Philadelphia One Day, Two Restaurants

While passing through Philly recently, stopped for lunch at Buddakan...wish we'd tried Morimoto instead. But dinner at Tinto, owned by Jose Garces, was a completely revelatory experience....best tapas we've had this side of the Atlantic. Albeit, it was a special tasting menu celbrating New Years Eve.

Here's the lineup:

White asparagus terrine with goat cheese emulsion, black pepper
Saucisson sec
Idiazabal with membrillo, acacia
Mission Figs, serrano ham wrapped
Moules basquaise(mussels) with chorizo, frites, lemon aoli
Pork belly montadito with honey lacquer, shaved apples
Hanger steak brochette with cider demi-glace
Braised short rib with celeriac espuma, cracked pepper caramel, crispy shallot
Bacalao a la viscaina(black cod) with serrano and olive escabeche
Judias verdes(haricot vert) with almonds, dates, orange and paprika sherry vinaigrette
Baby arugula salad with persimmon, fried goat chees and sevilla orange Vinaigrette
Truffled chestnut soup with duck and mushroom hash, pistachio
Jumbo lump crab revuelto with Benton's bacon, herb toast
Duck Montadito with serrano, black cherry, la peral spread
Prawn Brochette with sherry espelette glaze
Prime aged sirloin with herb roasted porcinis, goat cheese, green peppercorn jus
Rodaballo a la plantxa (Turbot) with sauce pastis, baby fennel, citrus
Baby artichokes with fresh pappardelle, meyer lemon, shaved perigord truffle
Bananas y azafran
Gateaux basque

Joses Garces also has Amada, Distrito and Chifa in Philadelphia and has opened Mercat in Chicago.

Tinto is highly recommended.

David Chang

Its no secret i'm a great admirer of David Changs flavor combinations...his dishes often seem to sing with flavor and amaze you with the creativity.

After our last trip to NYC, though, I feel obliged to point out that there seems to be a shift toward Momofuku Ssam bar as the best place to sample his cooking (unless you are one of the lucky few to get into Ko). Momofuku noodle bar seemed a little staid and some of the better dishes we had enjoyed there several years ago now appear on the ssam menu. The bowls of noodles at Momofuku Noodle seemed a little ordinary, for example. Neither restaurant is that comfortable, but both are usually packed.

Tasty China Again

The photos are: Pork belly, wood ear mushrooms, dried fried eggplant, fish cilantro rolls, green beans with pork and olives, chow fun noodles, chinese salad, dan dan noodles

Craft Atlanta: Jeff was Right

For those of you watching Top Chef Season 5, you know chef Jeff was confronted on the reunion show that he was quoted in an interview as saying Tom Colicchio's food was boring....he denied it, but I think the original supposition is true.

Tom deserves extra scrutiny if he s going to hold himself up as a mentor to young chefs. His attempted mantra with his Craft chain of restaurants seems to be great product prepared well. But our experience in New York and most recently at Craft Atlanta says otherwise. If his food was judged on Top Chef, he'd be gone early. Toby and Bourdain wouldn't have let this go.


The Atlanta space is one of my favorite anywhere. Its drop dead gorgeous, kind of a modern craftsman style. The exterior of the building is a little wrong for the interior...looks like a high end Florida jewelry store....appropriate, I guess, for the Buckhead neighborhood its located in.

Foie gras was the best prepared dish but needed a bit more sweet to cut the fat. Shrimp sent back arrived overcooked a second time. The Hamachi and tuna appetizers are better done at your local sushi place. A very dry canned tuna on a cracker was the Amuse Bouche (are you kidding Tom?) . The monkfish was wrapped in a too salty proscuito, the risotto over cooked, the quail left to dry out a few minutes too long. It just never clicked and reinforces Atlanta as a restaurant destination with style over substance. Gunter Seeger is long gone, and other than Quinones and a great collection of ethnic places especially along Buford Hwy there is just not much happening, even at the places that garner high ratings.

BTW, Craft does have a notable wine list with many solid well chosen value wines (15 to 18 dollar retail marked up to 40 dollars) and surprises like Kosta Browne pinot at the moderate to high end. A number of Atlanta restaurants we've been to recently really have stand out wine programs.

Pintxos (Tapas) in San Sebastian

Here is the listing of the Pintxos Bars (Tapas elsewhere in Spain) we visited in San Sebastian:

Goiz Argi

Shrimp Brochette

Borda Berri

Canelon de Morcilla
Croqueta de Melosos
Presa con Salsa Romesco
Stewed Beef Cheek
Deboned Pork Rib

Txepetxa

Anchovies with:

Spider crab
Sea Urchin eggs
Jardinera
Salmon
bocarta

Bar Tamboril

Beef and Bechamel stuffed pepper

Ganbara

Mini Croissant with ham
Fried white asparagus
Calamares

Gandarias

mini solomillo con pimiento de gernika

La Cuchara de San Telmo

Chocolate ganache

Guggenheim Bilbao

This post references the gastronomic restaurant inside the tremendous and breath taking Guggenheim Bilbao...its run by the famed and Michelin starred Martin Berasategui who has installed a terrific young chef named Josean Alija.

This place overlooks the river and was pretty well booked out the night we were there in Mid February.  We took the earliest reservation offered at 9 pm and our party of four opted for the tasting menu entitled:

Creation, Freedom and Tendencies

Cucumber impregnated with vegetable drops, melon sauteed with mint, all seasoned with kafir, cardamon and grapefruit

Roasted Red Endives soaked in a shellfish and cardamon stock, with a smooth orange blossom flavored grapefruit cream

Roasted aubergine flavored with makil goxo, based on  a yogurt emulsion, Farga olive(reputed to be from 1000 year old trees)

Roasted Fish on a wild garlic juice with Ballobar capers and lemon herb

Iberian Pork piece, honey, marinated potato

Baker esperiega apple gnocchi on whipped cheese with green cardamon and cinnamon ice cream

An unusual finale  entitled "Use your Hands"  which had a coffee textured toasted beer ice cream, orange skin confit with orange blossom

Service was absolutely terrific.   Some molecular gastronomic touches with the added bonus of a magical expanding napkin and a little bit of theater with a solitary leather gloved bread service that made me think of Michael Jackson.

Not a single missed note....expect great press and Michelin recognition soon for Josean.

Arzak

This 3 starred Michelin restaurant is as unassuming as can be on the outside...almost looks like it could be an apartment building way on the upper west side of New York...the kind without the doorman. It was actually the childhood home of Juan Mari Arzak the patron half of the father-daughter chef team and the man considered the father (or grandfather now!) of modern Spanish cuisine.

Elena is the daughter with whom most English speaking diners will get a tableside visit from. Reports are that they work well together but don't always see eye to eye. Everything about the tasting menu we experienced was spot on, with nary a miss. A bit of gastronomic modernity showing off some of the creative side is fused with perfect flavor profiles. The most unique technique was the "bronzed onion" and sauce that accompanied it...literally a metallic application ala the gold leaf that we occasionally see elsewhere on chocolate desserts.

Great wine list with some of those typical 20 euro Spanish bargains seen elsewhere, but other highly touted Parker wines such as Numanthia at a bit less than US retail. Service was unobtrusive and efficient. Amazingly, lots of locals and several families with children enjoying lunch the Saturday afternoon we were there. For me, this was the best meal of the trip and one of our best experiences ever.