You could spend days and days eating your way through Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market, which not only offers some of those items like the Philly Cheesesteak, scrapple and soft pretzels that originated in the city, but is also a panoply of oyster bars, Amish dairies and Italian salumerias. Nearby are some of center city's best restaurants that also feature a particular kind of Philadelphia hospitality.

a.kitchen

135 South 18th Street

215-825-7030

 

    Opened in 2011 in the AKA Rittenhouse Square Hotel, a.kitchen (with a.bar next door) is Ellen Yin’s fourth restaurant (one is in Manhattan), and I’ve admired her handiwork since she was at the still-popular Fork. The unappealing name in lowercase does nothing to indicate what a fine contemporary restaurant this is, without anything gimmicky on the menu, and everything that’s there is wrought with intense flavors, via Chef Eli Collins.

    The room, opening onto the street, is a stylistic combination of white marble and black steel, with white oak to soften the ambiance. There is counter seating in front of the open kitchen.

    Ours was a table for six, an ideal number to allow people to share the generous portions, beginning with the charcuterie ($18) of chicken liver mousse, corned lamb terrine, and pork and olive rillette.  Adding a buttermilk Ranch-style dressing to cucumbers and kohlrabi with rhubarb and chili honey ($13) makes all the difference in flavors, while the cheese selection ($16) is composed of varieties you rarely see anywhere.

Informed that the burger was really worth trying, I found the ample but not over-stuffed patty of excellent ground beef with American cheese, a sprightly Dijonnaise mayo and good roll ($18) a winning combination, and the veal flank steak ($22) with baby lettuces and assertive salsa verde made for a hefty lunch item. Of course, it’s always satisfying when you find that a chef really knows how to grill a whole fish so that its exterior has a slight char and the interior is wholly moist and sweet ($24).

    Desserts are outstanding, from a Basque pistachio cake ($8) and chocolate hazelnut Paris-Brest ($12) to a light, pretty verbena cream and strawberry confection ($8).

    The wines by the glass are well chosen.

 

Open for breakfast and lunch Mon.-Fri., for brunch Sat. & Sun., for dinner nightly.

 

 

 

THE LOVE

130 South 18th Street

215-433-1555

 

    How such a wonderful restaurant can have such a silly name is beyond me, but all is forgiven when you enter this 100-seat restaurant with communal tables, located near Rittenhouse Square. (It can get loud, so try to snag a table near the front door.)

    This is one of Stephen Starr’s newest creations and one of his most straightforward—no huge statues of Buddha, no gilded bicycles or homages to Mexican wrestlers, no purple alcoves. It’s an American eatery with Starr’s signature hospitality and one of Philadelphia’s most respected chefs, Aimée Olexy (below), who is also at Talula’s Garden and Talula’s Table, where she features a very popular 12-person tasting dinner.

    While there is no pretense in the culinary conceptions and no excessive stylization of the dishes, some of them are as refined as one would have found at Le Bec Fin back in the day. Case in point: a green asparagus soup (above) with whipped goat’s cheese and brioche croutons ($13) that was perfect for the season that in another would not have had the integrity of flavor those summer asparagus possessed. 

    Like the restaurant’s name, there are a lot of way-too-cutesy, wince-inducing descriptions on the menu, like “Eat your veggies,” “feel good plate,” and “turkey MMMelt,” but Olexy doesn’t mess around with her fried catfish and hushpuppy platter with sprout slaw ($22), as good as any you’ll find south of Philadelphia.

    Crab and ricotta ravioli ($22) were delicious, though they could have used more crab, in a rich but light carrot sauce touched with fennel pollen.  For dessert the “dirt sundae” ($11) with chocolate mousse, crushed cookies and cherry pâté de fruit looked a little like potting soil but was a terrific guilty pleasure.

    The wine list, cobbled together by Olexy and sommelier Alexandra Cherniavsky, is sensibly laid out and admirably inclusive, though it could use more good bottles under $50.

 

Open for lunch Mon.-Fri., brunch Sat. & Sun., dinner nightly.

 

NEW YORK CORNER
By John Mariani

    Good as they might be, most Indian restaurants in New York lack a sense of humor. Some, like Junoon and Tamarind Tribeca are as elegant as their counterparts in London; others are part of the casual Indian food cultures around Murray Hill and in Astoria; most are affable storefronts in just about every neighborhood in the city. None is as much fun to go to as Babu Ji near Union Square and N.Y.U.

    From outside you see only a bar with a few tables, but upstairs is a two-room dining area. The rear room is darkened and very loud but the main section is well lighted, full of color and the noise level not so onerous. On the white brick walls an old Bollywood movie plays silently, while large photos of festively dressed Indian men and women deck out the other walls. You can even pluck a cold beer from the refrigerator here and bring it to your table.

    The party atmosphere is not accidental, for owners Jessi and Jennifer Singh, who also run three restaurants in Australia, named Babu Ji after an Indian figure who functions as a “self appointed neighborhood ambassador who knows everyone and everything that’s happening in the village,” and who “unashamedly indulges in food and hospitality.”

    Jessi is a self-taught chef, and his ideas about Indian food balance many traditional dishes you’ll find around town with some smart new concepts that are wholly his. You might want to trust his instincts by going with the $62 Tasting Menu, with matching beers +$24, with wines +$34. Otherwise, go with a foursome or more and order from all over the menu.  Surprise will co-exist with comfort food when you do.

    A selection called “From the Street” should begin with  crisp papadum wafers and naan with chutney ($16) and a pop-in-the-mouth yogurt kebab  ($15) spiced with green chili and cardamom served over beet and ginger sauce (right).

“Colonel Tso’s Cauliflower” ($16) is a play on China’s General Tso’s chicken, here done in Indo-Chinese style as cauliflower in a bright tomato and chili sauce, the vegetable so tender and aromatically seasoned. "The Original" Naan Pizza  ($16) is a further step away from India, though it’s baked in a tandoor oven, the fragrant steamy bread lavished with sweet-pickled chili butter and fontina cheese.

    “From the Pots” is a section that includes “Unauthentic Butter Chicken” ($21) of yogurt-marinated chicken, tomato, ginger, garlic and fenugreek curry that has a richness and creamy texture but not the heaviness of some versions.  Short Rib Korma ($25) is a wondrous, hearty plate of tender beef with fresh curry leaves, cardamom, coriander, coconut and cashew curry, while palak paneer  ($18) is a cream-enriched spinach curry spiced with cumin and chili. Lentil dals are always found on Indian menus, and Babu Ji’s of split yellow lentils with ginger, cumin, turmeric and coconut milk ($14) has a freshness of flavor you don’t always find in a dish too often left to stew on the stove for hours.

    From the tandoor comes a big platter of lamb chops  ($26) with cumin-spiced potatoes, raita yogurt and apricot chutney that add measurably to the mild flavor of the meat—pricey for New Zealand lamb. Indian restaurants so often overcook their fish dishes when done in the fiercely hot tandoor, but the nicely charred dorade ($24) at Babu Ji was very succulent, served with a ginger-honey sauce and micro radish greens.

    On the side you’ll want to order the aged basmati rice ($5).

    Babu Ji offers a number of Indian-spiced cocktails ($14), some that work, some that don’t.

    For dessert, the one to have is a stick of kulfi ice cream.

    While writing this report, so many of the sensory memories of the food at Babu Ji came rushing back—especially after I’d just returned from nine days in Spain—and Indian food of this caliber is what I’m craving. Plus the place is a lot of fun, if you get a less noisy table, and the service is as affable as you’ll find in Manhattan.

 

Open nightly for dinner. For brunch Sat. & Sun.

NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR

    About 20 years ago on a visit to northern Italy’s little known Franciacorta area, I was unimpressed by the quality and value of most of the sparklers tasted,  especially when compared with that of the Prosecco region, only 100 miles away.

    In fact, while Franciacorta sparklers are made by the same process as used in Champagne (i.e., making a base wine, then adding additional yeast and sugar to the bottle to produce carbon dioxide bubbles), our visit revealed many with a strange, somewhat oxidized bouquet and a too sweet taste. Moreover, at that time one could hardly find a bottle of Franciacorta bubbly at more than a handful of U.S. retail outlets.

    That’s all changed. Now I’ve found that the bouquet and taste of a number of sparklers from Franciacorta not only outdo those of Prosecco but rival the likes of many bottles of Champagne —and at a very modest price when compared with that of most bottles of Champagne. Today many more shops nationwide are carrying more than a token brand or two of Franciacorta sparklers.

    What’s accounted for this change is multifactored: Since the late 1990s the region has witnessed an emphasis on enhanced quality of viticultural and vinicultural practices —especially a movement in the region to produce the wines organically, with the great majority now “certified” organic, as well as an effort to determine the best growing area for different clones of the Chardonnay and Pinot Nero grapes (the predominant varietals used in these wines); decreased sweetness, or even elimination of the dosage (the liquid that’s added to Franciacorta sparklers when, as in the process in Champagne, the wasted yeast from the second fermentation is removed, a process known as “disgorgement”); and of course some savvy marketing — the combination of which has led to the export of over 12% of the annual production.

    To evaluate the result of the effort to enhance the quality of these wines a tasting of 15  currently available for consumers to purchase was conducted at New York City’s The Leopard des Artistes by the Wine Media Guild (a U.S.-based organization of professional wine communicators). To be honest, I didn’t love every one of those tasted, finding a few too sweet and others not rising above the quality of good Prosecco. On the other hand, I found a number of the wines outstanding, and the following are my notes on these with my top choice in each of 7 categories.

 

ZERO DOSAGE

 

Castel Faglia, Dosaggio Zero, Millesimato 2012 ($23)

This sparkler is made of 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Nero grapes and, as the name implies, no additional sugar is added to the wine when it’s disgorged. It shows a straw yellow color, a steady stream of rapidly rising bubbles and a delicate, fruity taste with hints of almonds and cinnamon in its dry finish.

 

EXTRA BRUT

Il Mosnel, Extra Brut. Vintage 2013 ($52)

Made from 100% Chardonnay grapes, this wine was fermented in small oak casks over five months with the second fermentation taking place over 3 years. It has a pale yellow color, very fine bubbles and a refreshing bouquet and taste, with hints of vanilla in its finish. One might be hard pressed to distinguish this wine from a top-tier Champagne.

 

NON-VINTAGE BRUT

 

Ca Del Bosco, Cuvee Prestige, Brut NV ($32)

This bubbly is made from 75% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Bianco and 15% Pinot Nero grapes. Fermentation took place in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks over five months. In making the final blend, a small amount of  “reserve” wine from other vintages was added, with the second fermentation taking place over 25 months. Of note, disgorgement takes place in an oxygen-free atmosphere, so that very little sulfur dioxide needs to be added. It shows a bouquet and taste of peaches and brioche and has a very fruity finish with a bit of vibrant acidity.

 

VINTAGE BRUT

 

Franciacorta, Bellavista, Millesimato, Brut Vintage 2012 ($45)

Made from 73% Chardonnay and 27% Pinot Nero, this outstanding sparkler underwent primarily stainless-steel tank fermentation, with 30% of the grapes barrel fermented. The second fermentation was conducted over 36 months. It shows a pale straw color and a fine stream of bubbles, with aromas and an elegant taste of ripe apples and brioche, with a  long memorable finish, that has notes of almonds and vanilla.

 

SATĖN    (A classification unique to the area in which the blend must be made from only white grapes and have a bottle pressure so as to produce a very “foamy” wine.)

 

Ricci Curbastro, Saten Millesimato NV, Dossagio Zero ($49)

This 100% Chardonnay wine was fermented in oak and underwent its second fermentation over 48 months. It has a straw yellow color, a bouquet and creamy taste of apples and peaches with hints of fennel and lemon in its smooth finish. This wine makes an excellent mate for grilled salmon, veal or smoky cheeses. 

ROSÉ
 

Guido Berlucchi, Rosé NV ($29) 

Made from 60% Pinot Nero and 40% Chardonnay, this great value from the producer who first made sparkling wines in the area shows a fragrant bouquet and taste of ripe cherries and strawberries, with hints of lemons and limes in its finish. More than just an aperitif wine, it makes great accompaniment to pasta with red sauce as well as grilled branzino or shrimps.

 

BLANC DE NOIR

 

Majolini, Blanc de Noir, Brut NV ($56)

While a bit pricey, this 100% Pinot Noir wine, from grapes hand harvested from a vineyard on a hilltop loaded with calcareous soil, represents Pinot Noir bubbly at its best, with fragrant flavors of ripe berries and a taste of berries and hints of dried apricots in its long smooth finish. This is an ideal wine to mate with a wide range of food from scallops to grilled chicken or veal.

 

WE CAN HARDLY WAIT TO DIG IN!