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

Michael Solomonov at snackbar

The continuing guest chef series at snackbar picked back up this month with Michael Solomonov, until recently chef at Marigold Kitchen, but now devoting himself to his upcoming restaurant Zahav.

We're thankful that he could make a little time in his chaotic schedule for this special dinner, which might have given a hint of some of the ideas to be explored at Zahav. If so, we're looking forward to his new place, as these dishes were delicious, and refreshingly different.

1. falafel. tehina soup. parsley versa.

Of course, this dish evoked the flavors of a classic falafel sandwich, expressed in different textures. The tehina soup was smooth and nutty, the falafel, crunchy, the parsley, airy. We had a little structural trouble with this dish, more than once, as one of us would try to chop a chunk of falafel with a spoon, we'd send a piece of it flying across the table, carrying some soup along with it. You'd think we would have learned after the first time... What we managed to get into our mouths tasted pretty good!

2. lamb tartare. truffled labneh. maluach.

This was one of the favorite courses around our table. We could eat that truffled yogurt all day, and the tender mince of lamb and chewy bread harmonized beautifully with it.

3. mackerel. preserved curry banana. chervil/carrot.

We're still a little baffled about why we liked this as much as we did: it's a pretty whacky combination of flavors, but it really worked.

4. lobster and ribeye roulade. fennel purée. chorizo consomme.

We were commenting that steak and lobster is often thrown together purely for the sake of luxurious excess, but in this case, the combination was really appropriate, the roulade combining the tastes and contrasts in mouthfeel in a delightful way. The licorice-y purée melding with the chorizo broth really tied it together, accenting each element in a different, yet complimentary way.

5. cashel blue marble. quince spheres. white chocolate.

We liked this cheese, loved the concept of the quince spheres, but in practice, didn't like them at all. We have to wonder if there could be some variation in the concentrations of the mysterious fluids employed in the spherification process, because snackbar chef Johnny Mac insisted that they loved these back in the kitchen. But the consensus around our table was that they didn't taste like anything. So, we'd have a mouthful of intense cheese, and then a sudden explosion of...water... We just weren't getting the slightest hint of membrillo, just disconcerting undifferentiated fluid. Cool idea, didn't quite work for us.


6. halvah semifreddo. salted toffee. pomegranate. kumquats.


(we also had a variation substituting marshmallow for the semifreddo)


Tangy fruity, creamy, nutty, salty. What could be bad about that? This was a tasty, and appropriate end to this enjoyable, unusual and interesting meal.

Each course was paired with beer, which worked really well.


Thanks to chef Solomonov for doing it, and to both Jonathans at snackbar for making it happen. We're totally looking forward to the next guest chef. And no, we're not telling you who that is. At least not until we're sure our table is reserved!

Tasting Menus at snackbar

Update: Snackbar has closed.  Chef Jonathan Adams is currently helming the stoves at Pub and Kitchen a few blocks south.

On the first monday of every month, snackbar is doing special tasting menus, often featuring guest chefs.

For November, the Guest Chef was Sholo Olunloyo, of StudioKitchen fame, working with snackbar's Jonathan Mcdonald. Desserts were by Bobby Truitt. (We were psyched to see former M chef David Katz helping out as well.) It was a terrific meal, exciting and unusual in the ways we expect from these chefs. (Full disclosure: Olunloyo, Mcdonald and Katz all know me, but especially in this context of everyone eating the same tasting menu, there was clearly no special treatment.)


Carrot Ginger Soup . Coconut Froth. Peanut Praline

I especially liked this soup. The interplay of sweet carrot, rich coconut, spicy ginger, sweet and salty peanut provided one area of stimulation, while the smooth soup, the airy foam and the crunchy peanut tickled the palate on a textural level.


Scallop . "Choucroute" of Fennel and Apple . Yuzu-Miso Glaze

The scallop was not too unusual, yet delicious. The sweet and salty yuzu-miso glaze paired with the acidic "choucroute" gave a needed bright edge to the perfectly-seared scallop.


Skate Wing Torchon . Nicoise Flavors

I did not love this dish - there was nothing wrong with it, and interactions of the bold elements were sometimes quite pleasing, but I just found it overall a bit blah, despite the salty capers, the concentrated tomatoes, and other strongly-flavored elements on the plate.

Kobe Beef Culotte . Oxtail Gyoza . Parsnips and Chanterelles

This oxtail gyoza had everyone enraptured, clearly the star of the evening. The extremely tender steak, clearly cooked sous-vide to an ideal medium rare, then seared for a flavorful crust, was quite tasty as well, but the intensity of that shredded oxtail in the dumpling overshadowed everything, even the soothing parsnip purée.


Chalancay Epoisses . Fennel Mostarda . Pumpernickel . Shitake Soil

A not-too-stinky epoisses was complimented by the sweet preserved fennel, the crunchy pumpernickel, and the earthy "soil."

Apple in Forms . Black Sesame Streusel . White Chocolate

This dessert really knocked us out, with clear, clean, bright flavors, balancing in unexpected ways. Some French Chartreuse paired with the green apple sorbet, the white chocolate appeared in a lighter-than-air zabaglione, the black sesame chimed in perfectly, almost tasting chocolately. Truly one of the better desserts we've had in a while.


Caju-Lime Marshmallow. Fried Chocolate

As I started photographing this, I literally heard gasps and moans behind me, as people tossed that airy marshmallow in their mouths, and it instantly dissolved, leaving sweetness and citrus in its wake. And then the crunchy sphere that emitted intense molten chocolate - there was talk of storming the kitchen to confiscate any leftovers, but we realized they had knives back there to defend themselves.

Overall a very good meal, and we're looking forward to more in the future. We hear Michael Solomonov from Marigold, and Marc Vetri are slated to guest-chef soon.


snackbar
253 South 20th St
Philadelphia, PA
215-545-5655

Full snackbar review at Philadining.com>>