The Pig Pig-Out at Mémé

Pork, the other white meat. I eat it, occasionally. I like it, but for certain parts like, tongue, trotter, head cheese, ribs, and definitely bacon more than the actual white meat itself. I have an Asian background but I have never developed the craze that people in the old country have in making it a regular staple in their diets. I usually bypass pork dishes in restaurants unless it is truly unique and well prepared. My curiosity perked, however, when I learned of a five course pig dinner at Mémé with each course prepared by a different chef. Not just any five chefs but five of the highly respected chefs in the city.

I left a message with the restaurant for a reservation. We called again the next day when we hadn’t heard from the restaurant, “We have your information, somebody will call you back and let you know…” I didn’t know that we had to be approved by some higher authority!

We had the 8:30 seating but everything was running late when we arrived for the seating. A look around the people waiting around outside the restaurant were mostly industry peeps, bloggers and food writers, plus a few restaurant regulars.

Chefs Pierre Calmels, Peter Woolsey, Michael Solomonov, and Johhny Mac busy getting the next dinner seating going.

Hor’s D’Oeuvres: Foie Gras and Pork Cheek Sausage; Prosciutto Croquette; Fried Bread, Pig Crackling

David Katz and crew, Mémé

The foie gras and pork cheek sausage was made in-house. The meat was tender with the soft texture of the foie gras mixed in, lightly pan fried and served warmed. The croquette sat on top a bed of diced melon marinated in a minty sauce. The pig crackling was served on top of a piece of fried bread with a tooth pick holding both items together. It was crispy, crunchy, and delicious. We were starving and had eaten ours before realizing that we had forgotten to photograph it. I am still not sure if Tourist Tree knew what she was eating before she wolfed down that pig skin. But she did enjoy it.

Barmes Buecher, Crémant d’ Alsace, 2007

We enjoyed this Alsatian sparkling wine very much. This wine was supposed to be paired with the yet to arrive first course but the very small pour in each glass for the thirsty crowd in the dining room pretty much ensured that the wine would be gone before the dish hit the table.

Green Pennsylvania Yorkshire Suckling Crepe, Roast Huitlacoche, Sweet Corn Emulsion, Fresh Coriander

Steve Cameron, Noble American Cookery

The crepe was filled with absolutely tender and juicy pork. It was wonderful. Huitlacoche is corn fungus. It has a slimy, pulpy, bitter texture and taste. It is also definitely an acquired taste. I liked this fungus a little better with the crepe. I did not so much enjoy it on its own.

The dryness and crispiness of the Crémant worked very well with this dish.

Braised Pig Foot, Foie Gras Stuffed, Lentils, Bacon, Carrot

Pierre Calmels, Bibou

Foie gras stuffed pig’s foot sat on top of a bed of lentils sprinkled with bacons bits and diced pieces of carrots. I have always enjoyed this signature dish from Bibou. It’s a heavy dish but the meat, the foie gras, and the glutinous substance were such a delight in the mouth; except the lentils. I liked the bacon and the carrots which added flavors in the sauce but I did not like the lentils swimming in it. I am just not a lentil person

This dish was served with the Le Roc, Rosé 2008. Sweet with a sour apple follow-up taste. We didn’t like the wine but it went well with the gelatinousness of the food and the heaviness of the sauce in the dish.

Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout


This is one of my favorite beers of all time. However, couldn’t they pour a little more in the glass? I have an 8 oz. glass and I didn’t even get 1/3 of a pour!

 
 
 

 
 
 

 

Black Pudding

Johnny Mac, Pub & Kitchen

It was served with soft scrambled eggs and the “noble” ketchup which was made with beets instead of tomatoes. The pudding entertained my mouth with lots of spices even thought it was a bit heavy on the salt side. The egg was sprinkled with a mixture of bread crumbs, sage, coriander, garlic mace, and pork skin. I absolutely enjoyed this dish. It was delicious and wonderfully entertaining to eat. It’s like the perfect brunch comfort food. Too bad Tourist Tree had decided not to eat the pudding after she realized that “black” = “blood”. Her loss = my gain.

St. Canut Poached Loin, Seared Scallops, Black Garlic

Michael Solomonov, Zahav

One of the main reasons I am never too much into pork is the fact that most people over-cook the meat. It gets too dried out with the texture gone completely downhill for me. That was not the case with this tenderloin which was beautifully wrapped in grape leaves and prepared perfectly. The use of a quality meat was evidenced here. The paired scallop was seared crispy with a caramelization on both sides while the middle was still tender and juicy with the piece topped with a few small pieces of vegetable. I was very much intrigued by the delectable purple carrot puree. I never knew there was a purple carrot!

The dish was paired with a Cantina del Castello, Soave Classico 2008. It had a nice clean light floral and apple noise and taste. We both liked this nice pairing which matched the characters of the dish quite well.

Bodega San Telmo La Cosecha, Pedro Ximenez, NV


I am never a too big a fan of port or sherry. Their tastes could be a bit too overwhelming for me.

Serving this sherry with a dollop of cream was ingenious, although it did make it a bit hard to drink. The cream certainly cut the sweetness to a more comfortable and enjoyable level for me. After this photo was taken, Tree spent a few intimate minutes with her Tide Stick to remove the overflow spilled onto her blouse.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Summer BBQ Dessert:

Rhubarb Pie, Orange Raspberry Jello, Chocolate Popsicle
Peter Woolsey, Bistrot La Minette

Trained as a pastry chef, it was not a surprise that Peter Woolsey made the desserts. However, the surprise was the rhubarb pie.

After biting into the warm flaky pastry shell, we discovered meat in the rhubarb filling! It’s a dessert meat pie! The jello consisted of two layers with the orange sitting on top and a separate layer made with raspberry puree on the bottom. It was delicious and I loved this concoction which had a heavier texture than the usual jello. The chocolate popsicle was sprinkled with tiny bits of bacon and sat on top of a dollop of [what I think was] ricotta cream, the kind that’s similar in a canoli filling. It might sound odd but the addition of this bacon had enhanced a new dimension to the popsicle.

It was a pig pig-out. Course after course of ingenious uses of an animal by each chef who showcased his own style through his innovative interpretation of the subject. Each course represented its chef and his restaurant. David Katz and his hor’s d’Oeuvres; Steve Cameron with his use of local ingredients; Pierre Calmels’ traditional bistrot cooking; Johhny Mac’s refined pub fare, Michael Solomonov’s sophisticated style; and Peter Woolsey’s “meaty” dessert.

With a direct sight of the open kitchen, I could pretty much see each course expertly prepared right in front of my eyes. All the chefs helped each other with the dishes. It amazed me at time how everybody plus the assistants could crowd into Mémé’s small kitchen which usually only housed a few people.


Yes, they could had pour a little more wine into the glasses; but considering the amount and the quality of food served plus the amount of talent involved, I could not complain about this $75.00 dinner. That's $75.00 including tax! I would not even have complained if there were no wine involved. The best part was the opportunity to eat all those dishes from six different chefs/restaurants with my butt fully planted in one place! Several of the chefs have told me after the dinner that they were thinking of holding another themed dinner in the foreseeable future again. I can’t wait!

Above: Posting for a group picture. Pierre Chalmels, Michael Solomonoe, Peter Woolsey, David Katz, unknown assistant, Johnny Mac, Steve Cameron.


The After-Party

We were invited to the after-party at The Pub and Kitchen after the dinner. With the clock ticking past 11:00PM and Tourist Tree’s need to go to bed for her 5:30AM alarm, we elected to pass the kind invite. Plus, I was quite stuffed from eating her portion of the black pudding and pig’s foot (although mysteriously, there was no meat or foie gras in her pig’s foot, just the gelatinous substance).

Only if I knew what was awaiting for the crew at The Pub and Kitchen: Cherrywood-smoked sucking pig and seared pork belly. I would have thrown up on the way to the Pub & Kitchen so I could eat again!                     
(Photo courtesy of Drew Lazor/Meal Ticket)

Elevation Burger

I have two general rules about food. I don’t eat chain fast-food (well…, I make exceptions for In-N-Out sometimes). I don’t eat at places for the month or so after the initial opening until the dust is settled.


I broke both rules.

Elevation Burger is a [still] very small social and environmental responsible company that is based in Arlington, VA. Its philosophy is to use materials only from natural and sustainable [local] sources for its products. This also extends into its building and waste disposal practice with LEED Certification (more info: www.usgbc.org) for many of its restaurants. The company emphasizes ”Ingredients Matter” which food should have real taste and quality, and should be healthy for the consumer and the planet.

I think healthy for the consumer part is pushing it a bit. We are still talking about fast food here! It may be “healthier” than places that use industrial agriculture products*, but a burger with fries is still a burger with fries. Calling them healthy is an oxymoron.

The local restaurant is the first of the few planned for the Philadelphia area. I have known of its coming for a while but was never sure of its opening. I was actually a bit surprised that the company would put the pioneer restaurant in the Philadelphia area in a strip mall located in a sleepy Main Line suburb.

The restaurant has its soft opening during the July 4th weekend. Within days, burger-centric bloggers were already posting reviews. The social and environmental conscious corporate practice got me excited about the new restaurant; the bloggers got me curious to check out its food. Being only a few minutes from our house was the extra credit in getting me there sooner than I would; plus we were in a hurry trying to catch a movie that night.

The Burger

We ordered a simple cheeseburger and the Elevation Burger (it was basically a double cheese burger). There was also a Vertical Burger which you can choose to have 3 to 10 patties between the buns; a salad and a grilled cheese option; and you could also choose to have the patty wrapped in lettuce if you were on Atkins. Then there were the veggie burgers in “fire roasted” or “veggie’ flavor and the Half the Guilt Burger with one meat and one veggie patties. Now, what’s the point of eating a “veggie” burger? Really! If you have the inkling for a burger, get the real thing! Eating a “veggie” burger is like faking an orgasm. Really!

Since everything is cooked to order, you can choose the toppings you want after you choose the burger. I had ketchup, lettuce, tomato, pickles and caramelized onions on my Elevation burger with Tourist Tree having the ketchup, lettuce, tomato, and caramelized onions on her cheeseburger. We both skipped the mustard, mayo, raw onion, balsamic mustard, hot pepper relish, and Elevation sauce toppings. I generally stay away from “house” or “special’ type stuff which is usually more gimmicky than anything else. Elevation sauce is a creamy tomato’ish sauce.
 

Since everything was made fresh to order, there was a slight wait for the food after the order was placed. The weather was gorgeous, so Tourist Tree went outside to claim a table while I stayed inside for our order which gave me a few minutes to look around the restaurant. I was surprised at its smaller size. The open kitchen was immediately to the right and toward the back of the restaurant. The staff seemed to be working in a quite coordinated low-key manner getting the orders out. Everybody seemed to know what they were doing. I did not notice anybody doing Chinese fire drills. There was also one person constantly going around cleaning and tidying up the not so big and not crowded dining room.
 
Our order was ready within in a few minutes with a guy standing outside the kitchen with a tray full of our food. I took up his offer to deliver the food to our table outside.
 

The burgers looked good. We could clearly see the liberally used locally sourced lettuce and tomato in the sandwich. I cannot stand places that skimp on toppings, or anything else. A piece of real (not processed) cheddar cheese was melted nicely over the patties, although we did have to dig and looked for the caramelized onion. The burger was made with beef from natural, organic, free-range, glass fed cows with the meat ground fresh on the premise. My initial bite did not disappoint me. The softness of the buns, the crispiness of the lettuce, the sweetness of the tomato, and the natural beefy flavor of the meat was very satisfying. Comfort food type satisfying. It reminded me of an In-N-Out burger but a bit more refined and upscale. A word of caution: The beef may taste “different” to those who are so used to eating corn-feed American beef from industrialized feed lots. It has a bit of a more earthy and grassy taste and it is leaner (hence, healthier for you). However, most people probably would never notice the different since they habitually smother their burger with lots of ketchup. I thought the single patty was too thin for my taste and was glad that I had the double patties for that extra bite. The meat was cooked 100% which was excusable since after all, it’s a fast-food burger.
 

The Fries


A burger is not a complete meal with fries!

This place has made it very obvious for the customer to see that the fries are made fresh. Behind the cashier, mounted on the wall is a device with a big plunger like handle that turns an ordinary potato into perfectly alumette cut strips before being fried in olive oil. Olive oil! Not lard, not canola oil, not peanut oil, but olive oil!

The fries were indeed very good. Golden, crispy, cooked just right. They stayed crispy throughout our meal and did not soak the paper container in grease. I found them to be just a slightly little bit over salted for my taste but I managed to finished most of my quite generous order regardless.



The Shake

To the left of the cashier and in a deliberately planned vantage point within the customers’ view sits a milk shake machine on top of a glass case full of ice cream tubs.

We could not resist.

Three flavors; vanilla, chocolate and coffee; hand-dip and made to order with choice of up to two of the ten toppings offered. I picked chocolate with Oreo cookies (right on the photo) with Tourist Tree having just a plain coffee shake (left on the photo).

The shakes were very decent. They were made with Blue Bunny Ice Cream which I have seen not seen before in this area. I am not 100% sure but I do not think Blue Bunny is organic. Regardless, the shake was great with the meal. It was thick, but not the kind of thick that would make the veins on the side of your head pop while sucking it through a straw. Its sweetness was a nice balance to the saltiness from the fries, and it also served as a nice dessert for us, although I did detect one or two pieces of small ice crystals in my shake.

I also noticed some chocolate chip oatmeal pecan cookies in either larger or smaller sizes sitting on the counter. They looked very tempting and were supposedly baked on premise but I had enough sense [for once] to restrain myself this time not to touch them.

Sitting next to the cookies was a small container for the Burger Card. One punch for every burger patty purchased. One free patty for every seven purchased. We already have three punches just for this visit. This could be dangerous!

We were impressed that somebody came out to check on our meal while we were eating. I told him that Elevation Burger reminded us a bit of In-N-Out but he said that it was actually modeled after Five Guys.

We liked our meal. The burger was nowhere near a Good Dog, a Rouge, or even a Sketch Burger. However, for what it was; it was a very decent fast food burger made with better ingredients and definitely tasted a head above its competitors. It was also one third the price of a Rouge burger. Given that I have not found an acceptable place for a decent burger on the Main Line yet, this could be a stop for one of those absolute emergency burger fix (at least in the ‘better” fast food category). If not, it could still be a dependable place for some good fries and decent shakes (although I may just bring an airplane size bottle of vodka to add some extra flavor to my shake next time).


* Speaking of industrial agriculture. God made cows to graze freely on open land eating natural grass. Why are they now standing shoulder to shoulder in their own feces, getting fat from synthetic hormones and eating corn out of a feeding trough all day in enclosed feed lots? A food that they were not born to eat! I shall step off my soap box now.

Max Brenner - First Impression

We went to check out the new Max Brenner on opening night after seeing it under construction for months.


A strong scent of chocolate greeted us as soon as we walked through the first set of double doors. After the second set of doors, we walked into a large grown up version of the Willy Wonka factory. Of course, none of the piping going through the restaurant actually contained any chocolate, nor was the scent that greeted us real, but the place was impressive and quite pretty.

It has a very extensive menu divided into different sections; food, drinks, sweets, etc., with each section containing pages of a wide assortment of items. I could see the alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails, smoothies, etc. in their whimsical containers. However, I could not see why anyone would want to come to this place for a “Mom’s Simple Lemon & Herb Roasted Chicken Paillard” or pay $13.95 for the Brenner Burger ($1.00 for any extra toppings) at a place that is built for and centered around selling chocolate and sweets.

After some extensive soul searching, Tourist Tree decided to try the Peanut Butter Iced Chockie frozen frappe that was made with milk chocolate truffle and peanut butter. It had peanut butter, therefore Tree liked it; enough said.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The frappe comes in its own special designed unique container called the Alice Cup. The straw is made out of metal.

I chose something a bit playful from the menu, the Fantastic Popsicle Chocolate Fondue.

Melted chocolate, crunchy chocolate wafer balls, and candied hazelnut crunchy bits each in a separate container sitting in a special rack. I dipped the vanilla ice cream popsicle into the containers and made my own combination of coating and toppings. Tasty and very fun to eat.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Max Brenner is a pretty place. It has put a lot of thoughts into the food presentation (at least for the sweets) and has made it fun to eat. Who doesn’t like to play with his food and eat it too, really?


The restaurant was smart enough to over-staff on the first night. There were at a time more waiters, pretty hostesses and mangers milling around than customers. It wasn’t a bad thing for a new restaurant with a new staff (see picture on left) since you never would know what might happen on the first night of business. Most of the items, including the chocolate and the popsicle that I had were made in Israel and shipped to the US in refrigeration. The menu prices are on the higher side but it has enough interesting items that would make me want to go back. Plus, I want to play with more food.

Super Duper Egg-O-Rama

I do not see a lot of people get too excited about happy hour. I do not see people get too excited about deviled eggs. I have never seen people got so excited about deviled eggs at happy hour.


When Mitch Pressky, chef-owner of the well-respected restaurant Supper decided to jazz up the happy hours at his restaurant for July by offering “designer” deviled eggs as snacks, people got curious. He came up with 12 versions of the egg and would offer four different ones each night for a dollar a pop. To kick off the promotion, he offered all 12 eggs on the first day of July for $9.00, and threw in a can of Sly Fox for an extra $3.00.

So what is so special about these mixtures of egg yoke, mayo, mustard, and seasoning, piped back onto an egg white half, one may ask? As any self-righteous fashion conscious woman can tell you, “It’s not the clothes; it’s how you accessorize them, my dear.”

Clockwise from lower right hand corner:

 

• Black Truffle.

• Sriracha with pickled daikon, carrot and coriander.

• Horseradish with steak and Roquefort.

• Curried with roasted cauliflower and mint.

• Lobster with dill crème fraiche.

• Scotch egg with country sausage.

• Pistou with ratatouille.

• Wasabi with uni and crispy nori.

• Braised bacon and cheddar.

• Chevre with asparagus.

• Smoked chili with corn-red onion salsa.
• Saffron with salt cod and roasted garlic.

Verdict: We liked the black truffle. Streak and Roquefort was nice. I likeed the curry in the curries roasted cauliflower very much. It made me want to have Indian food. The lobster with cream was fresh. The Scotch egg and sausage was the most innovative one and I enjoyed that a lot. Tourist Tree liked the ratatouille. The Nori and uni were good. It would have been better if the uni was larger. I thought the bacon was excellent on its own but was a bit lost with the egg. I wasn’t crazy about the asparagus but Tourist Tree thought otherwise. We both liked the chili and salsa and we both agreed that the saffron, salted cod and roasted garlic just didn’t work. My favorite out of the bunch was the Sriracha with the daikon. There’s something about the spicy of the Sriracha, the coolness of the daikon, and the texture of the egg.

Tourist Tree normally does not like eating cooked egg yoke; it’s a textural thing for her. So, extra credit has to go to her for at least taking a bite of each egg concoction; for journalistic purpose, of course. Contrary, when it comes to deviled eggs, I could just pop them in mouth one after another like candies. For the record, we had several cans of the Sly Fox Royal Weisse with the eggs.

 

The Beer Lass was guest bartending.

She insisted that I took a better picture of her.

Wonderwhy so many cameras were on the counter?

Châteauneuf du Pape at La Croix

A godsend from the wine loving Popes Clement V and John XXII, the wines from this appellation have at all times been my foremost favorites. It was hard to turn down the opportunity to attend a dinner featuring Chateauneuf wines with food by one of the city’s most innovative young chefs, Jason Cichonski.

The Doctor Professor Tourist Tree studying the menu and the background of each wine with the same intensity as doing her research at work.

We were handed a refreshing glass of champagne as soon as we walked into the restaurant. Its crispiness completely washed away the heat and humidity that we came in with.

Amuse Bouche: Thai Lobster Custard.

Picture this: A light lobster bisque with a nice hint of basil but in a consistency of a custard. The tiny spoon scoped out something that looked like a darker color crème brulee; but when it hit your mouth, it’s lobster bisque. Yes, the brain did go into overdrive to interpret this first bit before all the neurons would all scream, “It’s delicious!” The champagne went very well with the dish; unfortunately I never got its name from the sommelier.

Watermelon, Razor Clams, Chat Masala, Peanut Puree.

Châteauneuf du Pape Blanc, “Clos de la Roquette”, Frédérick & Daniel Brunier, 2005.

Where do I start? The watermelon was refreshing. Razor claim, just poached slightly. Chat masala, nice. Peanut butter, excellent with its light creamy flavor. Each component was very nice on its only. They became more interesting when I started to mix and match them. Peanut butter and watermelon with a touch of the chat, why not? It’s the chef’s intention for us to experiment with his play of four most unlikely paring of food.

I am embarrassed to admit. Although I love the wines from this region, I had only drunk white Châteauneuf wines a handful of times. They are not widely available in stores and only a small number of knowledgeable and a bit daring sommeliers put them in restaurants. This wine was creamy, slightly but not overly sweet with nose of apricot and lemon. Although this small production (7000 bottles) wine had spend some time in oak barrels, there was an obvious absence of “oaky-ness” that usually would turn me off. I liked this wine very much with the watermelon. It’s a nice summer pairing.

Softshell Crab, Kohlrabi, Rhubarb, Wasabi.

Châteauneuf du Pape Blanc, Domaine du Grand Tinel, 2003.

I love softshell crab. I love softshell crab very much when it is in season. For this dish, a nicely crispy, lightly fried piece sat on top an interestingly minty and slightly sour tasting apple kohlrabi puree with a watercress rhubarb salad next to it. A wasabi apple foam with ginger and basil sat on top to one side of the crab to accent the taste while contrasting the texture meat and the well seasoned batter. It was Chef Jason’s intention to make the seasoning and the batter an imitation of the KFC version as this was his homage to the KFC fried chicken. Initially, I thought there was a bit too much salt with the crab. However, it all made sense to me after he explained his purpose to us. The pieces did remind us of the KFC chicken. I very much enjoyed biting through the crispiness of the batter followed by the juice and the softness of the meat releasing into my mouth. The citrus-ness of the foam provided a very nice palette refresher in-between bits.

The wine is from another small producer with only 4.5 acres of vineyard. A nose of white grape was followed by a stronger liquorish and slightly tart taste. It worked very well with the fried food.

Ducking, Shishito Peppers, Lobster Mushrooms, Caper-Gooseberry.

Châteauneuf du Pape Rouge, Domaine Lucien Barrot, 2000

Tourist Tree had two consecutively bad duck dishes of late at area restaurants; would this duckling break her bad luck or would the curse continue?

The meat was perfectly prepared. It was tender. It was seasoned right. I like the fact that it was not drowned in a heavy sauce which would otherwise shroud the natural flavor and the quality of the meat. The gooseberry and the duck made an excellent combo with the peppers and mushrooms being a nice companion.

The wine is from a producer that has been making wine in the ultra-traditional method since 1690 with grape bunches not destemmed before pressing, and grapes crushed and fermented in concrete vats, then aged in foundres.

I was greeted by the typical sweaty sock in a locker room nose of a traditional old world wine. It had lots of berries. It had a nice spicy after-taste. It was yummy. It was delicious. It was like biting into a very juicy steak.

Tourist Tree was very happy that she finally got to enjoy a well prepared duck dish.

Red Berry Charlotte, Dark Chocolate Mousse, Vanilla Bean.

Châteauneuf du Pape Rouge, Domaine Le Soustet, 2005.

This charlotte had the dark chocolate mousse filling in the middle. It was topped with toasted meringue, strawberries, cherries, and little pieces of gold foil. The sauce was made with vanilla, crème anglaise with pistachios and cassis.

This dessert was delicious. Not heavy, not too sweet. Spongy followed by smoothness of the mousse. The sauce was wonderful with strong hint of the cassis. The sponginess of the charlotte became very useful in soaking up the sauce.

It was a very daring move for the sommelier to pair a red wine with a dessert. I have found that sometimes when you contrast a pairing instead of complement one; you are rewarded with the most unexpected delight. I found this wine full of strawberry and cherry. It was definitely lighter and fruitier than the previous wine. It happened to go very well with the cassis in the sauce. Alcohol and alcohol; what else could you ask for?

No meal is complete without a few pieces of petit fours. It took us no time is finishing those.




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It was a lovely evening with this delightful dinner. We were tucked into a semi-private table at one end of the dining room which allowed us to look out to the tree tops in the park outside through the large windows. Our locale however did not prevent the service from not keeping our water (and wine) glasses filled, bread basket replaced with warm breads from the oven, empty wine promptly glasses removed, and table being kept neat. Our side of the dining room was pretty full with diners for this dinner. The staff did a very good job in serving everybody within a reasonably short time for each course. I had an opportunity to talk with Chef Jason a while back about how he would handle large parties. He told me that his kitchen make everything fresh even for large banquets. No pre-cooking and reheating or sitting in warmers for hours. Timing and team work is everything. The sommelier also did personally pour every single wine at each table just before the course come out. Again, timing is everything.


We enjoyed all of the dishes. The watermelon first course was an interesting experience; although I am not too sure if I would order it again. The softshell crab was one of the best I had this year. It’s too bad the season for the fresh crab is almost over. Tourist Tree truly enjoyed her duck, and so did I. I was happy that we did not have a heavy dessert which would put us over the top. The wines were wonderful. We were happy that this dinner gave us the opportunity to experience a few Châteauneuf whites which we typically do not have the occasion to encounter. Kudos to Sommelier Eric Simonis who runs a very nice wine program at the restaurant.

Chifa

  

When I was growing up, I had a Chinese friend who spoke fluent Spanish but Cantonese with an accent. I knew she was born and raised in Peru and her brother was the Honorary Consul representing that country. It never occurred to me that there had been a significant connection between Peru and the Chinese until I read about Jose Garces opening a new restaurant which would highlight the uniqueness a cuisine born out of two totally different cultures with considerable histories. He named the restaurant with the phonetic pronunciation of the Chinese words for eating a meal.

The design of the interior reminded me of an upscale opium den done 21st century. Many bloggers have already dissected the food since the restaurant opened last summer but few have taken the time to study the intricate decoration with the little touches around the place.

Enjoying a Rogue Mocha Porter while waiting for the many small dishes coming. “The food comes in small bits and are meant to be shared…” I hate that when somebody lectures me how I should eat my food when I am hungry and want my own very big mount of food just in front of me.

The complementary bread.

It arrived just in time when I was ready to start chewing on my napkin. Three small bun-like balls of bread with a thin layer of crust sprinkled with what looked like minute pieces of melted cheese served warmed. I have heard so much about this bread before this visit. It was fluffy, indeed delicious, and extremely additive. The restaurant had to downsize this bread after its initial opening since too many people were filling up with it before dinner. The dipping sauce was made with Sriracha sauce, guava butter, and Peruvian black vinegar. Awesome was not a word good enough to describe it. I was at one point eating it with my fork until Tourist Tree told me to stop.

Scallion Pancake.

They had a very interesting slightly mushy consistency inside but a crispy crust outside. The pancakes were served with slightly pickled cauliflower which cut into the greasiness nicely, and small pieces of crispy peanuts and what I believed to be ginger sauce drizzled over. This is a dish that need to be eaten piping hot. The pieces get soggy and hard when cold. I would call this dish “interesting”, not something that I would order again. They were definitely not the traditional flaky scallion pancakes from the old country.

Pork Belly Buns.

Grilled tender pork belly glazed with hoisin sauce, topped with pickled daikon and carrot togarashi mayo, sandwiched between two pieces of pillow soft bread. This combination of taste and texture was simply delicious and much additive. The Tourist Tree compared it to eating the traditional Peking duck, gone upscale and with pork belly instead.

 
 
 

 

 

Desayuno.

Braised oxtail with an egg and tissue-thin bacon pieces on top, sitting on a piece of arepa bread. The panca emulsion was made of roasted black pepper and tasted slightly sweet. I really liked the thinly sliced bacon that added dimension and texture to the dish. Unfortunately, the dish did not wow me despite its taste. May be nothing tasted just quite as good after the pork belly buns.

 
 

 

Duck Noodles.

Duck wontons with slices of muscvy duck breast in a “Peking” broth. The wontons were made with a thicker skin much like the qweilo version but they had consistency more like raviolis and were done al dente, nicely holding the ground duck meat inside. The clear broth was excellent with its depth of flavors and heavy dose of soy. The pieces of breast were tender, tasty and could stand on their own very well without being part of a dish.

Aji Mushroom.

Mixed mushroom in aji cream sauce under a thick flaky pastry cover. I loved the pastry and the different textures from the variety of mushrooms swimming in this light cream sauce slightly enhanced by the aji pepper. Personally, I could use more heat in the sauce and I definitely did not like the small pieces of tofu and potato in it. They were more of a distraction than enrichment to this dish.

Congee.

Ginger congee with glazed veal cheeks, Chinese broccoli and red chili. The veal cheeks were awesome! They were soft. They were tender. The sweetness from the glazing on the meat played very well with the slight kick of the ginger in the congee. The dish was presented to us with the meat in the bowl, with the waitress pouring the congee into it at the table. OK, that’s too much drama!

 

 

.

Banana Picarones.

Pumpkin banana funnel cake, honey anise lace, spicy peanut sauce, banana sorbet. Everything that Tourist Tree likes in one dish (except the anise) and it’s a dessert! The honey anise lace was more a crisp. The sorbet was not too sweet; just the way I like it. The peanut sauce was awesome. Just give me a spoon. I can eat it straight out of a container, thank you! This slightly strange but interesting combination worked very well with the pumpkin banana funnel cake which itself was pretty awesome!

 

The Treat.

I do not remember the name which the waitress called this when she put it on our table. I would just call it “The Treat”. It was basically a rice crispy treat with a deep flavor of condensed milk and a hint of cinnamon, with a design of a dragon printed on rice paper on top. Yum! Exactly what I needed after the dessert.

The Treat.


I do not remember the name which the waitress called this when she put it on our table. I would just call it “The Treat”. It was basically a rice crispy treat with a deep flavor of condensed milk and a hint of cinnamon, with a design of a dragon printed on rice paper on top. Yum! Exactly what I needed after the dessert.