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Hundred Dollar Baby
March 29, 2007
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Like most things in life, a successful meal is all about balance. The service should be friendly but not overly familiar. The restaurant itself should feel as if it's comfortable in its own proverbial skin, neither trying to be more formal than it actually is nor more cutting-edge than necessary. And the food should be equal parts preparation, presentation, and flavor.
Too often, something throws that balance off. Maybe the waiter didn't top off your water as frequently as you would have liked. Or your seat was in a drafty spot by the front door. Or your entrée was just a touch too salty. On their own, it's not enough to ruin your whole experience. But whatever "it" is it definitely has the potential to leave you feeling a little deflated when expectations are high.
Which is why my meal at Twenty21 was so extraordinary: I could lose my critic card for saying this, but they did everything right.
The space is all high ceilings and clean lines, but unlike so many restaurants with a modernist aesthetic, Twenty21 doesn't feel the least bit cold. Quite the contrary, in fact; there's a real sense of warmth there that balances out the cool.
Paradoxical or not, it works.
I began with the firm and tender lettuces, proof that the sex appeal of this restaurant isn't limited to the way it looks. Not only is the name of the dish appealing, but the textures of it more than lived up to the promise. Fresh mixed greens were tossed with crispy bits of pancetta and artichoke hearts, dressed in a truffle vinaigrette, and given a bit of softness with the addition of a warm poached egg.
This was, essentially, Twenty21's version of the classic French salad frisée aux lardons, but the truffle oil lent it more flavor and sex appeal than it usually has. Even Ms. Martini, who generally avoids poached eggs, couldn't resist it, and ended up eating half the salad.
Fortunately, this meant that I still had a solid appetite for the entrées, which included a wood grilled bison rib eye that was just as flavorful as its beef-based namesake, but far less fatty. The result was a tender, concentrated meat dish whose two primary flavors"the well-seasoned bison itself and the accompanying "natural reduction" (a bison demi-glace)"played off each other brilliantly. And the truffled root vegetable ragout, just the slightest bit sweet, provided a nice breather from the headier flavors of the dish without taking anything away from it.
The roasted Scottish salmon was more than generous, as were all the portions. So despite its simple, elegant range of flavors"the game jus, the wild mushrooms, the fingerling potatoes, the artichoke hearts"we weren't able to finish it. But that wasn't a result of the dish itself. It was delicious, and the restraint that the kitchen showed in allowing the flavor of the fish to shine through (those accompaniments, all bass-note flavors, provided a delicious canvas against which the salmon could really sing) was perfectly orchestrated.
By this point we felt as if we were nearing our $100 goal, so we decided to end the meal with two coffees and the chocolate terrine with a delicate mint - green tea gelato, a dense, rich dessert that reminded me of a sacher torte I once tasted in Vienna as a teenager, and which was the first dessert that made me realize that sweets can be every bit as emotionally satisfying as savories.
Including tax, tip, and two glasses of wine, Ms. M. and I spent $126.59, and I was happy to do so. When a dining experience is this expertly calibrated, that's a small price to pay. And any restaurant that can make a salad sound sexy (firm and tender lettuces, anyone) is okay by me.
Twenty21, 2005 Market St., Commerce Square Building, Philadelphia, 215.851.6262; www.twenty-21.com
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Click here to read previous installments of Hundred Dollar Baby. |
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