jm chen

I thought the ricotta foam plated with the chestnut cake dessert was just spectacular. Which is certainly not somewhere I expected to be impressed, but the salty sharp lightness of it made me blink with every bite. That chestnut cake was my favorite dish of the night. (Probably not a majority opinion; it was a very earthy and dense and unsweet. But that just made it better with the honeycomb.) Least favorite, the squid ink pasta, which was fine but not exciting. Wine matches, as buckethead notes, were excellent. They made the price tag go down a lot easier for me. And I found out I don't like sweetbreads. Luckily, there were volunteers nearby to relieve me of my portion. Generous souls.

I experiment on friends (and my husband's notoriously unpicky fellow grad students) and go back to proven recipes for anyone I'm trying to impress. I did an entire tapas dinner for 12 of things I'd never made before, and it worked out great, because then things coming out at different times in unknown quantities is just part of the charm. Obviously I planned for more than we needed and so when I didn't have time to make the tortilla it wasn't a crime, and if I'd made it and it came out inedible, still wouldn't matter.

Aw, man. I finally got around to a couple of recipes I'd been eyeing and now I wish I hadn't waited so long! (I also wish I'd taken pictures.) The Braised Scallions (not shallots, just good old rubber-band-bunched green-and-white scallions) really are amazing. I was dubious, but gave it a shot, and they were just magically sweet and delicious. Just scallions, water, butter, a little tarragon and S&P, heat, and time. She insists on fresh tarragon instead of dried, and I generally agree with that sentiment, but my dried tarragon from Penzey's had arrived only the day before, so I did sprinkle on about a quarter-teaspoon. SO good. I also made the sausages braised with red wine and plums. Sure, it's not plum season, but the Italian Market had some anyway, so I used them, along with a few Bing cherries that weren't tart enough for my snacking preference. Served over polenta. I'll definitely do these two again as a combo for company. I cooked the sausage far longer than the recommended 35 minutes and it remained fabulous, as it did when nuked up the next day.

For a casual lunch or dinner there's Pita Pocket on 16th (a couple streets south of Walnut, not the Pita Pit which is north of Walnut and part of a chain). Absolutely fantastic chicken shawarma and chicken kabobs. It's something like $9 for a sandwich, but that includes unlimited sides from the salad-esque bar if you eat in. I say salad-esque because it's prepared salads, not lettuce stuff, and includes garlic carrots, tabbouleh, and a rotating array of other things including bean salad and this unbelievably awesome cauliflower. Since you mentioned Italian, I like Mercato, on Spruce between 12th and 13th. Upscale BYOB, good solid Italian especially in the pastas and antipasti. I'm addicted to their olive butter. Both Amada and Tinto have lunch specials, if you want to sample their food but not go for a full tapas meal (or if you can't get a reservation for dinner, which wouldn't be unheard-of). You must, absolutely must, have Capogiro gelato while you're here. Flavors from the standard stracciatella and hazelnut to honey cumin, butternut squash with bourbon, chai, all sorts of things. Enjoy our city! It's delicious!

I just finished a Shepherd's Pie for lunch, and it definitely has a packaging issue with the gravy boiling over. Maybe it needs to be heated on low for a while and then turned up to high? The "blast on high for 9 minutes" directions seem a little suspect. Anyway, the pie is definitely somewhat bland. But it's also only 380 calories and 7 grams of fat, so it's on the lighter side, and that explains why the gravy isn't richer and the potatoes are watery instead of creamy. Whether the sacrifice in quality is acceptable obviously depends on what you're looking for. TJ's frozen stuff varies widely in both quality and healthiness, but I've found several things I keep in the office freezer so I can have lunch for $2.50 instead of $6 to $10 at a nearby deli. For between 300 and 400 calories there's the shepherd's pie, chicken sesame noodle bowl, veggie tamales, corn and black bean enchiladas, a couple different kinds of vegetable lasagna, the aforementioned eggplant parmigiana, and three-cheese cannelloni. All depends on what you're looking for.

Lovely meal here late Saturday. Best dish was the pancetta pizza, recommended by our waiter in the eternal "pancetta vs. proscuitto" dilemma, and it was utterly delicious. Least successful was the gnocchi alla bava, which had... dare I say... too much cheese. But oh, that pizza. I'll have another. Or two. Or more.

Answering my own question, since we did end up giving it a try, and were overall pretty pleased with the experience. Good bread, good service, good space. The only thing that really tripped us up was the "we recommend three plates" thing, since many of those smaller-than-an-entree-larger-than-an-app plates run $18-23. Hors d'oeuvres and tartines run closer to $4-8. We got a couple things apiece and shared around, and got out for $120 before tax & tip for three people including drinks (though the beers are much cheaper than the wines by the glass). I have the feeling you can accidentally spend a lot there if you don't keep an eye on your ordering, though I guess that's the case wherever small plates are found. Standouts for us were the squash gnocchi and the charcuterie, particularly the duck proscuitto. Mmmmm, melty fat. Definitely curious about their once-a-month family-style Sunday suppers, which are $35 for three courses, and BYOB or half-price wine.

To be fair, the lobster was pretty huge. I'm guessing 3 pounds at least. I wasn't expecting the server to volunteer the price, but upon reflection it seems like the dish might have been intended for two people, which is definitely something I would have expected to be told, whether I asked about it or not. And indeed, the $100 cheesesteak is still available.

Anyone been recently? Trying to decide whether to get a reservation here or take our chances standing in line at Mercato on a Friday night.

Thanks for weighing in! That helps a lot. Now all I have to do is convince her she's in the mood for Italian...

Can't speak to the texture because it really blended with the dish, but I definitely found it to have an unmistakable fennel flavor. I'm curious about the preparation too. You know it's a good meal when one of the topics of discussion is "which of these items could I eat a bucket of." For me, it was the truffled lebneh. Pretty blown away by the halvah semifreddo as well... to look at it, you expect a creaminess, but it's not creamy, really. It's just... melty sesamey caramelly salty goodness.

To belatedly follow up on this... we ended up going to Barclay Prime about a month ago, and were pretty happy with the choice. The Kobe sliders, tuna tartare, and lobster bisque were out of this world. The steak (ribeye, I think) was also superb, with a great char and soft red center. Onion strings were good, truffled mashed potatoes were fine. On a whim, I also ordered the lobster, which was a mistake for two reasons: 1) we had WAY too much food, and 2) I generally have a rule to ask about "market price", but overlooked it on this occasion, and I never would have ordered it if I'd known that market price was $100. Even if it's someone else's money, it's still money. Thanks for all the advice! It was a very tasty meal.

If you want to stick to the Penn Quarter area, I'd hit Zaytinya with the foodies (on the early side) and District Chophouse with the non-foodies. Chophouse isn't gourmet, but I've found it to be nicely reliable for basic steak and pork and fish, and they brew their own beer. Palena Cafe at 5:30 or 6 or whenever it opens, followed by a Red Line run to the Verizon Center, would definitely be a good bet. Just be aware the chicken takes 45 minutes. They'll tell you, but if you're under a time constraint, it's good to know before you get your heart set on it. Drinks at Central are fun, but I'm not sure how crowded it's going to be on a Saturday night. Walkable from the Verizon Center but not as close as Jaleo or Oyamel; 11th and Penn.

Non-food-related Osteria question -- is it pretty easy to pick up a cab in this area after dinner? I'm venturing out with my visiting mother-in-law this evening and am not familiar with the neighborhood at all. No matter how nice the dinner is I don't want to be standing around on a dark curb afterward, saying, "I'm sure there'll be one soon..." Know what I mean?

Can a lone diner get in on the tasting menu action? Is there an eGullet table a-brewing or anything? PM'd Jmac, but thought some others who've done this previously might know too.

If anyone's looking for a great place to host a small party, Tinto has a very nice private room on its second floor that holds about 16 for a sit-down dinner. Due to license issues that space is presently BYOB, which worked out quite nicely for us. No charge for the room, just the food. Which was awesome as usual. The birthday girl was thrilled.

I think the Afghan Grill is actually very good. They do some sort of pumpkin thing that makes me swoon. The places that are right on Conn Ave, I agree, are mostly mediocre.

That's it, I've dillydallied long enough, I'm going tonight. I'll report back on the Perfectly Porky tasting menu tomorrow.

For all the Rustica lovers, I just found a menu in my purse... the 11th Street outpost is at 248 South 11th Street, 215-923-9134. Open til 10pm during the week, 11 on Friday/Saturday, and 9pm Sunday. I've always been happy with their slices, except the chicken with ranch dressing, and I kind of think that was a lapse in judgment on my part, more than a failure of craftsmanship on theirs.

I like everything about Las Canteras except the chocolate quinoa cake. Their aji de gallina is particularly good. For something a little different, Adams Morgan now has a Korean restaurant, Mandu, which I've definitely enjoyed. Is San Marco still there? I know the owner was talking about retirement, but it's a nice little neighborhoody Italian place, much more civilized than the no-reservations scheme at Pasta Mia. There is hardly any Ethiopian in Adams Morgan anymore -- I think Meskerem's the last one standing.

Tried Tinto for the first time this weekend. Outrageously good food. The cool and quiet downstairs (this was early evening) has a completely different vibe from the noisy and tightly packed upstairs. So when we go back I'll definitely be requesting a table downstairs instead of up. Best dish: duck confit montaditos with a cherry on top... words can't express how awesome. We considered the chef's tasting and I'd forgotten about the discussion above. Glad we went plate by plate. Ended up costing $100 for two (pre-tip) including drinks, so a little cheaper than the $55pp tasting would have been. Figs (2 orders), kobe beef, duck montaditos, potatoes w/la peral sauce, halibut, wild mushrooms, and a chestnut cake for dessert. Not a bad bite in the lot. I've never seen a menu before that lists every single person on the staff right down to the line cooks and bussers. I like the idea.

Indeed. Quite small, not a lot of tables period and none large enough to go beyond the four-top. And yes, it's really that good, but chances of getting a table without a reservation are slim, due to the smallness. Of course since the dinner is two nights away the decision has probably already been made... but I just noticed that OpenTable shows availability for a party of 5 at 7pm on Wednesday at Citronelle, which I've never been to but which is consistently rated among the city's top restaurants. Wherever you go, have a great meal! And report back!

Anybody got particular recommendations for choosing from the menu at Standard Tap? Or should I just order what sounds good and assume they'll rock the house? So looking forward to trying this place...

"Triada"? Are they trying to confuse us?

So. Only been in Philly a couple of months, as some of you know from reading this little off-season Valentine to my new home. And just yesterday my husband and I received a sizable gift certificate good for anywhere in the Starr Restaurant Organization. So we can spend this little windfall at: Alma de Cuba Buddakhan Continental El Vez Jones (never heard of it) Morimoto Pod Striped Bass Tangerine Washington Square Barclay Prime I think that's the list, anyway. Of these... El Vez and Continental are joints we can go to anytime, so it doesn't seem worth bothering. We tried Buddakhan already, and though we happily stuffed ourselves with Angry Lobster once, I don't think the experience necessarily demands a repeat performance. Seems to me we probably want to use the gift to indulge at either Morimoto, Barclay Prime, or Striped Bass. I like sushi but don't love it, and I'm concerned that Morimoto isn't worth it if you don't go for omakase. The Striped Bass menu looks the most interesting. If it were your $200, where would you go?