Garces Trading Company, Philadelphia PA

My travels brought me to Philadelphia, where it is said to be the "Best Restaurant City!" according to the Loews Hotel welcome book. After a walk around the Liberty Bell and Washington Square, I found myself a few blocks west at Garces Trading Company, founded by the newer Iron Chef America, Chef Jose Garces.

Vichyssoise Chaude

There's a bit of a disconnect between what Garces intends as "a casual sit-down meal" and the $50 pp you'd have to drop for an appetizer/soup/salad, an entree and a glass of wine.

That being said, the food was amazing and worth the $50 I dropped. The ambiance is mixed as part of the place is a deli style market, with a sit down cafe portion. This food is certainly worthy of a classier dining experience.

Pappardelle With Lamb Ragu

I started with the Vichyssoise Chaude which was served table side. A shallow bowl with potato, leek, scallop, bacon, and truffle shavings, and then the server poured the hot chowder into the bowl. It was rich, complex, and amazing (though I still contend that using truffles is culinary cheating).


I also had the Pappardelle With Lamb Ragu—long and wide pasta with slow cooked lamb with sunchoke puree, peas, and piave vechio (which is Italian for fancy parmesan). Lots of great flavors if you like lamb, but not too heavy. Each bite dances a little in your mouth with layers of flavors playing off each other.


Honorable mention that I almost got, was the Sunday night special of ox-tail and braised short rib lasagna.

Check out my blog on Chef Garces' other restaurant, CHIFA, Peruvian-Cantonese cuisine.

Quickfire Dinner - Scallops and Garlic Noodles

After a late night of work, its hard to find the time to make dinner, especially when you haven't gone to the store in a few days. Last week we were in just that situation. So we pulled out some frozen scallops and defrosted them under cold running water for about 10-15 minutes. Dried them off well, and sprinkled a little  over them. Sear them in a hot pan for 90 seconds or so on each side and finish it off with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Garlic butter noodles are easy. Boil some spaghetti a minute or two less than the directions suggest. Mince a bunch of garlic. Melt some butter in a pan (I used about 2 Tbsp for half a pack of spaghetti). Throw in the minced garlic and a 1/2 tsp of salt and brown the butter and garlic on medium. Crank up the heat, and throw in your noodles. Toss them around nice and good, add some pepper, and serve. Veggies are always optional. In our case, some asparagus was in the fridge, so a light garlic and olive oil sauté was all it took.


As a finishing touch, I de-glazed the scallop pan with lemon juice and scraped the seared crud off the pan and topped the noodles with it. It added a unique lemony tang with some scallop juices and seasoning.

The lesson here, is to always keep some frozen scallops on hand. They defrost quickly and taste deluscious.

The House - Anniversary Dinner (part 1)

Earlier this month, Tracy and I celebrated our third anniversary. To make things both special and nostalgic, we had dinner at The House in San Francisco's North Beach, where we also went on our first date. I recall having the sesame soy glazed salmon and Tracy had the seared Ahi tuna. Both staples are still on the menu today.

This time around, we started off with the seared scallops with a yuzu vinaigrette, topped with some fancy micro-greens. Does that sound familiar? It should; in my first blog post I wrote about my version of yuzu seared scallops. They were cooked perfectly, the sauce was good, and the greens were nice too. It did however baffle me that the order came with three. I'd imagine most people at nice restaurants come in pairs, or in small groups. Three pieces? That means we had to share one, which could be a deal breaker if this were a first date.

We both slowly ate our first scallop, slicing it into quarters for each bite to make it last. I know you all do this, when you have good food in a very limited quantity. If there were 6 scallops on the plate I probably would've just popped the whole delicious bad boy in my mouth. After finishing the first, we both patiently waited to see who wanted that second one more. Tracy offered it to me, and she ate the radishes in the middle. I thought they were just for decor.

I'll write more about my main course tomorrow.

The House
1230 Grant Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94133
http://www.thehse.com

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I Pity the Scallop

I made this dish back in September 2008. Pan-seared Jumbo Scallops drizzled with Japanese Yuzu sauce, served with Garlic-Ginger Bok Choy, and Fried Rice.

The scallops are from Costco, available in the frozen section, in 2-pound bags (I think they're U-15... as in 15 per pound). The key is to thaw them and dry each one individually with a paper towel. If its moist, it doesn't get a good sear on it.

Yuzu is this japanese citrus fruit that has a very delicate light but distinct flavor. Its used in a lot of fancy japanese recipes. Its available at the giant asian supermarkets or specialty japanese markets.

Sprinkle salt and pepper onto all sides of the patted-dry scallops. Heat up a frying pan on high heat for a minute or two, then add some olive oil (or use a spray oil like Pam), give it another moment, then one by one add the scallops in. Drop a few drips of yuzu on top of each scallop. After 1.5 to 2 minutes (of putting down your initial scallop), start flipping each one over. Then drip a little yuzo on each one again. 1.5 to 2 minutes later, remove each one from the pan and plate.