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Cigar Dining in Philadelphia
Forget Rocky and Cheesesteaks and Remember Your Cigars
Posted: Friday, January 13, 2006
By Alejandro Benes
LACROIX AT THE RITTENHOUSE
The Perfect Balance of Flavors in Philadelphia
On a cold night in Philadelphia, Robert Levin, the owner of Holt's Cigars, and I have just finished a couple of Casa Fuente cigars and are walking across Rittenhouse Square on our way to dinner. We enter the Rittenhouse Hotel and take the elevator up one floor to Lacroix, the eponymous restaurant of chef Jean-Marie Lacroix. We note that after dinner, we can go to Boathouse Row, the hotel's bar, or downstairs to Smith & Wollensky's and enjoy an after-dinner cigar. As we entrust our coats to the hostess, Levin is told that a friend has left a message for us to join his law firm's holiday party in a private room. We do and proceed to get offered numerous hors d'ouevres. Braised lamb, pork rillette, scallops, oysters, something tartare. The little things pack powerful flavors. The little things are also filling me up. Time to take our table.
The room is warm, decorated with precision. Everything is in its place. The menu is simple and easy to read. The style is "degustation," a tasting menu that offers three, four or five plates (courses) at escalating prices, $64, $73 and $82. "Desserts are a gift from Chef Lacroix," the second page says. In effect, the whole evening is a gift. Chef Lacroix delights diners who might not have experienced this level of cuisine in Philadelphia with innovative, but accessible selections. This night's menu quotes Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), a French lawyer and historic epicure. "The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star." Brillat-Savarin also said, "Tell me what you eat and I'll tell you who you are." Lemme tell ya what I ate.
My dinner began with the pan-seared diver sea scallop, accompanied by a braised veal salpicon, celery mostarda and sauce salmis (red wine). The key to any scallop is not to overcook it, but I'm not given to leaving it raw in the middle. This scallop was perfection. Unusually combined with veal, the flavors balanced brilliantly. Levin had the crisped rainbow trout with homemade gnocchi and crayfish puttanesca, charred pearl onions and petite fennel. The dishes are small. The flavors are not. "Taste is everything," the menu proclaims.
I follow the scallop with roasted leg of rabbit with caramelized shallots. The bunny is beautifully moist, but there’s not a lot of it, and if this had been my only dish, I would have been disappointed. On the side, however, is a savory bread pudding that takes comfort food to a new level. The bread pudding takes all the tension of the day down a notch. This was a good and safe choice for me, but I always get the rabbit and would do so again here. Next time, I want to try two of the other three dishes listed under "Third Plate." The chile spiced monkfish cheeks with coconut-flavored sweet potato and Asian pear salad with a chile spice jus is one. The other is the white braised sturgeon and fried organic egg. This is a sunny-side up organic egg atop the fish accompanied by a carrot and sumac puree and sweet onion sauce. Levin is totally digging it.
Levin's next course is the poached Maine lobster with caramelized salsify (looks a bit like an asparagus, tastes a little like an oyster), juniper-stuffed prunes and a sauce civet (not the cat!). The lobster, like the scallop, is perfectly prepared and its flavor is not masked, but enhanced by the sauce. As wonderful as the lobster is, the dish I have chosen as my last course is, to me, by far the star of the night. "Slow Cooked Venison Loin Seasoned with Autumnal Spices" is what it says on the menu. Venison is one of my favorite meats. It is so lean, however, that it presents a challenge for many cooks who work in kitchens that do not allow for patience. Because I've ordered this as my third plate, there is ample time to create a work of art. This is the best venison I've ever tasted. The two pieces on the plate were promised rare and are pink throughout, served with a natural jus. No dryness and pure flavor. On the plate is a Swiss chard and nutmeg gratin and caramelized McIntosh apples. The gratin has a tender tartness that pairs beautifully with the apples, which by themselves would be too sweet.
Balance, though not advertised on the menu, is LaCroix's true talent. All the elements combine to leave you sated, not stuffed. Until the desserts arrive. Both Levin and I have chosen the ice cream, thinking we can't fit much more. I limit mine to a combination of chocolate and hazelnut. Nice. There's also hibiscus and lime, maple pumpkin and other, more exotic concoctions. "Cheese Selections from Around the World" ($18 supplement) will have to wait for the next visit.
The wine list, as you would expect, is extensive. While it leans toward the French, it does not exclude other nations.
When LaCroix opened in 2003, it received numerous awards as best restaurant or chef. Not surprising, since Jean-Marie LaCroix was the executive chef at Fountains in the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia for 18 years. When he "retired," he planned to dedicate himself to gardening, the story goes. The Rittenhouse Hotel lured LaCroix to open his own place. What's growing there is a reputation as not only the best eatery in the City of Brotherly Love (c'mon, I had to get that into a piece about Philadelphia!), but easily as one of the best restaurants in America.
LaCroix at the Rittenhouse
The Rittenhouse Hotel
210 West Rittenhouse Square
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103
Phone: (215) 790-2533
Breakfast -- Daily, 6 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Express Business Breakfast Buffet -- Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Saturday Breakfast Buffet -- 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Lunch -- Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Sunday Brunch -- 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Dinner -- Sunday to Thursday, 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
MAHOGANY ON WALNUT
Plaid Ambition in a True Cigar Bar
The first thing you might notice about Mahogany on Walnut is the steep staircase leading up to the second floor. It is plaid. Not plaid like the inside of your Burberry. It's plaid like kilts. I'm not sure it means anything, but there it is. There and around the bar itself. The plaid translates onto the libations menu in the form of 50 single-malt Scotches. Divided by region of production, you have choices ranging from Aberlour 10-year old ($10), from the Speyside District to Dalmore 1973 Gonzales Byass ($38), from the Northern District. Great selection. I ordered rum.
Tommy, the owner, wants me to try the newly arrived Pyrat XO, an Anguillan rum that is not only sweet, but perfumed. In truth, I know this rum, but I let Tommy pour a taste and I sip it. If it were bubble gum sweet, that would be OK, but Pyrat is sugar cane syrupy, throat-closingly sweet. Bacardi 8, please. That will go well with the cigar and the leather chair in the back of the bar. The chair's back reclines. You might think it's broken, but Tommy says relax. Sip, puff. Be the plaid.
Mahogany on Walnut arguably is Philadelphia's only true cigar bar. Against considerable odds and current proposals curbed by political infighting, smoking is still permitted in many places, mainly bars, around town. To the urbane, Northeast corridor cigar aficionado, Mahogany's address will seem familiar. The bar rests above Holt's Cigar Co. in Center City. Holt's, in fact, is Mahogany's landlord. Talk about harmonic convergence. While Mahogany sells cigars and while you can have your own locker there for $600 a year, in Holt's you have one of the nation's best humidors one floor down.
Mahogany's menu is typical of most cigar bars of the late ‘90s. There's the "charcuterie plate" with sausages, cheese and fresh fruit. Highly recommended. The "personal pizzas" are reputed to be excellent. There are reasonably priced sandwiches and a shrimp cocktail. Even a salad. We try the hummus and "flatbread," otherwise known as pita. The test here is whether the food stands up to the cigars. The hummus succeeds by having enough garlic and paprika to break through.
Interestingly, Mahogany has a fairly large dessert menu. The reason seems to have to do with how busy the place gets after folks have finished dancing, or had dinner at some of the area's, and Philadelphia's, finer restaurants. Le Bec Fin is across the street. Alma de Cuba's a little ways down. Striped Bass is over there. The sweets at Mahogany pair up well with cigars. Lots of chocolate, caramel and coffee in the desserts. A Miel Gateau is sold as having "layers of chocolate sponge cake moistened with rum, then filled with a dark chocolate mousse and a vanilla Bavarian center." That and a Frapin VIP XO Cognac at $54 and you're set for the night. Any questions?
Mahogany is mostly hunt-club decor. The dark-green wallpaper is soothing and the lighting is soft, though not dim. The place has two rooms and each has its own feel. The bar is in the back. In front, there is table service and a view of Walnut Street shoppers. For me, the bar was comfortable in the way a neighborhood joint can be. People knew one another. Everyone seemed to be chatting easily. The TV had a news show on. The host was interviewing the councilman who's proposing a smoking ban, but this evening he was talking about reducing crime. Keep puffing.
Mahogany on Walnut
1524 Walnut Street, 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Phone: (215) 732-3982
Monday & Tuesday -- 4 p.m. to Last Call
Wednesday & Thursday -- 12 p.m. to Last Call
Saturday -- 12 pm to 7 pm
Friday & Saturday -- 12:00 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Go to Cigar Bar Central.
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