The Pub

Wegmans, Collegeville, PA

http://collegeville.wegmans.com/

It was almost too much to bear: the new Wegmans was opening and I just knew it was going to be overrun on opening day. So we waited until day two to go. Patience, personified.

We approached the host at The Pub and were told it would be about 15 minutes (that estimate would be an hour by the time we left the store), so we perused the nearby 6-pack beer selection (which has been controversial): we are now free from the beer distributors who force me to buy a case. Freedom!

In about five minutes, our buzzer sounded, and we were seated at a two-top near the railing that separates the pub from the seating area for the rest of the market cafe area thingy. The Pub is not large by any stretch, but has a decent-sized bar and perhaps 15 tables. It was of course packed, and so the volume was pretty high, but we could still hear each other.

The menu is interesting: it doesn’t purport to be Irish in any way, which I sort of appreciated, compared to faux places that just put out crap food. It is also surprisingly healthy, with sides being not fries or other starches, but the daily vegetable, which turned out today to be green beans. Further, the portions all appeared to be sensible and befitting the price. Adding to the health factor: the menu details each dish’s calorie count. It’s a bit more difficult ordering that cheeseburger when you know it’s going to cost you 900 calories.

So, I opted for the salad and the fig, gorgonzola, and prosciutto naan pizza, while Rick chose three oysters and the Vietnamese black tiger shrimp with bouillabaisse sauce. A note here: I am pretty darn sure that these relatively simple dishes on the menu can be relatively easily recreated at home; for example, all of the sauces served with the entrees can be purchased in the deli section. It’s a nice tie-in, and also a nice way to try things out before taking them home.

My salad was average (nothing spectacular but perfectly serviceable), as were Rick’s oysters. He enjoyed his shrimp more, and I really dug my pizza. It was something of a gloopy mess to look at, but managed to hang together pretty well. There was a lot of flavor going on with the pungent gorgonzola sort of dominating, but the figs held up their end with a nice sweetness, and the prosciutto was nice and crispy and salty. A good little pizza that. Accompanying our dinner was a pint of Yards, and really that can’t be bad.

Service was a bit spotty, but that’s to be expected as it was just their second day. However, considering that there is no tipping, it didn’t matter all that much and good for just getting a wage and nothing else.

Is this a destination? Probably not. Could it be a reliable place to get a beer and some grub before getting victuals for the week? Definitely.

Majolica: Jack’s Farm Dinner

258 Bridge St., Phoenixville, PA

http://www.majolicarestaurant.com/

I haphazardly signed up for the Majolica e-newsletter on one visit or another and started receiving it soon after. Tangent: I think Majolica is doing something very smart with their e-newsletter, in that they are offering special options (like the dinner we just had), advance notice of special events, and other information. In addition, Chef Andrew Deery offers honest commentary on recent dinners and other news, including a great comment about making sure people cancel reservations they can’t make. It makes me more connected to the restaurant, and therefore more likely to visit. Very smart.

Anyway, a ways back the newsletter announced a special dinner featuring ingredients from Jack’s Farm, a local boutique farm that operates a CSA and sells at the local farmer’s market. It seemed like a unique opportunity and a way to support a restaurant I like, and a business who is doing something I want to be more supportive of (local food).

The dinner was different, in that we were at communal tables, and after some initial hemming and hawing, we settled on an empty one and were soon joined by six other foodies; we had great conversation with two ladies from the Main Line about food, travel, education, and, of course, cats. It turned out a lot better than expected.

On to the food. We began with a squash soup composed of butternut, acorn, and delecata varieties, adorned with herbed spaetzle and curry butter. If this was the beginning, I knew we were in for a good night: the soup was thick without being too heavy and just wonderfully seasoned. I love a good squash soup, and think I can make it: I can’t make it like this. Everyone sopped up every bit of it.

Next came a truly inspired salad of arugula. Atop the greens was shaved parmesan and some sliced radishes; underneath was a drizzle of black olive oil. Also slightly obscured was a fried oblong. When it first arrived, I thought it might be some fried goat cheese, which I’d had as an accompaniment to other salads. No, this was a fried poached egg. Um, Deery already had me at fried, but this was amazing. The egg itself was tasty, but as the yolk mixed with the olive oil, you had a wonderful dressing to the fresh arugula. Still light, but wonderfully tasty.

Next came roasted chicken agnolotti accompanied by peas, pea shoots, and pea tendrils, with chicken consomme drizzled on top to serve as something of a light sauce. I don’t know how he did this, but the chicken had the consistency of what one normally gets inside a cheese ravioli. This reads as gross as I write this, but it was wonderful: the chicken was so flavorful and everyone wanted to drink the consomme out of the bowl in which the dish was served. The peas, the peas: I think one can forget how good fresh peas are since we normally get them canned or frozen. Man, those were some fine peas.

A while back I attempted a cassoulet that was heavy on breadcrumbs and not much else. We all agreed after having Deery’s pork cassoulet that he needs to offer a class in making cassoulets, because this was a masterpiece: fresh out of the oven, the smokiness of the falling-apart pork melded beautifully with the turnips, carrots, and potatoes. If you didn’t know it was fall yet, you certainly knew after this dish. Somehow though, despite the smokiness and the earthiness of the ingredients, there was something light about the dish — even bright. I can’t really describe it better than that: the flavors weren’t heavy, but bright.

The cheese plate I heard referred to earlier in the meal didn’t do justice to the next course: a slice of goat cheese was perched next to a beet tartare upon which rested a nest of micro cilantro, all of which was drizzled with aged balsamic. I feel it’s a sign of maturity that I have grown to love beets, and this dish sealed the affair. Talk about brightness — I love how balsamic brings out interesting flavors in strawberries, and here it did the same, bringing out sweetness and tart in the beets. And the combination of beet and cilantro was inspired; I suppose the “micro-ness” of the cilantro mitigated the herb’s normal power, because everything was wonderfully balanced.

The dinner ended with duo of sorts: a poached asian pear drizzled at the table with caramel and a pistachio cake topped with star anise ice cream. The pear was the star here: though a little difficult to cut into, the pear made it worth my while as it was sweet without being sickeningly so and so juicy and flavorful. I normally detest anise, but here it gave just the right amount of bite, offering a wonderful companion to the pear.

Yeah, I liked it. The $65 price tag was a bargain. We all thanked Chef Deery for a wonderful meal as he chatted with the diners after the meal; it was also cool to acknowledge the two guys from the farm who were there — yes, even the pears were from the farm. I may have to sign up for that CSA now, if only to try my hand at beets.

10 Arts by Eric Ripert

Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia

http://www.10arts.com/ (beware automatically playing music)

Thanks to some dogged efforts and wonderful connections and hospitality, the chorus was able to get an extension on the Restaurant Week menu for 10 Arts — and get a private audience with the one and only Jennifer Carroll, the best contestant on this Top Chef (and perhaps ever).

We had a private dining room for the around 30 of us, which was nice — especially since we can get pretty loud, even more so when you get some good juice into us.

I decided to start with a negroni, while Rick went for a cucumber-ific concoction with Hendricks and plenty o’ cucumber: I think I liked his better than he did.

Soon, the first course arrived. Bucking convention, Rick got the pork and beans instead of the salmon ceviche, while I opted for the heirloom corn chowder with creme fraiche.

The pork and beans (really braised pork belly and summer beans with a vinaigrette) was inspired: perfectly salty without being ridiculous, with nice smokiness and tart. My chowder was well-seasoned, though I would have preferred it to be less niblet-y: a few more of them could have been pureed for my liking. Still good though.

Next came the entrees, with Rick choosing the tagliatelle bolognese and me choosing the Pennsylvania brook trout with baby bok choy in a hazelnut brown butter sauce.

I think I speak correctly for Rick in saying that might have been the best bolognese I’ve ever had. There was a sweetness to it that was deep, rich, and intriguing; it was like a sophisticated cousin to Cincinnati chili and just as addictive. A hearty, well-executed dish. My trout was cooked perfectly; the bok choy did little for me beside provide some balance to the sauce, which was fabulous: slightly sweet but with the earthiness of the nuts to ground it, the sauce managed to stay perfect while I savored the meal, something I wouldn’t have expected given its density. It was a great entree.

We soon got our coffees and then the popular dessert of “frozen snickers,” consisting of peanut caramel, peanut butter, and honey ice creams:

However, before I could really dig into what turned out to be a scrumptious and surprisingly light dessert, I was interrupted by perhaps the loudest gay gasp I’d ever heard from my tablemate (and fellow second tenor) Avery: Jennifer had entered the room. Upon hearing the gasp, she headed our way, saying, “well, I guess I have to start over here!” Avery and I instantly hoarded her, fawning and interrogating. Soon, she had to make the rounds, but we later caught up with her for a pic in front of the room’s imposing fireplace.

Isn’t she just the sweetest? Before she left, Brotherly Love, our small group, serenaded her with “The Longest Time” and random people entered into our private room, which, part of me can understand, but also, um, PRIVATE ROOM. Interloper:

Anyway, we cornered Jennifer again before she left and I did my Ron impression, which she enjoyed. She was great — truly humbled by all of the attention and fawning, and she ended up spending around 30 minutes at least with the whole group. Oh, and she told me I had to go for the full 16-course degustation menu at Robuchon in December (so I guess I have to).

The dinner though? Very good. It’s obvious that she has a strong kitchen that is putting out good dishes (not one of the prix fixe options was panned, though if someone had said something like that, Avery and I might have drawn and quartered them), and that she herself has creative ideas and a great talent to execute them.

Go Jenn! You’ll always be Top Chef to us!