Tinto

Brunch is one of those perfect meals offering everything -- savory and the sweet, breakfast and lunch, fruit juice and drinks.  A great restaurant doesn't make you choose, but bundles everything into manageable, appetizing selections.  Tinto does exactly that, and has been doing it for years.  With its great brunch package - a $25 fixed price menu of appetizer, entree and dessert - it also throws in some of (Iron) Chef Jose Garces's plot twists that transform average brunch food into something amazing.  The only downside?  You will crave the maple grits.  For a long time.

Like many good meals, this one started with the perfect drink - an Iraty, consisting of muddled lemon, aperol and bourbon fizz.  Aperol is a lighter, sweeter Campari and a nice pair with the bourbon flavor.  The drink menu also offers interesting twists on a Bloody Mary (with celery vodka and chorizo) and a Mimosa (blood orange and gran torres in cava). 

The appetizer selection presents some tough choices -- with tapas standards like the mixed cheese plate or serrano ham, or the tortilla espanola.  Somehow, I always end up with the cured salmon plate, the highlight of which is the chive cream.  I don't know how they create this lighter-than-air shmear, but it's flavorful and perfect without being heavy.

Yes, that's old school egg salad with cornichons to top your bialy there.  The egg salad was a bit standard, but I got a kick of the nod to the traditional brunch offering.

Entrees get trickier.  Whether to get the Huevos Benedictos with truffle hollandaise on brioche toast with serrano, or the Padre de Hijo, crispy duck confit, tinto hash and duck egg, is the type of highly difficult problem I love to tackle.  Again, I find myself opting for my standby - Revuelto de Hongas, wild mushrooms, goat cheese espuma, and truffle butter.  Yup, that's truffle butter on my toast and goat cheese foam on my eggs.  It's tempting to ask for seconds. 

But the secret happiness here are the maple grits.  I know what you're thinking -- insipidly sweet, right?  Wrong.  They walk the perfect balance, much like brunch, of a savory flavor of cheese against a sweet but simple topping of maple syrup (think when you were a kid, or yesterday, making sure your sausage had syrup on it).  Sublime.

The only thing holding you back from devouring these quickly is knowing you still have dessert coming.  Tinto offers a "brulee of grapefruit" or Gateaux Basque, a cake with pastry cream and black cherries.  Eschewing anything vaguely healthy here, I opted for the cake.  While not the highlight of meal, it offered a restrained sweetness I appreciate.

Unlike some restaurants offering lavish brunch buffets at high prices, Tinto manages to strike the balance of decadence and affordability, with interesting twists on brunch favorites.  Most importantly, though, get the grits.

Tinto is located at 20th and Sansom Streets, Philadelphia, Pa.  www.tintorestaurant.com.  

Pear Martinis

On the fifth day of Christmas blogging... my colleague made for me a pear martini. In this season of holiday parties, it's always nice to mingle with work friends outside of work, and even nicer when cool new drinks like this one are involved (not to mention the delicious wine, champagne and food that followed). This concoction that kicked off the evening stealthily involved one of my new favorite liqueurs -- ginger liqueur. While I've mostly enjoyed it with champagne, apparently it provides a nice unexpected addition to the pear martini as well. Although I didn't sleuth out actual proportions, I did learn that the drink is made with pear vodka, ginger liqueur, lemon juice and simple syrup, with a slice of pear. Slightly sweet without being cloying, with a subtle kick. A great holiday drink.

Village Whiskey

Village Whiskey is predictable, although I'm not sure that's a bad thing. Jose Garces, the chef who brought you Amada and Tinto, has opened the small sliver of a bar adjacent to Tinto on 20th Street. I hope the presence of these restaurants and Capogiro serve to reinvigorate this sad stretch of 20th Street, thereby making the outdoor seating a little more pleasant.

In any case, VW is covered in white tile, making the din nearly unbearable. After several whiskey cocktails, however, it may matter a little less. I sampled the "De Rigueur," featuring rye, aperol, grapefruit, lemon, honey and mint, I was told it was a cousin of the mint julep. I would highly recommend it with its perfect blend of sweetness and rye. VW's Old Fashioned packs a whallop and I would describe my friend's "Modern," with scotch, sloe gin, herbsaint, and orange bitters, as the kind of drink you earn after a particularly bad day.

Which is of course the backdrop against which I ordered the "Whiskey King" burger -- maple-glazed cippolini, rogue bleu cheese, applewood bacon and foie gras on top of 10 oz of beef, for $24. I had previously thought the combination of foie gras and red meat was reserved for the decadent and gluttonous. Still true, but wow -- sign me up. The burger was fantastic. The brioche-style sesame bun absorbed the flavor of the burger and added to the medley perfectly. I showed a little restraint in not ordering the duck fat fries at $5 for a very small, cute silver cup of fries. I would imagine they are equally good. You can also buy a scaled back burger with thousand island dressing for $9.

VW offers predictably high priced cocktails ($11-12), a very long whiskey menu, and an interesting bar menu with oyster options and fun things like deviled eggs and pickled veggies. Once you get past the rather strict hostess who behaved as though the fire code was her prime directive (whatever you do, don't try to stand near the bar), the service was exceptional, friendly without being intrusive. The noise level may keep me away, however.

Village Whiskey is located next to Tinto at the corner of 20th and Sansom, http://www.villagewhiskey.com/. Foobooz offers a much better photo of the Whiskey King burger at http://foobooz.com/tag/village-whiskey/, with props to the BrewBrog blog.

Tria

Tria is a favorite haunt of mine, a reliable, consistent bar/restaurant in a great location. The menu focuses on three things -- cheese, wine, and beer, offering other items that complement these "staples." The pretentiousness quotient is surprisingly low, given the hip looks of the staff and the number of wines, beers and cheeses that I have never heard of, much less understand. In fact, the staff manages to be friendly and helpful, which is appreciated given the advice they need to provide.

Tria is also great because you can order (and simultaneously sit at a table) appetizers and drinks, just as easily as dinner. The appetizers, which change frequently but tend to include things like "warm poached black mission figs with gorgonzola and prosciutto di parma," are interesting and substantive. Items like "spiced almonds" and "parmesan olive oil potato chips" are priced at $2.50, and no appetizer -- or any dish, for that matter -- is over $10.

Tria offers a variety of bruschetta and panini, also good compliments to the beer and wine list. Of all the sandwiches (and I've tried most of them), I love the grilled cheese -- "three cheese & tomato panino with fontina, grana padano and goat cheese." The sandwiches are served with fresh greens, tossed in a light dressing with kosher salt. I have come to crave this sandwich and it ranks among the all time best grilled cheeses I've had. I also know people who crave the nutella panino, which is, in fact, as good as it sounds.

The wine, beer and cheese menus manage to convey a sense of humor, categorizing wines from "zippy whites" to "lighthearted reds" and beers from "invigorating" to "extreme." It's hard to go wrong with the cheeses, which are served with a taste accompaniment like honey, or nuts, along with bread, that are selected to highlight the particular cheese. Somehow, the descriptions work, at least for me, and are more clear than regional divisions or more traditional descriptors. I enjoyed a beer last night, a Tripel Karmeliet, that tasted unlike anything I've had before, with strong caramel and a rich bitterness in a lightly colored beer. It was listed under the heading, "profound." If only...

Tria is located at the corner of 18th and Sansom Streets, Philadelphia, Pa., photo thanks to http://www.triacafe.com/.

Rouge

Most Philadelphians are familiar with Rouge, a Neil Stein creation that, in many ways, put Philadelphia restaurants "on the map." Whatever that means. For me, living "around" Rittenhouse Square (um, ten blocks or so down), it meant that thanks to Mr. Stein's push for sidewalk seating, I now had to step around seemingly pretentious diners and their poodles. But Rouge's prime location invites these visitors, situated directly across from the square, near enough to Walnut to be visible, small enough to feel exclusive. Over the years, I've made my peace with it and grown to enjoy the food.

So I found myself there after work on these days where spring seems genuinely eager to break through winter. With the daylight savings adjustment, my entire time there was spent in twilight, a perfect break after work. The drink selection was equally perfect; I ordered the "Bluecoat Martini" cocktail with some combination of gin, cointreau, ginger ale, and sour mix. Delicious and refreshing without being summer-y.

The menu is divided into small and large plates, which I confess I have begun to loathe in terms of deciding what to order. As a group, we went the multiple small plate route. I ordered the risotto, described as "crispy potato, parmesan, garlic butter & chives." Although offering a larger portion than the "small plate" as described, it nonetheless reminded me more of potatoes au gratin with a risotto texture. Pleasing, but missing the mark. The shrimp and lobster spring rolls, pictured below, were devoid of any discernible taste of shrimp, lobster, or mango as promised in the menu. I trust that it was in there, but it tasted more like a pleasant vegetarian spring roll to me. Pictured above was one last onion ring, deep fried in tempura batter (more were actually served with the dish, and quickly eaten). One last dish was the shrimp served with small diced underdone potatoes and what purported to be white wine foam, but tasted like ... nothing. Ah, foam. The star of Top Chef and the overpraised trend of the past five years. I am still not sold.

We ordered the chocolate chip bread pudding with vanilla gelato, which was unfortunately served with a berry sauce. My rule is never to mix fruit and dessert; pick one or the other. The bread pudding was good, but a bit dry. The chocolate, however, was the perfect darkness.

My review? I've had the burger there before and tend to think it's one of Rouge's stronger offerings. Stick with drinks, soak up the atmosphere and location. And enjoy spring.

Rouge is located at 205 S. 18th Street, Philadelphia, Pa., 215.732.6622.

Mission Grill

Mission Grill achieves the rare accomplishment of being within a block of my job and offering good food. In the "corporate district" consisting of the four to five blocks radiating north from 18th and Market Streets, there are little to no exciting options for dinner, aside from the Four Seasons. Mission Grill has remained largely undiscovered, however, which is a shame. Having eaten there several times for lunch, I tried dinner and was pleasantly surprised.

Nicely lit, offering more booths than tables, Mission Grill is inviting and warm, albeit a bit corporate still. The wait staff managed to be simultaneously kind and cool. Featuring tequila, wine and mixed drinks, the bar list was extensive. The lime margarita I ordered, although served somewhat strangely in a water glass, was quite delicious.

Armed with a margarita, we settled into the happy booth, far from the miserable cold, and dug into the "special," which has been offered each time I've visited: the guacamole/salsa appetizer. Mission Grill's guacamole, a dish often hard to find fresh, was perfect. Big chunks of avocado with the right mix of tomatoes and spices provided the right accompaniment to what tasted like fresh nachos.

Despite our being among the few diners there, the kitchen delivered the goods for dinner. The center cut pork chop with chipotle sweet potatoes and summer vegetables was done to perfection, offering a hearty portion. The sweet potatoes, mashed to fluffiness, contained a mild, pleasing kick. The summer vegetables, a throwback to the seemingly unseasonal menu (which offered a summer gazpacho as well), were done well. My friend ordered the salmon and easily substituted a side, which is always a nice option. Having ordered it well done, however, it arrived medium rare, a dicey trick for salmon.

My lunches there have ranged from boring to quite good, once I learned to avoid such items like the chicken caesar wrap (rather predictably boring) and lean instead toward the Totopos Seafood Salad, filled with crabmeat, shrimp, avocado, and jicama. I could also see lingering over drinks at Mission Grill's long wood bar. All in all, I remain hopeful that Mission Grill catches on just enough to stick around, but not too much that I would be denied a booth.

Mission Grill is located at 1835 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA, (215) 636-9550.

Alma de Cuba

Oh, Alma. You've been such a standby for me. With your soothing candles and white sofas, black and white projected photographs, you meet my Friday happy hour needs. Which are, to be clear, a place that you can hear and participate in conversation, lean forward or back against something comfortable, order delicious food -- or not -- with no pressure. And a place that offers a pleasing array of cocktails, naturally.

I went with a friend who names Alma as her favorite restaurant. Her rules for going are clear: go anytime of night, but sit in the bar area, toward the back, exclusively. Which rules out the main dining area. And perhaps she's right, for the people watching alone. On this visit, we were instructed on the system: red candles signal that the table/area is available for patrons who are not eating dinner; white candles signal tables in which the patrons must eat dinner. Since we were in the bar area, these two types of tables are close together and, let's face it, who really inherently knows what each color candle means. As a result, many a hostess had to correct an errant diner. Probably not the smoothest system. But now you know.

In any case, I enjoy the "suave" mojito, which, I am assured, is the sweeter version of the mojito. Caipirinhas are featured prominently as well. However, as wordly as I enjoy pretending to be, I am unable to pronounce this drink's name and therefore sometimes avoid ordering it. The times I've mustered up the courage, I've been suitably impressed, but the suave mojito usually quenches my thirst here. Alma offers a "caipiroska" as well, which is a caipirinha with vodka. Alma keeps the drink menu relatively short and sweet, offering a good but small variety of signature drinks.

Which sets the stage for the next best thing there: the tiny rolls. Clearly coated with crack, I mean, a blend of spices, they melt in your mouth with the perfect density of molten dough combined with a sturdier texture. The oil and herb dipping sauce, with its tangy sweetness, compliments the spice. They may even contain carbohydrates, I'm not quite as certain after my mojito.

The menu changes at least seasonally. The current menu appears to be almost entirely brand new, except for certain favorites like ceviche. I recommend the ceviche sampler on spectacle alone, grandly served in a large bowl with lots of ice. I had the hamachi tonight, but I found the overpowering red pepper flakes to be too spicy for the fish, or at least for me. I ordered the beef tenderloin as an entree, topped with a creamy lump crabmeat sauce and accompanied by asparagus and a horseradish chimi churra. The wonderfully prepared meat went well with the delicately spiced crab meat sauce. The crab meat, sadly like many restaurants, did not taste fresh, but was still very good. Not a fan of horseradish, I had it on the side and found it nevertheless to be mild but spiced well. I resisted getting my usual side dish of fried plantains, which never fail to please.

Like many Stephen Starr restaurants, Alma is as much about mood, spectacle, and hipness as food. I am not, however, complaining.

Alma de Cuba is located at 1623 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, (215) 988-1799.

Pod

It's all about the bling. Much like the other Stephen Starr restaurants, Pod creates a concept and delivers a theme. A theme that weds my love of Disneyworld with my love of feeling hip. Resembling the inside of a spaceship, Pod offers many interest decorational quirks. The "pods," for example, large round booths (all done, like the rest of the restaurant and its seating, in white sculpted plastic) can be set to different colors of light by the diners. Not surprising from the design firm that brought you Nobu and the W Hotel in New York.

Just as I settled in and was deciding whether the plastic dining chairs were, in fact, comfortable (I'm going with "yes"), Mark Wahlberg walks in. Marky Mark. With an entourage (pardon the pun) of behind-the-camera-looking folks. I know this not because I watched him walk in, but because rather suddenly, TPB lit up, smiling widely but conservatively, and giving a warm nod to people passing directly behind me. Soon after TPB whispered Wahlberg's name to me, followed by a reverent rejoinder, I'm not kidding. So began the refrain of stealing glances, commenting on his real-life versus screen appearance, and speculating on his guests.

Which is all just accoutrement to the scene that is Pod. Wahlberg fit in, as did cocktails named after the colors of the rainbow ("Blue," "Orange," etc.), and Tron, which was playing on a loop on the televisions behind us.

Could I describe the food? Sure, but I'm telling you, it's only part of the ensemble cast at work here. The miso soup was among the best I've had, thanks to generous portioning of tofu and fresh green onion. The dumplings were steamed with a tangy dipping sauce inside of them, a magical and satisfying trick. The "tuna three way" special, which featured tuna tartare, spicy tuna with mango roll, and a spicy tuna taco with large pieces of sashimi in a puffed noodle shell, succeeded for both the mouth and the eye. The bulk of our meal was sushi a la carte, including yellow tail and rainbow roll, among other selections. The sushi doesn't rival the freshness of Sagami or even Genji, but it was still very good.

With my second drink, a sake mojito that I highly recommend, I settled into my star-gazing and hipster posturing. Definitely a good time.

Pod is located at 3636 Sansom Street, http://www.podrestaurant.com/.

Cuba Libre

The scene: Old Havana. Cobblestone streets, music floating from restaurants and clubs. Scantily clad women, overdressed men, traveling in crowds. Where can you find such merry-making? Atlantic City. The Tropicana Casino and Resort, to be exact.

To be clear, I'm a fan of Disneyworld. I'm a fan of the created environment, kept perfect in its image and wanting only to entertain. It works for me. And so Cuba Libre, located in the Tropicana's "Quarter," and made to simulate Old Havana, worked for me.

Cuba Libre started as a restaurant in Philadelphia in 2000, offering mostly just that image -- a great party atmosphere in its recreation of a faux cuban courtyard, complete with interior balcony. Which is how I viewed it for many years, a fun party place, until I heard that Guillermo Pernot, formerly of now-closed but once excellent !Pasion! had taken over. Closer research for this post revealed Pernot is actually the "concept chef," for both the Philadelphia and Atlantic City restaurants, a gig I wouldn't mind accepting one day.

In any case, entering the Atlantic City Cuba Libre and being seated was pretty pleasing. Bustling with casino partygoers and loud - live - music, we were led to a candle-lit table near the bar. Our waiter could not have been nicer, striking the perfect note of friendly and attentive.

I should mention what we first ordered first -- drinks. I credit Cuba Libre for helping bring the mojito craze to Philadelphia. Craze might be the operative word here; the mojito menu has grown exponentially in size since I last perused it. From pomegranate to mango, you name the mojito, you can order it. Even better, after I explained that I prefer my mojitos on the sweeter side, the waiter kindly explained that he could add extra guarapa, or sugar cane juice, to my drink. Which worked! Perhaps even more delicious, however, was TPB's order of Cuba Libre's namesake, with the house specialty-made spiced rum and coke.

From there we moved on to the Fire and Ice ceviche, which we were told was one of the few menu items with some spicy heat to it. I didn't taste the heat, but the ceviche was excellent. And again, the dry ice brought more than a few appreciative stares from fellow diners, adding to the fun.

The entrees, however, were spotty. I ordered the Atun Senor Lopez (or "the tuna," as I requested of our waiter), described as seared bigeye tuna, Cuba Libre brand 5 year rum and coconut glaze, malanga puree, dried shrimp and cucumber and tomato salsa. A glossary within the menu hepfully explained that malanga is a "starchy root vegetable with a nutty, earthy flavor." I would describe it as something close to yucca, or a less flavorful potato. And I don't know about you, but "seared tuna" to me means just that - only the outside is cooked. However, this tuna is wrapped around a sugar cane and was pretty well done save for a medium rare section around the sugar cane, in the very center. All of which made the tuna a bit bland. TPB ordered the Plato Cuba Libre, which features tastings of three entrees and three sides. The marinated skirt steak, included in his plate, was worth ordering as a stand-alone. Deliciously seasoned and cooked, it was perfect. Several of his sides missed the mark and needed more flavor.

Our bread pudding dessert, "Pudin de Pan," described as warm Cuban bread pudding, mango compote, hazelnut- praline crunch and dulce de leche gelato, was more to TPB's liking than mine. Let me admit that I am not a fan of fruit mixed with dessert unless that's the point of the dessert, like apple pie. Much like fruit in ice cream, mango with bread pudding detracted from the dish, including the the hazelnut and dulce de leche gelato elements. TPB, however, believed that the mango was a definite plus. The bread pudding itself was executed well, achieving that perfect custard taste that alleviates the heaviness of the dessert.

By this time, the live music started about twenty feet away. A group of marines in full dress uniform hit the floor with their dates. The older man and much younger woman seated near us, who had sparked much speculation from TPB and I about their relationship, rose to dance as well. The illusion of what I, in my more modest travels, might picture of Havana was complete. If you can appreciate the Epcot Center version of life, or even just a fun evening with live music, stick with drinks and appetizers and enjoy.

Cuba Libre is located at The Quarter, Tropicana Casino and Resort, 2801 Pacific Avenue, Atlantic City, NJ. (609) 348-6700, http://www.cubalibrerestaurant.com/.