Marc Vetri at snackbar

Marc Vetri dropped into snackbar as the guest chef for their (usually) first-monday tasting menu dinners. These events have created a nexus for some very cool collaborations, encouraging talented chefs to explore ideas that might not fly in their own restaurants, and to avail themselves of some of snackbar's signature edgy techniques. So this time one could find some parmesan foam on the arancini, some hot pepper jelly spheres lurking in the squid ink pasta, some cold sous-vide applied to the celery. But it was still pretty clearly Vetri food, just a little tweaked and rethought for this night.

Jeff Benjamin provided wine pairings (and beer for one course) that did a nice job of supporting and enhancing the food, adding to the thoroughly enjoyable meal. Look for notes on the wines, as well as the food, at David McDuff's Food and Wine trail.

1. crispy rice ball. frothy parmesan emulsion.


These were beautifully-executed arancini, the creamy interiors cloistering nuggets of meat, the exteriors retaining a perfect crunch, the foam adding just a hint of cheese. That froth was a textbook example of why foams are not merely stylish affectations, the form delivered flavor in a way a sauce or solid never could.

2. porchetta. charred treviso. arugula. celery in forms.

I was initially underwhelmed by this course, but as I managed to eat each element in combinations with the others, eventually experiencing the totality of the diverse flavors all at once, it won me over me completely. The bitterness of the greens lapping over the richness of the pork, the sweet edge of the charred radicchio superimposed onto the tartness of the dressing, the salt of the cheese balancing it all, it truly was a sum greater than its parts.

3. squid ink spaghettini. calamari. hot tomato jelly.

This course seemed to be a crowd favorite, many folks wistfully picturing eating huge bowls of it on a regular basis. And despite its drastic appearance, it was indeed a familiar and comforting dish, with tender squid tangled in the firm pasta, tiny oven-dried tomatoes providing little splashes of contrast. And every now and then, one of those tomatoes would turn out to not be a tomato at all, but a little package of peppery jelly, providing a surprising, and rather pleasant, variation. Hey we are in snackbar, one has to expect a few modern touches, even in the homey noodles.

4. braised eel. chanterelle ragu. winter greens.

This was one of my favorites of the night, the surprisingly mild eel amplified by the wild mushrooms, the sharp edge of the greens pulling it back from richness overload.

5. pomelo campari sorbetto

An effective palate cleanser, and quite delicious on its own, the only downside of this sorbet was that it lingered, making mischief on my tongue for quite a while! Still, I'd be happy to have this again, either as an intermezzo or as dessert. The campari's assertive bitterness played off the fruit components beautifully, making it a bracing and exciting transition into the final stage of dinner.

6. veal cheeks and sweetbreads. bone marrow gremolata. saffron artichokes.

I heard a couple of comments wishing for crispier sweetbreads, but I thought mine were just perfect. I'm not sure I'd call them crisp, but the exterior had a great crust, revealing a melty, creamy interior. The veal cheeks were almost as luxurious, with that decadent gelatinous texture and intense flavor. I liked the bright citrus note from the gremolata dusted atop the cheeks.



7. 'castagnaccio'. chestnut cake. ricotta foam. honeycomb.

Unexpectedly, the dessert was one of the most fascinating courses, a riot of mysterious malty, funky, fruity, fermenty flavors in the cake, amplified by the honey. We cornered the chef and asked him about it, and he ascribes those effects to the chestnut flour, insisting that there was nothing weird in there. And I think I believe him, but I was tasting something (intriguingly) strange.

8. chocolate-olive oil macaroons. orange cynar marshmallows.

I'm not sure which of the lunatics decided that a marshmallow made with bitter artichoke liqueur was a good idea, but, well, OK, it was pretty interesting. I'm not sure I could eat a lot of them, but a small, squishy blob of it was kind of good. I'm not even sure I could parse the flavors in the macaroon, but it was tasty.

This was a very enjoyable and unique meal, certainly different than what one would get at Vetri or Osteria. Of course those places have set the bar rather high, and we routinely have enthralling experiences eating Vetri's food just dropping by Osteria on a random night. I don't think any of these dishes knocked us completely out of our chairs, but we liked this meal quite a lot, and enjoyed the deviations as much as the solid Vetri touch.

Could we all pause for a moment and contemplate what a cool dining scene we have in Philadelphia?

Big thanks to both Jonathans at snackbar for making these dinners happen, they're consistently interesting and enjoyable dining experiences. One often catches a glimpse of some unexpected folks poking their heads up from the basement kitchen: last night it was last month's guest chef Michael Solomonov, helping out his old boss before plunging back into his soon-to-open Zahav.

I'm not sure what's planned for next month, and I'm not sure I need to know. Just save me a space...

www.phillysnackbar.com

Osteria Update

It's been entirely too long between Osteria visits. There have been so many new places to check out, it's easy to get distracted from (not so) old favorites.

Osteria's menu is in a constant state of flow, with dishes being added and subtracted from the repertoire according to the seasons and the chefs' inspirations. We revisited a few proven classics and tried some new ones too, all to delicious effect. We started with a constant menu item, one we'll never tire of, the Lombarda Pizza. (pictured above) Their own aromatic sausage and runny egg are our favorite toppings for the consistently excellent pizzas here, and this latest one did not disappoint (although I prefer the darker crust we usually get...)

The Lardo Pizza sounded intriguing. We'd draped pieces of lardo from the salumi platter over hot pizza crust before, and really enjoyed that melting texture, so a whole pizza like that sounded great. In practice, it was a little one-dimensional. The rosemary mentioned on the menu was barely detectable, and lardo is more about mouth-feel than vivid flavor, so the ultimate effect was too subtle. The could probably work, but needed a but more seasoning, maybe just some nice coarse salt.

We quickly forgot about troubleshooting the lardo pizza when the pancetta-wrapped snail spiedini showed up. Perfectly tender snails, pancetta and the creamiest polenta celery root purée known to man. Need I say more?

Duck and Foie Gras Terrine wasn't especially photogenic, but it was as creamy and decadently rich as you might guess.

Candele with Boar Bolognese might just be the perfect winter dish. The pasta itself has the perfect resilient tenderness, and the bolognese is reduced down so that it's barely a sauce, just ground pork adhering magically to the noodles.

Pork Ribs with Black Pepper Sausage is another dish that may not look like much, but any shortcomings in visual appeal were made up by the flavors of the falling-off-the-bone ribs and assertive sausage.

What?!? MORE pork?!? Yeah, for some reason the pork dishes were really appealing to us this evening, and I think it's safe to say: if they're offering the roast suckling pig special, get it. This was totally simple, but maybe the most gratifying dish of the night. The tender, juicy roast pig was herby, salty, doused in oil, and completely addictive. Even the potatoes were eliciting moans of delight.

Sorbettos were just about the only dessert we could contemplate after that extravaganza. This is blood orange, pineapple and meyer lemon. Those bright, vibrant flavors were an excellent ending to all this excess. Well, OK, we'll also admit to attempting to eat some zabaglione gelato, and some pistachio, but we're not proud of it.

Although it was completely unrealistic to even contemplate munching on these little petit fours over espresso, we couldn't resist ordering them for the sake of investigation. And this selection of snacks does indeed make a really lovely accompaniment to an espresso or after-dinner drink. The little white cookies were airy and lemony, the candied orange peel simultaneously sweet and bitter. The pistachio and pine-nut brittles were really good with coffee, as were the biscotti. We couldn't quite figure out what the flavors were in the pâté de fruits-ish jellied thing, but it was good... This is a really nice plate to share among 3 or 4 people at the end of a meal.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable meal all the way around, even considering the inevitable sticker-shock when the bill comes. It can climb up quickly if you're not paying attention (or asking the prices of specials!) and having some wine, but when the food's this good, I never regret it.

Osteria offical website at:osteriaphilly.com
Read a more complete review at philadining.com