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Apamate


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As in, one can get reservations starting at 5, or it's a big synchronized thing that starts at 5?  Maybe it's just like a regular night at the restaurant, and one can book a table whenever, just with a guest chef and a special menu.

The first thing you said. One can get a reservation starting at 5pm. I didn't ask if they're only serving the special menu.

Karen C.

"Oh, suddenly life’s fun, suddenly there’s a reason to get up in the morning – it’s called bacon!" - Sookie St. James

Travelogue: Ten days in Tuscany

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They're only allowing reservations for up to 50 people, and they're trying to spread it out over the course of the night to make the service more manageable. Their hours are 5-9pm, and they're BYO and cash only. I didn't ask about any regular menu options.

I already booked my husband and I for 8:15 pm :rolleyes:

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That is an absolute steal of a deal. I wish that I could be there.

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

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Does anyone have an opinion on just what sort of wine one should use for making sangria? Obviously it would be a crime to use anything very good, but I'd imagine that using utter plonk would also be a bad idea. Where's the sweet spot?

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but I'd imagine that using utter plonk would also be a bad idea.

Actually that's really not true. The more insipid the better to be a "blank slate" on which to layer the flavors of well booze soaked fresh fruits and fine brandy and orange liqueurs.

I'll be happy to PM you my "one bottle batch" recipe for sangria. Or I could mail you the "BIG BATCH" recipe in commercial proportions if you prefer.

How much are you making?? And more importantly will you save me a glass if I can get to Apamate after work on Tuesday night if I can sneak out early? :biggrin:

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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but I'd imagine that using utter plonk would also be a bad idea.

Actually that's really not true. The more insipid the better to be a "blank slate" on which to layer the flavors of well booze soaked fresh fruits and fine brandy and orange liqueurs.

I'll be happy to PM you my "one bottle batch" recipe for sangria. Or I could mail you the "BIG BATCH" recipe in commercial proportions if you prefer.

How much are you making?? And more importantly will you save me a glass if I can get to Apamate after work on Tuesday night if I can sneak out early? :biggrin:

I would definitely love that "one bottle batch" recipe for future use, but I was planning on just supplying the wine next Tuesday. The woman who took my reservation ended the call with "We're BYO and make GREAT sangria." What from the PLCB would you recommend as a good blank slate?

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Well, dinner last night was just delicious.

Highlights for me were the chick pea stew and the cheese sorbet. These were insanely good -- they would not, I think, have been at all out of place in a StudioKitchen meal.

The meal was particularly impressive given that it was only $50/person (a downright steal), and that Shola was cooking in someone else's restaurant kitchen (and the Apamate staff working under a different leader than usual). Though I don't think that anyone who's ever met Shola would have had any doubts about the quality of the meal going in...

And, I think the evening served its primary function -- we'd somehow never been to Apamate before, and we'll be going back.

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Sabores de Espana

Guest Chef: Shola Olunloyo

Chickpea Soup

Chorizo "Bolognese"

Paprika Oil

gallery_23992_4414_140115.jpg

Shrimp Roasted with Paella Spices

Salsa Verde

Slow-Cooked Egg

Lobster-Piquillo Broth

gallery_23992_4414_142604.jpg

(those of us that can't eat shrimp didn't do so badly either...)

gallery_23992_4414_34091.jpg

Braised Chicken "Escabeche"

Lentils, Morcilla

Almond Milk

gallery_23992_4414_1211.jpg

Queso Fresco de Cabra

Fresh Cheese Sorbet

Arbequina Olive Oil

Olive Sugar

gallery_23992_4414_42176.jpg

I agree with David's post: delicious dinner, soup and dessert were my faves, but it was all

good (I especially liked stumbling on little chunks of morcilla amongst the lentils...) It was not exactly StudioKitchen, but pretty close, especially considering the different scale, and challenges of working in an unfamiliar kitchen. And I also agree that this certainly has encouraged me to check out Apamate in its natural state!

especially since a few of us (OK, ALL of us) at our table couldn't resist trying their well-known hot chocolate. Not being able to decide between the options, we all went for a sampler of Spanish style, American Style and Mexican style...

gallery_23992_4414_84475.jpg

The Spanish style was the winner amongst our panel, I'll be back for some of that, with churros...

All in all a very enjoyable evening. Thanks to the Apamate folks for doing it, and to Shola for yet another great meal.

"Philadelphia’s premier soup dumpling blogger" - Foobooz

philadining.com

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Excellent photo documentation of an excellent dinner, Phil.

I'm going to buck the trend and say that my favorite dish was the shrimp. The texture of the slow cooked egg was perfect, the lobster broth had excellent flavor, and the shrimp themselves were good enough to eat shell and all.

It had been far too long since I'd eaten Shola's food... I hope more events like this one provide me the opportunity to do so again.

Christopher D. Holst aka "cdh"

Learn to brew beer with my eGCI course

Chris Holst, Attorney-at-Lunch

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I have to agree with dagordon that the meal last night was delicious!

The cheese sorbet was a huge suprise winner, as I had no real idea what to expect, but I think I could eat that for desert every night. It had the right mix of sweet, rich, and savory to make it ideal for a refreshing desert in my mind (given I am not a chocaholic).

As has already been observerved the soup was notable for its complex flavor. I especially liked the creamy texture for the chickpea's as it is something I am used to having a much coarser texture. and then the chorizo added a little suprise element.

My wife is never a big chicken fan because she thinks it so rarely has flavor, but she commented about the seasoning clearly standing out in this checken dish.

All in all an excellent meal.

We also agreeded with the setiment that Apamante was a nice venue and a setting I would be happy to try again in the future. I doubt I would have ever stopped in if it were not for Shola's guest appearance.

-- Bruce

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Agreed. It was such a nice treat to have Shola's food again. Things just haven't been the same since the demise of SK.

Karen C.

"Oh, suddenly life’s fun, suddenly there’s a reason to get up in the morning – it’s called bacon!" - Sookie St. James

Travelogue: Ten days in Tuscany

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So sorry I missed this, but I was working, of course. Everything looks up to the usual SK standards of beautiful plating and a feast for the eyes as well as the palate.

I hope further "guest chef" forays are in the works for the future. I miss SK as much as any of the rest of you and this is as good an excuse to have Shola's food as any. I particularly like the idea of Shola doing ethnically diverse, yet ethnically specific menus as that was usually not an option on any given evening at SK.

Can I put in a vote to have the next guest cheffing experience fall on a Monday so I can attend? :smile:

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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So sorry I missed this, but I was working, of course.  Everything looks up to the usual SK standards of beautiful plating and a feast for the eyes as well as the palate.

I hope further "guest chef" forays are in the works for the future.  I miss SK as much as any of the rest of you and this is as good an excuse to have Shola's food as any.  I particularly like the idea of Shola doing ethnically diverse, yet ethnically specific menus as that was usually not an option on any given evening at SK.

Can I put in a vote to have the next guest cheffing experience fall on a Monday so I can attend?  :smile:

Word is that you will definitely be there for the next one. Definitely. Monday or not.

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Intriguing!

Yes, Shola's cooking was abso-frickin'-lutely worth driving down to Philly from NYC... INCLUDING the god-awful rush-hour Holland Tunnel traffic.

The dessert was fabulous; we were lucky enough to get two of them through a (blissful!) kitchen signal-crossing. My favorite, however, was definitely that soup; it coaxed extraordinary, precisely balanced flavors out of two relatively humble ingredients (chorizo and chickpea); even the dill seeds in the chorizo popped out into the soup to add a slight textural counterpoint and flavor. Wonderful.

Mayur Subbarao, aka "Mayur"
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We ventured to Apamate yesterday for lunch. Short post, I promise.

When we got in, I was slightly concerned because it was 14,30 and the kitchen seemed dead. We ordered, however, and were pleasently surprised.

We had the chickpea soup, which was truly remarkable and was served instead of the usual roasted garlic soup (I understand this is mr. Shola's legacy?), some very good bouquerones, a mini empanada that was.. very mini .. and a tuna escabeche which I'm still trying to figure out. Other items in various order: a toast with sepas - mushrooms - which my GF enjoyed very much, toghether with a seared scallop that was pronounced very good and fresh, asparagus wrapped in jamon serrano (an interesting revisitation there - these were breaded).

To close, we had the chocolate sampler AND some churros to go with it - or should I say IN it - which were tasty, though not as light perhaps as Xochitl's.

I'd be curious to return for dinner and have something a little more structured.

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I was slightly concerned because it was 14,30 and the kitchen seemed dead.

14,30 ???????

Fabio you are hilarious either you are defintely European or you work for the CIA,Mossad,KGB or MI-5..................... :laugh:

Good post.....

a little too short...... :wink:

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...and I must be one of the three europeans left who refuse to write time with a ':'. On to the restaurant, the post was short because, well, I consider what we had only half a visit, since we only had a series of pintxos (and the chocolate - do not forget the chocolate).

Some things were truly remarkable - some I was not so sure about (literally: could you explain how the escabeche is made?).

One thing that I forgot to mention was the pricepoint, which was truly remarkable: it was a lunch stop, etc... but $48 for both of us? Quite a bargain!

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  • 1 month later...
So sorry I missed this, but I was working, of course.  Everything looks up to the usual SK standards of beautiful plating and a feast for the eyes as well as the palate.

I hope further "guest chef" forays are in the works for the future.  I miss SK as much as any of the rest of you and this is as good an excuse to have Shola's food as any.  I particularly like the idea of Shola doing ethnically diverse, yet ethnically specific menus as that was usually not an option on any given evening at SK.

Can I put in a vote to have the next guest cheffing experience fall on a Monday so I can attend?  :smile:

Hi all,

First post here...

I was at this dinner. It was my first time experiencing Shola's food and I was pretty blown away by it (especially by the soup and dessert). I was chatting with him before the dinner (Gotta be honest - I might have developed a slight man-crush on him, and I don't just get those for anyone) and he said that he was going to be doing these monthly.

I haven't seen anything mentioning the next dinner he is doing - anyone have any idea when and where it is? I've been craving his food since then.

Feel free to PM if you don't want to post publicly.

Thanks. This is a fantastic board and I've learned tons since moving to Philly in July. Katie, I can't wait to make it to M to try out one of your fantastic concoctions.

-M

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Welcome to you, mhdousa! Hope to hear more from you in the future.

Looking forward to mixing the libation of your choosing on your foray to the other side of my bar. :smile:

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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