Ansill Opening

[dagordon]

In this month's Esquire there's a litlte blurb about Ansill in the "Best New Restaurants 2006" section called "E Awards: Leat Emasculating Small Plates: Ansill". It reads:

"At his new namesake restaurant in Philadlephia, chef David Ansill serves some of the boldest food ever to land on tiny china: braised pork belly with spaetzle, sauteed sweetbreads with fava beans, cured lamb's tongue, raw venison, scrambled duck eggs.... The menu's a vertiable checklist of deliciously obscure animal parts. You want more manly? Hunt them yourself?"

The description is a bit strange... but it's nice to see the mention.

[Rich Pawlak]

In this month's Esquire there's a litlte blurb about Ansill in the "Best New Restaurants 2006" section called "E Awards: Leat Emasculating Small Plates: Ansill". It reads:

"At his new namesake restaurant in Philadlephia, chef David Ansill serves some of the boldest food ever to land on tiny china: braised pork belly with spaetzle, sauteed sweetbreads with fava beans, cured lamb's tongue, raw venison, scrambled duck eggs.... The menu's a vertiable checklist of deliciously obscure animal parts. You want more manly? Hunt them yourself?"

The description is a bit strange... but it's nice to see the mention.

←

And the ONLY thing Philadelphian mentioned in the entire article. A terrible slight to Amada, IMHO.

[philadining]

Tried their Duck Terrine recently, and I hereby declare it the Least Emasculating Pâté of 2006. Very tasty too. We got smart and asked for more bread at the onset. Much happier.

Also discovered a good combo: the duck egg and smoked salmon trout, along with the hanger steak. It makes a steak-and-eggs, surf-and-turf thing all at the same time. Toss on some mushrooms from the sweetbreads, and you've really got something there...

The place was actually pretty full this time, with lots of people eating at the bar, but still, you could have squeezed in if you dropped-by, so... where were you?!?

(Edited to fix the fish...)

Edited October 22, 2006 by philadining (log)

[Vadouvan]

A terrible slight to Amada, IMHO.

That may be a bit of a stretch......Amada is a good restaurant but they arent doing anything novel in a national context. The bar is different in what's hot in philly as opposed to what garner's national attention. I ate with Philadining last night and ansill's food had personality and was rocking good.

That was duck egg and smoked trout ...Phil...

[Rich Pawlak]

I beg to differ, Vad. Ive been on a few of Mariani's "Best Restaurants" dine-arounds, and his criteria has always seemed to be 1-year-old-or-less newness, coupled with exciting food and decor, not necessarily ground-breaking cuisine at every place. Read the article this year; it's not about that at all. All the more why I'm miffed that Amada didnt make the cut.

[Vadouvan]

But the point is Rich......

All these lists are meaningless, there are 52 states and several hundred new restaurants.

Some make gourmet's list, some make Mariani's list, some make Food and Wines list......and the end of the day, who cares....its all about PR and politics and availability.

Amada is 1 restaurant in 1 state, we have to be realistic about these things and realise it isnt about content and more of politics.

AND............the real reason Amada didnt make the list isnt about the food.

They didnt want to.

I actually had lunch with the person who came to philly to scout out the article and gave her recommendations including Amada but she was irritated that a number of restaurants would not call her back to arrange interviews with the chef because "the chef was busy"...she called repeatedly......so she moved on to other places.

Food writers work under deadlines.

If they feel they are chasing people around, they get annoyed and move on.

Not my opinion, just the facts.

[Rich Pawlak]

But the point is Rich......

All these lists are meaningless, there are 52 states and several hundred new restaurants.

Some make gourmet's list, some make Mariani's list, some make Food and Wines list......and the end of the day, who cares....its all about PR and politics and availability.

Amada is 1 restaurant in 1 state, we have to be realistic about these things and realise it isnt about content and more of politics.

AND............the real reason Amada didnt make the list isnt about the food.

They didnt want to.

I actually had lunch with the person who came to philly to scout out the article and gave her recommendations including Amada but she was irritated that a number of restaurants would not call her back to arrange interviews with the chef because "the chef was busy"...she called repeatedly......so she moved on to other places.

Food writers work under deadlines.

If they feel they are chasing people around, they get annoyed and move on.

Not my opinion, just the facts.

←

John Mariani doesnt use anyone to scout restaurants; he does all of the dining himself, with friends and acquaintences in tow most of the time. He has no assistants of any kind. I think you were had.

[Vadouvan]

John Mariani doesnt use anyone to scout restaurants; he does all of the dining himself, with friends and acquaintences in tow most of the time. He has no assistants of any kind. I think you were had.

Ok Rich, whatever you say.

For being so opinionated, it seems you may not be aware of how the magazine world works.

National Mags farm out some of thier stories.

In this particular issue, the story research and interview locally was done 3 months ago by Francine Maroukian (writer for GQ, Esquire, Travel and Leisure, Town and Country) ......who personally went to Ansill, had lunch and interviewed the chef.

I am not trying to convince you, my point is lists happen randomly and expecting one's favourite local restaurant to make a particular list solely on one's own appreciation is shockingly naive.

It doesnt mean amada isnt a good restaurant, it's a very good restaurant......but prasing one restaurant should be seen as that and not a negative slight at unmentioned places.

We should celebrate the city and anyone who gets good press not use it to breed acrimony on the part of another restaurant.

Edited October 23, 2006 by Vadouvan (log)

[Rich Pawlak]

<<<<<<<<<<<<<Ok Rich, whatever you say.

For being so opinionated, it seems you may not be aware of how the magazine world works.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I am currently the food editor of a magazine, and have been the food editor for two others. I keep up pretty well on the industry.

[Vadouvan]

Yeah i knew that all along, Stylish Philly style Magazine.

Still doesnt make you right in this case.

[philadining]

Well, I suppose this only muddies the waters, but I finally saw the print version of the Esquire article, and the Ansill mention is presented as a sort of sidebar, in a little box, not as part of the main Mariani article. It's credited "-m.c." presumably Maile Carpenter.

[Andrew Fenton]

I definitely have to give Ansill credit for keeping up the quality. Thursday was the third time I've been, and it was just as good as the first.

The shirred eggs are, if anything, better than before. My complaint about them had been that the foie gras was a little extraneous-- it didn't add much to the dish-- and was a little overcooked. This time around, it was perfectly cooked; and there were two pieces instead of one. Still extraneous, but very tasty.

New to me was the osso buco sandwich, which is really extraordinary. A pile of melting, gelatinous meat, with a deep, rich reduction that suffuses the brioche.

It occurred to me, as we were eating, that Ansill is a place that really gets the idea of small plates. At a lot of restaurants, small plates just mean, well, a smaller version of something. But Ansill's dishes fit perfectly with their size. You wouldn't want more than a couple of the eggs; they'd be too rich. A few bites of bone marrow crostini are ideal; more would be excess. Ditto the osso buco-- it's actually quite substantial, and I wouldn't be able to eat much more than there was.

Oh-- and to answer the lingering Bread Question. This time around, they gave us a basket of bread with a crock of butter dusted with pink salt. My favorite part of Pif's service, and I was delighted to see it imported from the mothership.

[dagordon]

New to me was the osso buco sandwich, which is really extraordinary.  A pile of melting, gelatinous meat, with a deep, rich reduction that suffuses the brioche. 

That osso buco sandwich has got to be one of the best dishes in this city...

[Andrew Fenton]

It really is. Osso buco is one of my favorite dishes-- maybe my favorite dish-- and this is a great take on it. I especially like the variation on gremolata: pickled garlic, whole parsley leaves, a little bit of sweetness to brighten things up... Tremendous.

[philadining]

Oh yeah, let me join in the chorus, that Osso Buco sandwich is one of my favorite things to eat in the city.

[philadining]

Poked my head in Ansill tonight and noticed two things:

1- Tuesday is BYOB night.

2- This particular Tuesday, it was not especially full (at around 7pm.)

Something is wrong with this picture!

It occurs to me that we ought to get our frugal asses in some chairs...

[Buckethead]

I was there not too long ago on a Friday night, and while it was a little bit past prime time, it was a lot less crowded than I would have expected. I can't say why, though, the food was as great as it's ever been.

[mattohara]

two of the best kept secrets in the city are the private room at Pif and the BYO night at Ansill on Tuesdays. david did the BYO night to thank his regulars from Pif, but i used to work there on Tuesdays and i think maybe twice i saw regulars from Pif. there are two waiters on and the restaurant is mostly empty. we should be going to Savalo on Monday and Ansill on Tuesday!

[Andrew Fenton]

Actually, Ansill is one of those places where I wouldn't want to BYO. With the small plates, I like getting wine by the glass.

Agreed that Ansill is inexplicably under-filled at times. The upside is that, especially with the liquor license, it's a great spot to just drop in for a drink and a bite...

[philadining]

Actually, Ansill is one of those places where I wouldn't want to BYO.  With the small plates, I like getting wine by the glass.

Agreed that Ansill is inexplicably under-filled at times.  The upside is that, especially with the liquor license, it's a great spot to just drop in for a drink and a bite...

←

It's funny, in making some plans to go soon, we were just thinking the same thing, that we actually like having a few different glasses of a few different wines at Ansill, and that the prices aren't bad there. That said, BYOB night just seems like a good random motivator to go to a good restaurant.

[Andrew Fenton]

That said, BYOB night just seems like a good random motivator to go to a good restaurant.

Oh, for sure. I'd like to see Ansill do well, and whatever gets butts in chairs is a good thing.

I haven't been there too often lately, as the wife can't currently eat a lot of things on the menu (and some of what's left isn't all that appealing to her at the moment). I oughta just drag her along, so she can watch as I chow down on the osso buco...

[philadining]

I was saddened to read that the chef has left Ansill - and apparently in a dramatic way:

Inqlings>>

Hope the restaurant can keep on track, and that Kibett Mengech finds a good new gig, he's an excellent chef.

[Buckethead]

I was saddened to read that the chef has left Ansill  - and apparently in a dramatic way:

Inqlings>>

Hope the restaurant can keep on track, and that Kibett Mengech finds a good new gig, he's an excellent chef.

←

Hmm, I hope something more serious isn't going on. I was at Osteria a couple weeks ago and I noticed that my favorite manager from Ansill/Pif, I believe his name is Mike, is now at Osteria instead.

Is David Ansill still at Pif?

[dagordon]

Hmm, I hope something more serious isn't going on. I was at Osteria a couple weeks ago and I noticed that my favorite manager from Ansill/Pif, I believe his name is Mike, is now at Osteria instead.

←

Michael has been at Osteria for a while now, and he was at Pumpkin before that...

[Buckethead]

Wowee, I had dinner at Ansill last night for the first time in a while, and it's better than it's ever been. If there's a silver lining to Pif's closing, I think it must be meals like this one. Ansill has always been one of my favorite places in the city, but last night's dinner was above and beyond any of my previous experiences there, easily the best of many great meals I've had there.

The menu was mostly new since last time we'd been there, so we decided not to order anything we've had before. We started with the charcuterie sampler. It was a little noisy and I couldn't make out all of what our server was telling us as far as what was what, but there was a nice chorizo, what I think was a soppressata, the wild boar prosciutto, and a fourth cured meat I didn't recognize. They were all very good, but the boar prosciutto stood out. They were accompanied by a couple mustards, caper berries, cornichons, and what I believe were marcona almonds.

That was followed by maybe my favorite of the evening, bruschetta topped by broccoli rabe pesto and (I think) thinly sliced feta. The pesto was made with a bit of horseradish, which not only went very well with the rabe and the cheese, it also carried all the flavors way up into the various recesses of my skull. Yummy.

We split two larger plates, the branzino and the rabbit tart. Both were great, our only (minor) complaint was that the fish's skin wasn't crisp. It probably wouldn't have bothered us at all if we hadn't had Shola's perfectly cooked (and crispy-skinned) suzuki at M a few weeks ago. Anyway, the fish flesh underneath was light and delicious. The rabbit was a delight, and I'm not usually crazy about rabbit. I think it was the texture of this dish that did it, the rabbit was (I imagine) pulled apart almost like pulled pork, and reassembled with zucchini and carrot strands atop a round of pastry, kind of an upside-down pot pie.

One of our old menu favorites, the fingerling potatoes with bacon, seems to have been replaced with a new fingerling potato dish, with pancetta bits and dressed with a vinaigrette. It was similar to the old dish, but much less heavy and rich (in a good way) thanks to the vinaigrette.

Dessert was the only disappointment. I had the mascarpone mousse. It was good, but the flavor was a little one-dimensional. It was accompanied by a ladyfinger for dipping, but there was way too much mousse on the plate. A couple more cookies, or (preferably) about half as much mousse, would have made it more balanced.