Philly's FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY is good EVERY day! (9-22-19)

My last night in Philly I headed with a friend to Friday, Saturday, Sunday which oddly is now open most days. It is a charming spot around the corner from Rittenhouse Square with a busy bar downstairs(830pm on Sunday!) and a quiet small but beautifully appointed dining room upstairs. The tables are far apart and you fell quite comfortable; not something you get in today's noisy dining spots...this is refined, as is the cuisine. the décor is wall paintings of serene alndscapes with quiet 70's & 80's music playing and a good supply of mirrors to make the place feel a bit larger. The tables, chairs and linens make you want to stay all night, and even though we  did not eat a lot, we were the last ones out.

It was hard to choose, but I headed right for a bottle of the Melon de Bourgogne, a wine we have seen less and less here in the US, this one from Domaine Landron called "Melonix." Crispy lavosh arrived stuck into a wad of soft butter drizzled with honey on  the plate which was superb. The wine was perfect with the Octopus starter with Prok, Rancho Gordo beans and pickled onions and also with my Beef Tartare which came with crispy shallots, smoked beef heart creme fraiche. Since it came with toast Alexander, our brilliant server, suggested some endive to avoid the carbs! It was divine. I could not eat a main course as it was late and chose the Sweetbread Katsu appertizer with bone marrow tartare that was adorable and just the right size. My guest went for the delicious Roasted Potato Gnocchi with Potato Gremolta and burnt cream. Our red wine was a Blaufrankisch from Glatzer in Austria which our server Alexander said was his favorite on the list. The wines here are really wonderful and varied and I think I had a fan as soon as I chose one of the more esoteric ones.

No dessert as we were full, but Alexander brought over some yummy fruit pates of vanilla and peach that we loved. We know that whatever day we get back to Philly, Friday, Saturday, Sunday will be on the program!

Alma de Cuba...Philadelphia's chain is a notch up and elegant too(9-21-19)

On my 1st full day in Philadelphia I had a full schedule starting with a private tour of the Barnes Foundation which was open to us before the public was allowed in. I squeezed in some work before a 2:00 p.m. matinee at the opera and then decided to grab one of those $35 fixed price restaurant week dinners at Alma de Cuba... A quiet unassuming darkish yet very good place that I have always enjoyed before as it is part of a chain in this country as well as overseas.

My server Lianna  was quick to offer a selection of specialty drinks which of course raises your price on that restaurant week menu, but infortunately the watermelon fresca with vodka and rose wine was a bit too sweet for me.  She offered to switch it out but I was OK. I started with a very nice gazpacho of watermelon heirloom tomato cucumber and garnished with radish and avocado. It was served in a short highball glass and that meant the portion size was quite small, but enough for me.  It was not spicy but it was tasty on this near 90degree day. I looked around and noticed that most of the tables seemed to be extremely low and I was worried about how I was going to get out of my seat after dinner; I managed, but the design is a bit disconcerting. There was quiet salsa music, low lighting and everything was either white wood or tile with historic black and white photos of Cubans projected on the walls.

Delicious white Cuban rolls arrived with a white garlic dipping sauce, which was superb and spicy and I used them to mop up the gazpacho as well.

 My main course was a delicious grilled Berkshire pork chop with kidney bean and bacon Congri rice with a sour Orange mojo and again loaded with cilantro... I guess it's a trend in Philadelphia.

 I'm not a dessert person but I had to choose from the set menu, so I tasted the coconut tapioca pudding which was really very good but even better because of a sesame cashew nut toffee, coconut foam and toasted coconut on top.

 It was a nice meal though not incredible and the price was very good as well as I headed out to my evening entertainment across town which was a fringe festival production called Let Me Die that truly had me  wondering what the guy who conceived it was thinking of!!

SPINCE FINCH for fun food in Philly(9-20-19)

 On arrival in Philadelphia, I discovered it was restaurant week and every restaurant in town seemed to be offering a $35 special for 2 weeks in the middle of September.

 We in Washington do this for a week in January in a week in August and often many restaurants extend that, but it is definitely what we call an off season event to encourage dining out. Philadelphia seems to take a different approach and every place was jammed especially with the warm weather.

 I had chosen to go to space Finch months earlier because I knew chef Jennifer Carroll and her fiance Billy Riddle opened this restaurant, so I specifically decided to stay at the Warwick which the restaurant is in!

 I arrived and told my server Dylan as well as the generous manager, Jess, that I really wanted to eat a lot of small plates and tastes and not really have large portions.  I discovered that both chefs were out of town indefinitely which led me to suspect that they might be on an upcoming TV show... But everything was perfectly timed and served in my evening out.

 I started with a drink called Rest in Pete's,  a mix of vodka and prosecco with preserved lemon and served in a champagne glass with a mix of spice made from turmeric, sumac and saffron down the side of the glass.  As always photos are available on Facebook. It was a delicious drink and the spice really made it fun to take a lick between sips. Sparkling water served here is St. Anio  from Catalonia and Spain and is quite good but a little too gassy for me.

 The space is made up of mosaic tile tables with ceramic and wooden floors as well as a large square bar at the center surrounded by stools. There are multiple rooms and the noise levels are high but not unbearable; I sat right next to a huge window that opened out on to the passers by and 17th street.  There were these adorable little pots attached to the wall with succulents all over the place indicating that while this was a Mediterranean restaurant, it was mostly South and West of the Mediterranean as opposed to Italian or Greek or Spanish.

 A huge selection of starters arrived including some of the best grape leaves I've ever had in my life stuffed with Farro, fennel, apricots and served on lemon yogurt. The farro gave the grape leaves and almost meat like texture which was truly delicious.

 There were crudites of all types of vegetables, a beet borani made with feta and za'atar, garlic yogurt made with herbs, Aleppo pepper and Olive oil which was for the vegetables or the magnificent Berebere crisps, magnificently spiced grilled pita.

 The next course was Turkish spiced tuna loin which was seared but raw inside and spiced to perfection. There were Marconi almonds that gave it a magnificent crunch as well as gooseberries, preserved lemon and pepper all served on the yellow pepper puree with cilantro, onion and tomato on top.  According to the menu the dish is usually served with pineapple but I guess the chef in the kitchen had decided gooseberries would be more appropriate since I was asking for everything very differently than most of the guests doing the restaurant week menu.

 A monstrous plate of broccoli tabbouleh made with quinoa, tomato and garlic tahini arrived as did another huge plate of blistered shishito red and green peppers with tahini and harissa!   Both plates were so huge I offered half of them to the couple sitting next to me who seemed thrilled to have a little extra to dine on.

 I had moved on to a crisp white Vermentino from Poggia dei Goreiri in Liguria, Italy and then switched to a red Rhone Grenache from Ondins  which was paired deliciously with the intensely rich lamb ribs that arrived and I could no way eat more than 2 small ones myself. The rest were packed up for my new friends at the enxt table!  They were crusted with Apple radish and roasted garlic and topped with a charmoula.

 I settled in with a very plummy delicious glass of Iuli Barbera... and asked Dylan to bring me one single date truffle from the dessert menu which was made of pomegranate and covered with a cashew streusel and torn herbs,  The perfect ending to a delicious night as I headed up to my room and to sleep. Great food, great fun and a great start in Philly!

Adams Morgan's Osteria al Volo offers voluptuous carb cuisine(9-10-19)

Last night our house guest for the week wanted to take us out and chose the tiny Osteria da Volo in the center of Adams Morgan, which is so small, I hadn't ever noticed it in its three years of existence! We were warmly greeted in the tiny space which was quite loud at 730pm, but  small corner table was a treat and we were quite happy when the large slice of soft focaccia arrived with a peppery olive oil laden with cooked garlic cloves, rosemary and more. 

The space is very small and has delft-ish table tiles with wicker chairs and an open kitchen the size of anyone else's bathroom! 

The wine list is small and offers 8 reds (6 by the glass) and 6 whites, also all by the glass. We chose the 2018 Falanghina La Capranegra from Campania which was crisp yet has a slight creaminess to it and went amazingly well with our huge starters(FB photos) of Octopus Salas with a kicky Romesco sauce(dressing) over potatoes, cherry tomatoes, arugula, red onion and octopus confit. The Polpetti are three huge meatballs in sauce covered with cheese and are enough for a meal!

90% of the mains here are pasta and Volo does it voluptuously with huge portions(all three of us had doggie bags!) and lots of specials, so it's very hard to choose. I had the Fettuccine Amatriciana which had a spicy marinara sauce and small crispy bits of pork belly; they do spicy really well here! Will had the Pappardelle special with Wild Boar Ragu which was superb, but a bit over rich with too much ricotta cheese on top, while our host chose the same Pappardelle ai Funghi, which must have had a pound of varied mushrooms in it laden with porcini and earthiness and a beurre blanc, white wine sauce. The pastas are excellent and we were all happy, but very full very fast. We also enjoyed a superb Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2017 from Filari that was more medium bodies than many of its kin Montepulicano which can be lighter.

Our helpful and friendly server Jamal brought over glasses of grappa as we declined dessert knowing that when the carb craze hits, Volo is where to go!