Tinto

Tinto
114 S 20th St, Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 665-9150

While it is normally my want to display a photo of the outside of the building, this photo says everything I want to say about Tinto: sophisticated, intimate, Basque, cozy and sultry. Basque of course refers to the region of North Central Spain that straddles the area between north central Spain and south western France.  This tapas restaurant serves to reflect this fusion and Chef Jose Garces certainly does a marvelous job fusing all the best of France and Spain.  Coincidentally, Tinto is Spanish for "stained" and "red" as in red wine, so the hundreds of bottles of wine throughout the restaurant is of course no surprise.

The restaurant is an intimate setting with an open style kitchen (see back of this photo) with a luxurious bar with small rectangular wooden shelves lined with hundreds of wine bottles. It is lit with gorgeous incandescent lighting which casts a golden glow over everything--the perfect date spot.

Without further adieu, allow me to present the culinary masterpiece that is Tinto.

Since this blog is titled, Fine Food, Good Drinks, I can't help but mention the sangria I chose to accompany my meal. Sangria is a typical beverage from Spain and Portugal. It normally consists of wine, chopped fruit, a sweetener, and a small amount of added brandy. Chopped fruit can include orange, lemon, lime, apple, peach, melon, berries, pineapple, grape, kiwifruit and mango. A sweetener such as honey, sugar, syrup, or orange juice is added.

Pintxos: OLIVES House Marinated Mixed Olives.  Pintxos appears at the top of the Tinto menu, and I learned it was the Spanish word for "tapas".  The marinated olives were delicious and arguably one of the best dishes of the evening.  With so many to choose from there was not a clear winner in my book, however.

ALMONDS: House Smoked Marcona Almonds. Someone call the fire department because these almonds were smokin'. Well, not literally, but they were smoked and the flavorful sea salt, almonds and wooden smokey taste made this appetizer a delight to the palate. Marcona almonds, the "Queen of Almonds," are imported from Spain. Marcona almonds are prized for being more tender, sweet, and delicate than regular almonds, with a nice buttery flavor that is due to their high oil and moisture content.

GAZPACHO Goat Cheese Mousse, Strawberry, Rhubarb, Crispy Serrano. Jamón serrano is a type of jamón (dry-cured Spanish ham), which is generally served in thin slices, or occasionally diced.  Gazpacho is a chilled soup and this particular variety was fruity, summery tasting, sweet and creamy due to the goat cheese.  The Serrano ham was a nice accouterment with the salty cured meat balancing the sweetness of the fruit and cheese.  The rhubarb was an interesting addition to the dish, as I have never had a gazpacho served with it before. Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable, though it is generally used as a fruit in desserts and jams. You only eat the stalks, which have a rich tart flavor.

ARUGULA Serrano Ham, Mission Figs, Fried Goat Cheese, Spiced Almonds, Sevilla Orange Vinaigrette.  Probably the most interesting addition to the arugula salad here was the addition of the balls of fried goat cheese.  Absolutely delicious.  The Orange vinaigrette wasn't half bad either. Certainly cleaned the plate here.

DIVER SCALLOPS Quince, Uni Emulsion, Parsnip, Crispy Serrano.  You can see the little chunks of serrano ham mixed in with the greens.  The little yellow chunks are the quince, a yellow fruit similar to the apple. Quince is a small deciduous tree that bears a pome fruit, similar in appearance to a pear, and bright golden-yellow when mature.  The scallops can be dipped in the vanilla parsnip puree- which was amazingly creamy and sweet.

ORGANIC CHICKEN Brussels Sprouts, Chorizo, Fingerling Potatoes, Herb Jus.  The chicken was fantastic, tender, sweet, loved the brussel sprouts.  The herb jus was rich and sweet.

Postre (Dessert): Gateau Basque. Almond Cake, Vanilla Cream, Cherry Fig Jam, Pedro Ximenez Ice Cream.  The most interesting part of this delicious dessert was the Pedro Ximenez (sherry) flavored ice cream.  I would attest, the entire dessert could have been a giant bowel of the ice cream because that was by far the best portion of this dessert.

Of Note:

The wall of wine bottle openers in the atrium keeps well with the restaurant's name: Tinto (red stained- as in red wine).

The downstairs area (which you pass through to get to the bathroom) features a little en suite with space for 10-15 people.  A nice basement lounge area for a private gathering or the like. Not sure if I would want a private party there though if the other restaurant patrons would constantly be passing through on the way to the bathroom.

And of course, my traditional bathroom review photo. Ok Chef Garces.  What the **** happened?  At around $200 a meal with an elegantly decorated restaurant complete with a few hundred bottle Spanish wine list, the last thing I was expecting was the bathroom to look like I had stepped out of a wildly successful Spanish tapas restaurant into the back room, strip-mall single stall bathroom.  The only thing missing was graffiti and the smell of a homeless man's urine.   A cheap sink, a cheap toilet, the floor was not even tiled...You could probably have taken the revenue from just a few hours work that evening and threw a couple thousand in here and tiled the bathroom, put in the granite counter-top, upgraded the toilet, and I'm thinking a nice wine bottle chandelier or something hanging from the ceiling in keeping with the restaurants "Tinto" theme.  I mean, my bathroom at home looks better than this. For a multimillionaire restaurant entrepreneur with an array of restaurants, a flagship restaurant (Amada), two cookbooks, various TV appearances and newspaper articles, I'm sure this isn't at the top of your list.  However, it reflects poorly on your interior designer, and indirectly it reflects poorly on you.

Just for comparison, look at the bathroom (above) and then at the open area kitchen just upstairs along with a shot of the main dining area (below).

(above) open area kitchen

(above) main dining area

Shot of the main entrance.  I apologize for the poor quality- it was humid and raining so camera lens kept fogging up.

Update: 3/24/15.  I returned here for a birthday dinner and Tinto did not disappoint.

Pulpo Spanish octopus, smoked green olive aïoli, spicy tomato

Sopa De Castaña Truffled Chestnut Soup, Duck & Mushroom Hash, Fried Quail Egg, Pistachio

Duck Montadito, with duck confit and black cherry, is a dish that offers a great balance of savory and sweet

Lamb Lamb loin, eggplant, bacon, sherry jus

Albóndigas Meatballs, Pipérade, Manchego

JAMÓN IBÉRICO DE BELLOTA

ALMONDS House Smoked Marcona Almonds

Leche Frita Fried Milk, Sangria Caramel, Blood Orange Sorbet

CUAJADA Olive Oil Panna Cotta, Grapefruit, Whipped Honey

GÂTEAU BASQUE Almond Cake, Vanilla Cream, Cherry Fig Jam, Pedro Ximénez Ice Cream

Vic Sushi Bar

Vic Sushi Bar
2035 Sansom St, Philadelphia PA, 19103 (215) 564-4339
Monday - Thursday 11:30 am to 9:30 pm
Friday 11:30 am to 10:00 pm
Saturday 12:30 pm to 10:00 pm
BYOB.  Non-alcoholic drinks available in a small cooler (self serve).

This literal hole-in-the-wall located between 20th and 21st on Samsom St had such fantastic sushi that it demanded critical acclaim in this blog. Put aside your pretenses and stop ruffling your feathers over the absence of valet parking faithful reader and feast your eyes on the scrumptious cuisine before you. For God's sake this is a food blog-- not an interior design blog.

This is the entrance after walking in the front door.  This BYOB features seating for 10-15 max.  As I said before-- hole-in-the-wall.  The walls are decorated with pictures of happy patrons consuming large quantities of raw fish. The requisite Buddha is featured prominently in the center of the above photo.

We commandeered seating at the bar where the sushi was being made.  It is always fun watching your creation being crafted before you eat it.

(above) Tuna Dumplings. $10. The dumplings here are made with bigeye tuna, avocado, spicy mayo, tempura and imitation crab inside with green tobiko on top. They're garnished with daikon radish, eel sauce and spicy mayo.  They are made with a lot of avocado so the dumplings are very creamy in consistency.

Edamame. $2. Edamame or edamame bean is a preparation of immature soybeans in the pod, found in the cuisine of Taiwan, China, Japan, Indonesia and Hawaii. The pods are boiled or steamed and served with salt.  The edamame here are served a bit too chewy for my taste- almost as if they have been steamed for too long.

Row 1 (top): Shrimp Tempura Mango Coconut Roll.  Shrimp Tempura and coconut jam roll, topped with mango. $9.25.  Row 2 (middle): Long Island: spicy crunch white tuna topped with eel and avocado. $13.95.  Row 3 (bottom): Protein Roll: spicy tuna, white tuna, crab stick, avocado and apple, wrapped in soy paper. $12.95.

(above) This is a close up of the Shrimp Tempura Mango Coconut Roll.  Shrimp Tempura and coconut jam roll, topped with mango.  Very tasty, sweet, summery roll goes well with a thin slice of ginger to add that extra pop to the finish.

(above) Long Island: spicy crunch white tuna topped with eel and avocado. This excellent specimen was delicious with rich, sweet terryaki sauce balanced by the creaminess of the avocado and the spice of the tuna.

(above) Protein Roll: spicy tuna, white tuna, crab stick, avocado and apple, wrapped in soy paper.  To be completely honest, I ordered it because of the name.  However, I was glad I did. The orange and red sauces were sweet and creamy and the mixed tuna and crab were a pleasing combination to the palate.

 Of course, now a word on the amenities.  No this is not Morimoto, Zama or one of the more posh sushi jaunts in Philadelphia. You basically have to walk through the dish room to get to the bathroom.  Once inside, this looks to me like an all purpose cleaning closet/bathroom.  The toilet was very clean however.

On the flip side however, this was a fraction of the cost of Morimoto.  At $70 for dinner for two including tip, this is quite a steal and I'm surprised that the restaurant wasn't packed considering the quality of the food.

On a closing note, as a BYOB, it really is a cheap option for dining since alcohol can be brought in for the cost of 1-2 cocktails at a fancier restaurant.

All in all, I would definitely return without a doubt.  The food was excellent enough that I would overlook the less than stellar qualities in other areas--namely decor, bathrooms, and service. I only critique service however not because it wasn't fast, but because all of the workers spoke very poor English.

I am hoping after a few more trips here, I can join the ranks of the hundreds of satisfied patrons featured on the wall of the restaurant.

Little Nonna's

Little Nonna's
1234 Locust St, Philadelphia, PA 19107 (215) 546-2100

Little Nonna's is a welcome addition to the Midtown Village area of Philadelphia (12th/Locust) which features this venture by Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran, two prominent Philadelphia entrepreneurs who are also responsible for Grocery, Open House, Lolita, and Barbuzzo.  The restaurant once seated inside has an immediate homey feel-- as the name would suggest. "Nonna" is Italian for grandmother.

Gorgeous, Italian market incandescent bulbs on cables light the interior giving everything a warm orange glow, just like grandma's house.  The walls are decorated with quaint country style portraits and the plating is purposefully mismatched--your plate will have a different look then mine--reinforcing the idea that this is just a casual meal at grandma's house and we are not in fact out at a restaurant.   Outside is beautiful al fresco dining under glass skylights.

Note the addition of a random picnic table that does not match the other tables at all.  This purposeful design "flaw" highlights the sense of homeyness and "grandma's house" decor found consistently themed throughout the restaurant.

UNCLE SAL’S CHOPPED SALAD $10 gem lettuce, roasted peppers, soppressata, crispy chickpeas, pepperoncini, locatelli*, olives, zesty italian dressing.  Probably the most interesting items in the salad were the locatelli and fried chickpeas which were reminiscent of popcorn.
*Locatelli has been a brand name synonymous with the best quality Pecorino Romano. Most famously known as a grating cheese.

NONNI’S SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS $16 B+V+P fontina stuffed meatballs, braised pork marinara, parmesan, basil. This is Little Nonna's signature dish and quite frankly enough for 2-3 people. The meatballs are fist sized and the pile of pasta is arguably the leaning Tower of Piza of pasta piles. Absolutely delicious, and my friend and I were able to quickly polish this dish off.

GRILLED SWORDFISH $22 fava, shaved asparagus, radish, wild mushroom farro, salmoriglio. This was pleasing but nothing special.  Swordfish was well cooked and tender and the accouterments were adequate to the task.  Interesting fact: the Salmoriglio is a Southern Italian condiment made of lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, chopped oregano and parsley, salt and pepper.  Those are the yellowish-green drops of sauce you see on the plate.
As an aside, take note of the plate and compare it to the plate the spagetti is on.  The mismatched china is apparently china the owners found at antiques markets and it certainly produces the desired effect: a much less pretentious meal and much more like "supper at little nonna's [grandma's]."

It would be foolish not to take a moment to appreciate how far the designers of this restaurant took the "grandma's house" theme.  Exhibit 1: The wall above our heads as we ate.

I recall my own grandmother's house having knick knack shelves just like these and random pieces of china hanging on her walls.  It is eerily similar.

Behold the bathroom. It reminds me of a trip to the Barnes Foundation.  I only came in for a #1 but ended up staying there for a #2 just so I could admire the fine scenery able to be beheld from the porcelain throne.

In summary, a great intimate 40 seat restaurant featuring grandma's homestyle Italian cooking with modest pricing.  Dinner for two came to $80 with tip.  We did not drink however so that should be noted. The wine list after a brief perusal was extensive enough to satisfy any sommelier.  All in all, I would recommend this restaurant and would return to eat there again.