The White Dog Cafe

The White Dog Cafe
3420 Sansom St, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (215) 386-9224
http://www.whitedog.com/

The White Dog Cafe was founded in 1983 by Judy Wicks who focused on sustainability, humanitarian efforts, organic everything, fair trade, fair wages etc.  If you are environmentally or socially active, this is your type of restaurant. There are three White Dog locations, the University City location here is the original location, which started as three Victorian brownstone buildings that served muffins and coffee. The other locations are in Wayne and the Main Line.

Upon entering the premises, one can appreciate the "dog" tag (no pun intended) in the restaurant name.  There are pictures of dogs everywhere.  The above panel is featured just off the corner of the rectangular bar area. Well lit with beautiful incandescent lamps, the bar at once has an immediately cozy feel.

I'd be doing this restaurant an injustice if I didn't stop and admire the unique lighting fixtures. Just gorgeous. But, you're all here for the food, and so, here it is:

Standard bread service to start the evening.

KENNETT SQUARE MUSHROOM SOUP Truffle Crème Fraîche, Snipped Chives 9. Not a bad start to the meal.

KALE & STRAWBERRIES Cieligiene Mozzarella, Toasted Hazelnuts, Rhubarb Lemon Vinaigrette 13.  This was a healthy start to a meal, and not too big a portion so I still had room for my entree.

My entree was the special of the night, a fish filet with tomatoes, onion and vinaigrette  Very tasty indeed.

GREEN MEADOW FARM 8oz FILET Shellbark Hollow Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes, Haricot Vert,Truffle Butter, Saba 38.

Of Note:

Even the menus were embossed with dog carvings.

I will say the decor here was pretty amazing.  This is the view adjacent to our table.  Instead of a wall, we had stacked barrels used to age wine.

A better view of the wine barrels.

Only at White Dog would there be dog portraits on the walls.

Yes, the stairs are labeled with dog breeds as well.

Some very cool chandeliers in the basement.

Some very cool decorations above the server's station in the basement.

Main dining area with more doggie portraits and mounted dogs on the walls.

Server station on the main level.

I know I keep coming back to the light fixtures...but whoa!

The Rainbow Room

The Rainbow Room
65, International Council-Shopping Center,
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
(212) 632-5000

I had to reserve an entire separate day to properly write this review.  I have eaten at and reviewed perhaps 100+ of the best restaurants from all around the United States, and when I came to the Rainbow Room one Sunday afternoon for their renowned brunch, I thought to myself, I have arrived.  The restaurant soars above the NYC skyline on the 65th floor of the Rockefeller Center.  It features it's own private elevator to access the restaurant and brunch starts at $95 per person not including drinks. It was hands down the fanciest brunch or restaurant for that matter I have had the pleasure of dining in.  This experience will be hard to top.

We arrived for brunch early and were shown to a cocktail lounge to wait with floor  to ceiling windows featuring breathtaking views of the city. Contemporary style and elegance permeated the design of the lounge featuring yellow lilies on the tables and an ornately styled carpet with comfortable leather backed chairs.

As we sat down at the table, I couldn't help but notice the rainbow lighting and seemingly twinkling ceiling fixtures and general ambiance of the room.  This is in large part due to crystal curtains, designed exclusively for the Rainbow Room and consisting of 1,200 crystals each, adorn each window around the room.

The crystals make the entire restaurant glisten, and besides the general splendor of the surroundings and room, make for an unforgettable experience.
In addition, the restaurant features a gorgeous central 1934 crystal chandelier which has been restored to its original state and creates a dramatic focal point above the revolving dance floor.

As if the the chandelier, 1200 crystals in each window and general opulence of the room was not enough, all a sudden, I started to hear jazz music.  I thought to myself, must be a nice Bose system and looked up to the walls and ceiling for speakers.  No pre-recorded track will do!  This is the rainbow room. Each Sunday, the restaurant features a live jazz band.

We had not sat down 5 minutes before the bread course was brought out.

Bread was lovely and the croissants were filled with a Gruyere cheese, which was a nice touch to wet the appetite. But, onto the food itself--this is a food blog after all. The food was arranged buffet style with several stations to choose from. These included a raw bar, cheese station, dessert, bread station, cured meats, sushi, comfort foods, and many more.  They say a picture is worth 1000 words, so I will simply show you the smorgasbord of brunch options available.

A selection of breads, bagels, jams/jellies, and various accouterments.

A small shelf of some of the dessert selections available.  Candies, macaroons, cookies, and everything in between.

A small detail showcasing a few of the dessert options.

There was a crepe station with even more shelves of desserts in little shooter containers.

The comfort food station.  The candied carrots seen here are particularly good.  I also had some of the ham in the periphery of the photo which was also fantastic.

I had to laugh at some point because the opulence and gluttony was amusing. There were literally cattle thighs being shaved to perfection with the charcuterie nicely arranged below.

What would charcuterie be without the appropriate condiments.  On an opposing counter, all the condiments one could imagine were prominently featured for charcuterie enrichment.

Of course, it wouldn't be brunch without approximately twenty different cheeses to choose from.

The roast beef.

The raw bar.

Of course, since everything else was stellar, the stemware was Rona.

One amusing tidbit is since the private elevator only accesses the Rainbow Room, there are no buttons.

Table decorations.

Can't beat the table-side view.

Close-up of the central chandelier.

Acala

Acala
246 E 44th St, New York, NY 10017
http://alcalarestaurant.com/

Per their website: Alcala Restaurant offers a fine dining experience based on an updated traditional Spanish cuisine menu.

Gazpacho $10. Cold Andalusian Soup. Fantastic start to a meal. Especially with the weather finally breaking. Gazpacho is a soup made of raw vegetables and served cold, usually with a tomato base, originating in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia

Chuletitas de Cordero a la Parilla 34 Grilled lamb ribs with scalloped potatoes and sautéed vegetables. This is Spanish for "Lamb chops on the grill".  Pretty self explanatory. Nothing too outstanding about this particular dish.  Perhaps even better were the delicious olives served as an appetizer.

Solomillo de Buey con Pimientos Asados $34. Grilled filet mignon with roasted red peppers and crusty fried potatoes.  I believe that night they were serving a sirloin as the steak vs. a filet.  This was still good, nothing exceptional, but I certainly would not send it back.

Dessert was a delicious ice cream with chocolate and caramel sauce to end the meal.  This was not the best I have ever had, but it was not bad either.  It was adequate.

The setting:

Pietro's

Pietro's
232 E 43rd St, New York, NY 10017
http://www.pietrosnyc.com/

This restaurant immediately has an old country, historic feel as soon as you walk in the door. It is very apparent as soon as you walk in the door that this restaurant has been around for generations.  Most of the servers seemed to be family.  While this is not necessarily bad, we found that service suffered and the general pace of the meal seemed to be slow.  This could however be the je ne sais quoi of the restaurant that has drawn people for generations.  The service should not be labeled bad persay, but just slow.  I got the feeling sitting there that people come here to relax and enjoy a 2-3 hour meal, and thus the pacing of the meal is not as important as the fellowship and leisurely approach to service.

Our Famous Chopped $15. Let's just say, the portions are generous.  A complete understatement.  A family could have been fed by that salad. This may be part of the reason service ran a bit leisurely for my taste. The portions are so large it will take an hour just to clear the salad course.

Minestrone Soup $9. Minestrone is a thick soup of Italian origin made with vegetables, often with the addition of pasta or rice. Common ingredients include beans, onions, celery, carrots, stock, and tomatoes.

 Veal Piccata $28. Piccata is a method of preparing food: meat is sliced, coated, sautéed and served in a sauce. The dish originated in Italy using veal.

Chicken Tetrazzini $26.  I would liken this to a casserole. This was by far the best dish here.  Tetrazzini is an American dish often made with diced poultry or seafood, mushrooms, and almonds in a butter/cream and parmesan sauce flavored with wine or sherry and stock vegetables such as onions, celery, and carrots.

Asparagus $9. Just a word of warning, since everything is a la carte, I thought I could order two sides.  It should be clear, the sides are family style.  This is not indicated on the menu so--caveat emptor!

Mashed Potatoes $8.  These seemingly ordinary mashed potatoes are of note because they were infused with finely ground thyme or rosemary--we weren't able to get a clear answer out of the servers, but it was definitely a unique twist to standard mashed potatoes.  I'd recommend getting them if you are there.  Again, they are family style, so don't go crazy with the sides like I did.

That about covers it.  They had a nice bar area (featured below).  I didn't try the desserts as I am dieting for a competition, but overall, I would go back.  The service could have been faster as I mentioned, but I think that was a stylistic choice designed to attract the type of clientele that want to come and sit at a restaurant--a dinner as the evening event.

Of Note:

Our booth was apparently owned/reserved by Robert N Fisch.  A quick google reveals: he is the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of rue21, Inc, a multi-national mens/womens clothing boutique. Apparently, he's a huge fan of Pietros.  We sat at his table.

The dining area. Decor could have used a redo.

A very well appointed bar area.

Just in case you have comments.