Amada

[KatieLoeb]

Klary:

Amada is as busy as ever, and as excellent as ever. Lunch is a particularly good deal and is conveniently located near many of the historic sights in Old City Philadelphia I presume you'll be visiting while you are here.

[zeffer81]

Was there Saturday night for a bachelorette party. Food and service were great, sangria was fantastic

[BeeZee]

Stopped in for an early dinner tonite with my husband and his business partner...we hadn't been here before but his friend had. I had a glass of the white sangria, very nice. Little cubes of apple and oranges floated in the glass with a sprig of rosemary on top. We had a ton of food, I'm stuffed. I didn't write anything down, so this is just as best I can remember...

Plate of olives (didn't really need it)

Goat cheese with cherry/fig marmelade. Served with little pieces of french bread and apple slices. Very tasty.

Roasted Eggplant, cippolini onions, tomatoes, peppers. Actually served as individual elements on a long rectangular plate. Kind of disappointing, but very pretty.

Empenada with spinach, cheese, artichoke. Tasty, served on a bed of shredded sauteed veg, can't remember what.

Two kinds of flatbreads were ordered, one was with shortribs and horseradish (the guys said it was great), the other was with heirloom tomatoes and a little cheese - nice crispy crust, tomatoes were very flavorful.

Roasted potatoes - as mentioned by others, not the wedges you'd expect. They cut tubes out of potatoes and rolled them in smoked paprika, a little dab of aioli on top. I really liked these, the paprika flavor was great on the slightly crispy exterior.

From the grill, shrimp and calamari. Perfectly cooked, simple. The calamari was incredibly tender (rings and tentacles). Shrimp were 3 large head-on.

Baby lamb chops. I didn't have one, they were cooked to medium, very meaty. They guys were cooing with joy over these.

We shared 2 desserts, one was brown butter cake with almond ice cream and plum garnish. Other was peaches with layers of puff pastry and a little cheese/cream filling. Some fruity/winey sauce poured into the dish at the table. OK desserts, not exceptional...but a nice ending.

The only negative was that we got there around 4:30 and dinner service doesn't start until 5:00, so we sat in the bar to have a drink. It would have been nice if we were given a bowl of almonds or crackers or something to nibble for that half hour.

[KatieLoeb]

The only negative was that we got there around 4:30 and dinner service doesn't start until 5:00, so we sat in the bar to have a drink. It would have been nice if we were given a bowl of almonds or crackers or something to nibble for that half hour.

Yeah, but why would they give you something if you could order something off the menu instead? Not for nothing, but you'd be amazed at how many folks will eat their way through seven bowls of free bar munchies and never spend a dime on food in a place where it's a bit gauche to do so. It's an upscale restaurant. Not the sort of place where they'd have crunchy mix on the bar. Or cheap olives or almonds. If it's being served there it'll be the house marinated olive mix and the Marcona almonds or nothing at all. That stuff is expensive. They have to charge for it. The thing to do at Amada would have been to order a plate of charcuterie - some Serrano ham, some lomo, etc. to go with your pre-prandial cocktails.

Edited September 11, 2009 by KatieLoeb (log)

[BeeZee]

Yes, we would have liked to start ordering food (even if it were only cold items), but were told that we had to wait until 5:00. It was kind of strange. We said we were having dinner, the hostess said they didn't start serving until 5:00 but we were free to sit at the bar. We sat at one of the nice wood plank tables by the window and told her we'd stay there for dinner. We were given drink menus but were not even given (food) menus until close to 5:00. Would have thought the offer would have been made for us to look it over and order a cold item in the interim if the kitchen wasn't ready to start cooking for whatever reason.

I know how some people can make a meal of free bar munchies, but it was more of not wanting to get tipsy since I hadn't eaten since that morning!

Edited September 21, 2009 by BeeZee (log)

[KatieLoeb]

I'm surprised the bartender didn't mention the charcuterie menu. It's on the blackboard in the bar area and unless policies have changed, is always available, including before and after when the main kitchen is open.

[jmbrightman]

7 of us had the roast pig with the starchy sides and the green onions this past weekend, and it was excellent. Now I understand why dogs fight over pig ears - they're delicious!

[tim e]

7 of us had the roast pig with the starchy sides and the green onions this past weekend, and it was excellent. Now I understand why dogs fight over pig ears - they're delicious!

I had this in September, and it was insanely good. Probably the best pork I've ever had. The tableside presentation and carving is a nice touch, too.

[jmbrightman]

the pig came out on a wheeled cutting board, we were asked who wanted the parts from the head, neck and ribs, and much like Arnold Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter I yelled, pick me!