Monday Night Meal at Mémé

I know this is much delayed post so forgive me...

My birthday and mother's day fell pretty close to each other this year so what better way to celebrate than by going out to a restaurant that pays homage to my mom's side of the family tree? I give Fred 100% of the credit for picking the restaurant.

Mémé's at 22nd and Spruce is one of many places that I have wandered past many times, but never had occasion to eat at. It's a testament to the strength of the Philly dining scene that I have lived in the same neighborhood for 3 years and have yet to sample every restaurant within walking distance.

The name itself was enough to intrigue me. I have French Canadian roots on my mother's side (you'll have to ask her for all the details) but we affectionately call my grandmother on my mom's side Mémère. (She is incidentally, a great cook.) I was not surprised to learn, therefore, that the restaurant was named after the chef's Morrocan grandmother.

The French influence isn't terribly strong in the food, and the menu would be best described as American. They get my vote for using many local ingredients. They also have an extensive wine list.

The decor was elegant and surprisingly light and airy. Even though they drew a substantial crowd (and on a Monday night no less) the small space never felt cramped.

So on to the food. Like any special occasion (read: expensive) meal it was something of an event. Again my apologies for not writing sooner as my memory is not that great. I remember that you could choose a 3 course prix fixe meal from the menu. I believe it was $35. I don't, however, know how often they do it.

For a non dessert eater like myself, I am often wary of 3 course meals. Especially if I'm actually eating vegetarian, often I will spend less money picking from the menu. I debated for a while until I saw that one of the dessert choices was cheese. End of debate.

First courses: ravioli and scallops

A perfect and light way to start the meal. It tasted like spring.

A not so light appetizer, but an indulgent bite that will not soon be forgotton. It makes you immediately want to try and replicate it at home.

Second Courses: steelhead trout and porkchop

So here was my only gripe about an otherwise stellar restaurant. I inquired about the catch of the day and how it was prepared. The answer was Steelhead Mackeral and grilled. Not being a picky eater, I decided to try it. A little post meal research revealed that Steelhead is actually trout, but my biggest surprise came when the entire fish was presented head and all. It's time like these that I envy vegetarians. I've never seen a piece of tofu stare back at me with its cold, dead eyes. Ok, so my fault for not assuming that grilled meant whole. Again, not a problem. I just put some potatoes and onions over the eye and went about my business. Not having much experience with whole fish I found it hard to avoid every single bone. Especially when you are given almost no light. I'm all for mood lighting but not when there are potential choking hazards involved. Still, I did manage to eat every delicious bite.

According to Fred, his pork chop was divine. Not that I would know of course...

Third Courses: cheese and strawberry napoleon

I'm not sure you can really screw up cheese. Ok I take that back, you can screw it up by not giving me enough of it.

If you're into this sort of thing... You would enjoy it. It managed to be light and decadent at the same time. And of course incredibly fresh tasting.

Bottom Line: Add this to your special occasion repertoire.

Mémé Restaurant
2201 Spruce Street
215-735-4900