Royal's Brunch, Burgers and Beverages

SATURDAY
Obviously, we brunched. I mean, it was SATURDAY, after all. Our brunch must-try list is still ridiculously long, but we are really chipping away at it week by week. This past brunch brought us to Royal Tavern. Man, that place is good. We had already been a few times because we love the beer selection and the staff, but we finally made it down there to have their brunch fill our bellies and dayummmmm was it good.

:: Royal Tavern ::
address: 937 East Passyunk Ave, Philly
what we ate: bloody mary, mimosa, burger, cuban omelet, curry chicken sandwich, sloppy joe 
Oh. Does that look like a lot of food to you? Did you think maybe a large group of us attended brunch together? HA! Oh, no no - that was a list of all the things that Soopah and I had the pleasure of eating on Saturday - JUST THE TWO OF US. Impossible, you say?? Well, it wasn't in one sitting, so it was very possible. We just found that brunch was so enjoyable, and we saw soooooo many things on the menu that we just HAD to try, that we made a return visit. THAT EVENING. You  may think we're sad, but I'd say we're geniuses.

Anyway, during BRUNCH, of course we had a bloody mary and a mimosa. PERFECT. They use siracha in their bloody marys instead of tabasco, and it results in a thicker tomato-y, spicy beverage. The mimosas were also heavenly, with just a splash of orange juice with a healthy pour of champagne.

Angus Burger: bacon + caramelized onions + smoked gouda + pickled longhots + chile mayonnaise + seeded brioche bun
The issue of who makes the best burger is widely discussed and debated in Philly foodie discussions. Amongst the frontrunners is always the Royal Tavern burger. And hell yes, it should be. I was a bit worried that it wouldn't live up to the hype (because hell yeah there is a lot of it), but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it totally does!

The burger meat was perfectly seasoned! I really dislike when places don't use enough salt, or use too MUCH salt, for that matter (I'm looking at YOU, PYT), but this burger was fantastic. Even more exciting, is the bacon was ever so present (that's because my burger pet peeves are as follows: bland meat, minimal bacon presence, mushy bread), which is something I'm always happy to find. The pickled longshots provided a nice kick without being overwhelming and the large, thick slice of smoked gouda really held up within the mix of those flavors. YUM. I don't know that either I or Soopah loved the bun, but we didn't hate it. So I mention our ambivalence for that component - you know... just to be fair and pretend we're objective or something.  

Cuban Omelet: with ham + pulled pork + pickled veggies + mustard + vinegared sliced potatoes + flour tortillas
My recall is currently terrible, so I may not have included all of the ingredients that were included in this dish. But, I'm sure you get the picture. Cuban sandwich, omelet-style! This dish came out of nowhere and we foudn it to be AWESOME. We folded in pieces of the omelet into the tortillas and stuffed with the veggies and potatoes to make little wraps. Added a bit of siracha and BAM, deliciousness.  

Right-O. Then, when we came back for Dinner (hehehe)............... we came right back to try the other items that had been taunting us earlier during the day.

Sloppy Joe: beef in a spicy tomato sauce + hand-cut fries
The vegan sloppy joe was the sandwich I had really wanted to try, but this past weekend, the beef sloppy joe was one of the specials. At the behest of our adorable bartender, I went with the beef version. It was definitely excellent - tart, tangy, spicy and tender. I think the bun they used was the same as the burger, so again, I was ambivalent about that part, but the meat was great. Brought me back to the olden days of high school cafeteria dining - but properly gourmet'ed up, of course. * ah, nostalgia *  OH yeah, and there was cheese! C'mon. CHEESE! <3

I do need to note that the hand-cut fries at Royal Tavern are freaking unbelievable. Crispy, flavorful and addicting. It took everything in me to not gobble up this entire plate of them.

Chicken Frankie: indian curry chicken + indian slaw + warm lovash + hand-cut fries
Our very interesting bartender told us that they make a huuuuuuuuuuge pan of curry chicken and just let it simmer (simma simma) for super long periods of time. He also said, if you pay attention, you can taste the TLC in each bite. Yes, we tasted it... YUM.

Frankly, this frankie (HAHA, sorry, had to), is delicious, but if I had to choose where to eat a curry meat in a wrap, I think I'd prefer the japanese style beef curry burrito at Maru Global, but at least we have OPTIONS!

I really love that Royal Tavern has such a wide variety of interesting dishes, like the tempeh sandwiches, tofu banh mis, shepard's pie etc. I mean, c'mon... basically there is something for everything. Plus, it's so cozy, quaint, casual - really lets you focus on the food and BEER.

Beer Oasis in the middle of SuburbanTown

So, last Saturday, I spent the day doing adult things like helping brother shop for a new car and being an awesome person/sister. To reward myself, and the rest of our merry troupe, we ended up at Station Taproom in Downingtown, PA. Which, BTW, is absurdly far from the city, BUT literally across the street from the Septa R5 station, so good for you suburbanites living in this area.

I credit this find to Soopah because he had the handy Yelp mobile app on his BB and once we realized we were starving, he found this gem right away and OFF WE WENT.

:: Station Tap Room :: 
address: 207 W. Lancaster, Downingtown PA
what we ate: wings, fries, mac'n cheese, pulled pork, cubano, beers
So this place apparently JUST opened up and their website isn't even functional yet, but I am loving what they are doing here. The focus is on awesome beer, locally sourced food/ingredients (some of their produce is from Talulah's market in Kennett Square), and great service - all in a clean and spacious decor with a cool open kitchen concept.

First, the BEERS. As you can see, on tap, they were heavy on the Ales and IPAs here, but had plenty of bottled options and of course, wine as well.

We had a few pints of beer that the owner/bartender recommended. Then we saw the "Try a Flight!" message on the board. OF COURSE! How did we not see this previously?!

It turned out that you could get a flight of four 5.5oz beers for $7. Not bad, right?

#4 is the first beer on the left. My faves of this flight were the Sixpoint Righteous Ale and the Founder's Centennial IPA. They are just perfectly hoppy! As a sidenote, I'm really loving Sixpoint Craft Ales and Founder's Brewery. So happy to have discovered them.

When we put our order in (there were 3 of us), the owner was like "uhm, wow- aggressive" because we ordered 5 dishes. I don't think it was excessive; some could be considered appetizers, after all! Plus, obviously we can eat.

Short Rib Eggroll: fried + stuffed with collard greens
We kept going back and forth on whether or not to get this, but in the end, how could we deny ourselves an eggroll with short rib meat in it? It was flavorful, but definitely a bit on the greasy side. I think they have to figure out how to deep fry tender meat without having it retain all of the delicious but decidedly unhealthy oil.

Definitely an interesting dish, but I didn't love it so I doubt I'd get in on a return visit.

Cuban Sandwich: pulled pork + thick cut ham + swiss + spicy mustard + fries
Unquestionably my favorite dish that we ate at Station Taproom. It was just a really great blend of spicy, salty, rich flavors and the bread was just crunch toasted enough to give it the textures it needed.

I mentioned before that the service was awesome. Well, we didn't make it easy for the servers, mind you. Since there were 3 of us dining, I asked him to cut the cuban sandwich into 3 pieces for us. Not only did he do this, but he actually plated all 3 pieces separate so we could each have our own plate and fries.

OMG, the FRIES. The fries here were AMAZING. Hand-cut fries in the "english chip-style" where they were thick and super crispy on all the edges, but still soft on the inside. Totally a winner. Several of our dishes came with fries and we worried that there'd be much leftover, but seriously - we ate every single one off of each plate. Ridiculous feat.
   
Chicken Wings: thai curry sauce + bleu cheese 
Awesome wings. Here again, was another example of service that goes above and beyond - the owner let me sample the wing sauce base before we ordered! I really wanted to try the wings, but was hesitating because I don't usually like thai curry sauces (it's the coconut milk), so he brought us a cup of the sauce and let us try it out first. It was pretty incredible so we ordered the wings and devoured them.

In terms of quantity, you don't get too many - I think it came with 6 wings? I'd be hard pressed to make this a meal by itself. Still, it's really tasty and so worth ordering as a starter.

Pulled Pork sandwich: NC-style pulled pork (vinegar-based) + fries + coleslaw  
I was super excited about this because Station Taproom actually gives you 2 different options for the kind of pulled pork you'd like: North Carolina style with the vinegar-y base or Texas style with a thicker sauce (ketchup, cumin etc). We went with the NC style.

This was just okay. I suppose the downside to having 2 different preparations of pulled pork is that you don't really have pork simmering in the sauce over a long period of time. I suspect that they have pulled pork and then mix it in with one of the two different sauces. What you're left with was tender meat that hadn't really absorbed the flavor of the sauce. But again, the fries were so good!

Mac 'n Cheese: sundried tomato + olives + ? 
I wish I had taken a closer look at the menu to write this down. I had actually assumed I'd be able to pull it down off of the website and didn't pay close enough attention. What I can say is that the mac'n cheese was definitely UNIQUE and interesting; I've never had anything quite like it. You did have to make sure you got pieces of olive/tomato etc in each bite for it to be good, though. Otherwise, it was on the bland/boring side.

The other menu options definitely seemed worth checking out - lamb burger, regular burgers, truffle fries etc. Station Taproom seems like a wonderful option for beer and food lovers alike, that live in the area, and certainly can appreciate that it's a rare find. I don't know that I'd travel to Downingtown to eat/drink here, but I would definitely recommend it to others who live in the area. You can't go wrong with a knowledgeable staff, fantastic craft beer selection, good food and comfortable decor.  

RESURRECTION

It's Philly Beer Week! I'm not that hip so while I have been following the beer happenings about town, I haven't actually visited too many of them events. Last Friday, though, as Beer Week events were kicking off all over this great city, Soopah and I finally made our way to Resurrection Ale House near the Naval Square condo complex.

Resurrection Ale House may (RAH!) be somewhat out of the way for those that don't live that Grays Ferry neighborhood, but other than the fact that they are a locally well-recognized craft beer bar, RAH recently got national acclaim for its Twice-Fried Chicken from Andrew Knowlton from Bon Appétit!!! Kudos of Bon Appetit caliber? YAY! Fried Chicken DOUBLE YAY!! Green Flash Brewing Company Beer Week Specials YAYAYAY!!!

And HELL YES, it was worth it. Worth schlepping to Grays Ferry AND worth walking from the parked car in 100% humidity.

:: Resurrection Ale House ::
address: 2425 Grays Ferry Avenue, Philly
what we ate: IPAs, tomato bread, pork belly sandwich, fried chicken
First of all, I really loved the decor at RAH! I would guess that they converted one of the larger corner homes and it is split level on the first floor, with dark wood and pale green color detailing.

BEERS
This girl loves me some beers - especially IPAs - and the hoppier the better. I found that the Green Flash beers were quite enjoyable. After tasting both the Imperial and West Coast IPAs, we loooooved the West Coast. The Imperial, while hoppy and intense, had aromas from the Summit and Nugget hops that were maybe too strong for us (being the amateur IPA quaffers that we are). The West Coast was apparently a winner of Gold and Silver medals for the Best American-Style Amber/Red in 2008 and 2007. According to the website, it includes "Simcoe for a unique fruitiness and grapefruit zest, Columbus for strong hop pungency, Centennial for pine and citrus notes, and Cascade for floral aroma" and it is AWESOME. Dogfish and Flying Dog are still my brewers of choice, but this was great.

Pan con Tomate: grilled homemade bread + tomato + manchego + sweet chorizo
We started with the very rustic bruschetta-like pan con tomate. Yummers. Pizza-like! Sort of. For me, the shredded manchego cheese was the best part. I don't know what it is about manchego, but it makes every dish taste so much better. I'm pretty sure this grilled bread and tomato concoction would have been pretty forgettable without it.

The sweet chorizo was definitely an interesting addition and added a yummy contrast to the tart tomatoes and greens. Not a tastebud blower, but tasty and well executed.

Hoisin Braised Pork Belly: ginger + radish + spring onion
The thick cut of pork belly came resting on top of a soft delicious ciabatta bread, topped with thin slices of radish and spring onions. Everything was so soft and tender and juicy delicious. I did wish there was a teeny bit more hoisin sauce to add that tangy-ness to the sandwich, but overall it was wonderful.

The hand cut fries were just okay. Unfortunately, they lacked the crispy crunchiness that makes fries so addicting and delectable. They did come with a very cool dipping sauce, though - it was a mix of ketchup, mayo and curry powder.... very memorable, very interesting and I liked it so much that I kept eating more of the "just-okay" fries to keep tasting the flavor. I don't think that it went particularly well with the Pork Belly sandwich itself, but it didn't detract from it.

and........... for the STAR......

Twice Fried Chicken: drizzled with spiced honey + served with warm German-style potato salad
Aside from the obvious raving about the flavors and textures that will commence, I want to say that at $11, for 2 pieces of fried chicken thighs, this is really a great deal. The skin is soooo unbelievably crispy, but very thin and not overwhelming at all. It's like the perfect ratio of batter to meat and because it's dark meat, it's super flavorful on the inside as well as out.

Man, I really wish the picture did this dish better justice, for this I apologize. The spicy drizzled honey added a little sweet kick that worked so well with the chicken.

The German-style potato salad was really like chunky mashed potatoes that had a very tart flavor to them. Our friend  Chau had said he really enjoyed them, and I think maybe the next time I try, I could have a different opinion about them. The reason is, I think we weren't really ready or expecting the flavor to be quite what it was. German style potatoes apparently include tart apples and cider vinegar, which as you can imagine, adds a substantial amount of sour/tartness to them. It was so different than any other mashed potatoes I have had and even further from the more conventional idea of potato salad we had in our minds. You certainly can't say it's boring though. The pickled okra resting on top complements the flavors of the potatoes. Haha, we did not finish the potatoes or the okra, but that might have been partly due to the fact that we had filled up on an appetizer and 2 IPAs each!

I can't wait to go back to Resurrection for the Fried Chicken. I think I'd definitely try something new the next time, rather than get the Pork Belly again, but only because the menu does have several other items that look very compelling (like the Pan Roasted Duck breast with Quinoa)!

COST breakdown
As a final note, we decided that whenever possible, we'd add a copy of our tab as well. This seemed like a great place to start since it was a relatively affordable dinner. 2 entrees, 1 appetizer and 4 beers left us with a sub $50 bill (before taxes). RAH is billed as a neighborhood bar/restaurant, and I'm pleased to say that their prices really reflect that sentiment/theme.

City Tap House - journey to university city

We don't spend too much time in the University City/West Philly area these days - much to Chiho's chagrin (he has recently discovered he has a die-hard appreciation for all things that U-City has to offer). This is mostly because we have so many places yet to try in the rest of the city and frankly, we don't really enjoy drinking with college students because it makes us feel old. Well, it makes ME feel old. Don't judge me!

Anyway, we had heard about the recent opening of City Tap House at 40th and Walnut. Admittedly, although we were intrigued at the thought of a 60-tap draft beer offering, we still needed a bit of a push to get our butts to U-City to try this place. That push came last night when Chau, one of our hippest hipster friends, told us to meet him there for a drink and snackies.

:: City Tap House ::
address: 3925 Walnut St, Philly
what we ate: too many beers, shrimp and grits, mussels with chorizo
The most impressive thing about this craft beer bar is definitely its decor/space. It's located on the balcony floor of the Radian (fancy looking student housing apartments) Building, and both the bar area and the main dining room are wide and extremely spacious, with dark wooden panels and details throughout. Even cooler still are the outdoor terraces, one of which offers long bench-style seating flanking each of the 5 rectangular fire pits. Though we wanted to sit outside, it was ungodly hot last night, so we opted to sit in the AC available bar area.

I really did appreciate how large the bar area was - the bar itself was long and rectangular as well, with seating along 3 sides, but there were also small round high tables along the whole window/wall where you could sit and get service. Which is exactly what we did.

The Beers: IPAs, Belgian-styles and more
The beer list was definitely impressive, but I was disappointed to find that there were several beers (like the Rogue Capt Sig Amber) that were no longer available. We also found that some beers were on the list, but hadn't been tapped yet. Still, the three of us were still able to find beers that we liked and enough variety to keep ordering something different each round.

Here are the downsides. Our server, who was perfectly pleasant and friendly, kept messing up our order. She had to come back and ask us repeated what we had wanted to order, she gave us the wrong beers, then assured us that she hadn't made an error, and generally was very slow tending to any requests we made. I suppose I attribute most of this to the fact that they just opened and the waitstaff still is learning. BUT, I did have a problem with one fact....

Our server was 18. She admitted she had never tasted or knew anything about the beers on the menu, which is why she had a hard time distinguishing which one was what.

I'm not really discriminating here. I worked as a server for 9 months when I turned 18 as well. I know that in PA, you only need to be 18 to be a server. The difference, and to me this is huge, is that I worked as a server in a seafood restaurant, where though they served alcohol the focus was the food. At City Tap House, their schtick is that they are a CRAFT BEER BAR. To me, it doesn't really make sense that your server at this craft beer bar cannot make recommendations, doesn't understand differences in the beers, and potentially can't even tell what beers she is delivering based on color/consistency?

It was just so surprising and disappointing because this sort of thing would never happen at a true craft beer specialty bar like Tria or Varga.

What we didn't get to try, but definitely plan on ordering on a potential return visit would be the Beer Flights that they have available. City Tap House offers 5 or so different types of flight, categorized by beer flavor profiles like Bitters or Wheats, and offer a flight of 4oz beers for $10-15 (depending on the type of flight you order).

Anyway, those complaints aside, the food seemed to be pretty good.  

King Creole Shrimp and Grits: white cheddar grits + smoked tasso sauce
Thanks to my work, I have been fortunate enough to make multiple visits to the South a few times over the last 2 years. Usually, I don't really consider this an event of GOOD fortune, but in the case of tasty food, it has definitely given me many opportunities to try the amazing regional cuisine. During my visits, I would always try to have two things: BBQ and/or Grits. Nobody makes grits better than the South. However, the cheddar grits at City Tap House were pretty freaking droolworthy.

This is considered a starter, so there were 3 jumbo shrimps and the dish was a reasonably priced $12. The shrimp themselves were perfectly cooked and nicely seasoned.

The STAR was definitely the cheddar grits, though - it was likely more the cheddar grits PLUS smoked tasso sauce combination. Tasso sauce is made from tasso ham, which apparently is a specialty of Cajun cuisine, and is a spicy, peppery version of smoked pork made from the shoulder butt. It's my understanding that tasso sauce is essentially tasso ham, butter, cream and flour. Spoon that over perfectly cooked cheddary grits and how can you go wrong.... right?! This is 100% worth trekking to University City to eat.

Pacho Mussels: spicy chorizo + tomato + garlic + fresh thyme, topped with fresh-cut fries
The fries were very good! Crispy and flavorful, plus the accompanying spicy aoli was delicious. The mussels were well cooked and a good plump size. I really enjoyed the salty and spiciness of the chorizo with the mussels, but it did make the broth excessively greasy when we were trying to dip our bread into it later on.

Because the fries are placed on top of the mussels, they will undoubtedly get soaked by the broth at some point towards the end of this dish, but surprisingly they still remained crunchy enough to still be enjoyable.

Ultimately, I think that City Tap House is definitely a bar I'd return to, but mostly for the outdoor terrace seating, the grits and fries. Let's hope the waitstaff education improves before our next visit.

garces garces garces garces garces

Finally FINALLY, we made it to the Garces Trading Company for dinner. Despite the 1 hour, 40  minute wait, it was one of my favorite dining experiences in Philly. I think the last time I was this blown away by an entire meal was a few years ago when I first tried Modo Mio.

:: Garces Trading Company ::
address: 1111 locust st, philly
what we ate: artichokes, gnudi, flatbread pizza, pasta carbonara, hangar steak, coffee, wine
On Saturday night, around 7:50pm (otherwise known as prime time dining hour), 4 of us ventured over to Garces Trading co in the hopes that we might be able to have dinner at some reasonable hour. We had already missed our reservation at Zavino because I had been too busy kicking some serious ass in bowling at North Bowl to keep a better eye on the clock. The hostess quoted us 1 hour 15 minute to 1 hour and a half wait time, and we optimistically put our names in to wait.

As I mentioned, the wait ended up actually being closer to 1 hour and 40 minutes, but we were still quite cheerful and happy the entire time due to the fact that the Garces Trading Co staff is unbelievably good at making the experience a bearable, almost pleasant one.

Here are some of the delightful things you can do while you wait for your table:

• Shop for a bottle (or two or three) of Spanish, French or Italian wines in the state store located INSIDE of the Garces Trading Co restaurant. The beauty here, besides the obvious convenience factor is that you can a) ultimately buy wine for your meal without the huge standard markup, b) there is knowledgeable staff on hand to help you make a great selection for your meal and c) if you realize you need more wine, you can simply get up and go buy another bottle in the middle of your meal. They also have a respectable offering of liquors as well in case wine isn't your thing. 
• Sample the various specialty oils and vinegars to whet your appetite. Walnut, black or white truffle oil and pomegranate balsamic vinegar are just a few examples of the kinds of samples you can dip your crusty cube of sourdough bread into while you wait. 
• Stalk the charcuterie and cheesemongers. There are usually plates of prosciutto and cheese samples along the charcuterie wall - if you smile a lot and give the staff sad hungry eyes, they will continue to cut you samples of their delicious cheese and meal selections. During our wait, we tried 4 different cheeses, including a pecorino romano and gorgonzola with nutella. 
• Go to Varga Bar for a drink while you wait! They take your phone number to call you when the table is ready. 
• Drink WINE! Whether you bring your own, or purchase at the state store inside, the hostesses are more than happy to uncork your wine and bring you a few glasses so you can enjoy your beverage and chitchat with your friends while you wait. C'mon - how can you beat that?!  

And then, of course, there is the FOOD. The 4 of us decided immediately that we were going to share everything so we could taste a wide array of garces delights. 

Baby Artichokes: preserved lemon + oil + honey + dates

YUM YUM YUM. The artichokes were quartered and drizzled with a lemony olive oil that was vibrant, tart and still sweet. The slices of dates that topped the artichokes were chewy and added a nice sweetness and texture.

Ricotta Gnudi: wild mushrooms + bianco sardo + morel cream

At our server's suggestion, we added a starter size portion of the ricotta gnudi and boy am I glad we did. Gnudis are a type of gnocci, but made with ricotta cheese and flour. They are almost dumpling-like and have been described as a ravioli without the filling. At any rate, the gnudi at Garces Trading Co came dressed in a mushroom cream sauce with mushrooms, micro greens and a few slices of parmesan dusting the top. 

The gnudi were soft and fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth pillows of tastiness. This dish was a surprise hit with our table and is proof that you should always listen to your waitstaff, especially when you're at the Garces Trading Co.  

Tuscan Fusilli Alla Carbonara: guanciale + eggs + black pepper + pecorino

The second pasta that we ordered is the tuscan fusilli carbonara. I had heard from many different food critics, Garces fanboys and "respected" press alike that the carbonara was a must-try dish. I had my reservations because I've never really been a fan of carbonara sauces; the idea of using an egg yolk to coating your entire pasta dish sounded so foreign and unappealing to me. HOWEVER, I have been converted. Thankfully, I have found that I have newfound appreciation for all things raw or runny eggs, which definitely helped. 

Of course, the guanciale (which is unsmoked Italian bacon prepared from a pig's jowl or cheek) definitely helped get me excited about the dish. 

You can see in the picture the slightly poached whole egg that is just waiting to be broken so it can spread into the dish and wrap all the delicious pasta, cheese and pepper together to prepare for your first bite. The pasta itself was cooked al dente and was magnificently chewy and the thickness of the pasta managed to catch the perfect amount of the sauce for each bite. 

Pizza De Prosciutto: oven roasted tomato + mozzarella + prosciutto + olive oil

We ran into Jen while waiting for our table. We consider her to be a Garces Trading Co expert since I'm pretty sure she eats there once a week (lucky girl). She mentioned that the prosciutto pizza was one of her favorites, so we opted to order this as our pizza selection. 

The pizzas are definitely a good size. They are cut into triangles and as you can see, are generously topped with the delicious ingredients so they are perfect for sharing. I was surprised by how much prosciutto and fresh mozzarella was in each bite. The crust was thin, but thick enough to complement portion of toppings - and chewy, but crispy towards the ends (as great pizza should be).  

Streak Frites: grilled hanger steak + duck fat fries + asparagus + maitake mushrooms + béarnaise

Garces Trading Co has a Plats Du Jour (daily specials) section on their menu and each item is different for each day of the week. These dishes are dinner specials, available after 5pm, and usually considered large enough for two people to share. On this Saturday night, the special was the Steak Frites. This lovely couple seated at the table next to us had ordered this as their dinner and raved so much about it that we were convinced to order it for the table as well. 

We were definitely not disappointed. The hangar steak came out perfectly cooked medium rare and was very flavorful and tender. However, the 2 stars of this plate were the duck fat frites and the asparagus! While the duck fat fries at Village Whiskey are very good, I had never been blown away by how they were prepared there - they were delicious, but not really a standout. In contrast, the duck fat fries at Garces were unbelievable. They were much thicker cut fries so I have no idea how they did this, but the outside of eaach fry were super crispy, especially along the edges, and the inside of the fry were soft but still firm and full of flavor. The asparagus was also amazing. You could taste the smokiness from the grill with each bite and of course, they were also perfectly cooked and had that light crunch. 

We dipped everything in the bearnaise sauce and didn't even feel guilty about it because it was amazingly delicious.   

Coffee and the Little Things

Because apparently, we are now old, we had actually ordered coffee for the table early on in the meal. As with everything we tried at Garces Trading co, the coffee was equally delicious. Even on presentation alone, it is impressive; two sizes of coffee offerings and they serve it at the table in an authentic french coffee press. 

You can see how much care and thought went into the planning of this restaurant. The small details and combination of restaurant + cheese/meat provider + dessert specialist + state liquor and wine store is just genius.

I love the way each table has a small fresh pepper grinder and a small dish with coarse grain salt, and of course, sugar in the RAW.

THUMBS UP, INDEED.    

revisiting VARGA bar

Friday dinner: varga bar

i knew we'd go back to varga bar, but i didn't know it'd be so soon. the original plan included a feast of wine, cheese, pizza and other jose garces creations at the garces trading company. but alas, at 8:45pm, with cold rain still pouring, stomachs growling, and a 1 hour wait, we decided to head to varga bar.

the short story is, that after a legitimate sit-down dinner here, the FOOD AT VARGA BAR IS STILL GOOD! the server we had this time wasn't nearly as pleasant as the one from last time, but it was still quite enjoyable.

:: varga bar ::
address: 941 spruce, philla
what we ate: chili cheese dog, mac'n cheese, kobe sliders, wings, crab cheese fries, seafood pasta
dinner was four of us - jeanni, doug, soopah and myself. and as we started shouting out things we wanted to try, and found that we wanted all of the same things, we looked at each other and yelled "varga mini fat tour!"

truffled mac ‘n cheese: bacon + gruyere + fontina + mascarpone + black truffles
i heart truffles (the mushroom and the chocolate candy). i heart mac 'n cheese. so, honestly... HOW could we resist the truffled mac 'n cheese at varga? you're right - we couldn't. taking a bite allowed me to conclude that this dish was one of my favorite mac 'n cheese dishes in philly.

now, don't get it twisted. it's not my ultimate favorite. that title still rests with the mac 'n cheese at silk city. however, this was pretty damn close. the cheese sauce was creamy and the top was crunchy in the best way - with BACON pieces. this tastes like TRUFFLES like WHOA, though. so if you're not a black truffle fan, you will not like this. i don't think you can tell, but this was a pretty generous portion of mac 'n cheese. definitely larger than a side serving. and very rich too. i will recommend you get this to share, and stay away from this as an entree - because that truffle flavor can be overwhelming without anything else to break it up.

jumbo lump cheese fries: fries + jumbo lump crab + white cheddar + parmesan
of COURSE we had to try the crab cheese fries this time. these are the fries that put varga bar on the map. they had won for Best Bar Food in the 2009 Phoodies at www.phoodie.info.

personally, i didn't enjoy these that much. the fries themselves were awesome. they were thin and crispy and, at the risk of angering foodies everywhere, i must say, were similar to mcdonald's fries. even the cheese was tasty. i am a sucker for white cheddar so that is not surprising. the sad part is that it was the lump crab meat that really detracted from this dish. i understand that the crab meat is the gimmick- the thing that makes this so different and FRESH, but... it tasted... CRABBY. maybe it's not like this all the time, but ours definitely had a fishy taste to it that wasn't really that pleasant. i found myself taking fries and avoiding the pieces of crab.

duck confit chicken wings: pomegranate molasses-bourbon-chili sauce + housemade bleu cheese + celery
THESE. WERE. A-MAAAAAZING. serious contender for my favorite wings. the pomegranate molasses-bourbon-chili (isn't that a mouthful?) sauce was incredible - sweet! tart! tangy! they were a bit on the heavily sauced side, but it was such a tasty flavor that i did not mind one bit. and the wings... they were just falling off the bone. you could literally take your fork and pull of pieces! super tender and juicy.

the interesting thing was that the bleu cheese really did complement the wings perfectly. sometimes i find that the bleu cheese, or sometimes ranch, condiment doesn't really add too much to a wing dish, but these flavors really added another dimension when they were combined. PLUS, bonus - they actually give you a good number of celery sticks. in most places, you get three sad little ones. i don't think we ate too many of them though. where was j. giggles when we needed her?!

kobe beef sliders: applewood-smoked bacon + caramelized shallots + boursin + house-made onion rings + smoked paprika aioli
why yes, we did get these again. duh. STILL awesome. something about that soft, creamy boursin with the chewy salty bacon and juicy kobe beef... * drooOOooOOOool * ... okay, i've pulled myself together now.. is SO GOOD. the onion rings were again, a delightful crunchy, salty side to this burger.

this order usually comes with 3 burgers, but since there were 4 of us, we asked them to add one extra slider and they did. the three slider dish is usually $12 and they upcharged us $4 for the 4th one, so very reasonable and nice of them to do so.

kobe chili-cheese dog: beer braised hot dog + house-made kobe chili + shaved pickles + white cheddar + smoked paprika onion rings + poppy seed bun + onion ficelle
wow, right? nah, it was more like MEH. the hot dog was juicy and flavorful, but everything else was totally not noticeable. for those of you chili-cheese dog connoisseurs out there, you know that a chili cheese dog it supposed to be MESSY. it's a knife-and-fork experience. the varga bar chili cheese dog was so not!

as you might be able to gather from the picture, there was VERY LITTLE chili. sad. i suppose that is what happens when you make your chili out of kobe beef, but STILL.

in an optimal chili cheese dog combination, i'd say the serving ratios are as follows:

3 parts chili : 2 parts cheese : 1 part hot dog

unfortunately, this was not. it's not to say this was a bad dish, just not great. and as a result, we'd probably skip it next time. i did like the pickles on this - that plus the poppyseeds reminded us of a chicago style hot dog, but still couldn't save it and make it great.

seafood pasta special: butter poached lobster + rock shrimp + sugar snap pea shoots + trumpet  mushrooms + blush cream sauce
the seafood pasta was the entree special at varga on friday night. it was deeee-lish-us. none of us can remember what kind of cream sauce dressed this pasta, but that is because we were in such amazement about the tastiness of it all. besides, though we asked the server several times to describe the plate to us, he mumbled through the description each time. [SIGH. dude, sometimes i hate my job too, but c'mon man, don't suck so much!] at any rate, if you hear someone ramble off a pasta special resembling this this one, definitely get it.

the lobster and rock shrimp were perfectly cooked tender, and the sugar snap pea shoots added a nice soft texture. the trumpet mushrooms were really good as well, especially since they soaked up all that sauce nicely, but you could still tell yourself you're eating something that is good for you since it's MUSHROOM. soaked in some sort of butter/cream/fatness, of course, but who cares. SO GOOD. it's a good thing we didn't have a basket of bread or rolls at the table, because we probably would have continued to soak up this sauce until someone took this plate away from us.

okay, the caveat here is that we acknowledge part of the reason this pasta was so memorable is that this is a gastro-pub type establishment. is it the best pasta i have ever eaten in my life? no, of course no, but it was solidly one of the best dishes we had that night and i'd definitely get it again. i don't think i'd return to varga bar JUST to have it one more time, but i would definitely keep sampling forkfuls of it if someone else at my table ordered it!

beers
i think i had mentioned this before, but varga bar's beer selection really is remarkable. the four of us represented a wide range of beef affinities - stouts, pale ales, wheats, pilsners - but we could all still find something we really enjoyed off of the list. and the server, dour and sullen though he was, still had great knowledge of the beers available and what we might like.

as a historical sidenote, did you know that VARGA is named for the "Varga Girls," the iconic WWII pin-up girls that were the brainchild of Joaquin Alberto Vargas y Chávez and printed in Esquire magazine? hmmm, i didn't know that. that certainly clarifies the reasoning behind the pin-up girl theme, huh?

oh and btw, this place serves food until 1am!  

PHILLIES: Opening NIGHT!

Phils 14, Nationals 7. opening night for the PHILLIES at citizen's bank park was a SUCCESS!  

we walked from the el station to the stadium with a huge crowd of people all decked in PHILLIES attire. one guy had a liberty bell tattoo on his arm. now that is some PHILLY LOVE right there.

coming up on the GATE! get excited. whooooooooooooooooo.

we sat under the jumbotron. why, YES, that is ryan howard's ass.

Here are all the things you need to make a game EXTRA FUN:

1. a block of seats with friends
2. beers
3. a good crowd
4. tasty foods (we got a cheeseburger, fries and a schmitter!)

though we got the burger and fries because it was from the food vendor that was closest to our seat, and the lines for cheesesteaks and crab fries were too long, they were still quite tasty! more proof that citizens bank park's food is reliably and consistently great, no matter what you buy.

as for the schmitter, it was sooooo much better than the last time i had it at the ballpark, so i was quite pleased. if you like all of the layers of the sandwich, you can't really go wrong. you just have to hope that they provide enough of each layer of meaty goodness!


GO PHILLIES! 

something of a ROYAL feast

we have been hearing about the inimitable bobby flay's gift to the philadelphia burger scene in various blogs and newspapers for weeks. and since BOBBY'S BURGER PALACE opened its doors this past tuesday (4/6), foodies and fauxdies alike have been all atwitter.

supposedly the wait time has been averaging somewhere around 1 hour this week, i was fortunate enough to have a quiet day at the office this afternoon and decided to take the trip up to university city to try this newest burger creation out.

:: bobby's burger palace ::
address: 3925 walnut st, phila
what: dallas burger, napa valley burger, B&W milkshake, onion rings, sweet potato fries 

so officially, the line was out the door and equated to about 50 minutes to order food. it was probably <10 minutes for the food to arrive. they give you a number card and you place it in front of you and a server will bring you your burger. fountain soda machine, so that means free refills (and they had fresca!!)

geo and i split the dallas burger and the napa valley burger, onion rings, sweet potato fries, b&w milkshake.

overall, i was a bit disappointed! the meat on the burger itself was great; very flavorful and a good size, but the toppings (at least that we ordered, weren't stellar). important note: here they say the default temp on the burger is "pink in the center" and boy do they mean it. unlike 500 degrees where their medium rare is really a medium temp, at bobby's burger palace be prepared for an authentically medium rare preparation unless you tell them otherwise.

dallas burger: burger + bbq sauce + coleslaw + monterey jack cheese + pickles
i was sooooo excited for this burger. this was the reason i wanted to go to bobby's burger palace, but the toppings were just all MEH. the coleslaw, while providing good crunch, was flavorless! the pickles were the brightest flavor and despite my love for pickles, that is not ideal. i didn't really taste too much of the bbq sauce either. though disappointing, i'd try this again. after i try others.

napa valley burger: goat cheese + meyer lemon honey mustard + watercress
i normally love love love goat cheese, but did not like this burger. at all. didn't eat more than a few bites of it. it was heavy on the goat cheese, light on the watercress and who knows what the actual ratio of honey mustard is normally.
what i mean is, when they say watercress, they mean like 2 sprigs of it, so it may as well have been left off. AND as it turns out, they did leave the honey mustard off of our burger. sigh. i guess since their staff is still new, they are experiencing some growing pains - they completely forgot the mustard. which we didn't realize until a few bites in. i wouldn't recommend this.

*sidenote to the growing pains part, they accidentally brought out 2 to-go orders of sweet potato fries so we had those too. fortunately, that gave me more than enough to bring back to the office to share with soopah and chiho.

sweet potato fries with horseradish honey mustard
hands down, best sweet potato + condiment combination i have ever had. fries were crispy but substantial enough to have good tension. the horseradish honey mustard is AMAZING. i want to have this with me ALL. THE. TIME. it was just so interesting with that spicy kick and very slight hint of sweetness.

black and white milkshake
i only had a few sips of this, but it was made from real hard ice cream so it tasted really really good.

beer battered onion rings
HUGE rings. and THICK. these were like an inch high! that is crazy for an onion ring. but the batter tasted good and was not too thick. crunchy delish.

sante fe burger: queso sauce, jalapenos, crushed blue corn tortilla chips
brought one of these back for soopah. i will let him comment. i only took one bite of this, but it was better than either the dallas or napa valley burger and that says a lot, especially considering it wast eaten about 30-40 minutes after initial preparation. the good thing for take-out orders is that they wrap the burger in foil so it stayed warm. the queso sauce was TASTY. cheesy and just salty enough. jalapenoes gave much needed kick. and the CRUNCHIFIED-NESS was great. (ps- bobby flay servicemarked that term, crunchified SM).

just as a point of reference, the total cost for 3 burgers, 1 milkshake, 1 soda, 1 order sweet potato fries and 1 order of onion rings was: $38.20.

i would go back here. i have heard others say that the bobby's bleu burger and the miami burgers are unbelievable. definitely go because it's worth a try, but just wait til the hype dies down a bit and you won't have to wait in line for over an hour.   

raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

oh wait, no. raindrops on noses and bacon on burgers. YES, that's better. burgers are one of my FAVORITE things. so, despite the torrential downpour and gusting winds, my band of downtrodden, corporate drones will be trudging over to 500 degree burgers for a tasting of the rouge-inspired burgers and truffle fries.

pics and review to follow.

:: 500 degrees ::
address: 1504 sansom st, phila
so we arrived and quickly scampered into 500 degree burger, seeing shelter from the unrelenting rain. the space is on the small side, with only only 2 wooden rectangular tables that could probably seat about 8 max, each. additional seating available with wooden shelf-style ledge along the far wall and along half of the front window.

we arrived at 11:55am, and apparently JUST missed the lunch rush because as soon as we put our orders in, a line formed behind us, 17 deep. (i would have snapped a pic of that too, but i was too busy chomping down on my first bite of deliciousness).

okay, now that those details are out of the way... onto the MEAT of this entry:

burger:
what i like so much about burgers is the wide range of flavors and textures that are possible even when using basic burger parts - ground beef, cheese, bun, various veggies. size-wise, this was the perfect burger. i know there are food reviewers lamenting over the portions given, but i thought it was just enough.

   
i ordered the 500 degree burger: bib lettuce, tomato, cheddar, bacon and special sauce. pickles come on the side. the bun was probably about 4-4.5 inches in diameter, and the burger itself was round and about 1.5-2 inches thick. the special sauce seemed to be some sort of infused truffle oil + mayo type concoction. i surprisingly enjoyed this (obvs a surprise since i dislike mayo). added the pickles and a bit of ketchup and went in for the first bite.

the meat was well seasoned and the cheese added nice creaminess. usually lettuce doesn't to much for me, but bib lettuce was a nice, clean, crispy touch. the tomato added a nice slight sweetness, and the pickles added an extra layer of tart to the mix. i ordered this at medium rare temp, which is what is recommended. from the pic, it truly does look medium rare, but i would say that it actually was cooked more to the medium end. 

if i had to criticize this burger, i'd say that the bacon was a bit lost. the burger meat was so thick that the burger to bacon thickness ratio left something to be desired; you almost forgot there was bacon in the thing. also, you usually expect the bacon layer to exhibit either crispiness or chewiness, but i found that this bacon did neither. it may have been because it was so subtle that it was hard to notice, but whatever the reason, i say, MORE BACON, please. 

i am undecided about the bun at the moment. in theory, i liked it... with its fluffy airiness, but thickness that was substantial enough to support this creation. but, if i had to be honest, it wasn't particularly memorable. 

fries:

of course i got the truffle fries. i was expecting these to be very similar to the ones at rouge. however, they weren't identical. for one thing, they don't include the grated parmesan that rouge's offering boasts. but, they were thin and mostly crispy, with that awesome truffle flavor. there were quite a few soggy-ish fries, but i kind of enjoyed the mix of crunchy and soft fries - made it a bit more interesting. but that's just me.

my coworker ordered the spicy fries, which are accompanied by a spicy sauce that tastes very much like a spicy chipotle remoulade. i liked - it is definitely worth a try - assuming that your friend or burger devouring partner in crime orders the truffle fries and is willing to share those with you. 

milkshake:

i did not order this because i dislike shakes. HOWEVER, they have vanilla, chocolate or black and white shakes and the good thing is that they are made from real hard ice cream, not soft serve. i have been told this makes all the difference. so i will defer to the milkshake experts on this. 

OVERALL

all in all, i'd say 500 degrees is totally and definitely worth a, or many, return visits. the burger establishment i'd say is the most comparable alternative would be five guys - these places clearly fall in the same category of burger purveyors. the 500 degree burger is meatier and i'd say it feels more "made to order," whereas sometimes five guys burgers can tend to feel/taste mass produced. the five guys burger feels greasier than the 500 degree burger. and definitely, 500 degree fries ftw over five guys. 

let's go again!