ThanksGavin :: Page 2 :: All Things Andy Gavin

Archive for ThanksGavin – Page 2

Georgian Bakery and Cafe

Jan07

Restaurant: Georgian Bakery and Cafe

Location: 11749 Bustleton Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19116. (215) 969-9900

Date: November 21, 2018

Cuisine: Georgian

Rating: Like bland Afghan

It’s tradition on the day before ThanksGavin, for us Gavins to go somewhere ethnic.

For the last 2-3 years we’ve been going to an Uzbek place but this year it was slightly shifted to a nearby Georgian place — oddly located next to the home depot.

Here’s the restaurant itself in what was clearly intended as a big box store space.

Inside is oddly sterile too. But we have a huge table to ourselves. There was one other large party but otherwise empty.

Some Prosecco to start.

Salad. Like a Greek salad.

Slightly different salad — with more garlic.

Eggplant paste toast — excellent.

Eggplant salad. Roasted.

Bread.

Boring “spicy” sauce. Wasn’t really spicy.

From my cellar: 1995 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. Great bottle, fully mature.

Weird sweet pomegranate juice or something. Very sweet and bland.

Fried chicken. Pressed flat.

Egg bread. Fried egg inside what is pretty much a pizza bread. Pretty good, if very mild.

Cheese bread. Sort of like a cheese pizza with no sauce. Bland but tasty.

2014 Domaine Dujac Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Les Chaffots. 92 points. Bit of reduction. Pure, clean red fruit.

Georgian dumplings. Giant with thick skins. The meat inside was pretty good and these are clearly related to Chinese boiled dumplings. So heavy though! And badly badly need soy sauce, vinegar, and chili paste.

From my cellar: 1977 Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico Riserva. Mature, earthy, a touch sour.

Kabobs of the pork, veal, beef, and chicken variety.

Sturgeon. Ick. Reeked and tasted like seared heavy fish oil. I needed tongue therapy after this.

Peanut crunchy cake. This was dry but pretty good.

We had a fun night and service was diligent — although there was an odd very long (45 min?) gap between the dumplings and kabobs.

But the food, while well prepared, was quite bland. The Uzbek place we have gone to several times was tastier and a bit more varied — and Afghan food, which is very similar, has about 10X the flavor. Georgian seems to be like carbs, cheese, and fairly bland meat and mixed up with no seasonings.

For more Philly dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (0)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bakery, Dessert, dumplings, Georgian, kebab, Philadelphia, ThanksGavin, ThanksGavin 2018, Wine

Salty Saturday 2017

Jan05

Salty Saturday is the traditional family bagel and lox brunch we do on the Saturday after ThanksGavin.

For the last couple of years it’s been hosted at my cousin Matt’s house.

In his sunny dining room.

Across the way is the kids table.

And a look at the spread.

Some leftover cheeses from the night before.

Bagel cheeses, like the all important Muenster – let’s hope it’s not feeling rebellious.

Cream cheeses, red onion, and capers.

Condiments.

sliced hard boiled egg.

Philadelphia lox is way better on average than LA lox — except Wexler’s.

Whitefish salad, my particular favorite salt bomb.

Whitefish without the mayo.

Heartburn central: pickled herring.And a bit of fruit to finish.

I also tried a strategy of combatting the salt buzz with a triple shot of espresso, seemed to work.

See here for more ThanksGavin posts.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bagels, Lox, Philadelphia, Salty Saturday, ThanksGavin, ThanksGavin 2017

Fatty Friday 2017

Jan03

It’s tradition at ThanksGavin (the 4 day feasting our family engages in each November) for one of my cousins to host the Friday Night dinner, which is like thanksgiving night all over again (but with different food). This year, Matt and his wife Andrea handled BOTH nights!

From my cellar: NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée. VM 94. The NV Grande Cuvée is absolutely stellar. This is one of the very best Grande Cuvées I can remember tasting. The flavors are bright, focused and beautifully delineated throughout, all of which make me think the wine will age well for many, many years. Lemon peel, white flowers, crisp pears, smoke and crushed rocks race across the palate in a vibrant, tense Champagne that epitomizes finesse. This release is based on the 2005 vintage and was disgorged in winter 2012/2013.

Fatty Friday usually has a big cheese spread, and tonight’s was dragged back a few days beforehand from Paris by my father. It included the cultured butter-like Mont D’Or.

And another view.

From my cellar: 2007 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère. BH 94. Though very little time has passed since I reviewed this gorgeous effort in Issue 35, particularly in this larger format, nothing makes me question my initial review as the ’07 Mouchère is a knock-out: An almost invisible touch of wood influence allows the elegant, ripe and ultra pure aromas of citrus blossom, spice and orchard fruit to have center stage while the focused, textured and almost painfully intense flavors culminate in a bone dry, silky and seriously long finish. In sum, this is a stunning wine of real class and grace where the balance is so good that it could be drunk now with pleasure, even from magnum though it will certainly repay longer-term aging if desired.

Tonight’s spread.

Turnip, I think.

Salad from the previous night.

Beets from the previous night.

Leftover stuffing.

Cranberry relish.

Cranberry sauce.

Stuffed squash.

And the inside view.

From my cellar: 1996 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley. VM 94. Deep ruby color. Multidimensional aromas of violet, coffee, dried rose, clove, rare steak and seductive oak. Huge and tactile; really implodes in the mouth today. Extremely deep and lush, with the sheer sweetness to buffer its considerable acids and tannins. Oaky. Finishes extremely long, with very fine, tooth-coating tannins. With aeration, some of the baby fat melted away, and the wine’s powerful structure was manifest. Headspinning, old-style Burgundy, and very impressive. One to buy and cellar.

Matt poses with his slow cooked pork shoulder.

Slow cooked pork shoulder.

Crispy skin, tender juicy meat inside.

The plate.

The desserts were mostly repeated from Thanksgiving itself, but there were Kosher rice crispy treats (have to use kosher marshmallows).

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: pork, ThanksGavin, ThanksGavin 2017, thanksgiving, Wine

ThanksGavin 2017

Dec29

This year, after a brief California hiatus, ThanksGavin returned to Philadelphia — but to a new house (about a mile away). My cousin Matt and his wife Andrea picked up the baton from the elder generation.

From my cellar: NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 92. Pale orange. High-pitched red berry, orange zest and jasmine aromas, with suave mineral and smoky lees notes adding complexity. Spicy and precise on the palate, showing very good punch to its strawberry and bitter cherry flavors. Opens up smoothly with air and picks up a bitter rhubarb quality that lingers onto the long, tightly focused finish. This bottling showed more brawny character than many past renditions of this <em>cuvée</em>, but with no lack of vivacity.

Andrea melted cheese on these potato chips in the oven — awesome.

More rose champagne.

Rush Creek Reserve. I just had this Vaucheron-like cheese a couple nights before at the brand new Hearth & Hound.

The first turkey, done on a charcoal webber was a bit “crispy” on the outside, although perfect inside.

The second, cooked in a big green egg, was more even toned.

The spread.

Some of my dad’s white burg.

From my cellar: 1995 Domaine Anne Gros Clos Vougeot Le Grand Maupertui. VM 92. Deep red-ruby. Extravagantly rich aromas of blackcurrant, pepper, smoke and tar. Large-scaled, deep and very sweet; explosively fruity and impressively tactile. Chewy tannins are buried under a wave of finishing fruit. A knockout Clos Vougeot truly worthy of its grand cru status.

From my cellar: 1995 Paitin di Pasquero-Elia Barbaresco Sorì Paitin. VM 91. Medium red, some amber at the rim. Plum, cherry and enticing smoky, toasty oak on the nose. Smoky, sweet and velvety, with insinuating flavor. Has firm backbone and finishes with some oak tannins but avoids dryness. Rather Pommard-like in its solidity.

From my cellar: 1996 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou. VM 94+. Bright medium ruby. Deep, superripe aromas of dark berries, black cherry and bitter chocolate; slightly exotic crystallized fruit aspect. Dense, sweet and wonderfully rich; a lovely combination of palate-caressing chocolatey fruit and firm underlying structure. Finishes with excellent grip and great palate-saturating sweetness. Another outstanding 1996 Medoc wine in the making. Drink 2010 through 2030.

Fresh bread.

Toppings.

The endive and radish and beet salad.

Beets.

Roasted slightly bitter veggies, including turnips.

Scalloped mashed potatoes. Pretty awesome with lots of butter and cream.

Sweet potatoes. More starch!

Green bean casserole with béchamel and crispy onions. Who says veggies can’t be delicious (if you smother them in fat)?

Cranberry sauce mould.

Cranberry chutney with cayenne. My favorite, as it’s zesty.

Cranberry relish.

The turkey, which looks a bit like a Chinese Roast Goose.

Delicious stuffing.

Rich gravy.

Another view.

My plate this year.

From my cellar: 2015 Jacques Perritaz Cidrerie du Vulcain Apple Transparente

The homemade dessert spread.

Matt’s homemade nut and marshmallow fudge.

Mom’s vegan pecan pie — amazing.

Bob’s custard pie. Almost savory, perfect texture, a bit like a giant Macau tart.

Matt’s pumpkin pie.

Matt’s pecan pie. A richer butter crust and very sweet.

Grandmom’s (recipe) brownies.

Grandmom’s (recipe) blondies.

I tried to be moderate.

Overall, the best ThanksGavin food yet! It usually is, as the standards keep going up and up!

By: agavin
Comments (4)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Philadelphia, ThanksGavin, ThanksGavin 2017, thanksgiving, turkey, Wine

ThanksGavin 2016

Nov26

Thanksgiving in my family is always an opportunity for epic gluttony — home cooked gluttony at that — hence the ThanksGavin nomenclature. This year we were back in Los Angeles for only the second time in decades, blending cooking and recipes from both my side and my wife’s side in an all around cooperative cooking fest.
Let’s review some of the prep like this rathere hacked Kosher turkey.

And Challah stuffing.

The open neck was “surgically sealed” before it went on the BBQ.

We had enough people we needed 2!

The finbished product pre-carving.

And drippings to be transformed into gravy.

NV Demière-Ansiot Champagne Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs. VC 90+. The new release of the consistently excellent non-vintage Blanc de Blancs bottling from Demière-Ansiot was disgorged in December of 2014 and is base year 2011, with a finishing dosage of six grams per liter. The thirty percent reserve wines used here hail from 2010 and 2008. The youthful bouquet wafts from the glass in a classic blend of pear, apple, a touch of fresh almond, incipient notes of crème patissière, chalky minerality, brioche and a topnote of apple blossoms. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and still youthfully snappy, with a lovely core, excellent mousse, crisp acids and a long, pure and beautifully balanced finish. This is certainly approachable today, but I will keep my bottles tucked away for a couple of years to allow this wine to come forward a bit from behind its fine structure.

2005 Gramona Cava III Lustros Gran Reserva. 90 points. Light brioche on the nose with dried lemons and limes, and ripe pear. Nice dry finish and some minerality but overall palate lacks depth and complexity.

The appetizer hour in the drawing room.

Chopped Beef liver.

Crackers and crudites.

Toasts.

Olives, dates, tomatos.

People then move into the dining room.
2006 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières. VC 92. The 2006 Leflaive Folatières shows even more ripeness than any wine that has come before it in the cellar, with an extravagant and exotic profile on both the nose and palate. The bouquet is a mix of very ripe apples and peaches, honeysuckle, honeycomb and some chalky soil tones. On the palate the wine is a bit fresher on the attack than the nose promises, with good mid-palate stuffing, fine focus and complexity, but some heat penetrating through the fruit on the long finish that closes nicely with a note of lemon oil.

Butternut squash soup. For a long time during “development” this soup tasted too much like boxed chicken stock — but after adding some Remi Martin XO, a bunch of black pepper, ginger, and cinnanom and cooking it down it was redeemed. It came out delicious.

1983 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots. 94 points. An awesome mature red Burg.

2004 Cantine del Castello di Conti Boca Il Rosso delle Donne. AG 92. The 2004 Boca Il Rosso delle Donne shimmers on the palate with layers of fruit, mineral, and herbs. Stylistically the 2004 is a much more expansive, generous wine than the 2005, with layers of fruit that radiate with notable energy through to the mineral-laced finish. This fresh, vibrant and impeccably pure wine is a jewel.

Seb brought: 2014 Melville Syrah Estate Donna’s. parker 97. Even better, with more depth, density and ripeness, the 2014 Syrah Donna’s offers overflowing notes of olive tapenade, salted beef, licorice, black olive, peppery herbs and cured meats, with tons of ripe currants, fresh plum and smoked black cherry fruit. Full-bodied, elegant and seamless, with fabulous purity and persistence, I wouldn’t push the aging curve, but it’s a killer wine that will provide tons of pleasure over the coming 7-8 years.

The main buffet spread.

Kale salad with citrus.

Savory slaw.

Mashed potatoes.

Sweet potato “pie” with walnuts.

Turkey. sorted white to dark.

Stuffing. Awesome!

Gravy. reduced from the drippings and neck meat.

Balsamic glazed beets.

Other beets.

Brussels sprouts.

Brussels sprouts version 2.

Sweet cranberry sauce.

Spicy cranberry chutney – my favorite.

Apple sauce.

Spiced green beans and carrots. Great color and a nice crunch.

Spicy beet greens my brother cooked.

Cauliflower with walnuts and raisins.

The annual plate.
Seb brought: 2014 Bodegas Alto Moncayo Garnacha Campo de Borja. 92 points. big rounded Spainish Grenache.
NV Gonzalez-Byass Pedro Ximénez Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Viejo Noé (30 Years/Años). WD 17.5. A 100% PX wine. Caramel, molasses, Christmas pudding on the nose. Rich, oily, toffee sauce style of wine, with nuts and raisins. Really over the top; impressive, but I don’t know if I would actually want more than a mouthful. I suspect it would be really good with ice cream though.

Parve Nonpareils.

Chocolate chip bundt cake.

Fruit.

Bananna blondies.

Pumpkin pie.

My mom’s apple cobbler.

Chocolate cake.
And all handmade my me, artisanal sorbetti. Left to right: espresso, strawberry, and cherry-cassis. The texture came out textbook perfect in all 3 cases. The espresso would be better with milk, but the two fruit ones have amazing flavor.

All in all and extremely successful feast. Cooking was a shared affair between my the whole family on both sides and oodles of excellent dishes abounded. So much good home cooked food! So little room in the stomach.

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: ThanksGavin, ThanksGavin 2016, thanksgiving, turkey, Wine

ThanksGavin 2015 – Salty Saturday

Dec09

Part of the tradition for the ThanksGavin weekend of gluttony is a Saturday deli brunch. As we celebrate in Philadelphia, we have access to all sorts of great deli and the like.

After several nights of wine drinking, Saturday brunch is all soft stuff.

Below are all the items used to assemble one’s custom bagel sandwich.

Olives.

Capers.

Butter.

Regular (Philadelphia) cream cheese.

Chive cream cheese.

Swiss and munster cheese.

Cucumbers and Motomara tomatoes.

Onions.

Lox. This nova lox was soft, delicious, and not all that salty. We really can’t get lox this good in California.

Chunky whitefish salad. Love it!

Pickled herring. I like this sweet fishy stuff, although it isn’t to everyone’s taste.

Bagels and bread.

Matt whipped up two frittatas, a spinach on the left and a smoked poblano pepper and goat cheese on the right.

Pancakes for the kids.

On the left, our host Matt is brewing cappuccino in the kitchen.

For more ThanksGavin dining, click here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bagels, fritata, Lox, Salty Saturday, ThanksGavin, ThanksGavin 2015, Whitefish

ThanksGavin 2015 – Fat Friday

Dec07

As if Thanksgiving itself wasn’t enough, the ThanksGavin food marathon traditionally includes Fat Friday, another feast hosted by one of my cousins.

This year, like last year, my cousin Matt and his wife Andrea hosted.

Matt is not only a great cook, but he does double duty as bar tender. I, meanwhile, handle Sommelier duties.

From my cellar: 2001 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. Burghound 92. Ripe and extremely opulent intense citrus fruit and white flowers coupled with medium weight flavors dripping with minerality and enough fat to buffer the bracing acidity. There is a subtle underlying complexity and this is remarkably intense, assertive and precise yet there is excellent power and depth as well.

My parents picked this cheese up last month in Portugal. It was a medium gooey, very tasty, pungent cow cheese with a bit of the strength of goat.

My father brought: 2013 Klein Constantia Sauvignon Blanc. 88 points. Strong grapefruit.

Marinated pickles. As the dinner has a bit of a Korean theme, Matt picked up some artisanal banchan from a place that specializes only in kimchee.

Spicy radish.

Pickled greens.

Kimchee. The classic cabbage version.

Pickled spicy peppers.

From my cellar: 2002 Gros Frère et Sœur Grands-Echezeaux. Burghound 92. While not really intrusive, the oak treatment is still visible on the otherwise expressive nose of spice, earth and black fruit aromas that are still completely primary in character. The big-bodied and muscular flavors are not particularly elegant though there is good size and weight to them, all wrapped in a reasonably long finish where wood tannins can also be discerned on the mouth coating backend. In sum, this is a good Grands Ech.

For the less carnivorous, Italian tuna, hard boiled egg.

And parsley sauce.

Which can be assembled into Nicoise sandwiches.

My father brought: 2007 Cellole Chianti Classico.

Itsuki helps prep the next dish.

Various ingredients.

Sesame sauce (for noodles below). I tuned up the recipe by increasing the sour component (i.e. vinegar) to make it more in keeping with Chinese balance.

Chinese egg noodles.

Sesame noodles. A homemade version of the sesame peanut noodles. This dish is derived somewhat from Dan Dan Mein, one of my favorite dishes. It was quite nice, with a good nutty flavor and a little zing.

From my cellar: 2005 Celler Vall Llach Priorat Vall Llach. 93 points. Quite dark red in color, like black cherry. Nose with subtle notes of plum, camphor, and dark berries. Big flavors of blackberry and spice. Drinking great.

The main event is pork shoulder, shown roasting here.

Midway.

Then finished. It was coated in the most awesome crunchy sweet and salty crust.

And being carved.

Pulled Korean BBQ pork shoulder. One of the best pulled porks I’ve ever had — and I’ve had my share.

Crusty pork. The edge of the meat, with more intense flavor.

Green onion and seasonings to add to the pork. It was used to top the pork inside a lettuce wrap and with a Korean inspired sauce. Ridiculously tremendously delicious.

My father brought: 2012 Celler de Capçanes Montsant Mas Donís Barrica (Old Vines). VM 90. Bright purple. Expressive aromas of dark berries, cracked pepper and violet, with a smoky overtone. Pliant black and blue fruit flavors pick up a licorice nuance with air and show very good, mineral-driven intensity. Finishes with strong stony cut, the licorice and floral notes repeating.

Greens drying.

A bok-choy side.

my father brought: 2010 Clarendelle. 88 points. Red fruit and some slight secondary Bordeaux aromas, tobacco, leather. The ripe red fruit dominates, red raspberry, stewed strawberry. The tannin is soft and round. Velvety mouthfeel. Good initial bouquet but not a particularly long finish. Merlot shows through but with some added subtle features from the Cabs. 82% Merlot, 16% Cab. Sauv., 2% Cab. Franc. Drink over the next 3-5 years.

Rice.

My plate. You can (vaguely) make out the pork wrap in the lower left.

The dessert wines return!

From my cellar: 1983 Bodegas Toro Albala Don PX Gran Reserva. 96 points. Nutty, fig and raisins on the nose, rich and huge depth on palate with figs, raisin and rich expansive tartness that fills the palate. Enormously long finish, 5 minutes of caramel and spice. Outstanding. So good.

My father bought in Portugal: Quinta do Vallado Porto 20 Year Old Tawny. 93 points. high notes of fig, vanilla, caramel and oak and a touch of bright grape. great color. smooth and not heavy with alcohol burn.

Bob made this awesome Derby Pie. A pecan pie with chocolate and walnuts!

And Itsuki whipped up another batch of Grandma’s brownies.

The pumpkin pie return too.

And I literally whipped up some fresh whipped cream, because all the above really needed it.

Plus my mother baked this chocolate chip chocolate icing cake.
And lest the kids feel left out, Matt made these fresh homemade ice cream and melted marshmallow sandwiches!

All and all another staggeringly good dinner, and probably the best Fat Friday yet.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Fat Friday, pork, ThanksGavin, ThanksGavin 2015, Wine

ThanksGavin 2015

Dec04

It’s that time of year again, time to loosen your belt buckle and sit down for the annual ThanksGavin!

Let me first introduce the chefs, above. On the left my mom and on the right her sister. They’ve been putting together this feast for decades.

Rising Chef Matt (my cousin) cooks a lot too. One of these days he’s going to inherent the feast. But right now he hosts Friday night.

My father brought the sparkler: NV Casa Vinicola Botter Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Santi Nello. 88 points. Peach, mineral, dry, small bubbles, hint of sweetness, but not overly so. Great value.

From my cellar: 2000 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. 95 points. Razor sharp aromas of wet rocks, earth and white fruits meld into flavors that are crystalline in their precision, purity and transparency. Understated, discreet and fine yet this is painfully intense with buckets of minerality. Quite backward presently but this is a genuinely breathtaking wine that defines class. In two words, absolutely brilliant and consistent notes.

agavin: wow! This is what makes Burgundy so great. Like liquid creme brûlée. Chardonnay from anywhere else just cries itself to sleep.

Olives. Appetizers aren’t the focus of this meal, but we have a few.

And homemade olive tapenade.

Good stuff with the toasts.

First a sneak peak at the main spread. Then on to the dinner wines.

From my cellar: 1997 Maison Roche de Bellene Clos de la Roche Collection Bellenum. 93 points. Quite excellent. Rich, penetrating red fruit up front followed by layers of earth, spice, sous bois and perhaps some violets or lavender. The tannins on the longish finish are still abit on the chalky side but this is displaying lots of subtle depth and complexity without being at all heavy handed. There’s just a little bricking on the edge.

agavin: great stuff. Good thing I have more.

From my cellar: 1970 Bodegas Olarra Rioja Cerro Anon Gran Reserva. 92 points. showed beautifully. orange peel, sweet spices, balsamic. Still youthful and full of fruit.

From my cellar: 1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. 95 points. I was buying this when I first started collecting wine 20 years ago, I buy it now. Great showing for a bottle in perfect shape. Stinky Mouvedre nose with leather, animal, tree bark and a touch of sweaty saddle. In the mouth, close to fully resolved with spice, tannic tree bark and sweet raspberry fruit, along with a spicy intensity that has huge length and presence but still feels light on its feet. Is this at its peak (for taster who appreciate aged Beaucastel). The wine is in a more structured, “masculine” style than the 1989 or the 1985 – this is more about structure and clarity of expression in a rustic and gamey style. Exceptional.

My father brought: 2011 Quinta da Fronteira Douro Selecção do Enólogo. 89 points. Very enticing nose with lots of lovely red fruit character. On the palate it is initially quite soft, a melding of Valpolicella and Pinot Noir, elegant red fruit and cinnamon but a sound structure to it as well. After a bit of time in the glass, some dark fruit character emerges, and the acidity and tannin become more prominent alongside increased fruit concentration, all of which contribute to the wine really gaining character, much less timid and reserved, much more enjoyable on both intellectual and hedonistic levels.

Bread, in case stuffing isn’t enough.

New this year is this carrot dish. Lovely to look at too.

And also new were Brussels sprouts. Cheese and bacon could be added at will. I willed.

And some savory beans.

Plus fairly usual beets, always good.

A faro salad.

And butternut squash with black pepper.

Cranberry chutney. A choice of two variants on the cranberry theme. My favorite is the spicy chutney (above) which is smooth and slightly spicy.

Cranberry relish. More rough in texture.

And the birds themselves.

Carved turkey. Oh so moist, nicely dressed by the ladies, BBQed to perfection by my father and uncle.

Stuffing of course.

And gravy.

Here is my dad’s plate, giant turkey leg and all.

And mine.

My uncle digs into his own bird.

Dessert wines!

To go with all that sugary alcohol, the dessert spread.

Grandmom’s special parve brownies.

Chocolate and chocolate chocolate chip cookies.

My mom’s famous pecan pie. Incredibly gooey in the center.

And cousin Matt’s butternut squash “pumpkin” pie. Nicely spiced.

Chocolate dipped meringues.
And my personal plate.

Too much of a good thing!

This was another spectacular homemade ThanksGavin dinner as usual, quite possibly the best yet. Really, they just keep getting better (and clearly more sleep inducing).

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Dessert, ThanksGavin, ThanksGavin 2015, turkey, Wine

ThanksGavin 2015 – Uzbekistan?

Dec02

Restaurant: Chaikhana Uzbekistan

Location: 12012 Bustleton Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19116. (215) 671-1990

Date: November 24, 2015 & November 21, 2017

Cuisine: Uzbeki

Rating: Tasty fun

It’s tradition on the day before ThanksGavin, for us Gavins to go somewhere ethnic.

This year, we ended up at a new place, and a new cuisine (or sub cuisine) for me: Chaikhana Uzbekistan. Seems fitting this year too because I’ve been reading about the Mongol conquest — and well, Uzbekistan was on the menu. But tonight we are the beneficiaries of this crossroads of the world.

My father brought this sparkler. NV Casa Vinicola Botter Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Santi Nello. 88 points. Peach, mineral, dry, small bubbles, hint of sweetness, but not overly so. Great value.

Salad with preserved meat, olives, and cheese. Nice salad actually. Sort of like a Greek salad, but with bits of pastrami.

Salad in the back. A more normal middle eastern salad. Also in the front, those shot glasses of yogurt and tomato “sauce.” These could be drizzled over just about anything to add to the flavor — and they really did. This is a bit similar to Afghan places.

From my cellar: 2013 Christophe et Fils Chablis. 92 points. Limpid color. More orange fruit than the Petit Chablis. Slightly leaner and lighter than that wine, but similar outstanding acidity and limestone. Excellent.

Tomato salad.

An eggplant salad. Nice, with good smoked flavor.

Uzbeki bread. Nice and hot and puffy.

From my cellar: 2009 Weingut Knoll Riesling Smaragd Dürnsteiner Kellerberg. 92 points. Medium green-yellow. Seductive aromas of ripe peach, subtle blossom honey and mandarin orange. Becomes more exotic in the mouth, adding papaya and lime to the mix. Sweet peach and papaya fruit is lifted by extraordinarily elegant lemony acidity. Finishes with palate-staining fruit and intense wet rock minerality. Wonderful to drink now, but should be even better between 2014 and 2024.

Herring and potatoes. Marinated cut herring in front. Like some saba sashimi — with potatoes!

Potato dumplings. Very soft succulent gnocchi like things.

Chicken dumplings. Don’t look like much, but were very tasty.

Bread with spinach and cheese. Sort of Uzbeki spanakopita.

From my cellar: 1993 Pierre Damoy Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. 93 points. Elegant, extremely pure and spicy with austere black fruit notes and understated, powerful, densely concentrated and superbly well focused flavors that deliver superb mid-palate punch and terrific finishing complexity. This has always been impressive, even since release and it continues to develop well. It can be approached now but it will certainly be better in a few years. That said, it’s so close to its peak that there would be very little left on the table to open a bottle now. Multiple, and consistent, notes.

Rice with lamb. One of these typical pilaf dishes found in central Asia, and north India, and China (as fried rice). Delicious.

Turnovers. Meat and cheese and spinach. The Flat one is the cheese. Both were good, and the meat one was a serious bomb, but quite delicious with the yogurt and tomato.
T

Kabob. Beef or lamb and ground beef. I really liked the ground beef kabob (kobideh or similar), even if it looked like a big turd. Delicious.

Meat stew.

Potatoes. Like home made potato chips. Excellent.

Cheese pie. This was crazy gooey with a melted form of fresh cheese and a light flakey dough.

Check out the cheese pull!

Chicken kabob.

Lamb rib, lamb, and beef kabobs.

Salmon kabob. From those Oxus river salmon.
2011 Torremoron Ribera del Duero. VM 89. Bright ruby. Perfumed, expressive bouquet of black and blue fruits and candied rose. Ripe and generous on the palate, offering fleshy cherry and blackberry flavors and a touch of black pepper. Dusty tannins add grip to the sweet, nicely persistent finish.

Manti. Why exactly these came at the end is anyone’s guess, but these giant dumplings, clearly influenced by China, were stuffed with a chewy meat and onions. Tasty, but I prefer the Afghan version.

Honey cake and baklava. Not the syrup covered Middle Eastern kind, but more dry.

Tea with sugar and candied fruit.

Lights from the front of Chaikhana Uzbekistan “coat” the adjacent building.

I’d never had Uzbeki food before, and while it’s certainly closely related to Afghan and Russian, but has its own unique personality. The place was fun too. Very lively and there was even a young guy at a nearby table (see below) playing traditional songs on a guitar. Clearly a place mostly visited by Russians and Uzbeki.

Food was quite good too. Perhaps leaning a bit on the heavy meats and pastry, and I would have liked to try the Borscht and some other dishes too, but everything we had was pretty good. Enormous amount too. We took home bags and bags of it, and the bill was very very reasonable.

Great fun.

For more Philly dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chaikhana Uzbekistan, kabob, Manti, Meat, ThanksGavin, ThanksGavin 2015, Uzbeki cuisine, Wine

Eating Philly – Tiffin

Nov30

Restaurant: Tiffin Indian Cuisine

Location: 8080 Old York Rd, Elkins Park, PA 19027. (215) 635-9205

Date: November 23, 2015

Cuisine: Indian

Rating: solid Indian

Our annual ThanksGavin trip always begins with a big Wednesday night dinner out in Philly, but this year we were out a day early so there was a Tuesday bonus.

Tiffin is a local (to Elkins Park) Indian restaurant.

The usual kind of casual decor.

From my cellar: 2004 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese. 93 points. Again, sulphur evident on the nose, although with plenty of bright and acidic fruit beneath. It is delicate, clean, minerally and has tingly acids. Then it seems softer, more gentle, not so much substance, with lots of bright character. Good potential.

Chutney and sauces are included which is nice.

Cauliflower with a coconut sauce. Very nice.

Fried fish. Like fish and chips with black pepper.
Samosas. Certainly a decent version of this classic.

A light creamy curry with potato balls (not unlike matzah balls in texture).

Saag. Creamed Indian spinach.

Chickpeas with a mild curry.

Shrimp curry. Again the slightly sweet goopy curry.

Tilapia with tomatoes and onions. One of the few without the smooth curry treatment.

2009 Bodegas Domeco de Jarauta Rioja Solar de Castro Vendimia Seleccionada. 89 points. Very healthy bright red, cherry and chocolate on the nose, great balance of concentrated but not overpowering fruit, tannins with good structure, giving it a long finish. Very yummy, great wine.

Chicken Tikka Masala. Dark meat. A credible version of this dish, but from the smooth and sweet school of Indian curries. Akbar’s is so much richer and more flavorful.

Chicken Tikka Masala. White meat.

Lamb in a coconut curry sauce. Again the sauce is very sweet with the spice blend being fairly mild and blended into the rich sauce.

Chicken Tikka. My uncle goes nuts over this “BBQ chicken.”

Bismatti rice.

Naan, plain and garlic.
Galub jamun. Perfectly nice syrup soaked cheese/dough balls.

Overall, Tiffin was a good meal, and decent Indian. All the curries have that smooth, creamy, and sweet thing going on, which is common enough at Indian restaurants. They were pretty good too, this wasn’t like the tomato sauce boring Indian. But it was also just too sweet, without the intensity of “spice” (and I don’t mean heat) that better places have. Now, I’m sure a good bit of that is catering to the Americans, but still. The smooth, sweet, creamy thing made all the curries run together, even though their colors and flavor profiles technically varied.

Still, I fully enjoyed it.

For more Philly dining reviews click here.

Or check out the full ThanksGavin feasting series.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chicken tikka masala, curry, Indian, Philadelphia, ThanksGavin, ThanksGavin 2015, Wine

Salty Saturday 2014

Dec06

Part of the tradition for the ThanksGavin weekend of gluttony is a Saturday deli brunch. As we celebrate in Philadelphia, we have access to all sorts of great deli and the like.

For the second year in a row, the location is the house of my cousin Matt and his wife Andrea. They’ve picked up a lot of the load, having also tackled the Friday Night Feast.

The main event for Salty Saturday is bagels and cream cheese the Philly way.

Capers and olives.

The third return of the olives and artichokes from Thursdays night.

Hard boiled eggs, elegantly sliced.

Parmesan and red onions.

Cream cheese with scallions.

Regular (boring) cream cheese.

Munster and Jarlsberg (swiss).

Tomatoes and cucumber.

Creamed herring.

Pickled herring. I like this sweet fishy stuff, although it isn’t to everyone’s taste.

Chunky whitefish salad. Love it!

Lox of course.

Bagels, including the amusing black and whites.

Toasted.

Here is my plate, with a bagel or two under construction.

I like cream cheese AND munster under my fish.

I’m also going to cheat and show these breakfast items that Matt whipped up on Thanksgiving day, including this frittata.

These amazing challah french toast.

And this sausage from the old school sausage make downtown, Fiorella’s. This place has been making sausage the same way since 1892!

Plus syrup that can go on BOTH French Toast and sausage. I love syrup on my sausage.

Oh, and fruit salad.

The Salty Saturday in progress.

For more ThanksGavin dining, click here.

Miriam says “wow!”

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bagels, fiorella's, fish, Lox, Salty Saturday, Sausage, ThanksGavin

Friday Night Feast 2014

Dec04

As part of the annual ThanksGavin celebration it’s traditional for us to do a home dinner on Friday night, historically cooked by my cousin Abbe. But this year she abdicated the job to her brother Matt and his wife Andrea.

NV Casa Vinicola Botter Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Santi Nello. Bubbly to start. Zingy acids, excellent minerality, very small fizzy bubbles. Ultra refreshing.

More fancy olives.

The return of the artichokes.

Bread.

2007 Simon Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesses. Burghound 90. As would reasonably be expected, there is just more here in every dimension with a more complex and more elegant nose that is layered and very fresh and this refinement continues onto the nicely concentrated middle weight flavors that display evident minerality on the sappy, intense and mouth coating finish that lingers and lingers. This is a terrific Savigny blanc and recommended.

My dad is in charge of cheeses, which means some stinkers.

And the “separated” non-stinky plate.

1995 Paitin di Pasquero-Elia Barbaresco Sorì Paitin. IWC 91. Medium red, some amber at the rim. Plum, cherry and enticing smoky, toasty oak on the nose. Smoky, sweet and velvety, with insinuating flavor. Has firm backbone and finishes with some oak tannins but avoids dryness. Rather Pommard-like in its solidity.

agavin: this particular bottle had more funk on the nose than usual.

Homemade manicotti, stuffed with ricotta and smothered in mozzarella.

A version without the mozz for those who aren’t THAT into cheese. Not me.

1996 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley. IWC 94. Deep ruby color. Multidimensional aromas of violet, coffee, dried rose, clove, rare steak and seductive oak. Huge and tactile; really implodes in the mouth today. Extremely deep and lush, with the sheer sweetness to buffer its considerable acids and tannins. Oaky. Finishes extremely long, with very fine, tooth-coating tannins. With aeration, some of the baby fat melted away, and the wine’s powerful structure was manifest. Headspinning, old-style Burgundy, and very impressive. One to buy and cellar.

The main dish consisted of roasted pork sandwiches. Here they are coming out of the oven, notice the big hunks of bacon/pork fat added for flavor.

Matt sliced the meat.

And warmed it in its own jus.

Any pig haters had the option of turkey, a giant sliced breast borrowed from one of the previous night’s birds.

And provolone of two types, the regular and the aged sharp kind. Both from the Italian market.

Plus some very serious roasted peppers. These had a big hot long burn to them.

And sautéed broccoli rabe.

Fennel and celery salad.

Here is the plate with a bit of everything.

1994 Leoville-Las Cases. Parker 92-95. Michel Delon, a great man, is the consummate proprietor, meticulously administering this vast estate spread out along the St.-Julien/Pauillac border, separated from Latour’s finest vineyard by a mere ten feet. The 1993-95 vintages from Delon are brilliant wines. Leoville-Las-Cases remains one of the irrefutable reference points for high class Bordeaux. One of the more massive Medocs of the vintage, this opaque purple-colored wine exhibits fabulous richness and volume in the mouth. Layers of pure black-cherry and cassis fruit are intermixed with stony, mineral-like scents, as well as high quality toasty oak. Medium to full-bodied, with a sweet, rich entry, this wine possesses plenty of tannin, yet fabulous extract and length. Leoville-Las-Cases is one of the half-dozen great wines of the Medoc in 1994. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2025. This lion never falls asleep on the job!

Matt also “whipped up” some homemade pumpkin pie from scratch. There was a bit of ginger in there.

The actual pie itself.

And the brownie’s return.

These chessboard fudge squares were made by my cousin-in-law (cousin’s wife) Itsuki.

Overall, another fabulous evening of great food and company. Bravo Matt and Andrea.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Family, holiday, ThanksGavin, Wine

ThanksGavin 2014

Dec02

It’s that time of year again, time to loosen your belt buckle and sit down for the annual ThanksGavin!

The table is set.

NV Casa Vinicola Botter Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Santi Nello. Bubbly to start. Zingy acids, excellent minerality, very small fizzy bubbles. Ultra refreshing.

Crudites.

Some kind of dip of mysterious origins.

1995 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. 90 points. This is medium gold. Nose is very ripe fruit and honey, but not boytritis. Sweet and satiny and weighty, acid is failing. Finishes with baked apples and pastry.

Artichokes.

Hummus. Achem, from a tub.

1988 Camille Giroud Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots. Burghound 90. This too is very fresh, in fact fresher than the Clos de Vougeot with a beguiling mix of spice and secondary aromas that lead to big, intense, firmly structured flavors that have plenty of sweet pinot sap to buffer the solid tannins. This is quite long, in fact the longest of these bottled wines and delivers unmistakable Vosne character. It remains a creature of its vintage and the finish is austere and masculine in style but there is plenty of volume and flavor authority. This will live for years.

Now we’re talking: cheese.

And good olives.

1998 Dominique Laurent Mazis-Chambertin. 93 points. Showed good complexity and depth, excellent balance, and a medium finish. Flavors of black raspberry, cherry, spices, dried leaves, and forest floor all emerged after a time. The acidity held everything together nicely. Good freshness of flavor both on the nose and palate. I think this is nearly at peak or plateauing nicely.

This year there were two turkeys, and because our chefs patched up the neck with skin grafts from different birds, they nicknamed them Frankenturkey!

Turkey. But they came out perfectly.

Gravy. Of course.

Stuffing. Nothing better than gravy soaked stuffing.

Cranberry. A choice of three variants on the cranberry theme. My favorite is the spicy chutney (lower left) which is smooth and slightly spicy.

1973 Bodegas Olarra Rioja Añares Crianza. 92 points. wonderful wine; surprised how much vitality it retained. Like fig juice.

Brussels sprouts.

With a delicious lemon sauce.

Roast beets with balsamic & maple syrup.

Squash with black mustard seeds.

Spinach salad with goat cheese.

2009 Nugnes Falerno del Massico Rosso. 92 points. Red edges, dark core — Nose captivating, mindblowing, fresh, flowery, almond, sweetness, dried fig, pickled fruit — Palate mild, fresh, watery, like marsala wine, plums for days, oriental herbs, some cherry, some sour cherry — Finishes on red fruit, tartness and spice aspects again. This is special, an oriental dream, changing by the minute, now some pepper and some cinnamon, appears to be expressive and young, a long life ahead. Fairly high acidity level. Happy I bought 12 bottles to drink over the next 10 years.

The 2014 official plate!

1975 Dow Porto Vintage. 86 points. The wine showed all the characteristics of a tawny. Not exactly overwhelming but very nice to drink. Alcohol was a bit too evident. It’s so nice to open old bottles of Port like this! Unless the wine is really spoiled, it’s always a pleasure to drink it.

Coffee cake.

“Bubbie Caplan’s” rice pudding. Really quite lovely. Eggy sweet custard.

My mom’s absolutely perfect pecan pie.

Grandmom’s brownies and blondies.

Apple crisp.

Dessert plate.

This was another spectacular homemade ThanksGavin dinner as usual.

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

Our main chefs, my mom and her sister

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cooking, Gravy, Mashed potato, ThanksGavin, thanksgiving, Thanksgiving dinner, turkey, Wine

Ghosts of ThanksGavins Past

Nov26

A retrospective look at more than a decade of ThanksGavin turkey plates…

By: agavin
Comments (0)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: ThanksGavin

Salty Saturday

Dec20

Part of the tradition for the ThanksGavin weekend of gluttony is a Saturday deli brunch. As we celebrate in Philadelphia, we have access to all sorts of great deli and the like.

This year, we’ve moved to a new location for Salty Saturday, namely my cousin Matt and his wife Andrea’s house (they just moved in this year).

A bagel brunch begins with great bagels!

And fresh Nova lox of course. This was hardly salty at all.

Two kinds of herring, creamed and pickled.

On the right is the chive cream cheese (which I prefer).

And in the center the regular. On both sides are whitefish salad. This particular blend has no mayo, and is merely smoked whitefish. Given the freshness of the fish it’s particularly delectable.

Cream cheese alone doesn’t pile on enough calories, so munster and aged cheddar are key.

Plus the condiments. Red onions, cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes.

And farmhouse eggs from the coop plus a homemade fritata.

And the all important cappuccino. Matt is a whiz with the machine.

The whole plate, partially under construction, can be seen here. Yum!

For dessert we have homemade cinnamon buns.

And the return of the poached pears (along with a new — smoother — batch of chocolate sauce).

Too much goodness. Fourth meal in, I’m beginning to feel it. We have a long drive after this so I grabbed a liter of water to balance out the salt!

For more ThanksGavin dining, click here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bagel, Brunch, Cream Cheese, Deli, Lox, Philadelphia, ThanksGavin, Whitefish

Friday Night Feasting

Dec09

As part of the annual ThanksGavin celebration it’s traditional for cousin Abbe to cook and host the Friday night dinner. This year she joined forces with girlfriend Jody to whip up this feast.

The table.

This year, an alien must have kip-napped me because I forgot to photo most of the wine. Only these two bottles:

1995 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. 92 points. This is medium gold. Nose is very ripe fruit and honey, but not boytritis. Sweet and satiny and weighty, acid is failing. Finishes with baked apples and pastry.

1999 Robert Ampeau & Fils Volnay 1er Cru Santenots. 91 points. Rather open right out of the gate with perfumed nose of fresh dark berries, underbrush, delicate florals. Medium bodied and lively on the palate as wonderully layered, fresh red fruit mingles with savory game, flowers, and forest floor. Long, invigorating finish of broth, sweet berries, and spice. Really enjoyed this, and still has the capacity to improve.

When we arrived, cooking was still underway, like these toasting chickpeas.

On the table were a variety of olives.

And, of course, the traditional spread of bread and rotting bovine by-products.

Cheese from Philadelphia’s Italian Market.

Middle eastern salad.

Cous cous.

A vegetarian stew of spicy tomatoes and vegetables.

Homemade Kofte (meat balls) with tahini sauce.

And Bob’s chocolate chip bread pudding for dessert!

Overall, another great evening!

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

This year is the one and only Thanksgivukkah (at least until another 81,000 years roll around)

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cook, couscous, Philadelphia, Robert Ampeau, ThanksGavin

ThanksGavin 2013

Dec05

It’s that time of year again, time to loosen your belt buckle and sit down for the annual ThanksGavin!

The table is set.

The libations begin with this bubbly.

1990 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 93. A truly wonderful nose of simply knockout complexity features notes of yeast and baked bread along with now fully mature aromas of a variety of floral notes and spice hints that gives way to mineral-suffused, round, intense and detailed medium full flavors that also offer outstanding depth on the sappy and mouth coating finish. This is drinking perfectly now and I wouldn’t hesitate to open one anytime as there is no further upside to be had. A beautiful effort of real style and grace. Tasted several times with consistent results save for one bottle that, much to my complete surprise, was showing definite signs of oxidation.

1993 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin. 93 points. this wine shows sweet cherries, sharp minerals, and forest floor on the powerful nose. Initially the palate is a bit shy, but with time it gains concentration and volume until it explodes with deep red and black fruits. This is medium bodied and elegant but the fruit is intense, the acids are lively, and there is a strong spice note on the finish. There are still some hard edges and this is probably 5 years from its peak, but it’s wonderful now.

The first of the two birds comes off the BBQ, cripsy!

1995 Aldo Conterno Barolo Bussia Riserva. 95 points. The dense 1995 displays a saturated ruby color. The rich, cedary, smoky, tobacco, and tar-scented nose is classic Nebbiolo. Excellent, with a layered texture, and a rich, spicy, austere, moderately tannic finish, it is accessible enough to be drunk, but should evolve nicely for a decade.

Here is the full spread. Most of this hard work is by our tireless chefs: my mom and aunt.

A simple salad (you need something simple).

Cranberry relish (one of two cranberry sauces).

The other, a spicy chutney. This one is my favorite.

The turkey itself.

Delicious stuffing.

Gravy.

2008 Castello di Nipozzano Chianti Rufina Riserva. Parker 90, “The 2003 Chianti Refina Riserva exhibits a similarly sweet, open nose along with plenty of vibrant, super-ripe dark fruit, outstanding length and lovely overall balance in a style that is plump and accessible without sacrificing the wine’s underlying structure. It is made from 90% Sangiovese, with the remaining 10% divided among several other varietals, and aged 24 months in French oak barrels.”

Roasted beets.

Kale with garlic.

A new entry, consisting of sweet potatoes. There was a mix of orange and purple, which resulted in this refried bean-like color!

The official 2013 plate, or you can find the last 10 years of them here.

1988 Climens. Parker 96. The 1988 reveals layer upon layer of honeyed pineapple-and orange-scented and -flavored fruit, vibrant acidity, high levels of botrytis, and a fabulously long, yet well-focused finish. It is a great wine.

My mom’s incomparable pecan pie.

And a new entry, poached pears with homemade syrup.

And homemade chocolate sauce. The texture reveals its non-commercial origins.

Pumpkin pie.

Sweet potato pie.

This was another spectacular homemade ThanksGavin dinner as usual. Particularly impressive given the bit of upset that tore through the family in the proceeding few nights, namely a nasty stomach virus. This left a few of the secondary cooks “unfit” for their duties. Still, once recovered, great fun was had by all.

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

My aunt hard at work in the kitchen!

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Barbecue, Cooking, Dessert, Nebbiolo, Robert Ampeau, ThanksGavin, turkey, Wine

Fond of Philadelphia

Dec03

Restaurant: Fond

Location: 1537 South 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147. 215.551.5000

Date: November 28, 2013

Cuisine: American

Rating: Tasty modern American

Every year we Gavins descend on Philadelphia for several days of epic gluttony. This traditional week of feasting kicks off with the traditional Wednesday night dinner at some Philadelphia restaurant.

This year, we hit up Fond, an ingredient focused New American in Philadelphia’s little Italy.

The seasonal menu.

A prosecco to begin.

An amuse of mushroom cappuccino. Cream is always good.

1994 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. 91 points. A nice mature white Burgundy.

Black point oysters. Half dozen with mignonette.

Chicken liver mousse. pickled red onions and grilled sourdough.

Grilled duck hearts. Fennel salad and tahini yoghurt.

Mushroom Risotto. truffle, maitake, hazelnuts.

With fresh shaved black truffle.

Mixed Green Salad. seasonal accompaniments.

2008 Ferrando Carema White Label (Etichetta Bianca). Parker 92. The 2008 Carema Etichetta Bianca wafts from the glass with sweet dried cherries, tobacco, sweet herbs and crushed flowers. A mid-weight, delicate wine, the 2008 is quite typical of these hillside vineyards. In 2008 the acidity is a bit on the high side, which readers should keep in mind when considering food pairings. This is a gorgeous wine from Ferrando. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2023.

Angel-hair pasta with tomato sauce.

Mushroom Risotto. truffle, maitake, hazelnuts.

Seared tuna. potatoes.

Organic Salmon. sauerkraut latka, Belgian endive, whole grain mustard.

Pork Belly. Okinawan sweet potatoes, escarole, Dijon jus.

Duck confit. polenta, brussel sprouts, bacon, and jus.

Beef Skirt Steak. royal trumpet mushrooms, farro, sauce Bordelaise.

The dessert menu.

Warm brown butter apple tart. Ginger ice cream, lemon curd.

Malted milk chocolate ice cream. Peanut crumble, chocolate crumble, peanut butter genache.

Some anise flavored meringues as petite fours.

Overall, a lovely meal, wish a lot of flavor and a great way to start off the 2013 ThanksGavin!

For more Philly dining reviews click here.

And check out the epic ThanksGavin events here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Dessert, Fond, Philadelphia, ThanksGavin, Wine

Ghosts of ThanksGavins Past

Nov27

In honor of turkey day, a look back on over a decade of previous Gavin festivals of gluttony…

By: agavin
Comments (0)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: ThanksGavin, thanksgiving, turkey

Friday Night Lights

Dec03

As part of the annual ThanksGavin celebration it’s traditional for cousin Abbe to cook and host the Friday night dinner. This year she joined forces with girlfriend Jody to whip up this feast.

Our cholesterol unfriendly tradition requires cheese, so here it is, along with some quince spread.

And what would cheese be without wine?

When I arrived, my dad had already opened this wine. It’s not my usual snob fare, but it was very enjoyable.

The 2006 MEANDRO DO VALE MEAO is a pretty nice second wine in this difficult vintage. One reason may be that a lot of declassified juice that would’ve have gone into the grand vin was used for this bottling. On first taste, this seems exceptional, elegant in weight, yet mouth filling and delicious. As with most 2006s, the proof is in the pudding, or rather the aeration. That first taste is not a reliable indicator in this vintage with most wines. After it airs out, it shows more hollowness than seemed initially apparent in the mid-palate and a shorter finish. It doesn’t have the penetration and power of its predecessor, the fine 2005, either. All that said, it tastes awfully good, will be approachable immediately and it is very reasonably priced.

Then from my cellar, reversing the appropriate order, I opened this mature Burgundy.

Ampeau holds their small batch wines in their cellar until they’re “Ready” for release — a la Rioja but by the subjective decision of Ampeau themselves, rather than “DO regulations.” Robert Ampeau and his son Michelle have never released a wine under 10 years of age, and their twenty-foot high cellar are chock full of un-labelled bottles of wine with chalk scrawling on their base to indicate the vineyard and the cintage. The Pommard is beautifully aged on the nose with faded flowers and old furniture, mulberry spice and a husk of licorice on the palate with a pine needle and cinammon finish, succulent, and chewy and desipits its tertiarity very young and fresh tasting (think Lopez de Heredia but Pommard!).

A pretty mix of olives and hummus.

This is one of the benefits of my “Italian Mastery” certification, unusual Italians like this! I love me a good Nebbiolo.

Parker 92, “The 2008 Carema Etichetta Bianca wafts from the glass with sweet dried cherries, tobacco, sweet herbs and crushed flowers. A mid-weight, delicate wine, the 2008 is quite typical of these hillside vineyards. In 2008 the acidity is a bit on the high side, which readers should keep in mind when considering food pairings. This is a gorgeous wine from Ferrando.”

Luigi is the man bottling Carema DOC underneath Mont Blanc straddling the border between the Vallee D’Aoste and the Piedmont. Nebbiolo from Carema strikes the balance between the more Alpinous highland reds and the longevity of Barbaresco and Barolo. For over 35 years this wine has been a benchmark of their portfolio, surviving the coming and going of Billecart Salmon (no one heard of them until Neal brought them here!), Castell’in Villa, and all the new growers from the North I offered you guys from that Wednesday luncheon tasting which was phenomenal. I’m giving you this background simply to say that the gold standard for Neal’s palate was, from the very beginning, formed by these wines.

The savory spread this year.

From my cellar: Parker 95, “Between 1978 and 2007, this 1998 is the greatest Vieux Telegraphe that was produced. It has taken a good decade for this wine to shed its tannins and come out of a dormant, closed period. It has finally emerged, and notes of iodine, seaweed, black currants, incense, and sweet cherries as well as hot rocks jump from the glass of this full-bodied, powerful wine. It possesses considerable elegance and purity, along with loads of raspberries and incense, in a round, juicy, rich style that is just emerging from the closet. The wine is still youthful and a pre-adolescent in terms of its ultimate evolution. Approachable now, it will continue to evolve for another 15-20 years. Bravo!”

Herb encrusted salmon.

Yougurt sauce with dill, cucumbers, and pomegranates.

Another contribution from my dad, the reliable but rustic zone of Gigondas is found on the slopes of Mont Ventoux not far from Avignon. The solidly made 2006 Gigondas Romane Machotte is somewhat rustic, with more noticeable structure and tannin. It does not possess the depth of fruit found in its three siblings, but it is a cleanly made, spicy, firm, structured effort.