"James" Restaurant

[Vadouvan]

That tasty zucchini flowers are available is not at all the point.

Zucchini grows flowers year round, it isnt inherently a spring or summer product like a local tomato.

Consumers just associate the word "flower" with spring/summer.

Virtually *all* squash is available year round....

Read and chew on this :

http://whatscookingamerica.net/squash.htm

Edited March 10, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[mandabear]

I guess this posting is a little late, but since i have just joined I thought I would add..... The South Philly review", as "hometown"as it is, is a widely read publication. I personally advertise in ther for my sister business, and get a ton of response. being in Bella Vista, the influx of south philadelphians who have become aware of "James might give him the influx of business to work out the kinks.

[Vadouvan]

I propose we change the subtitle of this thread from ..

"Is this a joke"

to

"Reviews and discussion"

All in agreement say aye.....

[Alcibiades]

Aye.

Warranted or not, the criticism they initially received should give way to a fair discussion without the flippant header.

Edited March 22, 2007 by Alcibiades (log)

[wkl]

aye!

[KatieLoeb]

Fair enough and done.

[cinghiale]

Wandered in last night a little after 10, and they'd just shut down the kitchen. Kristina kindly offered to try and rustle up something, but I declined, figuring it'd be better that my first meal there to be during normal service. So, can't comment on the food. But I can say I enjoyed my James-hattan (i.e., Manhattan w/spice-infused whiskey [Jack Daniels ]), and the space felt comfortable. About half the tables were occupied, not bad for a Thursday night, I guess. And I had a nice bar chat with perky Rachel of Rachel, Inc., which gave me a chance to ask her why she doesn't act on my many unsubscribe requests regarding the regular party/happening invites floating unsolicited into my inbox. I'm just too old to be a hipster, I explained.

[philadining]

I think that this has been a very interesting thread: we got to witness at least a few folks unhappy with what seems to have been a slightly bumpy opening, with various misunderstandings and apparent uneven food and service. So a few of us who had been intending to go decided to just back off for a little while and let things settle down.

Glad we did, I have to say that we had a terrific meal at James.

I'd read complaints on other discussion boards about portions being small. We saw no evidence of that, serving sizes seemed perfectly appropriate for their courses, even generous. Other reports, even when being positive, complained about the prices, but they seemed about right to us for the ingredients and preparation. Tasting menu options are clearly spelled-out, with prices, at the bottom of the menu. We were not steered toward a tasting menu or anything in particular. Service was, in fact, quite good, being especially patient with our slight confusion about our exact party size.

Most importantly, the food was excellently prepared, well-seasoned, served hot, and delicious.

They started us with a very tasty amuse of duck liver mousse

We got an appetizer portion of the somewhat notorious papardelle with duck ragu and grated chocolate:

I thought this was terrific, both the texture of the pasta and the flavors of the duck really hit the spot for me. My dining partner found it a little bitter, while I tasted none of that, so wonder if there was an uneven distribution of the grated chocolate? I'd be happy to get it again to investigate, I liked it that much. Although it's so hearty I wonder if it might disappear soon as the seasons change.

Squab

This was really nicely cooked to a medium rare, and had an intense gamey flavor, complimented nicely by the "melted" scallion and "confit" of potatoes.

Halibut

I can't say that I've had a piece of fish with a poached egg yolk on top that slowly oozed when pierced, but I hope to have it more in the future! This was a beautifully moist fish, seated on chanterelles and tender fava beans in a subtle broth-like sauce. Lovely.

Slow-roasted chicken

Most of the entrées look a little conservative on the menu, including the two we ordered, but the elegance of the execution makes up for the conventional structure. This was a simple roasted chicken, with sunchokes, roasted shallots and a truffle jus. Chicken is almost always disappointing in such contexts, i have no idea why we ordered it, but it was delicious. It was a juicy, flavorful bird, and the jus was freaking great, sparked with truffles indeed. The sunchokes and shallots were nicely harmonious with the rest of the dish.

Brown Ale Mousse, Chestnut(?) cake, poached pears.

We agreed the we would have liked a little more pear with this, but it was quite good anyway. The airy mousse was seated on an earthy disc of cake, and capped by a crackly brulée-like crust. The fruit cut the richness nicely.

They offer 5 cheeses, $4 for each of them. We could only narrow it down to 3...

Rochetta, Hoch Ybrig, Blu del Moncenisio

The creamy Rochetta was in a tuille cornet, with nuts, the Hoch had some quince, the blu was drizzled with a little honey. And just look at all that bread! Ansill -can you see this??!? OK, it might be a little over the top but better too much than too little...

as a parting gift, a blood orange pâté de fruit, and a salted caramel.

All in all, this was an excellent meal, and displayed none of the early problems mentioned here or elsewhere. I suppose it might be egotistical to pat ourselves on the back collectively for offering constructive criticism, but whatever motivated it, or whether it's merely due to the place hitting its stride, the front and back of house seem to have made significant improvements.

I was pleasantly surprised: It was a solidly enjoyable meal, and I'm eager to go back.

About $120 for two before tip, including two glasses of wine. Not cheap, but totally fair for the quality and amount of food we got.

Edited March 27, 2007 by philadining (log)

[Vadouvan]

I think that this has been a very interesting thread: we got to witness at least a few folks unhappy with what seems to have been a slightly bumpy opening, with various misunderstandings and apparent uneven food and service. So a few of us who had been intending to go decided to just back off for a little while and let things settle down.

Great review, while I would not dispute Bigboss's original posting, things seem to have smoothed out as they always do eventually.

Good stuff.

[philadining]

Oh, and it for what it's worth, it's a lovely space (with chairs comfortable enough to be noteworthy) and a luxurious amount of space between tables. There are a couple of curved banquette/booth seats that looked pretty cozy, but we didn't actually try one out. There's also an attractive private room that can be reserved for 8-12 people.

Cocktails seemed interesting, but I didn't sample any. A nearby Lavender Cosmo seemed to get a thumbs-up. I was tempted by that James-hattan cinghiale mentioned...

[Diann]

My taste buds were dulled last night due to a head cold (I hope I didn't get anyone sick!) but my basic impressions were:

- Duck mousse amuse was really tasty -- strong flavors, and even my sick bouche was amused. Haha.

- I loved the slow-roasted halibut. It was a study in contrasting unctuousness, between the silky, tender fish, the egg yolk, and the fava beans. I want some more fish right now.

- We ordered the chicken because, well, it sounded good! I'm not going to pass up sunchokes, roasted shallots, and black truffle sauce. The bird lived up to its billing.

- Drinks menu looks great -- dirty martini, Manhattan, lavender cosmo with lychee, etc. -- and the beers on tap were interesting (Ommegang, etc.) I will definitely be back to try them.

- The private room is definitely one of the more elegant spots in the city, with pretty chandeliers and chocolate-painted walls. Photos, sample menu (not quite like the winter menu we had last night) and more at www.jameson8th.com.

All in all, I'm in agreement with Philadining. Lovely space, friendly service, good food. If they were off Rittenhouse Square (and the atmosphere would fit) the place would be MOBBED. As it is, I wonder how busy they are on weekends -- we were there on a Monday night and several tables were occupied, but clearly Mondays aren't the night to judge.

[Diann]

Kirsten Henri likes the fudgy aftermath, too.

[philadining]

Jeez, I thought the "fudgy aftermath" was a charming, spontaneous, odd turn of phrase, but it turns out it's just a line he gives all the customers... I feel cuckolded.

[Andrew Fenton]

I'm sorry, but if "fudgy aftermath" is a phrase that the waiter has practiced, and gives to all his customers-- as opposed to a spontaneous mistake for "aftertaste"-- then he ought to be fired. Or at least given a remedial English lesson. Because "fudgy aftermath" is just gross.

[dagordon]

I'm sorry, but if "fudgy aftermath" is a phrase that the waiter has practiced, and gives to all his customers-- as opposed to a spontaneous mistake for "aftertaste"-- then he ought to be fired.  Or at least given a remedial English lesson.  Because "fudgy aftermath" is just gross.

←

Yeah. When I hear "fudgy aftermath" I think the morning after eating Szechuan...

[Vadouvan]

Yeah. When I hear "fudgy aftermath" I think the morning after eating Szechuan...

That sounds like a nomination to the GI list to me.....

The interior of James is really exceptionally well done.

Hopefully this gives them the push they need after the opening glitches.

Edited April 4, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[Diann]

Now that Il Fentoni has brought it up, when I hear "fudgy aftermath" I think of santorum. SIGH. You can google it, I'm sure I can't talk about it on this board.

[philadining]

Diann, it might be our fault, the phrase really might have just tripped out of his mouth, and we were so visibly amused by it that he kept it in his repertoire...

(ETA: David, and Diann, thanks very much for poisoning my fond recollections of that cheese with your lovely imagery!)

Edited April 4, 2007 by philadining (log)

[vigna]

Had a really great meal at James earlier this week. The decor is striking, the staff very accommodating. But the most important thing is that the food is truly excellent. Three of us shared three starter portions of 1) tortelloni stuffed with porcini mushrooms and blueberries, 2) the parpadelle with duck ragu (as in the photo in philidining's post), and 3) risi e bisi. The parpadelle dish was awesome -- a rich very tasty ragu, lots of meat, and really wonderful pasta. The tortelloni were also delicious, with the unconventional blueberry sweetness offsetting the porcini flavor -- again, very fine pasta. The risi e bisi was less successful, a bit more watery than this dish is served in Venezia and elsewhere in northern Italy; but it was still tasty. My main course was lamb served three ways. This was a real winner, with the highlight being the roulade. All three cuts were tender, and they were accompanied by a nice array of little vegetables (carrots, beans, tiny jerusalem artichokes (if I am remembering correctly)). My companions had the halibut entree (see photo in philidining's post) and a veal tenderloin entree, which they both liked. I had the cheese dessert, with two cheeses -- excellent. We each indulged in one of their very imaginative house cocktails, and then split a bottle of a Pinot Noir from Languedoc that was fine. I will definitely go back and probably try one of the tasting menus. This was one of my most satisfying dinners of the year (much much better, for example than my third visit to Osteria).

[philadining]

Thanks for the report, Vigna!

Also, Maria Gallagher gives it a fairly enthusiastic B in Philly Mag.

And aren't we awaiting a review from one of our regular posters?!?

[shacke]

I will be there tomorrow and will report back.

[Andrew Fenton]

And aren't we awaiting a review from one of our regular posters?!?

Bah, it's only been a week...

Anyway, we had a very nice dinner at James last Friday. I started with a Martini-- a drink I don't often order, but which seemed called for on a warm almost-spring evening-- which hit the spot nicely.

For an appetizer, we split the pappardelle. I'd been a little skeptical about this-- chocolate? seems like kind of a stunt pasta, y'know?-- but I enjoyed it. The duck is rich, and the shaved chocolate gets all melty, sort of like Parmesan cheese from an alternate universe. Whoa.

The missus had the veal loin, which was pretty good: straightforward, flavorful. Phil is absolutely right in praising the presentation, though; all the dishes were lovely, including this one.

I had the pink snapper with baby artichokes two ways: fried and raw/dressed. The fish was really lovely, and the artichokes were wonderful: tiny and delicious. This is one of the best dishes I've had in a while.

For dessert, we had the cheese plate. No fudgy aftermath, thank goodness: instead, a Delice de Bourgogne, Hoch y Brig and a third: maybe Red Hawk? Again, the presentation was lovely. The Delice was particularly nice, in a little tuile ice cream cone. They're also not afraid to pair cheeses with savory accompaniments (the cone wasn't sweet, and one of the cheeses came with a tapenade), so kudos there.

Service was enthusiastic, friendly and knowledgeable, and I had a good time. My wife liked it better than Osteria, for a few reasons, mainly because she was more interested in the menu. I don't know that I'd go that far; and it's not an apples-apples comparison anyway. But by any measure, it was a very good meal, and I'll be happy to head back.

[shacke]

Allow me to take this thread down a teeny notch to avoid any Osterification of James.

We had a good meal there last night, just "good". Like B/B+. While I enjoyed it, I would not actively plan to go back. I had some of the dishes that were pictured above and I must say Philadining's photos are like Vogue covers. They look better in print than on the table. Not a knock at the food but more a kudos to the snapfish!

I had the papardelle. It was interesting and tasty but it made me yearn for the candele at Osteria to be honest. The thickness of the pasta was missing the toothsome texture I like in freshly made pasta and for me it could have been much more enjoyable but the flavor combinations were interesting to try. I am not sure I would keep ordering it on repeat trips though.

The halibut was indeed very good and was likely the best dish on the table. Someone had the pink snapper which was definitely overcooked. Crispy outside - and alas crispy inside. The veal loin was really perfectly cooked but IMHO veal needs a particularly good accompaniment as it is fairly bland. There was a tasty jus but not enough to elevate the whole dish. I had the special which was a preparation of suckling pig on a bed of lentials and that was pretty porky and good.

The wine list was so so. We had a couple of moore bros bottlings - 2003 Cote du Nuit Rion Villages. (retail $28 there $75 if you are counting). There are wines by the glass as well.

Service was friendly and attentive. Portions were fine - thank goodness no supersizing, not small - nothing to yap about as Phil said.

Ambience was nice although the Steven Starr esque yuppie techno muzak made me feel like I was in buddakan.

So I liked it - kinda sorta - but I had the quasi-experience of seeing a really hyped amazing movie after everyone else so I was expecting more and experienced a let down. Perhaps the crew who preceded me upthread had the opposite setup after the dismal first post and turned out to be pleasantly surprised.

So give it a try if you haven't yet. You certainly won't be sorry but you may not see fireworks.

[mrbigjas]

So I liked it - kinda sorta - but I had the quasi-experience of seeing a really hyped amazing movie after everyone else so I was expecting more and experienced a let down.

maybe we should change the thread subtitle back to IS THIS A PRACTICAL JOKE?

hahaha

[Holly Moore]

In case anyone missed it, Laban award Jame's three bells in today's Inquirer.