Mémé - Comforting Food from Chef David Katz

Chef David Katz, who made a splash at the short-lived restaurant M, then had a fleetingly brief stint at the reborn Silk City, then was this close to opening a place in Filter Square about a year ago, has finally surfaced in a restaurant of his own.

Mémé, named for his grandmother, is in the space that formerly housed Melograno, at 22nd and Spruce. Those of you who have eaten in that space know it's pretty small, and a bit noisy, but it's an appealing location, with large windows onto the street, sidewalk seating in good weather, and an open kitchen that lends energy to the room. The interior doesn't look dramatically different from Melograno, but the feel is not the same at all, it's brighter, somehow a little more relaxed-feeling.

(And BTW, Melograno fans, don't despair, they've moved just a few blocks away to 2oth and Sansom, to a larger space, so the changes may have worked-out well for all parties.)

The food at M tended toward the delicate and refined, showcasing innovative techniques and unusual flavor combinations. Katz did that very well, and I miss that aspect of his cooking, but that's not what Mémé is all about. There's a blackboard menu, which tends toward straightforward, classic fare. It's not tongue-in-cheek retro, it's not self-consciously homey, it's just classic good food.

Early press has been unable to resist deploying vivid metaphors about Katz's cooking being as gonzo as the restaurant's Ralph Steadman logo, or as brash and in-your-face as the chef's persona. I can't say I perceived either thing from our meal in the early days after opening. What I experienced was very tasty food, neither weird nor badass, just delicious.

This direction may turn out to be remarkably prescient: in these days of economic turmoil, well-made, comforting food at a reasonable price is likely to be much more popular than fussy upscale cutting-edge cuisine. On one hand, I'm sad that the Philadelphia dining scene hasn't tended to support innovative chefs pushing the boundaries, on the other, I'm happy to have those chefs using their considerable talents to make excellent versions of more familiar dishes.

I'm not sure what to label this trend, so I won't. It's tempting to resort to the cliché of "comfort food" but my grandma didn't make foie gras tarts or steak tartare, didn't seek out artisanal ingredients and didn't roast shitakes with her chicken. I'm open to suggestions for terminology...

The menu is broken up in to three basic sections: "smallish," "larger" and "for two." The first two are roughly equivalent to appetizers and main courses, but I like the opportunity to be more freeform in constructing a meal - some days an array of smaller plates would be just the thing, another time a couple might split three larger plates. The "for two" plates are obviously meant to be shared, we found them a nice size to split amongst a larger group.

The menu is sure to change often, so these specific things might not be available at any given time, but our party of six made a good dent in the opening menu, so we can offer a broad overview of the kinds of things that you're likely to find.

"Smallish"
Mixed Chicories, Roquefort, Walnut, Pear.



Sizzling Mussels, Lemon Olive Oil, Herbs


Cherry Tomatoes, Ricotta Salata, Grilled Bread, Balsamic



Scallops, Butternut Squash, Bacon, Brown Butter



Foie Gras Tart, Sweet Onions, Apples, Maple-Sherry Glaze



Beef Tartare, Salty Chips, Quail Egg


"For Two"
Whole Chicken, Roasted Shiitakes, Sweet Onion Grits, Madiera



Roasted Lamb Leg, Ratatouille, Potatoes, Lamb Sauce




"Larger"
Swordfish, Olives Preserved Lemon

Sautéed Skate, Slow Cooked Tomatoes, Tapenade

Wagyu Skirt Steak, Mushrooms, Fingerlings, Brandy-peppercorn sauce

Duck Breast, Chard, Beet, Onions, Port

(there's a fettuccini with truffles, and flatbread with goat cheese, figs and prosciutto that we skipped)

Dessert

Chocolate Ganache cake, Mint Ice Cream

Espresso Pots de Creme, Orange Confit

Brown Butter Cake, Banana Gelato


Everything was very good, but my favorites were: the (very) lemony mussels; the simple, but perfectly-seared scallops; the incongruously luxurious foie gras tart; the curry-spiked beef tartare; the intensely flavorful wagyu steak; the juicy roasted chicken; and all the ice creams on the desserts. I'm told the duck was delicious, but that plate didn't quite make it all the way around our table of six!

There were no big culinary surprises here, just expert execution of good recipes. It's interesting that at a table of jaded diners, the simple roast chicken was frequently mentioned as a favorite. The juiciness of the meat, the intensity of the sauce, the roasted crackle of the skin, all made for a rare treat. Why is it so unusual to find good chicken? Similarly the steak was a piece of excellent quality meat, cooked carefully, with only a subtle buff-up from a good sauce. Good ingredients cooked well - it's hard to find fault with that.

If anything gives me pause, it would just be the greater culinary trend toward simple, straightforward preparations: will this kind of food keep me interested? Time will tell. It might. I'm sure there will be some menu changes and variations, specials and seasonal tweaks. And even if the menu stayed static, I think I could eat that chicken a few times a week...

It's an interesting trend: many of our cutting-edge younger chefs are stepping back from modern techniques and presentations, returning to the basics. I imagine that insights gained from the experimental side might quietly inform even classic preparations, but those influences are much less overt. I'll be very interested to see how Mémé's menu will evolve. Apparently many people are urging Katz to slip in a few family recipes, perhaps from his Mémé, that reflect his Moroccan heritage. Whether Katz integrates those flavors, or if we just witness the natural flow of a creative cook, I'm sure the food will change, and I'll look forward to seeing how.

To be journalistically responsible, I should mention that chef Katz knows me, and did come by the table to say hello at the end of the meal. But even though it's a small restaurant with an open kitchen, we were seated at the furthest table from the line, and I don't think that we were recognized before or during the meal. I don't think we received any special treatment, so I think the photos and descriptions are a fair representation of what anyone would get. Tables are spaced close enough that it was pretty easy to see that others were getting dishes that looked the same as ours.

Melograno tended to have long lines most nights, and I have little doubt Mémé will too, they're serving very satisfying food in a densely populated area. A percentage of the seats are held for walk-ins, but they do take reservations, so it should be less of a hassle to check this place out than it often was for Melograno. And I do recommend checking it out.

You may not be as surprised or challenged by the food as you were at M, but you'll almost certainly be pleased by the warm familiarity of classic dishes, by good ingredients cooked skillfully, by the obvious care with which everything is made. And that's no small thing to find in a restaurant: tasty food made carefully. I may yearn for innovation, but I'll take good flavors any day.


Mémé
www.memerestaurant.com
2201 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: 215-735-4900

hours (as of October 2008)
Mon, Wed, Thur, 5:30 - 10:30
Friday, Saturday, 5:30 - 11:00
Sunday Brunch 11:00 - 2:30...Dinner 5:00 - 9:00
Closed Tuesdays