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It's time for the Chifa trumpets to blare (DJ nights at Jose Garces' new spot?)
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It's time for the Chifa trumpets to blare (DJ nights at Jose Garces' new spot?)
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
And if you don’t have a trumpet, go and buy one and blare it.
That’s because, as of today at 5 p.m., Jose Garces will officially open his fourth restaurant at the spot on Chestnut formerly known as 707. (Kudos to former 707 operator/prize sommelier Ryan Margolis, who opened the doors to that address.)
The restaurant's hybrid of Cantonese and Peruvian cuisines is something Garces and his chef de cuisine Chad Williams seem to have mastered. A little casual reading (not of his menu, but of Lima’s take on Chinese foods) show that Chifa’s Lomo Saltado con Conchitas (beef tenderloin marinated in ginger and soy and stir-fried with peppers), aji gallina (chicken poached in a spicy sauce) and arroz chaufa con marisco (fried rice with Chinese ham, egg and scallion, topped with soy- and ginger-glazed shellfish) are on the right track.
At Chifa, ginger rules.
Plus, if it’s a Garces thing, you can’t forget his specialty. “Chifa has a ceviche bar, with chefs creating 10 different selections of the best ceviches in the country,” Garces told me last week. Plus, the Iron Chef winner mentioned something on the menu called Specialties for Two. “That part of the menu just happens to include one of my favorite dishes — salt-baked bronzino, which is tender and incredibly flavorful.”
I’ll have that indeed when I test Chifa this weekend.
On a design tip, there’s a 16-seat gold resin communal block that’s a little Starr-y (Jun Aizaki of Creme Design Collective) but unique in its dusky décor a la Tinto. only bolder. (Check out Drew Lazor's pics of the interior.) Plus, since I was so fond of 707’s gilded vault in the basement, Garces’ tip about that lounge for dining and late nights was a fascinating one: “We will be able to break down the tables to open up a dance floor for possible DJ nights."
Therefore, the thumping you hear at 707 might not be Danny Bonaduce training with Ryan Cassidy upstairs at Maxercise.
It’ll be Chifa beats, baby.
(P.S. Not to be outdone by himself, Garces is serving a a $100-a-head charity supper at Tinto on March 2 for Moonstone Preschool, a neighbor of mine that is moving closer still on south 11th Street this spring. Call 215-665-9150 to snag reservations for the four-course meal and wine pairing.)
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