Posts Tagged ‘Philadelphia’
Bibou … we love you
t says: a, v, g, and I went to Bibou recently. We did invite several others to join, but no one could quite make it. This was very problematic for a and me. You see, when there’s only four people, we’re only going to go through 3-4 bottles of wine. When there’s eight people, we can open 8 – which means we can taste more interesting wine! And isn’t that the point – to taste!? Well, undeterred by the limited number of people, we still showed up with 6 bottles … you know … just so we could make some game-time decisions (and in case the servers wanted to get in on the action).
Now once again, Bibou already gets SO much love on this blog that it’s absolutely pointless to re-hash awesome dishes like the escargots and pig’s feet. I think v put it best earlier in the day when she said, “if I get there tonight, and there’s no pig’s foot, I am going to cry in the restaurant.” And I believe her. Fortunately, no one cried that night …
g says: We only get to Bibou once or twice a year, so when we are lucky enough to score a reservation, we take our meal very seriously (hence v’s fear of the kitchen running out of pig’s feet). Generally, we each stick to familiar classics — escargot and pig’s feet for t, crudo and beouf for moi — because it is so hard to justify ordering something new when we are guaranteed a sensational dining experience with our old standbys. These are the dishes that we dream about as we anxiously await the day of our reservation, after all.
We threw caution to the wind this time around, and some new items hit the table with thrilling results. My picks for the winners of this meal both fall into this new category of “interesting” rather than classic dishes that remain on Bibou’s menu at all times. v’s squash consomme (that’s right, a clear broth soup made from squash of all things) was, in my opinion, the best first course. none of us had ever even heard of such a thing <t interrupts: for the record – i’ve heard of consommes, but just never had one>, but the deep flavors just blew us away. I also believe that my main course was the winner of that round, an arctic char with bulgar wheat in a buerre rouge sauce. That’s right, fish in a red wine sauce. Intriguing, right? It was AMAZING. Pierre told us that it was a special item on the menu for that week only; I would say that “special” is right on the money for describing that dish.
Apparently, branching out beyond our “usuals” at Bibou really pays off. I chuckle to myself when I think of how apprehensive I felt when looking at the menu that night (i.e. the minor flash of panic that came over me when I toyed with the idea of ordering something other than the boeuf that I love so much). Did I really think that I would receive a sub-par meal from arguably the best restaurant in the city? Probably not. But now I have confirmed that trying something new could provide an exciting experience without feeling sorry that I didn’t order my old favorite. And now I have a new flavor of the month for adsz!
it’s not a “proper” adsz-style dinner unless the glass:diner ratio is at least 4:1 (not including water glasses).
This mysterious, very dark brown puddle was a squash consomme. It’s a clear broth. Like, if you were in the hospital and required to be “on a clear diet”, this would still qualify. However – it was so jam-packed full of flavor (it tasted like fall) that it knocked our socks off.
Arctic char in beurre rouge sauce (butter, red wine, shallots) over bulgar wheat (tasted like Thanksgiving stuffing!) with a fricasse of persimmon and anaheim pepper. g declared it the winner of our main courses. v agreed with that assessment in terms of creativity, but for taste, she had to vote still for her favorite pig’s feet and lentils.
another table abandoned their remaining Sauterne … so our server allowed us to share it (there was more than a glass per person leftover!) … result: he gets a little bigger tip, and we get a little happier …
t says: Bibou still brings down the house in terms of food. The four of us just can’t get enough. And talking to Pierre is always such a delight. Now I know there are some Bibou-haters out there … and that’s fine … we just can’t be friends … ha.
We did have some delightful wines that night, including a bottle we got from Napa: 2009 Blackbird Arise. This is a serious California Merlot-based wine. If you’ve never had some Blackbird before, it’s excusable to lie/cheat/steal so you can try it – it’ll change your opinion on Cali-Merlot. (I’m not saying it’s a Right Bank Bordeaux doppleganger, but it’s something better than the “F-in’ Merlot” mentioned in Sideways).
Thanks Pierre. And, we missed you, Charlotte.
Mercato keeps the dream alive
t says: g and I have a confession to make. We’re “over” Restaurant Week. Back in the day, when it was $30pp, we were all over it like white on rice. But nowadays, with that $5 price increase (actually, I think the increase is a couple years old now), we’re just not so optimistic. The restaurants are crowded. The servers are overworked. Chefs whine/complain in the blogosphere left and right. Of course, there are some exceptions out there (looking at you, Amada!), but all-too-often, the food just isn’t a good representation of what the restaurant can do (which is kinda-sorta-the-fault of the restaurant – if you can’t deal with the RW crowd, then don’t participate! Go on vacation, like Kanella used to!). But … this season … g and I got back into it RW. Why? Well – we had some wine to taste from our Napa trip and people to taste it with (a and v) but nowhere to eat! As we looked at BYOs to go to, g remembered one we hadn’t been to in a while: Mercato! AND – because they did a great RW some years ago, g tasked a to set it up. a got the job done (he’s dependable like that) ,and we showed up, ready to eat and drink …
October 2012, Tuesday Restaurant Week Dinner, Party of 4. g and I met a and v at the restaurant. I pulled out the wine selections for the evening (I caught a with his pants down: his Philly wine stash was low, so he was happy to leave the choosing up to me this time):
wines for the evening … the sauvignon blanc is from a rising young-gun, while the red [covered to conceal its identity] is a lesser-known varietal by life-saving winery Ehlers Estate
Ok, so back to the food …
meet [nearly] the best antipasto in the city!
Here are shots of a’s and v’s appetizers and food.
a’s app: soup of some sort
v’s app: artichoke – v didn’t seem to really take to it – I guess she was imagining something a little more interesting than artichoke and some aioli
v’s main: chestnut fettucini – it smelled wonderful – and I liked how it tasted like fall on a plate!
a’s main: blurry picture of veal: a’s was absolutely delicious! that veal was so succulent, so well-prepared, and the sauce was impeccably seasoned. i loved it! (and I only had one bite!)
t’s main: gnocchi with braised beef and broccoli rabe
I remembered the gnocchi dish from the last time we went to Mercato, so I felt the need to revisit it. And, to be honest, it wasn’t quite as good as I remember. So instead of “in-the-running-for-the-best-gnocchi-in-the-city”, it’s going to settle in as “better-than-La-Viola”. As you might gather, there were some issues. I think the biggest had to do with the sauce consistency – it was just a little too thin for my taste – it didn’t really cling to the gnocchi at all, so in the end, I had some gnocchi that didn’t have a lot of taste due to lack of coverage by the sauce. The beef was also a little lackluster – it just wasn’t “loved” with the intensity during cooking that I wanted my cow to be loved (I realize that this sentence makes no sense – but I’m sticking with it).
pyramid pasta stuffed with lobster shrimp and cheese
g felt that she won dinner. I’m not sure I agree, because a’s dish was so wonderful. However, g was in the mood for something a bit “lighter”, and so she was very satisfied with the surprisingly-light brown butter sauce, the sweet sweet shellfish/crustaceans, and the fresh veggie flavors. Between this and the super-citrus of the Massican sauvignon blanc, she was in heaven …
The desserts … hmmm … to be honest, I can’t find the pictures of dessert. I suspect that the lack of pictures and the lack of memory means that they were unremarkable. g and v had some kind of apple pie thing with cinnamon ice cream (g loves-loves-LOVES cinnamon ice cream). a had panna cotta (that unfortunately failed the “woman’s-breast-test”). I had a molten chocolate cake (that fortunately passed the “I-hope-this-doesn’t-suck-test”). The desserts solid overall – I’m not sure they’d be worth $8ish dollars, but the way we see it – RW is kind of like “you-pay-for-two-courses-and-get-dessert-for-free”, so we couldn’t complain.
In all, 2 of 3 appetizers and 2 of 4 mains were exceptional. The remaining dishes ranged anywhere from “good” to “could-probably-be-great-with-some-execution-details”. With better menu selection on our part, we could have probably assembled a flawless dinner (each of us was deciding between at least two options for every course, so I guess we just got a little “unlucky” for the less-than-exceptional choices). The four of us felt that this was a big win for Mercato. We’ll have to keep it in mind for future RW when we want to sling some wine.
i have steak belly …
t says: I visited GTC with cm and his cousin. We had one goal: all-you-can-eat-steak-for-$25. I’ll skip the formalities and get straight to the meat of the review …
steak and fries
The steak was actually very good. This is not like one of those all-you-can-eat smorgasboards where you cram as much top round in your mouth as you can. This is actually well-prepared meat! Beware – they only serve it rare and medium, though – so if you want it well-done, then don’t bother. I went for medium, and it was wonderfully tender, with a good browning on the outside of each medallion maximal flavor. It was a real treat to be afforded the opportunity to eat as much good-tasting meat as I wanted. So … for this meal, I wanted to “play it smart” and maximize my quantity of cow consumption. I ended up going through three servings of cow (pictured above is one serving). To accomplish this feat (I’m a somewhat-smaller-than-average guy, so I feel like this deserves a gold star), I resolved to the following strategies:
1) Minimize table bread consumption. This was difficult because I really do like GTC’s olive oils – but sacrifices must be made!
2) Minimize salad consumption. I know that in the grand scheme, a plate of salad is but a drop in the bucket/stomach … but let’s face it – space is space! I ate some of it as an apology to my bowels for the impending onslaught of meat that was coming … sorry guys! (By the way, the salad, while very straightforward – greens in a light dressing – was very fresh and tasty – I would have eaten the entire place had all-you-can-eat-meat not been offered).
3) Avoid the cream. When I ordered, I opted for the wine-based Bordelaise sauce – I figured the other two were more cream-based and would fill me up. It was hands-down more delicious than the peppercorn sauce, and none of us went for the bearnaise – next time, maybe?
4) Ration the frites. The format of the dinner is this: you get one plate of steak and fries, and as you run out of things, you ask your server for more, and then a food runner appears with a serving plate of your desired item (i.e. steak or fries) and adds it to your plate. So, let’s say you consume all the steak, but only half the fries – they’ll come by and offer you more steak! This is a brilliant way to do things, limiting wasted fries and excessive dishes. It also allows you to just keep on going with the steak at whatever speed you desire, regardless your frites status.. Hooray!
5) Post-meal walk and caffeine. With all of the fat/meat consumed, I avoided the “too-disgusted-to-move” feeling with a nice long walk home, fueled by the caffeine in one of GTC’s coffee drinks. Not a bad way to end the night … now if only I could fall asleep instead of blogging this entry right now …
P.S. The first bottle of wine at GTC is corkage-free. Bottles after that are charged corkage – something in the $10-$20 range.
Sotto: no frills, just food
t says: There’s a tiny restaurant that opened up on 24th Street right next to the Walnut St bridge. We’ve been watching the renovations for some time, now, hoping that something delicious was going to move in. What was bizarre, though, is that the blogosphere didn’t report any new restaurant going up in that location, leading us to believe that it was going to be a front of some sort.
When we saw it was open, we decided it was time to visit. Fortunately, we then saw this post, suggesting that the place was going to be a real restaurant, and not a vital piece of an organized crime syndicate. That’s good.
October 2012, Thursday Dinner, Party of 2. It was astonishingly empty when we got there, but picked up by the time we left. We sat by ourselves, and the servers were very attentive (we were the only ones there in the beginning, so the moment we stirred, they were all over us). But they were polite and we liked the enthusiasm.
g and I got down to business:
saute of broccoli rabe
The rabe was wonderfully-textured, with just the right amount of bitter and spice. This is how g makes broccoli rabe – it’s simple and delicious. We would come to find that this was going to be a recurring theme:
dittelini and chicken
pasta and seafood
We went for pastas (we’re predictable like that). Both dishes featured perfectly-textured pasta with just the right amount of bite. The sauces were insanely simple. The added meats/seafood/veggies were tastefully done. But in actuality, nothing was at all that “deeply flavored” … for example, these pastas are not Melograno-tasty, and they’re not going to knock-your-socks-off. Rather, these were bowls of pasta that some Italian grandmother would make and the younger generations strive to emulate. They did fill us up (the servings are large – don’t let the ridiculously-super-XXXL bowls above throw you) and completely disarmed us – this was comfort pasta, seemingly designed to lull you into a state of relaxation that brings to close an otherwise crazy day. With no thought required to eat this food (“simple” is good, right?) our conversations ran wild, from stories of growing up in South Jersey, to lost stethoscopes, to who-we-hoped-would-date-whom. And before we knew it, we were lingering over the last few drops of wine in our glass, realizing it was time to go to our actual home. Well – we did have some dessert in there, too:
tiramisu like an Italian grandmother/aunt would make it
Nice job Sotto. You’re not fancy or frilly. You’re not pushing boundaries. But you are making solid pasta at reasonable prices within walking distance from our home. We’ll be back on those weekdays when we roll in the door, are too tired to cook, and are too impatient to wait for delivery … which is more often that one would think …
EDIT: Boom. Within 2 weeks of our last visit, g and I were back at Sotto for some cheap, yummy pasta. This time we did the bolognese and the matriciana. Wow. They were superb. I mean I’m almost about to take back that “not pushing boundaries” thing, because I’m going to go out on a limb and just say it: Sotto’s “matriciana” is as good as Melograno’s “amatriciana”. Wonderful! The bolognese didn’t quite have the finesse of Melogran’s wild boar bologenese (Sotto uses ground meat and a more “tomato-y” sauce), but g was still very satisfied. We’ll be back for sure …
Surprise! Fednuts Lunch!
t says: g and I did Fednuts take-out for lunch yesterday (this is where a goes, “what? and you didn’t invite us? you boogerheads!”).
Fednuts Surprise Face : o
The chicken was a bit saltier this time than last, so someone over there’s gotta go easy on the shaker, otherwise people are going to go straight into heart failure after eating one of these pieces of chicken. But damn, it’s still so tasty. I only wish they’d offer that garlic-chile (i.e. Korean-esque) one at the CC location. Oh well. Weekly chicken+donuts, anyone? Let’s see who’ll be the first to put on the Intern-15?
“The Garden” keeps rocking it
t says: g and I revisited one our faves, Talula’s Garden. Yes, it’s still a great place to go. Let me just hit you with two highlights because anyone who’s seen our blog already knows that we talk about it WAY too much:
lamb belly appetizer
A long time ago, back when JG Domestic first opened 2 years ago, boasting a whole animal tasting menu featuring lamb and including lamb belly, I knew I had to try it. After all, I had my pork belly phase, so I reasoned that lamb belly would be just like it, but mo-better by virtue of lamb. Alas, JG was out of lamb that night (which to this day I haven’t forgiven them for), so I was S.O.L. Since then, I’ve seen lamb belly on virtual menus, but never at the same time when I was actually in the restaurant serving it … until the above dish. And yes. Lamb belly is as good as pork belly in every aspect, but better, by virtue of being lamb. Go to Talula’s and try this dish. It’s soft and sweet and gamy. Beautiful. Yea, there were some vegetables on the dish, too, but to be honest, I totally forgot about them because I was too busy enjoying the glazed belly …
striped bass with curry sauce, pumpkin, greens
This fish is my new most-perfectly-cooked-fish-in-the-city. Seriously. And it didn’t just because the meat of the fish was oh-so-tender-but-cooked-through-perfectly, and not just because it was perfectly infused with flavors that balanced the bass-ness and curry, but also because that skin was absolutely perfectly crisped. This is a fall fish dish. Not fussy. Not complicated. Just some damn good fish and balanced accompaniments. Everyone else take note.
a.nother chance for a.kitchen
t says: It’s been a long while since we’ve gone to a.kitchen, and we’ve received some email suggesting that we try out the place again. So we put it on our list … and there it stayed for quite a while – we just never got around to it! Nevertheless, we still recommended that others give it a whirl and let us know how it was … and now – someone actually has! Welcome to the blog, bw!
bw says: The main problem with a.kitchen is that it doesn’t really know whether it wants to be a regular restaurant or a tapas restaurant. You sit down to a menu of “plates”–no appetizers, no mains, “plates”. The dishes are all described like mains (a central item plus a side with a second taste), but priced suspiciously reasonably (i.e., in the high teens) for a fancy restaurant right on Rittenhouse. The fact that some items (e.g., lobster and steak) are priced much higher somewhat relieves you of your doubt. The service was very prompt and friendly, but they didn’t really guide you through the menu. Specifically, no “Is this your first time dining with us? Our menu is organized in [such-and-such] a manner.” Or, when each of us ordered one item, they didn’t say “maybe you want some more food as the plates are [blank]-size”. The “plates” live on that schizophrenic border between main and tapas. They definitely weren’t small, but they left you wanting just a little more food. Probably for the two of us, we should have had three items, which would have been at a price I would have expected for a main at a Rittenhouse restaurant. But three is an odd number. If you’re going for tapas, you’d generally probably get four or five items for two people. Who thinks to themselves “I really want to eat one-and-a-half things”? No one. In case you were wondering if there was a Goldilocks-style dish-size in between “too small” tapas and “too large” mains, there isn’t–it’s just awkward.
So, how did the food actually taste? I got the “blue crab salad with Sardinian couscous and summer pesto”. (Again, sounds like a main, right? OK, I made that point.) It was really good. The crab “salad” was mostly crab, with some crème fraiche and a few green sprouts. The flavors were nice together, although it could have used a little more greens to balance the crab. The couscous was also really interesting (going in I didn’t know what Sardinian couscous was): it was very large couscous, about the size of barley with the same toothsome quality as al dente barley. It was a good texture and a welcome contrast to the crab. My friend got the black bass (I can’t remember the side), and she said it was really good. The rest of the menu seemed interesting. It had a seafood predominance, which I’m a fan of, being in seafood-withdrawal after the midwest.
On to dessert, which we mostly got because we simultaneously said “that wasn’t a lot of food.” We both got the apple cobbler, so no ability to review the variety here (although the options generally all sounded tasty). As you know, my dessert-out-at-a-restuarant judgement criterion is “can I make a better version of this at home?” And here, I would have to say the answer is “yes”. The cobbler just wasn’t that good. The apple-filling and the streusel topping seemed disjointed and weren’t magical together. The apples were just baked apples–nothing special. And the topping was too dry in texture without any real flavor too it. Making a good streusel isn’t all that hard; so I was pretty disappointed. The caramel ice cream that topped it was, however, really good. Unfortunately, it melted so fast that I couldn’t enjoy it with the apples–I essentially had to eat it quickly right at the start.
So, I would definitely go back. Knowing what I now know about the menu, I would either order more, or go for something like a late dinner after having appetizers at a bar somewhere. But I would look elsewhere for dessert, although I guess I could give their pastry chef one more chance.
t says: It’s cool – Capogiro’s close by … so when we goin?
after dinner sneeze 