Dinner - Sunday, December 7, 2014
I have a confession to make - I've never eaten at any of David Chang's restaurants. I've read the cookbook, browsed the magazines, watched the interviews - but no dice on the food. Why then, would I venture to eat in the restaurant of
Peter Serpico, his former right hand? Perhaps it was the rare event of dining alone in a new city, or curiosity finally getting the better of me, or just a trick of the (cold) weather. In any case, I found myself at the end of the long L-shaped kitchen counter, within his eponymous restaurant. It was a Sunday, and the place was abuzz. The locals, it seem, love it.
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| Vegetable amuses |
The meal started strongly. On the left, a thick, smoked potato chip dressed in chive aioli - delicious. This was accompanied by a warm potato consomme, light but also very flavourful. To its right, a nod towards dim sum - fried turnip cake topped with cobia. Finally, a wedge of eggplant, wrapped in nori, topped with grilled miso.
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| Warm mushroom salad |
Tender mushrooms in a rich sauce, interspersed with some
crunchy deep-fried lily bulbs. In the middle, a lump of cold, grated daikon. The salt and umami in this dish were terrific. The textures of the mushrooms and lily bulbs, the temperature contrast provided by the daikon - excellent.
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| Brussel sprouts tartine |
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Shaved foie gras
Thai basil, chia seeds, peanuts |
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Caviar and egg
Crispy potatoes, chicken broth, cauliflower mushrooms |
The egg came in the form of silky chawanmushi, topped with a dollop of briny caviar. The potato crumble added a nice, earthy crunch, but the star of the show was the cauliflower mushroom - slick surface giving way to toothsome bite (very much like wood ear mushrooms). The balance of sweet and salty was just right throughout - my favourite dish of the night.
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| Clams, celery dashi, chive purée |
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| Shaved pig's head over rice |
Clams and rice were served together. The rice, essentialy a piece of
nigirizushi, was boldly seasoned - a common theme throughout the meal (subtlety was not the order of the day). It's saltiness was balanced by the refreshing celery dashi, bright and clean, with a vegetal hint from the chives.
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Agnolotti
Nori, pork belly, pork-kimchi soup |
The pasta were a little too thick, but they were merely conduits to channel the killer broth - it was hot and spicy, sour and rich all at the same time. I wanted a bowlful of it.
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| Scallops, vadouvan, brown butter |
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Pork neck roulade
Charred Napa cabbage and its purée |
Tender pork neck, wrapped in thick-cut bacon, was perfectly cooked. By itself, the richness would have been overkill, but again there was a strong counterpoint in the slightly bitter charred Napa (which tasted like it may have been fermented). Just a few components in the dish, but execution was on-point, and this was a great way to elevate a humble cut.
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| Ribeye cap, seaweed, garlic oil |
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Coconut sorbet
Grapefruit vinaigrette, crispy rice pearls |
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| Chocolate-coffee ganache, sunflower milk |
The food at Serpico is a no-holds-barred assault on the senses - stoner food with a sense of dignity. At the $85 price point, it is a steal (and indeed, notably stronger than a meal I had a few nights before for twice the price). Does this make me one to visit one of David Chang's restaurants? Actually, yes - this dinner was
fun. I'm quite interested in tracing this back to its roots - perhaps I will find some perspective on how the master and student have diverged (or have they...?)
Serpico
604 South Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
Phone: (215) 925-3001
