Posts Tagged ‘Brunch’
Meme’s Brunch is Meh …
t says: It was mighty cold over the weekend, so g and I forewent our usual Sunday brunch trip to Cochon and we went to go check out Meme instead. Let’s get to it!
12/2010, Sunday AM, Party of 2. We sat down and I was torn by the menu. Do I go starch, or do I go “something else”. g convinced me that going for the cornmeal pancakes was basically dooming Meme for failure, as clearly they wouldn’t be able to surpass Cochon. So I instead went for their Brussels sprouts and bacon with a “side” of a biscuit and sausage gravy. g went for the steak and eggs special (it was either that or the omelette).
The place was kind of empty, so we expected the food to be out in a dizzying speed … we were wrong. So g and I made chit-chat while we looked around and wondered why we hadn’t quite gotten around to eating brunch at Meme sooner – after all – it was so close to where we live.
Before the food came out, we smelled the Brussels sprouts. Mmmmmmm. One of the fun benefits of an open kitchen. As our plates appeared, we dug right in. The Brussels sprouts were quite good. Not as well seasoned as the ones we’ve had at Barbuzzo, but that’s likely because the nice piece of breaded-and-friend bacon was sitting next to it. Ahhh. Brussels sprouts and bacon. It’d be hard for this dish to not be successful. The bottom of the bacon was a little tough (I’m not sure why), but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t chew through, so I wasn’t complaining.
Unfortunately, that’s where the deliciousness died and my mental complaining began … The sausage gravy I had was fine, but it was no better than any standard sausage gravy that any diner in South Jersey could pull off. Furthermore, kp’s gravy put this one to shame. Bigtime. Yes, he is our resident expert of “the South”, but his access to equipment and ingredients has to be less than Meme – and Meme couldn’t quite muster the flavors to surpass him. And then the biscuit … it was about one notch above a Pillsbury Grands biscuit, which puts it squarely at “mediocre” in my book (I’m sorry if everyone loves Pillsbury Grands biscuits – they’re just not as good as the cinnamon rolls). So why am I dissing the biscuits? Well, to be honest, it just left me puzzled. Where’s the flavor? Where’s the flakiness? Where’s the buttery moist center? None to be found.
g’s steak was not much better in terms of taste … or execution … or appearance. First off, it tasted like cow. That’s it. It was clearly underseasoned and wasn’t accompanied by any pan sauces or drippings or anything to suggest that the chef did anything more to it than take it out of the fridge and stick it on the grill. And it showed just by looking at the poor piece of NY strip – it wasn’t that dark caramel-colored brown that steaks normally get, rather, an anemic, acholic brown (not a typo) – very weird. And then the execution: the thick part was way undercooked. This was surprising. You see, g and I routinely order our steaks medium at restaurants until we trust that they can execute steaks consistently enough to pull off a medium rare … here’s a prime example of a failure: g’s medium steak was downright rare at the thickest part. Fortunately, by the time she got to that part, she had had enough of the steak so we weren’t going to go through the hassle of having to send it back to get it cooked a little more. (As a sidenote, I wonder if you could send back a steak because it tastes boring?) At the end of the meal, g wished she had ordered the omelette (which we saw go out to another table, but really, even that looked like an omelette we could have made at home). Of course, she’s not so rude as to admit such a thing to another person out loud, but I saw it in her eyes.
g says: I feel compelled to step in here for a moment and express how very disappointing my dish was. First of all, steak and eggs was one of the -specials- of the day, which led me to believe that it would be aptly named. t described the steak already, but I must also admit that the other items on my plate were pretty sub-par as well. The potatoes were underseasoned, and the fried egg was gross. That’s right. The yolk was cooked enough that it was no longer runny, yet the white was half rubbery and half a clear/gooey/snot-like mess. Oh, and also unseasoned.
It’s funny – when our server delivered our food, she asked me if I needed ketchup or hot sauce for my meal. I responded with my usual “no thank you,” as I expected that the chef would have seasoned everything to his liking. Perhaps I should have taken her up on her offer… End note.
t says: Conclusion … Meme’s breakfast was kind of “meh” – we might try the Brussels sprouts if we absolutely had to go back. I sure hope that dinner is far more spectacular, especially given the praise that Meme got from Philly mag and our friends. But for brunch, we’re probably not going back voluntarily. Sorry Meme. We’d rather go to nearby Sandy’s, where there is absolutely no intention of trying to do anything “special” – just plain homemade food. At least that way, we get what we expect (well, unless you order the “hot Italian sausage”, right sr?).
Carman’s Country Kitchen: Tied for First …
t says: We realized that we never wrote about Carman’s! My memory has faded, so this is less a “review”, and more of a summary.
About Carman’s … It’s this awesome brunch/breakfast spot that’s well south of South. Let me set the scene for you. The place is TINY. It seats about 12 people total. The place is NOT fancy. You drink out of mason jars, and there’s definitely some patio furniture in there. Some people might look around and question the cleanliness because everything looks old – not “vintage” – actual “old”. Then when you do get in there, there’s only four items on the “menu”, i.e. a chalkboard behind the counter …
Yet, people line up out the door on weekends.
Why? Two reasons. The first stems from the service – it’s very personable. Not fake-super-over-enthusiastic, but it feels real – like if your mom and dad opened up a tiny restaurant that they were trying to run, themselves. Servers will not only take your order, but ask your name as well. It’s not unusual for Carman, herself, to come out and chat with guests – she even took our order, once! (She was also doing something on an iPad beforehand – that was definitely weird to see such a modern piece of equipment in such an “old” place.) Also, I’ve heard, even though I’ve never experienced the wait, that they will serve you coffee outside as you wait for your table, looking longingly into the windows at the food.
Number two: It’s that delicious. We’ve only been there twice, but both times everything we ate was wonderful. The pancakes, no matter what Carman’s sprucing them up with (e.g. a fall-themed squash and cinnamon one, a summer-themed peach one) are fluffy and plentiful. No, they aren’t as thick or fluffy as Cochon‘s, but it’s almost made up for by the other things she adds in. g has had an egg dish once and a shrimp-and-grits dish once. The egg dish was fantastic, but I think the shrimp-and-grits changed her life; they were tied with the best grits she had ever had (those made by kp) – so that’s gotta say something. j even joined us once for some sort of weird hot-dog based dish with sauerkraut or something – I don’t know – I didn’t get a chance to investigate, because it was gone in like 90 seconds (maybe one day she’ll fill us in on what she ate) …
What kind of person would go to and enjoy Carman’s?
1) Someone who is totally ok with not knowing what’s on the menu until you show up, and ok with the fact that nothing’s going to be “plain” (e.g. there’s no plain short stack of hotcakes here – it’s going to have a lot of different stuff on top of it or in it).
2) Someone who doesn’t require fancy decor … or sturdy tables/chairs …
3) Someone looking for a plentiful and awesome brunch, even if it does require a trek and quite possibly a wait.
My advice … call ahead. If you call and they say it’s busy, there’s no point in going. BUT – if you call during a weekday, when they are undoubtedly not busy, you can make a pseudo-reservation by telling them your name and number of people and Carman might be able to hold a table for you. But if you do this – don’t be late. That’s just rude. And it’d be extremely awkward sitting in such a tiny place when the owner is right there and thinks you’re rude.
Finally … what would make Carman’s supplant Cochon for our #1 spot for breakfast? That’s tough. Opentable reservations? Closer proximity? Slightly more space so I can take more than 3 people with me? And I know there’s no way my mom would ever like it in there (she likes super clean places). Oh well – I can at least say that Carman’s is my favorite place for weekday breakfast (Cochon’s only open on Sunday)!
Cochon: Brunch Round 2
t says: g and I loved Cochon’s brunch the first time we went there. Simply put, I never had a better stack of pancakes – and I’ve had pancakes everywhere! It brings me great pain to admit that they even bested the pancakes made by our summer-time private chef, g’s grandfather. Of course, g’s grandfather does have some tricks up his sleeve (e.g. fresh blueberries, dark chocolate M&M’s). But now the question – is Cochon a one-trick pony, or can it do more? I guess they can also do “Eggs Cochon”, which g thought were very good – so maybe they’re a two-trick pony? It took us a while, but we gathered together some of adsz’s cast members and went out for brunch. Would Cochon live up to the hype [that I/we gave it]?
4/2010, Sunday 11am, Party of 6. Although we had reservations, it was clear that they were not needed: there was no line of people, only two tables had patrons, and, at first, there was only one hostess/waitress/server. I’m happy this place is still on the D-L.
We sat down with our chilled bottle of vodka (for the bloody mary mix!) and contemplated our options. I had the pancakes last time, and while I loved them, I knew that I had to try something new … for the sake of the blog … I felt somewhat obligated to take on the “other” classic breakfast starch: French toast. Cochon prepares theirs with a berry syrup and fresh whipped cream. It seemed like a winner. I was set. Perhaps I was too set – as I might have told the waitress that we were ready when we definitely were not … But the result was funny and fun! It involved a lot of “come back to me – do me last” among our castmates. Oops! Sorry guys! I couldn’t help it! I was excited!
When the French toast came to the table, all you could see were ?3?-?4? slices of bread surrounded by a pool of deep purple and hiding under a mound of off-white whipped cream. In retrospect, I realize now that it definitely wasn’t a dish that you’d look at and go, “wow, that’s pretty”, rather, “wow, that looks delicious”. And it smelled delicious, too; my nostrils were filled with the scent of berries and maple. I was happy. I offered everyone at the table an opportunity to taste my dish – because there wasn’t going to be any left when I was done. I gave them fair warning, waiting 6-8 seconds, and when no one raised his/her voice, I dove in. First, let’s talk about the sauce. That mixed berry syrup was ridiculous. It seriously was like I had jammed a bunch of berries in my mouth with some maple syrup – but it was smooth – no chunks. There also was minimal tartness, so I imagine that lots of sugar went into it – but it didn’t taste any sweeter than normal maple syrup. The whipped cream was decadent, just as it was last time on my pancakes – it made extra creamy Cool Whip look “light”. The toast, itself, was … good. It wasn’t fluffy like at Parc, but it wasn’t just plain white bread, either. It was an inbetween that had a nice crispness on the outside with some give in the middle … but there wasn’t anything remarkable about it. But, honestly, it could have been plain white toast and the berry syrup would have carried me through the meal until the very last bite. I now know the ultimate breakfast … Cochon’s berry syrup … on top of Cochon’s pancakes, with the caramelized banans and walnuts … I might ask them if they can do it next time I go …
g had the steak and eggs. She and I both agree that they were delicious! The steak with the red wine sauce was phenomenal – I’d say almost as good as Bibou’s hanger steak, and definitely the best steak-and-eggs breakfast we’ve had (meaning I liked it more than the fancy-fancy steak-and-eggs at Tinto).
k says: I liked the atmosphere and the crab – they were generous with the crab. But it wasn’t much of a frittata, though – it was more of a scramble.
t says: cm and d both ordered Eggs Cochon. I think they agreed that while the pig and sauce and eggs were all good – the brioche bread left something to be desired. It sopped up a lot of the grease from the meat and had a dry, crumbly texture. g remembered that the bread wasn’t her favorite part last time, either, but she must have forgotten about it because the rest was so good. cm and d still consumed the rest of their dish, so I think they at least were satisified. I didn’t try any of their food, so I can’t testify!
Finally, d’s friend ordered tomato pie. It looked and smelled delicious. Once again – I didn’t taste any, but if she wants to join the cast and lend her comments, we’d be happy to have her!
All-in-all, I think that while I thoroughly enjoyed eating brunch Cochon, both g and I are noting that there are some weaknesses. The brioche bread seems to be the biggest problem – however, g noted that they do serve English muffin with their steak and eggs, so perhaps a substitution can be requested if you ordered Eggs Cochon (actually, g prefers English muffin to any other type of buttery breakfast bread, anyways). That said, for the price and ease of getting in (and ease of finding parking in the area on a Sunday morning), Cochon continues to be one of my favorite places to go. Now all we need to do is try out some of their more lunch-esque items!
LATER …
Cochon has swapped out the brioche in the Eggs Cochon for “pancetta bread“. Two words: Holy Crap.
Cochon: Philly’s Best Pancake?
t says: Ok, those are some big words in the title, but we have reason to believe that Cochon might serve the best brunch in the city. Now, we’ve never been to “fancy” brunch eateries, like LaCroix or Fountain Restaurant, but we have been to some pretty good small[er] places that put some nice twists on brunch, like Sabrina’s, Carman’s, Slate, Tinto, Farmicia, Mixto, and Day by Day. Palumbo’s Grill (may it rest in peace) did an awesome brunch – it was cheap and tasty. Carman’s is similarly priced and delicious, with a little more innovation, but good luck getting a seat (and I sometimes wonder about that kitchen’s cleanliness)! Sabrina’s also does a good job, especially the Art Museum location that is far easier to get into – but I haven’t been blown away every time. As you can see, I’m very picky about what I want in a brunchery. I want reservations, friendly service, delicious food, ample servings, and a reasonable price. It seems that as food quality and quantity goes up, it’s harder to find it cheap (e.g. Tinto) or not packed (e.g. Carman’s, Sabrina’s). And, while I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad brunch in Philly, there just hasn’t been a place that did everything right. Palumbo’s was the closest. Cochon is my new frontrunner.
The first best part about Cochon’s brunch is that it is unknown – or at least, that’s what it seems (they’re well-known for dinner – we still have not had a pork dish to rival that pork shoulder special they had when we went – it was insane). Their brunch starts at 11 (and that’s when our reservation was for). We arrived at 10:50. There was no crowd. There was no line. Only one two-seater table had patrons in it (I guess the hostess didn’t have a problem with letting a couple people in early). This alone was a breath of fresh air. We took a walk around the neighborhood to kill some time – it was a beautiful day! They seated us the moment we walked in, and we ordered some tea. The selection wasn’t huge or exotic – there was no “French Breakfast Tea” like at Parc, but for me, any black tea (which I purposely over-steep) is fine for a nice “rustic” breakfast. Maybe other foodies will want more of a selection. As far as a “crowd” – we never really saw one! Even by the time we left, there were still open tables! How weird!
As the menu stared back at me, I was faced with a major conundrum: there was no way that I could taste everything I wanted at this one meal. The egg dishes all sounded fantastic. They had French toast and pancakes (the age-old battle of the breakfast breads). Then they had pizzas (?is it a French pizza? a traditional pizza? no idea!) including one that had brie cheese, caramelized onion, and pear. Then they had what I could only imagine were sandwiches of smoked meats, including ribs, short ribs, etc. It was not fair.
I ended up going for the pancakes – I needed to test their version of a classic (I’m the bad cop, remember?). They came to the table in this round glazed earthenware dish that fit the pancakes just perfectly and were topped with caramelized bananas and walnuts in some sort of syrup. And there was a healthy dollop of cream. They were large and looked fantastic – but nothing looked obviously different than something you might find elsewhere. Then I ate my first bite. Holy … Crap … !! The banana was soft-but-not-mushy and played beautifully with the walnuts. But the heroes of the dish were the pancakes. They had a deep dark color – it was almost like they looked over-cooked, but trust me, they weren’t. They had a nice “crisp-ness” to the outside, followed by the softest, fluffiest interior I have ever seen. And they were super-thick! It was luscious like cake, but floppy like a pancake. Now, I hate the idea of whipping out cameras at restaurants to take pictures of food for the sake of showing everyone else what it looks like – it just feels tacky. It’s clear that I don’t have a problem photographing my own stuff in my own house. But, to be honest, I’d hate it if someone showed up at my workplace and started photographing what I was doing without my expressed permission (wow – they’d be bored out of their mind if they did). Furthermore, I’d be super-weirded out if someone I invited to my dinner party starting photographing my food without asking. But I guess some might feel entitled to do so because the food becomes theirs, as they are paying for it? I don’t know – right or wrong, it just makes me feel awkward. BUT … this one time … I did the unthinkable and asked g for her iPhone. I had to take a picture of the pancakes because no one would believe just how fluffy they are without evidence …
That fork is a normal size fork!
I realize that these pancakes were technically simple – a lot of places can put together banana, walnut, and pancakes. I’m not even a huge fan of banana-walnut things (e.g. I’ll pick blueberry muffins over banana-walnut every time). But these were the best pancakes I’ve ever had. It definitely had less to do with their choice of ingredients and more to do with cookery. If I knew how to make pancakes like that, I’d never eat out for breakfast again … (I’d also open up a pancake shop).
What’d g order? Here she goes …
g says: Apologies that there are no pretty photos of the Eggs Cochon that I ordered… I dug into my plate so quickly, the dish looked a mess and I was halfway through by the time t decided to shoot our meal. Maybe next time I’ll wait for the photo op, but don’t count on it! My dish was an interesting take on eggs benedict – there were 2 poached eggs over a slice of toasted brioche, chunks of roasted suckling pig, and a drizzling of hollandaise sauce, alongside perfectly-spiced home fries. It was incredible, and if there weren’t so many other tempting items on the menu that I am dying to try, I would absolutely order it on every visit! Thank you, Cochon, for another lovely time — our brunch was the perfect start to a lovely Sunday!
t says: The final best part – the entire breakfast, for two people, was under $31. So, for less than the price of one restaurant week meal, both of us ate until completely stuffed. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t finish my entire plate, as much as I wanted to – and I was still a little uncomfortable trying to walk home. Even g had a little leftover (but not enough to bring home).
Conclusion: The lack of a crowd makes me suspicious – was our meal a fluke? This, combined with how many things we still want to try on their menu means only one thing: we will be going back. Forget just “going back” – g and I started staking out rental properties nearby to see if we could live within walking distance (seriously)! The food was ample, the price was right (maybe $2-3 more expensive than Sabrina’s – but they don’t have the “normal” stuff that Sabrina’s has, like “2 eggs any style” … well, they do, but not without including house-made sausage and bacon), and the seating is not super-cramped; I might even consider bringing my parents there! The way we figure it, we have 9 months or so until Philly magazine tells everyone else how great brunch is here (or maybe they already have and no one read it – but remember – you read it here first), and then it’ll be so booked you can’t get in. Although I warn you – g and I have booked a table for every Sunday possible for a ridiculous amount of time into the future … Let us know if you want in.
LATER …
t says: We went back to Cochon today, and I ordered the pancakes. Yep – absolutely as delicious as I remember – and still super-thick! Actually – it was so much that I couldn’t finish it. So I brought some home … and measured it … right before I ate it.
The ruler and pancake are the same exact distance from the camera lens ...
That’s right – it is a bit over an inch tall! And that’s for ONE pancake! They serve you two!
after dinner sneeze 