The boys
at Epic Meal Time may have a
challenger on their hands. There is a
little known kitchen counter seating available at Zahav that boasts 10 courses and
nearly 5 hours of dining extravagance and gluttony. There isn't even a mention of it on their
website. You have to really want this. You have to shell out $90 per head two months before you even sit down. And it
will be one of the best meals you've ever had.
We've
done Zahav several times over the years and it is always amazing. The menu
continues to evolve, so there is always something new to try. The service is
impeccable. And, my god, the hummus. Craig Laban gave this place four bells for
a reason. If you are a good planner and you
can remember to log onto the CookNSolo
website at noon on the first day of the month, you may get lucky enough to score a pair of
four coveted seats at the Kitchen Counter.
There is only one seating per night and it is only on Friday &
Saturday.
Do
yourself the favor and go all-in by opting for the beverage pairing option. You
will get way more than $50 worth of drinks, and it won't be just wine - we had
several cocktails, champagne, and some intermezzo shots. There was also the joy
of exploring the sommelier's secret stash of little known wines that causal
diners never order.
Throughout
the meal, Chef Solomonov (we now know him as Mike) stops out to introduce
himself, checks up on how the meal is going, and personally thanks you for
letting them cook for you. He is one of
the warmest people you could ever want to meet. Not a touch of arrogance or
pretentiousness. If you're lucky, you
might even get some of his personally made origami pieces to take home. Thank
you, Chef,for letting me eat.
*Disclaimer
- nothing we ate is on the normal menu.
While the servers and chefs did a great job of describing each dish -
and we asked lots of questions - over the span of five hours it's not the
easiest thing to remember every detail. I've done my best to reconstruct the
meal as best I remember it. My apologies
to the Chef if I've gotten any of this wrong.
If you do go none of this will matter since your meal will be completely
different.
It
started off innocently enough, with a lovely negroni to wet our whistles. How
did they know this is my favorite cocktail? They must be following the blog.
The negroni started a theme of all Italian drinks. Lots of robust Italian red
wines, prosecco, crisp whites, and even an aperol spritz thrown in there.
You are
literally on top of the action with the best seats in the house. Watch the line
work it's magic and Chef Solomonov orchestrate his crew to feed the masses. It
is a masterful thing to witness.
Our first
course! Roasted local sweet corn with uni (sea urchin) sprinkled butter. A gorgeous umami flavor after rolling the
corn through the massive pat of butter. And a hot towel to clean up!
Oh, that
beautiful baked-five-minutes-ago laffa bread. You watch it come out of the
brick oven with bated breath, knowing what awaits. Warm and puffy, with a healthy sprinkle of
za'atar.
And
laffa's best friend, the magical hummus that they have become famous for. It is
so smooth and creamy, it seems almost impossible. This version is dotted with
fresh chick peas and pieces of roasted duck loin, because why not.
I got a
little overzealous and attacked this plate of roasted baby eggplants and
tomatoes before I remembered I'm supposed to be blogging this. Regardless, they
were fantastic. Perfect little heirloom cherry tomatoes roasted to just
blister, and super savory eggplants.
Tomato
soup, poured at the table over a mound of risotto and crispy chicken skin for
an incredible flavor profile. Some fresh
dill on top brings freshness to the piquant and luscious soup. This was the 4th course, if you're counting.
A
throwback to Chef Solomonov's days cooking at Vetri with a name-drop worthy
pasta. Ribbons of house made pappardelle
and a ground lamb sausage that was at once sweet and pungent. A healthy sprinkle of toasted breadcrumbs for
texture and a bit of shredded parmesan puts this into the mind-blowing
category.
Underneath
that perfectly cooked sunny side up egg is a kale leaf stuffed with a mix of
what I remember being veggies and some ground lamb. You cut through the egg yolk and let it run
into and all over the stuffing like hot lava on an ancient Italian city.
A
stunning plating of fish, a Hawaiian type similar in taste to yellowtail. Forgive me, as I don't recall the exact name
of the species. This is course number 7,
with at least as many drinks. Things started getting a little fuzzy at this
point. I do remember that the fish was
incredible and the simple dressing of olive oil and lemon juice heightened the
flavor without getting in the way.
Getting
full yet? For course 8 they brought out
the big/expensive guns with a skewered and grilled foie gras /lobster combo
over a bed of saffron rice paired with roasted goose berries. You thought
you couldn't grill foie gras? You
thought wrong, sucka. The foie was amazing, crispy on the outside but creamy
and decadently rich on the inside. The lobster was actually kind of chewy and
really the only misstep of the night. Maybe it was on there a bit too long?
Hard to say, but usually grilled lobster is half steamed and then cooked in the
shell. This one was grilled completely
over an open flame.
Hope you
have room for one more succulent dish - and this one is substantial. Seared slabs of lamb loin with roasted and
glazed figs dusted with some more of that za'atar. I had to eat half of the
wifey's portion. Nearly fork tender meat and the sweet figs are almost more
than you can handle at this point.
#putmetobed
Our 10th
and final course (or so we thought) was a merciful little helping of sorbet to
cleanse the palate and allow you some time to digest and breath. There were a
couple little extras that made their way out to the counter in the form of
pastries and after dinner drinks. We
were then treated to nearly 20 minutes with Mike and his sommelier to discuss
the meal and the highlights of the night.
We sat
down at 7:30pm and left the building just after 12:30am with very full bellies
and grins from ear to ear. This is without a doubt the best dining experience
in Philadelphia and one of the top three meals I've had in my life. The food
coma and hangover the next morning were totally worth it. Simply extraordinary.
A preview
of what your meal will look like:
To book
the Kitchen Counter :
Food Baby
Rating: Octomom!
Zahav
237 St. James Place
Philadelphia, PA 19106
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