Posts Tagged ‘BYO’
Koo Zee Doo: Wonderful Anti-Tapas
t says: Koo Zee Doo is a Portuguese BYOB in Northern Liberties. LaBan gave them three bells. It received four James Beard nominations (and was a semifinalist for “best new restaurant” – although I guess was eliminated as now Bibou is the only remaining Philadelphia restaurant in the category). When I read it was family style – a concept that I had not heard in Philadelphia outside of Chinatown and Italian restuarants – we had to go. Because maybe our own families would not appreciate Portuguese food (but they’d probably like family style), we decided to invite the third member of our own “Finer Things Club”: kp. Having just returned from his world travels, kp was totally down for this March FTC meeting.
3/2010, Friday 8:45pm, Party of 3. Our cab pulled up right on time. While there was a little crowd of people waiting to be seated, we walked right in and were seated very-nearly-immediately (they just had to put settings down on our table). Our server was very enthusiastic and explained that everything was served family style and that their entrees were the equivalent of 1.5 “normal” entrees. He then recommended getting three appetizers and 2 entrees for the three of us; my math is a little fuzzy, but that sounded like a lot of food. He also recommended the piri piri shrimp, but, after kp exclaimed how excited he was to see piri piri on the menu (kp makes a mean piri piri), the waiter said “well, this is our version.” As a result, we ignored all of his recommendations and ordered the following: Goat’s Cheese, Salt Cod and Chickpea Salad, Baked Duck Rice, and Pork & Clams. We were going to order more if necessary – I forget what the backups were, but they definitely weren’t necessary …
Before we start, I do want to say that we haven’t included kp’s thoughts on the food, yet – but if he wants, we’ll be happy to added this review at any time.
The bread came out with a dish of interesting yellow things. That’s right – “yellow things”. I have no idea what they were because I zoned out when the waiter was talking (a bean of some sort?), but you eat them in a manner similar to edamame (eat the insides, discard the skin). As other reviewers have said, the bread was quite tasty and worked well with the bean-like-things – but the bread didn’t really show off its true colors until the goat cheese and salad appetizers came to the table.
First, let me say that the apps were quite large! I don’t know how we’d fit a third app on the table had we wanted! The cheese was crumbly and light, kind of like ricotta in both texture and taste. Well, it didn’t taste like ricotta, as it was a richer cheese, but it definitely was not as nearly as goat-y as we expected. It was accompanied by some oil (with salt) that was very nice with the cheese (kp actually said out loud, “this cheese could use some salt” right before he stumbled upon the salted olive oil) as well as some honey and what looked like cubes of ?honeyed pears?. At first, the cheese was “ok” – but between the bread and the cheese, there was still something missing … but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Well, whatever the missing element was, it was hiding in our chickpea and cod salad. That salad was phenomenal. It was both simple and complicated. The chickpeas were accompanied by olives, pieces of tender cod, hardboiled egg, and what I think was broccoli rabe. It had the salt and sour that worked well the egg and chickpeas as well as the goat cheese from the other app. Put this together with the bread and to be honest, Actually, I was afraid that I’d be full after eating just that! And there were three of us!
Then came the entrees. As soon as they hit the table, my nose smelled delicious delicious pork – it was like the scent of good bacon – and bam! I was hungry again … The duck rice was closest to me, so I dove in. Holycrapitwasgood. The duck was so tenderly cooked (and we ordered it medium instead of medium rare!). It had a beautiful crust on the skin. In your mouth, you get the salt and fat followed by duck and the mild taste of the rice. I’ve never had a duck so good – although perhaps that’s not saying a lot because I haven’t sampled a ton of duck in my time. Perhaps it’s more impressive if I say that I’ve never had a bird so good [at a restaurant – it’s hard to compete with a brilliantly cooked Thanksgiving turkey] . This dish made me vow to order more duck. It was so good that the next morning, I got up and wished I had some more of that duck rice.
The Pork & Clams were served in an upside down roof tile and were mixed with what looked like “country potatoes” you’d get as a breakfast side. This dish was also excellent. A few of the first clams I had were a little over-cooked – but the rest were spot-on (I think the first few I had were tiny, so maybe that’s why they were a little over). Then the pieces of pork … the lovely pork. Each piece had a good crust on the outside but fell apart in your mouth to reveal tender meat on the inside. I will admit that the potatoes seemed a little out of place … until I looked at the shallow puddle of juices in the bottom of the tile. The potatoes were miniature sponges for the juices – duh! In any case, the main flavor of this dish was “pork”. Yes, the clams were good, but pork was the clear star.
We were kind of full (g had started sneezing), but we just had to try dessert, too. One item intrigued me especially: chocolate salami. A complete dish of chocolate – how could I go wrong? Well, when it hit the table and it looked very … brown. There were some slices of chocolate salami (slices of chocolate ganache with crushed cookies) set in a rich chocolate ?mousse?, a chocolate-dipped chestnut-filled fig, and a cinnamon creme with a chocolate cracker with almonds. I was totally digging the quantity of chocolate … but you know what … it was disappointing! The salami was crumbly (I wish it were softer, like actual salami) and the cookie bits didn’t really have much taste that my unrefined palate could discern (and didn’t really add much texture, either). The rich chocolate sauce was good, but it really didn’t have anything to shine against b/c the whole dish was chocolate! I desperately wanted some salt or some citrus or some nuts – give me a kumquat like at Zahav! The cinnamon creme was only “good”. The almond-chocolate crisp and the fig were the best items in the dish, but only because they were able to bring in some flavors that could stand up to the chocolate monotony.
We were amazed when the bill arrived. Each person paid less than restaurant week prices ($35), and that’s with tax and tip!! Couple this with it being BYO and you have a great combination of ample, delicious food for a reasonable price! We’ll definitely go back – there are so many things on the menu! And because the portions are so big, it’s going to take some time to get through them. But you should consider avoiding the chocolate salami … unless you actually want to reach a point in your life when you say: “You know … that’s just too much chocolate …”.
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!
Melograno: Our Nearby “Go-To” for Italian
t says: Ah, Melograno. You’ve never given us a bad meal. You’re BYO, and you’re within walking distance, thus saving us cab fare. And your pastas … there’s just something about your pastas …
We’ve been to Melograno four times, and g and I alone have had 7 pasta dishes. The first time we went, I had a special of the day – a braised short rib pasta that was to die for – it actually was the reason why I had to find a recipe on how to cook short rib pasta at home! The third time we went there, g ordered another special of the day – a lamb ragu pasta – another genius dish (now I have to start cooking some lamb). And then Melograno sprinkles in those “weird” dishes – we once had a mushroom and pear “lasagna” as an appetizer (g says: actually, I think it was peach, not pear) – it was such a great idea and so close to perfection (the textures of the ingredients were a little mismatched – the pear [peach?] was a little lost).
But of course, we need to be fair … Melograno has had some issues. The cheese plate (which we also had the first time we went) was an atrocity – they need some cheese guidance up in there (and this is coming from a guy who knows absolutely nothing about cheese). We haven’t tried it since for fear that it hasn’t improved (but maybe it has – who knows!?) Also, they had a pasta carbonara on the menu that totally misled one of our pork-loving friends (their version used anchovies as the salty protein in lieu of pancetta) – on one hand it might have been his fault for not reading the menu – on the other hand, it could have been their fault for not printing in bold letters the lack of pig in the dish (someone’s gotta take the fall). Finally, the portion sizes are a bit small, which is definitely not helped by the fact that they serve their pastas in ridiculously large dishes, so anything seems small the moment it hits your table. Additionally, I firmly believe that they have somehow calculated exactly how much pasta it takes to fill someone up adequately and don’t give a single noodle more; I’ve never been hungry after eating there (but I’ve always had room for dessert – luckily Capo Giro is right there), but I’ve also never had leftovers (g has had leftovers once). While most are ok with not having leftovers, if you consider that other Italian BYOs are ~25% less expensive (e.g. La Viola) and give you a bit more food, you really have to ask yourself what you want out of a meal. Is the taste worth it?
We recently realized that we had not gone to Melograno in a while – with all of the new restaurants we’ve been trying, we had forgotten about the old goodies. So, what we needed was an excuse to go. Aha! People’s birthdays! Excellent excuse! We got together a party of people and looked forward to some good Italian …
2/2010, Sunday 5:30pm, Party of 7. We got together a party of 7 (there were some birthday friends among us) and headed out to Melograno at the geriatric time of 5:30pm – it’s the easiest way to book a table this large. The original reservation was for 9, but we had two last-minute cancellations – it was an opportunity to see if they could roll with the punches (although I guess a real challenge would have been reserving 7 seats and then showing up with 9 people). The hostess (actually – I think she’s one of the owners?) looked at me kind of funny for a few seconds after I told her that we needed to change the number, but after contemplating what I was saying, she said that she thought it would be fine. She left to go adjust our table (they had just pushed together a bunch of tables along a wall for us, so she just separated a two-topper) and was back in a flash to let us know that, if we wanted, we could be seated before the rest of our party arrived. We were happy to hear this, as we’re so “over” restaurants making parties wait until everyone’s shown up when it’s clear the table’s ready, and moved to colonize our own little territory of the restaurant. It’s a good thing we did – 2 of our party didn’t show up ’til 6 (but we still love them).
We ordered an antipasto plate for the table – it was fun to pick at. Overall, it was a solid antipasto with a selection of grilled vegetables (e.g. eggplant) cured meats, mozzarella, and pickled vegetables (g especially liked the celery). Personally, I think Mercato does it better (theirs is a little more “rustic” – I still remember the grilled peppers – mmmm), as does Vetri (duh), but Melograno’s wasn’t bad at all – definitely leagues ahead of La Viola.
I ordered the pasta carbonara. WHAT? Pasta carbonara? Did I not just whine and complain about this dish in the second paragraph? Yes, I did. But this time was different. While I was browsing the menu, I noticed that Melograno had swapped out the anchovies for pancetta in their pasta carbonara (too many fooled customers?). It was a sign – they were begging for a chance at redemption. I knew I had to try it – that and there was no lamb pasta of the day. When it came to my plate, it looked plain – a neat clump of off-white spaghetti against a large white bowl. My eyes were not amused. But then I ate it. It was the second best carbonara I’ve ever had (the first best was made by our pork-loving friend that I mentioned above – that’s right, a home chef still holds the title). Melograno’s pasta was perfectly cooked, there was just enough sauce to cover the noodles, and the bits of pancetta were nice little meaty surprises. It was a very rich dish, so, in retrospect, I’m happy there was only as much as there was – if there was any more, I would have eaten it and been unable to move.
k was also at our meal with us. A Melograno virgin, she maximized the number of things she’d taste by ordering two appetizers as dinner. Her first was the roasted portobello, which I sampled. It tasted quite good – a little more umph than just a mushroom, but I didn’t hear her say “holy crap”, which I’m pretty sure I’ve heard her exclaim about food in the past. For her second, right before she ordered, we had an interesting discussion:
k: What is carpaccio?
t: It’s really thinly sliced raw meat.
k: But this says pear carpaccio …
t: Oh … ummm … really thinly sliced pear? or are they going to hide meat somewhere?
It turns out that it’s thinly sliced pear, an aged balsamic, and micro-greens. k liked that dish as well, as [I feel that] she’s a huge fan of a good aged balsamic. I kind of wished I had seen that on the menu because it definitely seems like something I’d order.
d was also at our meal. After seeing him at this dinner, I can say with complete confidence that he has a food obsession, which is surprising because he normally “keeps it real” and thus seems like he’d be immune to crushes, obsessions, and fetishes. I figured he would “like” a lot of things, and maybe even “love” some things – but no – these terms cannot even begin to describe the affection he has for Melograno’s pappardelle tartufe. This pasta dish seems simple on the menu. It has mushrooms (shiitake, button, and portobello), truffle oil, cheese, and walnuts. See? Simple. But, you know what – if there was a woman who could make this dish like Melograno (or maybe even only half as good), I’d bet he’d make her his wife … like, tomorrow. But you better act quickly, ladies – I hear he’s going to start trying to make it, himself …
g says: I can’t remember the name of my dish, but it was a spaghetti-like pasta with some olive oil, grated cheese, and fresh cracked black pepper. That’s all. And it was AMAZING! Sometimes I need something simple to satisfy my cravings for homemade italian – it resets my palate, bringing it back to a baseline standard for greatness.
Also, all that jazz about t being so picky-picky — you can take that with a grain of kosher salt because this place is certainly one of our favorites. It has delicious food, pleasant atmosphere, and plenty of space to breathe (not like many other tiny Philly BYOs which can cause claustrophobia). And their bathrooms are pretty darn nice, I must say. Bravo to them!
t says: In summary, Melograno did a fine job. Everyone seemed satisfied with how everything tasted – there really weren’t any complaints. I’m happy that pig is back in the carbonara and that they’re still experimenting with interesting appetizers (I guess they have a thing for pears?). I do wish that they would have a dish featuring their namesake, the pomegranate. Yes, they do have some in one of their salads (and I had a few seeds in my water – but no one else did – weird!), but I’m hoping that one day they have some sort of melograno appetizer that every first-time visitor just has to get. We had good friends and good food (and good service – I didn’t really notice them, so I assume they were good) – we had a great time. Nevertheless, we didn’t stick around for dessert – Capo Giro is less than half-a-block away.
after dinner sneeze 