Posts Tagged ‘Philadelphia’
Something [Deliciously] Wicked This Way Comes …
t says: We just got back from Talula’s Garden. Literally. Attempting to write a full post while a bit buzzed on wine would probably not work out well, so we’ll just give you the sneak peak … and tell you that it was awesome … More images and reviews to come later!
Heres the entrance ... we took the photo as we were leaving. And apparently our iPhone sucks in the dark ...
This is like the back yard we wish we had! Too bad it was just a little to windy/nippy for people to eat outside. Next time!
Its a fountain bathtub in the garden!
Ok, so the above pictures were not very informative … well … here’s another one that is equally a tease …
Heres the bread. But we were hungry ...
Ok, so we wanted to show you a picture of the bread. You see, Django had flower pot bread. And Talula’s Table (and the Pop-up over the past summer) did the gruyere grougere. What’d the Garden do? It did this very interesting bread that was in the shape of a very skinny muffin, textured like a croissant, and dolloped with [green] spring ramp butter. And as you can see, it was so delicious that we ate it all before thinking, “gee, we should photograph this!”. Oh well. I guess that means that this entire post was a giant teaser … sorry guys … I promise more details and pics very soon.
What I can tell you was that the old couple to my right were hilarious. The entire time, they were talking about how weird it was that the patrons were wearing jeans (never mind that g and I were sitting right next to them and wearing jeans), and how it must have been “modern cajjjj” or “chic cajjjj” or some nonsense like that. Then they were like, “yea, there’s that guy there with jeans and a blazer with two daughters or something like that – it’s just too cajjjj.” Yea … that guy … he was STEPHEN STARR. He can dress however the hell he wants. Duh. And as for the rest of the place being “casual”, or “cajjj” as the old-trying-to-be-hip lady was mentioning – does she not understand the Django/Talula’s Table/Talula’s Garden shtick? I guess not. Then they started discussing how many restaurants they had left to visit on the Philly Mag “Best of Philly” list … ugh … go back to the Main Line where you belong …
Marabella’s Beefy Balls and Bread Pudding
t says: I was on my home today and decided to pick up lunch. Not feeling awesome (allergies are kicking my butt right now), I decided to go for something comforting and delicious rather than just heating up whatever was in the fridge. But what to do, what to do? All of Center City in front of me – where should I go? Well, it had to be new [to me], do takeout, and be warm. And then I happened to walk in front of Marabella Meatball Co – a place I had always wanted to try! kp tried it a while ago but wasn’t impressed despite the favorable reviews it had garnered. BUT – he hadn’t tasted the classic beef meatball. Obviously, this needed to be done … for the sake of the blog!
4/2011, Take-out, Party of Me. So I rolled up in there and ordered myself some beefy balls … and some rabe … and headed home. I assembled my sandwich, reserving a meatball and some bread for g (I ordered it unassembled). Here’s what it looked like.
Meatball sandwich with rabe!
Overall, it wasn’t bad! It definitely had a home-made feel to it – made me feel warm and squishy inside. The texture was good with some nice spring in the bite without being too hard. The taste was decidedly beefy – almost too beefy in the sense that you really didn’t get any other flavors. I wished they either cut it with some pork or added some more herbs or something. I guess I really shouldn’t expect Marabella to be as complex as Barbuzzo’s or as awesome as g’s … or maybe I should! Beef meatballs can have flavors beyond just beef! I will say however that the sauce, is better than Barbuzzo’s, which comes off as tangy/sweet to me; but Marabella’s was still not as good as g’s (I’ve become a gravy snob – gasp!). The roll was soft which I appreciated immensely (nothing ruins a meatball sandwich more than crappy bread), and it’d be a true champion if they somehow got a crusty outside like Tony Luke’s rolls. As for the rabe … not bad … not too different from what we can make at home (but we like it more garlicky).
For me, the Marabella star was the bread pudding. For $1, you get a tiny bit (about the size of two shot glasses) of bread pudding that is the most wonderful dessert you can find for $1. Now I don’t know if maybe I just happened to get a “good” one or what, but that bread pudding had texture and creaminess and just the right amount of sweet and cinnamon. I might have to pick up a second dose of it next time I’m passing through to confirm that it’s as good as it was today.
Would I go back for lunch? Sure – it tasted pretty good overall and the people behind the counter were super-nice. I also kind of like the vibe in there (they have BYO seating in case you want to stay). I can see my dad and I just grabbing a sandwich and eating it there. But would I go out of my way to go back for dinner? Probably not … it’s a good lunch, but not something I’d actively seek out for dinner if I was looking for a “dinner out”. Sorry Marabella. But if you came out with a beef-pork meatball, I’d be back to give it another go!
What’d g think? Well, she came home, and I told her I couldn’t tell her about the meatball until after she ate it – I didn’t want to bias her opinion. So she heated it up, ate the sandwich, and reported …
g says: I’d like it more if there was more “stuff” in the meatball, like onions, cheese, parsley. I’d say it’s one step up from a WaWa meatball sandwich. It’s good, but I wouldn’t be able to eat a lot of just the meatball, itself.
Monsu: A Great Brunch Hiding in Sabrina’s Shadow
t says: Our friends thought of going to brunch this past Sunday. And for once, I didn’t push going to Cochon … don’t get me wrong, I still love Cochon, but I think I have gone enough times so that I feel confident that I can go a weekend without it and not feel like I was “missing” something. This also has to do with a recent menu change – they removed the awesome Elvis French Toast and replaced it with PB&J French Toast, which is good, but not quite as off-the-hook as the original. The pancakes are still delightful, but no longer come doused in fruit, rather, crushed Oreos, which are good, but is definitely a lot of sugar. And they removed the hanger steak … so g and I have decided to branch out beyond Cochon for brunch (unbelievable, right?!).
So we originally planned to join our friends n, m, and kp at Cafe Estelle (k and cm are too busy traveling in Spain to come!). As we drove there we laughed at the crowd in front of Sabrina’s – ha! Silly people! Cochon is always line-less. And there was Monsu across the street! But wait a sec – there was Monsu across the street! As soon as g said, “we gotta try that place”, n reasoned, “well, Cafe Estelle will probably have a line, too – maybe we should try it out!” And shazam! We were being spontaneous! g is a spontaneity-junky, so she was totally in. I dropped off g, n, and kp at Monsu and found a parking spot (m was meeting us there – he had very important doctor stuff to do … I suspect someone had a runny nose or something at the hospital and m wanted an excuse to wear his hospital scrubs to brunch …).
April 2011, 11:30am Sunday, Party of 5. There were a lot of savory items on the menu at Monsu – maybe a French toast and like one other dish for sweet. At first I was nonplussed (O … M … G … I hate that word – just finished reading a memoir by an author who used it no less than 3 times in 200 pages … drb uses it every now and then, but whenever he uses it, I feel like he’s making fun of it, which is acceptable – it’s such a dumb word). But then I started eyeing these awesome t-esque dishes. Gnocchi, lasangna with cocoa, scrapple, and a whole lot more. Suddenly, I was no longer nonplussed – one might say I was plussed. Here are some shots of what kp and I ordered and shared.
The scrapple's playing hide-and-seek under some veggies!
The scrapple tasted good and had a nice internal consistency – it just needed more of a crust on the outside. Other than that it’s some mighty-fine meat! And the veggies had a nice sweet taste to them. g still refused to eat much more than a bite (but I love her anyway).
No gnocchi left behind!
The gnocchi were also quite good. Their texture was how I like my gnocchi: soft but with a bit of bite so you still feel like you’re chewing something (I know gnocchi texture is a very personal thing). The sauce reminded me a lot of a vodka cream sauce. I wish there was some kind of vegetal zing in there, like a parsley or a basil or something fresh just to cut through the cream.
The split personality lasagna ... hiding under an egg.
So the lasagna I believe deserves a special mention. It walked the line between savory and sweet, as there was a bit of cocoa and cinnamon (or at least, we think it was cinnamon) that had to play nicely with the cheese/meat/pasta. The result was a success! Topped with an egg, it was the perfect breakfast lasagna. I’m not so sure I’d eat it for dinner (it’s also on the dinner menu), but for brunch this is probably the best savory-sweet balance outside of pancakes-and-bacon that there is. Superb job Monsu! Also, the egg on top reminded me a bit of Modo Mio – it was a good idea then, it is still a good idea now.
g had Eggs Basildict, which is a very peculiar name, but she liked it a lot, claiming that perhaps she “won” with the best dish. I disagree, firmly believing the lasagna was superior, but I will say that hers had a more vibrant complement of flavors – it just wasn’t as unique as a sweet-savory lasagna. Sorry – no pics to show you g’s dish – she was too far away for my crappy iPhone camera to reach.
All in all, Monsu was a success for brunch. There were no lines and plenty of open tables. It completely boggles my mind that across the street at Sabrina’s, people want to wait for a spot. Simply put, Sabrina’s food is good (don’t get me wrong – if you put their food in front of me, I’ll eat it), but not worth waiting for. And now that Monsu is right there, I definitely see no reason to wait (unless you desperately want a cup of cream cheese shoved in your French Toast like Sabrina’s likes to do). I also see a lot of potential for Monsu for dinner – I feel an FTC meeting coming!
What are the drawbacks? Well, n did have an omelette that I think she regretted – it wasn’t bad, but I think she felt it was a little dull next to some of the other items on the table. I sampled a taste of m’s mpanada, which was pretty good – I wonder how he liked the dish in its entirety? I think one of the big drawbacks was, as I had mentioned earlier, that there really weren’t a lot of sweet on their brunch menu, so if you have a sweet tooth (like me), afterwards, you might still find yourself craving something “more”. Fortunately n and m had the right idea: Isgro’s is right down the street!
One Fish, Two Fish, Tile Fish, Coffee Cake …
t says: g and I celebrated her bday with a trip to Little Fish. Why Little Fish? Well, we were looking for a place that was new to us and BYO. Technically, we had gone to Little Fish once before, BUT, we hadn’t gone since it closed and re-opened in its new digs – so it was kind of like a new restaurant!!! We also had a bottle of Illumination from Quintessa that we acquired during our visit to Napa – and what better way to make it the star of the evening than to have a bunch of fish!? Finally, when we saw the pricepoint of the menu, we knew that Little Fish is a little expensive to make it just a random-weekend-dinner – at nearly $30 per entree, there needs to be a little something special worth eating for.
As you prepare yourself for the rest of this post, you can stare at yet another poorly-taken iPhone photo of our dessert and wonder if it was good or not!
"Chocolate crunch" ice cream atop coffee cake atop a puddle of banana-esque shmutz.
2/2010, Saturday 8:30pm, Party of 2. When we arrived the place was kind of small … and empty. Only one table had guests, and another was clearly getting up to leave. I think we were the first of a second wave of diners or something because they were definitely packed by the time we were halfway through our meal. As usual, we were quite hungry (we like to make sure we don’t wuss out and get full after the appetizer when we go to restaurants) and wasted no time and got down to business. The menu was written on a board that we turned our heads to stare at. There’s got to be some way to put the menu in a more accessible place, but I guess not. In any case, as we read each item, we couldn’t quite decide what to do. Do we get two entrees and two apps? Or do we go 3 apps and 1 entree? So many things sounded good! Then we decided … we’d go three entrees for two people and skip the apps entirely. Genius. This meant we got a “three course tasting menu” of sorts (and they split each dish into two plates for us – so we wouldn’t have to dribble sauces onto the table – that was quite nice of them!). I let g choose two of the entrees, and I chose a third.
First course was “golden spot tilefish, shrimp and grits, tomato consomme, andouille”. Holy bejesus this was awesome. The tomato consomme was deep and flavorful – a beautiful harmony upon which the fish and andouille played a gorgeous melody (I think I used those terms right – maybe I got them backwards …). The way the flavors played with eachother totally reminded me of the kind of flavor adventure that we got when we first ate at Talula’s Table. I don’t know how they subdued the andouille (or amplified the tilefish), but one did not overtake the other – instead you got a beautiful fish and that savory/salty meat that worked so well together. And the shrimp and grits were perfect – a worthy challenger for kp (a shrimp and grits showdown, kp?).
Next up was “striped bass with braised romaine, bagna caude, crouton”. You know – it’s kind of weird, but for me the star of the dish was the braised romaine. Yes, the fish was delightful, and the crouton and ?sauce?/?liquid? was amazing. But that romaine … that romaine was awesome. And I have a personal vendetta against romaine … soooo … my endorsement means something. I don’t know how they got such flavor into the lettuce while having it keep some consistency, but they did, and I have thought about braising some romaine on my own … (haven’t gotten around to it yet).
The last course was the “sturgeon with pork belly, gigande beans, spinach, mustard”. I was psyched. Fish and pork belly. Bring it on. It arrived and it looked and smelled delicious. I was even more psyched. And then I tasted it. And you know what, I was a little disappointed. The dish was rather one-note, with the mustard taking over and masking everything. Don’t get me wrong – I like mustard – but I couldn’t get a whole lot more than it, which kind of bummed me out. The texture of the fish and pork belly suggested that they were both executed well – and tasting them on their revealed … surprise … fish and pork belly. But the one thing that was supposed to bring them together kind of trumped them both. It wasn’t a “bad” dish, but after the first two, it was kind of a let-down. Especially because this one was my choice – just goes to show you that my wife is a good picker (after all, she did pick me, right?).
And finally … the dessert. I let g choose the dessert (she gets a lot of power on her birthday). She asked for the coffee cake. To be honest, I wasn’t thrilled. Coffee cake? I mean, come on. On what planet is coffee cake an acceptable dessert at a restaurant … after eating fish and fine wine? Interestingly, neither g nor I even drink coffee, either! But, her birthday, her choice … She totally made me eat my thoughts. That dessert, which we showed you a crappy picture of above, was frickin’ delicious. The chocolate ice cream brought some sweat creaminess (?and I guess some crunch – but there wasn’t that much), and that coffee cake was perfect. And then there was the banana shmutz. It was like someone made some bananas foster and then blended it smooth. It was ridiculous. If they put it in a jar and charged $8 a piece a-la-Barbuzzo, I’d buy a dozen and take them home to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And then I realized that this was the best dessert I’ve had at a Philly restaurant. Better than Zahav. Better than Barbuzzo. I kind of want to try it again just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke …
So, the overall picture … The food is quite good at Little Fish. However, the prices are a little on the steep side, approaching $30 per entree. While in my personal price-point, the first dish (i.e. the tile fish) was “worth” it, the second was more like a $25 dish, and the last was more of a $20 dish (in terms of flavor – I realize that as soon as you put pork belly on something, you’re allowed to charge $5 more for it). I think g and I will keep the place in mind for special (e.g. Birthdays, holidays) and semi-special (e.g. V-day) events … or just when we need to show some fish-fanatic friends of ours a good time …
Our lost visit to Smokin’ Betty’s
t says: We went to Smokin’ Betty’s some time ago, but apparently forgot that we went up until we got a comment from one of our faithful readers … Actually, g and I remembered very little of the visit, so we’ll let our dinnermate, lc, tell you the story in her words … with my edits in italics …
lc says: Didn’t you order some kind of ridiculous dessert that was really good? <sounds like me>
We went the day before Thanksgiving (… and I walked around and past the building multiple times because they have no prominent sign and dim lighting makes the windows look dark. I was embarrassed but you guys thought it was hysterical.) I think there was some kind of turkey special, but I can’t remember if anyone got it. Also, I think there was a bucket of fries in there that I took home but never ended up finishing.
Looking at the menu now… I had BBQ sliders. All three were delicious but it was weird we couldn’t identify which meat was in each after they were smothered in sauce. <oh yea! I remember that – that was weird!> You may have had the Betty Burger, which does have pork belly, fried egg, and avocado <I’m pretty sure I had that – I think the accompaniments were fantastic, but the burger itself was only “good”. Of course, adding pork belly to anything usually raises its goodness by a point, so it’s now “above-good”.>. I can’t remember what g had; maybe it was a special from the board <She can’t remember either – initially she thought maybe she got the sliders?>. There is in fact a bucket of fries on the menu. And I vowed if I got to go back I would get the Turducken Burger. Dessert may have been the triple chocolate layer cake, or it might have been a more mysterious special from the board. I think it was very chocolate, though. <Aha!! The chocolate cake. I remember it being kind of pricey for just a slice of cake – it was very chocolatey, and I think I liked the icing/filling more than the cake itself, which was kind of bleh.>
I know I had the Ace Perry cider, and it was really good. Apple and pear blended, instead of just apple, was very refreshing. I think g had some kind of yummy drink as well, but I can’t remember. Maybe she just considered one.
I seem to remember that they played some pretty interesting “old alternative” music while we were there… Funny that they dialed in to the kind of music we listened to in high school–we’re actually not THAT old! <We’re old as dirt. Nirvana was still cool back then, and Green Day had just come out.>They had a lot of door/windows that probably open up when the weather’s warm, but it was too cold that day.
And that’s all I can remember. I hope you can flesh it out with more details for your readers. <Yea – without your prompts, I had nothing. So thanks for your memory! So when we goin for that Turducken burger? Caitlin liked it – see the comment on this post.>
James Delivers Good for the Price of Great
t says: We’ve gone to James twice, courtesy of two groupons – and a and v went once, too! So here’s the lowdown of the restaurant that somehow went from top 10 to being left out of the top 50 according to Philly mag. But of course, let us tantalize you with a poorly-shot iPhone photo … and you can guess if I liked it or not …
- It has chocolate and bacon and chiles … was it awesome? Find out soon …
t’s Props: The food was good overall – nothing made us regret having tastebuds – so we were happy about that. Our favorites, which we’d reorder again were both pasta dishes. The first was the pappardelle with duck ragu with orange and chocolate – it was so good that we ordered it both times we went! And the risotto alla kristina (risotto made with prosecco and barely-warmed-through oysters) was also delicious! Both of these had nicely cooked pasta and beautifully harmonious flavors (seriously, that risotto dish with the oysters was surprisingly oyster-y … in a fresh-tasting, good way). I also enjoyed the venison dish (g doesn’t do venison) which, too, was impeccably cooked and worked so well with the bitter chocolate – I only wish they gave me more meat because it was rather tiny (so a normal-sized person might have found it microscopic). As for atmosphere – it’s a nice and large space – quite a departure for a South-of-South eatery. The chairs were plush (g seemed a little obsessed over how comfortable the chairs were) and there was substantial spacing between tables (although I felt like g and I were SO far apart because the table was so big!). This place is great for claustrophobics who are tired of the cramped BYO scene. The service was also top-notch – some of the best we’ve seen in the city.
t’s Slops: Venus’s jewel case (a spinach fettucine with bacon in a puffed pastry shell) was a good idea, but kind of a failure – it ended up being a mushy spinach fettucini in a congealed creamy sauce (the bacon was only noticeable if you happened to get a piece). g’s lobster dish was rather unremarkable … which was remarkable because it had lobster in it! The bacon budino dessert (pictured above) was good in concept (bacon brittle, chocolate budino, paprika ice cream, chile jam), but the balance of flavors was off – please turn down the paprika and turn up the bacon (stick it in the ice cream!). Also, in my opinion, the chocolate budino was not a budino (unless I am mistaken about what a budino is, but google suggests I am not). Had the budino been as awesome as I imagined, the title of this post would have been “James’s Barbuzzo Budino Killer”.
t’s Verdict: I’m sure there will be times when I think back and fondly remember those two pasta dishes. But without a strong supporting cast of other dishes, I’m afraid that walking to Melograno or Mercato or Barbuzzo or Amis for pasta is just far easier than cabbing to James. Furthermore, tack on the price of alcohol and the lack of more groupons, and now I’m pretty sure that the deliciosity-price quotient (DPQ) is just too low for a return visit, landing it in the same category as Matyson (good-tasting Contemporary American, but just not enough food!).
a says: We agree with almost everything said by t and our experience was much the same (n.b. Thank you Groupon). We were excited to hit James due to its past accolades and positive reviews online. We knew it was pricey for South Philly and not-byo but that’s no reason not to show some love.
a’s Hollas: We were seated immediately in a space much more open than any CC byo which is appreciated. Our server was polite, attentive, and happy to make recommendations when asked. The IPA and wines by the glass were decent. We split our first course, James’ rif on choucroute garnie, which was ambitious and delicious. My 2nd course, pappardelle wih duck ragu, was full of flavor and a high-point of the meal. My entrée course was a tender and juicy veal loin, cooked to perfection and appropriately sized. We went with the apple pie for dessert which was intricately plated but tough to properly eat.
a’s Boos: The music seemed a tad too loud for the ambiance and there was too much time between courses considering the restaurant was at 75% capacity. I found the wine list limited, lacking many deals or bottles in my “$35-$65 sweet spot” for this level of restaurant. The choucroute was was not substantial, even for an appetizer and v thought her risotto alla Kristina (risotto with oysters) was good, not great. (v said, “Too strong a sea flavor.”) v’s fish entrée was again too small and nothing to write home about.
a’s Verdict: I’d be happy to return to James to give it another shot, if someone else wants to pay or we’re in need of a respite from the cramped byos of CC. We also noted the lovely private table for large groups which sits in a beautiful room away from the main dining room.
Han Dynasty’s Got Some Balls
t says: I’m sorry for the crass, unsophisticated humor, but I just had to go there. I mean, you should have seen the size of their meatballs! Wait – what meatballs? Ok … let’s rewind …
g planned a dessert gathering of very diverse people for an evening celebration, figuring that a few would be able to come for dinner beforehand. A few turned into a party of 13 or so. Yikes. What restaurant would do a party of 13 on a Saturday night? Well … let’s just say that are a lot of restaurants that would not do a party of 13 on a Saturday night … looking at you Melograno, GTC, Mercato, etc. (don’t worry – we still love you, even if you’ve hurt us so *sheds a single tear*). Then a friend of ours sent out an email invite to celebrate Chinese New Year (the following weekend) at Han Dynasty … and then we got to thinking … if our guest list and his guest list didn’t overlap, then maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if maybe we borrowed his idea, right? … rriigghhtt?
Well, right or wrong, we did (g and I had been wanting to go for a long time and couldn’t make it to the Chinese New Year celebration, so we figured we owed it to ourselves to go … “for the sake of the blog!”).
1/2011, Saturday Dinner, Party of 13. Han Dynasty does things in a very cool way for large parties. There’s no lame, super-limited menu here. Instead, you tell them the number of people, the price that you want to pay per head, your dietary restrictions, and then let them do the rest. It was awesome. We went in at $20 per person and were absolutely stuffed!
As soon as we were ready, there an unending flurry of food hit the table. We tried to hear the descriptions of when they hit the table, but failed miserably (it’s pretty loud in there!). As a result, there’s no way I could try to describe the dishes for you here. There was pork (several kinds) and fish and noodles and duck and [some] veggies. I suspect that if we kept on eating, they would have kept on bringing. And they were all quite tasty! I didn’t have a single thing that I wouldn’t try again – so they definitely know how to please my palate.
But there was one that stood out. The meatballs …
They brought out this plate of humungous meatballs that were stacked on top of each other. They stared down the other plates surrounding them. And the weird thing was that they had an eerie Jello-esque jiggle to them (I suspect a large proportion of the mix is made of tofu). At this point, our party of 13 had had a reasonable amount of wine (Han is BYO … another super-awesome feature when doing something with a large party), so the question was no longer whether anyone was going to make a comment, rather, who was going to make a comment – leave it to one of g’s NYC girls to step up and own it. But you know what … peculiar jiggle aside … they, too, were actually pretty tasty! As a matter of fact, it was the only dish I asked to be wrapped up to be taken home (I suspect their appearance may have dissuaded people from trying them, so we had leftovers). But alas! I left it at the restaurant! Darn!
As far as best dish? You know – I don’t know which one tasted the best. There was one with duck I kept going back for, and I heard raves about a pork belly one. I think g was very fond of the noodle dishes (she’s a noodle fan from way back in the day). I guess we’ll just have to go back and take copious notes next time …
Han Dynasty drawbacks: Their level of spice is definitely on the higher end. Nothing was intolerable (I kind of liked it), but for the lightweights in our party, we should have requested super-mild or something (we asked for it mild and one of the dishes still had me reaching for water). Those comfortable with Asian spice will feel at home here; if you want to sweat while you eat (a la my grandfather), I’m sure that can be arranged. The second downer was that the table was right next to a pole which made fitting 13 people a little hard. Go for 12 – it’d be a bit more comfortable.
Summary: If we had another party of people to take out, I just don’t think you can beat the combo of price, BYO, taste, and casual atmosphere of Han Dynasty. Oh, and it’s tasty enough so that even real Chinese won’t care if it’s “authentic” or not.
after dinner sneeze 