Jump to content

Capaneus

participating member
  • Posts

    768
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Capaneus

  1. So what are the post Robert Bennett reports? Will the prodigies make me cry like a school girl? Will those chocolate croissants touched by the hands of God be a distant memory? I want my Miel gateau! With all due respect to our beloved Katie’s Oregon monks, Bobby B is the maharishi of all that is sweetmeat. ← I'm glad to hear Mr. Bennett is doing well. Miel seems so far not to have suffered any letdown: their Fall chocolates - the first post-Bob, I think - are very good, well in line with previous releases. A couple of flavors, such as the sichuan pepper and the ginger, are maybe a tad timid, but that's nitpicking on my part.
  2. My all-time favorite Philadelphia Patisserie is still "Mademoiselle de Paris". To bad it arrived a little before Center City was able to support a first rate Patisserie. ← We supported jes' fine, thankee! I supported about seven pounds' worth my own self. They didn't close due to poor business: the husband and sole patissier suffered a catastrophic health event (stroke, I think?), and they decided to close down. They have been sorely missed, since, like you, I think they were the best we have yet had
  3. Capaneus

    Amada

    i always feel that way too. but thinking about it, i'm trying to get past it. so, considering my big long rambling about bacon last night, i'm just gonna continue with a big long rambling about tapas places in the US today: <much brilliance snipped because, dude, it was *way* long> ← Still, you barely touched on part of the issue: not why *Amada* is expensive, but why there is no such thing as a real bistro, or tapas place, or... It *can* be done: assorted South American and Asian places are showing us that there is a business model wherein you get the gringos and/or gaijin in by the busload, give them cheap food for little money, and repeat the process many times a night for many many nights. Heck, what's dimsum but tapas with a little ginger, eaten earlier than is conscionable? Why is it that the same cannot be done with *European* food? There are cheap sources for all the ingredients you'd need. It wouldn't be Brasserie Perrier (man *promised* me a "real" brasserie. Bastid!), or Amada, but it could be good and cheap. We do it with 'Murrican "bar food". Just change the damn menu. I think most of us could name the wines we'd pour for $4 a glass (you'd be looking for Spanish at $6-$8/btl; they're out there). There's prolly a dozen of us who could whip up at least a rudimentary menu. Heck, pay Shola to develop the menu - World Tapas, Tasty and Cheap. Throw in beer and pretzels, you got yourself a place. No?
  4. Capaneus

    Amada

    The $40 tapas tasting sounds doable, if it survives. Just hope I'm able to keep the wines under $20....
  5. My everyday cheapo-vino are, on the red side, two Spanish wines, the Valdubon Cosecho, and the Panarroz, respectively about $8 and $6.49 (with case discount). The white - and it mostly goes with anything, as well as going down *real* easy - is the Aveleda Vinho Verde, which I would get for $3.47/btl (by the case) at an undisclosed (*cough* Canal's *cough*) location if I were to break the law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Which I simply couldn't. Though I think of it as primarily a summer wine. And the slight sweetness and hint of carbonation might not be everyone's cup of tea. I'm also currently very much enjoying the '04 Omaka Springs SB, at $8.99, but I don't think that is the price for the general population, just for us verra verra special Pa. folk.
  6. Capaneus

    Quitting appellations

    It's beginning to come back to me. The producer is Clos du Tue-Boeuf, which is owned by the two Puzelat brothers. Am still racking my brain for the wine's name. Olivier's wines are non-AOC? I could have sworn I'd seen Muscadet printed on his labels, which would mean they were AOC, wouldn't it? Three more producers for the list: - Zind-Humbrect's Zind, a still blend of auxerrois, pinot blanc and chardonnay, is a vin de table (vin de pays aren't allowed in Alsace) because chardonnay is authorized only for sparkling Crémant d'Alsace. - In the Languedoc, Mas Julien's white is a VDP de l'Hérault because it contains unauthorized chenin blanc. - In Corsica, Antoine Arena's wines are often non-AOC because he flouts AOC regulations (overly long fermentations, higher than allowed alcohol levels, etc.). ← I think muscadet/melon de Bourgogne can be used as a varietal label, it's not exclusively an AOC, is it? I always lose track of French regulations. And isn't someone else in Alsace making a wine out of like seven or nine white varietals? In general, I think in certain areas, like Burgundy, the Rhone and Bordeaux, the AOC designation gives you such a tremendous marketing advantage that it would be very hard to give up. Gestures like Thunevin's are in a sense facile, because they generate enough press in themselves to bridge that gap for the one vintage. On the other hand, in areas where the AOC regulations are less well extablished, like Languedoc, or which are not well known, like Corsica, you find wholesale defection for the sake of freer access to viticultural techniques and winemaking technologies, and to sexy (read US-market-friendly) varietals. At least that's how've I've thought of it for some time.
  7. Best bar food I've had in Philly was at the Dark Horse, when MacNamara was there. Haven't been back since he left, though. Standard Tap has very fine grub indeed, in any case.
  8. Not really, but I think 'fey' and 'effeminate' are pretty synonymous. ← Huh. Nah. None of the three are quite synonymous, though there is overlap. If anything, "effete" and "effeminate" come closest. And none of them are particularly Philadelphian, Mummers aside.
  9. Well, Evan, let's chalk it to the Differin' O' The Strokes. I was there last night, and it was a very nice meal indeed: we started with a "pork gratin": pork, cream, and gruyere, baked - relatively simple, kinda overwhelming, but very tasty. The portion was perhaps a little on the large side, it would have benefitted from being reduced and served alongside something tart or crisply vegetal, to offset the ridiculous richness, but I'd have to say it was good. We also had a very good tomato veloute, with croutons, olives and a sharp smokiness that turned out to be.... pimenton ahumado: the stuff is slowly taking over the world. For entrees, I had the pecan-crusted trout with broccoli rabe and mashed; and we also ordered the mussel app. Both good, the fish extremely well executed, no curveballs, but moist flaky fish in a crisp, slightly crunchy crust, with good rabe and mashed potatoes, with (I think - I may be misremembering) a hint of cheddar, nothing heavyhanded. I didn't need the mustard sauce pooled on the plate, but it was easy enough to take or leave, so I used it sparingly. Not bad, just unnecessary. The mussels in saffron broth were excellent. I'm not sure exactly what was involved, since I was only able to poach a couple of bread-dunks, but there was enthusiasm across the table. We skipped dessert for the sake of science: I had a chocolate tasting set up at home, with eight choices at 75% cocoa and above, and a dram of Port for to clobber the first chill of the season. Nice evening, all in all. The place was barely half-full - so fairly quiet - and the staff was charming. I think the place deserves our continued support. Perhaps not quite at the leading edge of BYOB Culture, but a good, solid value, with foursquare charm and very tasty, honest food.
  10. C'mon, we can be as effete as *anybody*! My personal (limited) experience is that the Ritz-Carlton and The Striped Bass are as close as we get. Which isn't very close.
  11. I think you may be our man behind the lines! Stout fellow! Do us proud. eGullet expects every man to eat his duty... I mean, do his meal... Just report back posthaste.
  12. Say what? Dude, speaking of irony, it might be time to change your signature line... Permanently Chef at Rx Restaurant 45th & Spruce Street Spruce Hill, West Philly Farmer's best friend ← Katie, presumably this is part of said irony. While the double meaning remains unclear, the mood of the author is not. Perhaps we will be obliged further. I await Capaneus - our resident know it all - for clarification perhaps. Evan ← Yes, well... [harrumph] ...it can, as you say, be presumed from his peevish tone that Mr. Olivett feels agrieved by the parties involved in the aforementioned transaction. His claim of bitter irony means that the nature of the grievance probably is one that cannot be easily reconciled to the recent events. I would guess Mr. Olivett feels that his talents or ambition were not given proper scope to shine during his tenure at Rx. That another is now being given such a setting seems to give him sharp dyspeptic pains. And that he chooses to express his complaint in such pompous, priggish, pedantic diction, while pratfalling over the difference between "obtuse" and "abstruse" is itself keenly ironic, of course. [harrumph] How's that, Evan?
  13. I liked it, but the reservation situation meant that I virtually never got to go - I just don't make plans a month in advance, and being up early enough to call is unthinkable anyway. I know I *didn't* like the bread, and the desserts were not as good as the rest of the menu. Which was creative and (usually) well executed, if a little fussy.. Not having been there in years, I've suspected for a little while that I would have a much more jaundiced view after eating at some of the places that have since opened in town, like Marigold and SK. I think I agree with you, I have the feeling that Ross and Greg's stewardship will be reinvigorating. I'd just hate to be in their shoes, given how people feel about the place. Imagine Shola handing off at StudioKitchen!
  14. That's Greg being funny, I think. If this *had* to happen, this is a very good way for it to go. I like everything about it but the noncompete agreement, but under the circumstances that was probably unavoidable. Wonder how far "the area" extends, and whether the noncompete agreement has a sunset clause. Though if the "country" they're moving to is over Pittsburgh ways, it's pretty much a moot point.
  15. I hear the changeover is happening *this week*? Anyone going soon?
  16. Capaneus

    Starting 'em young

    I agree entirely. In fact, I find it alarming that discussion here among wine lovers is still so . . . phobic. ← I honestly don't know how to feel about all this. I grew up in Portugal, where it was normal for a child to go to the store to buy wine or beer for the household. I never drank much (except once, by accident), and never found the stuff that interesting - because no one around me found it interesting, not adults, not children. Then I attended college in the States, where my peers had a deep and thirsty interest in alcohol, all forms and flavors. And in that context I drank to excess, what today we call bingeing, and repeatedly made an ass of myself, until it became clear to me that there was a problem, at which point I became a moderate drinker. Nothing in my Portuguese relaxed-about-wine background seemed to innoculate me to the peer pressure and social anxieties that lead young people to drink heavily in this country. Based on my experience, I would say that the educational approach probably works - with *some* kids, and up to a point. Given the very real problems with teens and drinking, I think prohibition, deeply flawed as it is, porous as it is, is probably the best alternative for this country. I just don't think that at the end ofthe day education trumps culture.
  17. Ya think? Jeebus! '85 Margaux... well, it isn't the '86 I've *heard* of the St. Immer "Goldert". Never *seen* one, mind you! '89 Leoville Las Cases. Great vintage of a good wine. How are the '89s drinking? If the stuff I don't know is anywhere close to this level I could conceivably keel over and die of pure, distilled, concentrated envy. And I'm willing to bet the Sauternes you liked was the Suduiraut. One of the stars of what's been described (truthfully this time) as the best vintage in twenty-five years. At least it isn't the Guiraud, I would have plotzed. What happened, you guys stumble and break the bottle?
  18. Huh? I take it that you mean there are a number of restaurants of that name, and that the pierogi are worth pursuing? And thanks to the kind folks that suggested the Farmhouse. Sounds like a wonderful start.
  19. Which brings to mind a possible silver lining: remember when Salt closed? It was lamented (well, with one exception), but in its passing gifted us Marigold Kitchen. Assuming Django's entire kitchen isn't moving wholesale to the 'Burgh, there will be a passel of talented folk spreading tasty knowledge around.
  20. I find myself with the prospect of several weekend trips to Allentown in the near future. All fine and good, but I know nothing about the area's restaurant scene. A quick scan of past posts leads me to believe the pickings might be slim, but I'm hoping someone has something to add.
  21. Not really too late on a Friday, I don't think. Mercato is right there, they don't take reservations, and they should still be seating. Across Broad, Bistro La Viola has good food - they are usually too crowded for me, but by that time they should have thinned out.
  22. Raddichio is a good thought for dinner. It's not hard to eat inexpensively there. If you decide on Chinatown, Rangoon is a bit more unusual alternative to Chinese, as is Penang. For dessert, I really like Petit4.
  23. I wish them all the luck. That space seems "cursed" and I could never figure out why other than its just cursed - a known real estate phenomenon. If memory serves, it was Fratelli's for a long while (?) and then nothingness for many years... 'til now hopefully. Evan ← As I recall, it was Galileo, and then the shark-jumping involved something called Galileo's Osservatorio. I started telling the guy about the history of the place, but I got the feeling it was news to him, so I stopped. No sense in spooking him, particularly when I think part of the problem was the neighborhood, and that has changed so completely, in terms of restaurants.
  24. A new Italian is coming to the Rittenhouse/Graduate Hospital area: construction is underway in the space at 17th and Spruce that once housed Galileo's. The owners are new to the Philadelphia restaurant scene, but ran what they describe as a well-regarded Shore Italian named La Fontana Del Mare. No opening date is set as work is just starting. I forgot to ask about their wine status, but I don't remember seeing a License Application notice, so we can hope for a BYO. Let's wish them the success that eluded the space's previous tenants. Is anyone familiar with their previous restaurant? I believe they said it was in Ocean City, NJ...
  25. The Gaillac was one of the just-about perfect marriages with the food. Alone, it was delicious, but almost too sweet. But with the soup... transcendent. We would thank the folks at Moore Brothers for this recommendation, if someone had gone to Jersey for wine, which, of course no one did. That would be wrong. My advocacy for NYS wines, Keuka Lake wines in particular, and Dr Frank even more specifically, will continue until my dining companions start complaining, and so far they have not! This was indeed an extremely dry Riesling, with a very unusual flavor pattern. As the wine first hits the tongue, it tastes like nothing at all, but then blooms into an austere, but complex fruit. I thought the Terlaner Sauvignon was delicious, and went pretty well here, and probably would have gone pretty well with most anything we ate. The surprise was the Migration Pinot, which I agree was independently tasty and really nice with the chicken. The Riesling was a big, intense, golden-colored wine, practically a different grape than the version we had earlier. The age, and some time on wood, gave this a hefty flavor that went pretty well here. Not exactly right, but good... I saved some to try with the lobster, and it was pretty good there too! I liked the Lirac, but didn't love it with the salmon. Nice wine though, and not bad with the lobster either. Chardonnay is often a good match for lobster, and this elegant, clean Burgundy was very nice here. The Asian spin of the spicing made it a tiny bit less ideal than it would be with simple lobster and butter, but still, I liked this pairing. The Voigner was good too, but I'll agree that it didn't kill me here. Shola had suggested that a Belgian Trippel Trappist Ale might have gone well here, and I'm kicking myself a bit, because it crossed my mind as we were planning, but I dismissed the idea! This was one of my favorite wines of the night, and could have done well as a starter too, but I'm glad we kept if for the end, the floral nose and sweet citrusy flavors really complimented this dessert. I'd love to take credit for this idea, but I had a little moore help than I'm at liberty to discuss.... All in all, a very nice array of wines, and fairly nice matches overall, I thought. Big thanks to everyone for their excellent contributions! ← See, I thought we did poorly overall: the Gaillac, the Migration and the Muscat were very close to right; a few of the others, notably the Mersault, the Terlaner and the Barmes-Buecher showed real class independently of anything else, and really deserved better than the fate we consigned them to. Some, like the Lirac, were just such hopeless misfires I can only hang my head in abject shame. Still, the evening was not much tarnished by that. Shola's food would have shined if we'd brought soda-pop. The soup, the chicken (the pickled cucumber fairly sung, when you had a combined mouthfull) and the cloud were the evening's standouts for me, but mostly because they brought an element of surprise, either by elevating an old stanby (chicken) or by being entirely new (cloud). There wasn't a less-than-sublime mouthfull in the meal. Another slice of SK bliss. Thank you, Percy. As always, a great evening.
×
×
  • Create New...