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Tinto, Chef Dave Conn's Basque-Themed Wine Bar in Rittenhouse Square


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We had two outstanding meals in Philly last week -- Italian at Vetri (highlights being a warm asparagus flan and an almond tortellini that melted in the mouth) and Basque tapas at Tinto (highlights being a chicken skewer dish that was so good that we ordered it again during the same meal, and a rice dish that was morelicious smile.gif).

The best food I've eaten in Philly in the past three months was without a doubt at Tinto.

I am headed to Tinto with some friends tonight. They will probably want to order the tasting menu -- does it provide dishes that would ordinarily not be available, or is it simply a combination of various menu items without any logical progression?

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I am headed to Tinto with some friends tonight. They will probably want to order the tasting menu -- does it provide dishes that would ordinarily not be available, or is it simply a combination of various menu items without any logical progression?

They choose a few items from each portion of the menu, so it's logical in a way, but I believe you can have a better meal for the same money or less by choosing your own. I'm pretty sure everything on the tasting menu is on the regular menu.

Don't miss the duck montadito. The Kobe one is pretty awesome too.

Important note: If the desserts at Tinto don't tempt you, Capogiro Gelato is right across the street.

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They choose a few items from each portion of the menu, so it's logical in a way, but I believe you can have a better meal for the same money or less by choosing your own. I'm pretty sure everything on the tasting menu is on the regular menu.

Don't miss the duck montadito. The Kobe one is pretty awesome too.

An old friend from HS and I got a couple of non-menu items, nothing too out of the ordinary (one was a beef skewer, the other was profiteroles with gelato for dessert). I agree that non-tasting menu is the way to go and significantly more cost-effective, but he had a gift certificate so I was happy to go along.

The duck confit was my second-favorite item after the black cod in pil-pil sauce with crab crepe, probably the best thing I've eaten in months. There was also an aged cheese dipped in honey that I liked a lot. Only disappointment was the paella-esque dish. Rice was too dry.

Amada is now on my to-do list, but what I really want is to return to Matyson.

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A few weeks ago I spent a wonderful day in Philadelphia. Having had a terrible experience at one of the original Philly Cheesesteak places, I was reluctant to try another one. Ending up at the Reading Terminal for lunch, my friend's mom and I decided to go with the local cuisine and each got a cheeseteak from Rick's. We looked at the size of the sandwiches and regretted not splitting one. My friend looked on in shock as his mother and I both finished off the foot-long sandwiches. Glad we didn't share. (Ricks has closed at the Terminal, not sure if there is another one in town).

but... dinner was truly spectacular. Thanks to this board we discovered Tinto. I have been remiss in thanking you all. Wow. Best meal I have had in as long as I can remember.

At Tinto, the three of us shared a range of dishes. Each dish was great, not one miss, not one average... all great. We started with some of the Jamon that Jose Andres arranged to come in to the country. It was like eating ham flavored butter, it literally melted in your mouth. The figs wrapped in serrano ham were delicious, even my friend ate one and he doesn't like figs. The octupus (Pulpo) was perfectly grilled, the lemon powder was a delight. The Verdosa salad was a treat because it arrived with asparagus as well as avocado, which was listed on the menu.

I can't wait for an excuse to return to Philly, I know there are other places to go but the Reading Terminal and Tinto are excuse enough for me!

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Tinto was truly amazing. Mr. MV and I at there Dec. 23rd. with a 6:45 reservation. Walking in, I thought that perhaps it would not be a busy night for them, but as we were eating, the place filled up. We ate upstairs at one of the impossibly small elevated tables, carefully rearranging our glasses and utensils as our courses were served. Oh well, part of the experience!


From the Mariscos:

Moules Basquaise-mussels, chorizo, frites, lemon aioli. The shelled mussels were served in a small Staub pot, in a thick (roux??) of chorizo broth. The frites were standing up in the aioli in a separate crock. This is a must-not-miss-dish. We wished we had bread to soak up every single bit of broth. But, that's ok..we had more courses to go.

From the Pintxos:

Duck-duck confit, serrano ham, black cherry, la peral spread-juicy, very juicy duck et. al. Wish there were more for $10 for 2 "crostini".

Fro the Verduras Y Carnes:

Lamb-Roasted Rack of Lamb, Artichoke Puree and Lemon. I ordered it medium rare and it came perfectly done. It was pinkish red in the center and very juicy. The puree blended with the au jus and made a delicious complement as I swished the cuts of meat around on the plate.


Beef Tenderloin, Catalan Spinach, Cabrales Crisp. This is what my husband ordered. The dish was tasty, but arrived almost 10 minutes after my lamb dish. While it was very good, the lamb was far superior. Fortunately, we ordered two sides that Mr. M.V. was able to enjoy while he waited.


First was the potatoes, small potato cylinders with a tomato compote and La Peral cream; very decadent sauce. Imagine real potato tater tots stacked delicately with a small pitcher of cream sauce pouring velvety goodness over the top.


Second, wild mushrooms, roasted potato, shallot and parsley. Now, my husband doesn't really like mushrooms much but he couldn't stop eating this dish because of their earthy goodness.


Dessert was an olive oil cake with grapefruit curd, honey, and rosemary cream paired with a Semillion desert wine.

Dee-Vine!

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Any updates from Philly travelers? Heading up this weekend and hoping to try Osteria, not sure what else tho.. (aside from my customary Capogiro fix)

I enjoyed my visit to Tinto, as I mentioned upthread. You could eat lunch/dinner there, and go across the street to Cappagiro for dessert.

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[These paragraphs were copied from The Mother Thread as part of larger posts.

Use the Snapback Function (the little icon at the top-right of each entry) to view each post in its entirety.]


For dinner I went to Tinto.  The lobster with the flavorless uni emulsion was also mostly comprised of a flabby claw for $21.  The seabass and cockles were properly cooked.  I thought the fish was perfect, a little crispy but not overcooked at all.  Too bad I find the lemony salsa verde otherwise bland.  Lastly I had the Gatxuxa, Basque for shitty paella.  I ate the head on shrimp and the two pieces of dried rabbit.  The rice was bland and unfortunately mushy as usual.  

Tinto (basque tapas from Jose Garces) was outstanding. Some lovely wines by the glass, although their txakolina was a surprise in that it was no effervescent in the least. Apparently, there's a subregion in Txakolina where that's typical that we don't see often here. We let our great bartender order for us and were well-rewarded with DIVER SCALLOPS cider demi-glace, benton's bacon, shaved apple, DUCK CANAPES duck confit, serrano ham, black cherry, la peral spread, and PULPO spanish octopus, confit, potatoes,lemon powder. Am already looking forward to a return visit.

You could also try one of new Iron Chef Jose Garces' places, which get good press. I've been to his Tinto a few times when I got a hankering for Basque food and Txakolina, and enjoyed my time there a lot.

I was in Philadelphia Wednesday to Saturday on business, which didn't actually require very much of my time. I had a reservation at Tinto for Wednesday evening, and was looking forward to a very good meal there. Unfortunately, I didn't get to dine there. I had taken my beautiful young dog with me, and she turned out to be significantly needier than I had expected, so I wasn't able to leave her alone in my hotel room. So that evening I ordered a pizza from Pietro's Coal Oven Pizzeria around the corner (I was staying in Rittenhouse Square). Knowing that a coal fired oven is the ne plus ultra among some pizza fanatics, I figured this would be good. It wasn't, very, although it wasn't bad. Crust so-so, tomato sauce too sweet, anchovies too sparsely applied, but not bad.

On Thursday evening, I discovered diningin.com, a terrific online system for ordering delivery from restaurants which is unfortunately not available in Washington (currently it covers Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and Denver, and has the further drawback that the site can be painfully slow), and found that I could actually get delivery from Tinto. I decided, though, that that was not a particularly auspicious way to experience a good restaurant, so I decided to order Chinese.

Not the Philadelphia gastronomic adventure I had anticipated, but I ate pretty well, and I enjoyed Philadelphia, which I hadn't visited since the early 80s.

The Tinto-Capogiro one-two is always a good bet. Variations: Tinto does brunch now, so you could do it midday Sunday; and Melograno moved to that same corner (Sansom near 20th) so if you're in the mood for Italian BYOB instead of Basque tapas that could work. But Capogiro's hours are shorter in the winter, so don't linger too late over dinner or you'll miss the window.

The best food I've eaten in Philly in the past three months was without a doubt at Tinto.

We had two outstanding meals in Philly last week -- Italian at Vetri (highlights being a warm asparagus flan and an almond tortellini that melted in the mouth) and Basque tapas at Tinto (highlights being a chicken skewer dish that was so good that we ordered it again during the same meal, and a rice dish that was morelicious smile.gif).

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Had a terrific dinner last night at Tinto.  I went with one person who is eating Paleo, a somewhat picky 13 year old and an adventurous college freshman.  Tinto beautifully met everyone's needs and had us wishing we could return again today.  We had an early 5:00 reservation due to a theatre commitment later in the evening.  We were surprised that we weren't the only people in the cozy dining room!  By the time we left about 6:30 the place was bustling and full of patrons.  There was a good deal of debate about which was everyone's favorite shared dish:  Spiced meatballs, Duck Confit or Chicken Brochettes with Truffle Jus.  Service was attentive but we never felt rushed.   We had a couple of wines by the glass but didn't have time to sample the sangria or other speciality drinks.  After such a terrific experience, we are definitely looking forward to trying some of Jose Garces' other properties.   

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