Roasted marinated artichokes: check.

Starting dinner prep: NYE tapas style. First up: Barefoot Contessa’s chipotle rosemary roasted nuts.

One of my absolute favorite things about Philadelphia is that there is always another great restaurant right around the corner. Only downside? It’s always hard to pick a place when I’m going out to eat! When restaurant week rolled around last month I was faced with the same problem— there are so many fantastic places to choose from and I usually only go out for one night of RW. I could go somewhere I know I love or try something new.

So I decided to try something new and head down, with a great group of friends, to Valanni, at 12th an Spruce. Their RW menu was fantastic because it included their entire regular menu (with an upcharge for some of the bigger ticket items, like the paella). Valanni is a wonderful place to go with friends because all of the smaller plates are tapas style, with a great variety of flavors and cuisines. The large plates aren’t too bad either!

Here’s a sampling of what we tried:

On the left (kinda in the dark): crispy chickpeas and chorizo. On the right: fried calamari with a chipotle-horseradish aioli— one of my favorites of the night.

Ok, actually this might have been one of my favorites of the night: crispy pork belly with roasted beets and a creme fraiche. Wow! I can’t believe I’ve never tried pork belly before but this was divine. The salty pork, sweet creme fraiche, and subtle beets all complemented each other so well, in texture as well as flavor.

Grilled romaine salad with polenta croutons, manchego, bacon, roasted red peppers, and a chipotle-caesar dressing. Is it weird that I loved grilled lettuce?

Sesame and pepita crusted yellowfin tuna. So pretty.

Seafood paella. This picture does not do the dish justice, but let’s just say it is definitely enough to serve two people, includes almost everything under the sea, and even has an entire lobster tail in there. That’s right… entire lobster tail.

I got this— chicken with Israeli couscous and haricots vert. Ok, I know this is kind of boring, but I do have to say I loved the flavors (the couscous had a great tomato flavor) and the portion was perfect (if you don’t take into account the rest of what we ate!)

Unfortunately I didn’t get a good snapshot of the hands-down dessert winner of the night, which was the oreo beignet. Definitely try that if you go! In the front is chocolate tres leches cake, then (clockwise) is caramelized rum bananas with a crispy cinnamon phyllo cup and vanilla bean ice cream (I really liked this one). Finally, the passionfruit tart. All were delicious!

Don’t you just love Restaurant Week, new places to eat, and Philadelphia?

A few weeks ago (August 11th, to be exact), Slip and I went to Amada for a beautiful and delicious dinner to celebrate our three-year anniversary. It was everything I could ever want out of a Jose Garces restaurant and at the same time surpassed all of my expecatations. The menu had a lot of great variety and it was difficult to choose just six tapas (which was more than enough), but we finally narrowed it down (leaving several in mind for the next time we go back!)

Before we ordered our server brought out this great spread with some lavash type crackers. The spread was some kind of tuna, capers, and olive oil. I usually don’t like tuna or capers, but it was delish! We started with the Caldo Gallego— a white bean and ham stew— and Piquillos Rellenos— little peppers stuffed with crabmeat— that were both just so so. Definitely not a reorder. The stew was very thin, although the ham flavor was rich, which I did like. The stuffed peppers were just very simple and although they were tasty next time I’d try something new.

Next we got the albondigas— lamb meatballs, which are one of my favorite choices at any tapas joint. The sauce that they came in was really tasty, with creamy manchego. The meatballs were also bite-size, which I really liked. The microgreens on top added a nice little crunch (and fresh flavor).

Arriving with the albondigas was my favorite dish of the night— esparragos con trufas— grilled asparagus in a cheese sauce, a poached egg, black truffles, and a mahon crisp. This was divine and all the flavors and textures complimented one another perfectly. Asparagus and poached eggs should run away together and get married. And then have baby truffles and come live in my kitchen.

Look how serious they are about truffles at Amada! We also shared garbanzos con espinacas, which was served in a rich tomato sauce and a great go-to tapas. The final dish was my other favorite we had— a Spanish flatbread in the style of costillas de ternera. It had beef shortribs, horseradish, manchego, and bacon. This was just insanely good and beyond words. Spanish cheeses have such great saltiness and flavor to them and this flatbread even tasted like it had truffles, too.

We didn’t order dessert because we were absolutely too stuffed but we were brought a really yummy (and large!) almond flavored cookie. Amada, I love you! I’m ready to go back again soon.

Last night my friend S sent me these pictures of what looks like a fantastic going away dinner before heading off to spend the summer down south. I have to admit, I had just returned from a delicious dinner and was still salivating over these pictures— the food looks incredible! S and J dined at Jose Garces newest endeavour, the all encompassing Garces Trading Company. It is at this venue that Garces has created a menu full of culinary delights, from some smaller of his tapas creations, to the all-American deep dish pizza pies. Some more traditional items grace the menu as well, like Coq au Vin and Bouillabaisse. It looks phenomenal, and with a Garces group gift card still in my wallet, it is going to be difficult to decide between Garces Trading Company and his long-standing and Philadelphia phamous Old City location, Amada.

Here is a peek at what appetizing pleasures await you at Garces Trading Company:

(Foreground): Special off-menu pork shoulder terrine duck fat confit with fennel apricot mustardo and microgreens. (Background): Prosciutto di Parma DOP.

Baby artichokes, preserved lemon, honey, date, walnut.

Cheese plate. (Closest): Monte cabra paired with truffle lavender honey. (Middle): Fontina Val D’aosta paired with roasted garlic dulce de leche. (Back): Pleasant ridge reserve with fennel apricot mustardo.

To all you Philadelphians out there— aren’t you so so happy you live in the City of Brotherly Love and gastronomical delights?

Did you watch The Next Iron Chef? Well, I just watched the last few episodes, but I instantly became a big Jose Garces fan, a chef who has wowed Philadelphia with his many diverse and successful restaurants. Tonight we went to a celebratory dinner at Tinto, a tapas style restaurant inspired by the Basque region of Spain.

We started off at the bar because the restaurant had a 45 minute wait (it was worth it, but next time we’ll make reservations.) I was pleased that they offered red and white sangria, and opted for the red— it was great. Slip had the Mairritze, a cocktail made with Moleca Cachaca (a cane spirit), muddled mint, lime, and blood orange— he thoroughly enjoyed it. I was a bit disappointed that the sidra we started with was overpriced and not very authentic, but that was the only oversight of the night. After being seated the server brought us complimentary Mahon cheese crisps with a smoky tomato romesco sauce. They were inhaled very quickly.

We started with the figs wrapped in serrano ham. It was a nice dish, but probably the most lackluster of the night.

Next came the salad: arugula, persimmons, pine nuts, fried goat cheese, serrano ham, and Sevilla orange vinaigrette. The peppery flavor of the arugula complimented the saltiness of the ham and the sweet persimmons perfectly. Persimmons are an interesting fruit which I suggest trying next time you see one if you have not had them before.

The salad came along with the bocadillo of fried oysters, choricero pepper tartar, greens, and red onion escabeche. I love fried oysters— they are delish.

This was the best thing that we had— Sopa de Castano. It is a truffled chestnut soup with duck and mushroom hash, fried quail egg, and pistachio. The presentation was gorgeous. The server also recommended that it come mid-meal due to how rich it was, and he was completely right. We had to pause every few bites because of it’s richness, but I couldn’t stop eating it. I would go back just for this soup.

We finished dinner with these kobe beef montaditos, over a pisto and topped with more smokey romesco, as well as a dish of wild mushrooms cooked with potato, shallot, parsley, and truffles. The mushrooms had an interesting layering of flavor— I asked the server if they were cooked in Spanish sherry, but he said the flavor came from immense amounts of butter and truffles. They were rich, flavorful, and satisfying. And, of course, we saved room for dessert:

Bananas y Azafran: a chocolate cake with carmelized bananas and a safron crema. And:

Chocolate y Cafe: chocolate coffee layer cake, almond meringue, chocolate ganache, coffee buttercream, and hazelnut icecream. The desserts were perfect. If you haven’t been to Tinto I suggest you make a reservation soon! www.tintorestaurant.com