food-ie event #6: Marigold Kitchen byob

Marigold kitchen byob 3/21/07

www.marigoldkitchenbyob.com

501 south 45th st.
Phila, PA 19104
215-222-3699

Marigold was a good time. The restaurant itself is nice enough though the room we were in was a little tight for 20 people. It might be a new addition to the restaurant and maybe not all kinks worked out. The downstairs main dining area was much more charming though.
Over all, our group was treated really well by ANNE our server and the chef was nice to come up stairs to say hi - and receive a generous round of applause. He provided some great flavors during the experience; in the end everybody seemed pretty content and happy.

My favorite part of the meal was that the menu wasn't cliche' and that the chef approached it in a new way. The guy can cook.

1st Course

• Carrot Soup with Miti-Crema and Mint
• Roasted Beet Salad with Manchego Cheese and Spiced walnuts
• Salmon Rillette with Warm Flatbread

2nd Course

• Pan-Roasted Monkfish with Fennel and Chestnut Tagine
• Seared Duck Breast with Parsnip Puree and Collard Green Crepinette
  
• Potato Gnocchi with Bluefoot Mushrooms and Umbra Cheese

Dessert

• Warm Chocolate Cake with Yogurt Ice Cream and Turkish Coffee
• Pineapple Semolina Cake with Pineapple Sorbet

partial group photo (w/Anne in front) @ Marigold Kitchen byob

food-ie event #5: Bistro St. Tropez

Bistro St. Tropez 1/24/07
www.bistrosttropez.com
2400 Market Street, 4th Fl. (in the Marketplace Design Center) Philadelphia, PA 19103
215.569.9269

Another successful event thanks to Patrice Rames hospitality!

Patrice, same great chef that owns Patou, had put together a "French Comfort Food" themed menu for the Foodies. Price was set at the Restaurant Week formulation of 3 courses for $30 (exclusive of tax and gratuity)

"FRENCH COMFORT FOOD" Menu

FIRST COURSE (choice of)

• Boston Salade – bibb lettuce, apples, walnut pralines, gorgonzola cheese, walnut vinaigrette
  
• Champignons - fricasee of wild mushrooms, truffle oil drizzle
• Moules - steamed PEI mussels with shallot parsley white wine broth <>Paté - house made country
  
• paté, black olives, radishes, Dijon mustard and grilled croutons
• Duck Confit – wilted watercress, roasted beets, green apple and goat cheese terrine

SECOND COURSE (choice of)

• Cassoulet – white beans with braised carrot, onion, pork, lamb, Italian sausage and duck confit
• Agneau - braised lamb shank with carrots, onions, mashed potatoes, shallot jus
• Saumon – pistachio crusted salmon with ratatouille, arugula, horseradish cream sauce
• Seafood Risotto – creamy risotto with mussels, shrimp, calamari, garden peas asparagus
  
• Vegetarien – orichette pasta with roasted wild mushrooms, carmelized onion, wilted greens, shaved parmesan, truffle jus

THIRD COURSE (choice of)

• Tart Tatin – fresh baked apple tart with vanilla ice cream
• Chocolat Chaud – individually sized molten chocolate cake with crème anglaise

Group photo with Patrice @ Bistro St. Tropez

food-ie event #4: Tierra Colombiana

Tierra Colombiana
www.tierracolombianaphilly.com/home.asp
4535-37 North 5th St
11/28/06 @7:30
Cuban/Colombian food !!!

Well, the food was good and the word is the veggie platters were very good too.
I wish we could have individually ordered from the menu, which looked really diverse, but I was told a group our size had to do this "family style". Not knowing what we were going to get - the online menu descriptions were less than detailed- I had no idea that the chicken dish we were to have was going to be so ... mild. It was flavorful, but not exactly exciting. I'm sure some will like that about it though.

What we had was actually good but the service was a bit impersonal. It occurs to me this is the first location we didn't have someone we knew, a connection, that facilitated a special event.

Unfortunately the time of year also might have affected our turn-out.
While 26 had committed, only 19 actually attended. Four people did have the courtesy to at least call about that.
I think the meal would've been much more fun if our numbers were higher. I'm pretty sure the group itself is one of the best parst of these events and the reason we had so much fun at the other locations.

Hopefully, things will work better in the future and perhaps Tuesdays avoided.
I'm taking the month off. There's no logic in organizing around the holidays that occur at the end of Dec.

menu:
Bocaditos (Appetizer) : Maduros (Fried sweet plantain slices)
Ensaladas (Salad) : Ensaladas Mixta (Garden Salad)
Carne (Meats) : Arroz con Pollo Colombiano (Chicken and Rice Colombian Style)
or
(for vegetarians:Plato Vegetariano= Rice(choice), Beans(choice), Com Patty, Tossed Salad, Cassava and your choice of Sweet Plantains, Green Plantains or Avocado )

Arroz (Rice) : Arroz Blanco ( White Rice)
Frijoles (Beans) : Frijoles Negros (Black Beans)
Postres (Desserts) : Flane de Leche (Flan) & Las Tres Leche ( Three Milk Cake) = (a plate with both for each person)

group photo @ Tierra Colombiana

food-ie event #3: Divan Turkish Kitchen

Divan Turkish Kitchen
www.divanturkishkitchen.com

Carpenter and 22nd st 215-545-5790



Ilker at Divan Turkish Restaurant treated us like family, running to get more and more chairs and tables for us as our group grew a bit beyond what we expected. Like family, everyone was made to feel welcome. The food was quick, generous and extremely good. The free wine was great and service super. I had such a great time. The closeness, a result of our larger than anticipated numbers, made it even more fun. We had a lot of laughs and great food... oh yeah, and free turkish wine!

The menu: ILKAR, the owner is a friend of Andres and after speaking with him I learned that Andres has explained the short history of the food-ie group to him. He enthusiastically spoke of the experience he will offer us and even apologised ahead of time for making such a meal that we will perhaps only want to meet there for now on. I told him he had some pretty high competition to out-do considering our fortunate experiences so far. He sounded pretty fun which I thought was a good sign. I really have to say his attitude and eagerness to make this another foodie success (and his menu) had got me salivating already which I think may be a problem for my keyboard....

Ilkar made us a deal: For our group, however big it may be, he offered a choice of traditional tomato or fennel soup, appetizer platters for the tables to sample the extensive menu and to let us order our main course individually and portions will be all-you-can-eat plus he gave us wine for free. (for what? FOR FREE!) The price was set at $43 (including tax/tip)

group photo with Ilkar

food-ie event #2: Patou

Patou
www.patourestaurant.com/

312 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-928-2987

"CUISINE:
Patou’s cuisine stays true to its coastal French roots while incorporating bright and adventuresome flavors of neighboring Mediterranean and North African regions."

Patrice Rames (owner/chef) is a charismatic, generous and talented host and his warm welcome was followed with an incredible meal and wine tasting event. He and a representative from his wine supplier introduced the meal and the wines that would accompany each course. The food was superb, the service was flawless and Patrice's own sincere enjoyment of the event made the night all the more fun. As a result of his obvious enthusiasm towards our group, Patrice offered us each a generous toast with champagne from his own private stock. This event was simply a great elegant dining experience.

The menu:

LOUIS LATOUR/PATOU WINE DINNER SEPTEMBER 28, 2006

Amuse Bouche
Prosciutto crêpes with pear and arugula

First Course
Salmon roulade with fresh dill, cucumber, artichoke and lemon crème fraîche caviar
(paired with Louis Latour Macon Lugny Genievre 2002)

Second Course
Lobster feuilleté with asparagus, morel and wild mushrooms in a chive cream sauce
(paired with Louis Latour Domaine de Valmoissin Pinot Noir)

Third Course
Frenched rosemary Cornish game hen stuffed with polenta, goat cheese and currant accompanied by ratatouille and a mission fig sauce
(paired with Louis Latour Beaujolais Village Chameroy 2003)

Fourth Course
Chocolate fondant with crème anglaise and almond ice cream
(paired with Louis Latour Ardeche Chardonnay)

$45 per person plus tax and gratuity

a representative from Louis Latour will speak about each of the wines
and will be available to answer any questions
*2 of us will not be getting the wine and will order from the menu for a set priced meal of $30 (what a great deal!) ...is that enough designated drivers!?

group photo with Patrice

the 1st food-ie event: Cafe Bombay

Cafe Bombay 8/30/06
www.cafebombay.biz/index.htm
233 Mill St.
Bristol, PA 19007

This initial event was great fun. We had 32 people attend and Gigi prepared for us an amazing assortment of fresh flavorful dishes that were less predictable than your average Indian Restaurant offers. The fact that the food was so great combined with having the restaurant all to ourselves created a really fun atmosphere. I hope that food-ie members return as often as possible because there just never seems to be enough appreciation for Bombay in Bristol.

(from their website):
"We at Cafe Bombay are dedicated to providing excellent authentic Indian cuisine. Since Indian cuisine varies from region to region, we have tried to include a sampling of dishes from the entire country reflecting the varied taste of different regions. The recipes of entrees included are time tested with correct combination of herbs and spices.

We believe homemade food is always better. To serve the most authentic food, we make our own yogurt and cheese everyday. Our food is cooked with minimum of oil and no MSG. We do not use any preservatives. Everything is cooked fresh from scratch in our kitchen. While practicing authentic Indian cuisine, we also use our own imagination and creativity to introduce new and innovative dishes."

our menu:
I've taken the initiative to order the basic stuff since Gigi is the owner/chef and has a small staff that would better serve a group our size this way. Dinner will be served as a buffet, freshly prepared for us as we get there, no heat lamps. So it's more like he's catering our party.

THE MENU

• hand made breads: basket (assortment)=Naan, Roti, Kulcha, Puri
• Bombay Naan :Naan stuffed with Indian cottage cheese, almonds, raisins, fresh ginger and coconut.

• Kadai (3 separate orders: Lamb, Vegetable & Shrimp) Kadai cooking is native to Sind which was formerly a part of Bombay. Pieces of meats or vegetable are quickly cooked in a Kadai (wok) with a small amount of spiced oil, onion, tomatoes, garlic, and other subtle flavors
  

THIS IS MY FAVORITE DISH - Ive not found anything close to this in any indian restaurant EVER. Gigi says that other indian chefs travel to Bristol just to get some. His menu intimidates newcomers sometimes because he bills it as very strong spicey flavor but in truth it's not extreme at all , except in fullness of flavor. If you like really mellow stuff, you may not like this as much as the Chicken Xacutti (below)

• Vegetable Navarathan Korma (Light Flavor)
  Varieties of fresh vegetable, cheese, herbs and nuts done in a creamy sauce

• Chicken Xacutti (Strong Flavor but not hot) Pronounced "shakutte" Chicken Curry from the West coast of India Made with roasted ground coconut and a blend of rich spices
• Indian Spicy Salad :(vegetarian)chick peas, cucumber, onions and lots of flavorful herbs and spices. (medium spicy)
• Desserts: Mango Kulfi, Pistachio Kulfi, Gulab Juman

group photo with Gigi @ Bombay

what's the food-ie group?

welcome to the food-ie group blog.
If you're wondering what the group is and how it works, read on.

I began organizing the group as a result of many conversations with like-minded friends that are equally food focused. Anything worth doing, we agreed, had food involved. Experiencing food at new locations really is my sport of choice.

In the fall of 2006, the food-ie group was born. A small group of friends grew instantly into an extended network of food-ies. The inaugural food-ie event was set at my all-time favorite Indian Restaurant in Bristol, PA : Cafe Bombay. This first food-ie meeting was a huge success since we were treated to extraordinary dishes and had the entire restaurant to ourselves for an incredible price.

Initially the group shared a more democratic process of deciding on future locations, but that in and of itself became too complicated as our email list approached 60+. Now, I ask for suggestions and advice and simply approach restaurants as they cross my path.

When an event location and date is determined, an evite invitation is sent to the entire food-ie group mailing list, which recently exceded 90 emails. This includes the menu, price and information about the location itself.

The goal is to create an opportunity for a group of enthusiastic foodies to meet an enthusiastic eatery to enjoy extraordinary meals.