Issue:
January
2012

By Marian Betancourt
Photos courtesy of Sofitel Hotels

 

Sofitel Philadelphia
120 South 17th Street
Philadelphia 19103,  USA
215-569-8300
www.sofitel.com

 

Sofitel: The Delicious Coeur of Philadelphia’s French Quarter

Rittenhouse Square in the center of Philadelphia is lined with so many brasseries and bistros, many with outdoor bentwood chairs and round tables, that you may think you are on the Left Bank of Paris. Even in winter, knots of Francophiles can be seen chatting and enjoying an aperitif as evening approaches. Any minute you expect to see F. Scott Fitzgerald or Ernest Hemingway stroll by - both at once perhaps - as a reminder of Paris in the 1920s.

Just off the Square, at 17^th Street between Walnut and Sansom Streets, is the chic Sofitel Hotel, the heart of Philadelphia’s French Quarter. One of 130 French brand luxury hotels around the world, this one has warmed up what was once the Philadelphia Stock Exchange building. Entering the lobby you may hear the lilting cadence of English spoken with a French accent. While many on the staff are local Philadelphians the senior staff, such as manager Vincent Vienne, are French. Vienne has been in the hospitality industry since graduating from college and did a stint at New York’s Sofitel before coming to Philadelphia.

At Chez Colette, the Sofitel’s 1920s style brasserie decorated with travel posters from the South of France and simple banquettes, you will experience the best of the city’s French cuisine. According to Emanuel Perot, the hotel’s Director of Food and Beverage, who hails from Lyon, the French capital of gastronomy, the bread and pastry is baked in-house three or four times a day. The secret to a true French baguette with its crispy outside and slightly chewy interior is an extremely hot oven. At table, along with the fresh baguette your bread basket includes whole grain rolls with raisons or olives and the best croissants this side of the Atlantic (only the French really know how to make these crescent shaped treats). Layers of delicate pastry - delicately handled - are interspersed with many more layers of butter than you want to think about. When the pastry tray is empty, monsieur or mademoiselle will bring you another. Merci beaucoup! (Should you be unable to finish everything, the remainder will be packed up for you to take home.)

The Sofitel’s kitchen is under the direction of Executive Chef Philippe Trosch, who grew up in Biarritz on France’s Bay of Biscay in a family of restaurateurs and wine distributors, and who has worked in some of the great kitchens of the world. His Salade Nicoise, with its hearty blend of vegetables, fish, fresh herbs, and olives dressed in vinaigrette, is the best I’ve ever tasted, including in Nice, where the dish originated. While Julia Child made this salad famous in America, she said it was okay to use good quality canned tuna. However, the secret here is the fresh tuna Chef Trosch uses. The potatoes and French string beans (haricot vert) are tender yet retain a bit of crunch. Each component of the salad is dressed in the tangy vinaigrette before it is assembled on the plate, so every bite you take is surrounded with flavor.

The Sofitel’s lobby bar, La Bourse, which means “finance” in French, an homage to the late stock exchange building, is on the hotel’s street level with large windows looking out on Sansom Street. With creamy silk drapes and pin lighting from the ceiling, it has an understated elegance. Relax at one of the marble tables or the bar with its excellent international wine list, weighted toward French selections. A Jaboulet Parallele 45 Cotes du Rhone, a blend of Grenache and Syrah, was “plumy” with a hint of spice. At $13 a glass or $64 per bottle, it was a good choice. (Parallele 45, by the way, is the geographic line where the South of France begins).

The French art de recevoir is a philosophy known around the world as a symbol of refinement, charm, and know-how. It is carried throughout the Sofitel’s 306 rooms and suites. The room décor is primarily “Moderne,” a French furniture style popularized in the 1920s and 1930s. But don’t think the amenities are from that era. Here you have the most up-to-date functionality in your room. The feather bed with Yves Delorme linens is so plush and comfy it is tempting to oversleep. The large marble baths include separate tub and shower and L’Occitane soaps from Provence. (If you are a fan of soaps made in the south of France, you will find it almost impossible to go back to any other type.) A lovely detail is a vanity table in the dressing area where a woman can comfortably sit to fasten her earrings or a man can knot his tie.

Now for the piece de resistance! Your large plasma television will bring you TV5 Monde, the global French language network operating 24-hours a day. So order up room service for a TV dinner of Salade Nicoise with a fresh baguette (the butter comes in a charming little silver-domed dish), a carafe of the Cotes du Rhone, and tune into TV5 Monde. You will think you are in France, with your own “Moveable Feast.”

Salade Nicoise

Chef Philippe Trosch, Sofitel Philadelphia. Serves 4.

For the Vinaigrette

½ cup lemon juice
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium shallot, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk lemon juice, oil, shallot, thyme, basil, oregano, and mustard in medium bowl; season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside

For the Salad

3/4 pound fresh tuna cooked in its natural juice (see note)*
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
8 Fingerling potatoes
1 tablespoon salt
2 medium heads Boston or butter lettuce; leaves washed, dried, and torn into bite-sized pieces
3 small ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into eighths
1 small red onion and 1 small green pepper sliced very thin
½ pound haricot vert, stem ends trimmed.  (For regular green beans, cut each in half crosswise.)
¼ cup Nicoise olives
Several anchovies (optional)

Bring potatoes and 4 quarts of cold water to boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and cook until potatoes are just tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to a medium bowl. (Do not discard boiling water). Toss warm potatoes with ¼ cup of the vinaigrette and set aside. (Depending on size, potatoes can be sliced if desired.)

While potatoes are cooking, toss lettuce with ¼ cup vinaigrette in a large bowl until coated. Arrange bed of lettuce on a serving platter. Mound a portion of tuna in the center of the lettuce. Toss tomatoes, red onion, 3 tablespoons vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste in bowl; arrange tomato, onion and green pepper on the lettuce bed. Arrange reserved potatoes in a mound at edge of lettuce bed.

Return potato water to boil; add 1 tablespoon salt and green beans. Cook until just tender, 5 minutes. Drain beans, transfer to reserved ice water, and let stand until just cool, about 30 seconds. Remove beans from the ice bath and dry well on a towel. Toss beans with 3 tablespoons vinaigrette and salt and pepper to taste. Arrange in a mound at edge of lettuce bed.

Arrange hard boiled eggs, olives, and anchovies in mounds on the lettuce bed. Drizzle eggs with remaining 2 tablespoons dressing and serve immediately with some fresh baked French bread and butter.

(* Fresh tuna is usually prepared en papillote; wrapped in parchment on a bed or herbs and steamed in its own juice in a hot oven for about 15 minutes.  Or, you can grill the tuna.)

 

 

 

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