Thank You, Philly eGulleteers

[Osnav]

Thanks to all eGulleteers for you advice & recommendations. Here is a short chronology of my trip, followed by my reviews and ratings of food and restaurants:

May 19 (Thur.) Arrived in Philly 12:35PM

2:35PM Sat. in Reading Terminal with a DiNic's roast pork w/greens and provolone sandwich, girlfriend sat across the table with a Salumeria hoagie w/house dressing and extra artichokes.

2:45PM We knew we were in love with PHILLY!!

We bought some figs for an afternoon snack and headed for the 12th & Chestnut PLCB to stock up for three nights of BYOB (God, I love your BYOBs).

At the PLCB we met Corey, one of the nicest and knowledgable wine buyers I've ever run into. I told him we were in from Chicago and that we were eGulleteers and that seemed to be the magic key. He proceeded to guide us to some great deals in the "Chairman's Choices" and to some other recently arrived wines that he liked (& that we loved too after drinking them). Our favorite was...well that is hard to say because we liked them all. I will come back to these as I discuss individual dinners.

9PM: Django: We sat down with a Peju cabfranc (approx. $30) that was delightful (not a Chairman's Choice, but an excellent recommandation from Corey). This was right up there with the Lang&Reed cabfrancs that we have been enjoying in Chicago for the last year or so.

And it worked perfectly with both our entrees: Celia's Spring Veg Tart w/Gruyere,Leeks, Favas, Morels, Swiss Chard, & Crispy Onion Frites and with my Braised Pulled Guinea Hen and Seared Foie Gras.

To the food:

First Course:

Crisp Proscuitto Cup, Spring Saute of Fiddlehead Ferns, white beans, sweet onions, Taleggio and Asparagus. This was one of my favorites of the whole visit. The taleggio with the proscuitto (my favorite for grilled cheese sandwiches) was perfect with the crunchiness of the fiddlehead fernes and asparagus. What a dish!

Crab Ceviche, Grapefruit Gelee, Raddish, Sprouts, Cool Champagne-Basil Granita. Celia liked the lightness and refreshing qualilty of this dish. It was okay to me, but then again I was absorbed with the Proscuitto Cup.

Entree Course:

Veg. Tart: (mentioned above) was an excellent combination of Spring veggies. The mash of favas was perfect (mashed, not pureed). Since this was not my entree, I only got a bite or two; but I could really distinguish bwtwee the various veggies.

Guinea Hen: (mentioned above) Have you ever had bad foie gras. The guinea was cooked perfectly and almost disolved in the hen jus. It was somewhat of a cool night and the richness of the braised hen brought a nice warmth the meal.

My only criticism was tht the asparagus with the guinea hen a little stalky.

Desert: We shared the Cheese Plate. Excellent cheeses in a perfect progression. My complaint:the toast ws way to brick-like crunchy & the plate could have used more fruit and possibly some toasted walnuts.

May 20 (Fri) Come hell or high water we were going to Longwood Gardens. And it turned out to be a little bit of both. For those of you in Philly you might remember it rained from 7AM until midnight on Friday. And it rained hardest in Kennett Square at the gardens.

But being hardy midwesternerns we doned plastic panchos and bought Longweed Garden umbrellas and had the place, practically to ourselves. When we got cold we would run to the 4 acre greenhouse and wander around until we warmed sufficiently to head back out into the gardens. We had a delilghtful time.

7PM Matyson: Still a little chilly from our day th the gardens, we quickly warmed up with bowls of Vegetarian Minestrone with basil pesto and Potato-Leek soup. Both were excellent. In particular the Potato-Leek was full flavored but w/o the normal thickness one usually associates with this soup. I thought it perfect. The minestrone was very ratatouille-like flavored.

The wine for the evening was (I did not write this one down so the name may not be right) Second Hand--Syrah? I mostly remember it for being soft.

Appetizer: We shared a Fried Oyster Po' Boy. Why? Maybe because we plan to visit New Orleans for our next trip or maybe because I hadn't had a descent fried oyster in a couple of years. Anyway, it was three oysters fried perfectly and the remoulade was perfect with the smoked bacon dressing.

Entrees: Sauted Scallops w/smashed fava beans, wild mushrooms, red onion & beet coulis. Again the favas were prepared perfectly, the mushrooms flavorful, and the beet coulis worked well witht he other flavors. Celia thought the four scallops were too many (but I alleviated the problem).

I had the Seal Sweet Breads & Lobster w/ morel, lobster & English pea fricassee, and a lobster demi glace. Thi was my favorite dish of the trip. The sweet breads were cooked to a slight crisp and w/ the lobster demi glace as my dipping sauce, well--I had to close my eyes on every bite.

Desert: Our waiter refused to serve us anything but the Coconut Cream Pie w/chocolate ganache & macadamia crust. & he got extra tip money because of this. The other deserts on the menu maybe good or great; but the coconut cream pie was other-worldly (sort of like a Mounds bar on acid, for those of you who have been there).

May 21: Dali exhibit in the morning, afternoon at the Italian Market (lunch at Cafe Garibaldi, between 10th&11th on Washington). Passable Mexican nothing more.

7:00PM: Melagrano: Put in our name around 7:20 and were seated within 15-20 minutes. For wine we had Newton--unfiltered epic merlot. Excellent choice for the money ($24? can't remember for sure).

I had a bowl of mussels for starters and Celia had a arugla salad w/proscuttio and parmesan. Both were okay. I've had much better and much worse. There was nothing very interesting about them.

Then came the entrees. A sea bass for Celia that was some of the best fish I have ever eaten; and I had the homemade parpadelle w/wild mushrooms (I needed a pasta fix). Both entrees were just what we wanted (remember the rain shower from 9-10 on Sat nite?).

Our waiter was somewhat of a novice and it was more noticable because of the excellent waiter we had had the night before at Matyson. It is interesting how a good waiter can enhance the dining experience, even though the food is relatively comparable.

Desert: None for me, thank you; but Celia could leave without the panna cotta. I did force one bite down and it was creamy and fruity and I wished I had ordered one as Celia pulled hers away from me.

I must say that we both fell in love with the BUOB concept. Every night as we got our check we both looked at each other a laughed. Even building in the cost at PLCB our dining costs were far below anticipated levels. Our discussion on the way to the airport Sun. morning was: How quick can we get back to try RX, Marigold, Southwark, and Chloe.

For no other reason than a compunction to rate things, here is our conclusion:

#1 Matyson--Comparable to Melagrano in creative cooking, but better waitstaff.

#2 Melagrano--Excellent food, service (waitstaff and hostiing needs work).

#3 Django--Nothing wrong with it, but the energy seems to be ebbing. Lame

bread.

So thanks to all of you who took the time to make recommendations. And thanks to Katie for making the Penn part of the eGullet the most interesting to explore.

Rick & Celia

[philadining]

I had the Seal Sweet Breads & Lobster w/ morel, lobster & English pea fricassee, and a lobster demi glace. 

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Wow, I know there's been an arms-race for obscure and exotic ingredients, but Seal sweetbreads?!?!

OK, I'm guessing that was just a typo, but it made me think for a second!

But seriously, glad to know you had a good time eating in Philly, it does look like you hit some of our best. Plaza Garibaldi is a fave for exactly what you said, basic Mexican, but you guys are awash with that out in Chicago, it's relative novelty for us here.

But come on back, you have a good list started already!

[Andrew Fenton]

Glad you had a good time. You definitely picked out some first-rate spots.

I'm impressed by the seal sweetbreads, too: if that's not a typo, I'm totally heading over there as soon as possible. Nothing I like better than cute li'l baby seals, what with the big ol' melting brown eyes and all.

The wine for the evening was (I did not write this one down so the name may not be right) Second Hand--Syrah?  I mostly remember it for being soft.

Two Hands, maybe? Their "Angel's Share" is a Shiraz, I'm pretty sure.

[Osnav]

Sorry, but is was a typo:

Seal/Veal it's my left hand on the keyboard that is a little lame.

...and yes it was Two Hands (although Second Hand would be a good name for an secondary Two Hands label). And, as my only defense, I was drinking heavily the entire trip (several wines I did not mention have found their way from small scraps of paper to my travel journal). The Vitiano, both rose & rosso were great buys ($10?).

[herbacidal]

I must say that we both fell in love with the BUOB concept. Every night as we got our check we both looked at each other a laughed. Even building in the cost at PLCB our dining costs were far below anticipated levels. Our discussion on the way to the airport Sun. morning was: How quick can we get back to try RX, Marigold, Southwark, and Chloe

Rick & Celia

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Yea, it's kinda like, we've been dealing with the failings and bad parts of the PLCB system for the longest time.

Now, we get to reap the benefits of the consequences.

#3  Django--Nothing wrong with it, but the energy seems to be ebbing.  Lame

                  bread.

What's wrong with the bread? I love the flowerpots. Have the taste or texture changed? It's been a while, so I don't remember it that well but I remember enjoying the bread.

[philadining]

I'm with Rick and Celia, I thought the bread was lame at Django. Kinda cute, but bread-machine-ish texture. I really like the food at Django, but I won't argue with the ranking our Chicago friends gave their experiences.

[bilrus]

This looks pretty similar to an itinerary I have planned for my birthday in a few weeks, even down to the visit to Longwood Gardens.

[mrbigjas]

I'm with Rick and Celia, I thought the bread was lame at Django. Kinda cute, but bread-machine-ish texture. I really like the food at Django, but I won't argue with the ranking our Chicago friends gave their experiences.

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the bread at django reminds me a LOT of the bread my mom used to make growing up, so i have kind of a soft spot for it...

[Osnav]

I must say that we both fell in love with the BUOB concept. Every night as we got our check we both looked at each other a laughed. Even building in the cost at PLCB our dining costs were far below anticipated levels. Our discussion on the way to the airport Sun. morning was: How quick can we get back to try RX, Marigold, Southwark, and Chloe

Rick & Celia

←

Yea, it's kinda like, we've been dealing with the failings and bad parts of the PLCB system for the longest time.

Now, we get to reap the benefits of the consequences.

#3  Django--Nothing wrong with it, but the energy seems to be ebbing.  Lame

                   bread.

What's wrong with the bread? I love the flowerpots. Have the taste or texture changed? It's been a while, so I don't remember it that well but I remember enjoying the bread.

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I guess I'm just a hard roll/crusty bread kind of guy. I particularly loved the crusty rolls at Matyson. Years ago in some far off galaxy I used to eat flower pot bread that I don't remember as being very good. Maybe it was just a negataive reflex from the olden days.

[Capaneus]

Sorry, but it was a typo:

Seal/Veal  it's my left hand on the keyboard that is a little lame.

...and yes it was Two Hands (although Second Hand would be a good name for an secondary Two Hands label).  And, as my only defense,  I was drinking heavily the entire trip (several wines I did not mention have found their way from small scraps of paper to my travel journal).  The Vitiano, both rose & rosso were great buys ($10?).

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Love the value on the Vitiano, though this is the first year I've seen the rose and the white. On the other hand, that's one wine that is a good deal cheaper out of state. So my guess is that it's an even better buy in Chicago. The Newton is an amazing buy for the money, but I would have thought it much too brash and brassy for Melograno...

Glad you enjoyed your trip. As for the disappointments: I've heard a couple of grumbles of disatisfaction about Django from different sources, recently; and we have *much* better inexpensive S. American food, but it's in the opposite direction.

[KatieLoeb]

And thanks to Katie for making the Penn part of the eGullet the most interesting to explore.

You're too kind. So glad you had a nice time here. There's a wealth of wonderful dining experiences to be had in our City of Brotherly Food. Looks like you made a decent dent in the possibilities. There's other places you missed that you can look forward to on your next visit. Let us know you're coming and we'll roll out the red carpet.

Corey is the most helpful soul when purchasing wine. He'd do anything in the world for you. And his recommendations are always spot on. I just recently had the Vitiano Rose and it's delicious and incredibly interesting wine. Drinks more like red than white, unlike most "pink" wines. Can stand up to bigger fish dishes too. A most unusual blend of equal parts Sangiovese, Cabernet and Merlot juice left on the skins for a day to gain the lovely deep pink color. A very gutsy pink wine that even confirmed rose haters would have to give a second look.

Looking forward to your next visit. I'd be delighted to play tour guide or we could try and arrange a DDC dinner or Pizza Club in your honor.

[herbacidal]

I guess I'm just a hard roll/crusty bread kind of guy.  I particularly loved the crusty rolls at Matyson.  Years ago in some far off galaxy I used to eat flower pot bread that I don't remember as being very good.  Maybe it was just a negataive reflex from the olden days.

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Actually, I'm a hard roll/crusty bread kinda guy too.

Since you are, next time you're in town, you need to swing by Sarcone's Bakery at 9th and Fitzwater for their rolls.