Three Dinners in Philly

Time for my last post on my dining adventures in Philadelphia. This post will feature my dinners at three restaurants.

On our first night in Philadelphia, Sheri, Kristin, and I decided that we wanted to go to an Irish pub for dinner. Tir Na Nog was just down the street from our hotel--it had a nice cozy, dark atmosphere with wooden furniture . . . and great food. All three of us decided that we wanted to try the cottage pie with kobe beef. The dish was creamy, spicy and oh-so-yummy. We also really enjoyed the salad.


On Friday night, we decided to try an Italian restaurant, Portofino. On the way, we passed a restaurant, El Vez, that looked really fun. I really wanted to eat there, but there was a 90 minute wait and we were hungry, so we went to Portofino where there was only a 5 minute wait. Sheri, Kristin, and Joanne all really enjoyed their food. Mine was okay, but definitely not great. I had beet infused pasta with chicken, peas, and a thyme-rosemary sauce.


Saturday night we went to a fabulous organic restaurant I'd eaten at last time I was in Philadelphia: the White Dog Cafe. I liked the food there so much that I bought their cookbook and have enjoyed the several dishes I've made from it. On this night, I tried the mushroom soup with Amish chicken and truffle chive creme fraiche. They brought out a bowl with just the creme fraiche, then poured the mushroom mix on top of it so the diner could eat it freshly mixed. I also ate braised short ribs on a bed of pureed cippiolini and celery root with the leaves of brussel sprouts. I loved the short ribs--no bone and so tender and juicy. The celery root puree was rather bland--but served as a fine backdrop for the amazing beef. It was really a good meal to end my Philly dining adventures with.


Tir Na Nog
1600 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
267-514-1700

Portofino
1227 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-923-8208

White Dog Cafe
3420 Sansome Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
215-386-9224

Celebration

While I was in Philadelphia at the annual conference of the National Writing Project, I attended a retirement party for three California Writing Project directors who are retiring: Carol Tateishi, Sheridan Blau, and our own Faith Nitschke. The party was held at the Continental Restaurant and Martini Bar, an establishment with great retro decor and drinks. Jayne and Katie had ordered a really nice slate of tapas . . . in fact, we were the happy recipients of wave upon wave of yummy food.

Menu

First Course:
Continental Salad (greens, tomatoes, cucumber, feta, and herb vinaigrette)
Shoestring fries with Chinese mustard sauce (tasted like horseradish to me)
Barbecue Chicken Quesadilla


Main Course:
Beef Satay Skewer with peanut sauce
Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Seared Tuna with mushroom risotto
Wasabi Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Soy Garlic Braised Vegetables


Dessert:
Tray of many, many different types of dessert


I think my favorite dishes were the quesadilla with avocado cream and the lettuce wraps--and I was so full by the end that I barely ate dessert.

After the meal, people made speeches about the retirees. Joanne had created a great list of the top 10 things we'll miss about Faith. The list included funny items like how we'll miss her list of instructions, "including instructions on how to read her email with instructions" and more serious items like her great contacts with teachers and schools--and how effective she is at creating strong partnerships with schools. I hope she'll continue to advise us over the coming years.



Continental Restaurant and Martini Bar
138 Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: 215 923-6069

Reading Terminal Market

I'm in love with markets like the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia which dates from 1893. I love the bustle of vendors and customers, the variety of foods available, the fact that there aren't any national chains present. I love wandering around deciding what to have for lunch--and then hovering over tables waiting for someone to leave so that we can sit. This market in particular is interesting because of the presence of Amish merchants who sell everything from baked goods to a country breakfast to fresh meat. I love this market so much that I ate there every day for lunch on a recent trip to Philadelphia.


Day One: I had to try a philly cheesesteak, so we went to Carmen's, who told Kristin and I that the classic cheesesteak was made with cheese whiz. We both were willing to try it, even though I'd always thought that provolone was the classic cheese of choice. The sandwich was a bit spicy because it was prepared with peppers and very, very enjoyable. We ended our meal with a cupcake from Flying Monkey's--espresso bean with a butter cream frosting. It was to die for.



Day Two: On the recommendation of my former renter Michael (who used to live in Philadephia), we ate at Dinic's . Kristin and I again split a sandwich (they were all so enormous): pulled pork with broccoli rabe. Oh, my. The pork was juicy and so tender and the broccoli rabe was a little tart, cutting the richness of the meat. This was the best lunch I had in Philly. Cupcake for the day: peanut butter plaid (not nearly as good as the espresso bean). I liked Flying Monkey's practice of "taking the chill off" by microwaving the cupcake a couple of seconds before serving.


Day Three: Technically this was brunch rather than lunch. I was in the mood for something salty, though, so I had a slice of ricotta and caramelized onion pizza at Mezze. It was a fantastic combination. In honor of Kristin who had to leave early that morning, I had her favorite cupcake: vanilla, vanilla.


Day Four: I was on my own Sunday since everyone else had gone home early that morning. After wandering around the Philadelphia Marathon, I was ready to eat. I had a falafel sandwich at Kamal's--good, but not even close to how good my previous three lunches had been. Still, I had one last cupcake, the espresso bean since it had been the perfect cupcake.

Next time I'm in Philadelphia, I hope to do the exact same thing: eat lunch every day at Reading Terminal Market.

Reading Terminal Market
51 N 12th St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 922-2317

Impromptu Cooking

I've been complaining lately that I haven't had a meal good enough to blog about for far too long. But yesterday, I was looking at my i-Phone and discovered photos I'd taken a few weeks ago of food that merits a blog entry.

My friend John B. is a really good cook. I still salivate when I think of a vegetarian taco feast he prepared years ago--and I continue to hope he'll do it again in my lifetime. A few weeks ago, he and John J. were housesitting for Kathryn and Doug, who had left a fully stocked refrigerator. John invited me over to play Scrabble--and to eat. To plan the menu, he basically looked in the refrigerator and came up with this: cheese souffle, braised green beans, and roasted potatoes. I brought a nice loaf of crusty ciabatta and another of our friends, Tanya, brought a yummy green salad. The table was rustic and the food was so delicious: creamy souffle, perfectly cooked beans, potatoes with a nice crunchy shell, and Tanya's fresh green salad. The meal tasted like someone had spent days devising the menu--but John whipped it up so nonchalantly . . . . and then he beat us all quite soundly at Scrabble.

Zucchini Fest 2009

Zucchini. Great vegetable or not? My parents joke that at the end of summer people in their neighborhood leave huge bags on their doorsteps, ring the doorbell, and run. Even the loyal zucchini lover may sometimes get sick of the vegetable. Sauteed and in bread form . . . that's basically what most people probably do with zucchini.

My friend Samina decided to have a zucchini party this past weekend--everyone was supposed to bring a dish made from zucchini to share. Surprisingly, it was a delicious and varied menu.



We began with hors d'oeuvres: zucchini tempura and toast, zucchini, and cheese made by Alex. I especially enjoyed the tempura and was impressed by the process Alex used to make it (dip it in batter, then cold water, then deep fat fry). Yeah, you read that right, somehow he managed to dip it in water and still retain the batter . . . impressive. Melissa and Gregg also brought a fantastic creation: raw, thinly sliced zucchini wrapped around marinated mozzarella. Yum!



Our dinner began with two kinds of zucchini soup: one cold and one hot. The cold soup was creamy and fragrant with herbs (created by Chris and Gene). The hot soup combined zucchini with lentils (Samina's concoction). I enjoyed both versions which illustrated the diversity of zucchini.

The main courses and side dishes were a zucchini quiche with lovely layers of parmesan, zucchini, and carrot (brought by Gregg and Melissa). We also enjoyed a nice tofu/zucchini stir fry with delightfully nutty brown rice, thanks to Samina. I brought my zucchini, white bean, mint salad--I doubled the recipe and I think it needed more mint. Still, I love the combination.



Dessert was a yummy lemon poppy seed zucchini bread (Chris) and a delectable rice pudding with zucchini (Samina).

We were all pleasantly surprised that the meal turned out well since we hadn't planned it out. We actually had courses that worked well together . . . I suppose it was our own version of Iron Chef with zucchini being the featured ingredient.

Food Prepared with Love

A week or so ago, my friend Samina's mother, Suraiya, made dinner for us one night. Suraiya lives in Pakistan, but is in the U.S. for a few months visiting, something she does periodically. I've really grown to love Suraiya who is generous, kind, and loving. She also has interesting stories to tell about the work she does in Pakistan and about her own "wild woman" past.

Although Suraiya warned me that she wasn't a good cook, I learned that wasn't true. The meal she made was so delicious! The main dish was boiled eggs that had been fried afterwards, potatoes, and (I think) some kind of curry. It was so flavorful and interesting. She also made a lovely yellow rice with parsley on top. It served as a mild accompaniment to the egg dish. In addition to making raita, Suraiya also made a lovely tomato, onion, and parsley salad. Everything was so tasty.


Here's my plate of food . . . well, at least the first helping.


After dinner, Suraiya, Samina, and I sat in the backyard talking. I'd never really heard Suraiya's life story, so I asked her to share. I loved hearing about how she was willing to forge new and very personal ways of living her life. She's had so many interesting experiences and is a woman that I admire and love. It's so easy to see how Samina became the wonderful woman she is.

White Dog Cafe

Several years ago, I was in Philadelphia for a conference. One evening, I went with some friends to the White Dog Cafe. I don't remember what I ate that night, but I do remember that it was really, really good. So good, in fact, that I bought the White Dog Cafe Cookbook soon thereafter. Since I mostly collect cookbooks rather than actually trying out the recipes, I hadn't really cooked from it . . . until today.

I'm not sure what caused my desire to finally cook a nice meal today. But, I looked at several of my cookbooks, until I found a couple of recipes that sounded pretty easy but also delicious. I thought, what the hell, I'll cook today. I'm so glad I did--these recipes were amazing. The picture really doesn't do justice to the meal. The chicken was crunchy and the artichoke salad drew out the taste of olive oil. The zucchini made me swoon, although next time I think I'll cube the zucchini instead of cutting it into strips. The whole meal was so delicious--as were the fresh peaches and peach sorbet (thanks to Lori). I'm excited I still have leftovers . . . but I will definitely make this meal again.

Mediterranean Fried Chicken with Artichoke Salad

Ingredients:

Artichoke Salad
1 c. marinated artichoke hearts, drained
3 plum tomatoes, cut into thin rounds
1/2 c. sliced and pitted kalamata olives
1/4 c. lightly packed basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 t. minced garlic
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 t. red wine vinegar
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper

Chicken
1 c. fine, dry bread crumbs (I used panko)
1 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I used tenders)
olive oil, for frying

1. Prepare the salad. Combine the artichoke hearts, tomatoes, olives, basil, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and pepper in a nonreactive bowl and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend. Bring to room temperature before serving.

2. Prepare the chicken. Combine the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl. Dip each chicken breast half in the eggs and then in the bread crumb mixture.

3. In a large skillet set over medium heat, heat 1/4 inch of olive oil until it ripples. Add the chicken breasts and saute until golden brown and cooked through, about 6 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot, topped with the artichoke salad and along side zucchini with white beans and mint.

Zucchini with White Beans and Mint
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 t. minced garlic
3 or 4 small zucchini, cut into long (1/4-1/2 inch) strips
1 c. cooked cannellini beans
1/2 T. chopped fresh mint leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. In a large saute pan set over medium-high heat, heat the oil until it ripples. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini and a few drops of water. Cook, tossing gently, until just tender, about 4 minutes. Add the beans and heat through.

2. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the mint and salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot, or let cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Reheat before serving.

White Dog Cafe
3420 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 386-9224