Recapping: Heirloom tomato tasting at Amada

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer var so = new SWFObject("http://www.db798.com/pictobrowser.swf", "PictoBrowser", "500", "500", "8", "#FFFFFF"); so.addVariable("source", "sets"); so.addVariable("names", "Tomatina Dinner at Amada [18aug10]"); so.addVariable("userName", "dlazor"); so.addVariable("userId", "16589864@N00"); so.addVariable("ids", "72157624637173525"); so.addVariable("titles", "on"); so.addVariable("displayNotes", "on"); so.addVariable("thumbAutoHide", "off"); so.addVariable("imageSize", "medium"); so.addVariable("vAlign", "mid"); so.addVariable("vertOffset", "0"); so.addVariable("colorHexVar", "FFFFFF"); so.addVariable("initialScale", "off"); so.addVariable("bgAlpha", "8"); so.write("PictoBrowser100819171823"); Last night we were treated to a gratis sneak-peek at Amada (217 Chestnut St.) chef de cuisine Macgregor Mann's heirloom tomato tasting menu, which he just rolled out to honor the annual La Tomatina Festival - yes, the one where people engage in intense vine-ripened warfare - in the small Valencian town of Buñol, Spain. The enormous food fight goes down next Wed., Aug. 25, so Amada will offer the four-course, nine-dish dinner, which runs $55 a head, until that date. Mann has been sourcing heirlooms from both Delaware County and South Jersey for this occasion, and says he sees his kitchen running through at least 20 pounds of tomatoes a night. The varieties and sub-varieties of heirloom tomatoes are nearly as numerous as the thousands of blood-thirsty fruit chuckers who descend upon Buñol to pelt friends and strangers alike with red globules of death, and Mann's preparations exploit variations in size, texture and flavor to their tastiest advantage. Which specific tomatoes used on each night will vary depending on which farmers have what - green and yellow zebra tomatoes, for example, were not on last night's menu, but will pop up in the next few nights. The dishes themselves, though, will remain the same. What we ate, in order: Mosaico del Tomate: Raspberry, Toasted Hazelnuts, Acacia Honey (dabs of local goat cheese and a wobbly green tea gelée on this dish, too) Salmorejo: Chilled Soup, Jamon Serrano, Hiramasa Belly, Strawberry, Compressed Egg Yolk Pan con Tomate: Sherry and tomato puree, boquerones, grilled bread (this super-traditional Spanish snack helps you realize just how goddamn good tomatoes can be this time of year) Tomate Coca: Crispy flatbread with Tomato Sofriget Sauce and Manchego Cheese, topped with herb-marinated heirloom tomatoes Bacalao Croquettes: Salt Cod, Heirloom Tomato Sauce, American Caviar Atun con Tomates: Rare Bigeye Tuna, Chorizo and Sherry Dressing, Grilled Scallions, Melon Sorbet (ridiculous! topping each bite with some of the melon sorbet and then dipping into the chorizo dressing made for a fun spin on the classic melon/ham flavor combo) Chuleta de Cordero: Blackened Lamb Porterhouse, Grilled Heirloom Tomatoes and Melted Leeks (the sear on this piece of lamb was incredible; great crisp against that bed of creamy tomato and leek) Higado de Pato: Marinated Heirlooms Tomato, Pinenut Risotto, Membrillo Honey Lubina al Pescador: Roasted Sea Bass, Catalan Tomato Stew, Piquillo Pepper and Potato Salad Tweets that mention Recapping: Heirloom tomato tasting at Amada :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com Posted 2010-08-19 17:16:24

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Recapping: Heirloom tomato tasting at Amada

POSTED: Thursday, August 19, 2010, 9:47 PM

Filed Under: Chef Salad | Food Events | Menu Time | Photos

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Last night we were treated to a gratis sneak-peek at Amada (217 Chestnut St.) chef de cuisine Macgregor Mann's heirloom tomato tasting menu, which he just rolled out to honor the annual La Tomatina Festival yes, the one where people engage in intense vine-ripened warfare in the small Valencian town of Buñol, Spain. The enormous food fight goes down next Wed., Aug. 25, so Amada will offer the four-course, nine-dish dinner, which runs $55 a head, until that date. Mann has been sourcing heirlooms from both Delaware County and South Jersey for this occasion, and says he sees his kitchen running through at least 20 pounds of tomatoes a night. The varieties and sub-varieties of heirloom tomatoes are nearly as numerous as the thousands of blood-thirsty fruit chuckers who descend upon Buñol to pelt friends and strangers alike with red globules of death, and Mann's preparations exploit variations in size, texture and flavor to their tastiest advantage. Which specific tomatoes used on each night will vary depending on which farmers have what green and yellow zebra tomatoes, for example, were not on last night's menu, but will pop up in the next few nights. The dishes themselves, though, will remain the same. What we ate, in order: Mosaico del Tomate: Raspberry, Toasted Hazelnuts, Acacia Honey (dabs of local goat cheese and a wobbly green tea gelée on this dish, too) Salmorejo: Chilled Soup, Jamon Serrano, Hiramasa Belly, Strawberry, Compressed Egg Yolk Pan con Tomate: Sherry and tomato puree, boquerones, grilled bread (this super-traditional Spanish snack helps you realize just how goddamn good tomatoes can be this time of year) Tomate Coca: Crispy flatbread with Tomato Sofriget Sauce and Manchego Cheese, topped with herb-marinated heirloom tomatoes Bacalao Croquettes: Salt Cod, Heirloom Tomato Sauce, American Caviar Atun con Tomates: Rare Bigeye Tuna, Chorizo and Sherry Dressing, Grilled Scallions, Melon Sorbet (ridiculous! topping each bite with some of the melon sorbet and then dipping into the chorizo dressing made for a fun spin on the classic melon/ham flavor combo) Chuleta de Cordero: Blackened Lamb Porterhouse, Grilled Heirloom Tomatoes and Melted Leeks (the sear on this piece of lamb was incredible; great crisp against that bed of creamy tomato and leek) Higado de Pato: Marinated Heirlooms Tomato, Pinenut Risotto, Membrillo Honey Lubina al Pescador: Roasted Sea Bass, Catalan Tomato Stew, Piquillo Pepper and Potato Salad

Tweets that mention Recapping: Heirloom tomato tasting at Amada :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2010-08-19 17:16:24

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Drew Lazor, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: Photos from Amada's heirloom tomato tasting, which runs through next Wednesday. Mas pan con tomate por favor! http://bit.ly/9twAGd [...]

Meal Ticket’s 2010 in Pictures: August :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2011-01-01 10:01:36

[...] - Recapping: Heirloom tomato tasting at Amada [19aug10] [...]

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