Posts Tagged ‘BYO’
Fond keeps killing it
t says: A gaggle of peeps went to Fond recently. I was slated to go, however, felt a bit under the weather, so the other 7 had to go on without me. Fortunately, a and v and g paid attention and reported back … (but took no pictures …)
August 2012, Friday Dinner, Party of 7.
g says: The crudo was the best crudo they’ve ever made! And I had the beef … it was delicious as always.
a says: We had three appetizers. The foie has no equals, and it was somehow made even better by the lemon-ricotta. (Note to Fond: Where can I find this stuff?) The speck wrapped shrimp was OK, though I was warned by Steve (t explains: Steve is Fond’s charming, bigger-than-life waiter) that it wouldn’t hold-up to the foie. I actually think the corn risotto under the shrimp was more interesting. (v jumps in: Actually, the risotto dish is second to the pigs feet at Bibou on v’s list of favorite dishes in Philly.) For my main, they do the best skate wing I’ve ever had, but I don’t know I’ve had it anywhere else. Whatever, it rocks. v’s spanish octopus had good texture and a lot of flavor, and not surprisingly, she wasn’t sharing much. They accommodated v and I’s sharing of the cheesecake by pre-splitting and serving two plates. The cheesecake and shortbread cookie went together perfectly, resulting in a lighter, summer dessert . The service was outstanding in that we are treated like family (or at least a second cousin). We appreciated the honesty about the menu and thoughtfulness when serving of the staff. We can’t wait to go back and share a few more shots with them in their new location. Hopefully they’ll still be on the house.
t says: Sure, there were more stories and more people who had impressions about the food, but because I haven’t interrogated them, personally, I don’t want to put down what I heard they might have said – that’d be heresay. The gist, however, is that the food continues to rock at Fond. Actually. If anything, it sounds like it’s even a little better than before, as the desserts which I kinda-sorta-poo-pooed last time were very well-received by the group. We’re happy for their success and wish them luck in the future … even if they do move to a new venue with a liquor license …
remembering lolita
t says: The other day, a and v and I decided that we wanted to go to a BYO for dinner. We originally thought of the semi-BYO GTC … but they were just too busy/cool to seat us before 9:30pm. We were hungry and didn’t want to wait. Kanella was booked ’til 10pm. So what were we to do? As we wandered towards 13th street, either a or v thought of Lolita. While normally a place I associate with BYOT (bring your own tequila), they also don’t object to wine, either. I hadn’t been in a super-long time (i.e. circa ?2006?), but I was game – it was threatening to rain so I was happy to get indoors pronto. So off we went …
July 2012, Saturday Dinner, Party of 3. g was said she couldn’t make it – she was busy in NYC. We came, we sat, we ordered, a made an ATM run, and we ate. Here’s the dillio (sans pictures) …
a says:
-Tequila-Lime Smoked Salmon Tostaditas: I thought this was the best “bite” of the night. The salmon was very good and went better with the fresh veggies/fruit than I expected. The crisp of the tostada added another layer.
-Tamal De Humberto Con Huitlacoche, Pollo Y Mole Rojo: A crowd pleaser that has been on the menu for as long as I can remember. Well described as comfort food. The best part is soaking up the remaining sauce with the masa “hiding” at the bottom of the tamal.
-Carne Asada A La Lolita – Described as the best dish on the menu and I can say it is definitely a winner. The beef was cooked perfectly, had a tiny amount of heat, a nice cumin bite, and was cut nicely by the guacamole. I didn’t love the fried yuca “fingers” that provided the steak’s base but the sauce and plantain chip paired well. This is a very solid dish but I have the underlying feeling that something is missing.
-Vaca Con Budin De Papas – t thinks he won (t interjects: I don’t “think” I wont – I know I won …), and I would tend to agree (t boasts: Buzinga!). This dish had some great flavor (t agrees: Yea – it was a surprisingly well glazed, nice-and-tender hunk of meat – highly recommended!).
-Enchiladas Verdes Con Portobello Enchipotlados – v went vegetarian and was not disappointed… v jumps in: On my dish… the sauce was light…not creamy crap that most Mexican restaurants pile on dishes. The portobello mushrooms were fresh and flavorful. t echoes: Yea – it felt some comforting, but it didn’t feel “heavy” – quite nice!
back to a:
-Tres Leches De Coco, Chocolate Y Nueces – One of the best desserts in the city. If you haven’t had tres leches or love it, get there soon and save room for this. With a cafecito, this can’t be beat.
-Budin De Con Chocolate, Canela Y Nueces – An interesting take on bread pudding, this was solid but not knock-your-socks-off. Though there was no rum listed in the dish, I enjoyed what I thought was a rum-like quality. The tres leches is better but I still kept coming back to this for another bite. (v suggests: Eat the bread pudding when you are having a bad day!)
-The wines: We brought one red and one white – both that we had were solid, cut-above-the-rest table wines. The red was CMS (Hedges Family blah blah) and was a nice blend from Washington that makes no attempt at being complex. The Cabernet (C) gives it a cola punch, Merlot (M) good fruit, and Syrah (s) spice and richness. Take this to a dinner when you know there will be red meat but not much else. t, as become his M.O. of late, went for the esoteric. t pontificates: Yes – I brought this white pinot noir from Italy, inspired by a white pinot noir that we had in Oregon. It wasn’t sock-rockingly good, especially when compared to Erath’s, but it was fine. It had a Chardonnay richness without being Chardonnay. It was a good way to prepare us for our last bottle of that Erath sitting in my cellar – it’ll be making an appearance soon!
In all, I think that Lolita had some surprisingly-good food – it was better than I remember! True, it doesn’t get a ton of love in the press nowadays, but I’m happy that a and v have convinced me to put it back on my radar. If you haven’t been to Lolita recently, definitely give it a whirl – it’ll make you forget all about your previous reservation at GTC …
a cross between Tiffin and a night club …
t says: g and I love Indian food – or at least – we think we do. It all started when we first had chicken korma at Tamber’s/”Nifty Fifties” in Baltimore. While probably not the most authentic example of Indian food, we were hooked, and ate there (or did take-out) quite frequently. Now that we live in Philadelphia, our favorites for Indian are Ekta and Tiffin, both of which deliver (of which Ekta is probably the better of the two). As far as Indian restaurants go, however, we just haven’t quite found one we like (although I have to confess that we haven’t been to many). Bindi has long since closed (the owners citing lack of interest in Indian food as the primary cause) despite smn and dz liking it – sorry guys! So now enter Tashan, an upscale Indian dining venue owned by the same guy in charge of Tiffin. His shtick: “modern Indian cuisine”. His location: some building on Broad south of South street. His menu: kind of pricey. Nevertheless, at least one person likes it (although I disprove of the accusatory tone he adopts in his post). Fortunately, kp also felt that the food was good, having been there for multiple happy hours. We figured, “well, kp is Indian, and he cooks extremely well, so if he says it’s good, then it’s gotta be good” … but we still just never got around to it … until now: I saw that Mondays are BYO nights at Tashan. Boom. Done. We made a reservation (even though the hostess initially messed up and denied BYO Mondays – she and her manager both called back to confirm its existence) and ventured to Bella Vista (sadly it wasn’t an FTC meeting, as a and v were busy preparing for a trip) …
June 2012, Monday Dinner, Party of 3. We’ll try to keep it short. First, the setting: it’s kind of huge! There’s a ton of space – this is no small BYO for sure. It’s also evident that someone spent a lot of money, time, and effort trying really really hard to make this place cool/hip. The result is a kind of like what would happen if you put a restaurant in a space that was meant for a night club. It’s just trying so hard to be cool, but to be honest, it’s not like anything in there is actually cool – and that’s coming from me, who is pretty much a sucker for anything sleek/modern (that, and I still think that Adidas samba sneakers are cool). Sorry Tashan, I just don’t think that all of those renovations were worth it …
The service could also use some improvement. The waiter was very well-mannered and pleasant, but his actual serving performance was straight-up bad. He’d say that he was bringing wine glasses but not bring them until 10-15 minutes later. He’d say that he was bringing the wine, but not until 10-15 minutes later. The pacing of the meal was all over the place (25 minutes before our orders were even taken, and then a bizarre 25 minute gap after apps). At least he had a winning smile to go along with his enthusiasm for “his favorite dishes” when we asked his opinion. My advice: is you’re going to say you’re going to do something, then actually do it.
And now on to the real matter at hand: the food. I can say that everything was at least “good” … which isn’t bad (actually, I’d say that every dish but one was “very good”)! Indian food can be very hit-or-miss for me depending on the level of spice and the level of cream/fat in the dishes. To be blunt – I’m not a fan of dishes so spicy that I can’t taste anything or dishes so rich that my tongue can’t clear the hydrophobic coat. Tashan had none of those problems.
The best dish of the night was probably the lamb “lollipops” (that’s our name for them, not Tashan’s):
it doesn’t look appetizing in the photo, but trust me – it’s ridiculous
The lamb was impossibly tender and smothered in a flavorful combo of spices that I’m sure I’ll never be able to parse. The “green stuff” was a lively addition. (Actually, I went so far as to even say out loud, “damn, there’s just no way I could do this at home!” kp smiled, but didn’t say much. This was kp being coy. I called him out on it, asking him directly if he could cook a lamb like this. He pretended to think for a few seconds before admitting that he was sure that he could. Result: FTC at kp’s before the summer is up – Battle Rack of Lamb. Stay tuned!) Nevertheless, the three of us enjoyed our lamb, deciding that they are a must-order for the future.
Butter Chicken and Saag Paneer!
When g and I try a new place for Indian, we stick with some basics to really test ’em. Enter the Butter Chicken and Saag Paneer you see above. We’ve had these dishes from Ekta and Tiffin (as noted in the face-off linked to above), ultimately deciding that Ekta was the winner. I have to say that Tashan’s are probably tied with Ekta. They’re not as boldly flavored as Ekta’s, but really allow the underlying components to stand out – there’s a certain amount of subtlety there that kept me coming back for more. If you want spice and wiz-bang, stick with Ekta, but if you want to taste something a little more elegant (as “elegant” as spinach/paneer or tomato are), go for Tashan.
We did try other dishes (the sausage was fantastic! – but very spicy), which showed us that chef knows how to cook. The only miss of the evening was the goat cheese taftaan – it was interesting, but not in a good way, rather, an “overly fussy, why is this so hard to eat, and why does it taste like the ingredients don’t really jive together” way. I’d avoid it in future outings.
Ultimately, the food is a nice mix of traditional Indian and not-so-traditional Indian, with both approaches yielding delicious dishes. As a result, I think that Sheehan was right: Tashan is definitely one of the best restaurants that we’re not going to (along with Cochon). However, unlike Cochon, Tashan has real, legitimate reasons for people to not want to go (while we still can’t figure out why Cochon isn’t getting as much love as it used to) … Tashan’s service needs some help. Furthermore, we foresee that the location is going to be a problem, indeed. Passers-by in that neighborhood aren’t exactly the type to drop that kind of money (i.e. it’s not Rittenhouse), which means that they’d probably like to be a destination dining establishment – but do they have the chops for that? I think of the places that we go out of our way to go, and I realize that Tashan just doesn’t have the outrageous food like Bibou/Fond, the friendliness and ridiculous desserts/cheese of Talula’s Garden, the intimate BYO feel (and BYO price-tag) of Melograno/Mercato/Modo Mio. And, unlike Jamonera and Barbuzzo, this atmosphere is actually not hip/cool, no matter how many dark interior finishes you put in there. So what’s it gonna do? kp is going to keep on going for happy hour, hoping that his efforts alone can keep them from going under. As for me, I’ll go if other suggest it, but I wasn’t so blown away that I’m rushing back (well – maybe on a BYO night …). I hope for their sake that they find something that keeps them afloat – some kind of off-the-hook dish (the lamb was good, but it’s not Bibou pig’s foot) or special dining events or something. We wish them the best of luck, though – it would be tough for Philly to lose yet another “upscale Indian” place.
mch says: Ditto on Tashan. Service was “meh”. We were definitely impressed by some of the appetizers. The quail was tasty and unexpected since not traditionally what I think of as Indian. Main courses to us seemed fine – but not necessarily better than a neighborhood Indian place. If we went back, we might just order appetizers and naan. We’ll probably go back to try it again at some point.
Chloe and Wedge+Fig make us smile
t says: continuing the a + v dinner series …
a says: First, Chloe …
We’ve been a fan of Chloe for awhile and visit it every few months… if they decide to open. We’ve also wanted to bring my parents there since it is convenient and delicious. Everything came together a few weeks ago for what was our best meal there, yet. It’s no wonder they have lasted this long (over 10 years) and earned a reputation as Old City’s best bistro.
April 2012, Friday Dinner, Party of 4. We ordered almost exclusively from the specials menu which mainly consisted of appetizers and small plates. We find the appetizers to be stronger at Chloe, plus we get to try more items. Standouts included a well executed potato leak soup that had great potato flavor without any mealiness. The leak could have been more pronounced and the Vichyssoise at GTC still owns the top spot for potato based soups. (side note to GTC: Why, oh why, did you take this off the lunch menu? [g interjects from nowhere: Yea! The first time I noticed it wasn’t on the menu, I was SO sad! t joins in: She was almost in tears … g fights back: Shut up!]) A luscious gnocchi in a venison and pork ragu hit all the right notes along with my entree, halibut with a potato, bacon, and lobster hash – I’m pretty sure that’s all the “bait” you can fit in one cohesive dish. I’d say this is one of my favorite entrees from the past few months though nothing about it was nuanced, just damn satisfying. v’s salad with grapefruit, avocado, and fennel was fresh, interesting, and more subtle than the other dishes. If you find yourself in Old City, consider Chloe for inventive, modern American cuisine… just pray they’re open. (n.b. They do not take reservations and are byob.)
Next, Wedge + Fig … x 2 …
April 2012, Brunch, Party of 4. Still one of the best places to enjoy a bottle of wine (byob) while enjoying the outdoors. We went with the cheese board special of the day which introduced us to some interesting takes on old standards. I had the “Jawn” sandwich (butter-fried turkey, pork roll, cheddar, jalepeño-dijon aioli, and red onion on pretzel bread) and can honestly say it was that jawn: A great take on what makes a sandwich uniquely Philly while not being heavy or overpowering. The saltiness of the pretzel bread is a nice touch but I think the pork roll could have had more oomph.
v takes over from here: May 2012, Brunch, Party of 3. On our most recent visit, the service continues to improve as does the decor, chairs, and most importantly, the food. The portion sizes are a bit bigger than when the restaurant first opened. As temperatures continue to rise, Wedge + Fig has made some subtle changes to ensure comfort in the back garden. This is one of the quietest, most relaxing places in Philadelphia. The sound of the small fountain and the high walls block any ambient noise that may come from the bustle of the city. As for the food, it just keeps getting better and more satisfying. I ordered my favorite brunch dish at Wedge + Fig, the lox and cream cheese. It is one of freshest, lightest versions of this classic I’ve had at any restaurant. Not surprisingly, a ordered the panini of the day (PoD) – dubbed the “John Wayne” – buttermilk blue cheese, ham, bacon, fried egg, apples, and whole grain mustard on rustic white bread. This was one helluva breakfast sandwich, not for the faint of heart. The cheese was extremely creamy, the apple cut the richness of the cheese, and the fried egg brought everything together. As always, we left Wedge+Fig content, happy, and above all, relaxed.
Meme: totally 70% worth it!
t says: A long time ago, Savored.com was running this promotion where you could make reservations at any of their affiliated restaurants for free (normally $10 a pop). So I did! At every restaurant I could see myself ever going to! One of the restaurants was Meme, a small New American place that’s so close to where we live that it takes me literally (yes, literally) less than 3 minutes to walk there. And yet, it was the one place that I felt I’d have to push g the hardest to go to …
Why? We went once a long time ago (pre-blog), when they first opened after kicking Melograno out. We brought drb along with some ’05 Bordeaux. While the food was “good” (drb had his first skate wing), we got the feeling that they were still finding their way. Overall, our meals were promising, but pricey. Then we heard that they were only BYO while waiting for their liquor license to come through, which was a bummer, because when it did, g and I never returned because then the food definitely wouldn’t justify the bill … well, that’s not completely true … we returned once … for brunch … and it was yucky. We don’t care what phillymag says, it was not good.
So now enter the new Meme. No, nothing’s changed in terms of who’s running it, rather, this Meme emanates a little whiff of despair – or at least I think it does. I feel this way for a few reasons. First, it’s often empty on weekday evenings (maybe a few tables occupied – or maybe we’re just not looking through the windows at the right time). Second, they returned to BYO. And finally, most recently, they’re now on Savored. Yikes! On the bright side, they do get a lot of PhillyMag press, so maybe that’ll keep ’em afloat.
After much pushing and pushing (g still had that horrid brunch on her brain), g finally acquiesced to a Thursday date night. It was 30% off, so we were looking forward to eating more cheaply than a “normal” date night.
April 2012, Thursday Dinner, Party of 2. We entered and the place was pretty much empty. There was one occupied table and that was it; it wasn’t particularly confidence-inspiring. Nevertheless, the hostess/waitress/server was very pleasant and offered us our choice of seats. We chose wisely and got the party started. Their menu is small, with something like 5 appetizers and 5 entrees, but it covers a wide range of offerings, from meats and fish to salads and bone marrow.
g and I made our selections: g went with the lambchop (whoa! g went with the lambchop? no “tuna crudo” or wimpy salad for her this time!) and I opted for the bone marrow. The waitress told us that it’d be 15 minutes for the bone marrow, and not to worry that we’d be “forgotten”. I appreciated that – I don’t like feeling forgotten.
We chomped on some bread and passed the time with the usual mix of chit-chat and gossip that married couples enjoy. Good times. Not too long later (I didn’t time them), our appetizers landed.
g’s app: lambchop, eggplant, cucumber concoction
I have to say that I was impressed with the size of g’s lambchop. Normally, when I think of lambchops as appetizers (or even as entrees!), I think of little dinky, wussy, lollipop-sized teasers. This one was quite substantial. I’ll let g say a few words …
g says: It was way bigger than I thought, and it was quite good!
back to t: g’s a little pressed for time right now (i.e. she has a real job, and I [kind of] don’t) so she’s a little short on words. She ate it all – so take that as evidence of its goodness. Moving on, allow me to present my appetizer:
t’s app: roasted bone barrow, herb concoction
I hadn’t had bone marrow since eating at Ad Hoc with k and cm some time ago. I was happy to get back on the wagon. Result: it was great!! It had good texture to it, spreading like bitter but still capable of holding together in your mouth. It tasted unctuous (as bone marrow should), with a smoky/roasted overtones. The accompanying herb mixture rounded out the flavors quite nicely. I also liked how Meme didn’t muck around with the bread, letting me focus on the subtleties of the bone marrow, itself. And for a measly $8 (pre-30%0off), I was more than satisfied with the size. Actually, I’m glad it wasn’t cheaper because then I might have ordered two …
After a nice showing on appetizers, g and I got down to business on the entrees. The first thing we noticed when they landed was the quantity: they weren’t holding back! These were legitimately sized portions! I thought maybe for Savored reservations they’d skimp on the entrees, but no, they pulled no punches.
t’s main: NY strip, salad with belu cheese, lentils, roasted onion
As I prepared myself mentally for my cow, I went to the lentils first. They were prepared well with a nice mix of bite and give. It definitely wasn’t the pig-infused bomb that Bibou serves, but at the very least had a good spice that I can’t put my finger on and a meatiness about it to make it seem like the lentils weren’t “just” an afterthought. Good for them! Then I went in for the steak. It was perfectly medium, had good seasoning (some might find it a little heavy-handed with the salt, but I liked it!), and possessed just the right amount of caramelization on the outside to give it some oomph. Once again – it’s not the profoundly-sauced masterpiece that Bibou has, but I was impressed none-the-less, as it was definitely a step above Parc and probably a hair (a very small, very fine hair) better than Cochon. The salad was a little cumbersome to eat (the leaves could have used one or two more passes with the knife), but added some nice bitterness and blue cheese funk to play with the steak. The onion was a little superfluous, but at the very least brought in some sweetness.
g’s main: pork, greenes, polenta, tomato
Now on to g’s dish, which I sampled extensively. I need to give you some backstory before continuing. You see, whenever we go to restaurants, I get the pork and she gets the steak. And very often, I end up wishing I had the cow. This time, we played the game a bit differently: g went with the pork so I went with steak. Now, keeping in mind that I was actually pretty happy with my dish, I was very envious of g’s dish. Her pork was a sizeable portion of well-cooked, well-seasoned (not as salty as my steak) pig that played oh-so-nicely with swiss chard. But the key was that tomato on top. It’s funny because g offered me some tomato and I turned it down, thinking “oh, it’s just another roasted tomato”. She persisted. She was right. This was no boring ol’ “gee-we-should-add-some-red-to-the-dish” tomato. This tomato meant business. The flavor was concentrated punch to the face that really brought out the pig. For me, the polenta was a little boring, but g seemed satisfied with its texture (I wanted a little more flavor … I don’t know of what, but something). Darn. I went with the steak and g still won.
And then there was dessert:
g & t dessert: strawberry shortcake
For dessert, we finished with the strawberry shortcake. Unfortunately, this dessert wasn’t as great as the rest of the food, but it wasn’t bad, either. The biscuit had nice texure, but little-to-no flavor. The strawberries were a bit mushy, reminding me more of the strawberry topping that ice cream shops have for ice cream than real strawberries. We did like the whipped cream, with a nice solid vanilla, creamy flavor. But don’t get me wrong – we did eat it all, so it’s not like we hated it.
In the end, g and I feel that Meme did a surprisingly good job. The food was simple – nothing we had was all that unusual or fussy or novel, but it was well-done for the most part, with some very tasty highlights. Furthermore, by the end of the meal, we were STUFFED. I’m glad we live so close because I could quickly get home and put on some pajamas. Also – the cost wasn’t bad. In total, the pre-Savored bill was around $77. After savored, it’s low 50’s, and then tack on a pre-Savored tip, and you’re mid-60’s. That’s cheaper than restaurant week! (And bonus savings: no cab fare! and BYO!!).
It was such a good deal that we returned two weeks later with dz and smn.
April 2012, Tuesday Dinner, Party of 4. I went with the bone marrow and pork T-bone and they were once again spot-on. It wasn’t a fluke the first time – chef can cook! (The T-bone was a little smaller this time around, but I was still stuffed by the end of the meal). g went with the salad appetizer (which was massive and had some potatoes in it, so it was very filling – dz had to help her out!) along with the pork T-bone. I was shocked when dz put forth some praise for the cod oregenata main that he had (dz isn’t picky, but I feel like for him to suggest that something tastes good without being prompted to do so should be considered an accolade). I don’t know if the beet salad or the salmon that smn had rocked her socks or anything (in the past, she and dz have only been “meh” on Meme), but maybe she’ll share an opinion when she reads this post.
In this humble writer’s opinion, Meme is absolutely worth the Savored price – we can see ourselves going back for weeknight dinner, easily. Now, is it worth the un-Savored price (i.e. going on the weekend)? That’s tough. Looking at only French and New American places, Meme is definitely not going to threaten Bibou. It’s not going to replace Fond. And the list of great BYO’s keeps going if we expand the scope to include other cuisines: Melograno, Koo Zee Doo, Modo Mio, etc. I think that the “fight” really comes down to Marigold Kitchen vs. Meme. It’s funny because I think the entrees are better here than at Marigold, but Marigold has all of those cool amuse bouches, so it’s more like an adventure! So weekend dinners will still be up in the air for us to consider going to Meme. Maybe it’ll be our go-to for some kind of “super-simple” nights? Maybe one of those Fridays when g and I are exhausted, we don’t have plans, we’re wearing boring clothes, and all we really want to do is drink good wine, but we want some properly cooked food to go with it (e.g. why drink a $30 bottle of wine with a $10 pizza?)? I guess that potentially could make Meme our “neighborhood joint”? Hmmmm … we’ll think about it …
“winning dinner” at cochon
t says: I’d like to take the time to introduce our latest cast member: alf. Hiya alf! So, lc and alf were in town visiting the other weekday so I was tasked with finding a dinner spot for the four of us. I had a few requirements:
1) Not expensive (entrees < $20)
2) BYO
3) Red wine compatible food (lc prefers red and I had a hankering for pinot noir)
4) Easy availability (i.e. last minute reservations on a Wednesday)
And while yes, there are plenty of such places in Philly, how many of them could do:
5) Guaranteed delicious
And with that, I knew what we had to do … We had to go to Cochon …
April 2012, Wednesday Dinner, Party of 4. Ahhh, Cochon. Comfortable, casual, homey, and oh-so-piggy. It’s one of adsz’s most under-rated restaurants – if only it was closer to where we lived, we’d be going all the time …
And so, with a bottle of pinot burning a hole in my “cellar” (i.e. the cardboard box underneath our wine fridge), we climbed into a cab and $10 later we were in Queen’s Village, ready for a much-scaled-down pigs-and-pinot feast. Interestingly, the place wasn’t that empty when we had arrived – a good sign because we’d hate for them to go under due to lack of business. Please readers – go to Cochon!
Now … down to business … g and I started with the gnocchi appetizer:
gnocchi + peas + crab + bacon + ?some kind of sauce?
Our appetizer was pretty good overall. The cream sauce with the peas, crab, and bacon was wonderful, but the gnocchi were a little flawed. I feel like they were trying to go for a super-uber-volatile gnocchi like at Vetri, but alas, the pasta came up crumbly instead of whipped/creamy/cloud-like. But don’t take this as “bad” gnocchi, as I assure you that had there been an entire plate of it, I would have been a happy camper to have had it for an entree.
lc’s appetizer, for which I do not have a picture of, was the fried oysters. I need to confess that when she first ordered them, I was hoping that she wouldn’t regret it, because seriously, it’s “fried oysters” – how good could it be? Answer: DAMN GOOD! In my opinion (not that I’m a fried oyster connoisseur, as I’ve had it only a handful of times), these were perfect. The meat was just cooked on the inside and it had a tissue-paper-light crispy breading on the outside. It was as close as one could get to eating a raw oyster … without it being raw. Consequently, Cochon has singly-handedly re-opened my eyes to the world of fried oysters (although now that I’ve said that, I’m sure I’ll be let down by the next 5 places I try it at).
My dish was a “special”:
pork shoulder + mustard crust + Brussels sprouts + lentils
The shoulder was beautifully prepared, with a deeply piggy flavor beautifully balanced with the mustard. The lentils were not quite Bibou-esque in flavor, but respectable in terms of texture. The Brussels sprouts were impressively charred on the outside, just how I like ’em (I think others should note how to do it). In the end, I felt that in the game of dinner, my dish was a winner for sure. So let’s look at the competition:
steak + fries
g went with the steak and fries (with the ubiquitous cochon aioli). The steak was cooked perfectly and well-seasoned. There weren’t any real “mis-steps, and it had some nice bonus smoky/grilled flavors. However, it’s not a very “complex” or “subtle” steak; if I could be sexist for a moment, I’d say this is a “man’s steak” for sure – straightforward, bold, meaty, no frills. Consequently, it wasn’t Bibou-good, but g was still happy with it.
pork tenderloin + dried cherries + nuts + Swiss chard + Israeli couscous
And now enter lc and alf’s main … They ordered a “special” pork tenderloin over swiss chard, nuts, dried cherries and some kind of reduction. The pork is the new most tender pork I’ve ever had (not including pork bellies, which is all fat, so it doesn’t count). Was it prepared sous vide? It sure tasted like it – but what do I know? It had playful sour cherries opposite earthy nuts. If my dish was like a down-and-dirty devil, there’s was the lively-and-cutesy angel. Two dramatically different takes on pig, for sure. I preferred mine, they preferred theirs. Counting lc and alf as one vote (it wouldn’t be fair to allow them to count as two votes), we looked to g to settle the argument. g proclaimed alf and lc the “winners”. No way! We asked the server for a second opinion – he sided with me. Obviously, I’m going to refuse to let lc and alf “win”, so I’m going to say that we co-won dinner.
As you can see, Cochon is still doing things beautifully. If you want meaty meats with pigs and steaks and fat and butter and friedness, then it’s really tough to top. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you might not find a whole lot here (although they technically do have a vegetarian option upon request). Similarly, those wanting a light-and-fit meal might be disappointed as well. But everyone else should be more-than-happy with Cochon’s offerings. And, between Cochon’s BYO-ness and Savored’s 30% off, going there is a pretty sweet deal, indeed. I hope they continue to get the love that they deserve.
Pierre Calmels is such a pimp.
t says: I’d like to know what you were thinking as you read the title of this post. Maybe you don’t know of Pierre Calmels, in which case, you might suspect that I’m talking about a character onsome sort of Jersey-Shore-meets-France crossover. It’s not. Sorry. (Actually … I’m not sorry.) For those of you who know that Pierre Calmels is one-half of the dynamic duo responsible for Bibou, a perennial favorite of adsz, maybe you’ve stumbled across this post thinking that I’m going to reveal some sort of sordid indiscretion he committed. It’s not. (And shame on you for thinking that Pierre could do something like that!?) So what is this post about? Quite simply, this post is here to further illustrate Pierre’s uncanny ability to make grown men cry and women swoon … through food.
March 2012, Friday Dinner, Party of 6. g and I were dining with a, v, and a’s parents. That’s right, it was time for us to “meet the folks” (g had already met them, but I had not). And, because a and his dad are real big into wine, I was super-excited about what kinds of wines were going to show up. They didn’t disappoint (more on that later).
Now, with so many adsz posts already dedicated to Bibou, we don’t want to go into such great detail about ever dish again. Yes, the pig’s feet rendered v speechless. Yes, g got the steak again and had no regrets. The escargots were still ridiculous. a and v’s parents had the fish entrees – maybe they’ll have a word or two to say in the comments!
But let’s talk about me – after all, that’s what I do best. After tackling my first ever plate of frog’s legs with g (that’s right – g went for frog’s legs … and liked it!!), I wondered if I was going to regret going for the “special” instead of the steak or the pig’s foot, both of which are my faves. They’re just both so consistently delicious! Had I made a mistake?! … And just when I thought Bibou couldn’t possibly be more delicious …
Pierre goes and does something like this …
... and totally crushes it.
What you see in the above pic is a duo of pork. I eschewed the pig’s foot and the beef in favor of this “special” which included [essentially] a T-bone of pork and a slab of pork belly. Yes, there were greens and a root puree. But I need to draw focus to the pork belly. Now, my favorite pork belly has long been Lee Styer’s at Fond. This one is nothing like Lee’s. There’s no dense crust. The portion is fairly petite. But the flavor! O! M! G! (Don’t you love it when I do that?) The flavor! The rich fat disintegrates in your mouth instantaneously, letting out a deeply piggy flavor framed in such a wonderful sweetness, but not in a cloying way. And it just keeps going. I was brought to silence, and, had I had enough wine, perhaps a single tear could have escaped from my eye. It was so beautiful. It was like seeing a baby being born (except that I don’t proceed to eat the baby). And in that instant, Pierre stole the crown from Lee. It. Was. Epic.
The best part was that when I told the server about how delicious the belly was, he said, “that’s great! you should also go to Fond and try theirs”. I told him that I did and that Pierre’s was superior. He was impressed. And then Pierre himself came around. He did his usual super-humble-Pierre routine, where he thanks you, tilts his head, and flashes his bashful smile, as if he just “doesn’t know how it happened”. He said something like, “the secret’s in the pig … we get it from <insert source here – I couldn’t hear him>” Sorry Pierre. That’s bull$h!t. And you know it. Unless you have some sort of genetically engineered pig that eats chocolate and craps cinnamon buns, I can only conclude one of the three possible explanations:
1) You are in possession of some kind of magic wand and aren’t afraid to use it.
2) You are straight-up lacing your food with some kind of French cocaine
3) You are a brilliant chef.
Regardless, it’s more than just the pig. And so, for refusing to rest on your laurels and continuing to produce entrees that repeatedly blow us away, we salute you.
(And yes, we salute Charlotte and the rest of the Bibou staff as well … they are top-notch, too!)
a says: Pork belly was AAAAAAAamazing. The pig’s foot and steak was great, as always. Fish dishes were good but didn’t have enough to remember major themes.
after dinner sneeze 