Posts Tagged ‘Cochon’
Hog Heaven: Cochon’s Pork Belly and GTC’s Bacon Maple Apple Pie
t says: We went to Cochon for dinner this past weekend, and it was great! I’m not in the mood to do a proper full-on post which includes the context of the visit and super-long descriptions, so let’s go straight to the restaurant and get to the good stuff…
December 2010, Fri Dinner, Party of 6. The atmosphere was very nice – dark tables and little candles reminded me a bit of Audrey Claire – but I hoped the food would be better than Audrey Claire. It did get louder as the evening went on, but it wasn’t anything we couldn’t handle.
The food was amazing … I had the pork belly for the first course. It was the best cookery of pork belly I’ve ever experienced. Better than Talula’s. Better than Morimoto. Morimoto might still have an edge for sneaking in those Asian flavors, but damn this was so silky smooth it was unbelievable. And I believe that an appetizer is a great size for pork belly, because I think it would have precipitated a heart attack had I eaten any more (and if I was given more … I would have eaten it without a doubt). I thank them for saving me from myself. There were some Brussels sprouts and bacon underneath the pork belly – they were also quite good. Hell – they could have spun that into a whole ‘other appetizer had they given me more of it. I will say, however, that maybe if they snuck in some sort of something to cut through some of the fat and refresh the palate every now and then (?citrus? veggie? I don’t know) then I’m pretty sure I would have cancelled my second course and ordered another of the pork belly …
For my second course I had the “lamb steak” special. I’m actually blanking on what the cut of lamb was. Maybe I should call them and ask. Nah – what’s the fun in that? In any case, the mystery cut of lamb was surprisingly not “lamby”.
g says: pardon the interruption… it was lamb sirloin. continue!
t says: It really was like eating super tender steak (think of the shape and done-ness of a medium-rare hanger steak with the tenderness of a braised short rib) that had a hint of lamb. It was wonderful. Yes, there was some delicious Israeli couscous underneath it, but who cares? The lamb was the hero.
Everyone else seemed to enjoy their food as well (g and I went with our parents). sr totally cleaned up his bouillabaisse, and ha did the same with her suckling pig dish. g and her mom had no qualms with the pork loin, and g’s dad dispatched with the scallop dish (we spoiled his appetite beforehand with stromboli and meat and cheese from DiBruno Bros. so he was quite content with a single order of scallops).
The desserts were also pretty tasty – I had the “molten” chocolate cake and was satisfied because the chocolate didn’t just ooze onto the plate after you sliced into it. It was a thick molten chocolate cake. Woohoo! I hate stabbing into a molten chocolate cake and having to chase after the precious oozing liquid all over the plate. This dessert needed but a single scoop of bacon-vanilla ice cream and it would have been perfect …
There were two problems with the evening, though: no parking in the area on a Friday night (which is not really their fault), and there was some poor timing with the scallop dish – it came out a good 5 minutes after everyone else’s. g’s dad didn’t mind – he said that they were handicapping him so he wouldn’t finish his scallops faster than everyone else finished their meal …
Overall, I found this to be a fantastic dinner. The price was reasonable, the food was great. It’s up there near Bibou for our favorite BYO dinner. And it was so much fun to see Cochon at night when it has a bit of “swank” in its atmosphere vs. what we normally see for Sunday brunch (which, btw, is still unbelievable).
THE NEXT DAY …
The next day, g and I were throwing a party, so I picked up a bacon maple apple pie. That’s right. Bacon … in your apple pie … Who would do something like this? The same people that brought you bacon maple cinnamon rolls. I now wonder why would anyone NOT put bacon in their apple pie? I dare say that to NOT put bacon into your apple pie would be un-American! You know – I have no pictures even though I wanted so badly to take one. How’d it taste? Well, I felt that it was very well-executed apple pie with a hint of smoky, salty bacon – it was superb. Not the absolute best pie I’ve ever had, but definitely a step up from ordinary apple pies. g felt the bacon was quite pronounced – I’m still not sure if she felt if that was a good thing or not. Our friends … well … they really didn’t say anything about it in particular – but they did go back for multiple pieces and demolished it … sooooo … I think it was good!
Here’s the question though … Penza’s crumb apple pie vs. GTC’s bacon maple apple pie … On one hand, you have my favorite maker of fruit pies ever (go ahead and google Penza’s pies) … but on the other hand, you have bacon … We have GOT to do this showdown …
Lightning Round 2! (+Bonus Pic!)
t says: We had a long time friend (drb) and his awesome girlfriend stop by in Philly a couple times during their recent visit to the area. We used this as an opportunity/excuse to show off some Philly cuisine, taking them to places that we thought were surefire bets for impressive food. Because we’ve been to all of these places before, there’s no real point to individual reviews, so here’s the quick and dirty …
drb keeps his own wordpress blog, so if you desire a non-g/t review of some of these places, check it out here. And no, you’re not allowed to think he’s funnier than we are …
Village Whiskey:
Props: BBQ pork sandwich. Yea – it’s still ridiculously good (but I recognize that bbq is a very personal thing, so maybe some might disagree). My friends enjoyed the fries and veggie burger, but did note that perhaps this place was a bit overpriced (e.g. $8 for a glass of whiskey that could be purchased by the bottle for ~$25). My response: “welcome to Philadelphia”. While his girlfriend admitted to liking the veggie burger a lot, drb noted that it contained a lot of intact beans – he prefers a more homogeneous patty. To each their own. Slops: What is wrong with the service here? They just can’t seem to get it together! This was our second time in a row with crappy service. Although we didn’t get the juvenile attitude that our last server had, it took 40 minutes for two sandwiches to arrive despite the place being only half-occupied. And then they forgot to add the onions I had ordered on my sandwich. Very weird. VW has to have the most inconsistent service of all the Garces joints. drb noted that it seemed to him like it was staffed with a bunch of hipsters … and he hates hipsters (n.b. just to clarify, he is not one of those people who assumes that anyone with a tattoo is a hipster; he has absolutely nothing against people with tattoos … just hipsters).
Capo Giro:
Props: Dark chocolate and candied cherry gelato. Need I say more? Well I’m going to, anyways. drb’s girlfriend, who insisted that she had very high gelato standards (having spent time in Europe) and even admitted that she was quite cautious/hesitant/doubtful before tasting Capo Giro, proclaimed it to be the best gelato she has ever had. Bam! It was so good, we went there a second time with drb and his mom a week later. Slops: If it was just a dollar cheaper, that’d be awesome. However, I’d also be 87 lbs heavier, so maybe not …
Carman’s Country Kitchen:
Props: This place’s food was still off-the-hook. We knew that drb and his girlfriend would enjoy the “atmosphere”. We love how we can call up Carman and claim our table early. Slops: Totally forgot that if you have dietary restrictions or particular tastes (e.g. anti-fruit), this is not the easiest place to find something to eat (it’s summer – fruit’s in everything). If the chairs were just a little smaller, we might be able to smoosh in a little closer when sitting at the tables.
Morimoto:
Props: Best pork belly I’ve ever had (it was that 10-hour pork belly appetizer). Holy crap. Also – they had a “special” Japanese eel nigiri. Best eel I’ve ever had. It was the flavor of eel but the texture of pork belly and a crisp skin. Holy crap. It might have been the best piece of sushi I’ve ever had. Even drb also had a “best ever” moment with his sushi. g enjoyed her red snapper special; it was superior to my main dish in both texture and taste (see Slops). We also had some “burnt honey ice cream” for dessert (it was featured as a component in another dessert item, but we asked for it straight up). The pieces of burnt honey (maybe they took a torch to it and then shoved it in the ice cream maker?) were surprisingly delicious as you encountered each little crunch – we’ve got to try this with j and k’s ice cream maker. Also, our server was super-nice – VW should kidnap this guy and clone him. Slops: Alaskan halibut with black bean sauce was … mediocre good. Had it been $21, then giddyup. But for near $30, definitely not. It made me wish they had the Chilean sea bass with black bean sauce on their menu, as I had heard so many good things about it from w; what a difference the swap in fish made (it was cooked fine, but kind of bland).
Kanella:
Props: Reservations on Saturday mornings is awesome – I’m over waiting in lines (although it was kind of empty in there). Cyprus breakfast was tasty – a savory breakfast for sure with egg, ham, bread, fried cheese, and some sort of vegetable. Overall, we enjoyed how the food was not only “simple”, “rustic”, and “delicious”, but well-executed (drb claimed his eggs were perfect). Additionally, it wasn’t food-coma-inducing, which drb and g appreciated (I don’t mind a good coma every now and then). The baklava was pretty tasty – not as good as Zahav’s, but, then again, it’s like half the price. Slops: A little more bread in the Cyprus breakfast would have been great (I’m a starch man). I agree with the waiter from before – the Cyprus breakfast isn’t to-die-for – as there are probably tons of other things on the menu that are awesomer (we just don’t know which ones to choose because it’s not like we recognize any of the items on the menu).
Cochon:
Props: What do you get when you take French toast and top it with one scoop each of peanut butter, banana, and vanilla-bacon ice creams, banana-caramel sauce, and bacon? Allow me to illustrate:
The best French toast ever!!
Yea … it … was … awesome. I ate it all (minus the two bites g snuck in when I was fiddling with the iPhone camera (that’s her hand ready to pounce in the picture). Once again – I normally hate taking pictures in restaurants as it’s super-tacky, but this was one of those things where I knew that you’d need proof of its existence (plus I had to tease sr for having to bail on us for brunch at the last minute). g had the fried oyster sandwich (you see it in the background), which was good as well – but come on – what’s going to compete with the “Elvis French Toast”? Also, we saw the chef/owners of Bibou (the Calmels) enjoying brunch here, too (g has a super-power that allows her to recognize/recall important people in the Philly restaurant scene – I would have preferred a more useful super-power, personally). If they eat here, then you can rest assured that my constant praises of this place’s brunch are legit, and not just the ravings of a lunatic. Interestingly, Bibou’s website claims that they are on vacation … Slops: We can’t go anywhere else for Sunday brunch. Ever. They also peach-cobbler-ified their pancakes, so I have to go back for that, too. Maybe this time, sr and ha will come. I’d invite j, but she’s back to school; it’s ok, she wouldn’t regret missing a dish like this, right?
EDIT: We’ve come back and I’ve experimented with putting these toppings on top of their super-awesome pancakes. Surprisingly it was not as good as the French toast. There’s something about the ice cream on top of their French toast that is awesome. It’s almost like the French toast is the “savory” in this dish, whereas their pancakes are like another sweet.
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: The Pizza that Ruined Pizza for g
t says: Ok, yes, we’ve already been to Cochon for brunch multiple times (1 and 2). You’re tired of reading about it. I’m tired of writing about it. But this time was different. Every time we go, we tend to eat breakfast-y things. This time we went for lunch. It was a miserable Sunday, looking like it was going to rain at any moment, and g and I forgot to go grocery shopping, so there was no food in the house. We needed some … comfort … we needed some … pig.
4/2010, Sunday 2:30pm, Party of 2. Once again – no line. We made the opentable reservation only for the dining points – but we didn’t need it. The hostess/waitress recognized us. Might we be almost-regulars? We sat down, ordered some tea, and pondered the menu. I actually originally wanted pancakes, but decided, for the good of the blog, to try something new one last time. g was also game for this idea. We decided to try one pizza and one sandwich. Pulled pork shoulder sandwich, of course – why try anything else? Plus, we’ve been dying to try Percy Street BBQ, so this would give me a measuring stick when we go. For the pizza, g suggested tomato pie, but I vetoed it … unless she let me order a side of bacon. We compromised and got the “Flammenkuche”, a pizza featuring gruyere, carmelized onions, bacon, creme fraiche, and some kind of orange (in color, not flavor) sauce. What does “flammenkuche” mean? That waitress didn’t know, but suspects that the chef may have made it up. While I’m not sure I believe her, as Bistrot La Minette recently offered a dish by the same name, I totally dig her honesty. You know – I really hoped that the chef did just make it up.
The pulled pork sandwich was accompanied by a fennel slaw, pickled tomato, and french fries (with a few splatterings of hot sauce). The large mound of pork was nestled between two slices of brioche. Aha! The brioche! The object of much criticism from our last visit! And now I’d get the chance to taste it! The meat was fantastic. It was tender and juicy and shredded perfectly (the pieces weren’t too tiny, but they weren’t too big, either). The brioche bread was … interesting. You know – I can see why some people might not like it. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t think it was bad – at least – not for this sandwich. The bread is kind of dry and crumbly. It does soak up the flavor (and grease) from the pork, which I like. And when I bit into it, the bread’s texture rapidly disintegrates into crumbs which mixes evenly with the pork. I thought it was a very unique sandwich experience. BUT, as the main bread for a dish like Eggs Cochon, I can see how this could be a turn-off. I suspect in the sandwich, the brioche wasn’t a horrible mis-step, but definitely could be improved upon. Fortunately, it took a back seat to the pork, so all was well. The fennel slaw and pickle brought a nice lightness (some acid and some anise-flavor) to cut through the heavier, greasier pork. And the french fries were wonderful. I would have liked a slightly crispier fry, but g said those were among her most favorite fries, ever. I think she was just full of superlatives today …
g says: Oh hush, you know they were delish! Just because I like my fries different than you like yours doesn’t mean anything. Although, I may just have better taste… (haha!)
Now … the pizza …
g says: It was the best pizza ever.
t says: So, why don’t you write about how good it was?
g says: I did. “It was the best pizza ever.”
t says: Ok, so maybe g just doesn’t have the words to describe the pizza, but the woman knows what she loves. I liked it as well, but I’m not sure it’s the best pizza ever; I feel like it falls into the same category as Pepe’s Pizza – it was a super-delicious pizza-like “thing”. The crust hit just the right thickness between too-thin and too-thick. It also wasn’t too floppy/rubbery, either. The onions were sweet, and the cheese and bacon played so nicely with one another. I’m not sure what that orange sauce had in it, but it brightened up the pizza, giving it just a dash of whimsy for what would otherwise be a very “heavy” dish. But ultimately, it does lack tomato sauce or tomatoes, so it’s disqualified from the “best pizza” competition on a technicality in my book (g’s book is written differently). Ultimately, it makes me really want to try more of their breakfast pizzas.
g says: It’s true – that particular dish was balanced so delicately with salty, sweet, and smoky flavors (or flavours, as t would say). For this reason, and because the culinary stars aligned at that exact moment to give me the best pizza tasting experience possible, I decided right at that table something very important: pizza would be ruined for me. I just can’t look at it the same anymore – pizza is so pedestrian, so just pizza, now that I have tasted the glory of the flammenkuche. I fear that whenever I have a pie now, I will only be thinking of what it could be if it were made at Cochon with their bacon. ::looks in the air dreamily:: Sigh. (dramatic enough for you? I hear some of our readers really like drama…)
t says: Once again, we paid as much (g: actually, less I think) as we would have for one person during restaurant week. We were full for 8 hours. We’ll go back again and again.
cm says: Flammenkuche is not just at cochon, it is an option we saw at dock street brewery (great pizza there, i would recommend trying it, even k liked it
and she is not a pizza fan).
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 