Joan flew over one weekend to join me at Philly. Since I was underwhelmed by Amada, I wanted her to experience the other outpost of the Garces Restaurant Group: Garces Trading Co. It’s located in the gayborhood – on the pretty, residential Locust street. While the other Garces’ establishments are tapas/wine bar, this one is a restaurant + market inside a bright open space (a big plus for me). The fake European street sign on the walls gave off the illusion of being at a European market.
Inside there’s a cheese store, bakery, wine shop, olive oil/balsamic vinegar bar…it’s a foodie heaven. You can pick up bottles of wine before/after sitting down. Since Joan and I aren’t big drinkers, we got a half bottle. It was an excellent Spanish red and only cost $4.99!
The dining area is in the center. Every table gets complimentary amuse bouche. We have the artichoke with olive oil, it was simple but yummy.
I love the bread box! Very good sourdough too.
They have a very good selections of cheese and charcuterie. You can add a condiment for $1 each and they all sounded wonderful (hard to choose). I got the Truffle Lavender Honey and Roasted Garlic Dulce de Leche.
It’s a good sign (or bad?) when I wanted to order everything on the menu. The ingredients and combination sounded familiar yet also unusual.
Lyonnaise Duck Salad: duck confit, poached egg, bacon lardons with mustard vinaigrette 11.00 Yum yum yum! The duck was very flavored and tender. the whole combination just works so well~
Being somewhat obsessed with mushroom, we have to order the Funghi Pizza: maitakes, royal rumpets, taleggio, black truffles 13. It’s one of the best pizza I’ve ever had! The cheese was light and melty, and the seasonings are minimal but very effective. The texture, aroma and flavors are so well rounded that every bite is an absolute joy.
Pappardelle with Lamb Ragu with Sunchoke Puree, Piave vecchio. Fresh pasta with delicious sauce…it’s a good, near perfect dish except for the peas that I’m never crazy about.
In one night we sampled from the cheese, salad, pizza and pasta categories, and there’s still the grill, deep dish pies and the daily ‘Plat du jour’ to try. Friday’s paella seems to be the favorite. They also have a chef’s tasting menu for $40. I love this place a lot, way more than I did for Amada. The food are simple and casual, but they’re made with good quality ingredients.
Garces Trading Co (215) 574-1099
1111 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107-5890
Tags: BYOB, Duck, Spanish, Tapas
