This was a very unusual – and exceedingly enjoyable – holiday season, as my wife and I were able to dine out on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
On Christmas Eve, we settled in at Rosalie in Cedars, PA, a restaurant that I had recently reviewed. Tucked away in a small group of shops just off the Skippack Pike, this 18-seat charmer is very much a family affair: chef/proprietor Gregory C. Ott, Jr., in the kitchen and his fiancée Kellie and his mother at the front of the house.
Mr. Ott, a devotee of sous-vide cookery, never ceases to beguile both the eye and the palate with his pristinely captivating presentations and adroit integration of complementary/contrasting ingredients.
We began with an amuse bouche of tiny scallops on a crisp leaf of endive garnished with diced red pepper, carrots, cilantro, and touch of lime. A superb opener… We then moved on to the first course, an extraordinary cream of mushroom soup. Its addictive silky countenance was enhanced with just a touch of cream and artistic splash of truffle oil. A superlative effort.
The entrée was a mouth-wateringly tender short rib of beef. Set on a pillow of creamy polenta, peparanata, sautéed shiitake mushrooms, and garlic, the culinary catalyst was an incomparable sauce bretonne. This was followed by a salad of organic field greens, orange slices, and green onion – all kissed by the scintillating sensuality of a citrus-roasted shallot vinaigrette.
Dessert? A classic crème brûlée companioned by pistachio biscotti, chocolate fondue, and fresh berries.
This $62.00 per person (plus tax & gratuity) feast also included a complimentary kir cocktail (Rosalie is BYOB), as well as coffee or tea. The perfect prelude to holiday festivities.
During our stay only two other tables were occupied – previous visits found the restaurant equally sparsely populated – and, given Mr. Ott’s incredible culinary talents, this marvelous establishment should be jammed to the rafters. If you reside anywhere in the area, or enjoy an occasional road trip in search of new and exciting gastronomic possibilities, I urge you to give Rosalie a try. As I noted in my full review, this is an undiscovered little gem just aching to be discovered. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
On New Year’s Eve, my wife and I generally dine early, leaving the later scene to the party-hearty. This year was no exception; and we decided to pay a call at one of our favorite haunts, georges’ in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
The proprietor, Georges Perrier, is something of a legend in the Philadelphia area… known for both his culinary prowess and mercurial personality. His long-running Le Bec-Fin remains at the very top of the Philly food chain, while his Table 31 settled comfortably into the new Comcast Center and Mia continues to woo the high rollers in Atlantic City.
georges’, however, his Main Line outpost, has always been somewhat more problematic. Following its opening, it went through a spirited version of The Name Game and also a decidedly energetic exercise in “Musical Chefs.” Needless to say, all this semantic and sybaritic shuffling had a less than laudatory effect upon the cuisine, which, apparently, couldn’t quite decide what it wanted to be when it grew up.
Fortunately, these problems have now been ameliorated, and Mr. Perrier has finally settled in on the character of the cuisine – sophisticated bistro fare with international flair – as well as his target audience. In addition to appealing to the usual gaggle of well-to-do globe-trotting gastronomes, he has also made a concerted effort to entice the local hoi polloi with a lively bar scene, featuring scads of free hors d’oeuvres, reduced drink tariffs, and reasonably priced individual pizzas, burgers, cheese steaks, and French dips. This nifty arrangement presents diners with two positive options: They may make reservations and settle in one of the rustic dining rooms, or make an impromptu appearance and elect to dine in the space bar area on less expensive, casual fare.
On New Year’s Eve, of course, we decided to go upscale… We began with the house-smoked salmon and salad of crispy calamari, respectively. The former sported a silky, melt-in-the-mouth texture and was aided and abetted by sprigs of baby arugula, diminutive slices of walnut bread, and an artistic slather of zesty whole grain mustard sauce. The latter was true to its word… namely, “crispy.” And calamari, as most of us have learned from bitter experience, often exhibits the consistency of rubber bands – but not so here. The tiny rings were extraordinarily tender and blended beautifully with a tossing of baby arugula, radicchio, diced poached pear, sweet potato crisps, and an assertively spicy chipotle vinaigrette.
For the main course, my wife opted for the pan-seared sea scallops. Rich and meaty, the bivalves were perfectly complemented by an equally luscious cauliflower purée… and also beautifully contrasted via the ministrations of an earthy forest mushroom-truffle sauce. I opted for the halibut filet, a daily special. The fish was seared to a golden brown and set on a sumptuous seabed of Beluga lentils and tender haricots verts. The coup de grâce was delivered by superlative sauce of lobster provençal.
For dessert we shared the caramel apple spice cake topped with caramelized apples and dollop of vanilla ice cream. Liquid libations for the evening included a superb 2004 Château Carbonnieux and concluding jolt of Macallan 18-year-old single malt Scotch… A delightful conclusion to 2009.
Bon Appétit!
TAD
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