Monthly Archives: January 2012

Porcini Restaurant, Philadelphia PA

http://www.porcinirestaurant.com/

01-07-2012

The minute I step foot into Porcini in Philadelphia, PA I immediately became very close friends with twenty-five people. This is not because of my magnetic personality or being such a social butterfly that everyone automatically loves the Bluejeanfoodcritic, but because Porcini is literally that small of a restaurant. I believe owners and brothers Steven and David Sansome may have been voted one of Philadelphia’s most romantic restaurants only by default. As one will experience when you go, the space is so tiny and your mouth so close to whoever comes with you, that you can not help but kiss them whenever your lips move.

So what does Porcini mean? The Italian Food Guide writer Kyle Phillips described Porcini as one of God’s great gifts to humanity; a rich, heady, meaty mushroom that is amazingly versatile and delicate enough to give grace to an elegant stew or sauce.

That should tell you at least one item on the menu Porcini Restaurant in Philadelphia should be able to do right. With precision, they treat the mushroom with just as much elegance as described by Kyle Phillips. I started out with the Funghi Nere. It was prepared with exotic mushrooms topped with Asiago cheese and white wine. The first bite created a taste one would assume could only come from meticulous tinkering in the kitchen until Chef Steven Sansome yelled out with his Frankenstein creation “It’s alive”. Chef Sansome all I can say is your vision on this dish works and not having this dish, one would do themselves a disservice. I apologize for not getting a picture of this dish, but unfortunately the Bluejeanfoodcritic was temporarily overwhelmed with technical difficulties and had to consume the dish before the food got cold and technical issue was resolved.

The main dish was called Capasante. It was Seared diver scallops with crispy leeks in white lemon and organic thyme. I almost went back into the kitchen myself to see if Chef Sansome has a tank filled with fresh mollusks as I can not remember the last time I have had scallops so fresh and tasty. I almost thought the dish was mounds of butter sculpted to look like scallops as they just melted in my mouth. The dish was accompanied by mashed potatoes and fresh herb seasoned string beans which fit it perfectly.

Porcini Philadelphia is a byob with very reasonable prices and excellent personalized service which is energized by Maitre d’ David Sansome. Upon entering, he welcomes you like family coming into is home for a dinner party, all the while zig zagging his way around tight spaces like a cruise missile. Without David the experience would be nowhere near as enjoyable. This is a great place for a night out as the intimate nature really comes out due to the size of the restaurant as it truly does create a special atmosphere. The Bluejeanfoodcritic was very pleased. The only gripe would be the portion size of the Funghi Nere and the small serving of sides accompanying my Capasante should have been larger as this restaurant is billed as serving entrees, not a tasting menu. A small infraction, but it was accounted into the rating. Go here and enjoy yourself a lovely evening.

M Restaurant –Philadelphia,Pa

http://www.mrestaurantphilly.com

12-31-11

The always revolving dilemma of how to celebrate the end of one year and embrace the start of a new one brings us to New Years Eve 2011. Go out with style eating bangers and mash like a dainty English Queen, bratwurst it up jolly with all the beer thirsty Germans, or try that very suspicious looking animal in the Asian restaurant they are calling duck, but we all know better. No, we have it; we shall go into 2012 as pretentious busy bodies that will eat our way into prosperity. So it is settled, we shall eat French food. With that we descend upon M Restaurant in Philadelphia that has just received Chef Aaron Bellizzi from famed restaurant Le Cirque after the much too quick departure of brilliant Chef Michael Caspi leaving this Center City location with a void of nothingness to fill and quick.

As those of you who know the Bluejeanfoodcritic, he may not know all of the ingredients he digests, but will do his best to describe the adventure with everyone. We start the night with a titillating palate warm up with an egg mixture, topped with trout roe and a spice of some sort. This was by far our least favorite dish, but oddly enough, the splashes of saltiness coming from the trout roe popping in one’s mouth did get our mouth watering for more. So it could not have been that bad.

Now we move to our cheese plate. If my memory was good enough to remember the names of the three cheeses I digested, you would have spotted the Bluejeanfoodcritic earlier in life winning spelling bee championships, but sadly we will just stick to the story of having had three cheeses. Unfortunately describing the dish so plainly does a gigantic disservice to what I experienced, and what I experienced was close to resembling an out-of-body experience. The French know what they are doing with cheeses, and M Restaurant does it with fantastic flair. The only way to describe it would be to simply say, try it for oneself at M.

Our meal courses finally started with soup called Sunchoke Soup. It should be renamed take a sip of this and you will want to run outside and scream “Holy S#*+, I have just had the best soup I have ever tasted in my life”. By no means am I a soup person at all. Sure I enjoy a good soup to start a meal just as much as the next person, but this was the moment in my life that I have realized it is time for me to search soup out. The ingredients were pumpernickel, citrus cured salmon, capers, and red onion. Do you agree when you read that does it yell out eat me, oh course not, but this was the highlight of the night.

Moving on, we then had Oxtail Terrine. That was oxtail, charred scallions, and parsnip puree. The Oxtail was delicious as the slow cooked delight shined with the mix of the charred scallions sublimely put inside the layers. The following course was Lobster North Atlantic which consisted of bisque, grapefruit, wild rice, and salsify. I was really looking forward to this dish and it did not disappoint except for the grapefruit. I do not know the culinary explanation of why that was added to this dish, but it was easily removed. It was a lobster tail cooked to perfection with an entire claw to go with it; kudos M Restaurant.

The main dish moment finally arrives. Filet Mignon with conifers, turnips, cheddar gremolata, and jus placed in front of us with all of its glory. The filet is cooked to perfection with natural juices just oozing from every side. The cheddar gremolata topping was just heavenly. Able to cut through the dish with just a fork, each bite was savored just as much as the last with the vegetables accompanying the dish perfect. We could not have scripted a better New Years Eve setting for dinner. Now the time to wind down has come as we have reached our limit of food, but M Restaurant does not tone down the theme of bold dish after bold dish to kick off 2012. We end the night with Pear Panna Cotta that was created with poached and pickled pear with ginger lime streusel and pear foam. Chef Aaron Bellizzi must have Harry Potter blood flowing through his veins having learned the skill of Transfiguration from Professor McGonagall by turning ordinary pear parts into an extraordinary dessert. The foam just melted in our mouths with the tart pickled pear putting just the right amount of tingle in our taste buds to be able to pack it all in and depart.

The night at M Restaurant was a complete success with 5 out of 5 stars followed by an amazing display of fireworks put on the Delaware River waterfront at Penns Landing. Welcome 2012 and we bid adieu to 2011. May great things continue in the new year as a great meal has started it. The Bluejeanfoodcritic looks forward to this year being filled with tastes and events we all can fondly remember.

M Restaurant, Philadelphia PA