Philadelphia Magazine reviews Talula’s Table and find it’s a destination worth heading to.

It’s at these private dinners that the skills and obsessions of owners Aimee Olexy and Bryan Sikora find their ultimate expression. Through a combination of sourcing and sorcery, fresh ingredients obtained, even foraged, from the surrounding area are transformed into elegant dishes that remind us what all the excitement over Django was about. Olexy and Sikora sold that acclaimed Philadelphia BYOB in 2005, and this more personal style seems to suit them even better than a conventional restaurant. It’s a heightened dining experience: Eating with a group of friends at a communal table, interacting with the chef and servers on a more intimate level than is possible in a busy restaurant, and sharing wines from fellow diners’ cellars all amplify the deeper social aspects of eating.

Food: A
Service: B
Atmosphere: B

Review: A Seat at the Table [Philadelphia Magazine]

Farm To Philly has a special dinner at Restaurant Alba in Malvern.

The food at Restaurant Alba was very, very good. I just wish we were able to discern a little easier how much of the produce is locally sourced. Still, being able to get locally made cheese and a dessert made with locally grown apples is more than most restaurants around these parts will do!

Review: Restaurant Alba [Farm To Philly]
Restaurant Alba [Official Site]

McDuff’s Food & Wine Trail visits Talula’s Table in Kennett Square and does a write-up on the harvest dinner complete with photos. After Craig LaBan’s recent review, reservations are for as far out as Spring ‘08 so this might be as close as you can get for awhile.

Backstage at Talula’s Table [McDuff's Food & Wine Trail]
Backstage at Talula’s Table [McDuff's Food & Wine Trail]
Talula’s Table [Official Site]

Craig LaBan doesn’t give out any bells to Talula’s Table but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t one of his favorite meals of the year. Instead of giving a formal review of the Kennett Square market LaBan walks us through his meal and how the former owners of Django wound up in Chester County.

Word of Talula’s farmhouse-table tasting dinners, served to just one group of 8 to 12 a night, four or five nights a week, has wafted far across the foodie grapevine like a very warm and tempting breeze. Kennett Square is a long hour’s drive from Center City at the height of evening traffic. Could it possibly be worth the anticipation of a reservation made nearly two months in advance?

Olexy and her staff immediately began pouring from the bottles of chilled Sancerre brought by one of my guests. (All the wines are BYO.) And as I nibbled hungrily on warm puff pastry breadsticks perfumed with butter and a whiff of anchovy, I took an eager glance at the artfully printed menus laid at our place settings.

One of the best meals I’ve eaten all year was about to unfold.

From Django to Kennett Square [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Talula’s Table [Official Site]

Main Line Restaurant Guide visits Royal Thai Orchid in Frazer and calls it “of the best destinations for Thai in the area.”

Excellent Thai cuisine in an elegant but casual setting. Also offers take-out.

3 Silver Spoons out of 5

Royal Thai Orchid, Frazer [Main Line Restaurant Guide]

From inexperienced servers to heavy handed sauces there was lots that was off for Craig LaBan at Chadds Ford’s Brandywine Prime.

There was a handful of dishes among them I’d want to keep. The classic shrimp cocktail was huge and luscious. The house-cured duck confit gets a nice ride in a rustic tomatoey saute with linguine and kalamata olives. The tartares of beef and tuna – also classically prepared – highlighted the pure quality of the kitchen’s best ingredients.

So many other ingredients, though, seemed to be wasted on the pretense of fussy fixings. If a chophouse goes to the trouble to serve an excellent cut of beef – and Brandywine’s dry-aged cuts were good, but shy of exquisite – why drown its flavors with heavy-handed sauces and garnish? Brandywine Prime lays all of its steaks over a pool of fruited demiglace as thick as motor oil, then tops them off with a slice of oozing herbed butter the size of a credit card. And they’re all so strong, you could hardly taste the meat. It didn’t help that the rich gravy had already acquired a skin and gone tepid, as had the cookie-cutter vegetable garnishes.

One Bell – Hit Or Miss

Brandywine Prime [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Brandywine Prime [Official Site]

David McDuff lucks into the first seating at the chef’s table at Talula’s Table, the market in Kennett Square by Aimee Olexy and Bryan Sikora, the original owners of Django. After 8-courses it all boils down to a single word, “wow!”

At $85 per person (plus tax and tip) for a meal like this, you’d be hard pressed not to consider it a culinary steal. If anything, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the offering evolve over time into a slightly smaller number of courses. I can seriously eat but many of my dining companions began to struggle with finishing their courses at about round five or six. The atmosphere at Talula’s is wonderfully pacific, like a cross between an elegant country inn and the comfort of your own dining room.

Dining at a Virgin Table [McDuff's Food & Wine Trail]
Talula’s Table [Official Site]

On Monday, June 11th, Executive Chef, David Kiser will be serving up a grilling demonstration and 5-course dinner at Avalon in West Chester.

The cost is $85 per person and includes wine and champagne with each course.

Menu after the jump.

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Philadelphia Magazine finds a local place to get the Buffalo standard Beef On Weck, the Whip Tavern in Coatesville.

The beef is Dijon vinaigrette—marinated top round, slow roasted, and sliced thinly on a deli slicer. The rolls, which Kulp wanted to have shipped from Buffalo but found this cost prohibitive, are made by the Downingtown Wegman’s. Before serving, the beef slices are reheated in au jus, into which the top of the bun is also dipped. As for toppings, don’t even think of asking for anything but horseradish.

Where’s the Beef on Weck? [Philadelphia Magazine]
Whip Tavern [Official Site]
Photo by nickgraywfu via Flickr.

Avalon in West Chester has a new chef, new look and new menu. New Executive Chef David Kiser’s menu will highlight local ingredients from Chester County farmers.Menu after the jump.

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