Red, Red Wine....

Tinto Wine Bar

114 South 20^th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19103

By now I am sure that you can tell that I am a huge fan of Chef Jose Garces. My girlfriend was out of town for about 2 months around Christmas time, so when she came back I wanted to take her out for a nice dinner to a place that both of us had been looking forward to going to for a very long time. I had been given a gift card to Garces Restaurant Group for my birthday, so we decided to head to Tinto Wine Bar in

Rittenhouse Square

.

We got there a little early, but they took us for our reservation exactly at 7:30. The restaurant was full as all of Jose Garces’ restaurants seem to be. The bar had a great selection of Spanish wines, so my girlfriend ordered the Bobal and I ordered the Garnatxa Tintorrera. Both were very good, mild flavored wines, which I thoroughly enjoyed with every bite of my meal.

When we decided on what we were ordering, which took some time because the menu is so wonderful, we had chosen 6 small plates to have brought to us. We tried to order one of every category on the menu so that we got a full feel for everything. First we ordered the Saucisson Sec, which was a thinly sliced cured meat that resembled a spicy salami. It was very good, and the spice was magnificently different. It was served with pieces of toast that added a nice contrast of texture to the dish.

Next we ordered a goats milk cheese plate called Leonara. I did not really enjoy this dish because the cheese was a bit too strong for me, and in my honest opinion only tasted like mold. My girlfriend raved about it, which is not surprising because she loves goats milk anything.

The next dish that came out was the Sopa de Castano. This dish was a truffled chestnut soup, with a duck and mushroom hash and it was topped with a fried quail egg. The soup was amazing. It was rich and creamy, and the texture made it that much better. It was silky and flavorful and getting to the hash at the bottom of the soup was a nice bit of texture change because the duck was salty

We also ordered the Bacalao a la Viscaina, which was a piece of black cod with Serrano ham and an olive escabeche. The fish was cooked to perfection, and the piece of skin that was left on the fish was so incredibly crispy that you could have cracked it simply by touching it with your fork. The escabeche underneath the cod was very tasty as well. It was full of tomato flavor and the seasonings and herbs in it added the perfect depth of flavor.

Next we had what was to me the highlight of the night. I had read some reviews about Tinto before we went, and almost all of them mentioned the Lamb Brochettes as one of their favorite parts of the meal. I had high hopes for this lamb because I have become a huge fan of lamb since traveling to India, and I take advantage of ordering it every chance that I get. This lamb was to die for! It was a piece of lamb, wrapped in bacon, and served in a shot glass with a sherry lamb jus at the bottom of the glass. The lamb was cooked perfectly, the bacon brought it to the perfect level of saltiness, and the lamb jus brought a change of pace with a smooth, creamy, lusciousness that would make even the creamiest sauces taste bland.

After the lamb experience I did not think that anything else would taste nearly as good, but the Butifarra that we had ordered came out and it was spot on. The sausage was garlicky, and full of flavor. The snap of the casing on the outside was delightful.

To finish off the savory part of our meal, we ordered the crab canapés, which is like a cold crab salad on top of a crisp piece of bread. I really enjoyed the fresh crab flavor of the salad, the slight spice of the chili, and the crunchiness of the bread to round it all out.

We of course had to order dessert because we both love something sweet after a savory meal, so we wound up ordering the Chocolate y Café. It was a chocolate and coffee layered dessert that had a layer of chocolate cake, a layer of coffee cake, a chocolate ganache, and was topped with a hazelnut ice cream.  The dessert was the second best part of the meal behind the lamb brochettes. The cake was rich, the balance of textures was there, and it was the perfect size for the two of us to split after a nice meal together.

Tinto was really a hit for me. Now having been to the 4 crown jewels of the Garces’ empire, I can see exactly why he is so successful. Distrito, Chifa, Amada, and Tinto are the cornerstones of the Philadelphia food scene, and I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone…ever. Cheers!