July 12

Divine dinner at $1.00 a Minute

Pierre Sang Boyer was a Top Chef contestant on France's Season 2 in 2011. 

We figured we would take his advice (see earlier blog when we met him at his Philly cream cheese giveaway) and show up at opening time one night in hopes of getting a stool at his 10 seat counter. If there were no stools left, would we be willing to 'stand' at one of the other six spots, eating at small high angular tables half inside and half on the sidewalk?

 Not sure and glad we did not have to find out.

We were the first to arrive and had our choice of stools.  The kitchen, which is exactly the length of the 10 seat counter and one person wide was bustling with activity, dish clanging and food prep by no less than six cooks. The mise en place was ready but the main ingredients were still being prepared for the six course tasting, no menu, no info.

Unsure of what we would be eating, we had to take the suggestion of the staff, a bottle of white would be the preferred wine. We choose an unusual tangy grapefruity Bourgogne Aligote. While we waited, bread was sliced and served with a bowlful of deliciously salted butter literally hunked off from the biggest mound of butter, simply sitting on the counter wrapped in paper. I have not seen since so much butter since the butter sculpture at the Pennsylvania Farm Show.  It was right next to a gigantic wheel of cheese I assumed would be coming later in the meal.

Here is how it works once the first dish is ready. Ready,set,go- serve, taste, eat, finish, describe, clear, next course please and repeat. While you are not rushed, Chef Sang runs the kitchen with precision to continually turn out six courses to fourteen diners and turnover the seats maybe four times a night. And he is still there, doing the cooking himself at what amounts to not much more than a four burner stove, a wall oven, a small flat top and five helpers. 

He plates the first dish of each course coming out to set the exact ingredients, amounts and aesthetics to be followed and then turns back to cooking, allowing his competent sous chefs and staff to finish the assembly line production with a six sigma efficiency.  It really looked and felt like all those cooking shows we all watch on Food Network because you WERE sitting in the kitchen with a star chef.

Before we actually do the Food Porn, here are some stats.

We loved five of the six courses.

We guessed probably 85% of the dishes ingredients, possibly because you do get to see the prep.

We downed six courses in about 70 minutes.

The meal cost 109 Euros or about $150.00.

That comes to somewhere around $1.00, 1 minute, 1 person.

Same as a massage, but better.

1st Course

Finely diced and drained red, yellow, green and purple tomatoes with fresh mozerella, chorizo and fried basil, just a bit of dressing and a lot of fresh.

2nd Course

Shaved incredibly tender fennel, marinated red onion, miniscule peeled and diced celery ( it was so tender I had guessed cucumber, not a sting to be felt), Alba lemon slices rind and pith still on, and herring mousse (I failed on that one too).

3rd Course, my personal fav

A cube of raw albacore tuna, fried frizzled greens, bernaise sauce laced with vinegar (how did it not curdle?) and tempura chitterlings (I did guess crispy pork like spareribs so I think I can count that one as a win).

4th Course

Chicken breast (softest and most succulent I ever had) roasted low and slow, Korean rice cooked BiBimBap, parmesan mousse and a curry sauce, yummmmmm!

5th Course

Cheese with some pear puree, my only disappointment. A bit pedestrian compared to the rest, still good, but either the cheese or the accoutrement should have been more interesting. Perhaps the staff needs a little reprieve in the service.

6th Course

A composed dessert, a bit like a deconstructed carrot cake. Rectangle of gingerbread cake, white chocolate cream (i am sure it had a bit of that Phialdelphia cream cheese in it), coconut sorbet, a strawberry, a roasted apricot and a small stalk of stewed rhubarb.

We capped off the meal with a shot of decaf espresso and shared the NYT article we had cut out and brought with Chef Sang. Believe it or not, these great chefs never seem to know they have been written up even in such publications as the NYT. They love reading about themselves and love even more when you let them keep the article.

So much so they stop cooking to talk, ask you to stay for a digestif and those last ten minutes at the counter are course #7 and they are free.