Vetri vs. Zahav Cage Match @ Alla Spina
1410 Mount Vernon Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
By
now you know that I really look forward to the Cage Matches that the Vetri crew
hosts at Alla Spina. I was even more excited to hear that they would be facing
off against one of my favorite chefs and restaurants for their first attempt at
an outside the family cage match. They would face off against Michael Solomonov
and team from Zahav. My fiancé as usually stalked the phone lines and called
right away and was able to score us some seats. We were able to snag a seat for
one of my best friends as well, (what up Chu!) and although he was late and my fiancé wound up leaving
early because she felt ill, it was a great night nonetheless. It was one of
those food experiences you look back on and realize, holy crap that was
frigging unbelievable. It was a night and an experience I will never forget.
The
ingredients for this matchup were corn, chicken thighs, feta cheese and
watermelon, and again you don’t have to use them in that order. First courses
from the teams were both cocktails, and dishes were a chilled watermelon soup
from team Vetri obviously utilizing the watermelon, and shakshuka from team
Zahav, utilizing the feta cheese. The watermelon soup was a beautiful plate and
a very delicious dish. It had a great balance between watermelon and olive oil
flavors, and the chunks of watermelon cut and placed in the dish first were a nice
touch as well. The shakshuka was simply divine. It is a egg dish, cooked in a
warmly spiced tomato base and in this case topped with lambs tounge and feta
cheese. I really couldn’t help myself from devouring this dish. I just kept
piling it on my plate. Wow what a start from both teams, but I had Zahav ahead
because of the deliciously rich and soulwarming nature of the shakshooka. It
was outrageously good, and I have been craving it ever since.
Second
courses were up next and we received a few beers from both teams, as well as
curgliones in a butter sauce with corn from team Vetri and a raw lamb kibbe
niah from team Zahav utilizing the corn as well. Again both dishes were
outstanding. The pasta from Adam Leonti was tender, incredibly fresh and coated
in a delicious brown butter sauce. It added a bit of richness to the dish
without making it heavy. The kibbeh nayeh from team Zahav was delicious in a
totally different way. The raw lamb mixed with the yogurt sauce and peaches
were a great combination, but eventually became too much for me to continue
with. I gave team Vetri the nod on this one because I am a sucker for any type
of fresh pasta cooked in a brown butter sauce, and this one was particularly
fantastic. This was going to be a battle to the end. It was a matchup of Philly
restaurant titans, the best of the best, and it was already going so well.
Third
course were up next, featuring red wine from team Vetri, and Madiera from Brian
Kane and team Zahav. This was my first introduction to the man that has taught
me more about booze and restaurants than I ever thought I would learn. He now
runs Abe Fisher, another fantastic offering from the Solomonov crew, go check
it out! These drink offerings went with a chicken thigh saltimbocca with
watermelon rind agrodolce from team Vetri and a chicken thigh and foie gras
dish over Persian rice from team Zahav. The chicken saltimbocca was fantastic.
The chicken was cooked perfectly, with a nice sear on the exterior and a juicy
and flavorful center inside. The sweet and sour sauce with the watermelon rind
was the perfect Both dishes were outstanding. However the Zahav dish was simply
perfect. The richness of the foie went together incredibly well with the
charred chicken and beautifully cooked rice. I have never had rice that good and amazingly flavorful. The dish was simply superb, and although they were both
incredibly delicious, I had to give the nod to team Zahav for an overall
fantastic pairing and execution of their dish.
Dessert
was on its way, and I was absolutely packed full, but I knew the end was near
and I had to persevere. We were served a sweet port from Team Vetri and a
Vanderghinste Oud Bruin, a dark brown, yet lightly fruity beer from Team Zahav.
Pairing with the sweet port was a feta cheesecake from team Vetri with cherries
and pistachios that was absolutely outrageous. The feta cheesecake didn’t have
a taste that you would expect from Feta cheese. It wasn’t salty or briny like
feta usually is, but it did give it a more savory flavor, a flavor that I absolutely
fell in love with. It was like a piece of art, and pairing it with the sweet
cherries was perfection. The dessert from team Zahav was not nearly as
successful. It was a kanafeh, a sweet cheese dessert wrapped in shredded phyllo
dough and topped with a watermelon sauce and cubed watermelon. While the
dessert was ok, I just didn’t think the watermelon paired well with it. It was
too sweet, and definitely overpowered the kanafeh itself. Team Vetri was the
hands down winner of dessert.
This
was a battle of epic proportions. Thrilla in Manilaesque if you will. Solomonov
and Vetri are two giants in the food world, and in Philadelphia, they are the
best of the best. Their teams are unmatched and incredibly talented, and the
food and drink that was on display that evening was nothing short of mind blowing. Team Zahav barely etched out a victory in the end, but they did. That’s
the way I scored it, and that’s the way it ended up. The student, Mike
Solomonov, a former sous chef for Marc Vetri, took down the master. They all
seemed to have a blast taking part in this, and so much of it went to benefit a
great thing, Rooster Soup Company. (check out more information on that here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/3806479/radical-hospitalty-and-the-rooster-soup-company) If you ever get a chance to take part in
something like this, you will not want to miss it, but you may have to fight me
for a spot! Cheers!
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