RocketJSquirrel's Profile
Blackfish Tuesdays, and a BYO question in general.
I wince at the thought the moderator will think I am Chip Roman's brother, which I am not, but here goes anyway. I used to go to Blackfish Tuesday tastings all the time and they were just an incredible bargain for such superb food. Try one and report back.
As for wine, you can take yours home with you in the trunk and selaed to keep it legal. As for taking the leftovers to another BYO, wine is lucky to get through 24 hours without much deterioartion, even if sealed and kept in the fridge, so my advice is to finish it at home and bring a new bottle when you dine out.
Heading back to Philadelphia, tweaking the agenda.
Too early for me to tell if the execution is consisitently at the same level, but the chef at FatF did a truly excellent meal for us a month or so ago. The chefs at both places went to shcool together, btw. (No, Mr. moderator, I am still not the brother or personal friend of either chef, but I sure as heck know good food and am glad to reccomend same, regardless of the venue or chef.) Not only was the signature beetsteak great, believe it or not, the mackerel greatly transcended what one might expect and, if still on the menu, deserves a try. I and others thought it the equal of the signature dish.
Heading back to Philadelphia, tweaking the agenda.
As far as new and very worthy places are concerned, I would say Sbraga, Farm and the Fisherman and Fond.
Craig LaBan's Seraphina review
Sounds like Fight Club plus bad food. Not my kind of place.
The ABSOLUTE Best in center Center City dinner NO Budget
For steak, Barclay Prime, especially if you are going to order the very expensive Mishima ranch steaks.
For fish I would go to Conshy for Blackfish or the sister restaurant Mica in Germantown. .
A Chef friend is coming to town, need recommendations!
I am surprised no one has mentioned Talula's Garden yet, which would certainly be at the top of my list.
Lunch in Conshy - During the Week
Blackfish. And opt for the fish course of the day.You get a course worthy of a world class restaurant for $15 or so. Get a side (fries, light crispy onion rings) or soup to go with it and you've got a great meal.
Burger and other options are great, but I think a healthy and delicious fish course trumps them.
Blackfish or Modo Mio?
Much as I love Modo Mio, for a special meal I would definitely go to Blackfish.
Mica a la carte during the week?
My wife and I were just there with a friend a few days ago and we ordered a la carte. Our meal was wonderful. La Ban's review is quite accurate. By all means, do go.
Talula's Garden ... help me decide
It's excellent. I recommend it very highly. Of course, you should enjoy some of the cheese selections, as this is one of their specialties.
What "New" Places are you planning on going to?
Next for me will be the Farmer and the Fisherman.
Sbraga cooking at Blackfish
I concur. The meal fully met my high expectations, including the lamb. Just wonderful.
The Farm and Fisherman
The reliability of Yelp is somewhat below a stock reccomendation from the person who cuts your hair.
I did receive a very strong reecomendation from someone whose food evaluation skills are impeccable. I plan to visit in late April and see for myself.
Mica Chestnut Hill
About three weeks from today.
I always expect some slippage with these dates, however.
Chip Roman and Jason Cichonskis - Stone House in Chestnut Hill
Based on the food Jason turned out at Lacroix and is currently doing at Blackfish, I suspect you will be very pleased indeed.
Signup for Blackfish byob chowdown, Sun 30 January (Conshohocken)
Thanks for the great notes and pictures. Our chef for this event was Steven, quite a talented young guy I would say. One thing about Blackfish, Chip has always maintained a lot of depth of talent in the kitchen. It's one of the few places where if you go when the chef is away for some reason, the food is still 100% as good as when he's there. Not many places like that.
I wonder if any of us have pictures of the other courses. Anyone have any?
It's always nice to spend time to enjoy everyone's company and conversation at our leisure.
Looking forward to dining with you again.
"Aux Petits Delices" Bakery in Wayne
I second your recommendation. APD is easily the best around. By far.
Koo Zee Doo any recs?
Koo Zee Doo is a great choice. I think you will enjoy it. I certainly have. It's also a BYOB.
Wine to bring to Blackfish
Here's a German Riesling that will go well with many types of food, and even available at the Conshy PLCB, among others:
Code: 25513
Description: SA Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 2007
Size: 750 ML
Price: $20.99
Philly Mag top restaurants?
Well, Le Bec is in the Hall of Fame by itself, but you have to look for it.
As for Bluefin, yes it indeed belongs here. There are other omissions as well, but overall not a bad list.
Philly Mag top restaurants?
I cannot understand why people would find the food at Blackfish anything short of superb. I have been there around 200 times and I would not go anywhere twice that didn't have excellent food by any criteria.
They did have a server once who was a bit difficult, but that's way back.
BTW, I love Bibou and know the chef and his wife. Nevertheless, Blackfish is really leading the way in the Phila. region. Glad to go to Bibou any day. It really isn't quite the same type of cuisine, however, so it's difficlut to compare exactly.
Great meal at Blackfish in Conshohocken
Just had great meals at Barclay Prime and Le Bec Fin (also around 200 times, in total).
Here's a secret, for those who are able to indulge. The lunch at Blackifsh. There is always a main course of fish from the regular menu for $15. Yesterday's was a superb blackish in a sauce with black truffles, crunchy on the skin side and just wonderful.Not enough? Well, we started with a large bowl of lobster bisque for $8. Not the kind watered down with this that or the other, but real, intense lobster. If you've had it, you know what I mean. There are other fun items for lunch that are quite good, but for me the opportunity to have two real courses of great food for $23 just screams bargain.
Great meal at Blackfish in Conshohocken
My experience there over the past several years is one of remarkably high consistency over around 190 visits. In fact, I am quite astonished by the fact that rather often a dish comes out of the kitchen that is not merely excellent, but meets the qualitative standards my wife and I get consistently at Per Se in NY.
I cannot recommend it highly enough.
WRETCHED Meal at Tiffin Last Week
I certainly concur. Saffron is the clear winner in this area.
Help with a 1st Timer in Philly
I concur with your choice of Matyson. Four course tasting menu for $45 each and very high quality.
LE BEC-FIN - Main Dining Room, Front Dining Room, or Mezzanine Seating?
The main dining room, which is absolutely stunning. Nothing remotely like it in Philadelphia. Worth the price of admission just for the room alone, pretty much.
wine stores?
Actually, the fact that Philly is the BYO epicenter of planet earth is one of the unintended consequences of our Stalinist State Store system.
Not that I would suggest you bing in something from outside of Pennsyltucky, comrade (wink, wink, wink).
Hand Sliced Smoked Salmon
Aaron is fantastic. A wonderful person slicing some great lox. You can't ask for more.
