A Gourmand's Life

There are few examples of one chef's dominance over a city's gastronomic landscape that can compare to Jose Garces' current reign as the overlord of Philadelphia. It is, perhaps, Philadelphia's relatively small size and lack of a fine dining echelon that has catapulted Garces, who specializes in Latin cuisine, to local, and ultimately national, fame.

After leaving Stephen Starr and El Vez behind, Garces opened Amada, a Spanish tapas restaurant that set the template for Garces' empire with its big, lusty flavors and modern riffs on authentic regional dishes. Garces is up to five restaurants now, including the recently opened Village Whiskey, which had a two hour wait at 6:00pm the evening I stopped by. Garces' recent arrival as the new Iron Chef certainly isn't hurting business. So on this trip Distrito would have to do, and it did well.

We arrived a tad early for our 7:00pm reservation to find an already packed house, made even more surprising when you finally get to see how big that house is. Distrito sprawls out over two floors filled with kitschy salutes to Mexico, from the VW bug that doubles as a four top to an expansive wall of Lucha Libre masks.



The menu at Distrito does not stray too far from traditional Mexican fare. While Garces elevates and refines some of these dishes, we are not talking about Topolobampo here - his sights are set lower. Still, this is certainly one of the better Mexican restaurants in the country. You may not recognize it as such after sampling the solid but unspectacular Guacamole, although the Tomato Salsa that accompanied it packed a solid punch, in January no less.

But the next three dishes were knockouts. If your only experience of Tortilla Soup has been at hole-in-the-wall Mexican kitchens that promise authenticity but deliver disappointment, the version at Distrito will come as a revelation. its silky broth redolent of tomato, chicken and Pasilla chile.


Garces built his reputation on his insanely good interpretations of Catalonian cocas at Amada, and his mastery of the flatbread genre continues at Distrito with his Los Hongas Huarache, which bears little resemblance to the traditional large, thick tortilla usually covered with an amalgamation of gloppy toppings. This crisp flatbread is topped with an overdose of umami, from forest mushroms and huiatlacoche crema to black truffles and a layer of assorted cheeses. It is really superb.


The tacos at Distrito were a bit on the delicate side, in a good way. My favorite was the Lengua, a two bite jewel consisting of meltingly tender tongue in cebolla criolla, a South American salsa typically consisting of onions, chilies and lemon, as well as salsa verde.


Only the Mole Amarillo was a disappointment. The sauce was very one note for a mole, the rabbit was just a bit overcooked and the incongrous diced pineapple it was combined with threatened to take over the dish at any time.

We were seriously stuffed at this point but couldn't resist the promise of Churros, served with warm chocolate sauce and coffee ice cream. When made with pate a choux, churros are elevated to the pantheon of fried desserts.


The menu at Distrito is sprawling, and we didn't get to sample the ceviches or any of the larger plates. But the best dishes here are clear evidence of Garces' ability to refine classical dishes without losing their heart, or punch. I look forward to a return visit soon.

By now it should be clear that I hate brunch, although I may not as yet expressed my particular loathing for hotel brunches, those all-you-can-eat buffets where generally execrable food is made even more unpalatable by someone playing the harp. So it may seem strange that I chose to visit Lacroix at The Rittenhouse Hotel for brunch during my recent trip to Philadelphia, but Lacroix is quite different – this is an attempt at brunch for serious gourmands.


In spite of their reputation as one of the top rated restaurants in the city, brunch is not an afterthought at Lacroix. The food selections are serious, but the atmosphere is relaxed and playful. As the dining room itself is rather small, many of the buffet stations are actually set up in the kitchen, where you can watch executive chef Jason Cichonski and his staff at work while you help yourself to their array of creations. Before that, however, m you will want to avail yourself of the cold seafood station, where you will find oysters, individual shrimp cocktail shooters, and house-smoked salmon, as well as reasonably good paddlefish and salmon caviars.


The hors d’oeuvres station has numerous warm options, but since it would take a competitive eater to actually try everything on offer, I passed on most of these, except for the delightful Foie Gras Malted Milk Lollipops. Among the cold salads, Chinese Broccoli with Hearts of Palm, Orange and Muscavado-Mustard Vinaigrette, Grilled Cuttlefish Salad with Grapefruit and Chilled Peanut Vinaigrette, and a Mac “n” Cheese option consisting of elbow pasta, aged gouda, celery and apples were well executed, if not terribly exciting.


In the kitchen you will find individual buffet stations devoted to fish, meat, charcuterie, vegetables and breakfast items. Despite my intention to methodically work my way through each of these, I became distracted and missed the seafood items, which consisted of a Giant Scallop Sausage as well as Black Pepper, Caramel-Glazed Salmon. That was probably a mistake, as the meat options were unsuccessful; an Herb Crusted Lamb Rack was woefully underdone while Braised Pork Belly, while well cooked, was wan and uninteresting. Short Ribs were expertly braised but overwhelmed by kaffir lime, and the undercooked chickpeas that accompanied them were prepared in the style of baked beans, adding to the jumble of jarring flavors.


The vegetable selections had more successful flavor profiles. Brussel sprouts were combined with pine nuts, raisins and a bit of black truffle, and Salsify, one of the most overlooked vegetables, was inventively prepared Lyonnaise style.

At this point you will enter the sweet kitchen, quite literally. In addition to a table of assorted miniature pastries, you are invited to the pastry station in the kitchen to observe, as a dessert is prepared using liquid nitrogen. Next to this are dark and milk chocolate fountains, with various choices for dipping. Needless to say, these were the highlights of the day for my five year old.


The miniature desserts are all well made, including Cardamom Crème Brulee and a Pineapple and Coconut Financier.


My favorite sweet of the meal, however, was Fried French Toast with Toasted Cedar Syrup – an addictive combination that tasted like Christmas on a plate.

The brunch at Lacroix is nothing if not interesting - Chef Cichonski is very talented, and to his credit, he doesn’t attempt to tame down his ideas and seasonings in order to pander to a less sophisticated diner at brunch. But like many young chefs running kitchens these days, his ideas hit the plate running – perhaps before they have received proper consideration. And the sheer number of dishes prepared for this meal guarantee that a number of them will fall flat in both conept and execution. But if brunch fits the bill for a special occasion, Lacroix is the best option, by far. Bring the kids and have some fun in the kitchen.

Dining out often can leave even the most fervent foodie a bit jaded at times, even in the most stimulating of culinary environments. That is why finding a restaurant like Zahav is such a special pleasure – it introduces you to dishes you barely knew existed, and refines others in clever and sophisticated ways. If chef Michael Solomonov’s Middle Eastern flavors initially seem familiar at their core, it is because, as David Sax writes in his excellent book "Save the Deli", "the Isreali culinary landscape is dominated by the food of the Arabs". But there is a personal focus at work here - Solomonov puts his own unique touch on modern Israeli cuisine, and the results are delightful.

To dispense with the negative, the restaurant is in kind of a weird spot, hovering on a small hill next to an office park in Old City. The décor is modern industrial with an attempt at some homey touches, like Jerusalem stone and bare wood tables, but the total effect seems oddly kitschy, and the soaring ceilings don’t really make you feel at home. In fact, sitting in the center of the main dining room here can you make you feel downright insignificant, although that is preferable to a seat at the food bar directly in front of the open kitchen, where you can feel the eyes of the dining room boring a whole through your skull. To the left of that kitchen, though, you will get a good view of Solomonov working at the open pass, where he calmly fires orders while rolling out more laffa dough.

And that dough is one of the reasons you are here. Servers rather matter-of-factly suggest beginning your meal with hummus and some of that laffa, and you would be crazy to ignore them. The hummus at Zahav will clear your head of every other version of this dish you have enjoyed or suffered through in your lifetime. We only tried one of the four varieties offered, and it knocked our socks off. Light and fluffy, with an almost whipped consistency, it is served with a splash of olive oil, garlic, parsley and a touch of cumin and sumac, and it is spectacular. Accompanying your hummus is a great disk of laffa hot from the wood oven. Sort of a combination of pita and naan, it is addictive – expect to order more.



To accompany the hummus and laffa you will be encouraged to order the Salatim, Zafra'a selection of eight small salads that provide a perfect acidic counterpoint to the hummus. This night they included spicy carrots, tabbouleh with pomegranates, okra, beets, pickled cauliflower, cucumber and tomato, marinated fennel and eggplant. It is best to think of these items more as condiments then finished salads. Solomonov does not back down on acid and spice, and some are better by themselves than others. Together with the hummus and laffa, they are terrific.


One dish I was very eager to try was the Kibbe Naya, a tartare of raw lamb, bulgur wheat and allspice, but I found the texture a bit too soft, almost mushy, and the seasoning was a little strong here, obliterating the lamb flavor. The next dish more then made up for my disappointment. Chicken Freekah may be the defining dish of this restaurant. Moist shreds of chicken are merely an accompaniment to the freekah, or roasted green wheat, perfectly cooked and tossed with toasted almonds and a healthy does of lemon. Bright, clean and refreshing, this is a wonderful dish.



From this point on, your meal will involve around protein, but this is not your typical meat on a stick. All are well sourced and cooked over intensely hot coals. The Sabra has lovely chunks of chicken served over mujadara, a delicious lentil, rice and caramelized onion pilaf, and is accompanied by green tahina.

The care taken here is evident in The Gibraltar, not just in the moistness and flavor of the charmoula-marinated fish, but in the accompanying chickpeas, some of which have been boiled and others fried to provide a lovely contrast with each bite.


The Galil, baby eggplant with pomegranates and pistachio, is beautifully cooked, but the tehina that sauces it is a bit strong, and if there is a weakness here it is an oversuse of tehina as an accompaniment.


Like Cucharamama in New Jersey, Zahav is a destination restauramt - there isn't anything like it in New York or anywhere else that I know of. The cooking here reflects Solomov's time at Vetri and Marigold Kitchen - it is an attempt to apply the techniques of haute cuisine to food with thousands of years of history. More importantly, it is an obvious labor of love.

Quite honestly, my previous visits to Philadelphia haven’t gone very well.

The city’s culinary landscape has seen a gradual and sometimes painful evolution take place over the last decade. Once important, trendsetting restaurants like Le Bec Fin, Pasion!, and Susanna Foo, all shadows of their former selves when I visited, have slowly given way to a new breed of modern, chef-driven spots. Restaurateur Stephen Starr deserves a great deal of credit for this – in addition to building a mini-empire, he put Philadelphia back on the map as a serious food destination with Morimoto, and helped position Jose Garces as both the city's most well known and talented chef.


My visit to Philadelphia over the long weekend revealed a new and exciting culinary destination. Following a trend in many major cities towards the gentrification of once decrepit - if not downright terrifying - neighborhoods, Philadelphia has seen an explosion of new, exciting restaurants sprinkled throughout the city. Whereas as little as five years ago a trip to Northern Liberties, University City or West Philly would have involved running a gauntlet of burning garbage can fires, today one can choose among some of the most eclectic, exciting new restaurants in town.

A couple of years ago, Marc Vetri was one of the first of the pioneers to break ground in the changing neighborhood of North Broad, and the response by his admirers was immediate and fervent. This is where the chef of his eponymous restaurant opened a second, more casual place featuring hand-made pastas and pizzas baked in a wood-burning oven. Frankly, I was unimpressed by my one meal at Vetri, one of the many disappointments I have experienced in Philadelphia over the years. The food was Emilia-Romagna as seen through a scientist’s microscope, refined and twiddled with to produce a pallid and bland result.

At Osteria, Vetri lets loose; while there is invention and refinement, this is lusty, full-flavored food that is smartly executed. We began with Mozzarella in Carrozza with Olive Oil, Poached Pear Tomatoes and Capers. At first the flavor and presentation here was a little simple, reminiscent at first bite of the all too familiar fried mozzarella appetizers we all know and hate. But the dish grew on me, particularly the texture of the soft cheese within its ethereally fluffy egg batter. I have very pleasant memories of this dish.


Our other antipasti was an interesting dish, Sepia with Tomatoes, Fennel and Squid Ink Polenta. This was a lovely little pile of expertly stewed cuttlefish pieces served over polenta delicately infused with squid ink, sort of an imaginative play on the Venetian specialty of squid in its own ink over plain polenta. This was a captivating and delicious dish.


Osteria features both Pizza Tradizionale as well as Napoletane. In consideration of our girth, we limited ourselves to one of the former category, the Lombarda, which features Bitto and Mozzarella cheeses as well as Cotechino sausage and a baked, soft egg. This was an exemplary version of a traditional thin crust pizza, its edges perfectly charred in spots, the dough tasting of natural fermentation. The flavor combination was outstanding as well.


The lunch menu is limited here, so we were forced to finish with pasta and await a return visit for secondi and contorni. Chicken Liver Rigatoni with Cippolini Onions and Sage combines house-made pasta with a shower of crumbled chicken livers that have had their occasionally unpleasant murkiness cooked out of them. As delicious as this was, after awhile it appeared to be a bit one note, perhaps missing a bit of heat or acid.
 
 
By now I am sure you have gathered that Osteria is no ordinary...well, osteria. If not, the Pheasant Lasagnetta should convince. A perfectly portioned little dish with large chunks of subtly gamey pheasant nestled in fluffy pasta, this comes to the table with its topping nicely blistered and charred - another unusual and successful dish.
 
 
Italian cuisine can be a tricky genre - known for its simplicity, it can trick chefs into trying to elevate and refine it until its essence is lost. Vetri seems more comfortable working in this genuine, classical format, and it shows. This was a very nice meal, and I look forward to a return visit.

The new Ace Hotel is a welcome addition to the nondescript stretch of Broadway that has been renamed NOMA in a wishful attempt to lend it some much needed social panache. In addition to the first storefront location of the wonderful Stumptown Roasters, The Ace now features The Breslin Bar and Dining Room, the eagerly anticipated new project of restaurateur Ken Friedman and chef April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig.


The front bar room has a late 1800’s weathered hunting lodge look, and the small back dining room carries over the motif, with fewer knickknacks and an open kitchen at the rear. In keeping with the fashion of the times, the noise level is high; tables are elbow to elbow and are virtually guaranteed to wobble. The décor isn’t unpleasant really, and the room isn’t terribly uncomfortable, but the overall effect is forced, like a Hollywood set decorator was called in fill a stage set with props.

Friedman, apparently the only restaurateur unable to figure out how to make money while taking reservations, has resorted to a no reservations policy at the Breslin, similar to the one imposed at The Spotted Pig, which has severely curtailed my visits there. But The Breslin is a short stroll up Broadway from my office, allowing me to arrive before the throng of hipster Visogoths have time to descend.

Rarely have good and bad been juxtaposed as closely as they are on The Breslin menu. My most recent lunch began with house made Pork Scratchings, a West Midlands term for pork rinds. They are a delightful bar snack but I found their arrival in a plastic bag a bit disconcerting, despite the prominent display of their date of birth.



The Onion and Bone Marrow Soup, which owes more than a debt of gratitude to Fergus Henderson, is intense, with a full-bodied broth floating a hunk of Parmesan toast that has been sautéed in rendered bone marrow. Other then a rich lip-coating effect, this doesn’t really register as much more then a very good French onion soup, without the gratineed cheese, but that is more than enough.


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The must have dish here is the Chargrilled Lamb Burger, which packs a walloping lamb flavor that chef Bloomfield wisely tops with only a bit of red onion and some Feta and serves with a simple cumin mayonnaise on the side. The burger is accompanied by the soon to be legendary Thrice Cooked Chips, also available as a side. These turn out to be steak fries, by far the best I have ever had. This is a cut of fry that only chain steakhouses even try to make any more, as they are notoriously difficult to crisp up. These are obviously a labor of love, and they round out one of the most outstanding dishes I have had in quite awhile.


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Another terrific dish is the Chargrilled Tongue Sandwich, served with a cup of lentil soup that incorporates some spinach and a healthy does of herb oil. It is an unassuming, grey little thing but the tongue has been perfectly cooked before a last turn on the grill.

Lest the above suggest that my experiences here have been nothing but superb, I present Pan Fried Sea Bass with Treviso, Potatoes and Anchovy Dressing, an unparallelled disaster of both concept and execution that made me suddenly grateful for having never made it to The John Dory.



What is more disturbing then the drab presentation is that the thick portion of this fillet was virtually raw in the center, not exactly what you are looking for in sea bass. Worse still was the oversalting, a pattern in Bloomfield's career and clearly her weakness as a chef. The skin side of this fillet was rendered virtually inedible by an overdose of salt, and that is before I tried to get through the anchovy dressing and the oversalted, over reduced treviso. Believe me, I have a strong tolerance for salt - and this dish was terribly oversalted. On a previous visit, the chips I just showered with praise were equally showered with salt, causing them to wilt within a minute or two of their arrival. At The Spotted Pig I have found the burger and grilled cheese to be woefully oversalted. Even the best dishes here straddle the line.

April Bloomfield is clearly very talented and I tend to side with her style of meat-centric, bold, aggressive cooking. But there is no evidence of subtlety, refinement or balance in her food. She goes for the jugular with every dish, making both her successes and failures large ones. The Breslin Bar and Dining Room has a long way to go in terms of kitchen organization and execution, but so far its high notes will keep me coming back for more, with my fingers crossed, hoping for the best.

Yesterday marked the Epiphany, or Three Kings Day. While others marked the occasion in, perhaps, a more appropriate fashion, I made sure to pick up a Galette des Rois, or King's Cake, a traditional pastry eaten on the festival of the Epiphany throughout France. Consisting of two layers of puff pastry sandwiching a filling of frangipane and occasionally pastry cream, the galette usually contains a lucky charm which can range from a simple bean to a tiny plastic figurine of the baby Jesus. The person who finds it in their slice is king or queen for the day and gets to wear a paper crown.

The cake pictured here is from Madeleine Patisserie, a small shop on 23rd Street near my office. Being more of a Viennoiserie, they figured to do a good job with this cake, and they did, although a bit of pastry cream with the frangipane would have been nice.

I have always been fascinated with food traditions, particularly how specific holidays, both religious and otherwise, have spurred dishes that are still enjoyed today. You can find me hunting down some good Hamantaschen during Purim and Qatayef during Ramadan. When it comes to food, I am completely non-denominational.

Here at A Gourmand's Life, we love lists, so let's take a look at the best dining experiences of the past year - one we're all probably glad to see end.

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1. Lobster Roll with Shoestring Fries, Mary's Fish Camp

2. Char-Grilled Tongue Sandwich with Lentil Soup, The Breslin Bar & Dining Room

3. Stir-Fried Chicken with Spicy Capsicum, Lan Sheng

4. Yook Gae Jang, Mandoo Bar

5. Rehrucken, Cafe Sabarsky