Foodzings is obviously someone who plans ahead. How else did they get Restaurant Week reservations to Amada. Read about their hype-worthy time.

Restaurant Week – Amada [Foodzings]

Mac & Cheese tries the vegetarian offerings at Bar Ferdinand in Northern Liberties.

I enjoyed everything at Bar Ferdinand, even though I had small qualms with a few dishes. The Manchego Frito and the eggplant bocadillo were the stand-outs of the night, and will definitely be ordered again. With other vegetarian tapas missed on the first go round, another trip is warranted.

Bar Ferdinand [Mac & Cheese]
Bar Ferdinand [Official Site]

The Rittenhouse area’s Basque wine bar Tinto is now serving lunch Monday to Friday from 11:30 to 2 PM. Choose the “Bilbao Express,” which includes a choice of soup or salad, and a choice of a bocadillo, if you’re not up on your Basque terminology, that’s a sandwich, and a non-alcoholic beverage for $15.99. Or order a la carte from Tinto’s regular array of pintxos, that’s the Basque equivalent to tapas.

Menu after the jump.

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Maria Gallagher experiences Tinto and is seduced by the food.

At Tinto, Garces builds the small-plates menu around specialties of the Basque region, where the Bay of Biscay provides the seafood, and the Pyrenees range supports the sheep and goats that provide meat and dairy. The favored pepper is the medium-hot espelette, which Garces uses liberally in its dried form — with crabmeat simmered in tomato-shellfish jus; to punch up a chilled lump crabmeat and avocado topping for one of the montaditos, the small open-faced sandwiches; and in the combination of country ham, fried egg and bell peppers known in both France and Spain as pipérade.

FOOD: A
SERVICE: B-
ATMOSPHERE: A-

Tapas Too [Philadelphia Magazine]

Craig LaBan had to find some restraint to jump from his chair and exclaim “wow” as he dined on Jose Garces’ latest creations at Tinto, the Basque wine bar just off of Rittenhouse Square.

What has emerged atop the rustic wooden tall tables at his new wine bar north of Rittenhouse Square is a parade of exquisite inspirations – skewered on bamboo sticks, sandwiched between tiny baguettes, roasting in tiny iron crocks, and rising upward from narrow shot-glass flutes. They do not reflect textbook Basque cooking, per se, but are a taste of Garces in his finest vintage. Like those at El Vez and Amada, this menu draws inspiration from authentic flavors, then translates them into contemporary American ideas. And the results are more intricate and refined and magnetic than at either of the 34-year-old’s earlier venues.

Three Bells – Excellent

Endless small wonders [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Tinto [Official Site]

Chick’s Cafe & Wine Bar shows just how far Philadelphia dining and this Bella Vista bar have come over recent decades.

Jim Piano’s kitchen emphasizes conventional small-plate arrangements, turning out dishes that are up to date, if not quite adventurous. In my experience, the best ones were the simplest. There’s nothing complicated about a pear salad with soft goat cheese and sliced almonds, but it certainly helps to have butterhead lettuce as fresh and unblemished as what was plated on a recent visit. The shoestring fries fall into the same category. Fried along with garlic and rosemary to a perfect crisp and served with a lemony aioli, they could easily be among Philadelphia’s best, even without the brittle leaves and garlic nuggets that collect in the bottom of the basket as a final treat.

Through the Great Vine [City Paper]
Chick’s Cafe [My Space]

Craig LaBan is revieiwing Jose Garces’ Tinto. What will LaBan give the Basque wine and tapas bar?

On Wednesday, June 27th, GiGi will be hosting tapas paired with 4 flavored mojitos for $45. There will be two seatings, the first from 6 to 6:30 PM and the second from 8 to 8:30 PM.

Menu after the jump.

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Gas•tron•o•my celebrates a special occasion , grabbing some bubbly, friends and heading to Audrey Claire.

Two flatbreads, grilled octopus, grilled shrimp, lamb meatballs and sauteed soft shell crabs are among the ordered dishes.

Audrey Claire [gas•tron•o•my]
Audrey Claire [Official Site]

Phyllis Stein-Novack has some complaints on the physical environment at Tinto but has no complaints when it comes to the food.

Each dish we savored was spectacular in taste, presentation and eye appeal. Complimentary thin “cigars” of fried cheese, similar to the Italian frico, were crisp and slightly salty. We then proceeded with a mix of “pintxos,” the Basque version of tapas, and other fare.

We ordered a succession of hot and cold dishes, beginning with “jamon Serrano” ($9) and “abbaye de belloc” ($7). Serrano is Spain’s most famous ham and it was sliced razor thin and served with bread. It was refreshingly light and presented on a long rectangular platter. The “abbaye de belloc” is a sheep’s milk cheese made for centuries by Benedictine monks. It had an enjoyable, rich caramelized flavor.

Two-and-a-half tips of the toque to Tinto.

Tinto [South Philly Review]
Tinto Restaurant [Official Site]