A final farewell to Bindi! You'll be missed!

Since it wouldn't do anyone much good to read a full review of Bindi, considering by the time you read this, they will have closed their doors, I just wanted to write a short farewell note. I was fortunate enough to get in to Bindi before they officially closed, and given the caliber of the meal we had, it still baffles me that they couldn't make it work. I feel as though the concept may have been what failed them. Indian food, at least in Philadelphia, isn't nearly as common as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or even Thai meaning that people have relatively limited exposure to it. The idea of creating dishes that are based on Indian staples, with a new twist, can be confusing for diners if they didn't know what the inspiring dish was. I have enjoyed many, many Indian meals in Philadelphia, across the country, and abroad (although not in India) so this concept worked for me. Personally, I don't usually like the concept of food fusion. I think your chances of success are much higher if you pick a type of food and perfect it. Marcie Blaine has made it very clear that she is capable of doing so at Barbuzzo and Lolita, but Bindi was always up against a wall (as are many Indian restaurants). I know many people that will steer clear of Indian food because they fear the strong flavors of the various curries and spices and then to go and turn those dishes on their head as she did, probably didn't help matters. I loved Bindi and am truly sad to see such a unique restaurant leave the Philly scene. I wish people would open up to Indian food, because it has become of my favorite ethnic foods, but until then, we must say goodbye! :-(

If I didn't want to travel to Portugal before, I do now!!!

I've been fortunate enough to do a fair amount of traveling around Europe, and I've hit most of the countries I've wanted to. The rest, I haven't been to because of time/monetary constraints or limited interest. Portugal has always fallen in a gray area somewhere between the two. I always told myself that if I ever visited a nearby country and had the time, I'd check it out. Otherwise, I wouldn't make much effort. While rave reviews after a recent trip to Portugal from friends Kaylyn and Ricky helped change that perspective a little, it was a recent dining experience at Koo Zee Doo, in Northern Liberties, that really piqued my interest.

Koo Zee Doo is a quaint Portugese BYOB, where everything is served family-style, meaning, it's meant to share. On this little adventure, Kay and I were joined by her mother Cheryl and Cheryl's fiance Neil (thanks, again to both of you!!). I was especially excited for this meal because as far as I could recall, I'd never had Portuguese food. Cheryl and Neil had also spent little if any time in NoLibs, so it was an eye-opening evening on many fronts.

After perusing the menu for a bit, we finally settled on the tasting menu, allowing us to enjoy as much of the menu as humanly possible. We left it up to the chef in terms of the selections, except Kay made a special request for Bife à Portuguesa (steak with a fried egg and potatoes). For the first course we were presented with:

• Moelas (braised chicken gizzards with toast points) - Excellent!! The gravy in which these were served was rich and excellent to dip bread in to.
• We were also served two different kinds of turnovers, similar in size and shape to an empanada. One was stuffed with zucchini and mushroom and the other with chorizo and potato. Both were fried perfectly and the insides were nice and creamy.
• Bacalhau Cru (Salt cod sashimi, rabe puree, olives, basil) - Also very good. It was an unexpected dish and I was pleased that the salt cod was not over powered by the other ingredients. It tasted very fresh and balanced the acidic flavors of the rabe puree and olives very well.

The second course was the salads which included:

• Salada de Cores (chopped veggies in red wine corriander vinaigrette) - LOVED this dressing on this and the vegetables not only looked fantastic, but were obviously very fresh. It was a great mix of color.
• Salada de Marisco (Spicy seafood salad, hearts of palm, orange, watercress) - This was very good, although I thought the spices drowned out the natural flavors of some of the seafood. Again, everything tasted extremely fresh. 
• The last salad was not on the menu. It was a mixture of tomatoes, onions, olive oil, herbs (and unfortunately, I can't remember what else). I do remember that it was Kaylyn's favorite salad. 

The third course was the seafood course that included:

• Sardinhas na Brasa (grilled whole sardines): perfectly cooked, but I've never been a very big fan of sardines (or any "fishy" fish). I enjoyed these more than I have sardines of past.
• Camarão com Piri Piri (shrimp in hot sauce): again, perfectly cooked and the Piri Piri wasn't as overpowering in this dish as was the hot sauce in the seafood salad.
• Truta recheada com Bacalhau (Brandade stuffed trout, wrapped in prosciutto, legume salad): this was tied with a later dish as my favorite of the evening. The trout was tender and flaky on the inside, while the prosciutto on the outside provided some crispness.

The fourth course was the meat course that included:

• Bife à Portuguesa (Picanha steak, presunto, fried egg, fried potatoes): As per Kay's request, the was the other dish that tied as my favorite. The steak was perfectly cooked and the combination of the fried egg and potatoes made it rich, but very earthy and a great compliment to the beer we were drinking.
• Grilled Chicken/Spareribs: They do a daily rotational special and the night we were there, it happened to be grilled chicken and spareribs. The grill was just on the otherside of our table on the back patio, so you knew it was fresh. Both the chicken and spare ribs were rather simple, but delicious.

Finally, the dessert course included: .

• Tarte de Côco (Coconut tart with chocolate whipped cream): This was Cheryl and my favorite dessert. It wasn't too sweet but the chocolate cream and coconut made magic together$
• Bolo de Bolacha (coffee soaked wafers, buttercream, fruit compote): this was also very good. similar in concept to tiramisu, but using wafers instead of ladyfingers which made it a bit lighter. 

All in all, the meal was excellent! The atmosphere of the back patio, with high fences and strings of lights overhead only added to the experience.  The waitstaff was incredibly helpful and enthusiastic, which is hard to come by! I'd recommend Koo Zee Doo to anyone, and with that recommendation I would suggest the Tasting Menu, particularly for those who've never had Portuguese food before. 

If this is what Portuguese food is really like, and the people are as pretty as I've been told, I may be making a trip to Portugal sooner than I had planned :-).