Fancying it up at Garces Trading Company

My friend and I decided to go to Garces Trading Company (1111 Locust Street) for dinner one evening. That particular week it was the 10 year anniversary of one of its sister restaurant, Amada, so  the restaurant was offering a special tasting menu for the week. Of course, we took up the opportunity and got the tasting menu. I think the tasting menu was based on the chef preferences because I saw tables around us who ordered the tasting menu but got some different things (eg. the table next to us go macaroon for dessert and we got creme brulee). Below are the foods we got.

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper

For appetizers, they served us Fresh Mozzarella Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper. The mozzarella was fresh and tender. The olive oil as well as the salt and pepper that accompanied the mozzarella bought out its fresh taste. The red peppers were sweet and tendered but they had some kind of salty pickled fish on top of them which I did not like ( I think the fish might have been anchovy or sardine, but I really don't know). Out of the two, the mozzarella tasted the best. 

Fig with Cheese, Bacon Bits, and Pistachio

Next, one of waitresses bought this very small glass cup of what I recall her saying was some kind of cheese with fig, bacon bits, and crush pistachios. Since it had bacon bits, I did not taste it. Per my friend, it tasted weird. The fig was good but it didn't really go well with the other components in the cup.

Pizza

On the tasting menu, it said margarita pizza would be served, but like I mentioned earlier I don't think the chef went by the menu. Margarita pizza as I know comes with red sauce, mozzarella cheese, and basil leaves. Well, this pizza came with some other cheese, pepperonis, and some kind of green herb. I had to pick out the pepperonis.  The crust was thick and somewhat chewy and the cheese in some parts was crispy. I usually like my crust crispy and thick and my cheese gooey so this pizza was just okay for me.

Steak and Frites

Steak and frites were next. Of course, I didn't eat the steak but my friend ordered medium done and it appears to cook that way. Per my friend, the steak was good. The fries were made of duck fat. I ate some of it and I thought it was okay. I think some of fries got burned. And just thinking the fries were made of duck fat didn't really make it appetizing for me. Usually, when I eat fries, I get additive to them but just the thought of duck fat turned me off.

Mini Creme Brulee

The last picture I have are the mini Creme Brulee for dessert. They were delicious. They were creamy and not too salt. It was topped with what I think are diced pouched pears and dried cranberries. The topping complemented and added another layer texture to the creamy creme brulee. I wish that gave us a large bowl of the creme brulee instead  mini glass cup of just a mini glass cup with about 2-3 bites in it.

Food that we also had not featured in this post were the usual bread the restaurant starts customers with during dinner time, the sangrias drinks part of the tasting menu, and the green salad with light vinaigrette. Unfortunately, it just slipped my mind to take pictures of the sangria. And I forgot to take pictures of the bread and salad because my hunger took over. My favorites of the night was the fresh mozzarella, salad, and creme brulee. Overall, I thought the food was good, but not worth price I paid.

Charlie is a Sinner

Charlie is a Sinner (131 S. 13th Street) is a vegan restaurant located in Center City. I would say the ambiance of the restaurant is somewhat romantic.  When you walk in, the host is behind a table and there are some seatings in front of the table. Then when you walk past the doorless opening, there is a classy looking bar to the left. Past the bar are more seating. The restaurant was basically narrow with little tables and chairs on one side and on the other side there are  more little tables, chairs, and a long bench along the wall. It was mostly dark inside with candles on each table and against the wall with the bench against it, there was a blue light projected halfway on the walls. The light projection and the darkness kind of reminded me of atmosphere of a theater for small productions. I kind of liked this unique atmosphere.

Another interesting about this place was that the water was poured from a glass jar with minted infused from it. I thought this was creative and acted as a decor for the table while also flavoring the water. See below.

Mint infused Water

Below are the foods we ordered. 

Avocado Toast

The Avocado Toast (habanero aioli, radish, tarragon, red onion) was delicious. The bread was toasted and somewhat crunchy. The sliced avocado was creamy and tasty. The chopped radish were sweet and sour (maybe pickled) and really added to the favor of the avocado toast. 

Artichoke Frites

Artichoke Frites (saffron aioli, red onion, lemon) were okay. The frites were crispy and not greasy as I expected it would be. They didn't really have any strong taste but that's how artichoke taste to me in general. The aioli, which kind of reminded me of mayonnaise, didn't really have any flavor to it. The fried red onion was actually surprising sour. I guess it was a fried pickled onion. Overall, I thought this deep fried dish a little too much for me.

Bucatini and 'Meatball'

Bucatini and 'meatball' (fra diavolo, basil) were delicious and my favorite. The 'meatballs' tasted like real meatballs. The texture and the flavors were very comparable to real meatballs. According to the waitress, she said it was just whey protein with some herbs like parsley. I definitely think there is more to it than the waitress led on. The pasta was chewy and good. It wasn't too soft or too hard. The tomato sauce was fresh. It was an excellent dish.

Tofu & Bean Sausage

The Tofu & Bean Sausage (smoked tofu, parsnip mash, leek pesto) was good but I can't say that for the componetns on the plate. The tofu and bean sausage have the texture that was comparable to real sausages. For the taste, it was smoky, had some sweetness to it, and somewhat spicy. The half round vegetable on the side which I thought was a mini brussel spout was an onion so I was alittle taken back when I ate it. The white mush that look like it was sprinkled with cinnamon was actually mashed parsnip. I thought it tasted like mashed potatoes with some cinnamon or some kind of powder herbs.  Regarding the clump of white sauce placed between mashed parsnip and sausage, I am not sure what it was. When I tried it, it was little balls (maybe tapicoa balls), not sure what it was but the texture made me uncomfortable and I had to spit it out. 

Trio Sorbet

Trio Sorbet dessert were the three daily selections. That day there was lemon ginger, strawberry, and some other flavor that I don't recall. The lemon one was sour and refreshing. The strawberry was lightly sweet and the best tasting out of the all of them. Also, the (cookie?) crumbs on the bottom really went well with the sorbet. It was a nice treat and good ending to the meal. 

Based on what I had, I would definitely consider coming back to this establishment. I would also highly recommended to the vegans and vegetarians out there.

Aki- All You Can Eat Sushi(ayce)

For a friend’s birthday, we decided to do all you can eat sushi for $26.95 at Aki (1210 Walnut Street), which I thought was an awesome deal. I thought Aki’s sushi was good, but I felt that I had better sushi before. See below for a review of the foods I ate. Basically for the sushi buffet, they give you a buffet menu with selected appetizers, sushi, hand rolls, and specialty rolls (for the extra special specialty rolls there is an additional cost of $2.50).

Sashimi

From the appetizer list, I started off with sashimi, mixed salad with ginger dressing, and vegetable tempera.  For the sashimi, it was not unlimited. Only one serving was allowed per buffet patron. I had to get this because sashimi is expensive. I think one order is already like $10. The sashimi was fresh. I ate it will the pink ginger and a tiny amount of wasabi. It tasted good. I ate it slowly to savor it.

Mixed Green Salad with Ginger Dressing

The mixed salad with ginger dressing was very refreshing. The ginger dressing was excellent. The dressing made the salad. The favor was well balanced between sweet and savory. I would like to learn how to make the ginger dressing so I can make it and eat this salad whenever I want to.

Vegetable Tempera

The vegetable tempera was delicious. Even though the tempera was not crisp per se, it was very tasty and the vinegar sauce went well with it. I think I can probably eat ten plates of this if I didn’t consider that it was fattening and deep fried.

Shrimp Tempera Hand Roll

Assorted Sushi and Specialty Sushi

More Sushi and Hand Rolls

Lastly, were the sushi and the hand rolls. I didn’t know which sushi to get. My friend and her boyfriend was going to order everything on the buffet menu so I told them I was just going to eat off what they got. I did order one shrimp tempura hand roll for myself. The hand roll was big and delicious. The shrimp had a crunch to it. I was not sure what else was in the roll but as I ate toward the middle there was some kind of sauce with the rice and it was tasty. All the rolls came on a huge plate so I didn’t know what was what for sure, but I did eat like 10 pieces from the huge platter. I did have the spicy tuna, eel roll, shrimp roll as well as other rolls. They all tasted pretty good. I would come here again to satisfy my sushi cravings.