duck, eggs and lamb OH MY

I am determined to attempt healthy living for the next few weeks. Obviously I cannot fully cut out delicious foods, but I look at these posts and through all the food pics on my phone and I realize that full-on gluttony is probably not sustainable - for my wallet or waistline (which has already been feeling the detrimental effects).

Anyway, before launching into a full scale fitness regimen, we thought it only apropos to indulge in one final decadent meal. So, we went back to Garces Trading Company. Our first meal there had been so amazing (full review) and we knew there were still quite a few things we wanted to try.... so off we went.

Since it was just the two of us dining this time, we knew we had to be smart about our selections. Though we wanted to order the deep dish pizza, one of the Plats du Jour and several pastas, that just seemed a tad aggressive. We ended up with a generous, but reasonable smattering of dishes: the duck confit salad, the special lasagna, and the lamb ragu.

Lyonnaise Duck Salad: duck confit + poached egg + bacon lardons + mustard vinaigrette
There is no way I would really call this a salad; it's more of a plate of awesomeness with some greens mixed in throughout. The duck confit and the poached egg were of course perfectly cooked. We salivated with anticipation as I broke the egg over the tower of duck, greens and bacon lardons and gave it all a thorough mix.

A super pleasant surprise was that there were also tiny slices of fingerling potatoes threaded throughout as well. The richness of the egg and duck were cut by the mustard vinaigrette, while the bacon lardons added a hefty saltiness that really brought everything together. If you're expecting a salad, you may be disappointed, but honestly - duck lovers will never be disappointed by this.

Pappardelle with Lamb Ragu: sunchoke puree + piave vecchio 
This pasta dish comes with a very generous portion of lamb ragu. At first bite, it was a bit game-y and we were afraid we were going to regret the decision to order this over a reprise of the gnudi we had so enjoyed the last time. However, we took the time to give this pasta dish a thorough mix as well. Tossing everything together allowed the piave cheese and the sunchoke puree, which was layered at the bottom of the plate, to coat the pappardelle and the shredded lamb meat. What this did was to add a creaminess to the entire dish, which tempered the game-iness of the lamb.

The lamb meat itself was really interesting. It had a hint of mint in it and it really worked well with the peas and the sunchoke (which is apparently like a cross between a rutabaga, potato, sunflower seed, and water chestnut, heh) puree. It's amazing how much more we liked this dish after we mixed everything together. It just goes to show - make sure you trust your chef, you know?

Lasagna: oxtail + short rib + baby spinach + ricotta
Sunday's daily special is the Lasagna and this is really the reason we had decided to have dinner at  Garces. The picture makes this look like a huge family-size portion and I'll say that while it's big, it's not enough to feed 4 people. Maybe 3 people... needless to say, we had leftovers to take home.

What I really liked about this lasagna was the baby spinach and the ricotta. The fresh baby spinach seemed to have been blanched and drained before being layered into this lasagna and the flavor was very bright. The ricotta was creamy perfection and a nice complement to the heavier chewier cheese that formed the top layer.

I felt a bit undecided about the meat. It was certainly an interesting take on traditional lasagna... and the meat was... tasty. I am pretty sure it had some lemon notes mixed in, but it still felt somewhat heavy. If I had to say, I think that maybe there was a disproportionate amount of meat in the meat layer, and possibly could have been improved by a heftier ricotta and/or spinach layer. Overall, it was a good dish, but I can't shake this feeling that it's not one that I would rave about or even recommend...

Anyway, it's Garces Trading Company, and I love it here. Plus, we went for an early bird dinner - arriving around 5pm on a Sunday and it was wonderful; we didn't wait at all! And of course, we had a lovely bottle of a Spanish white wine that was already chilled and was such a reasonable $13.99! God, I love this place.    

Good Meal but the Death of my Scallop and Risotto dream

Heh. This is mostly a positive review. I promise.

Last night, we went to Mercato. To put things into context, you have to know this about me - Mercato is (hmmm, was, perhaps) one of my favorite places to eat in the city. Admittedly, it had been just about 2 years since I had last eaten there, but prior to that, I had eaten there at least 4 or 5 times in a year's time. Each time, I had ordered similar dishes and each time it had been consistently wonderful.

The dishes we ate last night were mostly wonderful, but I found several things very disappointing.

But first, the FOOD. Soopah and I both had the tasting menu, which at $48 for a full 4-course meal, is very reasonable. What I love about these set pre-fixe tasting menus that are offered at many BYOBs is that there is so much flexibility. You're usually allowed to order off of the entire menu and at Mercato, that was definitely the case. The tasting menu allows you to select one dish from each of the 4 sections off of the menu with very few restrictions (sometimes they do add an up-charge for certain dishes). Take note that this is a CASH only byob so come prepared. If you're forgetful like me, no worries - there is a deli a block away on 13th St that has an ATM for your use.

:: Mercato ::
address: 1216 Spruce St., Philly
what we ate: 4-course tasting menu
We really debated whether or not to partake in this. Mostly because it was super humid hot and we couldn't decide if we were hungry enough to eat 4 courses! The downside to the tasting menu is that they require that all guests at the table participate so it was an all or nothing decision. Because I had always spoken so highly of Mercato and Soopah was finally going to get to try, we opted YES. Also, I warn you - this is a long post. How can it not be since we both ate 4 courses each?!

INTRODUZIONE

Whole Grilled Artichoke: 

extra virgin olive oil + sea salt + zesty citrus aioli

This was delicious AND fun to eat. They take an entire whole artichoke, basically roast it, soak it in olive oil, then grill it to order. What results is an incredibly flavorful dish - with each leaf you pull off dripping and coated with coarse black pepper and olive oil. Add to that a few grains of seat salt that they offer on the platter as well as the creamy citrusy aioli and it's just DIVINE. 

We really took our time eating this and enjoying each leaf before we devoured the hearts at the end. (Hmm, that sounded odd...). 

Grilled Calamari: 

basil pesto + cannellini beans + radicchio + pepperdew peppers + scallion + parmesan slices

We attacked this appetizer all wrong at first. It arrives at your table, plated in a way and separates the calamari from the rest of the bean, pepper and radiccio salad. Of course, in eating it separately, we found that the basil pesto coated calamari was a bit flat and boring, while the salad had very complex set of flavors. 

It doesn't LOOK very pretty, but once we started eating both components together, we found that it tasted delicious. And MAN, do they use good cheese here. The parmesan slices were so nutty and flavorful - I could have just kept eating those all night. I don't think this would be our favorite dish and I doubt I would order it again, personally, but it was quite tasty. 

PASTA

Pappardelle: 

roasted mushrooms + caramelized cipollini + crispy parsnip + pancetta, arugula + sage brown butter + parmesan

We have been tempted by various papparedelle dishes at a bunch of places we've been to - Varga, Garces Trading co, but had always ended up ordering something else on those respective menus that we couldn't pass up. So this time, we were determined to order this dish.

The flavor of the roasted mushrooms were awesome! They completed soaked up the sage brown butter sauce and were extremely flavorful. The crispy parsnips were an interesting topping to this pasta dish - they almost tasted like casava chips and provided a crunchy texture, but I'm not entirely convinced that it added something special here. I was ambivalent about that. If I had to criticize, I'd say the pasta was probably a bit over cooked, but still delicious dish, overall.

Braised Rabbit: 

black pepper fettuccine + grape tomatoes + spinach + pecorino + garlic, white wine basil sauce

I had to order this because whenever I see rabbit or the menu, I feel compelled to give it a shot. I definitely wasn't disappointed. The garlic white wine basil sauce was super flavorful and the fettucini had a nice spicy flavor from the black pepper. Plus, the rabbit was really flavorful and tender and not at all gamey.

CULMINARE
Grilled Petit Tender Filet: 

garlic chive mashed potates + grilled asparagus + truffle butter

Soopah ordered this medium rare and it came out perfectly cooked. Also, apparently this is a newly adjusted recipe for the filet and it was excellent. The sauce and truffle butter work really well together and perfectly complement the meat (as long as you don't take too large a piece of truffle butter with each bite). 

See that huge white thing that looks like a slice of mozzaralla? That is the truffle butter! Crazy, right? But delicious, yes yes yes. 

Pan Seared Diver Scallops: 

wild mushroom and english pea risotto + parmesan crisp + truffle oil

Okay, this dish was so disappointing it was almost enough to mar the entire experience for me at Mercato - not that there weren't several other less-than-perfect factors (which I'll detail later), but all were forgivable except for this one. I have been referencing this particular dish at Mercato as the perfect example of how to do risotto AND scallops well - both in conversations and on this blog. Basically, I had ordered this every time I had been to Mercato and it has always tasted amazingly perfect. Last night, it was far from it.

Where do I begin? The scallops were most definitely overcooked. I know it's hard to cook scallops perfectly, but I expected so much more than this. As for the risotto, it was horrible. It was like they decided that since it was the end of the evening (we were the last table there), they may as well dump the rest of the parmesan that was leftover into this dish and then overcook the risotto itself. The result was a sticky clumpy pile of risotto that had stringy pieces of cheese hanging off with each bite. Way too heavy, wayyy too rich and not in a good way. The mushrooms were barely even noticeable and honestly, neither was the truffle oil - this is what happens when you OVER-CHEESE. 

Even more disappointing still, is when I mentioned to the server that this dish had decidedly gone downhill since I last had it and maybe had the chef changed since then, he basically dismissed it saying it was prepared in the same way it had been 2-3 years ago (and obviously I was just being a pain in the ass). Le sigh.

DESSERT: 

Tiramisu and Gelato Trio 

The tiramisu and the gelato trio (cappucino, dulce de leche, strawberry cream) were both pretty tasty, but nothing especially memorable. Plus, by this point, I was so sad about the state of the risotto dish that I had basically lost the will to eat or enjoy anything more for that evening.

DISAPPOINTING THINGS WORTH MENTIONING
Overall, the meal was good. There were definitely highlights and lowlights, but I found there were a few things that were extremely disappointing/annoying.

• Upon our arrival, we stood around for an excessively long time while the female server walked right by us no less than 6 times. Each time I said "excuse me" I was brutally rebuffed. With silence and not even a sidelong glance. 
• Our wine glasses were greasy and had what I swear was leftover butter smeared all over them.
• Though we asked for new replacement glasses, we did not receive until later when we were ordering.
• My water glass was also also dirty/greasy and they FINALLY gave me a new one, but never took the dirty one away. 
• There were a SH*T TON of mosquitoes hovering around our table and they really liked how I tasted, apparently. So I walked away with 9 new bites - Yes yes this is not Mercato's fault. I'm just saying it definitely detracted from the experience. However, what IS their fault is that we sat outside because the inside of the restaurant seemed like the depths of hell in terms of temperature. I guess they just don't turn on the AC until it's over 100 degrees

DESPITE THESE THINGS, though, we still had a pleasant meal, so I'm not sure if that can be attributed to the fact that we are just awesome and enjoy each other's company, if the dishes that WERE good were interesting and tasty enough to carry us through, or that we're just older and more patient now and recognize that every dining experience can't be a perfect one.... hmmm. Ew. Well, we're definitely not old, so it must be that we're AWESOME. 

Keeping it Real

We headed to Varga on Friday night to have dinner and drinks with friends who were in Philly for the weekend. Our entourage of Philly natives and out-of-towners included two of my oldest friends - Shana, Julia H (hi hi hi), Soopah, myself and a couple of Julia's hilarious new friends - an unintentionally hipster Canadian called Matt and a charming Southerner called Mark, whose accent surfaced with increasing levels of intoxication.

Food-wise, this will just be another quickie because I realize I can't review Varga every time I go, given the frequency! However, since I'm always singing never-ending praises of Varga Bar, just wanted to keep things honest and mention when/if I have a less than perfect experience.

Soopah and I arrived first and since we were starving, we had to go ahead and order dinner. We had the Kobe Burger and the Softshell Crab entree special and both were just okay. The Kobe Burger had similar components to the Kobe Sliders, but when it's the traditional burger-size, I guess it throws the flavor ratios off. So, while delicious, it wasn't as notable or memorable as the sliders. The difference could also be attributed to the fact that the sliders use boursin cheese, while the burger has cheddar. Normally, I would think the cheddar has a stronger flavor, but in his case, the boursin definitely has a better flavor.


Kobe Burger: lancaster county aged cheddar + apple-wood smoked bacon + caramelized shallots + organic greens + heirloom tomato + sesame seed bun

As for me, our server really swayed me and convinced me to order the Softshell Crab special. Since the last special we had eaten here (the delicious seafood pasta) had been a winner, I trusted his word and ordered the softshell crab entree.

Softshell Crab: battered softshell crab + spinach + lump crabmeat + tomatoes + capers + crispy potatoes + lemon garlic oil
Clearly, the description of the dish make it sound irresistibly appealing. Doesn't it? Even now, I feel like it sounds delicious, but then I remember how it tasted. Unfortunately, the crab batter was extremely salty and the lemon garlic sauce drizzled over the entire dish was so oil-heavy that it tasted like this overwhelmingly heavy film coating everything.

I love softshell crab, but this was really difficult to finish.

Ick. That is all oil. Don't get this dish~!

But thankfully, when the rest of the group arrived, they ordered the truffled mac'n cheese, a crabcake sandwich and kobe sliders and they thought everything was delicious. WHEW!

the Green Monster

I have so many places to blog about before I can get fully caught up, and I'll admit, I may never actually get there, but I did want to post a quickie about this unique and delicious sushi roll I had at Raw Lounge a few weeks ago.

:: Raw Sushi and Sake Lounge :: 
address: 1225 Sansom St. Philly
what we ate: green river roll
This was just one of the most interesting and different sushi rolls I have ever tried, so I felt like it was worth mentioning here.

Green River Roll: shrimp tempura + spicy tuna roll covered in green tea tempura flakes + avocado + spicy lobster + green tea sauce + spicy sauce 

This roll had everything - spiciness, crunchiness, tangy-ness, tender and flavorful fish. Now, at $21 a pop for 8 pieces, it's not cheap, but definitely worth indulging yourself at least once.

As a semi-related aside, Soopah and I were just recently talking about how there aren't too many great sushi places left in the city, and how we hoped that the existing ones survive for years to come. Raw seems to have great sushi so I want people to know!

As another related aside, today, Foobooz posted a list of restaurants in Philly that have closed recently and it made me sad. Just goes to show that just because you get great reviews and your food is well-received, doesn't mean you'll be able to be profitable. Raw may stay top of mind because they have great outdoor space and a separate room where they throw dance parties, but remember, it seems the food is actually quite good too!

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!  

EASTER, GREASTER, and a weekend recap

FRIDAY
the friday day of fat (i mean food fun) continued on with a brief stop at green eggs cafe. i was hanging with geo and we had an hour or so before we had to meet up with the rest of trifecta + 2 for bebe'a bbq dinner, so we discussed getting a coffee and perhaps a fried potato snack. thankfully, the kitchen had closed by the time geo and i arrived around 4pm, so we spared our bodies the starchy goodness for the moment. we did order a croissant to share with our drinks though. i really liked the decor here - lots of dark and black wood, with steel finishes, green walls and interesting art. the space felt very airy and open throughout the restaurant and the coffee lounge area. the barstool type seating along the dickinson side of the street is perfect for people watching while sipping on your coffee.


:: green eggs cafe ::
address: 1306 dickinson street, phila
what: croissant, coffee, tea

the menu looks awesome here, for brunch or lunch, so definitely want to head back to eat a full meal. the croissant, though, was a bit on the dry side. i hope that the reason was just because it was late in the day and it had been sitting out, with the light breeze coming through all day, but we'll see. coffee = heavenly.

:: bebe's bbq ::
address: 1017 south 9th street, phila
what: pulled pork, beef ribs, pork ribs, coleslaw, mac'n cheese, scalloped potatoes, collard greens oh myyyy.
for dinner we had bebe's bbq, but our group of fatties were so excited to dive into our food that we ravaged every container of food before we could even think about taking a picture. so, though there is no proof, we ate a feast of meats and sides. arguably the best pulled pork i have had, in philly or elsewhere. the coleslaw was a bit too finely chopped and maybe a touch too sweet, but i welcomed the cold crunchiness as a contrast to the sweet and smoky meats. the pork ribs were just meh and a little tough, but the beef ribs were divine. these were part of the daily special, so may not be available all the time. definitely definitely get the collard greens, but the scalloped potatoes and the mac and cheese tied for my favorite side. as a bonus, bebe's delivers to washington square, graduate hospital, bella visty, center city east areas. we did wait excessively long for the food to arrive, though. we were some grumpy people.

SATURDAY
:: maru global takoyaki ::
address: 255 south 10th street, phila
what: octopus takoyaki, crabcake ball with fries, beef curry burrito, almond and chocolate takoyaki  
i found the octopus takoyaki to be a bit too mushy and really found myself wishing that they had used larger pieces of octopus, but still - a pretty good option. the crabcake balls i could have done without. they weren't anything special at all, just standard crabcakes, but the fries that accompanied them were pretty stellar.

the beef curry burrito was definitely the best of the dinner items we had. the curry was smoky and beef was tender and it had just enough rice to be filling and balance out the saltiness of the meat/sauce. soopah claims he would get this at least once every three weeks if it were closer to him. i don't know about that frequency, but i'd definitely order this again.

 we knew the dessert takoyaki were supposed to be great, but i was surprised by how much i enjoyed these almond chocolate ones. they come with fresh whipped cream on the side, which i abstained from (bleh) but soopah spooned up enough to more than make up for it. we need to go back for the chocolate chip dessert takoyaki. honestly, i couldn't really taste the chocolate in them, but they were still pretty awesome.

SUNDAY

:: harris family greaster ::

location: invite only, so this is undisclosed

what: grilled lamb, lasagna, string beans, roasted potatoes, asparagus, baklava, cookies, brownies etc.    

i LOVE greaster. [edit: greaster is also known as GREEK EASTER, as in Easter of the greek orthodox church. it is their most holy of days and deserving of the most fanfare. for non-greeks, it is amazing because it, without a doubt, guarantees the availability of the most amazing foods all brought together under one roof and all-day feasting]. love love love it. in my memory, it has always been loud, fun, full of delicious smells, and exotic looking delicacies - like a LAMB or a PIG on a spit! apparently, though my memory is terrible because the last time there was actually meat on a spit, we were just children. sigh. also, this year because greaster was competing with regular easter, it was a low-key affair - which meant the harris' yard was not teeming with greeks of all ages and there was no meat on a spit. anyway, despite the lack of spinning meat, and even without the grilling of the lamb's head (they apparently gave it away for soup for the church's celebration WHY WHY WHY), greaster was still a wonderful time. plus i got to actually sit and chat with julie! 

i am always surprised by how juicy and non-game-y the lamb turns out. it's one of the few rare places where i can actually enjoy lamb and helped myself to several pieces. the lasagna was so tasty that i helped myself to a quarter of the pan. it was embarrassing, but not enough to put back some of the portion. i wish i had gotten a picture of j. giggles' plate because hers had quite a few more veggies as well. special shoutout for julie's baklava- i though it was very flavorful - with good crunch, good sweetness and plenty of DEPTH!

:: varga bar ::

location: 941 spruce st. phila

what: roasted brussel sprouts, pot 'o pickles, kobe beef sliders, drinks!

because we are fatties, newly self-identified foodies, and probably alcoholics, we decided to head over to varga bar after our day of greaster delights. soopah and i can proudly claim that varga bar is our new favorite. we will probably bicker over who claimed it first. of course, i will win. i always win.


anyway, the bar itself is so great. located on the corner of 10th and spruce, it has wide windows along both the street side walls, so the space feels very airy and spacious. when i first read about this place, i thought the "pinup girl" theme would be a bit kitschy, but actually it's quite well done. the only real place you see the pinup girl art is on the ceiling and occasionally on the menus.


the number and quality of beers they have on tap is outrageous. i was won over by the availability of 4 or 5 IPAs/pale ales on tap, then absolutely in love once i saw the "flying dog raging bitch belgian style pale ale."

though trifecta only tried a few menu items, it is very very very very clear we need to go back. the kobe beef sliders were one of the best burgers i have eaten. they were topped with applewood-smoked bacon, caramelized shallots, boursin cheese and accompanied by house-made onion rings with smoked paprika aioli. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-mazing.

we also tried the pickled vegetables (can you pick the pickled peppers out of the pot 'o pickled vegetables? yes, i said this out loud. hahahaah hate pickled peppers!) and the brussel sprouts with aged balsamic vinegar, lemon, parmesan, olive oil. the balsamic vinegar was a bit extreme on some of the sprouts, but overall still a really great dish.

NEW FAVORITE BAR. 
this was a fabulous (yes, i said fabulous) weekend. more fun to come this week.

ZAHAV on wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!