Tinto, Philadelphia

To celebrate my dad's and my birthday (yep, it's the birthday season), we went to Tinto, Chef Jose Garces's Basque-style tapas bar.

I only had my cameraphone on me, so only have a couple crappy photos, but the meal was amazing!

Here's the run-down of the small plates we shared:

Chicken liver pate with orange gelee;

Sampler of salados (salty snacks) with olives, spiced almonds, homemade potato chips with smoked paprika cream, figs wrapped with serrano ham, anchovies with melon;

Montadito de panceto -- open-faced bruschetta with pork belly, honey, and apples;

Brocheta de pollo -- skewers of chicken served in individual tall shot glasses with delicious garbanzo puree and truffle jus;

Bocadillo de salmon -- smoked salmon and caviar on a croissant with goat cheese and crispy shallots;

Gambas a la Plantxa -- grilled prawns served with white asparagus flan and morel mushrooms, with a morel brandy foam;

Vieiras con Panceta -- sea scallops with benton's bacon, cider emulsion and apples;

Gatxutxa -- Basque-style paella with chorizo, prawns, and rabbit;

Hongos a la Plantxa -- roasted wild mushrooms, potatoes and shallots.

The mushrooms were my favorite of the evening -- simple, perfectly seasoned and wonderful. The pork belly montadito and the scallop dish were also great. The ones I would pass on next time were the bocadillo de salmon (just not that interesting) and the grilled prawns (foam was weird). Just the right amount of food, and beautiful presentation.

For dessert, we tried a traditional basque cake with cream and black cherries (3 mini cakes), and flourless chocolate cake with caramelized bananas and saffron cream.

Tinto
114 South 20th Street
Philadelphia
215.665.9150