Evantine Design Blog

Recently, we had the wonderful opportunity to host a chef’s tasting dinner in the kitchen of Lacroix at The Rittenhouse.  In a word, FABULOUS!!!  Chef de Cuisine Jason Cichonski, along with Sous Chefs Jon Cichon and Adam Lazarick, created the most amazing dining experience for us and our invited guests.  Twelve Courses, plus an Amuse Bouche and two Desserts!  Dinner was paired with impeccable wines selected by sommelier Eric Simonis. 

We at Evantine Design are not new to hotel and restaurant kitchens.  In fact, our business dictates that we know our way in, out, and around many of them in the city!  Therefore, the thought of dining in the kitchen was not exactly thrilling.  However, the experience exceeded our wildest expectations!  The entire line of chefs in Lacroix was nothing short of amazing.  The Chef’s table is a beautiful marble-top, set just inches from the stoves and finishing table. Watching the staff perfom was like watching a well choreographed ballet!  Timing is everything, and they perform as a team in perfect cadence.

Tastings in the kitchen typically begin from 6-6:30pm, which allows ample time to enjoy each and every course (ours lasted until 11pm!) After an amazing Amuse Bouche, we were served a pickled Strawberry Soda!  There is no way to adequately describe the intense, fresh flavor of this “soda”!  Other highlights from the menu, which you can see below, included the Striped Bass Belly, Ramp Ice Cream, an amazing Kindai Tuna, Foie Gras paired with a mouth-watering Peach-Miso, a simply melt-in-your mouth perfect Duck with Melon Bisque and Fava Beans, and Lamb with to-die-for Grits!  A stunning surprise was the Robiola Bosina which literally exploded in our mouths! 

These kids in the kitchen ROCK!!  (Sorry, but they are all in their 20′s!)  The detail and thought put into the combination of different tastes and textures was purely amazing.  You can see, smell, taste and feel the passion they have for food!  Any questions we asked were answered with enthusiasm and gusto and made the entire experience one of the highlights of our culinary lives!

Suitable for framing, each of us received a signed menu in a gift bag with Lacroix chocolates as we left.  Ours will be hung on the wall as a wonderful reminder of our adventure.

In addition to this amazing menu, sommelier Eric Simonis selected awesome wines to pair with each course.  Some of our favorites were:

Chateau de la Vieille Tour, Domaine Boissonneau, Bordeaux, 2008 –A wonderful blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle with aromas of citrus fruits and mango.  The wine tastes unwooded, crisp and refreshing.

Monbazillac, Domaine du Petit Paris, Dordogne, 2006 –From the district of Bergerac in Southwestern France.  This wine has all the quality of its Bordeaux cousin, the great Sauterne, yet at a fraction of the cost.

Mercurey, “Clos de la Marche” Monopole, Domaine Louis Max, Bourgogne, 2005 — From Southern Burgundy, 100% Pinot Noir, medium-bodied with dark fruit flavor, soft tannins and a touch of oak.

Maury, “Dix Ans d’ Age”, Pyrenees Orientales, NV  –100% Grenache Noir.  This fortified wine is aged outside in glass demi-johns for one year, followed by nine years in oak!  A beautiful copper-tinted robe, very complex and reminiscent of an old Madeira.  Perfect with blue cheese and chocolate desserts.   And it was!

Treat yourself, your friends or your family to an unforgettable dining experience!  Every aspect was incredible and memorable!

We’re always on the hunt for a new, hip cocktail recipe to use at events or simply to enjoy after another successful weekend of parties!  Preferably with natural or organic ingredients that are readily available in your kitchen cupboard or “locally grown” produce market.  One recipe that got our attention recently is right out of Kenya, the Dawa Cocktail.  Light, citrus-y and simple to make.  Perfect.  “Dawa” is Swahili for “medicine” and, after a long hot day in the summer sun, it just might be the medicine we need.

Dawa Cocktail Recipe

• 2 chopped key limes
• 3 tablespoons raw honey
• 2 shots vodka (we love Ketel One or Belvedere)
• Crushed ice
• Shake together and pour in a rocks glass

Oh, the magical healing powers of raw honey,  the fantastically refreshing limes and the ultra smooth vodka!  What could BEE better ?

Philly Mag’s May 2009 issue is hot off the press and it’s all about the fine food found in our savvy city.  It’s the coveted issue that details the most fab 50 restaurants in Philadelphia.

As with many Philadelphians, we look forward to this issue since it brings to light some of the most talented chefs and restauranteurs in the nation.  Extremely notable this year is just how culturally diverse the City of Brotherly Love is these days.  From Zahav to  Morimoto… foods from around the world are here.  Even better, it’s not just about the food.  Take a look at the ultra-Mexican suave digs that Jose Garces put together at Distrito.  The design vibe here is so incendiary that it has inspired countless party mavens to host a Mexican-themed party (who knew Philly was so short on Mariachi bands?).  And get a load of Bindi… here’s a place to go when it’s imperative to leave the country, if only for a few hours of spicy Indian comfort food, warm relaxed ambience, and saturated color therapy.

Also good to remember is that so many of these 50 Best Restaurants have the ability to host a party, either by offering a private room or by renting out the whole place, kit and kaboodle.  Have you ever seen the private room at Barclay Prime?  Or the second floor at Supper?  What a fantastic way to introduce your family and friends to Philadelphia by hosting an engagement party, birthday celebration, baby shower or bar mitzvah at one of these super cool restaurants.  We’re lucky to have such spectacular places at our fingertips where we can enjoy sophisticated food in ultra stylish environs.  Have you gone out to eat this week?  Yeah?  Well, go again.  It can’t help but lift the spirits (and the local economy).