Tapas c/o Jamonera

In April at some point, or even late March, I sent out an email to some of my Philly folks asking if anyone had interest in going to a Santigold show with me in early May. Tuffy Winky (formerly BC) responded with a resounding yes. I suggested that we have dinner before the show and in the end we decided on Jamonera, which was on the list. It will come to no one's surprise that I ended up in the neighborhood early. I chose to kill a few minutes looking in at the Open House Store, which is owned and operated by the same business partnership as Jamonera and Barbuzzo. Basically, the duo has a lockdown on most of the block of 13th Street between Chesnut and Sansom. The store was chock full of cute things you couldn't imagine ever ending up at Q Mart, but still struck me as just a lot of stuff (some of which I'm sure I'd covet far more if I owned a house with the room for such things). On the other hand, who pays $14 for a chicken stapler? Not me.

In any event, when I finished killing time I entered Jamonera through its imposing black door and found myself face to face with a guy standing in the entry way. We made eye contact, but I wasn't quite sure whether he was a patron waiting for someone, or a host. This would have been easier to determine if, you know, he had said something along the lines of "Welcome to Jamonera, how can I help you?" but he didn't do that, which then made me feel awkward about telling him I had a reservation. It was weird and not the most auspicious of beginnings, I must say. Once seated, I took a look at the cocktail list while I waited for Tuffy. I had read that their vermouth cocktails were a nice change of pace, so when the server came up and asked if I'd like anything to drink, I went with the "Blanco Especial,"  which was a Bodegas Montana-Perucchi Vermouth "served in a traditional vermuteria style" with chamomile, lemon verbena, ginger and mint. Definitely a change of pace from many a Philadelphia cocktail. Sweet, almost cloyingly so if not for the balance of the verbena and lemon. I didn't want another, but I'm glad I gave it a go. Once Tuffy Winky arrived she ordered the Bizet,  which sounded like it was going to be too sweet (vodka, passion fruit, clementine, fresh tyme), but was actually just right and refreshing.

Tuffy Winky's a good sport about my craziness when it comes to food, and gave me a lot of freedom when suggesting the meal that we would enjoy. I'm not sure if I ended up making the best decisions or not. The first two things that arrived were the shishito peppers with a little salt and perhaps another slight accompaniment. I liked the blistered skin and the taste of the peppers on their own, but Tuffy Winky preferred them with a dose of the restaurant's sherry vinegar hot sauce. The presentation was simple, but appealing.

At the same time we also had the papa frita: crispy skin potato, wood smoked garlic aioli and brava salt. They were good and crispy, and the potato chunks were nicely proportioned, but somehow I wasn't overawed. It was dish that, like the peppers, seemed to rely on its simplicity and the quality of its minimal ingredients. In this case there wasn't enough pizazz. I'm not sure what was missing. Not salt. Maybe a little more of the aioli? Or perhaps a little more garlic zest to the aioli?

I knew that Tuffy Winky isn't a fan of fish, but I still wanted to check out the "Wedding of Anchoas," one Cantabrian anchovy, one Boquerone with charred peppers, goat cheese and arbequina olive oil.This may actually have been my favorite dish of the night. Actually, it was. No 'may' about it.  The contrast between the straight up fishiness of anchovy compared to the slightly more mellow flavor of the boquerone was an interesting one, and the cheese and pepper foundation grounded the difference between them quite nicely. This was the best realized dish of the evening.

We also ordered the ham croquetas, which I'm not sure were the same as the online menu's description, which is: iberico ham croquetas with horseradish crema, pickled mustard seed and ham fat. Ours seemed to have a little piece of onion, some kind of pepper, and a waxy/honey quality to them. I've gotta say that while the first half of one's first bite was quite enjoyable (nice and hot, a little salty), the finish that these little guys left was not as enjoyable. There was a waxiness (from the honey?) that coated both of our mouths and the taste that went with that coating was not a pleasant one nor was it easy to part with...cleansing one's palate of a waxy compound is a challenge. If the wedding was a 'hit,' then these were a definite 'miss.'

You'll note that I chose to take photographs with a flash but with a funny shutter speed. I like the look of the photos, but they're definitely a little 'moody.' Next up was the Foie y Setas, seared foie gras with wild mushrooms, amontillado sherry, maple buttered toast and roasted chesnuts. This was Tuffy's first foie! I think she liked it, which was a relief. The size of the foie was fair, given the $12 price. The mushrooms and the sweeter maple notes were earthy and successful contributors to the overall presentation. This was a good dish, not astounding, but not disappointing either.

When I went to Barbuzzo with Mr. Ass a while back (a full year and a month back, actually) we ordered the meatballs. Here, too, meatballs (albondigas) were on the menu...but I can't find them on the online version, so I can't tell you exactly what they consisted of. That said, they were extremely reminiscent of the Barbuzzo balls: very tasty but not as complex as you might expect.  During our meal we also enjoyed glasses of red wine...but I'm not sure the online list mirrors the choices we made.

So my overall feeling about this visit was so-so. While the host's opening left me feeling strange, our actual server's attitude and demeanor were great. She answered questions, suggested wines and was generally on top of her game without attitude or pretense. Food came out at a nice pace, though there was abit of a lull at one point that had me a little worried. When I go to any restaurant - high or low end - I go because I've heard good things about the establishment and want to enjoy those good things. Jamonera received a lot of great press during its opening months, and I very much enjoyed my Barbuzzo experience, so I did expect Jamonera to live up to that combined amount of hype. Unfortunately, it didn't. I guess I really am looking for those dishes that make your eyes bulge a little from the sheer surprise and enjoyment of whatever it is that is dancing across your taste buds. My eyes did not bulge. My buds did find some joy, but for the overall price tag (about $55 for each of us before tax/tip) I would have expected  more stand-outs. The ratio isn't right; for every dud/dish that needs just a little more fine tuning, you should have at least three dishes that are going to make your patrons swoon. I felt this was reversed. For every swoon-worthy dish, there were three that just barely missed the mark. Of course, if I were a professional reviewer with a better budget, I'd go back three or four times before writing it off, but as it stands, I'm not a reviewer. I can only tell you that at the end of the meal, Tuffy Winky and I both felt like we had a nice experience with good enough food, but we weren't really thinking about coming back or recommending it to others.

Dinner in Tivoli c/o Panzur

After enjoying the afternoon and early evening down by the river, I departed the Inn(ski) and walked the half mile or so up to Tivoli's small business district along Broadway. There I met up with L., a former professor, for dinner at Panzur. Panzur is a relatively new establishment in the neighborhood. Its building has hosted a series of restaurants since before my time in the area, the most memorable and sorely missed being Cafe Pongo. I thought it proper to start the meal with a glass of bubbly. And oh how it sparkle bubbled.
After our handsome waiter told us a little bit about the specials, the chef, and the restaurant itself, we got down to the nitty gritty of figuring out what to enjoy. L's appetite wasn't quite as limitless as my own, but I think that we managed to put together a series of dishes that she could enjoy. This series started with a selection of olives and and peppers. Nice and brined. I still wonder what olives taste like before they're cured. Anybody know? Inedible? The peppers that also accompanied the olives were particularly delightful to me.
Next up a very generous plate of jamon. I think it was of the serrano variety. At $13 or $14 this was actually a good deal. I think. I had expected a rather minimal amount of meat, but this was really a plate overflowing with fatty cured meat, which in fact had been sliced fresh at the jamon etc. table along the back of the restaurant's main room, right below its chalkboard of specials. We also ordered a Valdeon blue cheese, which came with slice of baguette.
I was drawn to two specials that evening. The first lobster glazed pork belly with a poached oyster and arugula salad. The belly was succulent and its glaze a nice addition. I don't know what I expected from the oyster, but I was a bit taken back by the fact that it was 100% cold, but cooked. I think. It was kind of confusing in my mouth, part of me liked the taste, but the temperature and texture weirded me out slightly. And you know I love oysters, so it's not a matter of being unfamiliar with their 'milieu.'
The other special that caught my fancy were these foie gras croquette type things. A crispy shell contained a rather 'molten' foie gras inside. Like liquid foie gras cut with something, but I wasn't quite sure what. I liked this very much, especially my first bite as it was still piping hot.
We did the ultimate of splurges and ordered their dessert cocktail, which was a mix of sherry from 1985, two or three other liqueurs and topped with a slice of baguette spread liberally with a salty caramel sauce. At $15, it was an order of some largesse and perhaps failed a bit under the expectations and weight that price tag can lend to its intended ware.
The next morning, which I'll get to soon enough, M. the Baker asked me what I thought about the restaurant and its prices. Having come from Philly, the prices didn't shock me too terribly, though if I were to really think about my time in the area, I do acknowledge that their price points may make business a struggle. Not every dish was off the charts, but it was clear that there was a knowledgeable and creative chef in the back, one who may very well be having a lot of fun and he tries out new dishes. I would go back for the cured meat alone, and perhaps try one or two other of the hot tapas options. It was great to see L., whom I had last seen this past summer when I stopped by for a job interview that went nowhere. We caught up about our shared acquaintances as well as the goings-on in our own lives and have a pleasant time doing so.

Dinner Extravaganza c/o Bar Ferdinand

Two Fridays back L. texted me and asked if I might like to join her and BC for dinner at Bar Ferdinand. I wasted very little time and replied in the affirmative, which then gave me something to look forward to while I tried to tidy my generally cluttered bedroom existence. I cabbed it on over to Northern Liberties and within moments of getting to the door, met up with L. We went inside to claim our reservation and to wait for BC at the table. As the hostess was looking up the reservation we stood peaceably. Another member of the staff came up to the hosting table (podium? what is the word for that dang thing), and it turns out that this individual and I recognized each other; we were both graduates of Bard College. Bard is a funny place, and I can't rightly tell you that I actually ever spoke to B. So while I recognized him I couldn't be like 'oh remember that time we had a class together/had that conversation/had mutual friends!?' That said, we are friends on Facebook, so I know he likes to make a good stock from time to time. Turns out he's the sommelier at Bar Ferdinand, so soon after BC arrived, he came out and offered us complimentary glasses of sherry, as well as olives and salted marcona almonds. The sherry was Guiterrez Colosia's Oloroso 'Sangre y Trabajadero.' While I think we can all attest to my love of many different forms of alcohol, sherry hasn't been quite on my radar at the same level as, say, bourbon or gin, which makes anything I would say about the sherry pretty basic. And now I will go ahead and say something. What struck me most about it was that it didn't have that cloyingly sweet thing going on that I associate with the fortified wine. A little more mellow, though not without that kick that such beverages generally deliver to their imbiber. It was a really nice gesture and a great start to the meal. The olives and nuts were also tasty little treats to munch on while we got down to the business of cocktails and larger food decisions.
Our server told us the specials and I immediately found interest in the flatbread of the night, which was a mix of chorizo, shrimp, arugula and a few other ingredients I can't quite recall. The solution to this, as I know, is to actually write the stuff down as opposed to expecteing myself to remember things two weeks later...but that just means that the whole 'actually getting to eat the food' part of the meal will take longer...between my subpar photography and lapsed memory, I often wonder what I'm doing in the first place.
For my opening cocktail I was drawn to the Barcelona: Bulleit bourbon, Licor 43, bitters, and brandied cherries. This I liked very much. Nicely balanced. Smooth. Also, I am a sucker for the relatively new (to me in my limited circles) trend of fancy cherries in drinks, and these cherries were nice and fancy. A nice sweet note to go with the bourbon and bitters.
We chose to try two kinds of empanadas, the chicken and mushroom variety as well as the bacon, date, cream cheese variety. The chicken was nice and tender, and there was quite a lot of it. I wasn't really blown away by the resulting dish, but I wouldn't complain about it either.
And how can you really go wrong if you're including cream cheese in a pastry? You really can't. But I did really like how the sweetness of the dates melted with the creamy ridiculousness of the cream cheese, and the bacon did a great job of rounding out and uniting the two.
L. said that the calamari was good here, so we went ahead and ordered that as well. Definitely nice and tender, very crispy. I actually got a bigger kick out of the little fried peppers that mingled in with the calamari.
At some point we asked our server to tell us which of two of the less expensive sparkling wines would be a winning choice. He went and consulted with Bardian B., who then came out with a third option...which we a) enjoyed very much and b) were inspired to drop diamonds into. Well, L. is the only one with a diamond, but I think BC and I both got a thrill. Heh.
This was a nice Cava. B. gave us a little description of its qualities, which, again, I should have written down. What I can say with confidence is that it was bubbly and didn't have that weird thing that some sparkling wines can have. Some strange back throat lingering in a negative way. Wow, and I wonder why no one will hire me as a critic.
And finally, the cheese plate. The running theme of the evening continues here, as I cannot tell you anything about any of the cheeses, their paired accoutrements, or anything else. Failure alert. All I can say is that I liked the manchego and the creamy mess of a cheese that L. and BC weren't quite as enamored with.
By this point we were certainly giggly messes. Switching seats to have different combinations of us photographed...fixing each other's hair...knocking over chairs in our excitement over said photo combinations. But I don't think we were too out of control. Also, apropos of nothing, as I was walking to the washroom at some point, a man was walking in the opposite direction...and as he walked by me he slapped my ass and kept on going. I was both very offended and flattered at the same time. This is not a good sign for me: when what truly is sexual harassment makes you feel flattered, then you have not been getting enough ass slaps in your life. Let's move on from that thought, shall we?

Fun with photos! L. has some more good ones with BC.
A lovely and unexpected evening. A great thanks goes out to Bardian B. for the extra treats!

Running of the Bulls 4-Course Meal c/o Tinto

After dim sum I dropped Dad off at his hotel and returned home. The plan was to then have dinner at Sansom Oyster House, unfortunately Dad called me as I was heading to Center City and said the place was closed. I tried to think of where to go instead, which would be tasty and not too far away from the Oyster House. I landed on Tinto and conveyed the information to Dad. I started with the white sangria, which was good but maybe a tad sweeter than even I like my beverages.
They had a "San Fermin Running of the Bulls" special tasting menu, and we both decided to have it. I had thought that one would choose one thing from each category on the menu but we actually were given all of them for each course. This was the peaky toe crab with some sort of caviar (migas?), piquillo purree and edible flowers. The presentation was lovely.
Next up was the tomato and melon salad. It was fun to look at as well, as each melon and tomato piece was perfectly cubed and aligned on the plate. God bless tomatoes.
The chorizo with eggsalad and mustard was a favorite of mine. I can't help but love cured meat, what can I say?
After my sangria I jumped on late to the pairings that came with each course. This was a good glass of wine, though I can't tell you anything about it that would allow you to ask for it by name.
The artichoke with pink peppercorn, chorizo and meyer lemon was lovely to look at but a little disappointing to taste. I loved the heart itself, but the overall taste verged on just a little too cooked. Not sure if they fried them or baked them (I'd guess fried) but it was like they could have come out of the oil just 30-45 seconds sooner.
I totally forget this dish. It looks really good though doesn't it? On the menu it has a Spanish name (Montadito de Ajoarriero) and I couldn't really recognize any of the ingredients listed under it.
The white asparagus wrapped in jamon serrano and garnished with spanish olives and chives, on the other hand, was quite memorable and t-a-s-t-y, tasty.
The prime dry aged sirloin with veal jus and roasted potatoes was quite a pretty plate if you were to ask me. And the meat was rare but not so rare as to be scary. Though the photograph may make those of you who like your meat brown a little scared. Dad thought that many of the courses were too salty, and I think he had that issue with this one as well.
Rouget with heirloom tomatoes, leeks and a watercress pesto. A nice little fish that I haven't had a lot of experience with. Dad loved the leeks.
Their mushroom dish was also part of our third course. I've had it before and it remains quite a magic mushroom pile of loveliness, without the hallucinations.
Flourless chocolate cake, raspberry jam and sorbet. At this point I was so full that I'm not sure I was able to fully appreciate the dessert, though the sorbet was something special if I recall at all correctly ... which I may not.
While this wasn't the oyster experience we had planned, I was glad for the opportunity to return to Tinto and to give Dad the chance to try a new place in Philly.

Dinner c/o Tinto, Gelato c/o Capogiro

After we mastered the charcuterie plate at James it was time to go to our second destination for M.'s albeit quick Philly food tour. That destination was Tinto. We were a little early and a table wasn't yet ready for us, so we went to the teeny tiny bar area and ordered drinks while we waited. I had their cheapest by-the-glass sparkling wine (MaCabeo, Xarel-lo, Castell Roig, Brut, Penedès NV), which I thoroughly enjoyed. I commented to M. about the way taking photographs of champagne is sort of like taking photographs of fireworks (at least the way I do these things). Always comes out pretty, but you never know exactly what it's going to look like. That's bad isn't it? Hm. M. had a red wine with an X in it. Garnatxa, I don't know which one though.
We ordered a nice mix of things, some new, some familiarly goood. First out was the heirloom tomato gazpacho. These peppers were mild but delicious. Peppers, unless you know them they're kind of a mystery. Will it be spicy? Will it be sweet? Green for green light. Red for red light? Except when paired with duck? What?! Moving on. This was not your every day gazpacho. M. isn't a fan of this particular cold soup, but even she gave it a more than one taste.
Then cheeses. M. tried Manchego while I ordered Epoisses, which is so smelly, and pungent on the tongue, and yet awesome. How can that be? I don't get it.
This was the lump crab with soft scrambled egg peas and b-a-c-o-n, bacon! I've had it before, and I liked it, but I think this wouldn't be a repeat dish on my next visit.
M. was really interested in the kind of mushrooms we ate. I believe one of the three mushrooms was of the Chanterelle variety...because they are in season? Unless it was Morels? I'll need to check in with M. and see if she remembers.
When L. and I ate at Tinto I fell in love with the chicken skewers and the ridiculous garbanzo,truffle,meaty puree at the bottom of each glass. They did not disappoint. Skewers to a whole new level. Mmm.
This dish was artichoke and butter. There was so much butter. In a good and bad way.
After dinner we went across to Capogiro. I ordered a scoop of basil and coconut and the server was really nice and gave me a little taste of the concord grape sorbet. Having just had the real thing, I have to say the sorbet didn't capture 'concord grape-ness' essence as much as I may have hoped. The other two flavors, however, wer delightful. M. went with coconut.

Dinner c/o Tinto

After our walk, we wended our way back to home. On the way there was a stretch of time where I was randomly figuring out how to hit Ridge or Kelly Drive, and it worked out but took a little aimless driving through Philadelphia suburbia. The pretty old house part of suburbia...actually still part of Philly I think, or not? Mt Airy? Chesnut Hill? Germantown? I feel like we saw a little of all of those places, maybe. Then, when we finally hit Kelly Drive there was a good two mile stretch during which L. and I were laughing so hard my cheeks hurt and I thought I was going to puke. The most truly of infectious laughter. It felt so good...even though my cheeks were worn out by the end of it. We talked about what we wanted for dinner and L. mentioned tapas, so I figured that Tinto might be a nice place to take her. The earliest reservation was 9:30, so we kept our hunger at bay with almonds and Laughing Cow cheese.

Now, on to Tinto. I started with a glass of sparkly wine because I wanted to.
Then we were served their complementary cheesy crispy wafer bread tube things with dipping sauce. These were good, but not as good as the complementary yucca magic of Chifa.
We ordered all sorts of things. The first of which was the mixed cheese plate. There was a boucheron, a blue, and a harder Spanish cheese. Served with apple slices, quince jam and love.
We also ordered the tuna tartare sandwich, which consisted of big eye tuna, pickled guindilla, and chorizo aioli. Served on a croissant, it was a nice mix of flavors. I liked the crispy as get out piece of meat that accompanied the dish, and I ate most of the spicy pepper provided as well...though I then had to drink a little more water to get my mouth happy. Mmmmmm.
Yeah. I liked this sandwich. Also, apologies for the fact that each photograph has a bit of its own color palette. Can someone please tell me the best way to handle low lit restaurant shots? I put it on a high ISO and then automatic without flash, but I'm sure there's a smarter way to handle it.
After our disappointing fried oysters at London Grill, and with my memory of how excellent the oyster sandwich was the last time I came to Tinto, I recommended that we try the oyster sandwich (L. had never had fried oysters before and I didn't want her thinking that they were lame when they are, in fact, awesome). And the sandwich did not prove me a fool as much as inordinately bright...at least when it comes to oysters.
The sandwich = fried oyster, choricero pepper tartar, sweet onion escabeche.
Next up were the Chicken brosheta (fancy word for skewer, I would suppose), which were, for me, miraculous and revolutionary. Each skewer had two cubes of chicken, and two grapes, and were served in these cute little shot/tube glasses with a base of garbanzo puree and truffle jus. Each cube of chicken was amazing. A little charring on the outside, succulent on the inside and chock full of marvelous flavor. And the garbanzo puree/truffle jus mixture at the bottom? I was glad they provided a small spoon with which to scrape each and every drop from the glass...because it had to be done. I would mainline this liquid if I could.
L. was very much attracted to the description of the truffled chesnut soup. I had remembered that different-L. raved about the soup, so I encouraged L. to try it, though chesnut soup has never been one of my favorites. Even with the duck & mushroom hash, fried quail egg, and pistachio components, the few spoons I had were just to sweet and rich for me. We also ordered the bomba rice with morel mushrooms, green asparagus, and lemon oil. By this time in our meal, we were feeling totally and utterly satiated and pleased, and sort of regretted ordering this dish and...well, the other thing we ordered that you can see below. Not because we questioned how tasty these things might be, but because our bellies were already overwhelmed with incredible (adjective as noun..I am fancy). We ended up taking a few bites of the rice and taking the rest of it home. Of all the dishes, it was the most 'eh.'
The roasted rack of lamb, with artichoke puree, some sort of gravy and potato chips, however, was anything but 'eh.'Though we had felt entirely incapable of putting another bite of rice into our mouths, we both got down to the lamb at hand with slightly food foggy gusto. The puree/sauces on the plate were addictive. I wanted a sauce scraping spoon knife thing, like my parents and I saw at Le Bec Fin.
Tinto surpassed my own expectations for tastiness. I knew it was going to be good, but I was surprised by how even the thing that impressed the least (bomba rice) was still a complex and interesting dish. Comparing my experience at Tinto to my earlier meal at Chifa is like comparing two different kinds of apples. They are both perfectly fresh, they both come from the same tree, and yet one is simply more awesome than the other. I left Chifa with good thoughts, but I left Tinto wanting to live there. I sort of forgot about that apple analogy at the end. Sorry.

I'll take 'An awesome time' for $1,000 Alex! What is my weekend with L! That doesn't quite make sense but whatever.