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FD: Felicia D'Ambrosio
MD: Marie DiFeliciantonio
DL: Drew Lazor
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
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| Photos | Drew Lazor |
Had an amazing brunch at Amis, sat at the kitchen counter, meal was highlighted by a very well informed waitress and a not to be missed Duck egg with pecorino fondue served in a small all-clad sauce pan
Spent the afternoon yesterday reading recipes for macarons and feeling incredibly ill-prepared to attempt making them. I decided to just go buy some instead and stopped at Miel Patisserie for a lemon and butter cream version and then to Garces Trading Co for a mint and white chocolate one and a salted caramel and chocolate one. Although the flavors of Garces macarons sounded more appealing, they ended up coming a distant second flavor and texture-wise to the Miel macaron. Garces ones were definitely prettier though.
Mother-in-law made my trek to the Shore worthwhile by snagging two 3-1/2 lb lobsters fresh off the truck at 7am at the seafood market. The man of the house had to take the claws outside & crack them with a hammer, but -- perhaps because they hadn't ever sat in tanks -- they had none of the toughness usually associated with large beasts. General consensus was it would be too much meat for four people (along with the rest of dinner) but I assured them I'd handle whatever they couldn't stomach. And I did. Sweet & succulent.
Once again, my notes from the weekend includes some weekday chowings. I was in California again for work, staying at the Claremont hotel, which overlooks Berkeley, Oakland and San Fran. A lovely hotel with two great eateries - Paragon bar and Maritage restaurant. Having been to the Meritage in Philly, I felt obliged to do a taste test. Interestingly, Meritage in in the hotel shared a similar menu item as meritage philly - pork buns. While Philly's Meritage would win the pork bun throwdown overall for superior pork buns, the pork buns in the meritage at the claremont was topped with the most thinly julienned pile of carrot, cabbage and daicon, which really added a great contrast the pork belly and hoisin. The other stand out dish from Meritage at the claremont was a crispy flatbread topped with house smoked salmon, cavier and creme fraiche. The only other thing to make note of from my stay there was a really bangin dish of fried calamari. What made this stand out to fried calamari every where was that it also included chunks of fried green tomatoes and pickles interspersed with the crispy tentacles. The best part of eating once back in philly was harvesting and eating the first couple heads of lettuce from my garden. I've really come to love a really simple dressing for greens of olive oil, lemon juice and salt/pepper.
So many delicious bites this weekend: at Amis> perfectly cooked spring-y fava beans and asparagus, at Fish> Peekytoe crab, grouper, morels, oysters (read: EVERY thing down to the minced cucumber), at Headhouse Square> freshly baked Market Day canneles. On Sunday, hit up the farmer's market at 9:59 and brought the boy's mom and my Brooklyn ma together for a home-cooked 5 course feast (who knew grilling pork tenderloin could be so simple??). Those lilacs from my fave Chinese family at HH are making my whole house smell awesome.
Go to Kraftwork. Just had a Lagunitas but I'm a fan of Sidecar's food so I figure their's will follow suit. The interior is gorgeous! Nice atmosphere, super nice waitstaff even with it being crazy busy. I cheated on Sarcone's with the PCOM special (with Russian dressing, naturally) from Koch's. After a lengthy Sarcone's v. Koch's debate, we decided that they were separate but equal. I was full after the first half but couldn't just let the other half be lonely so I let them have a reunion in my belly.
Late-night dinner on Friday at Taqueria Veracruzana: Carnitas quesadillas look like tacos; burritos look like a human head (in size, anyway). Yum all around. Took out-of-town friends to Fitler Square's Tastebuds for breakfast and Italian Market's outpost of Paesano's for lunch. We split four sams — the Paesano, the Diavlo, the Tuscan Tony and a veg special — and then had to get Anthony's coffees to digest it all. Picked up some Italian prosciutto and decadent cheeses from Claudio's for later. (Picked up some Brown Betty 'cakes for later-later.) Rounded out the friend-y weekend with brunch at Carman's Country Kitchen. I had cornflake-encrusted challah french toast topped with blood orange, strawberry, nutella and whipped cream. Srsly.
Went to Ladder 15 for happy hour before heading to the Flyers game. Enjoyed some goat cheese cigars, both styles of Korean taco and a small bite of the Sloppy Jose mix just to try it. Loved Ansill's tacos, especially the pork belly. After the game, we came back downtown for drinks and snacks at Tria. Fell in love with the beet salad because I substituted beets for grilled asparagus due to my loathe of beets. Went to Kraftwork on Saturday night to enjoy some more food and drink. Tried the cheese board (great), the ricotta dumplings (okay) and the croquettes (meh). Winners were found in the entrees we picked out which included the burger with bacon onion jam (awesome), the beer can chicken sandwich (great) and the falafel sandwich (also great). The best thing I could have done there would have been to put the cucumber sauce from the falafel sandwich on top of the spicy beer can chicken sandwich. Thinking back, I wish I had done it. Beer list was good but the wine list needs some work and the temperature of the red wine needs some love and attention. However, the pork Krispy treat is NOT to be missed. Winner, winner, pork for dinner.
As fate would have it: I accidentally ended up at Cichetteria 19â (despite having reservations at another restaurant and then trying to walk into a different place through Cichetteria 19's doors). A very lucky find. The owner and the staff were so friendly and informative. We stuffed ourselves silly on small plates of food made from seasonal and local ingredients- melon and prosciutto, olives, two amazing seafood dishes. The wine was pricey, but if you don't mind small portions, the prices were reasonable.
Mike H, that sounds great...I'm obsessed with their baccala.
Can't wait to get to Kraftwork.
spent part of the weekend in DC for sisters graduation. Ate at Rasika on Sat and Jaleo on Sunday/Mother's Day Brunch. Both places were outstanding. Fried spinach, Tandoori Salmon, Curried Lamb shanks, GIANT curried Shrimp, and a traditional dumpling-like cake with rosewater and pistachio ice cream...Rasika! For brunch we ordered many dishes/sm. plates. Soft-scrambles eggs with wild mushrooms, chicken croquettes, salt roasted baby potatoes with Cilantro-Cumin dipping sauce, beet and blue cheese salad, potato tortilla, patatas bravas(some of the best I have had), sauteed spinach with raisins, potatoes and pinenuts and a warm apple charlotte at Jaleo!! TWO thumbs up for both spots...
I have spent many hours pondering this Sarcone's v. Koch's question. It's like debating Jordan v. Russell. I think I need to back Koch's because of cultural loyalty but if someone argued for Sarcone's I could not hold it against them.
Mmmm, Market Day caneles. Bought the 2pack of large; they didn't make it past one block on my walk home.
Is Sarcone's vs. Koch's really a fair one-or-the-other debate? Can't you just buy me sandwiches from both? I mean, can't you just like both?
Friday: During lunch hour, I ran to Home Sweet Homebrew where George Hummell put together on the fly a rye IPA recipe for my next batch of Fernonbrau. Post work: the usual beers at Khyber, then pre-Flyers Italian tuna hoagie from Cosmi's, during the Flyers drank the last few bottles of Dark Star Brown Ale (a Home Sweet Homebrew kit) and finished up with a celebratory post-Flyers rye Manhattan at Royal Tavern. Saturday: Lazy day that included putting chicken wire up around my lettuce planters to keep squirrels from eating it before I do and, while watching the amazing Betty White SNL, brewing up that rye IPA and getting it into the fermenter then experimenting with bread machine recipes using the spent grains from the wort. Sunday: Mother's day brunch at my sister's (I brought caneles from Green Aisle) followed by the mother's day plant sale at Bartram's Garden.
Yeah I would say it ain't fair (or easy), especially given the bread factor and the pork factor, to attempt to compare Jewish deli and Italian sandwiches. PS-Hi Doron...didn't you sublet from me 2 blocks from Koch's?
Hey Julia! I DID once live two blocks from Koch's, just briefly, and I regret leaving that hallowed ground every day. Drew, what a cowardly position. Pick a side!
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