James Delivers Good for the Price of Great
t says: We’ve gone to James twice, courtesy of two groupons – and a and v went once, too! So here’s the lowdown of the restaurant that somehow went from top 10 to being left out of the top 50 according to Philly mag. But of course, let us tantalize you with a poorly-shot iPhone photo … and you can guess if I liked it or not …
- It has chocolate and bacon and chiles … was it awesome? Find out soon …
t’s Props: The food was good overall – nothing made us regret having tastebuds – so we were happy about that. Our favorites, which we’d reorder again were both pasta dishes. The first was the pappardelle with duck ragu with orange and chocolate – it was so good that we ordered it both times we went! And the risotto alla kristina (risotto made with prosecco and barely-warmed-through oysters) was also delicious! Both of these had nicely cooked pasta and beautifully harmonious flavors (seriously, that risotto dish with the oysters was surprisingly oyster-y … in a fresh-tasting, good way). I also enjoyed the venison dish (g doesn’t do venison) which, too, was impeccably cooked and worked so well with the bitter chocolate – I only wish they gave me more meat because it was rather tiny (so a normal-sized person might have found it microscopic). As for atmosphere – it’s a nice and large space – quite a departure for a South-of-South eatery. The chairs were plush (g seemed a little obsessed over how comfortable the chairs were) and there was substantial spacing between tables (although I felt like g and I were SO far apart because the table was so big!). This place is great for claustrophobics who are tired of the cramped BYO scene. The service was also top-notch – some of the best we’ve seen in the city.
t’s Slops: Venus’s jewel case (a spinach fettucine with bacon in a puffed pastry shell) was a good idea, but kind of a failure – it ended up being a mushy spinach fettucini in a congealed creamy sauce (the bacon was only noticeable if you happened to get a piece). g’s lobster dish was rather unremarkable … which was remarkable because it had lobster in it! The bacon budino dessert (pictured above) was good in concept (bacon brittle, chocolate budino, paprika ice cream, chile jam), but the balance of flavors was off – please turn down the paprika and turn up the bacon (stick it in the ice cream!). Also, in my opinion, the chocolate budino was not a budino (unless I am mistaken about what a budino is, but google suggests I am not). Had the budino been as awesome as I imagined, the title of this post would have been “James’s Barbuzzo Budino Killer”.
t’s Verdict: I’m sure there will be times when I think back and fondly remember those two pasta dishes. But without a strong supporting cast of other dishes, I’m afraid that walking to Melograno or Mercato or Barbuzzo or Amis for pasta is just far easier than cabbing to James. Furthermore, tack on the price of alcohol and the lack of more groupons, and now I’m pretty sure that the deliciosity-price quotient (DPQ) is just too low for a return visit, landing it in the same category as Matyson (good-tasting Contemporary American, but just not enough food!).
a says: We agree with almost everything said by t and our experience was much the same (n.b. Thank you Groupon). We were excited to hit James due to its past accolades and positive reviews online. We knew it was pricey for South Philly and not-byo but that’s no reason not to show some love.
a’s Hollas: We were seated immediately in a space much more open than any CC byo which is appreciated. Our server was polite, attentive, and happy to make recommendations when asked. The IPA and wines by the glass were decent. We split our first course, James’ rif on choucroute garnie, which was ambitious and delicious. My 2nd course, pappardelle wih duck ragu, was full of flavor and a high-point of the meal. My entrée course was a tender and juicy veal loin, cooked to perfection and appropriately sized. We went with the apple pie for dessert which was intricately plated but tough to properly eat.
a’s Boos: The music seemed a tad too loud for the ambiance and there was too much time between courses considering the restaurant was at 75% capacity. I found the wine list limited, lacking many deals or bottles in my “$35-$65 sweet spot” for this level of restaurant. The choucroute was was not substantial, even for an appetizer and v thought her risotto alla Kristina (risotto with oysters) was good, not great. (v said, “Too strong a sea flavor.”) v’s fish entrée was again too small and nothing to write home about.
a’s Verdict: I’d be happy to return to James to give it another shot, if someone else wants to pay or we’re in need of a respite from the cramped byos of CC. We also noted the lovely private table for large groups which sits in a beautiful room away from the main dining room.
Han Dynasty’s Got Some Balls
t says: I’m sorry for the crass, unsophisticated humor, but I just had to go there. I mean, you should have seen the size of their meatballs! Wait – what meatballs? Ok … let’s rewind …
g planned a dessert gathering of very diverse people for an evening celebration, figuring that a few would be able to come for dinner beforehand. A few turned into a party of 13 or so. Yikes. What restaurant would do a party of 13 on a Saturday night? Well … let’s just say that are a lot of restaurants that would not do a party of 13 on a Saturday night … looking at you Melograno, GTC, Mercato, etc. (don’t worry – we still love you, even if you’ve hurt us so *sheds a single tear*). Then a friend of ours sent out an email invite to celebrate Chinese New Year (the following weekend) at Han Dynasty … and then we got to thinking … if our guest list and his guest list didn’t overlap, then maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if maybe we borrowed his idea, right? … rriigghhtt?
Well, right or wrong, we did (g and I had been wanting to go for a long time and couldn’t make it to the Chinese New Year celebration, so we figured we owed it to ourselves to go … “for the sake of the blog!”).
1/2011, Saturday Dinner, Party of 13. Han Dynasty does things in a very cool way for large parties. There’s no lame, super-limited menu here. Instead, you tell them the number of people, the price that you want to pay per head, your dietary restrictions, and then let them do the rest. It was awesome. We went in at $20 per person and were absolutely stuffed!
As soon as we were ready, there an unending flurry of food hit the table. We tried to hear the descriptions of when they hit the table, but failed miserably (it’s pretty loud in there!). As a result, there’s no way I could try to describe the dishes for you here. There was pork (several kinds) and fish and noodles and duck and [some] veggies. I suspect that if we kept on eating, they would have kept on bringing. And they were all quite tasty! I didn’t have a single thing that I wouldn’t try again – so they definitely know how to please my palate.
But there was one that stood out. The meatballs …
They brought out this plate of humungous meatballs that were stacked on top of each other. They stared down the other plates surrounding them. And the weird thing was that they had an eerie Jello-esque jiggle to them (I suspect a large proportion of the mix is made of tofu). At this point, our party of 13 had had a reasonable amount of wine (Han is BYO … another super-awesome feature when doing something with a large party), so the question was no longer whether anyone was going to make a comment, rather, who was going to make a comment – leave it to one of g’s NYC girls to step up and own it. But you know what … peculiar jiggle aside … they, too, were actually pretty tasty! As a matter of fact, it was the only dish I asked to be wrapped up to be taken home (I suspect their appearance may have dissuaded people from trying them, so we had leftovers). But alas! I left it at the restaurant! Darn!
As far as best dish? You know – I don’t know which one tasted the best. There was one with duck I kept going back for, and I heard raves about a pork belly one. I think g was very fond of the noodle dishes (she’s a noodle fan from way back in the day). I guess we’ll just have to go back and take copious notes next time …
Han Dynasty drawbacks: Their level of spice is definitely on the higher end. Nothing was intolerable (I kind of liked it), but for the lightweights in our party, we should have requested super-mild or something (we asked for it mild and one of the dishes still had me reaching for water). Those comfortable with Asian spice will feel at home here; if you want to sweat while you eat (a la my grandfather), I’m sure that can be arranged. The second downer was that the table was right next to a pole which made fitting 13 people a little hard. Go for 12 – it’d be a bit more comfortable.
Summary: If we had another party of people to take out, I just don’t think you can beat the combo of price, BYO, taste, and casual atmosphere of Han Dynasty. Oh, and it’s tasty enough so that even real Chinese won’t care if it’s “authentic” or not.
How many Philadelphia chefs in the next season of Top Chef?
t says: So it has been said that the “two chefs who know each other” tapped by Bravo were brother and sister Turney. While nothing has been absolutely confirmed about them, it’d be cool if either or both of them participated – I’d root for them. But really – does Barbuzzo need any more positive press – it’s already difficult enough to get into! I will say, however, that the sneeze has it on good authority that there is at least one more semi-well-known Philly chef who’s in the process of throwing his/her toque in the ring. Unfortunately, we cannot spill the beans here (we wouldn’t want to kiss and tell …) … or at least, not yet – want to make sure things are finalized first before spreading the word.
I got scooped at Tyson Bee’s
t says: Darnit!! Foobooz totally scooped me with their live blog at Tyson Bee’s!! I was actually there AT THE SAME TIME! But I don’t know what they look like, so I don’t know if they’re in my picture; I scrutinized theirs, and I’m not in it.
I wonder where the Foobooz peeps are ...
Approaching the window ...
The menu
Well, at least I can say that I’ve been there twice in the past week, and in general, the food is pretty good! I’ve sampled the steamed pork bun, which features pork belly and loin, and have concluded that it’s my favorite. It has salty and sweet and that doughy bun – I can’t resist it. I also had the korean short rib and kimchi burrito, which was also very good (beef had a great texture and nice spice) – but a bit too much rice (it’s already in a tortilla – there doesn’t need to be that much rice!). Finally, I also did the pork bahn mi which, while not quite Sampan-delicious, is still pretty good (they gotta put pork belly in it – then it’d be a competitor). Overall, I think the flavors are not as deep as the buns you’d get at Chifa or the bahn mi from Sampan, but for a quick bite from a food-truck, I think most foodies will be satisfied. The prices are quite reasonable, but I will agree with foobooz peeps and say that it is quite a messy lunch!
The double-pork-bun!
The pork bahn mi
The one drawback – I am peculiarly full after eating there. I don’t know if it’s the excessive amount of pork or what, but after eating there for lunch, I’m nearly uncomfortably full for like 7 hours – I wonder if I’m just eating too much? Regardless, this apparently was not enough to dissuade me because I did go back after the first time and will probably go back again, too! Good job food truck! It’s a wonderful addition to the HUP foodtruck neighborhood.
It’s like a Garces frequent flyer club!
t says: More restaurants need to do this. I wonder if this means we’ll eat at GTC more …
Living the Dream: Chocolate Sushi
t says: Valentine’s Day. What a rip-off. All you want is a good meal with that special someone, but if you walk into a restaurant, you’re often faced with fixed price menus at ridiculous prices … Well not g and me. We have rebelled! We’ve seen the crowds in restaurants offering Valentine’s Day fixed price menus and shout in triumph: “NEVER AGAIN!”.
So what did we do?
Sunday we went to Barbuzzo. We couldn’t go on Monday because they were offering a special menu, too! Good thing we got in a day early. We’ve already talked about Barbuzzo before, so I’ll spare you the details. Basically – it boils down to this:
The sheep’s milk ricotta and meatballs are still obligatory/compulsory selections – they’re that good. The paccheri, we preemptively requested they cook a few seconds longer (last time was a little too al dente for us), and it came out perfect ; and this time it had a smoky flavor to it – very nice. Our new dish of the evening was the gnocchi, and it was surprisingly good (it’s a very rich dish though, so be careful!), putting La Viola to shame (I like picking on La Viola’s gnocchi …). Finally, the salted caramel budino, which I would not be surprised if it’s the easiest-to-make, highest-profit-per-serving dessert ever put forth by any restaurant ever, is just too good to not get. Drawbacks? For the love of all that is good and holy, please please please serve your red wines at the appropriate temperature! The wine was actually getting cooler the longer it sit in the glass! That alone could probably win them like another half-bell from Laban or something!
Then Valentine’s day continued on Monday. We got an email from Tria that said something like “come and taste some 1999 Dom for $20”. We had to go. Why? #1 – g likes bubbly. #2 – g has never had Dom. #3 – it’d be so cool to “go out for drinks before dinner” – very bawler. #4 – we were going to get a bottle of ’99 Dom for our wedding (it was the year we started dating … awwwwww ….) but couldn’t justify spending that much cash at that time for something that really not too many people were going to drink/enjoy/appreciate (but we got a nice ’99 Veuve Rose that was awesome). So it was destiny. We rolled up into Tria and immediately ordered g a glass. She liked it quite a bit!
If you notice, there’s another glass in the pic. A short glass filled with a dark liquid. That, my friends, is a glass of wine travesty. Delicious, delicious sin in a glass. It is a chocolate dessert wine. Yes, there’s some Zin in there, but it’s clearly been adulterated with chocolate. And it is so good. It’s like an alcoholic Hershey’s syrup (but textured like wine – not like syrup). g found it weird that her tongue wasn’t encountering a thick, viscous liquid when she took a sip. I found it to be amazing. I know that some people will read “Hershey’s syrup” and turn up their nose – but I happen to like Hershey’s syrup – it has all of those childhood memories attached – how can you not like it? Granted, it’s not the best “chocolate” in the world, but I like to think of Hershey’s like “white chocolate”, i.e. I don’t consider it “chocolate”, I consider it its own thing. Of course, the dessert wine was way too rich to drink a lot of (I left a third of the glass behind), but it was a nice treat before dinner: sushi!
That’s right! The dream has been fulfilled! Chocolate sushi (the name for the blog that I was championing before we … umm … “compromised” …)! Basically, I was thinking it’d be fun if there was a restaurant or bar or hangout that specialized in two things I could really eat almost any time: chocolate and sushi. But these two things don’t really “go” with eachother – one is pure and clean and fresh, while the other is decadent and rich and seductive. Let’s face it – I’m never surprised if a sushi place only offers chocolate-free desserts (or, in the case of Kiss Seafood in SF, no desserts). But tonight was a special night! It was Valentine’s! So I tried out the combination and consumed a considerable amount of chocolate along with a considerable amount of raw fish, enjoying chocolate both before and after the sushi …
Whose sushi? We went to Zama, which ended up being quite impressive. Long story short (cuz this is turning out to be a long post): the decor is reasonable (a not too over-the-top combination of clean, modern, a splash of chic, and a twist of trying-too-hard). The service was quite friendly, which we appreciated. And, of course, the fish was very good (we got the sushi and sashimi combo for 2), and, just as important, the rice was very good, too. Using the amount of soy sauce I use as a marker for how good the sushi/sashimi is (i.e. the better the food, the less the soy sauce), I can say that their sashimi and nigiri required none (their maki still needed a bit). Very nice!
Zama also offered some pretty good desserts, too. They had this “pick 3 for $10”, where you choose three little desserts from a list – it was like a little dessert tasting! And a few of them had chocolate!! In the end, the yuzu creme brulee was my favorite, giving a nice zesty flavor that was enjoyable. The PB-chocolate-cake-and-crisped-rice was also pretty good, as now I wonder if anyone has ever made a 100-Grand chocolate bar, but replaced the caramel with peanut butter … mmmmmm … Unfortunately, the green tea eclair kind of sucked, as the pastry was very hard … sorry Zama.
What were the bad parts of Zama aside from the eclair? Actually, the big black eye of the evening was the ridiculous acrylic dish they served our sushi in. g called it “a sushi corral”. After she said it, I contemplated herding the sushi together into a group and making bleeting or mooing noises. Man, that sucker was big, unwieldy, and ugly; give me one of those silly wooden boats any day.
But the memorable part of the dinner was the inadvertent entertainment. The girl sitting at the table next to ours was hilarious. Why? Cuz she used her fingers. Ok – now I want to say right away that I’m totally cool with people not using chopsticks. Chopsticks are a weird instrument that not every human being is required to know how to operate. I even know real live Asian people who can’t use chopsticks. That’s totally fine. This girl had a fork. I’m down with forks. I use them all the time. But what was funny was not the mere fact that she was straight-up using her fingers, rather, the manner in which she was using them. This was no, “oh, I’m being silly and funny and sneaking a piece of sushi in my mouth by using a pinching motion with my thumb and forefinger” … this was a fumbling around, using all five fingers, dropping pieces of sushi (she even dropped a piece onto her fork), dripping soy sauce everywhere style. I guess it’d be like me … trying to eat spaghetti … without a fork … Ok – maybe it doesn’t sound that funny as you read this, but we were there … and it was funny, damnit!
So kudos to Barbuzzo, Tria, and Zama. A great Valentine’s day (actually, two days), with not a single fixed price in sight!
after dinner sneeze 