Garces Trading Company

Garces Trading Company is one of Philadelphia's staple restaurants of famous chef, Jose Garces. This particular restaurant focuses on his travels throughout Western Europe such as: Italy, France and Spain exploring numerous cafés.

I recently went here for dinner with my mom, sister and our good family friend, Claudia to catch up since its been a long time. What a great place to do so over great wine and food?

To start, we ordered our wine and to share, the wild mushrooms (roasted potato crema, rosemary, crispy farro) and marinated olives (thyme, olive oil and orange). Both were a great start to the meal.

Also, what Garces Trading Company is also known for is their display of unique olive oils that you get to choose from to accompany the delicious French bread. We each brought a few to try for the table.

My mom ordered the "Tarte Flambée" pizza because she loves the pizza there. However, they changed the style of the pizza and it is no longer a flatbread, it's more of a deep dish. She loved the flavors of the gruyere  cheese paired with the pancetta. Claudia had the "Saffron Trenette" which was a meal featuring fresh seafood that went well with a glass of Chardonnay!

My sister, Catherine had the "Pappardelle with Lamb Ragú". She loved the tenderness of the lamb meat and the sunchoke purée made the dish. For my entree, I had the "Tuscan Fusilli Carbonara" which included pancetta, eggs, black pepper and pecorino. My favorite part of the dish was the running egg melting within all the flavors. 

We were too full for dessert, but overall this was great dining experience and will always recommend Garces Trading Company!

Comfort Food - Latin Style

Rosa Blanca  

I recently went to Jose Garces’ new restaurant, Rosa Blanca which offers Cuban inspired cuisine. This establishment is open daily for breakfast, lunch, dinner and take-out. What I loved most about this restaurant was the décor and the food of course!

The theme of Rosa Blanca is that it’s a diner with booths welcoming you as you enter. But when you head towards the back of the restaurant, it’s more of a sit down setting. Jose Garces tried to incorporate a place where you can enjoy some of his favorite Latin dishes in the comfort of a diner or intimate setting.

I went with my friend Caitlin because we always love venturing out and trying new places! To start out, we each got a mojito and split the Guacamole Cubano. Mojitos are a signature drink to Rosa Blanca, so we had to try! They were very good. The Guacamole Cubano was amazing too. It wasn't your typical guacamole and chips. The guacamole was made with smoked pineapple and the chips were plantain chips. This was definitely a nice change up because everything tasted so fresh!

For my entrée, I got the classic Cubano Sandwich which includes: roast pork, smoked ham, swiss cheese, pickles and mustard served with the plantain chips. Caitlin got the Pan Con Bistec which had grilled sirloin, pickled red onions, crispy potatoes and criollo mayonnaise. We were both happy with our selections!

Rosa Blanca is a great place to dine if you’re looking to try something new and fun. I definitely will return to try their breakfast!