The day went from a blast of premature spring sun to the whipping in of wind; mid-afternoon, spur of the moment, we called one of the Philadelphia area's hottest restaurants and asked if they might have room for two. Yes, as a matter of fact, they did, thanks to a last-minute cancellation.
And so we drove down 476 and over the bridge and into Conshohocken to
Blackfish. Oh. My. Goodness. We are Top Chef watchers, Anthony Bourdain fans, cookbook collectors, studiers, attempters. We are only now, at the age that we've become, beginning to explore, very infrequently, this kind of actual (as opposed to virtual) restaurant dining.
I have never (never) had a meal like I had last night—a baby arugula/English cucumber/cherry belle radish salad; striped bass with golden raisins and pink peppercorn vierge; and vanilla creme brulee. So perfectly light, so perfectly finished, so utterly satisfying.
Philadelphia Magazine has just named Blackfish the area's top restaurant. Number
one. No wonder.
Welcome, Year of the Rat!
To help you celebrate, here are a couple of new books we can recommend…
Grace Lin has a sequel just out to her delightful Year of the Dog - called, appropriately enough, Year of the Rat. We’ll have our own review of it soon, in the meantime, you can read what Grace herself says about it here.
You can read here about another new book by Grace, this time a picture-book called Bringing in the New Year. There are some good “Lunar New Year” links on this post from Wild Rose Reader too.
And here are some more Chinese New Year picture books reviewed by PaperTigers:
The Year of the Rat: Tales from the Chinese Zodiac by Oliver Chin, illustrated by Miah Alcorn,;
The Great Race / The Story of the Chinese Zodiac by Dawn Casey, illustrated by Anne Wilson;
The Day the Dragon Danced by Kay Haugaard, illustrated by Carolyn Reed Barritt.
Do you have any special favorites you’d like to share with us?
…And a PS - do have a look at Grace Lin’s blog to read about her trip to China last month - there are some great photos too.
We have just returned home from a week in London, exploring the city to dropping point! One place we visited was the National Gallery, where we followed the Chinese Zodiac Trail. We knew which animals to look for from retellings of the legendary selection process, such as The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac. While looking at the paintings, we learnt a great deal about the differences and similarities in the symbolism attached to the animals in Chinese and Western cultures; and Little Brother, who is passionate about dragons, was overjoyed to discover that his birth sign, the Snake, is also known as the Little Dragon!
In the gallery shop afterwards, we found a delightful picture-book called Pablo the Artist by Satoshi Kitamura, which is an enigmatic exploration of the artistic process and where inspiration comes from – I agree with The Magic of Books‘ review, where PJ Librarian says “you really aren’t sure at this point if Pablo is dreaming or if these landscape characters are actually real” – it’s one of those books which grows with each re-reading as new details are discovered and absorbed. We especially loved the glimpse of infinity provided at the end, having read The Mouse and His Child so recently, where the picture of the dog carrying a tray with a tin of dog food with the picture of the dog carrying a tray etc. etc. was such a recurrent and pivotal theme.
Not Just for Kids recommends Pablo the Artist and some other picture-books which “introduce young readers to some of the world’s masterpieces”, as does Rhyming Mom.
Yum! I shall take note for the next time I visit my friend outside Philadelphia.
That's how my husband and I felt when we ate at Vetri in Philadelphia two years ago. Now we will have to put Blackfish on our wish list. Right next to Amada which you wrote about a few months ago.
Also sending this to my in-Seattle foodie son for his must list when he comes home to the East Coast to visit.
Most extraordinary meal ever?! That's a huge claim. I must try it when I take a trip to Philly. Who are your favorites on Top Chef? I am rooting for Carla and Richard this season. But I would love to see a woman get the All Star title.