November 11, 2015: Talula's Garden

Christal ended up taking the clinical skills portion of her boards examination in Philadelphia so that she can attend Julie's wedding in December, so I went ahead and made a reservation at Talula's Garden for the night after her test. I forgot how I heard about it, but it was in my restaurant bookmarks for Philadelphia and it seemed like it was fairly kid friendly online, which was important since we had Luke with us.

The weather was really pleasant so we ended up sitting outdoors in their alley/patio area. They had plants and Christmas lights creeping up the walls and outdoor heaters next to every table, which gave it a very cozy feel. We decided to go with the chef's tasting menu because it had a good variety of dishes that were on the normal menu and we could try more dishes that way.

The first course was a big eye tuna tartare with local apple, celery and parsnip. Most of the tuna tartares I have had lean towards an Asian flavor profile but this one went in a different direction. There was a smear of smooth parsnip puree on the bottom of the plate that the tartare was piled on top of and it added an earthy sweetness to contrast the sweet and tart apple and crispy celery. All three of these elements did a wonderful job of complimenting the tuna, which stood out in the dish. The tuna was super fresh and had a deep ruby color to it and it was diced larger than normal for a tartare so that it was kind of in between a typical tartare and a poke, which I thought brought out the firm texture of the fish more. A squeeze of fresh lime to finish the dish brought it all together perfectly.

Big Eye Tuna Tartare w Local Apple, Celery & Parsnip

Next we had duck rillettes with candied walnut, orange and roasted grape. We each received two quenelles of the duck rillettes that contained a generous amount of shredded duck. Underneath were purees of orange and roasted grape and on the side were some sliced grapes. Both of the purees and the sliced grapes were just sweet enough to balance with the savoriness and fattiness of the rillettes and the candied walnut added another sweet element as well as a pleasant crunch for textural contrast. The only criticism I had for this dish was that I would have loved to spread it all on a warm piece of crusty, chewy bread, but otherwise it was a delicious rendition of duck rillettes.

Duck Rillette w Candied Walnut, Orange & Roasted Grape

The third course was black pearl salmon with sweet potato, baby turnips, shellfish-saffron nage and caviar. The salmon had a really crispy skin and the flesh was still medium rare and moist. The sweet potato and turnips were firm yet tender and the tops of the turnips were left on, adding a slight bitterness to the dish. A small dollop of caviar was placed on top of the salmon, which added a salty richness to the dish that seemed to make it a little more luxurious. The shellfish-saffron nage was poured into the bowl at the table and it was almost a whole other dish in itself. It was obviously packed with shellfish and saffron flavor, but it also had some spiciness in the background that amped up the whole dish. After I had finished the salmon I grabbed a spoon and finished the nage too. It was pretty much like a fish course and a soup course all in one.

Black Pearl Salmon w Sweet Potato, Baby Turnips, Shellfish-Saffron Nage & Caviar

The pasta course happened to be their special of the night. It was a house-made farfalle pasta with gorgonzola, crispy maitake mushrooms and pistachio and citrus zest bread crumbs. The pasta was well made and had a very nice chewy and tender texture. There was just enough gorgonzola to get the flavor and not overwhelm everything else. The maitake mushrooms were definitely the crispiest mushrooms I have had without having any breading or batter on them and to top it off our waitress told us that the owner had foraged them that day.. They had a pleasant meaty texture and an earthy flavor that went well with the gorgonzola and pasta. The pistachio and citrus zest bread crumbs added a welcome crunch to each bite as well as the citrus flavor to balance with the rich gorgonzola cheese. For me the maitake mushrooms made the dish.

Housemade Farfalle & Gorgonzola w Crispy Maitake, Pistachio & Citrus Zest

After the pasta they brought out some bread for us. It was a house-made brioche roll with a cranberry butter that was melting on top. The brioche was warm and fluffy, almost cloud-like. The cranberry butter was bursting with cranberries and had chunks of cranberry that tinged the butter pink. The cranberries brought out the sweetness in the brioche and they were a winning combination.

Housemade Brioche w Cranberry Butter

The next course was roasted quail with braised kale, parsnip-Anaheim chili hash, pickled beech mushrooms and a mustard jus. The quail was moist and succulent with a flavorful rub on the skin. It had been partially deboned, which made it much easier to eat. The kale was kind of mixed in with the parsnip-Anaheim hash and it all had a nice flavor. The parsnips were tender, earthy and sweet and the Anaheim chilis added just a hint of spicy heat to the dish to excite the taste buds, but not overwhelm them. The kale was tender and added a nice chlorophyll/vegetal flavor. There was a small amount of butternut squash puree under the hash, which had a velvety texture and added a little more sweetness to the dish. The pickled mushrooms had a crunchy, yet soft texture and added some needed acid to compliment the quail as well as the vegetables in the hash. The mustard jus was spooned around the dish and it provided a salty, umami punch that elevated the quail and really highlighted its meatiness.

Roasted Quail w Braised Kale, Parsnip-Anaheim Chili Hash, Pickled Beech Mushrooms & Mustard Jus

The last savory course of the evening was the meat course. It consisted of a petite butcher filet with buckwheat polenta, chard hearts and a Bermuda onion agrodolce. The medium-rare beef medallions were good, but it was all the accompaniments that really made the dish a success. The buckwheat polenta had a chewier, more substantial texture than normal polenta and it was well seasoned with a lot of herbs mixed throughout. The chard hearts were very tender and had a nice sweet flavor. The Bermuda onion agrodolce tied everything together. It had whole rings of charred Bermuda onions along with a sweet, sour and savory sauce, which makes sense since agrodolce means sweet and sour in Italian. The acidity and sweetness of the agrodolce lifted the flavor of the beef and enhanced the whole dish.

Petite Butcher Filet w Buckwheat Polenta, Chard Hearts & Red Onion Agrodolce

We had the cheese course next. It included Humboldt Fog from Cypress Grove Chevre, Hummingbird from Doe Run Dairy, Oma from the Von Trapp Family's Jasper Hill Farms, and St. Agur from Auvergne, France along with some various fresh and dried fruits, pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of honey. Each of the cheeses were excellent and they were all different styles. The Humboldt Fog is a goat cheese that I am very familiar with and was as good as always. The Hummingbird was a Robiola-style mixed milk cheese, which was soft and oozy with a mild flavor. The Oma was a washed rind cow's milk cheese that was a little more pungent with a soft pudding-like texture. The St. Agur was a double-cream blue cheese made from cow's milk. It had a smoother texture and more mild flavor than a Roquefort, but was still plenty strong and flavorful. My personal favorite by the smallest of margins was probably the St. Agur, but all the cheeses were delicious.

Cheese Course w Humboldt Fog, Hummingbird, Oma & St. Agur

For dessert we had PB and J doughnuts with Concord grape jam, peanut mousse and salted peanuts. The doughnuts were yeast-raised and fluffy as a cloud, yet they still had a slightly chewy texture. They were rolled in granulated sugar that added some crunch and sweetness. The grape jam was well balanced with a little bit of tartness to counteract the sweetness in the doughnuts. The most surprising component of the dessert was the peanut mousse. It had a pleasantly strong peanut flavor without overwhelming or being too sweet and it almost seemed lighter than a normal whipped cream. Both Christal and I were surprised at how good it was and we both would have ordered this dessert just for the mousse. The salted peanuts helped to reinforce the overall peanut flavor in the dessert.

PB & J Doughnuts w Concord Grape Jam, Peanut Mousse & Salted Peanuts

We finished our meal off with the petit fours, which were squares of dark chocolate ganache with mint syrup. The dark chocolate was rich and smooth with the consistency of chocolate truffles. The mint syrup was homemade with minced fresh mint throughout the syrup. It wasn't too sweet and it provided a refreshing finish to the bite of dark chocolate.

Dark Chocolate Ganache w Mint Syrup

Christal and I were both impressed with not only the food, but also the atmosphere and service at Talula's Garden. They accomodated Luke really well without making us feel bad about bringing our baby along with us. I think the evening also provided Christal with a little bit of an escape with everything that her mom has been going through. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Philly.

Food 4.5/5
Service 4.5/5
Christal's Rating 4.5/5
http://talulasgarden.com/