When Pif, David Ansill’s diminutive but delish French BYOB, closed back in July, it was a sad adieu for the restaurant’s many fans. The chef’s second restaurant, Ansill (shown), provided some consolation, but with no escargot special or Edith Piaf soundtrack, it wasn’t the same at all. So to appease those brokenhearted Pif fans, Ansill cooked up Pif night.
Every Sunday, a special prix fixe menu of Pif favorites is offered for $40. Feeling nostalgic for the old Bella Vista spot, I stopped by recently and was delighted by the bistro fare. The endive Roquefort salad was a fresh tangle of shoestring-sliced lettuce and apple. The half rack of lamb, seared to a flavorful crisp on the exterior and a savory medium-rare on the interior, came with roasted brussels sprouts and buttery fingerling potatoes. I chose a trio of cheeses as my third course — I never met a cheese I didn’t like, but the piquant and cumin-scented Muenster Gerome is still on my mind. Pif’s tender escargot were conspicuously absent from the menu, but a server told me to call the chef a few days ahead next time and he’ll be sure to put them on.
Although he recently announced his retirement from acting, Paul Newman’s so-natural and so-good — 100 percent of the royalties are donated to charity — food company Newman’s Own is (fingers-crossed) still decades away from its golden years. Newman just added wines to his burgeoning product line, and you can get your Newman fix by the glassful at Fleming’s Steakhouse in Radnor this Friday.
The wines won’t officially be available until March, but the debut diners will be the first to sample Newman’s California chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, paired with a five-course tasting menu created by Fleming’s executive chef, Russell Skall. Plus: The Color of Money will play during dinner.
Image, newmansown.com
I’m afraid a lot of restaurants think of dessert as icing on the cake. It’s a menu item with a high markup that generates revenue without a lot of work. At least that’s true in the many restaurants that serve frozen or otherwise ordered-in cakes and pastries. Picture the dessert tray in a million restaurants: it’s the same dark chocolate cake, cheesecake, tiramisu, etc. Funny how they all taste exactly the same — cloyingly sweet, cottony yet chalky, maybe even a touch of freezer burn. Yuck.
That’s why I always ask if desserts are made in-house, not that I expect the truth. But I knew I was in for something good at Pat Bombino’s, a new Italian joint on Ninth Street, when the server warned me that I’d have to wait 10 minutes for the doughnuts served there because each plate is individually fried to order. Why would I want anything else? And just as I expected the piping hot puffs, served with melted chocolate and orange dipping sauces, were sweet perfection.
Tonight, the 4th Annual Flavors of Philadelphia, and all its culinary glory, arrives at the Crystal Tea Room. This year each table of 12 diners will be served a four-course meal (including wine pairings) prepared tableside by their own personal chef.
Oh, and did we mention that those chefs are some of the Delaware Valley’s finest? We’re talking Daniel Stern of Rae and Gayle, Brian Wilson of Le Castagne, David Boyle of Davio’s, and Joseph Frost of Georges’.
If that doesn’t tempt you, maybe this will: All proceeds benefit the American Liver Foundation. Reservations are still available, but hurry up!
Paradiso, the stylish spot that spurred a mini restaurant renaissance in South Philly, is branching out this spring. Owner Lynn Rinaldi is currently renovating a space just up the Avenue at the corner of East Passyunk and Tasker that will be home to a yet-to-be-named Japanese BYOB. (With sake lockers available.)
Executive chef Corey Baver’s menu will focus on sushi, plus tempura and other Japanese items from the kitchen. Meanwhile Baver’s brother, Scott, a brew master for Legacy Brewing Co. in Reading, Pa., is planning a ginger-infused beer for the new restaurant. Since it will be a BYOB, customers will be treated to a complimentary glass of the brew with dinner.
At a restaurant, no ingredient should ever be an afterthought. During a recent lunch at the Society Hill Hotel, my warm chickpea salad arrived chockablock with insipid canned black olives, which as far as I know are only good as finger puppets for kids during holiday meals.
During a recent trip to Stella Blu in Conshohocken, I was served a piece of chocolate cake vandalized by twin squirts of Reddi-wip or some similar commercial aerosol can of chemicals and cream. I see this move regularly, blobs of fake whipped cream marring even good homemade desserts. Is it so much to ask restaurant kitchens to mind the details? Chefs have access to purveyors and sources that we home cooks can only dream of and a staff that arrives hours before service to tackle chores like pitting good olives or whipping real cream. It’s my surest test of a restaurant: The best refuse to give up quality for convenience.
Society Hill Hotel, 301 Chestnut St., 215-923-3711
Le Bernadin executive pastry chef Michael Laiskonis is consulting on Ripert’s latest project — 10 Arts, scheduled to open in the Ritz-Carlton in May. So, he’s been playing around with the most classic of Philly pastries, the Tastykake.
On his lovely new blog, Laiskonis raises this important question: “What the hell is a Tastykake?” Then he goes to work with Vanilla Cream Kakes, Kandy Kakes, a blender, a Silpat, and an ice cream maker. The results: Pineapple Coconut Tastykakes (that is, a citrus biscuit, coconut sorbet, and vanilla-and star anise-infused pineapple juice with molded Tastykake cream, Tastykake tuile and Tastykake crouton, shown) and Malted Peanut Tastykakes (malted Tastykake ice cream with peanut butter powder).
No guarantees they’ll make the menu, but ambitious home chefs can follow Laiskonis’s detailed recipes.
When reporting on a restaurant, I always order an entrée. I know it’s what readers want me to do. A lot of people regularly skip appetizers, side dishes and desserts, but always order the all-important entrée.
But let me just level with you: I’m over the entrée. When I’m eating out for fun, I never order them. This week, I have two purely social restaurant outings planed: one to Cochon, the other to Southwark. I’ve eaten at both places in the past, and I already know the score.
Appetizers are generously portioned and vastly more interesting than main courses on both menus. Cochon serves a fantastic first course that pairs three plump scallops with frisee, bacon and red pepper vinaigrette. And Southwark’s appetizer list contains some of my favorite dishes in town: irresistibly tiny and tender steamed clams and a chicken confit salad.
Chefs know that their reputations with the dining public are at stake in those $25 entrees. Appetizers, with their smaller portions and smaller prices, allow chefs to have fun with their choices. Plus, ordering this way always leaves room for dessert. And at Southwark, where I always order the shortbread cookies with lemon curd, I want to be able to eat the whole thing.
Okay, I’ll admit it. When it comes to early mornings, even I run on Dunkin’. But my daily dose of hazelnut — skim milk, one Splenda, please — packs some unpleasant side effects: jittery hands, mid-afternoon crash, not to mention that cardboard aftertaste. That’s why I’m hoping to turn coffee breaks into tea time, and I have my eyes set on Teavana’s Spice Up the Office starter package (online or at the King of Prussia shop). The $399.99 package includes six large tins of tea, a pound of German rock sugar, and enough Perfect Tea Makers and mugs to convert a coffee-swilling staff. And don’t forget the health bonus — those little leaves are full of vitamins and antioxidants, perfect for battling the office sniffles. — Cheryl McEvoy
Teavana, King Of Prussia Plaza, 160 North Gulph Rd., King of Prussia, 610-265-5311, teavana.com
Cauliflower has long been considered kind of an ugly duckling of the vegetable world. Mishandled, it can take on an unpleasant cooked-cabbage smell and mushy texture. But cooked with care, it’s a culinary chameleon and one of my favorite veggies. When roasted until the floret’s edges begin to char it takes on a nutty flavor. Pureed in a soup, it lends creaminess and complexity of flavor. Fried in a light batter, cauliflower is crisp but tender and full of freshness.
But my favorite of all preparations is the vegetable voodoo pulled off by Shouk in its sweet and spicy cauliflower mezze. The $7 dish is an ample portion of perfectly cooked florets coated in an orange-y glaze that’s sweet without being sticky and zesty without being hot. It’s so delicious I’ve seen cauliflower haters converted right before my eyes.
When Pif, David Ansill’s diminutive but delish French BYOB, closed back in July, it was a sad adieu for the restaurant’s many fans. The chef’s second restaurant, Ansill (shown), provided some consolation, but with no escargot special or Edith Piaf soundtrack, it wasn’t the same at all. So to appease those brokenhearted Pif fans, Ansill cooked up Pif night. 
Although he recently announced his retirement from acting, Paul Newman’s so-natural and so-good — 100 percent of the royalties are donated to charity — food company Newman’s Own is (fingers-crossed) still decades away from its golden years. Newman just added wines to his burgeoning product line, and you can get your Newman fix by the glassful at 
I’m afraid a lot of restaurants think of dessert as icing on the cake. It’s a menu item with a high markup that generates revenue without a lot of work. At least that’s true in the many restaurants that serve frozen or otherwise ordered-in cakes and pastries. Picture the dessert tray in a million restaurants: it’s the same dark chocolate cake, cheesecake, tiramisu, etc. Funny how they all taste exactly the same — cloyingly sweet, cottony yet chalky, maybe even a touch of freezer burn. Yuck. 
Tonight, the 
At a restaurant, no ingredient should ever be an afterthought. During a recent lunch at the Society Hill Hotel, my warm chickpea salad arrived chockablock with insipid canned black olives, which as far as I know are only good as finger puppets for kids during holiday meals. 
Le Bernadin executive pastry chef Michael Laiskonis is consulting on Ripert’s latest project — 10 Arts, scheduled to open in the Ritz-Carlton in May. So, he’s been playing around with the most classic of Philly pastries, the Tastykake. 
When reporting on a restaurant, I always order an entrée. I know it’s what readers want me to do. A lot of people regularly skip appetizers, side dishes and desserts, but always order the all-important entrée. 
Okay, I’ll admit it. When it comes to early mornings, even I run on Dunkin’. But my daily dose of hazelnut — skim milk, one Splenda, please — packs some unpleasant side effects: jittery hands, mid-afternoon crash, not to mention that cardboard aftertaste. That’s why I’m hoping to turn coffee breaks into tea time, and I have my eyes set on 
Cauliflower has long been considered kind of an ugly duckling of the vegetable world. Mishandled, it can take on an unpleasant cooked-cabbage smell and mushy texture. But cooked with care, it’s a culinary chameleon and one of my favorite veggies. When roasted until the floret’s edges begin to char it takes on a nutty flavor. Pureed in a soup, it lends creaminess and complexity of flavor. Fried in a light batter, cauliflower is crisp but tender and full of freshness.