2006 December Archive at gas•tron•o•my

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White Dog Cafe

Published

Gastronomer

on December 9, 2006

in New American, Philadelphia and Restaurant Review

. 1 Comment

December 8, 2006
Cuisine: American (New), Vegetarian

3420 Sansom St, Philadelphia 19104
Btwn 34th & 36th St

Phone: 215-386-9224
Website: http://www.whitedog.com/

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Entree I: Pork Loin - Bosc pears and apples with a Chanterelle mushroom gravy ($23.00)

Entree II: Low Country Spiced Crispy Pekin Duck Breast - Cajun spoonbread, smothered greens, with crawfish etouffee sauce ($23.00)

Entree III: Herb Roasted Free Range Lancaster County Chicken Half with Natural Jus - sage roasted heirloom cheese pumpkin panzanella with local green beans and shallot confit ($19.00)

Entree VI: Rosemary Grilled Buck Run Farm Strip Steak with Flying Fish Beer Batter Fried Onion Rings - sour cream and chive mashed potatoes, garlic braised greens and burgundy Dijon glaze ($28.00)

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From opentable.com: “White Dog Cafe is nationally known for it’s contemporary American menus, fashioned from the highest quality farm-fresh ingredients and humanely raised meats and poultry. Their menus change seasonally to capture the best locally grown, organic and sustainable foods. ”

Colton, Duncan, the Astronomer and I dined at White Dog Cafe the other evening to see if their food was as impressive as their business philosophy. Our conclusion? A lukewarm yes. Colton ordered the pork loin, Duncan had the steak, the Astronomer ordered the chicken, and I had the duck. We passed on appetizers because they were mostly salads, how boring.

My dish was very delicious and unique. I rarely order duck, but the Cajun preparations really enticed me. The meat was moist (prepared medium rare) and naturally flavorful. I definitely need to order duck at restaurants more often! The crawfish etouffee sauce was spicy and an interesting accompanimentent to the duck. I especially liked the little pieces of shrimp in the sauce. The smothered greens were an acquired taste. I did not like the greens at first due to its strong vinegar taste, but throughout the meal they sort of grew on me. My favorite side was the spoonbread, which is a sweet egg and cornmeal concoction. It was just the right amount of sweetness to balance out the acidic greens.

Colton thought his pork loin was perfect - just like the duck it was moist and flavorful. His chief complaint were the skimpy sides. He would have liked more apples and pears with his entree.

Duncan echoed Colton’s complaint about the portion of the sides, his entree only had a small helping of mashed potatoes and two onion rings. He did not enjoy the greens and left them untouched. Sides aside, Duncan thought his steak was amazing. Prepared rare, the delicate piece of meat spewed delicious “life blood.” Perfect for a vegetarian like Duncan.

The Astronomer said his chicken tasted like chicken. The flavors did not permeate into the meat as he had hoped. He had no complaints about his sides.

White Dog Cafe can be summed up as a restaurant with phenomenal meats, skimpy sides, and horrendous decor.

Fellini Cafe Trattoria

Published

Gastronomer

on December 7, 2006

in Italian, Philadelphia and Restaurant Review

. 1 Comment

December 7, 2006
Cuisine: Italian

2216 Walnut St, Philadelphia 19103
Btwn S 22nd St & S 23rd St

Phone: 215-972-0860
Website: www.fellini-cafe.com/

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French bread, marinara sauce, pickled red peppers, Parmesan cheese (complimentary)

Entree I: Panino Fellini - Grilled homemade bread with olive oil, vinaigrette, salad, tomato & Parma ham ($5.95)

Entree II: Panino al Pollo - Grilled Chicken, Provolone, Lettuce and Tomato Sauce ($4.95)

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Fellini Cafe Trattoria is a local chain in the Philadelphia region. There are six locations (mostly located in the ‘burbs) and all are independently run by each franchisee. The menu is consistent across all the locations where I have dined. I tried Fellini for the first time my sophomore year of college for a Cross Country team dinner and have loved it ever since. I even had my 22nd birthday party there! Sadly, since my Swarthmore days, the Baltimore Pike location has shut its doors. Luckily, a Fellini opened up one block from my apartment in Center City. Woot.

I usually go to Fellini for dinner, but have always wanted to go for lunch because they only serve paninis at lunch. During our visit, Wes and I both ordered paninis. I had the Panino Fellini, while Wes had the Panino al Pollo. The complimentary bread was very good, it would’ve been better if it were warm.

While Fellini makes a mean pasta, their paninis are mediocre. Our paninis were a let down because they didn’t meet our expectations of grill marks and melted cheese. However, after this experience I am starting to question my expectations because my panino from Paninoteca back in October also lacked grill marks and melted cheese.

Here’s how Wikipedia defines “panino”: “A panino is a sandwich made from a small loaf of bread, typically a ciabatta. The loaf is often cut horizontally and filled with salami, ham, meat, cheese or other food, and sometimes served hot.” I think my definition may be a off.

Expectations aside, my panino had both high and low points. The “homemade bread” was a definite high. It was crisp on the outside and soft on the inside and held the contents well. The mixed green salad was also delicious. I requested provolone cheese for my sandwich, which was good but pricy ($1.50). The panino’s lows were pretty low. The Parma ham was most definitely deli counter ham and skimpily applied. And the tomato sauce on the bread made it soggy and cold.

I did not try Wes’ al pollo, but it seemed similar to mine (minus the ham, plus chicken). The chicken was grilled and cut into strips and seemed a bit more robust than my ham. Wes said that his grilled chicken had a “burnt” taste in spots, but other than that it was good. The panini portions were ridiculous. I could only finish half of mine and Wes only ate a quarter of his.

Next time, I’ll stick to the pasta!

Sandy’s

Published

Gastronomer

on December 5, 2006

in Diner, Philadelphia and Restaurant Review

. 0 Comments

December 1, 2006
Cuisine: American (traditional), Diner

231 S 24th St
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Phone: 215-732-8335
Website: none

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Entree I: Egg Sandwich with Cheese ($3.35)

Entree II: Egg Platter - Two eggs over easy, home fries, bacon, whole wheat toast with jam and butter ($7.95)

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After months of talking about going out for a meal, my friend Wes and I finally had lunch at his favorite eatery. Sandy’s is conveniently located across the street from Wes’ house–he’s been frequenting this joint for years and the staff know him by name AND order. Very impressive.

Sandy’s is more or less a greasy spoon, a charming greasy spoon, but a greasy spoon nevertheless. They serve hoagies, grinders, cheesesteaks, fried chicken, regular sandwiches and even some seafood and Greek specialties. Sandy’s also serves breakfast all day long, which Wes and I took advantage of on our visit.

I had the egg and cheese sandwich, while Wes had his usual. My sandwich was made on whole wheat bread with Swiss cheese. The sandwich was pretty straight forward; it tasted like the sum of all it’s individual parts. It was good, but I’ve made the same sandwich on a number of occasions at home. Perhaps next time I will have a Gyro since I can’t make that at home.

I didn’t taste any of Wes’ egg platter, but I’m pretty sure I knew what it tasted like–the sum of all its individual parts.

Banana Cornbread

Published

Gastronomer

on December 3, 2006

in Bread and Recipe

. 1 Comment

3 tbs. maple syrup
2 bananas, mashed
¼ C apple sauce
½ C milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 C Cornmeal
1 C whole wheat flour
1 tbs. Baking powder
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 banana, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 8 x 8 inch baking pan. Place the maple syrup, mashed bananas, apple sauce, milk and vanilla into a blender or food processor; puree until smooth OR mix by hand. Mix together cornmeal, whole wheat flour, baking powder, soda and cinnamon. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture until blended. Fold in sliced bananas. Pour into prepared pan. Bake is preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until brown on top.

Adapted from Prevention.com recipe for Banana Walnut Cornbread

Skillet Penne and Sausage Supper

Published

Gastronomer

on December 2, 2006

in Pasta and Recipe

. 0 Comments

Italian pork sausage can be used here, but you may have to spoon off some of the fat before adding the pasta. When you are adding the spinach, it may seem like a lot at first, but it wilts down substantially. Be sure to use at least a 12-inch skillet for this supper dish. This recipe also works well with ziti.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, minced
Salt
1 pound hot or sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped fine
8 ounces penne (2 1/2 cups)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 (5-ounce) bag baby spinach
1 ounce Parmesan, grated (1/2 cup)
Pepper

1. Heat the oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the sausage and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

3. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Sprinkle the tomatoes and penne evenly over the sausage. Pour the broth and milk over the pasta. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes.

4. Stir in the spinach a handful at a time and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper to taste.

From The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
Serves 4-6

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Substitutions: Sauteed the onions using water instead of olive oil. Used shallots instead of onions. Used Trader Joe’s Chicken Sausage. Used non-oil packed sun dried tomatoes. Used a pound (1 bag) of whole wheat rotini pasta and doubled the broth and milk. Did not add Parmesean directly to the pasta, but had on hand for everyone to use to their own liking. Added carrots.