A Night Out Featuring Wine and Snacks c/o Tria Wine Room

CPM had a slight break in her graduate studies, or at least a little more time in Philly, earlier this month and we capitalized on that free time/her hubby's being out of town for a bachelor party to meet up and catch up. At some time prior to this meeting I purchased a Groupon (or it could have been a Social Living) discount for cheese and snacks at Tria Wine Room. I had tried, previously, to cash the coupon in, but hadn't read the fine print that stipulated it could only be redeemed at the West Philly Tria location. In the end that early mistake was a blessing, as it was far more fun to explore the menu with a fellow food lover. I believe we went on a Saturday evening, braving the cold, a bus, and a walk past streaming UPenn students going east to Center City to arrive at our destination. I had realized that our choice of evenings could potentially lead to a wait/the fact that we might be the only two people in the establishment not on a date ... and at least one of those expectations was pretty much met; we were seated immediately at the bar but all around us were couples. The bartender was friendly and handsome and we quickly had glasses of wine in our hands. Well, in my case, a Spanish cava/prosecco (Cava Brut, Castellroig, NV). When it came down to choosing what to eat we ultimately chose Tria Sliced Meat Plate with Sweet Red Pepper, Pickled Onion Mostarda and Spicy Garlic Oil. The variations of the sliced cured meats was lovely, as were the accompanying slices of bread and garnishes. The garlic oil was particularly delightful.

We also split the Claudio Mozzarella Sandwich with Crispy Prosciutto, Piquillo Pepper, Pesto and Garlic Vinaigrette, which was above average for a fanci-fied mozzarella panini. I was especially fond of the pesto element.

We additionally enjoyed the Housemade Lamb Sausage with White Beans, Piquillo Peppers and Mint-Feta Sauce. CPM enjoyed the white beans a whole heck of a lot while I became enamored of the lamb sausage, which was savory and hearty and magic.

We also enjoyed a chunk of Crémeux de Bourgogne cheese with its accompanying preserved cherries, but the photograph of the cheese just didn't come out well enough to bother showing you. We each ordered a second glass of wine to round out our treats. The Tria industrial complex (heh) is not fooling around with its curated wine list or attention to interesting flavor combinations and I was glad to finally check out the third of its locations. Afterwards we were going to try and have fancy cocktails at Franklin Mortgage and Trust, but it was cold and there was already a line of a good 10 people and that would have translated to a good 30-who knows minute wait, which we were having none of. Instead we went in a markedly less high-brow direction to The Bards, where we ran into LW. LW was playing darts but with folks who really know how to shoot...and CPM would not have had much fun if playing against them, so we set up shop at the lower board and played a game or two with two dudes. We topped the night off with one round of beers at McCrossens, which is generally a good way to end a night and lived up to that description admirably on this occasion.

Cured Meats, Pasta, Meatballs and Pizza c/o Barbuzzo

At some point lately Mr. Ass let me know that he was going to be in the city, and asked if I might like to meet up with him for a meal. We decided that Barbuzzo would be our destination, as I had long wanted to try the place, and he had recently gone and enjoyed himself. So after work I caught a bus and wended my way down to Barbuzzo where Mr. Ass awaited. We had a very nice server who looked a lot like Natalie Portman, except not pregnant. I abstained from pointing this out to her because I was pretty sure I wouldn't have been the first to say it. We split the cured meat plate, which included chorizo, prosciutto and a few other things. I liked it and its accoutrements well enough, but James' plate is the golden standard.
Next up was the casarecce, which came with olive oil, wood fired Hen of the Woods mushrooms, arugula, preserved lemon-walnut pesto and ricotta. There was a lot going on and all of it was to my liking. I believe Mr. Ass was also taken with this dish.
We also ordered the caciocavallo stuffed meatballs made of house ground shortrib, pork, oregano and calabrian chile. I hadn't really understood that there was going to be cheese on the INSIDE of the balls...but once I comprehended the reality of the situation, I was quite pleased. The tomato sauce accompanying it was simple but not necessarily in a bad way.
We completed our dining experience with the uovo pizza, which was topped with brussel leaves, barbuzzo guanicale, secret white sauce, house-stretched fior de latte, truffle and a farm egg. Though already pretty full, I managed to consume my two slices with little difficulty. I mean. Really. Anything with truffle oil and an egg? With cheese? What's not to love? Nothing. That's what.
I also tried their 'little Italian redhead' cocktail, which consisted of vodka, aperol and housemade lemonade. I liked it but decided on a glass of wine for my next beverage. I couldn't tell you which wine. Either the barbera or the montepulciano. I liked it too.
So the cured meat was a bit of a 'miss,' but that's really just due to my high standards for cured meat/charcuterie. The pasta was delightful, rich and nutty. The meatballs were hearty and the cheese in the middle was a wonderful surprise. The pizza was also above par and delicious. I will definitely go back and try more of their dishes.

Cocktails, Cheese, Charcuterie and Salad c/o XIX

So, for those of you who don't know, Groupon is a pretty great thing to subscribe to if you live in a city that offers it. For example, one deal I ran across in the last few months was $17 for $35 worth of a meal at XIX. After my positive experience there for Thanksgiving last year, I jumped on the chance for a discounted second act. Then, a while later, she-J. and I met up to actually cash the groupon in. There were a few restrictions; I had imagined us sitting at the bar, sipping on cocktails and eating a huge cheese/charcuterie plate, but the groupon was only good for the main dining room and required us to buy one entree. Regardless. For my first cocktail I tried a drink that included: citrus vodka, pallini lemoncello, lemon juice, and macerated fresh blackberry (and probably more, but their downloadable menu cuts off certain words). I liked it. Tart but not too much so.
She-J. let me pick the cheeses and salami. I made a poor meat selection that neither of us particularly cared for, which I cannot elaborate upon because the menu cuts off all the cheese and meat names. So, I can be just as useless when it comes to the cheeses.
Also it was as dark as a closet in the dining room. Like, really dim. This, of course, made taking good photographs quite the challenge. This was the best I could do.
We shared the lump crab salad to meet the entree requirement, and I will say it was a generous and satisfying salad.
After that we went to Capital Grille so J. could get her dessert fix (three homemade ice creams if I recall correctly). We asked the bartender what her signature cocktail was, and it was something with pineapple that had been soaked in vodka. We each took one.
This was the first time that She-J. and I had hung out without the kids in, well, I would say as long as the kids have been alive and I've been in Philly so 3-5 years depending on how you want to look at things. I experienced a little trepidation on this account. She-J. is such a good friend and I value the time I spend with her and her family...and yet I worried that without the constant punctuation of kids wanting or needing something/just being entertaining, we'd have awkward pauses or a lack of topics for conversation. I was, as you would probably have told me had I expressed this fear to you, wrong. A great and varied evening.

Last Friday M. suggested Primo's for lunch. Actually, I think she suggested it on Thursday. I ordered the American with long hot peppers, tomatoes and pickles. It was a lot of sandwich.

In this photograph the sandwich is going to eat the dragon...but the dragon doesn't know it yet.

Cocktails and Charcuterie c/o James

I wanted to share a few eating experiences with M. and A. during their time on the East Coast and expressed this desire to M. earlier in the summer. After our beach and country time M. asked me if I was sick of her, and whether coming to Philly still made sense. I asked if she was sick of me. She responded no, so I said we should keep it going. A. couldn't come because of work, but M. arrived after work on the first and we bussed it on down to James for cocktails and charcuterie. I ordered a drink that involved tea and other things, but I can't tell you exactly what because it's not on their online cocktail menu. It was good, not as sweet as some things I like, but refreshing. M. ordered their gin martini with blue cheese stuffed olives. Those olives, those olives were stuffed with magic. I know this because M. was generous enough to let me try one.
These olives weren't bad either.
We came to James with a purpose, and that purpose was to eat their charcuterie plate. While their menu is full of appealing things, we didn't bother perusing it, as we knew that we had a second destination on the horizon.
The plate didn't disappoint. Mmmmm. That stuff in the little glass bowl was ridiculously good, and their pate had cherries in it. Oh! And they also had pickled cherries, which were surprising in their vinegary tartness. The pickled beets and carrots were also entirely satisfying. Just a ridiculously beautiful plate. I want to go and eat it all the time. All. The. Time. I tell you.

Cheese, Gazpacho and Salad c/o Kindle

I went to Lewes for dinner on Sunday. I took a stroll around the very quaint and shiny 'downtown' and looked at the menus of most of the places, all of which were suspiciously similar. In the end I decided to go to Kindle, partially for their motto 'Eat, Drink, Glow' and partially because all the menus looked very similar and its menu was the last one I looked at. I ordered the Italian Greyhound, which was finlandia grapefruit vodka, lemoncello, fresh grapefruit juice, splash of prosecco. I liked it very much.
I went with a few appetizers for my meal. Their cheese and salami plate was nicely presented, but not all that special. I think the charcuterie plate at James has spoiled me (and I've only had it two times).

The gazpacho was delightful.
Ordering a house salad isn't a very adventurous choice and one shouldn't expect anything much of one, even at a chi-chi-ish place. That said, this salad was a step up from iceberg lettuce, and the dressing had some magic to it.
The meal was all good, perhaps if I had gone with an entree or warm dish of some kind I would have been more blown away. I had a lapse when my server first came up to me...when he introduced himself I introduced myself, which really isn't done. Even as I said 'oh yes, and I'm cc' I was embarrassed. Eating alone is a fine thing to do, but it does make me a little paranoid. I realize that people are not paying attention to me, really, but I imagine them imagining how sad and lonely it must be to eat alone. And then I imagine themselves asking why anyone would go out if that was what they were going to do. I always think of the dude from the Cook, the thief, his wife and her lover, or whatever that movie is called. The opening scenes, where the lover is reading a book all by his lonesome. Only trouble came to him. That's why I write instead of reading. Although none of my writing is of any substance. Alas. Enough. I went back to the campgrounds and drank a beer while reading White Teeth and looking at the moon.

Clams, Fingerling Potatoes, Parsley and Tartufo Handcrafted Salami

Years back, in my Chicago days, I received the odd cookbook to review for Chicagoist. That was a different part of my life, and I miss some of it. Mainly the free books and opportunities to attend food events as a press person. In any case, at one point I made this dish based off of Art Smith's cookbook. Haven't made it since, even though it was ridiculously good at the time. So, when I was on Long Beach Island and stopped at a seafood store and saw the option of clams, this recipe jumped to mind immediately. On Monday I went about making it. When I went to whole foods they were out of cured chorizo and the meat counter dude was so apologetic he gave me a salami substitute on the house ($11.99 value!). The substitute, Creminelli's Tartufo Salami, held up pretty well. It had .05% black truffle in it, which added a different flavor profile than Smith's original recipe, which was a little spicier if I remember correctly. The salami also cooked differently than the chorizo, neither of which needed to be cooked. I added the salami after the clams had opened, but maybe I let it sit too long before serving? The discs were just a little more chewy than would have been ideal.
It's a simple thing to do, as you can see from the above link, and it works out well. L. came over and partook and seemed quite pleased.

Salumi and Salad c/o Giovanni Restaurant

On my first or second evening back in Nashville my parents and I went to Giovanni Restaurant for dinner. This was the location of their last meal together before my mother went into the hospital nearly a month before. The olive tapenade and rosemary infused bread was a nice way to start, as was the wine. What was less ideal was the Maitre D's excessive use of cologne and/or aftershave. I mean, it was knock-you-over-the-head unavoidable, which meant that I'd be in mid bite or sip when my olfactory senses would be overwhelmed by his specific musk. Musk? I don't know. I just think that if you work in a restaurant, you shouldn't wear so much of a scent that it could interfere with your customers' eating experience.
I ordered the salumi misto appetizer and the beef and mozzarella salad for my meal. It was very dark, so instead of even bothering with faithful presentations of the food, I have chosen to Photoshop beyond recognition. I generally don't care for prosciutto, but this stuff was pretty good. The salumi/sopressata had a nice kick to it, and the one whose name I cannot remember, but had a sort of upscale bologna feel to it was quite satisfying. Chicken liver stuffed in olives was a little too much, but chicken liver on toast was just right.
The salad was way chunky, which is something I could get behind. Also, at a table a few feet away from us, the mayor or governor sat. Probably mayor? This was before the floods, so they were just having a great time.
I forget what the dessert was, and none of the menu's descriptions entirely synch with this dish. Probably some sort of ricotta concoction?

Subway Again

As I said before, one gets into a routine when hospitals are involved. So, I thought I'd try to get into the routine of eating Subway sandwiches. It's funny, ish, I have great memories of eating Subway sandwiches. First, with T. during high school breaks. We'd go to a mall with a plan of watching a movie, but first grab a sandwich. I think it was Subway that first made me realize that mayonnaise was not gross, but delicious...which is slightly strange since now I think Subway mayo is kind of gross. Full circle! I also ate a fair amount of Subway grub during my time with the ebf. I'm not sure why that was, since we both had pretty good palates. But I do remember Subway sandwiches punctuating the relationship. This sandwich was not as well constructed as the first, and disappointing on the whole. Also, eating a sandwich in a hospital cafeteria is unnecessarily depressing. You will see, I think, a marked change in my lunchtime eating habits soon.

Dinner c/o Pair

Upon our return from kayaking we were pretty tired, but not so tired that we stayed in for dinner. No, no. Instead, we went to Pair, which is the first restaurant A&M went to after signing the lease on their house. It was a quiet night with a lot of empty tables. I ordered a vodka tonic with a twist in a moment of cocktail panic, but it was actually quite tasty. I ordered the charcuterie and the endive salad with bacon, apples and a poached egg. M. ordered the cheese plate, and something else. The charcuterie plate was a little disappointing. The portion was fair, but the actual meats weren't overly impressive. Except for the one whose name I forget (the little sausage pile in the center by the cornichons). The salami was way too dry and the other one, for all its fat, didn't have a lot of actual flavor.
A. ordered prosciutto wrapped pears.
My salad wasn't exactly what I expected, as it was served warm, but it would have been entirely to my satisfaction if they had remembered what I consider the 'glue' of the dish (re: poached egg). I asked our server if I was crazy to expect the egg, she told me I wasn't but that communication problems in the kitchen resulted in the eggless salad. She then told me it would take fifteen minutes to poach an egg, but that they could make a over easy egg real quick. I didn't feel like waiting for the substitute egg for 15 minutes, and over easy eggs make me uneasy, so I went without and couldn't help but think of how a little yolky goodness would have tied everything together nicely. She did comp me half a glass of wine for the disappointment.
While this wasn't the most successful meal of the trip, I have no doubt that on a 'on night' this restaurant would turn out great dishes and atmosphere. M&A also acknowledged that this wasn't their finest dining experience at the establishment, so chalk it up to a momentary lapse in what is usually quite awesome. That said, I thank M&A for this meal, and for all the other meals they bought me while I was in town. I hope one day to reciprocate.

Late Night Snackaroo

Last Wednesday I returned home from work and S. asked me if I wanted to have a beer. I said yes. That one beer started an evening that went far into the night and ended with many, many more beers...and a rotating cast of deck-characters. First, Ak and L. came over...then Ak's new roommate stopped by...then our next door neighbors swung by. I created a small plate of what had lying around in an effort to curb our silliness. The plate included hard salami, provolone cheese, cucumbers and sliced tomato. And cheese.
I served it like this.

Cheese, Tomato and Meat Plate

The Sunday after the barbeque I had all sorts of half-cocked plans...mainly that, since I was taking Monday off, I would drive to the Delaware shore, camp in a state park and swim in the ocean all day. The major flaw with this set of plans was that reserving a beachside (or near beachside) campsite in the summer time is not something one does at the last minute. And, it seems, hotel rooms in that same area were going for $150 to $200 a night, just too rich for my blood. This fundamental setback to the beach/camp/swim plan, coupled with the EX-treme heat of Sunday, led me to not do much that day...other than agonize over how little I was doing.
I did, however, eat a bit. If you can believe it. Slices of tomato, thinly sliced honey ham, hard salam, relatively fresh mozzarella and the end bit of truffle cheese I found on sale at Whole Foods. While I was seriously disappointed with myself and my lack of getting out of the city, this was a nice snack.

Wraptastic and My Last Vernors

Another day last week I made myself a sandwich...except it was a wrap...using a tortilla. In it was the usual cast of sandwich characters: salami, turkey, tomato, mayo 2.0, butter lettuce and Brie left over from my parents' visit.

Sandwiches Are Next To Godliness

Another day, another sandwich. This time with hard salami, tomato, red pepper, smoked turkey and some of the lime cilantro mayonnaise I had left over.

Feeding The Missives

On Saturday my parents hosted a get-together for poet-related people. My mother did almost all the work of the food/cleaning etc. My only contribution was pesto macaroni and cheese, of which there is no photographic evidence. For starters there were shrimp with homemade cocktail sauce.
Cheese and salami.
And fresh picked daisies. Okay, the daisies weren't for eating. Note where my foot is in relation to the flower heads...these suckers are tall, growing out of rock and sturdy even in rainstorms.
My mother made a lovely spinach and mixed greens salad.
And some of her highly addictive potato salad.
And a coriander black bean salad with corn and cilantro.
And she warmed up a pre-cooked Paula Deen ham.
The poet's brother wearing the poet's honorary laurel crown (this was not a gift from the university) and his soon to be wife.
There was a whole heck of a lot more singing of songs I didn't know. I think those who knew the songs loved it. I went in and out of loving it and being rather bored. I have video of this singing but it would take two years to upload. So. Yeah.