So… after lunch we had nap-time. We calculated how far we walked today and it was 6.7mi. In spite of wearing my Hoka One One’s, my feet still hurt.
For dinner, we went to Square 1682. This is the restaurant attached to the hotel. Please, don’t take that the wrong way, it completely made up for the rest of the day which was mostly a bust. Emily has been unanimously demoted from the position of “planning or deciding” anything.
First off, drinks. This is the first place I’ve been able to find a Vesper, so I ordered it. This is the classic James Bond martini. If you like martinis, it’s good. If you like blue drinks served in coconuts with sugar on the rim where you “can’t even tell there’s alcohol in it” this is not the drink for you.
They served gourmet popcorn drizzled in truffle oil. I didn’t think that was terribly appealing. I was wrong. DEAD WRONG. One of my top priorities when I get home is to get some truffle oil and teach my neighbors (Steve and Jenni) how popcorn is done!
Customarily, Mom ordered the only dish on the menu that had beets, although it was different. This was a beet pappardelle – a thick flat ribbon-like pasta in this dish made from beets. It was covered in an arugula pistachio pesto with roasted tomato and drunken goat cheese. The difference in the consistency with each bite, whether you had only pappardelle, or had a half a tomato, or a pistachio, made all the difference in the world. If I were able to recreate the sauce alone, I think I could open my own restaurant. It was very unlike the beet dishes we’re used to, which are usually beet salads with an occasional roasted beet.
I ordered roasted salmon on a potato and chorizo risotto with an avocado spread. The risotto was unlike anything I’ve ever had before – unlike any risotto I’ve ever had before. The chorizo was perfect – so much so it had to have been made in house. I just watched one of those shows with the fat guy and the white hair that sticks straight up and wears his sunglasses on the back of his head – in which someone was showing how to make your own chorizo. It looks like quite the process.
Emily had hog’s cheeks with… wait. Hold up. Hog’s cheeks? Yes, this cut of meat is the masseter muscle and is particularly tender and succulent. It was served with braised white beans, blistered haricot verts (apparently everyone calls them that here), and a red onion marmalade.
Mom had Braised beef short rib served with a traditional red onion soubise, purple potato confit with watercress. The short ribs were cooked, pressed, and then served. They fell apart with just a glance! Mom and Emily didn’t finish theirs, so I finished for them. I have distinct memories of our family vacation to New Orleans (specifically here) and my father doing the same. The difference was only one of magnitude – Dad must have polished off five meals in addition to his own. An accomplishment I’m sure every father out there can relate to!
Nobody wanted dessert except me, so I ordered the chocolate mousse. It was served in an unbreakable chocolate dish, covered with homemade mallow toasted to just the burning point with chocolate crumbles on the side and a scoop of pistachio ice cream.
So that was dinner. After dinner, we went back up to the hotel and went to bed. Actually, Em and I stayed up and watched a Dateline Murder Mystery. I called it at the very beginning (it was the ex-husband) but Em refused to believe that in the end.
So I’m just getting up, getting ready to start our final day. It’s going to be a long one – we don’t fly out until 9pm, so we’ll check out, check our bags with the hotel, then I think we’re headed to Sabrina’s, taxi to the Philly MOA and/or other associated art museums, completely missing any and all nap times, back to the hotel to pick up luggage, then train to the airport. I’ve seen a lot of people engaging in nap time on the street, so we might have to give that a try. Perhaps they’re all just visitors with late flights.
Dining With Dr. Baltes 