Dinner and Margaritas c/o Isabel

So a few weeks back BC expressed interest in creating a plan that involved brunch and the Zoe Strauss exhibit at the Art Museum. I then sent her perhaps too thorough a list of all the different brunchy spots I'd like to try. Then it was decided that instead of brunch, it should be dinner and it should be followed by one of the museum's Art After 5 dance parties.
This basic plan was further fleshed out once we narrowed down our dinner destination to Isabel. Due to the relative early hour that the Museum broke down its entertainment (8:45) we went with an early reservation time of 5:45. This was a good plan. We all won, really. AS was nice enough to pick up the nice bottle of tequila we would end up completing after two pitchers of limon margarita mix. BC and BA came with red lipstick and sequins. Ok. Anyways. We started with the guacamole, which was a nice serving and I appreciated the slightly chunkier style than my other recent guac experience. Next up we tried one of the many specials of the evening. Fried cheese. Mmmmm. Fried cheese. Nice and hot, oooey, but not too gooey.
AS and BA both went the way of the enchilada. I enjoyed taking a little taste of their jalepeno cream sauce. Definitely a different approach than your typical red/green/mole. BC chose the special that included cubed pork shoulder, fried plantain, pickled onions, rice and beans (and maybe something else, there was a lot of food on her plate). I took a bite and the pork was certainly flavorful, but BC felt like it was a little dry and I have to agree. It wasn't terribly dry, but pork shoulder is a cut that so often lends itself to fatty, juicy, tender results that even a slight lessening of that effect does impact the whole.
I chose to try their chille relenos. I enjoyed the light red tomato sauce that smothered the peppers themselves. It was mild, not much of a kick, but fresh to the tongue and not flat. The peppers and the magical cheese within them were good. Nothing too revolutionary or unique about this presentation. I didn't care too terribly much for the rice, and the beans didn't strike me as 'wowza' material.
I'd say that the meal on the whole was a success. And enough of what came out of the kitchen was above average enough that I'd go back to try a different set of dishes. And the waitstaff was also friendly, if a little bit off with timing.

Birthday Celebration Dinner c/o Cantina Los Caballitos

Since winter hit I haven't seen much of A.S. Her work, sadly enough, also has a busy season. And since most of her clients are homeless, winter becomes quite busy. Anyways. She recently turned 27 (youth!) and I met up with her and some other friends at Cantina Los Caballitos. Soon after sitting down we ordered pitchers of margaritas and chips came out with green and red salsas. I spoke to B., a girl who went to the same high school as I did, but with whom I wasn't overly familiar. It was nice to meet her, or re-meet her. There were others, but the space was loud and I didn't manage to circulate. I liked the margaritas just fine.
I'm not sure if these look appealing or not. They are nachos, and in actuality they were quite good. Though - like many nachos before them - their bottom layer of chips did not benefit greatly from the presumed trickle down effect of strategic topping placement. If you know what I mean? The whole balance of chips that get equal opportunity topping smothering. If that makes sense. I think I'm going to move on from the nachos.
Cantina Los Caballitos is the sister restaurant of Dos Segundos, which I consider a good thing; every time I have been to the restaurant I've had a good time, even if sometimes I haven't liked my exact menu choice. I ordered the goat tacos, still remembering how much I enjoyed Dos Segundos' version when Childhood friend visited in ... oh man, it's going on three years ago? Almost. I added guacamole and pico de gallo to my tacos, I kind of feel like charging for those things is sad. But they were really good and I didn't want to go without. Somehow my angle and the flash led to an unfortunate (and avoidable-for-someone-better-than-me) shadow issue in most of the taco images. It's my looming mouth and stubby hands bearing down upon the tacos. They were ready. They knew it was their time.
I can't wait for the season to change, and the farmer's markets and the fresh green beans and radishes. And strawberries! Oh man. Tomatoes. Tomatoes with real dirty realness. I really need to grow tomatoes this summer. I have a deck. It gets sun. I can fight off squirrels with my superior intellect. I have an MFA, you know.
So happy birthday to A.S.!

Mojito, Ceviche and Elote c/o Who Knows

I went up to New York the first weekend in February to hang with L. I arrived Friday night and after some dilly dallying and wine drinking, she, N. and I walked along Union Street before deciding on a Latin American restaurant for dinner. I wish I could tell you what the restaurant was called, but after some research on googlemaps, I'm not entirely convinced that it exists. Like, maybe it was a group delusion. Of course that's not true, I have proof of the meal. Point being is I would give the restaurant props, if I could figure out what it was called. Anyways. It was a small space and when we first walked in there wasn't a table for us. So we sat at the bar and ate complimentary fried plantain things with a great chimmichurri kind of dipping sauce, there was another sauce too...spicier. After L. subtly adjusted her body in front of the bartender (that's a joke just for L.) we were soon seated. I ordered a mojito and it was lovely.
For my meal I went with the ceviche appetizer followed by the elote appetizer. The ceviche was a nice plate and its offering of citrusy seafood was to my liking.
The elote was a little disappointing. All the ingredients were there, but it lacked salt or pizazz. In the summer when I make my white person's version of the dish, I think I add more lemon juice and may use a slightly different kind of mayo. Not all that exciting. I believe L. and N. both liked their meals.
A wonderful beginning to a good weekend. Rain notwithstanding.

Tasting Menu c/o Chifa

Mr. Ass and I have been corresponding for a while about having a meal together. He doesn't live in Philly so it does take a little planning. Though, often enough, he'll call about fifteen minutes before he wants to eat, which doesn't jibe too well with my general desire for planning. It's funny, because I do like surprises on occasion. But, for the most part, I like to know where I'm going and who is going to be there and what we're going to do beforehand. Is that true? I am capable of spontanaeity. This is not the post for a look-see into my obsessive need to know what's going to happen. No. The point is that I sent Mr. Ass a list of restaurants I wanted to try, and he replied that Chifa seemed like a place he'd like to try as well. Jose Garces is quite the restauranteur (did I just make up that word, or spell it wrong?) in Philly, and I tried a little of what he has to offer during our company's big special dinner last winter, so the concept of Peruvian Cantonese fusion was fine with me; dude knows how to cook, let him mix it up. So, last Tuesday, I met up with Mr. Ass and A.C. We started with complementary yucca bread and guava jelly. The bread wasn't bread-y as much as magicky. They were sort of dense, and yet fluffy. More gelatiny on the inside. Oh man. They were really, really satisfying, and served with a great guava jelly as well.

(Also before we go any further: understand that I did my best with taking photographs, and then photoshopping. The place is way low lit, and then has all this red on the walls that reflects on everything.)
We all went with the $45 tasting menu (I pushed it with enthusiasm, I admit). The green salad was great: leafy greens, sweet chile vinaigrette, and crunchy sesame. Simple, not overwhelming in the sesame.
Next up were two ceviches. One was shrimp, and one was something else. I've looked at the menu, and I'm not 100% convinced that any of the ceviche descriptions go with our exact dishes. They were both served with corn nuts (is that right?) and a few chips. One was a-mazing. Truly, just wonderful. While the other (with shrimp and tomato) didn't make my mouth happy at all. It may be that I don't like shrimp that have been 'cooked' ceviche-style, but I don't think so because A.C and Mr. Ass also didn't seem overly taken with the dish.
This is actually a close up of the ceviche I didn't dig. Oh well. The one I did dig was some sort of fish...hm, again, the descriptions don't shed any light on this. I just figured it out. The ceviche I liked was tuna.
Next up were giant shrimp panko fried. I ate everything but the eyeballs, as my father taught me to do. When Mr. Ass bit a little higher than it seemed he was used to, there was definitely some vibrant insides to see. I worried for Mr. Ass, but not for myself. Fried things are always good.
Mmm, mussels with coconut, lemongrass, rocoto, and thai basil. I liked this so much that when my share of mussels was safely in my belly, I used my discarded shells to scoop and slurp up more of the broth-y goodness.

Then pork belly buns! Sweet and savory. Four bites and they were done, gone and happily devoured. Plenty tasty.

And then there were the scallops with glorified fried rice. I didn't care all that much about the rice, but the scallops were done so well. Oh. So well. I realize that though I have cooked scallops on occasion, I have never cooked them well and proper. Perhaps that will be my next big cooking adventure.
Then there was the lamb rack with ginger quinoa, spicy bbq sauce and pickled something er other. I didn't notice any spice, but A.C. really enjoyed the quinoa. And the lamb was cooked nicely.
Chinese green beans with almonds etc were the side dish for the lamb.
So, on the whole, this was quite the nice meal. Everything was cooked well. Most all dishes had a great balance of flavors and textures. But, the individual dishes didn't seem to really fuse two different cuisines and flavors as much as the menu's descriptions would have suggested. The service, however, was not to be trifled with. I will go back. I will go back and try their pho and empanadas and maybe a dessert. I surely will. But this isn't my new favorite place.

Taquitos and Enchiladas c/o Pura Vida

Last week L. and I made plans to have dinner. I walked over to her building, which is the building I started out in when I first moved to Philly, and took the elevator to my old floor (L. moved into the apartment I moved out of). A number of months back a water main of some sort broke on the hall and flooded a good amount of L.'s apartment and, obviously, the hall itself. So, what was always a pretty ugly hallway now has this wonderfully water damaged look. So. Glad. I. Got. Out.
We went to Pura Vida, a Guatemalan place that L. and her boyfriend C. were very enthusiastic about. It's byob and in a sort of funny neighborhood...near Northern Liberties but still extremely rough around the edges. In another five to ten years, however, it'll probably be prime real estate. We started with the taquitos, which were so far superior to any microwaveable food item with the same name that I can't even begin to fathom it. They were stuffed with marinated chicken and the fresh salsa had a lovely cilantro kick.
I ordered the chorizo enchiladas. Definitely a generous portion and the green sauce that came with them really differentiated this dish from many other enchilada plates in my life. I did, however, remember that I prefer the Spanish form of chorizo over the South American version. L. had the chicken enchiladas, our plates looked pretty much exactly the same.
C. had a dish with 'gaucho' in its name. Steak and shrimp and potatoes and another really lovely sauce. If I were to go back, which I would because it was cheap and the food was tasty, I might try this...the vinegary element and the crunch of the shredded red cabbage (C. constructed a perfect fork for me) showed how much the cook/chef actually thinks about every element of the dish.
L. ended up buying the dinner. And I thank her for that, and them both for their eatmate companionship.