terra Restaurant Blog

Join us for the Philadelphia region’s culinary event. The region’s celebrity chefs will treat you like royalty, with this culinary adventure featuring hor d’oeuvres, a four-course dinner, complete with pairings, prepared tableside, each for their very own table of twelve. The evening concludes with a live auction and over-the-top desserts. Nowhere else can you experience the culinary expertise of your very own private chef creating a menu that goes above and beyond the usual restaurant fare – just for you! The purpose of this event is to raise money and awareness for The American Liver Foundation. It’s a good cause featuring good food, so come feed your body and you soul! The event takes place April 27th, 2010 at 6:00pm and ends at 10:00pm and will be held at the Crystal Tea Room in the Wannamaker building which is located at 100 Penn Square East on the 9th floor. If you are interested, please contact Pam Gleason at 215.425.8080. Hope to see you there!

April 27th, 2010 (6:00 pm – 10:00 pm)

Flavors chefs have included . . .

• Matthew Centifonti, Sr – Crystal Tea Room

• David Boyle – Davio’s

• Jeremy Duclut – georges’

• Tony Cardillo – La Veranda

• Georges Perrier – Le Bec Fin

• Ernie Fortino – Mission Grill

• Marc Plessis – XIX / Nineteen

• Roberta Adamo – Penne Restaurant & Wine Bar

• Steve Regosch – Public House

• Andrew Masciangelo – Savona

• Thomas Kreibel – Sole Food

Tonight’s  season premiere of Chopped, the Ted Allen-hosted culinary show, will have one of our own  among the four competitors: our beloved Chef Eric Paraskevas of terra!

Tonight’s episode promises this:  “Watch out, there is a big surprise in the appetizer basket! The chefs are shaking in their boots when they discover rattlesnake meat must be included in their first course. After finding another very unexpected ingredient in the entrée basket, and making a major mistake, one of the competitors makes an emotional plea at the chopping block. And when two finalists face off for the $10,000 prize, they attempt to make red-hot desserts out of a super spicy ingredient.”

Judges are Geoffrey Zakarian, Alex Guarnaschelli, and Chris Santos. The tune-in is 10 p.m. April 6, with repeats at 1 a.m. April 7 and 8 p.m. April 23.

If that wasn’t enough to keep our little restaurant humming, tonight is the much anticipated Victory Beer dinner! Victory Beer, brewed right here in Pennsylvania, is a favorite for many. terra is putting together a dinner where each course will be paired with a different Victory brew. It will be a delicious way to try new beers, or enjoy old favorites.

Here is the menu for the evening!

First Course - Popcorn Crab Tempura, Preserved Orange Aioli served with the Prima Pils

Second Course - Hop Wallop Poached Pear, Stilton Cheese, Dandelion Greens, Spiced Cashews, Warm Bacon Emulsion served with Hop Wallop

Third Course – Pan Seared Tile Fish, Guanciale and Edamame Ravioli, Lemon Fumet, Helios Ale Powder served with Helios Ale

Fourth Course – Braised Leg Of Rabbit, Apricot and Blood Orange Compote, Sage Gnudi, V Twelve Jus served with V Twelve

Dessert Course – Grilled Banana Nut Bread, Storm King Stout Ice Cream,Candied Bacon, Brown Butter Anglaise

Lucky guests will also get a souvenir VICTORY BEER pint glass and be entered in a raffle to win a super-secret fabulous mystery prize!

We will be serving the beer dinner on April 6th, with multiple seatings up to 9pm!

All this can be yours for $55 plus tax and gratuity!

So stop by terra tonight, there will be plenty of stuff going on!

Our V is for Victory Dinner is coming up on April 6th, and to entice all you beer aficionados out there, here is a little sampling of what you can expect from our delicious selection of Victory Beer that we will pair with each course

The first course will be served with the Prima Pils. Heaps of hops give this pale lager a bracing, herbal bite over layers of soft and smooth malt flavor. This refreshing combination of tastes makes Prima a classy quencher in the tradition of the great pilsners of Europe. Dry and delightful, this is an elegant beer.

The second course will be paired with the Hop Wallop, which, as an annual homage to the hop harvest, you should expect loads of aromatic splendor and bitter beauty.
Helios Ale will prove to be the perfect counterpart to the third course. Helios Ale has an earthy, aromatic hop start and shifts into aspects of lemon peel and black pepper. This is a quenching, invigorating ale, despite its substantial strength.

For the fourth course we needed an amber, aromatic strong ale so of course we went with the V Tweleve. Heady with an aromatic fruity start and taste, this amber ale features hints of pear and apricot in its well-nuanced flavor. The initial impression of fruitiness concludes in a refreshing dryness that begs you to sip again. This beer is 12% alcohol, so be warned that it is intense as well as delicious.

And for dessert, we will have Storm King Stout ice cream, a new way to enjoy the Pacific Northwest hop aroma & massive, roast malt complexity. More flavor than mere words can adequately describe. Rich and substantial, it will warm your heart.

All these beers are offered year round, and will compliment the meal perfectly. Please go to our facebook event page here to make your reservation! And go to the Victory Brewing Company site for more information about each beer.

Did you catch terra at the Red Ball? We had a blast, we love doing events and getting to meet our fans like that.  Which is why we are doing Yelp’s Philly HomeGrown Party!

Here is the skinny, straight from the Yelpers:

Envision yourself in a grand, historical 3-story mansion built and designed by the masterminds behind City Hall and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Wandering through its nooks and parlors to discover Philadelphia’s craftiest, most organic, and creative businesses. Getting to sample fresh food and delicious cocktails, all while getting your cuticles done, your mustache trimmed, your shoes shined, and your hair consulted in the grand Beauty Parlor room.

DJ QiCommand will be skillfully mashing up your favorite songs, and if you feel so inclined, have a game at the ping pong table or try your artistic hand in one of the many interactive workshops.

Mix and mingle with the city’s finest local businesses and move and shake with folks in the know.

This party is free to attend!! Must be 21+

Saturday, March 20, 2010,  8-10pm
CITYSPACE: 2200 Walnut Street

Food: National Mechanics,  Elevation Burger, Fuel, AND terra

Drinks: The Franklin Mortgage and Investment Co, ROOT Liqueur,
Organic Spirits,  Small batch Bourbon,  Honest Tea

Retail Installations and workshops: Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,  Square Peg Artery and Salvage, Magic by Trickzone,
Beauty: Plume,  2 B Groomed Barbering Studio,  Tierra Mia Organic Nail Spa

Donations to benefit: Mill Creek Farm

Note: RSVPs must be made here (http://www.yelp.com/events/philadelphia-yelps-philly-homegrown-party),

Do you remember the show FALCON CREST!

It was terra owner Stephen Carlino‘s favorite weekly drama as a kid! He wanted to be just like Chase Gioberti - hotshot vineyard owner and wine expert!

But, instead he owns terra – which ain’t a bad deal. But he still adores wine and he has come up with a stellar idea to mix his two loves together! The Thursday Night Wine Tasting!

According to our pals at wikipedia, wine is “an alcoholic beverage typically made of fermented grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients. Wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast consumes the sugars found in the grapes and converts them into alcohol. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are used depending on the type of wine being produced.”

Every Thursday night, terra will be offering a WINE tasting menu with some of the world’s greatest vino! 3 courses w/ 3 wines for $40! If you are a wine lover – you can’t beat that!

Suggestions for wines always welcome! What vines would you like harvested?

We can honestly say, this is for all you beer lovers who have begged and pleaded with us to do this dinner! terra is delighted to present our very first, Victory Beer Dinner!

First Course
-Popcorn Crab Tempura, Preserved Orange Aioli served with the Prima Pils

Second Course
-Hop Wallop Poached Pear, Stilton Cheese, Dandelion Greens, Spiced Cashews, Warm Bacon Emulsion served with Hop Wallop

Third Course
-Pan Seared Tile Fish, Guanciale and Edamame Ravioli, Lemon Fumet, Helios Ale Powder served with Helios Ale

Fourth Course
-Braised Leg Of Rabbit, Apricot and Blood Orange Compote, Sage Gnudi, V Twelve Jus served with V Twelve

Dessert Course
-Grilled Banana Nut Bread, Storm King Stout Ice Cream,Candied Bacon, Brown Butter Anglaise

Every guest will also be entered into a raffle for a fantastic super-secret VICTORY BEER prize.  All guests will also get a souvenir pint glass and possibly other cool swag!

We will be serving the beer dinner on April 6th, with seatings beginning at 6pm and running till 9pm!

All this can be yours for $55 plus tax and gratuity!

Make your reservation now! LIMITED SEATING

A few weeks ago, we did a wildly successful Bourbon Dinner. It was so much fun and so well received, we have decided to do another liquor-themed dinner!

So, coming up on February 23rd, is our new and delicious RUM DINNER! Two Seatings: 6 or 9 PM.

If the below menu sounds good, you will want to contact us ASAP to make reservations! We will have limited seatings for our February 23rd seating…

Rum Dinner

Amuse Bushe – Hiramasa Ceviche, Frozen C. Citrus Bubbles, Crispy Fish Chips

First Course – Roasted Pocono Trout, Rainbow Chard, Confit of Peruvian Purple Potatoes, C. Guava Consommé

Second Course – Grilled Duck Hearts, Dirty Beans, C. Mango thyme Gastrique

Third Course – Grilled Sirloin, Rum Roasted Marrow Bones Romanesco Puree, Black Garlic & C. Dark Coulis

Dessert – C. Coconut with vanilla Ice Cream Root Beer Float

Drinks—-
CRUZAN FUSION First Course-
GUAVA COOLER Second Course-
MANGO MOJITO Third Course-
Dessert Drink: St. Croix Peach

$55 gets you all the above, gratuity NOT included…What a steal!

Last night – terra was invaded by some tasty little claws!
Check out our blue crab buddies – boy did they taste mad good!

It’s that time of year, when all of us stare down at our bellies and realize we have let our waistline go. For us, it started before Thanksgiving and ran until New Years. Too many dinner parties, too many tasty dishes, and way to many indulgences – they all add up and before you know it: Bam! Winter Weight!

By New Year’s, we all make our silent pledges and resolutions to hit the gym. We’ve been doing it – and will be doing it more. But we got a little curious and wanted to make sure our menu here at terra was as healthy as we though…So we asked an expert.

Gavin McKay is the owner of Fusion, an awesome boutique gym that is not only our neighbor but one of our stops for fighting the bulge. We asked Gavin (as a fitness and nutritional expert) to check out our menu and let us know what we were doing right!

The Menu: “It’s very possible to have a healthy dinner at terra, a restaurant which seems to be hitting its stride.”

Appetizer: “Choose the Baby Spinach Salad… It is filled with healthy vitamins and nutrients and qualifies for my principle “eat in Technicolor” with greens, blue cheese, orange mango, beige almonds, and red apples.”

Go Green: “What I love most about the menu is the gratuitous use of interesting vegetables and legumes instead of all the same mashed potatoes and broccoli. This is a true garden menu.”

Entrée: “Ironically, the Blithering Idiot Braised Lamb Shank is the smartest entrée on the menu with two veggie sides and a protein. I give the Chef credit for being ballsy by busting out the brussel sprouts.”

Sweets: “For those like me with a sweet tooth and want to end with an interesting terra dessert – that’s cool. But think about sharing so you don’t go overboard.

Thanks Gavin! For more healhty tips from this pro, check his blog out! You can also follow his tweets @FusionPhilly !