we felt their dinner service deserved some love, also.
Holy flying pigs did they deliver. We arrived to find the place almost empty, not a complete surprise on a weekday but undeserved considering the Cochon experience. There are always a few menu additions so we waited to hear those before making a final decision – v and I were leaning toward pork (duh) and my mother, toward escargots and gnocchi. The specials for the night only confirmed our initial inklings of pork and snail-filled bliss. Among the important information provided by our waitress was this lovely nugget: for $30, a patron could have 3 courses and a complimentary beer. OH. MY. GOD. Each course’s options were limited to a few dishes, but get this, escargots were a first course option and PORK BELLY (t’s “Pork Caps”) was a second course option, even though it wasn’t on the menu. After dinner, I sent t the picture below and this tidbit: “Yeah, that’s right, the PORK BELLY dish is in full effect @ Cochon… and it was amazing.” (update: It looks like the $30 prix fixe menu is only for October, their anniversary month, so get on over!)
My mother ordered the fried oysters and the vegetarian gnocchi, an off-menu option, which comes with roasted vegetables. I went with the $30 prix fixe and chose the escargot, PORK BELLY, and poor boy dessert (and Great Lakes Burning River pale ale). v only ordered an entree, slow-cooked suckling pig, since we knew a lot of food was on its way. Cochon is never one to be fussy with plating but everything looked lovely when it came to the table and the flavors soared from there.
"PORK BELLY"
All protein was cooked perfectly, with the PORK BELLY soft and tender less the crispy, crunchy skin. The sleeper dish of the night was definitely my mom’s gnocchi which had the perfect pillow-y consistency paired with harmonious flavors. v has had her share of homemade gnocchi and has even made some herself – none have compared to the consistency of these light, fluffy, tender gnocchi. The fried oysters with fennel were somehow light (for the night) and refreshing, and the escargots were solid. A slight edge for escargot flavor might go to Bibou but the surrounding pancetta, garlic-butter sauce at Cochon made us ask for extra bread to sop-up every last bit.
One knock on the meal from v, the lentils under her pork were “overpoweringly” salty and did not compare to the tour de force that are Bibou lentils. We ended with the poor boy dessert which was some mix of bacon ice cream, shortbread, and caramel gooeyness served warm in a ramekin. This was better than I expected as I don’t think of Cochon as a dessert place, and put a smile on each of our faces. v thinks this dessert was reminiscent, but not as delectable as the caramel budino at Barbuzzo.
I went with a Graf Hardegg “Vom Schloss” Riesling 2008 which I thought could hold-up to pork while matching well with the appetizer options. We’ve had this in the past and it has always served us well with its medium body, off-dry crispness. The apple and citrus flavors cut through the richness of the pork and escargots. The Great Lakes pale ale was a nice treat to start dinner and clear the palate. Oink.
t says: Loving the Pork Caps.
The Institution of “Pork Caps”
t says: Man-o-man. It’s fall in Philly, and the restaurants are doing up pig in all kinds of ways. I realize that this might just be a personal delusion, but I like to pretend that Fall is the season that marks the “Return of the Pig”. It’s an end to the light-and-fluffy seafood and berry dishes of summer. Bring on the root vegetables. Bring on the hearty slabs of meat. Bring on the oink.
In celebration of Fall, I think that we may have to institute “Pork Caps” around here. What the hell is Pork Caps? Pork Caps is the utilization of ALL CAPITALIZED LETTERS when referring to pig dishes. For instance: PORK BELLY, PORK SHOULDER, PORK CHEEK, SAUSAGE, etc. Will it get annoying? Quite possibly. Will it get the point across? Absolutely! It’s a risk I’m willing to take.
Candy Bar Double-Header
t says: Candy bars intrigue me – especially candy bars from “foreign lands”. While England is not exactly an exotic country, they do do things a little differently there and some people swear that it’s better. Having had only a handful of test subjects, I can neither confirm nor deny these statements. But! Go ahead and check out this bar that g, cm, and I found at Capo Giro.
"Double Decker"
It sounded pretty good, boasting chocolate, cereal crispies, and nougat. It had a “From England” tag on the box, so I figured that it was worth a try (I’m a sucker for “limited edition” or “rare” offerings). I bought one and kept it for “later consumption”. About 12 hours later, I consumed it.
The product sustained a bit of damage - the nougat's busting at the seams.
So you see that this bar had a bit of a manufacturing (or transportation) issue, in that the nougat that forms the top layer of the candy innards was busting out. Whether someone had squished the bar or the factory had messed up, I hoped that this would not affect the overall taste. I split it open, to find this:
It has layers ... like a parfait ... and everyone loves parfaits, right?
So the top layer is the nougat and the bottom is the crispies. Excited, I dove in, but to be honest I was a little let down. The nougat was very viscous, far outlasting the crispies as I chewed. And I don’t think there was enough chocolate. Yes, I know I’m whining about a candy bar, but the concept held such promise! It was like two candy bars in one! The problem is that that’s exactly how it ate – it ate as if someone took two candy bars, put them on top of eachother, and shoved it in his/her mouth. Sorry Cadbury – going to have to work on making the two fillings jive better with eachother.
Flash forward a month. g saw those commercials for some Hershey’s product that was “aerated” so it had lots of little air pockets. I think she said, “what the crap is that? That’s so weird!” I reminded her that I had encountered, eaten, and written about a Cadbury “Flake” bar that had a similar concept: a chocolate bar filled with air. She had forgotten. I had not. Score 1 for team t. I had also encountered one of these “Air Delight” bars well before the advertisements were on tv and I took pictures of it. Then I forgot. Well here they are.
"Air Delight"?
A chocolate version of "great taste, less filling."
Ok, so the pictures turned out horribly (can’t wait to get my hands on an iPhone 4S), but I can at least tell you what it tastes like. It tastes kind of like a cross between a classic Hershey’s bar and 3 Musketeers nougat filling. It’s definitely lighter/creamier than a classic Hershey’s bar (but still has that Hershey’s “taste” – i.e., it doesn’t taste like chocolate … it tastes like “Hershey’s”), but it’s not sticky/liquidy like nougat. That said, I kind of think the Flake bar did a better job with aeration as that felt even fluffier than the Air Delight – it felt more fragile, more elegant. I’d say that comparing the two is kind of like comparing a Tempurpedic mattress to a $50 knock-off – they’re both trying to do the same thing, but there’s something about the original that just feels different. Would I ever buy it again? Probably not. If I’m having a hankering for chocolate, I wouldn’t eat Hershey’s. If I’m having a hankering for Hershey’s, then I’m going to go for the original.
Finally – g showed me this very interesting chart. I might buy one just so I can study it and better understand the world of chocolate candy.
Asian Double-Header
t says: I’ve fallen behind on posting … so let’s bring us up to speed on two nearby Asian fooderies, lightning round style …
Szechuan Hunan: Jo Jo’s Place (i.e. “Jo Jo Pwace”) was our favorite Chinese delivery. The fried chicken in General Tso’s was crisp. The shrimp was perfect (i.e. not overcooked – amazing!). They delivered at lightning speed (i.e. 20 mins)! But then … they started sucking … big time. Overcooked broccoli. Fishy-smelling shrimp. Cardboard-esque chicken. Even the white rice was bad! Well – enter Szechuan Hunan! Props: Solid no-frills Chinese takeout. Gone are the sins of Jo Jo. g’s faith in Shrimp with Broccoli in a White Sauce is restored (it’s not on the menu – just ask for it)! Slops: They don’t deliver as quickly as Jo Jo – but 40 mins isn’t actually that bad, right?
Wa Joe: On Chestnut was Korean restaurant called Miran. On one hand, g, dz, smn, and I were not that sad to see it go, as the previous manager was a tiny bit … curmudgeony. But the food was a notch above mediocre (i.e. “solid”) and reasonably priced! The four of us each enjoyed our dishes [despite the obvious reverse discrimination] so much so that we wanted to go back … except this time, it wasn’t called Miran anymore. It was called “Wa Joe”. It was opening week. It was game time … Props: Everything was nice and clean and sparkling new.
Brand new table-top grill (underneath the gleeming cover).
And, in classic Asian restaurant style, there’s a blatant typo … on the cover … can you spot it?
Something is misspelled.
The kimchi was pretty good – the right balance of spice and sour. The haemul paejun was decent, as was the dukbooki. Slops: The service was horrendously inept (e.g., refusal to refill water in a timely manner … even when asked; they dropped our takeout container onto the floor … and still gave it to us to use). There were only 3 banchan – ONLY THREE!! ha would have a fit had she been there. And, the dealbraker: the dolsot bimbimbap was quite bland – no matter how much of the special sauce I used. … which is surprising … because a bland dolsot is like a knife to my Korean heart. Maybe it was opening weekend jitters? I don’t know. Lunch Time Eats liked Wa Joe quite a bit – maybe they just happened to order the right dishes? Regardless, I’ll have to disagree with them and say that I would gladly go to Rotisseur any day over Wa Joe!
Only 3!!!!!
The Truth … about Locatelli.
t says: I’m a huge fan of Locatelli Pecorino Romano cheese. It started way-back-when, when I first met g and her family used “Locatelli” as their cheese on top of their pasta. It was salty and cheesy and really added something fun/different to tomato sauce (or crab pasta). So now, with any pasta g and I make at home, it’s our cheese of choice – even before Parmigiano Reggiano. The problem – it’s a little pricey. Check it out:
$12.99 per pound!
We fly through Locatellia pretty quickly – especially when I get the Microplane going (it makes it way too easy to just keep-on-grating). But now all that’s changed. I’ll tell you why …
One day I found myself in Whole Foods (likely picking up granola) standing near the cheese counter, ready to pick up some Locatelli. Then the cheesemonger-girl saw me contemplating the choices and offered some advice. “Why don’t you try this other Pecorino Romano – it’s like Locatelli, but creamier, has more of a peppery kick, and is a few bucks cheaper. And, of all the Pecorino Romano, it’s the only one actually made in Rome.” My interest was peaked:
Some "other" Pecorino Romano.
Cheeeeeeeese.
Now, I’m not one to normally follow the advice of the Whole Foods cheesemonger – I always get the sneaking suspicion they’re trying to sell me something I don’t want. But hey – this was a recommendation for a cheaper cheese – so why not? I brought it home, put a slab in my mouth … and proceeded to be quite impressed! It really was like a creamier, more peppery Locatelli, but still with that salty-cheesey Locatelli background. It … is … awesome.
In short – the truth about Locatelli: Fulvi Pecorino Romano is way better and cheaper.
g's grandpa's ravioli (with some elbow pasta) and cheeeeeeeese.
Yea, it’s good on pasta, too!
Flashback to the 90’s
t says: Back in ’89, The Cure released “Lovesong”. I only know the date because I googled it. Go ahead – youtube or itunes it so you know what song I’m talking about (or click here). I’m pretty sure everyone [my age] has heard it at one time or another. While I distinctly recall it being played in the 90’s, those hairstyles from the video are classic 80’s. Please note that this is not to be confused with the more recent “Love Song” … which I doubt will survive in my memory for 20 years like The Cure’s song.
Well, Adele’s album 21, released some 10 months ago, has a re-worked version of the Cure original. She sang it on Letterman, too. After listening to it multiple times – I have to admit that it’s growing on me – there’s just something about that element of haunting sadness. And while I realize that the song is “old news” as far as the rest of the world is concerned, I just wanted to share my appreciation for the reemergence of a song from my “youth”.
And while we’re bringing back some music from the past, check this out, too. It’s not as classy as Adele, but what it lacks in class, it makes up for in humor.
a says: little late on lovesong man … everyone knows she was giving props to the Cure, a wonderful 80s band.
t says: Never said I was on the cutting edge – but better late than never, right?
after dinner sneeze 