Zahav - Philadelphia, PA

Zahav
237 St James Pl
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215.625.8800

http://www.zahavrestaurant.com

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Zahav. Hebrew for Gold. Zahav is a Modern Israeli restaurant; something you don't have on every corner anywhere in the US. Hearing that Chef Michael Solmonov had won the James Beard Award for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic, I had to stop during my Philly restaurant run. In addition to the award recognition, Chef Jen from 10 Arts highly recommended Zahav as one of her favorite restaurants.

I made a reservation for Saturday night. Upon my arrival, I was greeted and about to be shown to a table, when I noticed the bar at the back of the room. This bar had a complete view of the kitchen. I asked the hostess if I could sit there. She said sure, and off I was to a great seat.

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As my waitress, Emma, was about to describe the menu, I mentioned that I was going to have the tasting menu and which dishes I would like to try. (Thanks to fellow yelpers for their suggestions.) I also placed my order for a Tiyul which was delightfully refreshing. It contained reposado tequilla, lime, arak and ginger ale.

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Before my drink was delivered, I was provided with complimentary pickles and Israeli olives and Israeli eggplant. The eggplant was a great little bite of soft and firm deliciousness.

First up on the tasting menu was the salatim. This contained samples of their 8 daily vegetable salads.

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Starting with the pink/purple concoction in the back and going clockwise, we have:

Beets with Tehina (salt-roasted red beets (grated) tehina, mint, dill) = decent

Taboulleh (parsley, walnuts, apple, lemon juice, salt, olive oil) = nice dry bite

Twice Cooked Eggplant (sliced eggplant fried in canola oil, combined with sauteed onions, red peppers, cooked out with sherry vinegar, paprika, finished with parsley) = my favorite of the top rack

Cucumber Salad (cucumber, red onion, dill, sumac and olive oil) = nothing special

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Starting with the white slices on the left and moving clockwise, we have:

Pickled Turnips = they had a nice refreshing bite to them

Moroccan Carrots (aleppo, olive oil, cumin, Hungarian Peppers, urfa pepper and salt) = these were super delicious. It tasted like carrots mixed with curry.

Fennel Salad (Shaved fennel, olive oil, lemon, zhoug, parsley and cilantro) = eh, nothing stood out.

Cabbage (Cabbage, aleppo, salt, red wine vinegar, parsley, dill) = there was a serrano chili added that added some amazing heat and proving to be my favorite of the entire salatim

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During the salatim course, I was provided with the Hummus-tehina (sesame paste, garlic, lemon, olive oil, cumin, parsley)
The laffa bread is fresh and was baked right in front of me in the kitchen. The hummus itself was very authentic and flavorful.

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 Some additional spices were brought to the table, the names of which I cannot remember. As all of the dishes were well seasoned, I didn't need to use any of them, but I did taste each. The green one had serrano chilies. It had a nice refreshing taste at first with some added heat on the end. The red "paste" didn't have much heat but still a good flavor. The final one on the right was very dry and not to my liking.

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 Kibbe naya (raw lamb, bulgur, black harissa, baby romaine)
 The lamb was in a tartare form and was paired well with the baby romaine underneath. The romaine was sweet and added a nice textural contrast.

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 Watermelon Salad (bulgarian feta, oil-cured olives)
 This for me was the Pièce de résistance of the evening. On the bottom was a yellow watermelon with feta cheese, red watermelon, a sort of olive puree on top with a few pieces of basil. Everything blended perfectly together. There were different temperatures on the plate too that sent my taste buds into a tizzy.

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 House Smoked Sable (Challah, Fried Egg, & Poppy)
 If you are a regular reader of this blog, I know what you're thinking, "He ordered egg?!?" The answer is, No I didn't. This was brought to me by Emma as a complimentary dish. (She didn't know I didn't like egg.) I tried a piece of the sable (a fish) and the challah. They paired nicely, though the sable tasted like deli turkey to me. I had made acquaintances with the couple next to me (Dan & Melinda) by this time, and let them finish the rest of this complimentary dish.

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Duck Breast (lovage pilaf, barberries, asparagus)
Though I wasn't able to cut the duck breast in its dish, once cut it was very tender albeit a bit chewy. The asparagus delivered a slight crunch to the dish.

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Sour Cherry Iced Tea
This drink, I believe, had mint muddled in and appeared to be made fresh each time.

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Almond-apricot rugelach (apricot sorbet, honey-roasted apricot)
After Emma explained this dessert, I was sold. Apricots always take me back to my childhood as we had an apricot tree. The sorbet on top of the roasted apricot was a splendid combination. The rugelach is very much like a turnover. I should have at the sorbet with the rugelach. The rugelach needed the paring as it was a smidge dry, but nonetheless tasty.

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Halvah Mousse (chickpea praline, berries)
When Emma brought the dessert menu, she tried selling me on the Halvah Mousse. I chose the apricot dessert instead. When she brought the rugelach, she said, "I got carried away and really wanted you to try the Mousse too." How sweet, and a great example of wonderful service. This dish was described as something your old Jewish grandmother would make, but elevated to modern cuisine. The crumb topping paired well with the berries and mousse. A superb dish that I enjoyed better than my own. Thanks Emma!

Again, it's quite easy to understand why Chef Michael won the James Beard award. Unfortunately, he was away due to a family emergency so I didn't have the privilege of meeting him. If I am ever back in Philly, or if you are ever there, I highly, highly recommend Zahav!

UPDATE: A little over one week after my visit to Zahav, I received a letter in the mail from Zahav. Curious. I  opened it and it was a signed menu by Chef Michael. While I was there, I asked the manager if Chef Michael was there and he mentioned that Chef was away on a family emergency. I said nothing more of it. Then to receive a signed menu from Chef Michael saying, "Sorry I missed you. Hope to see you again." Wow! That was a great example in wonderful customer service.

Amada - Philadelphia, PA

Amada
217-19 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215.625.2450
http://www.amadarestaurant.com/

When doing restaurant research for Philly, I stumbled across Amada. It is owned by Jose Garces', winner of Season 2 of The Next Iron Chef. With his background and experience, I expected to be wowed at Amada. (On a side note, the night started horribly for me as I left my SD card for my camera at the hotel, 1.5 miles away. Thus, the pictures you see here were taken from my phone.




As soon as I entered, I was in front of three "bouncer looking guys" and two girls. Why are there 5 people at the front desk? One of the ladies escorted me to my seat. My waitress came by with a "someone else I have to help" attitude. I informed her that I would be doing the tasting menu and would like Iced tea. I also asked if I could get a menu of what I had. More about that later.

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Tuna
The problem with this dish, was that anyone could make it at home. It tasted like canned tuna with some balsamic vinegar. The provided chips were very salty.

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Boquerones (white anchovies, pine nuts & olives)
This was BY FAR my favorite dish of the evening. It was a cool, refreshing dish where the olives elevated all of the flavors providing one cohesive dish.

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Pimientos de Padron (Fried peppers, Maldon Sea Salt & La Peral Espuma)
The peppers were very fragrant. As soon as they hit the table, their aroma swept quickly through my nose. And I enjoyed it. The bleu cheese sauce paired nicely with the slight heat and provided great temperance. A few of the peppers (25%) were over salted.

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 Charcuteria
I don't remember the type of meat this was. The mustard that was provided had a great heat on it. The olive was very tangy and marinated in wine. The meat and bread were fair. Nothing that I couldn't have done at home.

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Pulpo a la gallega (Spanish Octopus)
Though it was a little oily, this was a good preparation of octopus. It was not super chewy, just a little meaty. The crunch that it had been given was a nice texture changer.

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Spanish Flatbread -  Coca Tomate Y Ajo (Marinated heirloom tomatoes, mahon cheese, red vein sorrel)
The bread was nice, but the sauce was very salty.

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Alcachofas a la parmesana (parmesan artichokes)
A nice creamy dish. The artichokes were wonderfully accompanied by the cheese.






Chicken and Potatoes (I'm not sure the exact name of this dish. I'll explain later)
The potatoes had a nice crunch, but the chicken was way too salty.

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Scallops
The scallops here were light and the garlic, lemon, parsley mixture was a nice complement.

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Lamb Chops
The lamb chop was super tender and melted off the bone. A bite or two had a little too much salt, but the rest of it was highly rich and delectable.

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Chocolate Flourless Cake with Ice Cream
The cake was very deep and chewy which I enjoyed paring well with the brittle and hazelnuts. A nice finish.





Almond Tuile
This was presented around the same time as the bill. A way to end on a light note. Think fortune cookie in texture, though a little lighter. I could barely fit any of the tuile in my stomach as I was quite satiated at this point.







Later in the evening I was presented a menu. But this menu just had the normal dishes. I asked if they could let me know which ones I had. They took the menu and highlighted the dishes. Upon further inspection, two of the ones highlighted, were ones I didn't have. Though this may be a miniscule detail for most, for me it was an easy request. I dropped the whole thing, paid the bill and left. At my later adventures, this request would be easily honored.

You may have seen a commonality throughout the meal: SALT.  Don't get me wrong; I love salt. I cook with salt. I enjoy salt. But these dishes had WAY too much! Almost every one of them. I was shocked. It really turned me off to the idea of trying any other of Jose Garces' restaurants.

10 Arts by Eric Ripert - Philadelphia, PA (Dinner)

10 Arts by Eric Ripert 
Ten Avenue of the Arts
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215.523.8273 
http://www.10arts.com

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Eric Ripert. That is a name that typically alerts you to a good chef. He owns several great restaurants including Le Bernardin, currently listed at #3 on my Wish List. Now combine Eric Ripert, with Jennifer Carroll from Top Chef, and you have a great restaurant. Thus began my 5-night adventure in Philadelphia.

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I arrived and was greeted by name as I had made a reservation. I asked my hostess, Amy, if Chef Jen was working tonight. She said yes and told me that she would arrange for me to meet her after my meal. YAY! Gato was my waiter who took very good care of me, answering any and all questions I had. I started off with Iced Tea which was delivered with mint and liquid sugar on the side.

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The complimentary bread was a combination of wheat and rye. Though it was firm, it was very soft. The vermouth butter with salt took it up another lever.

I had the tasting menu of 5 courses. 

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Yellowfin Tuna Tartare (horseradish, herb vinaigrette, with no egg by request)
Soft taste. Similar to ceviche. Nice refreshing pop from the champagne.

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Roasted Porcini Mushrooms (marinated heirloom tomatoes, spinach, Pedro Ximenez Vinegar)

Beautiful presentation! Tomatoes were the star. Mushrooms were good, but perhaps it should be a tomato dish WITH mushrooms... The vinegar was what made the tomatoes.
 

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Wild Burgundy Snails (with Chinese sausage, morels, roasted garlic jus)

The snails tasted like mushrooms but with better flavor and they are meatier.. Sauce was excellent. Paring mushrooms with snails really elevated the snails. Chinese sausage had great flavor and texture of salami.

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Veal Strip Steak (with Jersey corn, baby carrots, spicy chili butter)

Cooked at a medium temperature... Doesn't look like much before pouring of butter... But so tender. Corn gives nice crunch... Carrots were okay but were just kind of there.

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Lavender poached peaches & tomatoes (with liquid chevre, brioche streusel)

Chef Monica worked up this dish as she is the pastry chef. Tomatoes? In a dessert? YES! They were superb! Very sweet. Pears were nice with the warm cream. Sorbet was smooth and the streussel gave the sweetness and texture contrast. 

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Mignardises
1) Salted Cashew Macaroon w/ Chocolate passion filling 2) Apricot Pate de Fruit 3) Brownie

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As promised, at the end of the meal the General Manager, Ryan came by. He escorted me into the kitchen. Since she wasn't immediately available, Ryan indulged me in Philly conversation. Then Chef Jen came in and joined the conversation. She was very down to earth. She posed for a picture and signed a menu before getting back on the line. Her signature said, "Bryan, Thanks for having Dinner with me, Jennifer."

Amy, Gato, Ryan and Jen made this an unforgettable meal. What a great start to my culinary expedition!

Here is a video I took in the kitchen:

Coronado Boat House - Coronado, CA

Not all reviews can be good...

For my annual work reward trip, we stay at the Hotel Del for 3 nights. For our reward dinner, we usually go to the Coronado Boathouse. It is very convenient (right across the street) and has a good view of the marina. But, I'm going to suggest a different place next time for the below reasons.

1) Not enough help. Our waters were never refilled. Food was delivered by our waiter with no assistance.



2) The food was not good. The lobster bisque was hugely over salted. I had a filet, which was cooked to the appropriate doneness but not seasoned. The lobster tails, were not seasoned either. By the way, it shouldn't need to be seasoned, but the flavor was baked out of them. My wife had the Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut. It was extremely dry and needed a "ton" more sauce to make it enjoyable. The NY cheescake was one redeeming (albeit not redeeming enough) dish.

3) Incorrect order/billing. I ordered the Filet with Lobster Tail and Rice pilaf. I received Filet, Crab Legs and Mash Potatoes. The waiter then corrected the error and brought the Lobster Tail and Pilaf. (Funny enough, the crab was better than the lobster.) Then when it came to billing, we had 3 separate checks which were completely incorrect and took way too much time to correct. The split was simple, not complicated.

This review was fairly simple to right and just as easy as a good or wonderful review. I wasn't being picky, it was just very simple things that most restaurants get right, be it Olive Garden or Wolfgang Puck. If they miss something as simple as refilling waters, or adding some salt (something that I could do) then they lose points in my book. The nice thing of it all... it was a free meal.

New Orleans Part 10 of 10 (Conclusion)

Not too long ago, Gail Simmons from Top Chef, said that her second favorite city to eat in was New Orleans.  (The first was NY.) I totally understand why she made this statement. NOLA is a town about food. Cuisine is at the heart of this town. There are so many different foods, combinations of food and different preparations that make me wanting to go back already.

Here is a recap of some recommendations from this trip:
Café du Monde
Cochon
Domilise's
Emeril's
Southern Candymakers

Next time I'd like to try:
Bayona
Herbsaint
Restaurant August

New Orleans Part 9 of 10 (Cafe Du Monde & Pralines)

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Beignets. Fried dough + Powdered sugar = Light fluffy heaven on a plate. A beignet is virtually a donut with powdered sugar. Though many places offer their version of this sweet delicacy, Café du Monde is known as the originator in these parts having established their presence in 1862.

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One evening, after dinner, we went down to the original Café du Monde location. The line for take-out was huge but moved rapidly. Like many older establishments, there were only a few items on the menu. This typically means that the restaurant has perfected those items and doesn't veer off the beaten path. After procuring our order, which consists of 3 beignets, we were off to the river which was right around the corner. As I had mentioned previously, in downtown, it's okay to drink in public. Thus we had a glass of wine and secured a bench along the Mississippi. The beignet is very fluffy inside with a nice textural contrast on the outside. The powdered sugar gives the night sweetness to bind the textures together. We would stop here one more time on our visit.

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The other delectable sweet bites we indulged in were pralines. Pralines originated in France using caramelized sugar and almonds. However, the settlers in Louisiana noticed an abundance of Pecans; thus the recipe was changed. On our first full day in NOLA, we took part in a Cajun Swamp Tour. On the way back to the hotel, our shuttle driver pointed to this building: Southern Candymakers. Nothing special at all... from the outside. He said that this was the best place to buy pralines. Several nights later, we found out that this was true. It's a candy shop as well as where they manufacture this deliciousness. There were so many options of pralines to try/buy. We sampled the Rum Praline, Sweet Potato Praline, and the Original Praline. We settled on purchasing the Sweet Potato and the Original. The crunch of the nut plus the melt-in-your-mouth-goodness of the caramelized sugar is a force to be reckoned with. One at a time is all you need, or you'll be visiting the dentist soon. Definitely a good place to go for pralines. But be careful buying for others. The pralines might not make it to their end destination. :-)

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New Orleans Part 8 of 10 (New Orleans Drinks)

NOLA is known as a party city. Thus alcohol, in various forms, is going to be found everywhere. In fact, in the French quarter you are able to drink on the streets as long as its in plastic cups. So you can literally get your drinks "To-Go." Being an experimenter of different drinks, this presented an opportunity to add some new beverages to my palate.

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On our first evening we went to The Sazerac Bar at The Roosevelt Hotel.  Many consider the Sazerac to be the world's first mixed drink. As I am a big fan of the Sidecar, this drink was easy to enjoy. Its a sipping drink for sure, but with so much bold character.

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 The Ramos Gin Fizz is a very unique libation that would be difficult to find outside of NOLA. It was one of Governor Huey Long's (no relation... that I know of) favorite drinks. It combines gin with cream and egg whites; a weird combination, I know. The drink was not my favorite. It didn't have a bad taste... it just didn't have hardly any flavor at all. It tasted like I was drinking meringue. 

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A nice assortment of "bar snacks was provided which were very tasty.

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Another popular and ironically named drink in NOLA is the Hurricane. Back in the 1940's there was a surplus of rum. The staff at Pat O'Briens began experimenting and came up with the fruity concoction known as the hurricane. It is a very sugary drink, so one is plenty. Splitting it may even be a better option. On a side note, my wife loves spicy food. I thought it appropriate that she should try her first Bloody Mary. She thought this version was just okay as it just tasted like spicy V8. So if it didn't have alcohol would it be called a Virgin Mary?

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Lastly, we tried a Mint Julep. Though I'm not the biggest fan of mint, the Bourbon really helped balance the mint. It was very refreshing and perfect to enjoy in the Piano Lounge.

There are a few other NOLA drinks that we didn't get to try including Pimm's Cup, Brandy Milk Punch and Absinthe Frappe. Maybe next time.