Steakhouse Flair...

Butcher and Singer

1500 Walnut Street

Philadelphia, PA 19102

www.butcherandsinger.com/ 

My fiancé and I had precana a while back so that we could get married in the Catholic church, so we were booked up on Friday and Saturday evening. We decided to hit Butcher and Singer for restaurant week on Thursday instead, so after work, we both headed over. We were early for our reservation, so we posted up at the bar and ordered a few cocktails. The rep from Glenlevit scotch happened to be sitting there, and he convinced us to try his product, and I am very glad he did. The 15 year I had on the rocks was fantastic. It was very smooth. 

The restaurant week menu was obviously a bit limited, but overall I thought it had some great options on it. The ambiance and the decoration is amazing. The hostesses weren't great. They didn't come to check on us and make sure our party was there when it was time for us to be seated like they did for others waiting at the bar. So I had to walk over and check with them about 15 minutes after our reservation time to see what was going on.

After that the rest of the evening was pretty flawless. The restaurant week menu was limited, but everything was still expertly prepared. The oysters Rockefeller and the potato leek soup were both delicious. It was my first experience with oysters Rockefeller, and I really enjoyed it. The crust formed on top was a really nice contrast to the texture of the oyster. The soup was silky and creamy, and the seasoning was spot on. 

I loved the sear on my filet. The crust was exactly what I look for in my steaks. The salt and pepper had been charred enough to create a crispy exterior that sealed in all the flavor and juices of the steak. The salmon was also perfectly cooked and seasoned. The fennel salad it was served with was a nice bit of freshness added to the dish.

The sides that we got were also very nicely prepared. We ordered the mashed potatoes and the green beans almondine.  The mashed potatoes were rich and creamy and the green beans still had a nice snap to them when I bit into them. I loved the sauce and slices of almonds covering them as well. 

Dessert might have even been the best course. The chocolate and caramel tart and the bread pudding were flawless. The chocolate and caramel tart had a really nice chocolate flavor without being too sweet, and the crust of it was light and flaky. The bread pudding was super light, possibly the lightest bread pudding I have ever had. It still had that traditional custardy richness to it though, so it was really a delicious dish.

Three and a half pints for Butcher and Singer. The atmosphere is amazing and the decoration inside the restaurant matches the theme perfectly. Butcher and Singer is definitely the best steakhouse I have been to in Philadelphia. I want to go back sometime soon to have the Delmonico steak with a side of stuffed hash browns and the baked Alaska for dessert. I have had many people raving to me about these items, so hopefully I can go back soon and try them out! Check it out and let me know what you think! Cheers!

Another 13th Street Gem...

Jamonera

105 South 13th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19107

jamonerarestaurant.com/ 

I left my former job in the beginning of October last year, and I really didn’t get to say goodbye to most of the people I worked with because my former boss is a prick. One of the few people there I enjoyed working for stayed in touch with me after I left, and we decided to go out to dinner one night together with his wife and my fiancé. He had always mentioned wanting to come with us sometime because he knew about the blog and he admired our ability to be willing to try pretty much anything. We decided to head to Jamonera, a Spanish tapas and wine bar that had taken the place of the former Indian restaurant Bindi. Marcie Turney and Valarie Safran own most of that block, and Jamonera is one of their jewels.

When we were seated and started looking at the menu, we decided to order a bunch of different things and share them all as a table. Each of us picked two dishes to share and then one dessert as well. They had a pretty spectacular wine list as well, so I ordered a glass of red wine to go with the meal as well. 

The first few items were the squash croquettes, the papa frita, mushroom coca and the bacon wrapped dates. I was very interested to try the croquettes because I had only had croquettes with meat and cheese before. Unfortunately for me they were a little bland. I don’t know if it was just because of the nature of the squash or if it was underseasoned, but it was a little flavorless. It was cooked perfectly though. The patatas bravas and the mushroom coca were my two favorite dishes of the night. The papa frita, a traditional Spanish snack of fried potatoes, were incredible crunchy. They had an amazingly creamy aioli on top and they were packed with bold flavor from the seasoning they were coated in. The mushroom coca was outstanding. It was a Spanish version of a flatbread, topped with tons of mushrooms and a rich and delicious pesto sauce made from arugula. The dates I was a little surprised by. I wasn’t sure that I was going to like them because they were stuffed with blue cheese, but I really enjoyed them. The bacon wrapped around the exterior was crispy and smoky, so it really contrasted well with the earthy tones of the blue cheese. I love dates, and this was one of the best preparations of them I have ever had.

Our next wave of food was the pork tenderloin with pumpkin stuffing, the camarones al ajillo, and the seafood paella. The pork tenderloin was cooked perfectly, but it really wasn’t a standout for me. I loved the pumpkin stuffing though. It was absolutely outstanding. The flavor of the camarones al ajillo was very good, but I was a little disappointed in its execution. The shrimp were much bigger than I have experienced in the past with this dish, and I didn’t like them as much. They were a lot tougher than I expected them to be. I prefer the smaller shrimp because they usually tend to be so much more tender. That being said, I loved the spicy sauce and the bread they were served with. The seafood paella was a homerun. The combination of rich seafood flavor that comes through the whole dish is incredible. You get mussels and clams and shrimp and calamari, all dispersed throughout the saffron rice. My favorite bites were the ones that included the crispy bits of burnt rice from the bottom of the pan. They added a bit of texture to the dish that otherwise wasn’t there. 

By this point I think we were all pretty packed full of food. However, we decided to order dessert as well. We doubled up on one dessert because I wasn’t sure what our plan was, but we pretty much decided to split everything again. We all tried the hazelnut crema catalana, the chocolate cake with olive oil ice cream and the bunuelos. The hazelnut crema was delicious. It was a like a Spanish version of a mousse, but with a bruleed top that added a layer of crunch to the light and fluffy mousse. The hazelnut flavor was very prominent. The most interesting dessert was definitely the chocolate cake and olive oil ice cream. I had no idea what to expect from the olive oil ice cream, but it was interesting and pretty tasty. I could definitely taste the olive oil flavor, but it also had flavor reminiscent of vanilla ice cream. It went really well with the incredibly rich chocolate cake. It had little chocolate crispies in and around it that made each bite of the cake spectacular. The bunuelos were really yummy as well. The little fried doughballs were doused in cinnamon sugar and served with a dulce de leche caramel sauce. They were warm and light, the perfect little after dinner snack, especially when they were dunked into the rich caramel sauce.

All in all it was an excellent meal and worthy of four pints. It’s always great to get out to dinner with someone new, and especially when you take them for something they haven’t experienced before or don’t know much about it. We had a great time, and the food really was excellent. This is definitely becoming one of my favorite restaurant spots in the city, and Marcie Turney and Valarie Safran do it up right. Check this place out, I promise you will love it! Cheers!

Yes I Eat at Chain Restaurants Too...

California Pizza Kitchen

470 Mall Boulevard

King of Prussia, PA 19406

www.cpk.com/

My fiancé and I grabbed some lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen in the King of Prussia mall one weekend while we were in between places where we were registering for wedding gifts. I hadn't been to CPK in a really long time, so when I looked at the menu, I found some surprises. They definitely had a lot of new offering since the last time I was there, and they had a few gluten free and whole wheat choices for those trying to eat healthy or those who have allergies, which is always nice to see. We decided on splitting the habanero carnitas whole wheat pizza and the roasted veggie salad.

Both were very tasty. I loved the heat from the habanero sauce, and definitely appreciated that it was on the side instead of all over the pizza so it could be added to taste. It was a little too much heat for my fiancé, but she did say that she found it to be good flavor anyway. The carnitas were very tender and flavorful. I also enjoyed the whole wheat crust, but I do wish it had a bit more crunch to it.

The salad was really filling and full of tasty options. Artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, asparagus, eggplant, avocado and peppers all came together nicely in a light dressing. I tend to like my salads with as many different kinds of vegetables as possible. The service was very good as well. Be careful if you are trying to eat healthy though. There are lots of calories hidden in their menu.

California Pizza Kitchen is worth of two pints. While I am a much bigger fan of non-chain restaurants, this is definitely one of my favorite chain places. The pizza varieties are interesting and tasty, as are the salad choices. It’s a great place to grab a bit when you are on the go. Check it out if you haven’t already! Cheers!

Beers and Fries but Thats About It...

Eulogy Belgian Tavern

136 Chestnut Street

Philadelphia, PA 19106

www.eulogy.bar/ 

I was doing some looking around for beers on a popular website in the area called Philly Tap Finder. While I was searching through, I happened upon a restaurant that had a delicious beer that is extremely rare and that my cousin has been searching for, for the past two years. He was so determined to have it, that we met up in the city on a Wednesday night and had a few together at Eulogy Belgian Tavern. 

My fiancé and I arrived about an hour before he did so that we could grab some dinner. I had been to Eulogy a few times before, but only for drinks. They have an absolutely amazing beer selection to choose from, so it’s a great place to hang out, and obviously extremely popular. We love one of the other Belgian places in the city, Monk's, so we were looking forward to seeing how the food measured up. Unfortunately for us, it didn’t work out how we would have hoped. As good as the beer selection is, the food simply missed the mark for us. With the exception of the fries, which I thought were great, everything else was really subpar. The burger than I ordered to be medium came out way past well done. It was basically a hockey puck with no juice left in it. The mussels we ordered were cooked well, but the broth they were served in tasted like the wine hadn't been cooked down at all. It was harsh to taste, and extremely unappetizing. I loved the dipping sauces served with the fries as well. They were banging. 

2 pints for Eulogy, all based pretty much on the beer selection. Maybe it was an off night, but it was a pretty poor showing for the food. I would go back and just drink beers and eat the fries though. That would be tasty. Check it out for beers, but there are plenty of other food options around there more worth your time! Cheers!