Amada

[dagordon]

Well, it is with much regret that I report that our inaugural meal at Amada last night was very disappointing. I'm actually VERY hesitant to post about it, but Vadouvan's latest thread has given me courage. And what the hell, I don't really know any of you personally.

First, I should say that everyone was very nice. Service was excellent. The design of the restaurant is lovely. The red sangria was delicious (we found the white a bit bland).

We opted for the $65/person tasting, as we figured that this would give the restaurant the opportunity to present its best work.

1. Gaspacho w/ the fried cheese ball on top. This was excellent. It was pretty much the only thing that I had that I would have wanted more of.

2. Serrano ham salad with spinach, blue cheese, figs, and some kind of pimenton encrusted nut. This was a fine salad. But the serrano had no taste, and that's, well, a big component of this sort of dish. This was surprising, as I spotted a couple of Redondo Iglesias 18 month hams (same sold at DiBurno's) hanging in the charcuteria area, and that's a fantastic ham, which we have all the time. This didn't taste like that.

3. Creamy tuna dip w/ flatbreads. This was unobjectionable, but didn't really do much for us.

4. Tortilla Espanola with Saffron Aioli. This was pretty heavy, and a bit dry. The saffron aioli was tasty enough. But a couple of small bites was enough to get the idea.

5. Garrotxa w/ garlic dulce de leche. The cheese was good, the garlic dulce de leche was, of course, extremely sweet, and detracted from the cheese, imho.

6. Beef shortribs flatbread. The flabread was very large. And it was very heavy, as cheesy short rib is bound to be. Didn't care for this. A couple of bites was enough.

7. Gambas al ajillo. These were good (how can shrimp in garlic and oil not be?) But I do remember the gambas al ajillo that we had in Spain being more overwhelmingly in your face flavorful.

8. Lamb chops stuffed w/ goat cheese in romesco sauce. We really needed a respite at this point, something light. Some simply prepared fish would have been wonderful. Lamb chops would have been wonderful too, again simply prepared. The goat cheese stuffing here was very unpleasant. I couldn't eat this. The combo just didn't work for me. My g/f managed to cut and scrape off the cheesy part and salvage some lamb.

9. Tenderloin w/ cabrales and foie gras. The tenderloin wasn't particularly tender. The foie was, I think, quite overcooked. The cabrales was a bit unwelcome in this context; yet more cheesy meat (see 2, 6, and 8), and, unfortunately, cabrales essence had leeched into the otherwise ok red wine sauce.

9. Blue foot and another kind of mushroom, in garlic and oil. This would have been fine in another context, but in this context, the mushrooms didn't have enough flavor to prevent the dish from seeming like just more heaviness, what w/ the oil.

10. Lobster a la plancha. Texture of the lobster was good; lobster itself didn't have any taste. The dish seemed to me like yet more garlic and oil. My g/f found it refreshing, but still not tasty.

I think a big problem was heaviness, cheesy meat on the one hand and garlicy oil on the other. I like these things just fine in moderation; this was too much, particularly the both of them in the same meal. Even apart from the issue of these dishes in combination, though, I don't think that, with the exceptoin of the gazpacho, anything individually was particularly, well, delicious.

So, there it is. Clearly a lot of folks love the food here. It goes without saying that this is merely the report of two people's experiences, with their particular tastes, over the course of merely one dinner. But perhaps it will serve as a warning to those thinking about the tasting menu who might, at the very least, find the above too heavy.

(You must understand that I am not a wimpy eater. Can't remember ever complaining about a meal being too heavy.)

now, we've spent a grand total of only 2 weeks in spain. but we absolutely loved the tapas that we had there, and that we've had in the us. perhaps what we had here was simply a certain style of tapas, which just isn't our cup of tea.

Oh, I opted for the wine pairings, which were, I think, quite good (and quite a good value), considering that each (there were 3 in total) had to be paired with several dishes. An albarino, a rioja, and a third that escapes me.

[ladydisdain]

On the 5th we had dinner at Amada for our last big meal pre-baby. I'm so glad we chose it, because we were both thrilled with the whole experience. The server was friendly and knowledgeable and answered stupid questions like "what's a croquette again?" without looking at us like we were morons. It was a fantastic meal; the only false note we found was in the gratis tuna dip with flatbreads that was brought to the table. It was free, so I feel a little odd complaining about it, but it really stood out as not so great. Tuna with too much mayo and some capers - it was about as unremarkable as deli tuna salad could possibly be. It seemed an odd choice.

Anyway, a little photo essay of what we ate. I kept forgetting to take pictures until we'd already started certain dishes, so that's why the presentation doesn't look so hot in a number of them:

First, three kinds of cheese - the manchego, the goat cheese, and a Spanish bleu - all delicious:

The apparently ubiquitous (and delicious) spicy potatoes:

Absolutely unbelievable seared scallops in crab cream over white asparagus - they looked prettier before I started to inhale them:

Goat cheese stuffed lamb chops. I didn't try these as I don't eat lamb, but my lamb-loving husband devoured them in about 3.4 seconds:

Possibly my favorite part of the entire meal - the utterly dreamy duck flatbread:

One of two fantastic nonalcoholic drinks I enjoyed, both of which were all fancied up like real cocktails which went a long way toward soothing my wine-missing self - this one's a mango colada, and the other was a nonalcoholic mojito:

We forewent dessert in order to split a chocolate mint sundae at the Franklin Fountain, because we'd never been, but we agreed we need to return to Amada just to try the chocolate five ways. It's the only thing we regret about the night (although the sundae was awesome).

[Joe Gerard]

My wife and I enjoyed a very nice meal at Amada this past Sunday. Spanish cuisine is so poorly represented in New York - and sadly, the rest of the U.S. - that it was nice to be reminded of how good it can be. The evening was made even more pleasant by our server, who not only made accurate suggestions as to the number and type of dishes to order, but was extremely knowledgeable about the wine list and seemed genuinely excited to make suggestions and find out what we thought of them.

After two clunkers in both food and service the previous nights, Amada helped restore our faith in the Philly restaurant scene.

[chowfun]

We went to Amada for the first time last night to celebrate both our 15th wedding anniversary and my husband's birthday. We brought our 7 and 11 year old boys who love good food and are adventerous eaters generally. One surprise is that we were able to get a reservation for a table for 4 at 5:30 on the same day we called, and it was a first Friday. Maybe the weather made it easier for us to do this.

We were welcomed into the restaurant by three friendly greeters (none of the hipper than thou attitude that we have encountered numerous times at other restaurants). Our server was very knowlegable about the food and the wine. The service was excellent, seamless, very efficient. The restaurant was noisy but not so loud that you could not hear the people at your table. It worked for us, because our kids can talk loudly at times.

The food was perfect. We thought about the chef's tasting menu, but we decided to order off the menu. We had a three cheese sampler; manchego with truffle honey (I loved that honey!), fresh goat cheese with strawberries in balsalmic, a soft aromatic cheese served with chocolate hazelnut spread (an odd combination that worked). We had some serrano ham (it's proscuitto! exclaimed my 7 yr old as he tried to take his fourth serving). The sauteed artichoke hearts were good. We had an amazing salt cod dish that tasted like a cross between fish chowder and white fish salad and a souffle, garnished with caviar. We had the calamari, lobster and lamb chops ala plancha, all great, the lamb chops were especially good, cooked perfectly, great quality. The scallops with wild mushroom cannolloni was great, the homemade pasta was as good as we have eaten anywhere. We had the green salad (a tart and crispy foil to the rest of the food) and the potato torta with aioli very good. We were given a complimentary dish of chicken in a truffle sauce with a fried egg on top that may have been the best overall dish we had. I'm not sure that they meant to serve it to us, but once they did our server told us it was a complimentary dish to us. It was a very nice gesture and a great dish.

My wine was very good and our server was able to help me choose something that suits my taste in red wine (fruity, not sweet, no tannins). My husband had 2 lychee mojitos.

We skipped dessert because we were quite full at the end of dinner. The bill before tip was 198 dollars for four people (my kids ate as much as we did), four drinks from the bar and a bottle of mineral water. This is a very fair price for food, drink and service at this high quality level. Amada deserves it's rave reviews.

[Vadouvan]

Well, it is with much regret that I report that our inaugural meal at Amada last night was very disappointing. I'm actually VERY hesitant to post about it, but Vadouvan's latest thread has given me courage. And what the hell, I don't really know any of you personally.

........Dude, I will walk you to the cliff but I aint jumping with you.

Dont use me as justification for less than stellar reviews........Jeez......

My wife and I enjoyed a very nice meal at Amada this past Sunday. Spanish cuisine is so poorly represented in New York - and sadly, the rest of the U.S. - that it was nice to be reminded of how good it can be.

Um......Joe...Amada is a very good restaurant, Spanish cuisine isnt poorly represented in New York, You should try Urena's, Tia Pol, Boqueria and Casa Mono/Bar Jamon...................In fact while I love Amada, I can comfortably say without hesitation Casa mono does everything they do much better and Cheaper.....especially the a-la plancha items.

The razor clams, bacalao balls and sweetbreads at CMono are the reference standard of flavor.

Edited October 7, 2006 by Vadouvan (log)

[Vadouvan]

And to you Mr Gordon.....

YES, Foie gras does not work with cabrales cheese,let alone with the addition of filet mignon which generally has no flavor in any restaurant......... sounds like a spanish filet rosinni.

You should have seen that one coming........

[Joe Gerard]

Well, it is with much regret that I report that our inaugural meal at Amada last night was very disappointing. I'm actually VERY hesitant to post about it, but Vadouvan's latest thread has given me courage. And what the hell, I don't really know any of you personally.

........Dude, I will walk you to the cliff but I aint jumping with you.

Dont use me as justification for less than stellar reviews........Jeez......

My wife and I enjoyed a very nice meal at Amada this past Sunday. Spanish cuisine is so poorly represented in New York - and sadly, the rest of the U.S. - that it was nice to be reminded of how good it can be.

Um......Joe...Amada is a very good restaurant, Spanish cuisine isnt poorly represented in New York, You should try Urena's, Tia Pol, Boqueria and Casa Mono/Bar Jamon...................In fact while I love Amada, I can comfortably say without hesitation Casa mono does everything they do much better and Cheaper.....especially the a-la plancha items.

The razor clams, bacalao balls and sweetbreads at CMono are the reference standard of flavor.

←

I agree that Casa Mono is outstanding. I know Urena is being classified as Spanish but even using modern Spanish as the standard I'm not sure I would agree. I have heard very mixed comments about the others. I still think this is slim pickings for a city like New York, but there are surprising holes in our culinary reputation - Chinese, Thai, Mexican, etc.

[Vadouvan]

I know Urena is being classified as Spanish but even using modern Spanish as the standard I'm not sure I would agree.

Joe, you are confusing

URENA 32 E 38th Street.

with

URENA'S 2262 3rd avenue.

Completely different restaurants, you are referring to Alex formerly of Blue Hill.

[Joe Gerard]

I know Urena is being classified as Spanish but even using modern Spanish as the standard I'm not sure I would agree.

Joe, you are confusing

URENA 32 E 38th Street.

with

URENA'S 2262 3rd avenue.

Completely different restaurants, you are referring to Alex formerly of Blue Hill.

←

Correct. I never heard of the place you have in mind, and I think I'm rather obsessive about restaurants!

[Phila-Foodie]

Here are some recent Amada pics:

Patatas Bravas

Chorizo

Queso de Cabra

Beef Tenderloin Filet w/ Cabrales & Foie Gras

-Phila-Foodie

Edited October 23, 2006 by Phila-Foodie (log)

[dagordon]

Beef Tenderloin Filet w/ Cabrales & Foie Gras

Terrific, I think seeing that just triggered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

[shacke]

Was back at Amada tonight for another very good meal. The stand out for me was the shrimp and mushroom shirred egg plate with truffled toast as well as the octopus.

The only dishes I would say to avoid would be the filet with foie gras (didn't read the above) and the baked goat cheese in tomato basil sauce. Dessert special was not great either - "chocolate salami". Should've known from the name. The chocolate 5 ways made up for it - very tasty.

[monavano]

Originally posted on DonRockwell.com:

Mr. Monavano and I went to Amada, an authentic Spanish tapas restaurant, last week. Amada is located in Old City, and features 3 seating areas; a large bar and high table area, restaurant table seating, and a few seats looking into the kitchen.

We sampled about 10 dishes ( I can not remember one) and the red sangria. The sangria had small diced pears and apples with a cinnamon stick to swirl in the aroma.

Our dishes included:

Complimentary flat crisps to scoop up a tuna, caper and balsamic dip.

Charcuteria mixto - I'm not a connoisseur of serrano ham, but it was delicious and freshly sliced to order and paper thin

Tortilla Espanola - This came with a saffron aoili, presented in a mortar and pestle. More saffron was sprinkled on top to be ground in. Fun. The "tortilla" was more like a big potato pancake with onions. It was fantastic. It's filling, so consider that.

Almejas con chorizo - Tiny clams and chorizo in a broth just begging to be sopped up with the bread.

Albondigas - soft bite size lamb meatballs and fresh peas in a creamy manchego cheese ? sauce

Flat bread with manchego cheese - this was good, but we ordered it without knowing we'd be getting gratis crips with tuna dip. Probably redundant.

Kobe beef carpaccio - This was a special. Seared kobe slice thin and fanned out. Topped with truffle emulsion and garnished with candied carmelized onions. This was melt in your mouth good. The emulsion lent an earthy tone to the dish. Even though it was Kobe beef, it was only priced a few dollars over the regular menu items.

Arroz con leche - warm creamy rice pudding with current compote. Served in an old fashioned glass, this was totall comfort, not your mom's rice pudding! (at least mine, sorry ma)

Almond crips - complimentary after the meal.

I will not make the mistake of being in Philly and NOT eating here again. It will be interesting to go to Jaleo now to compare and contrast.

eta: all this for $85 before tip. Our server (Stephanie) and runners were very hospitable and kept the meal going at a perfect pace for us.

Edited December 27, 2006 by monavano (log)

[lancastermike]

We had dinner at Amada on Sunday night to celebrate Maggie’s birthday. Based on all I have read here we had high expectations. And they were certainly met. We both ordered the Chef’s selection. Some tasting menus can be short on quantity but the amount of food at Amada matched the quality. 45 bucks is a very fair price for what we were served.

We liked the flat bread and dip that we started with. Followed in short order by the manchego with honey and sliced apple. The cheese was fine and the apple crisp. Both Maggie and I agreed that our favorite was the spinach salad with figs, nuts and Serrano ham. This was just perfect to my taste. Maggie enjoyed the olives and I must confess that I just do not care for olives. I never have and I still do not. She said these were great and I ate some of the pickled onions that came on the olive tray

The patatas bravas were everything that I expected them to be. Really like them a lot. If ther was one plate I was a little disappointed in it was the crab stuffed peppers. Certainly nothing wrong with them, but the crab was not very flavorful. We next got the artichoke, truffle , chantrelles and manchengo flatbread. This was another highlight of the evening. A perfect combination of flavors that we very much enjoyed.

At this point I started to wonder how much more we were to be served and there was much more to come. The grilled scallops were perfect sweet and fresh. Next was the filet with the foie gras and cabrales. The foie was good the filet a little bland I thought. Next was the lamb meatballs, which I really liked. Maggie does not care for peas so I made up for not eating olives by helping myself to all the peas that came with the meatballs. Also included in the last course was the chickpeas with spinach which aging I really liked.

That was the end and I was indeed stuffed. Since it was Maggie’s birthday we did order desert. Maggie had the crèma catalana and I the churros. The churros were good, the crema was outstanding.

I had only one glass of sangria with dinner. Maggie had a cocktail and two glasses. She did not know that I had ordered champagne to be sent to the hotel room for our return as a surprise. I went light on the beverage for that reason.

Service was top-notch. Our server and all the food runners explained each dish as it was presented. When I had trouble finding a cab when we were leaving one of the front hostesses ran around the corner on a cold, windy, dark night, sans coat, to help me flag one.

When we return I will ask not to be seated at the low couches our table had. They were comfortable but I’m 6’3” and I has some trouble eating and found myself picking plates off the table. This was not any fault of Amada. Next time I’ll know better.

We very much enjoyed a special meal for Maggie’s special day. My comments are really no different from what is posted above and add nothing new to this thread, but I did want to post to say how much we really enjoyed our evening at Amada.

Edited February 7, 2007 by lancastermike (log)

[Neuronix]

My girlfriend and I went to Amada last night. Given all the reviews, I decided to take her there as a surprise for our Valentine's Day/Dating anniversary. We probably stuck out being the youngest ones by several years, except for some of the employees

Since I made the reservation on Monday the only reservation we could get was 10PM. That's fine for me, as I typically work an afternoon shift. Still, I don't think they should offer reservations that late. I wasn't necessarily expecting Spanish-style service, which would probably have put us there till 3AM and would have required yelling across the room at the server to get any service at all. But, to put it simply, we felt rushed. I expected, like any tapas restaurant, to get many small dishes over many courses. Instead, we ordered and ate three dishes, then were told we had to order everything else we wanted since the kitchen was closing. I honestly had no idea how much more to order at that point, so I probably got a little too much.

As a contrast to some of the other posts, our waiter seemed a tad pretentious. He was not at all talkative. I saw him in the restaurant going to the bathroom and when we were leaving and I didn't even get so much as a smile out of him back. I think it may have all started when I asked him which was a better deal, to order off the menu or go with the chef's selection. He didn't give me a straight answer, but I think he may have sized us up as the young, can't really afford to be here crowd who will probably skimp. I also saw him chatting with some of the people at the table next to us. Maybe I'm making all this up... Who knows? In any case, we ordered off the menu.

Here's what we got:

Pitcher of red sangria -- $29, but the best red sangria I've ever had. I'll have to try to duplicate that recipe.

Tortilla Espanola -- Very basic, good aioli

Mix of 3 cheeses -- The manchego was pretty basic. How long is it aged exactly? Nothing special there. The garroxta was very good, being semi-soft goat's milk cheese that had a little flavor to it. The queso de cabra was also very good--the most complex of the bunch.

Pumpkin Soup -- I'd love to tell you the real name of this dish, but the menu online is not the same as the menu in the store and this isn't on the online menu. In any case, I'm a sucker for good pumpkin dishes and this was no exception. This was one of the stars of the dinner IMO.

Then since I didn't know how much more to get,

Olivas -- Good quality and quantity serving.

Patatas Bravas -- I was slightly disappointed with these. I've always had smaller chunks or slices of potato in the past and it's usually more potatoes and less plate. I can see why, they're very nice when they get a nice crisping all over.

Pulpo Gallego -- I was expecting something of a small mound of grilled octopus or an octopus salad since this wasn't on the grill section of the menu. It turned out to be tasty grilled octopus, though a very small portion (maybe a dozen small pieces?) for $11.

Chorizo a la plancha -- Pretty standard grilled Spanish chorizo.

Costillas de Ternera -- This was also a real standout of the meal. YUM! Shredded beef and cheese on warm flatbread. Amazing.

Cordero Relleno -- I was disappointed with this $18 lamb chop option. They ended up being 2 large fried shells stuffed with a little bit of cheese and the smallest lamb chops I've ever seen. There was much more coating than anything else. Inside was alot of air, a little bit of decent lamb meat, and a small amount of cheese.

Dessert

Chocolate 5 ways -- 5 different versions of chocolate. If I remember correctly there was a little mousse (nothing special), chocolate orange cake (ok), truffle (good), hazlnut-chocolate thing (fuzzy now, good), small hot chocolate (very good). The portions on this one were all very small for $8.

So Amada isn't a place we can usually afford and I think it was the most expensive dinner for 2 I've ever been to. I lived in Spain for awhile, so I really lament the lack of tapas options in Philadelphia. At least we have a few options now, but still nowhere near the scene of say NYC or Chicago. I mean, the quality of the food at Amada overall was high, but the prices were much higher than anywhere else I've ever been. Our bill for 2 was $65/person before tip. I've never eaten tapas for more than $40/person in the past and the average including drinks is usually more in the range of $30/person.

If money was no object, I would probably come back. Since it is, $150 just wasn't worth it to us, especially with the service issues. We'll just have to wait until we get back out to Chicago or Spain.

Edit: Forgot a dish!

Edited February 16, 2007 by Neuronix (log)

[Alec Hart]

Just thought I would add this even though I found it somewhat annoying.

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/200...elphia-freedom/

--Alec

[Bluehensfan]

Has anyone tried the roast suckling pig (for four or more) at Amada? I have found a little mentioned of it before and I was wondering how much it cost and is it worth it?

Thanks!

Edited June 29, 2007 by Bluehensfan (log)

[philadining]

Has anyone tried the roast suckling pig (for four or more) at Amada? I have found a little mentioned of it before and I was wondering how much it cost and is it worth it?

Thanks!

←

Several of us have done it a couple of times. Look back a few pages in this topic, you'll find accounts of it. The short version is that yes, it seems totally worth it. One warning, the staff may encourage you to get some additional tapas beforehand, and while that's always fun, I would keep it to a minimum. There's a lot of pig, and sides, in the package deal, so you don't need much extra food to tide you over.

ETA: porkapalooza #1

#2

Edited June 29, 2007 by philadining (log)

[Jeff L]

I agree with Phil here. We were lucky to be in on the first porkapalooza and there was really a lot of food. If i recall, by the time the second pig was ready to be carved (tableside carving alone is worth the price here) and served, most of us were pretty full. We did, however do a respectable job on #2 pig though.

[Andrew Fenton]

You know, as much as I enjoyed Porkapalooza 2: The Porkening, I don't know that I'd want to do it again. The pork part was fine, but by that point in the evening, I'd eaten enough tapas that I wasn't really all that interested. If I were to do it again, I'd make sure not to order so much other stuff...

BUT this gives me the excuse to mention that I gave Jose Garces my money twice in one week: yesterday I had lunch at Amada. Since it's going to be our last big-kid restaurant meal for some time, we went all out.

The biggest hit, for me, was the gazpacho with crab and avocado. They really know from soup at Amada; it's rich, but still light, sweet, a little acidic, and with lots of crab in there. I'd eat that soup every day if I could. It's really great.

[SaxChik]

i FINALLY made it to amada! my cousin flew in from LA last night for a short 18 hour stint in philly. my sister, her fiance, and i came out to meet him.

i won't bore you with details (i think most of the menu has been covered in depth on this thread), but this is a rundown on what we ate (the english version):

garlic shrimp

serrano ham & melon

ham croquettes

3 flatbreads ...

shrimp, chorizo & white bean puree

shortribs, horseradish, parm & bacon

artichoke, wild shrooms, black truffles & manchego

almond crusted goat cheese with tomato & basil

beef tenderloin and foie gras

roast pork

halibut fish and chips

tuna

for dessert:

churros

rice pudding

crema catalana

mixed berries with sweet cream sorbet

we managed to clear EVERY plate. the meal was excellent. i was a little worried when we first walked in, as they had live flamenco music which was really loud (very good, mind you, just loud), but it didn't last long. it added a nice authentic touch to the meal.

my favorites were the melon with serrano ham (they sugar the melon then crisp it like creme brulee), the artichoke flat bread, the pernil, and the ham croquettes. i wouldn't knock the goat cheese. it was a little pedestrian, but tasty and a nice creamy contrast to the other dishes we got. i really liked the crema catalana. overall, i'm very happy we finally made it there and my cousin (who eats out in LA a lot) said it was the best meal he had all year.

Edited July 12, 2007 by SaxChik (log)

[ulterior epicure]

Long overdue, but for what it's worth, below is an excerpt from the ulterior epicure of my meal at Amada in late July. Click here to see all the photos from this meal.

Take note of the asterisked footnote. Ms. Loeb, where are you now?

******************************************************

I don’t think any other threesome could have ordered more food than we did. We sampled four cheeses, assorted “charcuteria,” and nine other plates of food.

We were actually trying to eat light. We were having a big dinner at Zahav later. Oh well.

The quality of the ingredients - as evidenced by an immensely fresh “Ensalade Verde” (dressed greens on green: avocado, favas, and green beans ($9)) – coupled with simple, yet perfect treatments and beautiful presentations made the experience of dining at Amada rewarding. The creative culinary twists – like pairing chocolate-hazelnut puree with a funky cow’s milk cheese (Cadi Urgelia from the Spanish Pyranees) – made Garces’s food thrilling.

...

Instead of leaving octopus well enough on its own after boiling, like the traditional method of making Pulpo a la Gallega ($11), Garces throws the coins of cross-cut tentacles in a screeching hot skillet just long enough for the edges to form a crisp, lacy skirt. He dusts them with paprika and scatters them on a wooden plate along with sliced fingerling potatoes. With a squeeze of fresh lemon, it’s great.

Our server (and the kitchen) was very accommodating, allowing us to deviate from less extensive lunch menu and select a few items from the restaurant’s dinner menu. The service was pleasantly laid-back, attentive, and knowledgeable. I especially commend the staff for its wonderful sense of pacing. We asked that dishes be sent out in progression and at no point was our table over-crowded.

Never mind that the plate of charcuteria ($12) was picture-perfect – Peppery salchichon, spicy-sweet chorizo Pamplona, and waxy Serrano all thinly sliced and served with garnishes and slices of baguette. Or that the Escalivada, a stretch of silken grilled vegetables bathing in fruity olive oil, was in fine form.

I want to talk more about the cheeses.

I’m always on the look-out for an interesting selection of cheeses. While I get that (in spades) at high-end places like Picholine, rarely do such interesting and diverse selections appear in more casual settings.

Not only does Amada have a fine selection of region-specific cheeses, Garces pairs them with the most amazing condiments. As mentioned above, a pungent cow’s milk cheese, Cadi Urgelia, was paired with the equivalent of home-made Nutella. You wouldn’t think the two would taste good together, but I found the coupling wildly successful – the toasted hazelnut and funkiness in the cheese finding uncommonly common ground. To a lesser degree, the Aragones, which was paired with golden raisins soaking in a “white Sangria honey,” was also very successful. And Queso de Cabra, a fresh goat’s milk cheese, took on a dessert-like quality with the help of an accompanying strawberry jam made from balsamic vinegar.

But the cheeses were just the tip of the iceberg.

There was a wonderfully fragrant plate of Setas perfumed with truffle oil ($14). These weren’t the crisped, griddled fans of oysters I was expecting. Rather, it was a silky assortment of wild mushrooms – oysters, beech, shiitake, and what appeared to be cuts of king oyster mushrooms. There were also incredibly tender morsels of Chiporones a la Planca ($5), caps and tentacles, strewn along a strip of white enamel dappled with parsley oil. As with the octopus, both the mushrooms and squid benefited from a last-minute inoculation of fresh lemon.

And there was a comforting bowl of Habas a la Catalana ($8), probably better suited to a wintry night than a balmy late-summer lunch. Nevertheless, the hearty heap of perfectly cooked favas and giant white lima beans in a warm ham-infused broth, was appreciated with gusto.

The “Patatas Bravas” at Amada weren’t the chunks and wedges I’m used to seeing ($4). These baton-cut sticks weren’t afraid of being more American in form and, as a result, managed to achieve crispness not common to traditional patatas bravas. As alluring as the structure of these patatas was, these zippy fries weren’t anything particularly memorable, not aided much, either, by the spicy paprika-spiked aioli, which was liberally drizzled over the heap.

By comparison, that same aioli was more successfully used to enhance two crab-stuffed piquillo peppers ($12) served in a cazuela. The smoldering, silky, and sweet peppers, bulging with a molten, creamy mix of crab – not unlike thick brandade – were sparingly topped and spiced with the paprika sauce and flocked with crisp, slivered almonds.

If there was one disappointment, it was the Lamb Chops a la Plancha ($14). Two to an order, these Frenched lollipops were slightly overcooked for my taste, and slightly boring. I’ll also note that none of the three desserts available raised enough curiosity to warrant a venture in that direction - not that Spanish desserts (Spanish desserts “reinvented” no less) ever really excite me. Flan is (usually just) flan is (usually just) flan no matter how much one tries to über-flan flan. And rice pudding is (usually just) rice pudding is (usually just) rice pudding no matter how much one tries to über-rice pudding rice pudding. We headed to Capogiro afterward and were, blissfully, none the wiser.

As early as late 2005, shortly after the Amada first opened, I was already receiving enthusiastic missives about the restaurant from fanatic friends. Although the uniqueness of the restaurant has undoubtedly diminished over the past three years, due to an invasion of multifarious tapas-pedaling palaces and dives, I’m still excited by what Garces offers at Amada.

...

The level of execution of the food at Amada was superb, the ingredients were incredibly fresh, and the inventiveness of the cuisine - like the “White Sangria,” a refreshing citrus-kissed white wine nectar perfumed with rosemary, originally created by Ms. Katie Loeb, Philadelphia’s bartendrix extraordinaire* - managed to escape the cheapened, hackneyed stab at “different” that has infected so many of these types of establishments. Amada practices subtle innovation while leaving much - the most important parts - of the traditional charm of Spanish cuisine intact.

Although I can’t say that the awkwardly combined storefronts which comprise Amada’s facade is particularly attractive, the interior has a rustic austerity that I find particularly agreeable. The dining area is quite open, and given the wood floors, wood cabinetry, and sparse upholstery, I can see how, during peak hours, the volume could be quite loud, as some have forewarned.

I can easily justify return visits to Amada - if not to try more of the menu, or for more setas, more octopus, or much, much more cheese - for the opportunity to drag three others along to experience the “Cochinillo Asado,” a whole, roasted suckling pig served with an assortment of side dishes ($32 per person). Heck, I’d return just to sit at the bar and watch them slice ham on that beautiful red-enameled jamon-slicer (I’m not sure if it was a Berkel, but it looked like one).

* Although Ms. Loeb helped design Amada’s beverage program, she has since moved on to other endeavors, leaving a sweet and tasty trail of drinks, mixed and otherwise, in her wake.

[KatieLoeb]

U.E.:

Thanks for the props. The trail of tasty beverages I left behind at Amada I think lives on only in the basic sangria recipes at this point, and perhaps in the training of the last few original staff members that are still there. A lot has changed there in the past two years, and of course a beverage program needs to evolve to remain fresh and interesting for the guests as well as the staff. The beverages are in the capable hands of my friends/colleagues Manager Kevin Lundell as well as bartender Stephen Siebert and the other excellent bartenders on staff. There's plenty of creativity happening there, as I often stop by to check out the latest works in progress.

As for me, I'm a short walk away at Chick's Cafe & Wine Bar. Link is in my signature. It's an old school saloon that reopened in April 2007. I've been there since July '07. I have a lot of freeedom to play with the cocktail list. We won a "Best of Philly" this year for Most Inventive Cocktails, which pleased me greatly. You'll have to stop by next time you're in town. PM me and let me know when to expect you. I'll be looking forward to it!

[ulterior epicure]

U.E.:

Thanks for the props.  The trail of tasty beverages I left behind at Amada I think lives on only in the basic sangria recipes at this point, and perhaps in the training of the last few original staff members that are still there.  A lot has changed there in the past two years, and of course a beverage program needs to evolve to remain fresh and interesting for the guests as well as the staff.  The beverages are in the capable hands of my friends/colleagues Manager Kevin Lundell as well as bartender Stephen Siebert and the other excellent bartenders on staff.  There's plenty of creativity happening there, as I often stop by to check out the latest works in progress.

As for me, I'm a short walk away at Chick's Cafe & Wine Bar.  Link is in my signature.  It's an old school saloon that reopened in April 2007.  I've been there since July '07.  I have a lot of freeedom to play with the cocktail list.  We won a "Best of Philly" this year for Most Inventive Cocktails, which pleased me greatly.  You'll have to stop by next time you're in town.  PM me and let me know when to expect you.  I'll be looking forward to it!

←

My Dear Katie,

Well, then, as my friend and I only sampled from the two sangrias, it seems we got the best of the original program.

Yes, I knew you *were* at Chick's Cafe & Wine Bar, and would have noted as such on my blog if it were not for the fact that I did not see it on your user profile. It's good to hear that they're still benefiting from your cocktailian prowess.

Congratulations on the "Best of Philly!"

[Chufi]

I'm contemplating visiting Amada next week. Seeing that the last post is almost a year old, I'd love to hear about any recent experiences/recommendations.