Al x

I really hope not as this was our go to place for sushi in the Western Burbs. On the down side though my wife and I were in there about three weeks ago for dinner and were the only ones in the place for our entire dinner. On the way out I mentioned to my wife that I don't know how they stay open. I will really miss this place if it is gone.

Katie, Since it was Lunch and I was being good, as well as the fact I am more of a beer and wine guy, I only took a cursory glance at the cocktail menu. My friend and I did laugh at how "girlie" some of the cocktails sounded(no offense intended) so I bet you are right on with the sugary sweet guess.

Headed up to 20th and Market to get my weekly fix of the crazy Felafel dude-best way that $10 that can be spent on edible products. As is the way of creative genius, not there for no discernible reason(If anybody has some insight to his schedule I'm all ears). What to do, what to do. I remember that Ladder 15 has just opened, recall seeing a fairly creative bar menu and decide to mosy on over. The good news- The place looks great. Very industrial with exposed brick, high ceilings and metal accents. Service was also friendly if not a little clumsy and rehearsed. Hopefully with some time the servers will seem a little more natural. Several Manager types also stopped by the table to see how we were doing. The bad- The food. Not good at all. The menu itself seems to be jumping on the on the Gastropub fad with offerings such as Sweet Potato Pierogies with Shaved Chocolate, Black Truffle Flatbread and Duck Breast and Fig sandwich. The first thing that seemed odd is that the waitress indicated the servings were very small and recommended ordering at least two items for each person. Well the menu consists of a lot of sandwiches and platters that at least upon description would appear to be a one person item. I'm also not sure if it's a very good policy to tell bar patron that portions "are very small". As I took the place in there was a little alarm bell going off inside my head saying I better keep my order simple. As a result I went with the Burger although it was frou-froued up- Red Onion Marmalade, Smoked Paprika Mayo, Manchego Cheese and served on Sourdough Toast. A friend got the Chicken Gyro and we shared some Truffle Fries. The Burger, ordered medium rare, came a hockey puck shaped medium that only took up about half the area of the Sourdough Toast. The Red Onion Marmalade had zero taste(odd because red onion is so strong) saw and tasted no evidence of Smoked Paprika Mayo and the cheese could have been a slice of govt. cheese for tha impact it made on the burger. At a pricey $12, this burger doesn't come close to stacking up against it's CC competition. The fries came in one of those cone thingies, which to me is the first sign the are not going to be very good. Score one for intuition- way too crisp on the outside and nothing going on on the inside. I didn't taste any truffle although that taste was possibly supposed to be transmitted through the Parmesan Aioli. Unfortunately the Aioli looked like a congealed pile of yellow gunk. It tasted slightly better than it looked , but not by much. Since I didn't taste the Chicken Gyro I will keep my observations to a minimum- fairly small portion on a way overcooked pita. I was really hoping for good things since it's located so close to my office. Maybe with some more time they will get things straightened out, although the have a long way to go based on my one meal. My intuition tells me(there it is again) they liked the sound of a gastropub type menu but don't really have the means to execute it. I wouldn't be surprised to see them simplify their menu and lower their price points not too far down the road. On a positive note they brought us some complimentry Pretzel Fudge with the check. Quite tasty and by far the best part about our Lunch. P.S. The beer menu wasn't all that impressive, particularly with the increased awareness of craft beer in the Philly area. Seemed to be the usual cast of characters with a couple of micro-brews thrown in.

touche(i don't know how to to do the thingy over the e thing)

Not trying to start a rumor. A person who I work with said they saw something on the news this morning about Le Be Fin closing. I searched a little on the internet but couldn't find anything. If true it would be one of those things that surprised me for some reason even though I suspected it was coming.

For the soup fans out there Tinto is offering a killer good one right now as an option on their Bilbao lunch menu. Chestnut Puree with Mushroom Duck Hash and a drizzle of Truffle Oil. There are also some toasted Pistachios on top. I've gotten it twice now and have been blown away each time. The soup has a slightly sweet element which really balance everything out . My guess is Port or Brandy. However it's made, it is just the thing to warm one up on a cold day. I didn't see it on their dinner menu so I am assuming lunch is the only time you can get it.

Just got back from Lunch and want to echo on Andrews comments about the Chilled White Aspargus Gazpacho- Very good and incredibly refreshing on one of our famous Northeast corridor sweatbox days. I think some cream was added, giving it some extra richness on top of what was already provided by the the truffles. What was kind of interesting though is that I ordered the Crab and Seafood Chowder. Once I saw how good the Gazpacho looked I elected to keep it, but they still seem to be working out service issues, at least at lunchtime. I was with a friend and we both ordered the Bilbao Lunch Express. We did say they could bring the items as they were ready but with a ratio of about 2.5 employees for every customer I really didn't think timing would be an issue. None the less both our soups and then our sandwiches arrived at different times, probably about 2-3 minutes apart. Not a huge issue, but just a bit suprising considering the light crowd. I got the Mixto sandwich as well and thought it was good not great. The sandwich came with a little salad(?) of olives, cornichons, small marinated cocktail like onions and thin slices of some kind of slightly spicy pepper. Overall I would say I would go back but it won't be a the top of the list.

Long time lurker, first time poster(I have been waiting to use that joke). What has finally got me off my butt to post is a couple of meals I had at Majolica. And being the procrastinator I am one occurred on February 21st and the other occurred on Thursday April 5th. First a little background though. We have been going to Majolica since it opened(and was surprised to find out our favorite waitress from Birchrunville Store Cafe was the owner) and thought it was good the first time and even better each return visit. When they added the six course tasting menus during the week they became our usual selection. We were always amazed at how we were receiving a totally different six courses every time we went, many with no connection whatso ever to an item on the regular menu. While we haven't tried Per Se yet(we hopefully will get there some this this year) I frequently read reviews and notice the menu doesn't change very often. With how many times they make these items I think even my wife might be able to produce one successfully after enough tries. The reason I bring this up is that we were always impressed how Majolica seemed to be able to produce an entirely new tasting menu even if our last visit had only been a few weeks ago Fast forward to my birthday, February 21st. It's a an important one, the big 4-0. My wife asks me were I want to go. I say Majolica-it's fairly close to where we live, we have been enjoying the meals, why not. She calls, makes a reservation, and casually mentions it's my 40th and that we would like the 6 course tasting. We get there and are taken to our table which is decorated with confetti, streamers and most importantly(and totally unexpected) my birthday menu. The menu was as follows: First Course- Raspberry Point Oyster, Champagne Mignonette Second Course- Venison Tartare, Firelli Pear Third Course- Garlic Soup, Salted Tuna Roe, Quali Egg Fourth Course- Pickled Baby Carrot, Tuna Aioli Fifth Course- Portuguese Sardine, Apple Celeriac Salad Sixth Course- Matsutake Tempura, Ponzu Sauce Seventh Course- White Aspargus, Toffee, Maldon Salt Eight Course- Tuna, Basil, Olive Oil Emulsion, Tomato Juice Ninth Course- Smoked Black Cod, Potato Puree, Rosemary Oil Tenth Course- Salmon Belly, Watercress, Citrus Flavors Eleventh Course- Veal Sweetbread, Breakfast Radish, Molasses Butter Twelth Course- Foie Gras, Aromatic Leaves, Herb Jus 13th Course- Pineapple Sorbet, Fried sage 14th Course- Roast Squab, Onion Compote, Fragrent Spices 15th Course-Hendricks Farm Telford Tomme, Garlic Dolce de Leche 16th Course- Meringue, Star Anise Cream, Raspberry Needless to say we were blown away. I couldn't even really figure out the menu at first; was I to pick out 6 items from this selction, or was I getting just some of these items. When they finally convinced me that my wife and I were getting all sixteen, I just broke into a big smile and prepared my stomach for some serious eating. I do wish I had taken some kind on notes or hired Philadining for the evening to take pictures. Some of the items that still stand out for me was the Garlic Soup-incredibly mild but rich at the same time, the Matsutake Tempura which was the best Tempura I have ever had, the Toffee and Aspargus combination, and the Garlic Dolce De Leche. If I knew how to make it I might spread it on everything I eat. If there was something I could change about the meal is that I would have had the Foie Gras and perhaps the Sweetbreads earlier in the line up. By the time I had the Foie, the richness was almost too much and I didn't enjoy as fully as I should. Obviously one of the cooler dining experieinces I have ever had, particularly when I had no idea it was coming. And as I discussed earlier ono of the things that really impressed me is not one of those items was a regular item on the menu. Each item I tasted I was tasting in that format for the first time. I have to say it was almost embarrasing as the other tables began to eyeball us more and more as the course piled up. Jump ahead several weeks to April. Its the Thursday before Good Friday and we are going back to Majolica for the first time since my big birthday dinner, this time with another couple. We had decided before we went we would all do the six course tasting. Well who says lightning doesn't strike twice. I'm still not sure why we were so lucky, perhaps we were guinea pigs for the testing of future menu item, who knows. We weren't even handed menus; just told to sit back and enjoy. I was smart enough to take some notes this time. The courses were as follows: 1. Homemade Pork Rind with a yogurt dipping sauce- very interesting way to start off the meal 2. Roasted Oysters with Horseradish Emulsion- until this point I had only enjoyed oysters raw. These were incredible with the horseradish providing just enough of a contrast with the saltiness and richness of the oysters 3. The girls got Roasted Beat and Hazelnut salads while the boys got Shaved Artichoke and Parsley salads 4. Spring Pea Soup- It tasted more like May Pea Soup. Very sweet. 5. Porcini Egg Custard with smoked Trout Roe. Served directly in the eggshell. The earthiness of the Porcini tamed the creaminess of the custard, making for a good combination 6. Salmon Paillard, White Aspargus and Orange Reduction and Tarragon 7. Dourade with Melted Shallots 8 Florida Frog Leg with Barley and Yogurt sauce- It had been a long time since I had Frog Legs. Kind of like chicken(sorry) with a just a mild seafood taste. Not bad but not intersting enough that I would order them out ona sort of regular basis. 9. Roasted Rabbit Saddle with Oyster Mushrooms.-Outstanding. I haven't had a lot of rabbit in life but this made me a believer. I think the saddle is like the tenderloin. It has just enough of a gamey taste to make it interesting but not overbearing. This was prepared fairly simply. 10. House Cured and Roasted Pork Belly with Lentils-My favorite dish of the night. This is one of those things that when it is made well(Studio Kitchen, Ansill's) its my favorite thing in the world, but when made bad(me) it really sucks. Ths was made well. Deliciously rich and fatty without being greasy it pulled apart nice and easy, just as it should. Lentils made a great combo with this dish. Alright I am getting tired of typing and my company actually things they are paying me for work so I am going to wrap this up with just a listing of the remaining courses 11. Foie Poached Apricot and Sauternes Gelee on a Brioche roll 12 Carrot Sorbet and Cilantro 13 Lamb encrusted with Trumpet Mushroomswith Cucumber and Tabouleh 14 Cheese with Honeycomb-If you never had fresh honeycomb-Try some. It's incredible 15 Soft Boiled Quail Egg, Toffee and Maldon Salt 16 Fennel Panna Cotta, w Roasted Strawberries Yes-Blown away again. These two completely unexpected meals are Karma for all the times I have been seated back in the Aryan section near the bathroom at Ralph's, the times the restaurants in Paris have lost our reservation when the see we are Americans(overall my experience in Paris has been pretty good, but there have been some incidents), and the times places didn't live up to anywhere near their expectations(WD-50). For those of you out there that haven't tried this place, you should put it on your list. And not just in you live near Phoenixville or in Chester County. I can't promise you sixteen courses but if you dig food I think you will like the courses you get.