Winning in the Kitchen... One Recipe at a Time

Restaurants From A to Z... In Review

2009-12-31T23:21:00.006-05:00

Eating out in Philadelphia once or twice a week has never been easier. With restaurants on just about every block, you can't help but to be a bit adventurous from time to time. The challenge, however, is to broaden your horizons and go beyond the "tried and true" favorites where you know your chances of getting a good meal are pretty high and going into an unknown atmosphere.

For me, those are often the best meals, the ones where you have that moment of surprise when you try something new or something better or something just done differently than you have ever seen it before. And essentially, that was part of the point of this year's challenge, to get out there and see what the Philadelphia restaurant scene has to offer. In addition, it challenged me to go off the beaten path and explore places I had never heard of or seen before and probably would never have otherwise discovered. While I don't believe I reviewed a meal outside of the city limits (despite putting a number of suburban outposts up for vote), at least half of the places we ended up going are not trendy or well known or even convenient to get to. But part of the fun was discovering new neighborhoods and walking into a strange space without any expectations. We dove deep into south Philly, headed out to the Northeast and Mount Airy, and circled back and forth to Queen's Village, Northern Liberties, and Rittenhouse Square a number of times.

So how did we do foodwise? A mixed bag. Actually, all in all, there were probably more misses than hits, and two of the best meals I had all year weren't even in the review rotation (Dinosaur BBQ in the Bronx and Bolete in Bethlehem). But there were several standouts that I remember well -- the cheesesteak at John's Roast Pork, the gnocchi at Cucina Forte, and even the most recent lava rock shrimp at Zocalo. These are the types of dishes that always encourage me to walk into new surroundings and give new places a try. There is nothing wrong with the old reliable, but there is something fun and exciting about trying something different.

A lot of restaurant reviewers will rate a restaurant with letter grades or stars or bells, but in my mind, the question is always, "Would I go back there again?" So with that in mind, here in my year in review:

So Long To

Azul Cantina -- Surprisingly, the only place on our list to shutter its doors was the first visit. Azul Cantina closed less than a month after we visited and has since reopened as VargaBar.

Have Been Back To

Hymie's -- Old World Jewish deli the way it was meant to me. Huge sandwiches, great matzo ball soup, and just enough yentas to make you laugh as they kvech at the wait staff.
John's Roast Pork -- If I had to pick a favorite from among the 26 places on the yearly jaunt, this would be it. It is the kind of place that makes Philadelphia great. The best cheesesteak I have ever had -- the sesame seed roll, the perfectly melted cheese, the perfectly seasoned steak. I makes me hungry just thinking about it. Part of me wishes John's had more accessible hours, but part of me also likes that you have to make an effort to get there for weekday lunch. I can't say enough good things about this tiny South Philly shack.
Oyster House -- I went back with an ex (ex co-worker, that is) and was pretty disappointed. The oysters are exceptional, but my meal was bad. I'd still go back but probably only for the Happy Hour bivalves.

Will Go Back To

Cucina Forte -- The gnocchi was divine, just melt in your mouth good.
Meme -- If nothing else, I need to try the Thursday lunch fried chicken.
Vetri -- It's just very pricey, but it's worth the splurge for a very special occasion.

Might Go Back To

Geechee Girl Rice Cafe -- The wife didn't like it, but I did.
Kanella -- If only because our waiter was the best one we had all year.
Noble American Kitchen -- Beautiful space, ghastly prices, good food.
Parc -- I suspect someone will drag me back one of these days, though I personally was not impressed.
Memphis Taproom -- Worst meal I had all year, but too many friends have raved about this place so I'd be willing to give it another shot.
Restaurant School at Walnut Hill School -- You get your money's worth, but I'd only go later in the semester when the student workers have a little more experience under their belt.
Sweet Lucy's -- Good food, just too far of a drive.
Uzu Sushi -- I liked everything about Uzu, but it's a crowded field for sushi in the city right now.
Wine Thief -- It's just a hike from Center City and not really exceptional enough to justify a trip out to Mount Airy. I liked Geechee Girl better.
Zocalo -- Very good Mexican, but very iffy location.

Never Go Back To

Branzino -- You can do far better near Rittenhouse.
Divan's Turkish Kitchen -- One of the nicest interiors I saw all year, but inferior food.
Erawan -- Not a good vibe.
Fuji Mountain -- See Uzu Sushi.
Imperial Inn -- Not a big fan of their cleanliness.
Le Virtu -- I liked this more than some others, but it's not special enough to stand out among more convenient Italian BYOs.
10 Arts -- Biggest disappointment of the year.
Kong -- Blech.
Novito Bistro -- They just weren't very nice people.

So what comes next? I have some ideas, though I'll probably take a break for a few weeks. Writing thousands of words for public consumption over the last year has taken its toll -- it became more and more difficult to become motivated to write comprehensive reviews these last few months. Certainly, though, we'll do something a little bit different that will hopefully be enjoyable to write and to read. I guess we'll see.

"Z" is for Zocalo

2009-12-31T14:05:00.005-05:00

It's an unsettling feeling when you walk into a restaurant, especially a large restaurant, and you see that you are the only customers. For me at least, alarm bells instantly go off. "Run, run! There must be a reason no one is here, namely, the food sucks!" More than a few times during our yearly journey, this has unexpectedly taken place. And across the board, my instincts were proven right time after time. It would be great to think that you would get special attention being the only patrons at a place, but often, you are a nuisance that they just want to get out of there.

All this said, a bit of gratitude to the couple who walked into Zocalo a few minutes after us, saving us from this horror. While it's probably ridiculously to say that our food would have been any better or worse if they hadn't arrived, I'll give them some credit nonetheless.

Zocalo is oddly situated right in between the Drexel and Penn campuses, but it's a bit pricey for the college audience. It's a huge place that can probably seat at least 200, but on the cold, windy night we went, it was barren. Strangely, we were seated as far away from the front of the restaurant as possible, though I do have to give props for the fact that our grumpy hostess/waitress sat me on top of a heat grate. The wife and I both needed to warm up after the short walk from the car.

Unlike some of our recent duds, Zocalo was true to its theme, with Mexican decor, Mexican music, and (gasp!) an actual menu full of Mexican food. Now, this wasn't typical dumbed-down Mexican -- although they did have enchilidas. For the most part, it was more creative combinations of ingredients presented with flair. There was a lot on the menu that looked interesting, and it's always nice when I can pick between 3 or 4 entrees confident that I'll enjoy any of them.

I knew we would start off with the guacamole -- the wife just can't resist -- but even this wasn't your typical chips and dips. The guacamole and salsa were presented together on one platter and were meant to be combined with each scoop. I generally prefer a chunkier guacamole, but this was very good.

The entrees were even better.

I got shrimp with a spicy tomato sauce and charred peppers. Doesn't sound all that exciting, but it was served in a scalding hot (and I do mean scalding hot) lava rock bowl. Not only did the bowl serve as a hand warmer, but it ensured that each taste was fiery, which I love. Nothing worse than lukewarm food. It was a bit of a challenge to eat everything because I had to be very careful not to touch the lava bowl and burn myself. I had to reach around the bowl to take a taste of the rice and refried beans, which were served on a different plate but also much worth the effort. At first glance, the shrimp seemed kind of scrawny, but they were actually the perfect amount of food when combined with the tomatoes, onions, and peppers. It was an excellent dish.

The wife's entree was similarly good. I have had a fair amount of strip steaks in the last few years, but this was one of the best ones I have ever had. Incredibly tender and flavorful without a whole lot of fat. Really, really good.

Overall, an excellent end to the year.

On to the full review...

THE FOOD: What was so nice about Zocalo's menu was that there was a great amount of variety that catered to many different tastes, likes, and dislikes, but they didn't take shortcuts and just sticks tacos or burritos on the menu. That would have easy, but it would have made Zocalo just like so many other middling Mexican restaurants.

THE DRINK: I had a very tart Mexican margarita (although I was warned of this by our waitress when I ordered it). It wasn't awful, but it wasn't good. They had some interesting cocktails on the menu so I would definitely go in a different direction next time.

THE STAFF: Our waitress was grouchy. I was in a good mood and tried to lighten her up with some humor, but she would crack a chuckle or two and then go bad to being Mrs. Grumpy. Oh well.

MAD PROPS FOR: Our "friends" at the table across the room. We didn't share a word with them, but I appreciated the fact that someone else was there.

OVERALL: This was right up there with Xochitl for the best high-end Mexican I've had in the city (though just a shade below). Unfortunately , it's in a weird location that we can't walk to and isn't near anything else in West Philly so you really need to go pretty much for the food alone (though I guess the campuses aren't too far to walk on a nicer day)

THE CHECK: $80 for the two of us. Zocalo is probably a tad bit overpriced compared to other restaurants in its genre, but it's worth it.

And that's it! Twenty-six restaurants in 365 days! Phew!

I'll put together a "Year in Review" piece within the next day or two recapping everything we've been through, but it's nice to have completed this by the end of 2009 as planned. One more item to cross off of my to-do list.

B"Y"OB is for Ava's -- Errrr, I Mean Novita Bistro

2009-12-24T13:23:00.003-05:00

Inevitably, it was going to happen. Restaurants come and go, especially in this economy. When this blog started, the first restaurant on the list -- Azul Cantina -- went bye bye within a month. And now, near the tail end of our journey, we were stymied by Ava's Cafe, whose closing was announced in the Dec. 17 Philadelphia Inquirer. But no worries, loyal reader -- put down your egg nog because this only required a minor audible to visit the runner-up for our latest vote, Novita Bistro.

Novita Bistro reminded me of a Seinfeld episode. It's the episode where Jerry walks into the restaurant across the street from his apartment owned by Pakistani-born Babu. Jerry looks through the menu quizzically, wondering why there are franks and beans, along with other traditional American items, on the menu instead of Pakistani dishes. It just didn't make a lot of sense. While it wasn't quite to that extreme, there were several things about Novita Bistro that make you stop and say, "Babu? Is that you?" For anyone who has been reading along these last few months, this unfortunately is not a unique issue for supposedly "ethnic" Philadelphia restaurants.

On its website, Novita Bistro bills itself as a Lebanese outpost. There are some very good Middle Eastern restaurants that remain true to their roots -- Figs in our neighborhood is an outstanding example -- that have managed to figure out how to tweak traditional dishes to be more palatable to a wider audience while remaining true to their unique roots. But ravioli? Gnocchi? Scallops with mushroom sauce? No. Nein. Nyet. All three of these were options on the menu at Novita Bistro.

Unfortunately for the wife, she had not done her homework and ended up with some of the lesser items on the menu -- the sickly looking scallops and the gnocchi that certainly did not appear to be homemade. I stuck with something that was more along the traditional Lebanese lines -- lamb tagine with cous cous -- and was rewarded with an excellent dish. The lamb was cooked and seasoned perfectly, it was properly presented in a tagine cylinder (I don't know what it's actually called but it is specific to tagine), and the cous cous was decent and plentiful. Unfortunately, that was the lone highlight of the meal.

The ambiance was similarly confusing. Novita Bistro is located in an attractive space and smartly decorated with a open kitchen in the back. But a music mix one part Middle Eastern and the second part Sinatra? Just bizarre. I'll give them a little leeway since we were the only patrons in the restaurant, which as always was a little off putting, but it was still a strange choice.

Novita Bistro has a lot of potential to serve as a neighborhood hotspot (it's near Graduate Hospital) catering to an up-and-coming yuppie crowd. Supposedly, according to a customer who came in to pick up a takeout order, it usually is crowded and is doing well. The weather and the date of our visit (Christmas Eve Eve, a few days after the big snow) probably meant it was a slow night for a lot of restaurants, but I couldn't help wondering if Novita Bistro would be going the way of Ava's unless they get their act together and figure out that people don't go to a Middle Eastern restaurant for Italian food.

On to the full review...

THE FOOD: "All of our desserts are homemade," our waiter told us as he listed the evening's options (tiramisu? creme brulee? Ugh). There was not a single ethnic item on the list -- would a baklava or something similar have killed them? -- so we got the lemon tart. I don't know what "home" it was made in, but there was nothing fresh or particularly interesting about it. Not a good capper to the meal.

THE DRINK: It's a BYOB. Nice wine glasses.

THE STAFF: As much as I hate being the only table in the restaurant, it is nice just to be able to shout out your order. Our waiter, though, wasn't very simpathetic when we expressed our displeasure with the food. More of a, "Sucks for you" attitude.

MAD PROPS FOR: The location of Novita Bistro is great. It's not an area well known for its restaurants, but there is a huge potential clientele. If I were to open a neighborhood-focused restaurant, this would be a prime location.

OVERALL: Another disappointing overall meal, although my entree was quite good. Nothing else, however, from the plain old white bread with olive oil, the wife's dishes, and the desserts, were above average.

THE CHECK: $65, with tip.

At long last, 25 meals later, we have reached the final entry for the year (and just in time too as the calendar reminds me).

Ineligible restaurants for round 26...

Zahav -- I know that a lot people love this Old City Israeli restaurant (I also know some people who don't). I'm pretty much stuck in the middle.
Zakes Cafe -- You could do worse for suburban Sunday brunch.
Zorba's -- I probably should go again since it's so close, but there just is something about Fairmount's Greek restaurant that turns me off.

Candidates for round 26 (a surprisingly robust number of "Z" restaurants to choose from, so we're back to our usual setup):

Zavino -- Talk about a last-minute option. Set to open Dec. 30, it's going to be a small pizza shop with a few antipasto dishes. http://www.zavino.com/
Zento -- I'm amazed at the number of small sushi joints there are downtown. Here's another one. http://www.zentocontemporary.com/
Zinc -- Still looking for our first high-end French choice of the year. http://www.zincbarphilly.com/
Zocalo -- Authentic upscale Mexican in West Philadelphia. http://www.zocalophilly.com/

"X" (sort of) is for Kong

2009-12-13T17:13:00.003-05:00

Of all of Philadelphia's neighborhoods, Northern Liberties might be my favorite for food (Queen's Village is either a little ahead or below, depending on what has opened and closed). Not only does Northern Liberties have a diverse mixture of cuisines, with Italian, Spanish, Southern, and many others, but you also generally don't have to spend a ton of money to eat there. In other words, you get what you pay for.

And in that spirit, I guess Kong is OK. It is relatively reasonably priced, but it really doesn't give you a lot back for the buck. It's not quite traditional Hong Kong street food, and it's not quite "dumbed down" Asian food for an American audience, which leaves it kind of floating between in never-never land. I get the sense that the owners sat down with the chef (or maybe they are the same people -- I really don't know) and the conversation went like this.

"We should try to recreate the fried cow's brain in spicy chili sauce I had last summer in Hong Kong."
"How about instead, we make pan-seared beef tenderloin in a mild peanut sauce?"
"I guess we can compromise. We'll go with grilled hangar steak in a spicy peanut sauce."

As in the NFL, restaurants rarely work when they don't have a good game plan. You either win by focusing everything you have on one thing or you lose by dabbling in a little bit of everything. Kong just doesn't know what it wants to be, which is too bad because there is a lot of potential here. The space is very inviting and it is just far enough south that it gets a little bit away from the Northern Liberty bar scene. It could be very cool and very hip and really fill a niche that I think could be really popular. If Tiffin could do it for Indian food, why couldn't Kong for Hong Kongian (or whatever the right adjective would be) food?

I'm convinced that Asian cuisines are going to be huge in the next decade in the U.S., both due to the continuing international influence of the Far East and the growing availability of some of the more exotic ingredients common in Asian cooking. It's as if the owners of Kong understand this, but don't quite get how to execute it. I am told that one of the co-owners (who also own Bistro 7, which is such a different restaurant that it is amazing) is Asian and Kong is an ode to her heritage. I just wish it had been more authentic.

Our meal got off to a lousy start. I asked our waitress, who was wearing a hideous, hideous outfit that looked like someone threw up on it, to tell me about one of the beers on their drink list. She replied, "It's good. People seem to like it." Wow, talk about insight! Needless to say, I steered away from asking her too many other questions about the menu since it didn't seem like she would be much help.

It wasn't that the food was bad -- it was just kind of boring. Tricked-up fried rice with egg and crabmeat. Unevenly cooked spicy beef in a grilled pita with various condiments (the condiments were the best part of the meal). A fried banana rolled in sugar with a chocolate dipping sauce. I mean, nothing was that bad, but nothing was that good either. A month from now, I won't remember a thing about this meal. Which is never a good sign.

On to the full review...

THE FOOD: My main entree was my biggest disappointment. I am a big fan of food that requires you to construct it to your personal taste. If the pita had been separated from the beef, the beef from the sauce, etc., it may have been much better. Unfortunately, it was kind of goopy the longer everything sat together. The first pita was pretty good, but the second was not great. It didn't help that the pita was cold. The dessert was a big failure. It was just a really lazy presentation and not very tasty. At least the banana wasn't rotten.

THE DRINK: My beer was fine and relatively cheap. Kong had some drinks that sounded interesting. The bar was packed while the restaurant was pretty empty. That should tell you something.

THE STAFF: Our waitress defined frumpy indifference.

MAD PROPS FOR: I know it's pretty juvenile, but I like when you go to Kong's website and it screams at you, "KONG!" "KONG!"

OVERALL: I can't see Kong lasting very long in a very competitive neighborhood. There are a lot of excellent restaurants in Northern Liberties -- Il Cantuccio, Honey's, Standard Tap, Bar Ferninand -- that are in Kong's price range but offer far better quality food. You need to be very good to succeed there and Kong just isn't there yet.

THE CHECK: $50 for the two of us. That was the saving grace (get, it "saving" grace. Ha, ha, I kill me).

Before moving ahead, I do have to mention a fantastic meal I had Saturday night at Bolete in Bethlehem, PA. Talk about a restaurant that knows exactly what it is and how to execute its concept. One of the best meals I have had in a long, long time. It is worthy of all of the published kudos it has received. I highly recommend it if you ever in the neighborhood. Shout out to Rone-Rone for arranging the visit.

On to the Ys...

Ineligible restaurants for round 25:

Yardley Inn -- Very country-clubbish haunt in the suburbs. Lots of dark wood paneling. High-end food.
Yum Yum Chinese Restaurant -- OK, I have never actually been here, but judging by the neighborhood it is in and exterior of the restaurant, my guess is that it is "Yuck yuck."

I really thought there would be enough "Y" restaurants to choose from, but the choices are pretty sparse. So we'll go with a different theme for this round, presenting four BYOBs to choose from:

Ava -- Seasonal Italian restaurant named for the owner's daughter (good thing they didn't name her Dumbass). http://www.avarestaurant.com/
Cafe Apamate -- Venezuelan tapas a la Jose Garces (with different owners). http://www.cafeapamate.com/
Novita Bistro -- I've been on a Middle Eastern kick recently thanks to Nanee's Kitchen in the Reading Terminal. This is a little more upscale Lebanese. http://www.novitabistro.com
Ristorante Pesto -- What's a list of BYOB's without a South Philly classic? http://www.ristorantepesto.com/pesto/home.asp

"W" is for Wine Thief Bistro

2009-11-26T12:53:00.006-05:00

As someone who has been proudly taking Lipitor since I hit the ripe old age of 30, my cardiologist probably wouldn't be very happy that I loves me some fried chicken. That's if I had a cardiologist (I don't... yet). And that's if I cared (which I wouldn't -- doctors don't have all the answers).

There is a little part of me -- we'll call him the Colonel -- who does a double take every time I walk past the Crown's Fried Chicken next to the entrance of the Reading Terminal. "Does that fried chicken smell good? We should get some," the Colonel will plead. Fortunately, he is overruled by the sensible part of me which sees the disgusting interior, can hear the grease dripping onto the floor, and see the pile of ooze-filled napkins on the table. "I think we'll pass, Colonel, but maybe next time."

Now, there are times when the Colonel gets his way -- not at Crown's mind you, but at reputable restaurants that feature crisp, tender fried chicken. So when my cousin Josh listed fried chicken first on his list of recommendations at the Wine Thief Bistro (he's close friends with the head chef), I stopped paying attention. I knew what I was going to get. The Colonel would be fed.

And it was... good, but in a different way. Kind of like most of the things we tried at the Wine Thief. There weren't a lot of subtleties to their food. Everything that was tricked up, be it with celery seed, ginger, or bacon, was very clearly tricked up. Some times that worked, some times it didn't. On the fried chicken for instance, the crispness on the skin wasn't crackling as much I usually like it to, but it was still very tasty and had a definite hint of celery seed (or at least something similar). I bit into the first piece, and said, "Huh, this is different, but I think I like it"). Fortunately, that feeling held up throughout the meal and the Colonel left very happy.

Unfortunately, that same feeling didn't carry through to everything. The most notable example was the wife's jicama salad, which had a very, very strong ginger-like flavor. On the first bite, we both said, "Huh, this is different, but I'm not sure if I like it." By the third and fourth bites, we realized we didn't and shoved it aside. It would have worked as a very small garnish, but as a full side dish? Not so much. Same goes for the mound of collard greens that came along with my fried chicken. One bite, and then two, and then three, were good. But it was way too much of a middling vegetable that is often an acquired taste.

Now, for those few misses, there was a good deal to like about the Wine Bistro. It's on a very quirky strip in Mount Airy -- a row of restaurants just appears on Germantown Pike out of nowhere. I wasn't crazy about the interior, but I did like the cutesy quotations that were written on many of the walls. It was a unique touch.

The menu isn't fancy, which is fine. They have a lot of what I would call comfort food -- fried chicken, meatloaf, hangar steak -- with an upscale twist. We shared a tuna tartare tempura appetizer that was good, but definitely unusual. I thought the tuna would have more of a sushi-like raw texture to it, but it seemed like it was almost lightly seared. You know what I got for my entree. The collard greens on the side were too much, but the cornbread stuffing was solid. The wife wasn't nearly as pleased with her hangar steak. She doesn't like fatty cuts of meat that she has to work around, and anytime I get the "Is this cooked through enough for medium?" look, I really should tell her to send it back because it means that she doesn't think so. My bad.

On to the full review...

THE FOOD: I knew that this meal would live and die, for me, with the fried chicken. And as I said, it was good, but not so much better than some local favorites (Jones, Bridget's) that I'd be willing to drive 30 minutes to Mount Airy for it. But yes, were I in the neighborhood, I would get it again.

THE DRINK: Wine Thief has a sensibly priced list mostly by the glass. I ordered a pretty bad California chardonnay. The wife encouraged me to send it back, but it wasn't as if our waitress recommended it. I just dove in blindly and suffered the consequences.

THE STAFF: Very young, but very friendly. I assume these were mostly neighborhood folks at the tables.

MAD PROPS FOR: The neighborhood feel. Mount Airy certainly is a very livable area, and the Wine Thief is the kind of place I could see going to frequently if I lived nearby. It does have a very comfortable vibe to it. Kind of like it's menu.

OVERALL: A solid meal, and I'm glad the Colonel got his fix in. I try not to indulge too often, especially when the results may be unpredictable, but Wine Thief worked out just fine.

THE CHECK: $70, with tip. We skipped dessert.

On to the Xs...

Ineligible restaurant for round 24:

Xochitl -- Philadelphia's best Mexican restaurant. Margaritas and guacamole at Happy Hour are always a solid choice.

Obviously, as we near the end of the alphabet, there are not going to be a lot of letter-specific choices so I'll present options in a few different categories. For this round, we'll look at restaurants that have opened in the last year since we passed specific letters of the alphabet. Candidates for round 24:

Bibou -- Once a staple of high-end food in Philly (think Le Bec Fin), fancy French food has nearly disappeared in the city. Bibou is bringing it back. http://www.biboubyob.com/
Fish -- The owners of my favorite restaurant in the city -- Little Fish -- opened an outpost off of Rittenhouse that I have been waiting to try. http://www.fishphilly.com/
Kong -- Northern Liberties' latest new restaurant goes Korean. http://www.eatatkong.com/
Percy Street Barbecue -- From the owners of Zahav, another attempt to bring barbecue into the city. Brand spanking new. http://percystreet.com/

"V" is for Vetri

2009-11-22T19:18:00.007-05:00

I won't lie -- this is the meal I had been waiting for since the start of our yearly culinary journey. For various reasons, plans we had to go to Vetri -- once in 2007 and again in 2008 -- had ended in cancelled reservations. Again this year, after I got the date of our reservation confused, doom was looming. Fortunately, thanks to a flurry of cancellations, first from ex-coworkers I supposed to get together with and then from an unlucky party who found they too couldn't make it to Vetri when they initially thought they would, the restaurant was able to squeeze us (as I always assure the wife, it all works out in the end) at 6:45 p.m.

As the witching hour neared, I was very excited. Almost as excited as I get on Sunday afternoons in the fall at approximately 1 p.m. Almost as excited as I get when I hear that Bryan Adams is coming around in concert. Almost as excited as I get when I hear the words, "open bar." You get the idea. I had eaten very little all day to prepare my appetite. I had looked up the address (Vetri is surprisingly restrained from the outside with only a small sign outside what looks like a regular brownstone). I had my wardrobe all picked out. I was expecting big, big things from a culinary heavyweight in our city. I was ready.

Three hours later, I was stuffed. That's what 8 courses (or so) of food with 7 changes of silverware, 4 glasses of robust red wine, and a pair of pants about 1 size too tight do to me.

Many, many weeks before the wife and I stepped foot in Vetri, I knew we were going to get the Grand Tasting menu. It was one of those, "if you are going to go big, go all in" theories. And I will admit, I felt a surge of power when our waiter came over and asked, "Do you need me to explain anything on the menu?" and I responded, "Not tonight, chief. We're putting ourselves at your chef's mercy."

I was envisioning seared fois gras, wacky foam emulsions, caviar, truffles, sea cucumber, cockles, you name it. The weirder the better. And from that standpoint, I'd have to say I was a bit disappointed. There was nothing too terribly exotic that was placed in front of us, nothing that I hadn't seen or tried before it some form or another. Obviously, the combinations and presentation of dishes was unique, but I was hoping for lots of new culinary experiences and didn't get them. A minor complaint, for sure, but worth noting.

Ordering a tasting menu is an interesting concept. You truly have little power over what is placed in front of you. The wife gave our waiter a short list of her personal "don'ts" -- lamb, raw quails egg, anchovies -- but we otherwise were completely blind as to what would be served. It's actually pretty exciting as you sit there and wait to see what you will be served next.

Interestingly, for most of the courses, each party gets a different dish. I'd say of the 12 of so items put in front of us, 6 were individualized, which meant more to taste, which was great.

I don't pretend to remember everything we ate (alas, my photographic memory has failed me yet again), but here were some of the highlights:

Lardo draped beignet (sort of a sugar donut with a thin shaving of fat on top of it). Sounds weird but you don't really taste the lardo.
Cauliflower flan with a raw quail's egg. Delicious.
Sweet onion tart. Very rich and powerful.
Baby scallops with minced carrots and pineapple. Incredibly delicate and sweet.
Spinach gnocchi in brown butter sauce. The sauce was a bit too rich, especially since it came in my next dish as well, but the gnocchi was incredibly silky and delicious.
Rabbit tortellini. Cool presentation.
Roasted skate with wild mushrooms. The mushrooms were particularly exceptional.

There were a few misses as well -- I could have done without the almond tortellini and the local veal served on a hot stone over a bed of rosemary was very dull. Our waitress kindly gave us an extra "entree" to try after seeing how unenthused we were about the veal, which was definitely appreciated.

Overall, though, it was hard to complain. A great meal in a great restaurant with great company. Are there things I would have changed about the evening? Sure (but that's how I am). Our table was so close to our neighbors that it was hard to have a private conversation. Some of the portions were a little too heavy (specifically, the wife got a massive portion of fettucine with wild boar ragu that was way, way too much for this sort of menu). The whole change of silverware for each course was a little much. Overall, though, while Vetri perhaps didn't quite meet the "best meal of my life" standards, it definitely didn't stray too far off the mark.

On to the full review...

THE FOOD: When you know you are going to have a huge meal, you have to mentally and physically prepare for it. Yes, the portions are usually going to be on the smallish size, but it wasn't as if these were single bite plates. The wife and I managed to finish everything, but I'm definitely glad they didn't have a scale we needed to step on on the way out.

THE DRINK: A lavish, expensive wine list. I expected no less.

THE STAFF: No complaints. The wife asked the sommelier lots of questions about the wine list, which he patiently answered. And our waitress did hook us up with an extra dish.

MAD PROPS FOR: The self-important douche sitting next to us trying to impress his bimbo date. As I said, the tables were very close together. I enjoy listening to idiots trying to talk to one another.

OVERALL: You know, this is a tough one. It was a great meal with lots of memorable dishes, but a small part can't help but be a little bit disappointed that we didn't get lots of lots of "Oh my God, this is amazing" dishes. The scallops, the spinach gnocchi, and the cauliflower flan were all stellar, and lots of other stuff was very yummy, but it wasn't as if we got anything really unexpectedly interesting. I guess I'm just too tough to please.

THE CHECK: If you need to ask, you can't afford it. Seriously, though, this is a once a year (2 years, 5 years) kind of thing.

On to the Ws...

With a little more than a month left in 2009, we'll have to pick up the pace a little bit down the stretch, but four restaurants in a little more than a month should not be too much of a challenge. It'll just take some good plannin and lots of writing. We'll git er done.

Ineligible restaurants for round 23...

Warmdaddy's -- Back when I was in college, this was a cool jazz joint over near Old City. Now that it moved into a strip mall on Columbus Boulevard, it's not even close to being the same.
White Dog Cafe -- I admire the dedication that the old owner, Judy Wicks, had to the city, but I was far from wowed the one time I went.
William Penn Inn -- My first meal after becoming a man. Get your mind out of the gutter. It's where I had my Bar Mitzvah celebration. Sicko.
Winnie's Le Bus -- A solid alternative to Honey's for Sunday brunch. Consistently good food, relatively short wait, and kid friendly.
World's Cafe Live -- The best venue in the city to see a concert. The food is passable.

Candidates for round 23:

Water Works Restaurant -- There was a huge PR surge when this restaurant down by the Art Museum opened up, but I frankly don't know anyone who has gone. I do read that Donovan McNabb is there a lot so I'll be sure to where my jersey. http://www.thewaterworksrestaurant.com/main.cfm
Warsaw Cafe -- Pierogies, borscht, and vodka near Rittenhouse Square. http://www.warsawcafe.thekalon.com/
Wine Thief Bistro -- My cousin friend is the chef at this interesting concept out near Chestnut Hill. http://www.winethiefbistro.com/
The Witch -- Trick or treat. New age bistro in South Philly. http://www.thewitchbistro.com/

U is for Uzu Sushi

2009-11-10T20:34:00.006-05:00

In a city of culinary behemoths (Stephen Starr, Jose Garces, etc.), it's sometimes nice to step back and recognize that the little guy still has a place in Philadelphia, tenuous as it may sometimes seem to be. These are people whose livelihood depends on their day to day flow of customers, the ones who stare at the door for hours and hours, hoping and praying for another customer to walk in the door. They try everything they can -- lowering prices, tweaking the menus, greeting customers with a free morsel of food or two -- just so they can stay alive for another week.

On average, I would guess that one restaurant in Philadelphia closes every day. Some close for good reasons -- the food is bad, the place is dirty, the menu is poorly thought out, the location sucks. Others just find that, though they do everything right, they simply can't compete with the big boys and it becomes financially unwise to stay open.

Which brings me to Uzu Sushi on the fridge of Old City, a very small sushi place that has been around for a few year but changed hands what looks like (in online reviews, at least) about a year ago. The new owner is the kind of guy you just have to root for -- he speaks in halting English and obviously only understands some of what you are asking him, but he is constantly checking in on you (which can be a little eerie, to be honest), and laughing when he thinks you are making a joke.

Uzu is perhaps the smallest restaurant I have ever been in, with a capacity of about 15 people. Maybe. We went on a Monday night, figuring that the crowd would probably be sparse. We were right. There was one person at the bar, but I got the sense that he either worked there or was related to the owner. Maybe it was because no one ever checked on him the whole time. So basically, we were the only customers there the whole time. Frankly, since it was such a random night, I was not surprised.

Uzu is sort of a romantic spot -- dimly lit, with "Enya lite" music in the background. But since you have to sit so close to the other tables, were there other customers, it would have been hard to have much privacy. I guess we lucked out there.

For such a small sushi joint, Uzu has a surprisingly large menu that compares to most other high-end places in town. As with lots of other sushi places, they give you a printout of all of the possible pieces of fish and roll combinations you can choose from, and you just mark off what you want and hand it back. If nothing else, it prevents confusion. You can also order combination platters, essentially choosing a number of pieces of basic sushi and/or sashimi with some more common rolls (ie, salmon/yellowtail). I certainly was impressed with the selection, although a bit wary. Since they obviously don't have a lot of turnover of customers and therefore product, I wondered how fresh their fish would be. Thankfully, it was an unfounded concern.

On to the full review...

THE FOOD: Admittedly, the pieces of sushi were not as large as I've gotten as other places. And being the only customers, you would think that, especially with two people preparing the sushi behind the counter, we would have been served quickly, but it did take them a while to get everything together for us. Still, I had few complaints about the taste and quality. We ordered quite a bit of sushi and sashimi and, with the exception of the octopus which was a bit chewier than usual, everything was excellent. My latest sushi quirk, sea urchin, which tastes sort of like fish custard (I know it sounds disgusting) was very, very creamy and very, very good.

THE DRINK: Uzu is a BYOB, which of course is great. We did have to pour our own wine (at least he opened it for us), but it wasn't a huge deal.

THE STAFF: As I said, the owner is just one of those people you have to root for. He isn't the greatest at service -- I often had to point out to him that I needed more water, and he kept waiting and waiting to give us the check when we were finished (I finally had to ask him). But he was very kind to us in general and had a good nature to him.

MAD PROPS FOR: When we finished our initial mound of sushi, which was preceded by a bowl of OK edamame, the owner made up a few special rolls for us. He had a hard time describing them to us beyond indicating that they were a lot of different types of fish thrown together. Still, we weren't about to complain. In my book, free food is good food.

OVERALL: Have I had better sushi before? Sure. Has there been better ambiance? Of course. Is this going to be a meal I remember for ages and ages? Probably not. But there is something very comforting knowing that a place like Uzu Sushi can survive in Philadelphia. With all the hubbub you hear about the latest splashy new space in the city, the little guy can easily get squeezed out. So when one of my co-workers asked me the day after our meal where she should take her dad for good sushi that night, I directed her to Uzu. I told her to tell the owner the goofy looking tall guy from last night had sent her. She said he laughed when he heard that. My little contribution to his life. My parents would be proud (OK, not really, but it sounds good).

THE CHECK: We dropped about $90 with tip. Considering how much food we ate, I was OK with that.

On to the Vs....

Ineligible restaurants for round 21:

Vietnam Restaurant -- I remember going on a very unmemorable date here years ago.
Vintage -- I really wish Vintage was better than it is. It has so much potential, but it just never quite nails it.

Candidates for round 21:

The wife and I have been waiting a long time to go to Vetri. Two cancelled trips (one in 2007 and another in 2008) make it the eligible restaurant I've been waiting to try since we started this journey back in November. No voting this round because I am making an executive decision. Plus, we made reservations 6 weeks ago.

"T" is for 10 Arts

2009-10-25T16:37:00.005-04:00

On the night that the wife and I went to 10 Arts, I had just turned 35 years, 7 months, and 8 days old. And while I understand that, for some, time spent in my company is always a reason to celebrate (oh be quiet), I was caught a bit off guard when our waitress brought over my dessert with a candle stuck in the middle and a "Happy Birthday" chocolate on the plate.

Did they confuse our table with another? Was this some awkward mistake? Or did the mischevious wife simply try to play what she deems a humorous joke? Unfortunately for her, it was the latter, which means that sweet revenge will be forthcoming some day soon in some unexpected, vicious manner. It didn't help that our waitress must have said, "Happy birthday, Mr. Kober" at least 10 times before we left.

More likely than not, this encounter is going to be the only thing I remember about 10 Arts, which is dubbed as one of Philadelphia's "celebrity chef" restaurants. Its owner, Eric Ripert, is apparently a big name in the culinary world, with several well-known restaurants in other cities. One of its sous chefs, Jennifer Carroll, is on one of the many chef competitions on TV these days (Top Chef, I believe, though I wouldn't swear to it). With that sort of build-up, I am sure there are some pretty hefty expectations, but this just isn't a destination restaurant.

For starters, the setup of the place is so bizarre. I generally don't like hotel restaurants -- 10 Arts is inside the Ritz Carlton -- because they often feel so stilted. Often, the restaurants are inserted as an after-thought, a "let's see what we can jam into this dead space" kind of concept. That's exactly how 10 Arts feels. It's hard to tell when you walk into the Ritz lobby exactly where 10 Arts starts and where the lobby bar ends. The line separating the two is almost nonexistent. Plus, who wants the noise (and cheesy 80s music blaring overhead) when you are paying pretty hefty prices for a meal?

When we first arrived to the mostly empty restaurant (I'd say maybe 50% of tables were full at prime time on Thursday evening), they first tried sitting up near the invisible line separating the restaurant from the hotel bar. We nixed that and were given a table "behind the curtain" into what was a more defined restaurant space. It was better, but not great.

In addition to their regular menu, 10 Arts has a 3-course, $35 prix fix option. I am always a little bit leery about ordering off of these, as often I suspect the restaurant is simply trying to dump some of its less popular (or more profitable) dishes onto diners. However, since the appetizer I wanted (heirloom corn chowder) was on the menu, as well as one of the entrees I was considering (Pennsylvania trout with baby bok choy), I figured it was the best deal I was going to get.

The first few spoonfuls of the corn chowder were very good -- they didn't skimp on the portions and there were good chunks of corn and potato in there (though no creme fraiche as the menu promised from what I could tell). However, as I ate more and more, the saltiness became overpowering. The wife noticed it immediately and told me so, which may have contributed to my observation. Still, it wasn't bad, just not great.

The entree was another story. Trout, in and of itself, is not incredibly flavorful. It is very much a blue collar fish that needs to be spiced up with accompanying spices, a sauce, a side dish, something. Unfortunately, the trout here, which both the wife and I ordered, was simply that, trout presented on its own. As with the soup, they presented two hearty filets, so they didn't skimp on the portions, but it just wasn't very interesting to eat. The bok choy was drowned in butter -- yuck.

Dessert was the best part of the meal, aside from the surprise happy birthday acknowledgement (thank God they didn't sing). The carrot cake was awesome and they gave us several small bites of other desserts on the side, which was very nice. Alas, they gave us so much lesser food earlier that I couldn't enjoy them as much as I could. Oh well.

On to the detailed review...

THE FOOD: The menu itself at 10 Arts was a pretty big disappointment. With this kind of chef superpower, I was hoping to see entrees prepared in unusual ways, but it was a lot of same old, same old hotel restaurant blah. Steak, chicken, fish, pasta... snooze snooze snooze. Plus, with the prices, it was hard to justify going "off the board" to splurge for a $35 striped bass or bouillabaisse.

THE DRINK: High markups on the wine. I paid $11 for an awful glass of chardonnay.

THE STAFF: Now, if it really had been my birthday, I guess I would have appreciated the efforts of the waitress constantly remarking on that fact. Otherwise, the service itself was OK. One of the busboys looked oddly out of place -- he was dressed differently than most and seemed much older than everyone else -- but nothing else here of note.

MAD PROPS FOR: Not much. I can't say there was too much remarkable about the meal.

OVERALL: 10 Arts reminds me why I generally avoid hotel restaurants. There have been exceptions -- a fantastic place in San Francisco called Ame is inside a boutique hotel -- but generally, I don't expect much from hotel restaurants, especially when they are just jammed in after the fact. Look, the Ritz didn't design itself to house a restaurant on the ground floor from the looks of things (I have no idea what was there before 10 Arts) and putting what is supposed to be a high-end joint there just seems very out of place.

THE CHECK: Not cheap. $125 for the two of us, and we only had one glass of wine and both of us stuck to the prix fix. Definitely not someplace I will be going back to.

Ineligible restaurants for round 20...

Umai Umai -- I was pretty jazzed when a new sushi place came to our neighborhood, and I didn't dislike it when I tried it. The wife, however, got a little skeeved out by the live eel they were cutting up as we sat there and we haven't been back since. I would go again, though.
Urban Saloon -- Another local joint, though this is not much of a food place. I have heard that things have gotten better, but it's still a bar first and restaurant second. They do very good business though.

Candidates for round 20

Union Trust -- Frankly, I am surprised Union Trust is still around as a fighter in the steakhouse wars. I have been told it is gorgeous inside, to align with the prices. http://www.uniontruststeakhouse.com/
Upstares at Varalli -- I have walked by this Broad Street restaurant many, many times, but have never been in. Perhaps it's because of the stupid way they spell "Upstares." http://www.varalliusa.com/
Uzu Sushi -- A tiny hole in the wall (less than 20 seats) in a sushi joint with a decent reputation). http://www.uzuphilly.com/
Umbria -- Fine dining in Mount Airy. http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurants/umbria/

"S" is for Sweet Lucy's Smokehouse

2009-09-24T21:04:00.003-04:00

In many parts of the country -- Memphis, the Carolinas, Texas -- barbecue is king. Now, they all have their own internal spats about whose is better -- wet vs. dry rub, tangy vs. smoky -- which can get pretty emotional. I have read plenty about these national barbecue competitions where the competitors rig up some sort of elaborate contraption in which to cook their meat and then break down in tears if they don't win. It's all very macho.

And yet, for all that Philly does well food-wise, it's been mostly a barbecue graveyard. There have been a few mediocre places that have come and gone -- I'm reminded of a place I actually liked in the Symphony House (or thereabouts) that was here and gone within a matter of months. Recently, however, there have been rumblings about real barbecue coming into Center City from real chefs with real reputations. Alas, I'll believe it when I see it.

In the meantime, we're left with some reputable joints dotting the outer ring of the city, such as Sweet Lucy's Smokehouse. It's about a 20-25 minute drive from downtown straight up 95N off the Cottman Ave. exit. It's actually quite easy to find, though not so easy to figure out how to get back on the interstate once you are done eating. Regardless, it's not a whole lot to look at -- it looks sort of like a big warehouse with a parking lot attached.

Inside, it's pretty much no frills as well -- the menu is on a few chalkboards up front to look at before you order. It's pretty much barbecue as you would expect it -- ribs, pork, chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, baked beans, etc. You go up to the counter, put in your order, and wait a few minutes to be called. No waitresses, no frills, no unrealistic costs. And that was all fine with me -- I love myself ribs and pulled pork sandwiches, at least when they are done well. I don't need the fancy frills, just the good food. And Sweet Lucy's proved to be worth the drive.

I fought getting a pulled pork sandwich and ended up splitting a full rack of ribs with the wife. They came with two sides of our choice (we went with mashed sweet potatoes and baked beans). The ribs were not the best I had ever had -- a little too much on the dry side, but they were pretty meaty and slathered with some very good barbecue sauce. The potatoes were OK, as were the beans. The best part of the meal may have been the homemade cornbread -- it was really, really good. Very flaky and buttery. Plus, they gave each of us a big piece. Overall, though, it was hearty, no nonsense barbecue. It wasn't quite on par with my favorite of adulthood -- Dinosaur Barbecue -- that I wrote up months ago, but it was not a bad local substitute. Just proves that leaving the city for a good meal can sometimes be worth it.

On to the full review...

THE FOOD: Not to be nitpicky (OK, to be nitpicky), but tasty side dishes should be a given at a barbecue joint. Especially with core ones like baked beans. As with other barbecue favorites, I love good baked beans (one of my favorite things to make) and Sweet Lucy's just came up a little empty. It didn't detract too much from the overall meal, but it would have been a nice closing touch if they were better.

THE DRINK: Water and soda. It's not a drinking establishment.

THE STAFF: They confused our potatoes initially (I should have picked up on it when I was asked if I wanted gravy with my potatoes, but I wasn't quite swift enough), but they substituted the sweet for the white potatoes without a question. The girl who took our order was nice enough to explain how the menu works to the wife, as well.

MAD PROPS FOR: Two things. First of all, they had a self serve cauldron of extra rib mop sauce that you could use to douse your ribs in if you so desire. And I so desired. Secondly, they had a roll of paper towel on a stand at every table. Look, when you eat barbecue, you are going to get messy. Why bother with dainty napkins? I would have loved wet naps at the end of the meal, but I didn't see any around. Oh well.

OVERALL: Tucked away as it is, it's easy to wonder where Sweet Lucy's gets its business from. Do people drive from the city or is mostly a neighborhood joint? It was hard to tell from the clientele, which was a mix of young and old. If you are a barbecue afficianado, Sweet Lucy's is worth the drive, thought it's not a "OH MY GOD, THIS IS FANTASTIC!" place. It's good, inexpensive, quality, quick food. We were in and out in about 35-40 minutes.

THE CHECK: $28.50 total. That's the upside of no wait staff.

On to the Ts...

Ineligible restaurants for round 19:

Table 31 -- There was incredible hype around Table 31 when it opened in the Comcast Building a little more than a year ago. I had a very underwhelming meal there and the shine has definitely worn off. I wouldn't be surprised if it shutters its doors one of these days soon.
Tampopo -- A favorite lunch stop of mine near the office. There are actually at least three branches open now, including one in West Philly. The bi bim bom is excellent.
Ten Stone -- A step above a dive bar, but not a big step.
TGI Friday's -- I'm not embarassed to admit that Friday's was gourmet cuisine to me when I was younger.
Tierra Colombiana -- If you want a pricey meal in a very sketchy neighborhood, Tierra Colombiana is your place. Just don't forget to lock your car doors. And honestly, the food isn't that great either.
Tiffin -- What an impact Tiffin has had on the Philly delivery scene. Still the best Indian food you can order over the phone and have at your door in an hour or two.
Tinto -- The second of Jose Garces' gleaming jewels. The layout is odd (definitely sit upstairs) but the food is interesting and yummy.
Trio -- I have no clue how this Fairmount joint is still open. Really bad location and really mediocre food.
Twenty Manning -- Perhaps my favorite upscale place for a drink. The chairs are very cool.

Candidates for round 19:

Taqueria La Veracruzana -- One of a handful of Mexican joints down by the Italian Market with a good reputation. http://www.taqueriaveracruzana.com/
10 Arts -- Big name chef Eric Ripert's first entree into Philadelphia near the theatres. http://www.10arts.com/
Time -- It's known more for its weekend party atmosphere and bizarre drinks. but they also have a relatively ambitous menu. http://www.timerestaurant.net/
Tony Luke's -- I can't believe I have never eaten at Tony Luke's (not even the one in Citizen's Bank). But can it possibly live up to John's Roast Pork? http://www.tonylukes.com/

"R" is for Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College

2009-09-10T18:15:00.003-04:00

When I left the doldrums of the world (sorry Yumans and Decaturites) to move back to Philly going on 8 years ago, one of the first things I wanted to do was the enroll in cooking classes. Now, I was very specific about what I wanted. I didn't want one of those suburban housewife classes where you sit at a counter and watch some surly schmuck cook a meal and then hand out recipes afterward. But I also wasn't about to enroll in an actual culinary school where I would be graded. I wanted a casual, yet instructive, hands-on course.

As I have told many people over the years, the classes I took at the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College were a perfect choice for me. They weren't necessarily cheap (about $300 for a 6-class series) but they were definitely worth the money. I learned how to debone a chicken, filet a fish, make ravioli, and lots of other very useful skills. Not only that, but the amount of food we ate and took home as leftovers was astounding (as long as you remembered to bring Tupperware).

For all that, though, I had never actually eaten a meal in one of the Restaurant School's working restaurants, even though I had hounded the wife and others for years about it. Finally, on Thursday night, we went.

The Restaurant School has 4 different working restaurants -- an international theme, a Continential theme, an Italian theme, and a Great Chefs theme. The menus are relatively ambitious and the prices are very reasonable. We went to the international restaurant and paid $21 for a 3-course meal. Plus, you will never find wine as cheap as that which exists on the school's wine list -- there were FULL BOTTLES for $15. The average bottle was about $20-25. For someone used to seeing ridiculous 200% markups, it was a striking change.

Now, that said, there is a reason for the affordability. The wait staff are students, the chefs are students -- basically, it is a teaching restaurant. Our waitress was right out of high school and probably had never waited on a table in her life. It's funny how you notice little things rookie waitresses do wrong that you take for granted in "real" restaurants -- forgetting silverware, always sliding the soup bowl onto the floor, failing to check in on the quality of the food while they are receiving instruction from their instructor. These are all things that may be unforgivable (or at least annoying) at a 3-star restaurant, but it's almost cute in this setting.

As for the food? Again, not surprisingly, hit and miss, especially for the first week of the semester. The wife went with the pumpkin soup (yum), hangar steak (yuck), and a red velvet torte (yum). I took chances with the rabbit rilletes (OK, tasted like tuna), monkfish (pretty good), and bread pudding (yum). Frankly, I was expecting to have to send one or more dishes back to the kitchen, but the wife was the only one to have a "return to sender" item when her steak was undercooked.

On to the full review...

THE FOOD: You'd think that, with students manning the kitchen, the menu would be small and simple. Not true. We had 6 appetizers, 6 entrees, and 10 or so desserts to choose from. And that was only in one of the four restaurants (that said, there were all of 4 other customers in all of the restaurants combined on a fall Thursday evening so it's not like the kitchen was slammed). The dishes are not simple to execute so the aspiring chefs presumably are learning techniques. Yes, you are, to some degree, a guinea pig so there is always going to be some trepidation about biting into a new dish, but the wife and I were both fine. It wasn't a great meal by any meals, but it was not awful either.

THE DRINK: I already mentioned the wine list. It really is something to behold. As with the menu, there are lots and lots of options (probably 100+ wines in total), all of which are cheap. We ended up getting 2 glasses of wine, $5.50 each. A whole bottle would barely have been more, but it was a school night so I had to stay somewhat sober. I also got coffee after dinner. It cost $1. That is right -- one dollar. Amazing.

THE STAFF: Our primary waitress, who aspires to "own my own restaurant" was sweet. She's learning. We had a couple other student waiters and waitresses stop by as well. No major issues.

MAD PROPS FOR: The decor. These are really very beautiful spaces, intricately decorated with a very nice ambiance. That said, it was FFFFRRREEEEZING in there. Our waitress informed us that she had been told it's even worse in the wintertime. Bring a jacket I guess.

OVERALL: Hmm, this is a tough one. I mean, you definitely do get value for your money and it's not as if the food was bad, but I don't know that I'd rush back, especially early in a semester. Maybe later in the year when the students are a little more seasoned, I'd be more apt to return.

THE CHECK: $61 for 2, with tip. We were told all customer tips get pooled together and, at the end of the semester, the students all go out for a blowout meal. Not sure how true that is, but it sounded good.

OK, enough with being a nice, patient eater, back to being a demanding, harsh critic. On to the Ss...

Ineligible restaurants for round 18:

Sabrina's Cafe -- Some people swear by Sabrina's as their go-to brunch spot. After one horrible experience with a hostess, I'll never look at it the same way. Besides, it's no Honey's.
Salt and Pepper -- Cute, small BYOB in Queen's Village. They seem to have their fair share of these.
Sang Kee Peking Duck House -- I love my peking duck and this is the best version I've tried in Philly's Chinatown.
Serrano -- They have a weird deal where if you eat dinner at Serrano, you get preferred seating upstairs for concerts at the Tin Angel. Good thing for the restaurant, because it stinks and there is no reason to go otherwise.
Silk City -- Hip, diner-like joint in Northern Liberties. Straightforward grease and fat. When you're in the mood...
Standard Tap -- Perhaps Philly's first gastropub, still a great spot to eat, especially outside on the patio in the summertime. I love that the menu is on chalkboards throughout the restaurant. Cool touch.
Supper -- Went here for my birthday 2 years ago. Some people really liked it. It was OK, but I haven't rushed back.
Swanky Bubbles -- Went here for our anniversary this year. We were the only people in the restaurant, and it's not exactly a small place. It was really, really uncomfortable, although I will say the food was yummy.

Candidates for round 18:

Saute -- One of those many BYOB's in Queen Village opened by the former chef at Alma de Cuba. http://sauteonline.com/
Shank Original -- This Italian Market stalwart, which used to be called Shank and Evelyn's Luncheonette, has moved to 15th and Sansom. Supposed to a down and dirty joint, just the way I like it. http://www.shanksoriginal.com/
Simon Pearce on the Brandywine - It's been many years since I have been to West Chester (talk about a suburb that is hard to get to). This is supposed to be one of their best restaurants. http://www.simonpearce.com/CSTM_restaurantsWindsor1.aspx
Sweet Lucy's Smokehouse -- We'll try another BBQ joint, this one up in the Northeast. Supposed to be top notch. http://www.sweetlucys.com/

"Wildcard" is for Memphis Taproom

2009-08-20T20:53:00.006-04:00

There are a few things that, in my mind, should be a given when you walk into a restaurant. A host or hostess should acknowledge your presence within a minute or two. Silverware and plates should be clean, or at least close to it. And (this is a big pet peeve) water should be cold, refilled regularly, and be drinkable. What can I say, I drink a lot of water.

Based on this simple final criteria, Memphis Taproom was doomed from the start. Not only was the water warm (not tepid, not lukewarm, I mean, it was warm on a 95-degree evening), not only was there no ice anywhere to be seen in any water glass on any table, not only did our waitress fail to refill our water glasses after our mouths were scalded with a scorched appetizer, but the water tasted disgusting. Fail fail fail.

I had read great things about this hip, upscale pub anchoring the revitalization of Fishtown. The beer selection was good (hard to screw that up) and the menu was, well, different. It was very vegetarian friendly and had some weird sandwiches on it (seitan, anyone?). I wasn't expecting that.

After our grouchy waitress flubbed her description of the menu, the wife and I went first for the deep-fried pickles, one of those "can't miss" offerings I had read good things about. It's weird and it's different, but that's often the best stuff.

Now, I will give our waitress enough credit that she warned us they were incredibly hot and probably shouldn't be eaten without a knife and fork. That was definitely true. Unfortunately, that didn't save my mouth from blistering. Two days later, and I can still feel the remnants of that appetizer. They actually tasted OK for about half a second before my gums started bleeded, but that is hardly consolation. I was panting wanting cold water, but when we finally got our waitress's attention, it was another round of warm Schuykill. Gross.

It didn't get much better. My sandwich, a grilled mushroom grinder with other vegetables and cheese, was 99% bread and 1% substance. Really? It is really that hard to give people their money's worth? I was disgusted. I ate half the sandwich and put the rest aside. "Would you like that wrapped, sir?" "Um, no. I wouldn't feed that to the mouse that rummages through our kitchen from time to time."

Oh well. On to the full review...

THE FOOD: Look, I would understand if the pickles were overdone or the sandwich was sparse or the waitress was a bitch, and then chalk it up to an off night. But I'm sorry, when everything crashes at once, that's the sign of a restaurant I wouldn't ever dare eat at again.

THE DRINK: The beer list was extensive. I guess it'd be OK to drink here.

THE STAFF: "Gee, let's find the most unfriendly, slovenly bitch in the neighborhood and make her the ONLY waitress in the dining area. Yeah, yeah, that'll work."

MAD PROPS FOR: They did have something written on the menu that said something like "If something goes wrong, don't go complaining about it on your blog." I kid you not. Oops.

OVERALL: Hated it. Worse meal of this series. It started pouring rain about 3/4 of the way through our meal. Gee, think that was an omen?

THE CHECK: $42. The tip wasn't exactly generous.

Ineligible restaurants for round 18:

Radicchio -- Nice, casual, neighborhoody joint. It's a place that is easy to go back to when you live right around the corner (not that I do mind you, but I know someone who does).
Rae -- There was a lot of buzz about this Daniel Stern creation when it opened in the Cira Centre. The space was gorgeous and the prices matched.
Raw Sushi & Sake Lounge -- The best sushi in the city. The best men's bathroom in the city. One of the best outdoor lounges in the city. Raw is a definite personal family favorite.
Rembrandt's -- A Fairmount stalwart, which means I have eaten many meals here. Stick to the Paesano's burger, a healthy beef patty with fries and balsalmic aoili, and you can't go wrong. Veer in other directions and I make no promises.
Rose Tattoo Cafe -- Such a weird restaurant. It's unbelievably stuck in the '70s and it just so ugly from the exterior. Yuck.
Roy's -- Chain seafood at its worst.
Rx -- Cool concept with some good brunch food. Only ate here once, but I liked it.

Candidates for round 18:

Ralph's -- Perhaps the classic South Philly Italian restaurant. www.ralphsrestaurant.com
Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College -- As the wife will tell you, I have probably mentioned that I wanted to go to dinner here at least 25 times since we've met, but for whatever reason, plans always fall through. They have a few working restaurants open to the public that are run by students. http://www.walnuthillcollege.com/restaurants2009.asp
Restaurant M -- Classic French in the Morris House Hotel. Just reopened after a 2-year hiatus. Mainly drinks, but a few snacky type options as well. www.morrishousehotel.com
Ron's Ribs -- Highly recommended by a man who knows his food as the best BBQ in the city. philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurants/rons-ribs/

"P" is for Parc

2009-08-06T23:28:00.005-04:00

Jack Nicholson sat two tables to our right flanked by not one by two gorgeous twenty-something women (you go, Jack!). Owen Wilson was in the section behind us curiously eating alone (but fending off the advances of numerous scatily-clan clientele). Reese Witherspoon was with her husband and kids eating at the bar (and largely being left alone). Just another night at Parc, the place to be seen in Rittenhouse Square.

Now for everyone who just screamed, "Oh my God, you ate in the company of all of those celebrities! Did you talk to any of them?" you really need to stop being so gullible. None of them were actually in attendance (far as I know). But from all you read about Parc in the papers, it sure seems that they should have been. Next to Davio's, Parc is Philly's leading celebrity magnet, and with the movies currently filming in town, I suspect a lot of people were there on this warm Thursday night hoping to catch a glimpse of stardom. And while I admit my head was on a swivel looking around for a recognizable face or two -- alas, I only saw a local TV talking head buried in the corner of the bar with friends -- I was just hoping for a tasty morsel or two after a lackluster 4 nights in Vegas (talk about overpriced, mediocre food -- thank God I was on the company expense account).

Parc bills itself as an upscale French bistro, and it certainly has attained the proper look. All of the bells and whistles are there -- from the neatly tiled floor to the large streaked windows on the wall, to the general color palate within the restaurant. It's a neat looking place with the added benefit of being on the prime square of real estate in Center City over Rittenhouse Square, which means lots of opportunities to watch the pretty people walk by. The competition for outside tables is pretty fierce -- it was about a 45-minute wait at 8 p.m. on a Thursday night. Since we were pretty hungry, we headed inside, but still got a good spot to see what was going on around us.

Alas, in the words of the wife, the food was "just OK." There are a lot of unique, bold choices on the menu, particularly as far as appetizers are concerned. Escargot, grilled sardines, an onion tart with anchovies, etc. The wife was in a giving mood, and seeing how much I wanted to delve into something different, she let me get the steak tartare with quail's egg. Served with a couple pieces of crunchy bread, it was quite good. Steak tartare really isn't as scary as it sounds -- I don't know how to describe the texture adequately, but while yes, it is raw meat chopped finely, it doesn't taste raw (if that makes any sense). That said, it's not one of those items that I would order just anywhere. You have to have at least a little faith that the quality is going to be there, and at Parc, it was. No qualms from me, and the wife didn't get green gilled after trying it, so that says something.

Unfortunately, the meal took a quick downhill spiral when the entrees came out. I took a shot for the Thursday night special, the rouget en barigoule -- essentially, red mullet in fish stock with artichokes and olives. It was bland, bland, bland. Every bite tasted like wet artichokes, and that's not exactly a wonderful flavor, especially for $28. The wife fared somewhat better with her seared scallops, but they weren't exactly generous with her portion -- three medium-sized scallops for $24.

And that's a lot of my problem with places like Parc. They know they are going to pack in the moneyed folk to gawk and they consequently tend to soak them for every penny with average food. The focus of these places are not necessarily on the flavor, it's on ambiance and romance and design. And that's fine for some folks who like to be whooshed off their feet by their surroundings, but I'd take a shack on the corner with great food anytime over a multi-million dollar venue with just average vittles.

Alas. On to the full details...

THE FOOD: The highlight of the meal was dessert, a carmelized apple tart with vanilla ice cream. It was a little bit hard to eat, but worth every effort. I do have to note some of the weird parts of the menu though that stood out. Most appetizers and entrees were very French, as they should have been, and I can understand throwing a cheeseburger on there for the non-adventurous or the children. But spaghetti bolognese? Really?

THE DRINK: A huge bar means a huge wine list (and of course, huge prices). I had a $11 glass of Bordeaux Blanc from Chateau la Frenelle, which, I must say, was excellent. I could have drank a lot more of it. I'll keep an eye out for it next time I make a Jersey wine run.

THE STAFF: Nothing special. It's a loud, crowded place not really conducive to talking with your waiter about the menu. We didn't have any problems with the staff per se, so I'll reserve much in the way of comment here.

MAD PROPS FOR: I always like seeing how restaurants design their bathrooms and Parc was indeed a bit unique. The walls in the men's room were covered with rather risque pictures of nekkid women -- some of them I looked at and said, "Really?" I understand the art of it all, but some of it was quite provacative. Geez, I sound like a stuffy old man. What I meant to say was, "Awesome! Totally awesome!"

OVERALL: I am not into the whole Rittenhouse Square trio of restaurants -- Rouge, Devon, and Parc. I mean, the views are great and the spaces are huge, but you rarely get what you are paying for (except for the night where I witnessed an impromptu striptease at the bar at Bleu that was quite, um, titilating. Another story for another time). I wouldn't be against going back to Parc for Happy Hour or something, but I'm not interested in another meal there. Sorry, Reese and Owen. You can eat without me.

THE CHECK: $120 for two, with tip. I wuz robbed.

On to the... oh wait, there aren't enough Qs to go around. That means it's time for the wild card round! In the wild card round, we'll bring back some of the "almost" winners from earlier competitions and pit them against each other in the lucky losers bracket. Rules are the same as always -- most votes win.

Since we've been pretty Rittenhouse-centric the last few times out, this entry's choices are all on the inner rings of the city, but not smack dab in the middle. I feel the need to change things up.

Candidates for round 17:

Cafe de Laos -- In the Thai section of South Philly. A little less bizaare than some of the others nearby. http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurantdetails?restaurantid=31450
Earth Bread + Brewery -- A new gastropub in Mount Airy that has gotten some good pub. http://earthbreadbrewery.com/
Marigold Kitchen -- Admittedly, I have been to Marigold, but it was several years ago before they changed chefs and concepts. It's a totally different restaurant now, so it qualifies. http://marigoldkitchenbyob.com/
Memphis Taproom -- Another new joint that has gotten a lot of good publicity. A twist on pub food out in Fishtown. http://www.memphistaproom.com/

"O" is for Oyster House

2009-07-19T15:45:00.004-04:00

One of my proudest culinary moments occured at Acme Oyster House in New Orleans the winter before Hurricane Katrina hit. I was there on my own for work purposes and figured I'd give a try to the city's legendary raw bar. Acme was not (I assume it is still in existence, but I don't know for sure) a fancy joint -- the oysters were meaty and drippy and pretty daunting.

On the board behind the shuckers stand was a toteboard listing the restaurant records -- I believe at the time the record was held by a professional eater who downed 175 or so oysters at one sitting. Now, loyal readers, don't be so stupid as think this story is going to be about my challenging his record. I'm not that good. But I was sorta proud of myself when I downed 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 raw oysters before calling it a day. I admit I was feeling a little queasy once I attacked my third dozen, but I got through the plate and didn't leave any remnants of Bourbon Street.

Which brings up to the latest stop on our tour, Philadelphia's Oyster House. Housed in the space that used to be Sansom Street Oyster House, all similarities end there. This is a totally different restaurant, and thankfully so. SSOH was old, tired, and just played out. Like Bookbinder's, it was one of those places that hit its heydey decades ago and never bothered to update its theme or decor. When I heard that it had been bought out and was being renovated, I was hopeful, though cautious, since I knew how much work had to be done.

Well, kudos to the individuals who did the renovations. Oyster House looks great. It is one of those transformational restaurants that makes you feel like you are not on a gritty downtown street. It sounds hokey, but Oyster House really does feel like a oceanside joint. All that was missing was the crashing of the waves. It helps that the joint was jumping as well, with people of all ages and backgrounds. Especially in the middle of summer, it was surprising to see how packed it was. Now, we were seated immediately at a table for 2 at 8 p.m. on a Friday night so it wasn't "Honey's Sunday brunch" crowded, but there was a lot of noise and a lot of customers. It was a fun place to be.

As for the food, it was good and bordering on very good. As expected, they had a decent selection of oysters. We chose a half-dozen New England a half dozen Virginians. It's hard to mess up quality product when it's served raw, so I pretty much knew these would be good, though they were pricey ($26 for the dozen). The best deal is at Happy Hour when you can get the "house" oysters (read: the cheapest ones on the menu that day) for a buck each.

For our entree, we split what I would call a "kitchen sink bucket for two." It was a whole lobster, mussels, clams, potatoes, and corn on the cob. It was quite a bit of food, though naturally heaviest on the mussels and clams. That said, they didn't chintz on the lobster so I can't complain there. Again, the biggest problem was the price ($53), which isn't awful for dinner for two, but it's not great.

I know the wife really liked the food, and so did I, but I did have to wonder about the value. It was a simple meal without any fancy cooking, which is fine, but I couldn't help wondering how much we were paying for the ingredient and how much we were paying for the renovations.

THE FOOD: I'm not a huge dessert fan, but the peach crumble was great great great. I felt bad that I ate a "shared" dessert with such rapid gusto, but I couldn't help myself.

THE DRINK: The worst part of the meal, by far, was the bloody mary oyster shooter I had. It was essentially a shot of vodka with a drop of tomato juice and a raw oyster at the bottom. It tasted awful.

THE STAFF: Minutes after we sat down, one of the gentlemen at the table next to us said, "My daughter is your waitress. Don't say anything about me being her dad, but I curious what you guys think about her service." Never one to pass up an opportunity for a good laugh, I told our waitress when she came back to our table, "Um, excuse me, but the gentlemen at this table are bothering us. I'd like to see the manager." Everyone got a good laugh out of it. I was proud of myself.

MAD PROPS FOR: The gorgeous raw bar counter. We ate at a normal table, but if I go back, I'll try to sit at the bar. It's huge and really takes up a prominent position in the restaurant. One of the many great renovations to this place.

OVERALL: I think Oyster House is going to do very well. It fills a somewhat unique downtown niche and there are lots of people who really like oysters (although I do know some folks who won't eat them) and I could see the suburban crowds enjoying it a lot, which is always key for Center City restaurants. As I said, especially for Happy Hour, it's a great place and a lot of fun. For dinner, just know it may be a budget buster.

THE CHECK: $125, with tip, for two. Seems like we've been running up quite a tab recently for some of our dinner's out. Good thing we are both gainfully employed and don't have a clothes fetish.

On to the Ps...

Ineligible restaurants for round 16:

Paradigm -- We had the company holiday party here in January. It's not quite as trendy and up-to-date as some of the other Old City spots, but it's not a bad spot for a drink. I wouldn't eat here.
Pat's King of Steaks -- I get it. This was the "original" home of the cheesesteak so it's a landmark. But shouldn't it taste better than dirt?
Pho 75 -- I was in an adventurous mood and tried the tripe pho. Yuck.
Plough and the Stars -- Another of the loud, crowd, college-age bars in Old City. I have actually eaten here a few times, but it's more a place to go to watch drinken kids falling over.
Porcini -- One of my favorite Rittenhouse area BYOBs. Very small space, very small menu, but the staff is very friendly and the food is very good. Definitely worth visiting.
Positano Coast -- I just had a surprisingly excellent meal here as part of a large party. I was worried it would have sort of a chain-like flair, but it was really well done.
Pumpkin -- One of the formerly-favorite BYOBs. It's been about 2 years since I've been but a friend took a turn as the waitress there and didn't have great things to say about the operation.

Candidates for round 17:

Palm -- It's where, supposedly, all the political know-it-alls hang out for their power lunches. I'll be sure to wear my bow tie. http://www.thepalm.com/
Parc -- Last year's trendy new spot near Rittenhouse where all the pretty people hang out. I'll be sure to wear my seersucker suit. www.parc-restaurant.com
Pink Rose Pastry Shop -- Maybe it's time for dessert? I'll be sure to wear my bib. http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurants/pink-rose-pastry-shop/
Pura Vida -- No frills BYOB on the edge of Northern Liberties. I'll be sure to wear my sombrero. http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurants/pura-vida/

"N" is for Noble American Cookery

2009-07-10T11:48:00.007-04:00

Ring, ring, ring...

"Hallo, Noble American Cookery, zis is Pierre."

"Yeah, hi Pierre. I have reservations with my wife tonight for her birthday and I was hoping there was something small you could do to acknowledge that, like maybe put a candle in the dessert or get the staff to do a song and dance routine. You know, something simple."

"We are bery dizcreet here, sir."

"Um, yeah, I was just kidding about the song and dance routine (uh oh, they are going to spit in our food)."

"Weez try not to interfere with the enjoyment of our other guests."

"Yeah, like I said, it was a joke. A candle will be fine, if that's not too difficult (uh oh, they are going to spit in our food)."

"What name is the reservation under? I will makez a note of it."

"Um, Johnson, yeah, Johnson, party of 12 at 5:30."

Click.

"Phew, that was a close one."

If only I had thought that fast on my feet (looks like those improv lessons went to waste). At it was, Pierre knew exactly who had called, when we were coming from dinner, and how much of a jackass I was. Uh oh.

And so it was that we stepped into Noble with a little bit of trepidation, gave the hostess our name, and were seated upstairs.

Noble truly is a fantastic, airy, well designed space. It was an ambitious project for the owners, without question, and one that certainly has its risks. Noble is perched a few blocks from prime walking territory, and while there are a few theaters on the same block, I don't know how much walk-up foot traffic the restaurant is going to get. And that's a shame, because it really does a dynamite job with its food.

The appetizer was decent (shrimp tostada), the dessert was only iffy (molten chocolate cake with a peanut butter filling and a marshmellow on the side in a too-powerful strawberry sauce), but my meal really turned on my entree. The pan-seared black sable with pea puree and creamy white potatoes was definitely one of the best meals I have had all year.

For whatever reason, I am always drawn toward "black" fish -- black bass, black cod, etc. -- and I really am not entirely sure why. I do know that I had a great black bass in San Francisco last December so perhaps that has something to do with it. Anyway, when they had a black sable (no, it's not a fur coat) on the menu at Noble, I knew it was a definite contender. And when our waitress specifically highlighted it her description (the "pick one of the following three things I am considering" approach worked again), I took a shot.

Thick yet tender, with crispy skin and achingly delicate white meat, the sable was cooked perfectly. I mean, perfectly. I usually find a way to screw up fish like this (almost always undercooked) so I know how difficult it can be to get it right. And the pea puree and potatoes, both artfully presented on the plate, were also great. It was the total package and I made sure to tell our waitress how much I enjoyed it. I didn't even taste the saliva in the food. :)

THE FOOD: The one problem I had with Noble is that it presented its dishes a little too much like art, which made them a little difficult to eat without making a mess. The tostada was a good example. It really was yummy, but it was a little scary cutting into it initially without fearing the whole thing would bounce off the table and into our lap.

THE DRINK: A good beer and wine list. I was still getting over a cold (and still am) so I just stuck to a glass of pinot gris. It was fine, but unmemorable.

THE STAFF: Since we had late reservations (at least for a weeknight), we were one of the last people in the restaurant. We chatted up our waitress quite a bit and found out her life story (girl from California, spent a few years in Missouri, was now in Philly because of her med school boyfriend). She could have done a better job professionally -- I swear she completely disappeared mid-meal for at least 15 minutes (I thought maybe she had quit on the spot) -- but she was a sweet girl so no demerits.

MAD PROPS FOR: The olive bread from Metropolitan bakery. It was excellent. They also have a cool bar downstairs that opens up in the street. Since there is no outdoor sidewalk seating, they were creative with making a space that looks out onto Sansom Street. It'd be fun for drinks on a summer evening.

OVERALL: An excellent job. Alas, not only was there no song and dance routine, but there was also no candle on the dessert. We had to ask them to go back and bring one out. Stupid Pierre -- the French suck.

THE CHECK: Not cheap -- $105 for two. But nothing is too good for my wife, right?

On to the Os...

Ineligible restaurants for round 15:

Oceanaire -- If you were looking for overpriced seafood, this was the place to go. I kept waiting and waiting for it to go out of business. Finally, a few weeks ago, it shut its doors.
Old Country Buffet -- I'll admit it. As a teenager, I loved this place. How naive I was.
Old Nelson -- One of my lunchtime regular hangouts. It's clean, it's efficient, and it's relatively inexpensive.
Olive Garden -- Everyone loves the Olive Garden. I mean, how can you not (oh, let me give you, let's say, 15 reasons off the top of my head)?
Osteria -- When it opened, Osteria was the place to eat in Philly and topped most foodies' Top 10 lists. However, as the glow has died down, I don't hear much about Osteria anymore, which leads me to worry about its long-term survival. I'll be curious to go back one day soon to see if they are still busy.

Candidates for round 15:

Oishi -- Quite an extensive menu at this Newtown enclave. Lots of sushi and non-sushi options, plus hibachi (it's dorky, but it's fun). Their website kicks ass, too. http://eatoishi.com/
The Orchard Restaurant -- Our second suburban entree for this week up in the Brandywine Valley. It one of the many "we tailor our menu to what's seasonal places" -- no prices on the menu either, which always worries me. http://www.theorchardbyob.com/
Oregon Diner -- As a rule, I am generally suspicious of diners, but I've driven by this place many times and it's always busy. http://www.oregondinerphilly.com/Welcome.html
Oyster House -- Formerly the Sansom Street Oyster House, it has reopened after a major renovation and much-needed overhaul. I walked by a few weeks ago and, visually at least, they did a nice job. http://www.oysterhousephilly.com/

"M" is for Meme

2009-06-21T19:56:00.007-04:00

OK, boys and girls, here is today's quiz. You ask Waiter X, "What do you recommend?" in a very interested tone. He responds by describing 5 of the 7 dinner items on the menu in detail. Unfortunately, 1 of the 2 he doesn't mention is one of the entrees you were strongly considering ordering. What do you do?

A. Throw caution to the wind and order the entree you wanted anyway
B. Follow his lead and choose only from those dishes he spoke about
C. Leave the restaurant in a huff and scream to all patrons, "I will never come back to this dump! I found mouse droppings in my food."
D. Stare at him blankly until he slithers away to tell the kitchen, "Spit in the food of table 19."

Now I know that one of you probably chose answer C while others may have erred in choosing answer D, but in reality, those choices were both red herrings to distract you. The two logical choices on here are A and B, and it's important to explain why one is right and one is wrong.

As many of you undoubtedly remember from earlier months, "I am not a waiter, I don't want to be a waiter, etc., etc." However, I have read enough about waitering and eaten out enough to understand how "the dance" works. There are some waiters and waitresses who quite frankly I would never ask for their opinion -- it's usually easy to see if they don't care. But for those who do and show some interest in their jobs, it's never a bad idea to ask them for an OVERALL reflection on the menu. It's important not to get too specific -- if you ask, "How is the chicken?", you will almost always get the same reaction, "Good." You need to make them think and then listen carefully to what they have to say. The wait staff usually is pretty good at steering customers toward the better items, although if they recommend the most expensive items without even noting some of the less expensive ones, that's a dead giveaway that they are interested only in a big tip. It's tricky, but it often pays off.

Which brings us to the latest stop on our food tour, Meme.

Located on the corner that used to house Melograno (22nd and Spruce), Meme is a cozy and bright restaurant fighting for its life in the Rittenhouse district. It has a lot going for it -- a great location that draws a lot of food traffic, good early reviews in the press, and a really positive general vibe. It's an interesting menu with a various of appetizers and entrees. Things are sort of all over the map with no real consistent theme, but that's OK. It's all about the execution.

Before our hippy dippy waiter (cool and awesome were his two favorite words) came by to take our order, the wife and I had already pretty much decided on our appetizer of grilled calamari, which turned out OK -- a little bit overcooked, but not terrible. The key selection was going to be the entree. We had already eliminated the swordfish, linguini, and something else I don't remember. That narrowed it down to the steak, skate, duck, and pork chops.

Importantly, though, we didn't lead the waiter along and gave him a chance to offer his opinion on the menu. He specifically noted the swordfish, linguini, duck, and pork chops. That made our choice easy. I got the duck and the wife got the kurobata pork chop (he described it as the Kobe beef of pork chops). And let me tell you, I am glad we listened. Both were excellent.

Duck can be tricky -- it needs to be crispy on the outside and tender in the middle. It was cooked perfectly and paired nicely grits, collard greens, and a port sauce. I don't usually like grits or collard greens, but these both were very good on this dish. The wife's pork chop was even better. I have never had a pork chop that was so tender and flavorful. It was great. The accompanying succotash was also excellent. Really, it was one of the best entrees I have tried in a while. I was actually a bit jealous that I only got a few tastes.

Dessert -- a blueberry panna cotta in a teapot (sort of a thick blueberry yogurt) with a munchkin donut -- was just OK, but that didn't put a damper on the overall meal. It was a welcome change after a recent run of subpar meals.

THE FOOD: To think that we missed probably the most ballyhooed entree on the menu -- the roasted chicken for two (they ran out since they were closing for the July 4th holiday and didn't want to overorder). They even have a random lunch on Thursday only -- fried chicken with a biscuit and a Miller High Life for $12 (or so). Sounds like fun to me.

THE DRINKS: This was one of my main gripes. Meme is the prime BYOB zone, it's the size of a BYOB, looks like a BYOB, but it's not. We had brought a bottle of wine with us (my bad), but figured the $10 corkage fee wasn't worth it. We each got a glass of wine.

THE STAFF: Our waiter was quirky and a bit of an oddball, but I liked that he seemed to enjoy his job and really like the restaurant he was representing. I trusted his guidance and we were rewarded for it.

MAD PROPS FOR: The guy at a table a few down from us who, when a neighboring table asked their waitress, "How are the mussels," he leaned over and told them how great they were. The only thing better than a recommendation from a waiter is one from a unbiased, impartial customer. The mussels did looks extremely cool by the way -- they weren't your traditional steamed mussles, rather they were shelled and then presenting on a sizzling plate.

OVERALL: They are doing a very good job at Meme. The menu is small and, as I said, may look a bit disjointed, but they clearly know what they are doing. I would definitely go back.

THE CHECK: $100 for 2 of us. It's not a cheap place, moreso if you are going to be drinking, so save it for a special occasion.

On to the Ns...

Ineligible restaurants for round 14:

Nick's Pizza -- The old childhood standby in the Dresher Plaza is, somehow, still going strong. Decent pizza, not bad cheesesteaks, but I used to go for the video games.
Nineteen (XIX) -- Without question one of the most romantic settings in the city. Just be prepared to pay for it.
Nodding Head -- Since this is where we ended up on our wedding night post-reception, I'll always have fond memories of this Sansom Street watering hole. But really, it's a great low-key bar, especially when the dart boards are open.
North by Northwest -- Interesting jazz joint in Mt. Airy. I was only here once, and didn't eat, so I can't vouch for the food, good or bad.
North 3rd -- Standing out in gastropub central over in Northern Liberties isn't easy. With Standard Tap, Honey's, and loads of other excellent restaurants nearby, I always thought North 3rd needed to step up its game. It's not bad, just not particularly interesting.

Candidates for round 14:

I could be dishonest and allow for voting this round, but the wife has already chosen Noble American Cookery for her birthday meal (http://www.noblecookery.com/) and since it fits into our "N" rotation, that'll be the next writeup. Sorry -- the regular poll will return for the "Os". As a replacement, we have a very special poll for this entry. Oh, and by the way, the wife said she likes receiving cash from her friends and family as gifts. Just in case you weren't sure.

"L" is for Le Virtu

2009-06-08T12:16:00.003-04:00

Several wise men throughout history have been quoted as saying, “There is nothing better for the empty stomach than a big bowl of pasta. And nothing worse than a hot dog bought at a gas station convenience store that has been rotating on those weird machines for a month.”

OK, I made that last part up. For that matter, I made up the first part too. But, in my mind, they are both nonetheless true.

I’ve leave the hot dog story alone for now and focus on the pasta. When I go out for Italian food in south Philly, I don’t expect to leave hungry. I’ll almost always order pasta of some sort, and when it is done right, man, it is hard to beat. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. For starters, the pasta can be too stringy or too thick, undercooked or overcooked. And the sauce may be gloppy or gloopy, runny or ruddy.

The funny thing is, it looks so simple. Pasta is basically just flour, eggs, water and salt (I’m sure I’m missing something, but I don’t remember off the top of my head). The problem is that everything must be combined in very exact proportions, cut precisely, and boiled for a precise timeframe. Get anything wrong, and it’s not going to taste right.

Which brings us to our latest stop, Le Virtu, slapped down in the heart of south Philadelphia. It’s a very attractive restaurant, with a spacious, somewhat romantic outdoor patio that is made for eating outdoors in the summertime. The view isn’t great – Linda’s Fold and Wash across the street, I’m sure, does great work, but it sort of kills the mood a little – but Le Virtu has done the best it can with the space is has. As my four trusty readers should know though (yes, we have a new regular reader!), I’m about the food way more than the ambiance.

The verdict there was, well, mixed at best.

The menu really is well put together, with a healthy smattering of appetizers, pastas, and heartier meat dishes. There were quite a number of entrees I considering before settling on the “guitar string” pasta with lamb ragu. For whatever reason, I had it in my head that “guitar string” pasta would be thicker, sort of like linguini. It wasn’t. It was very, very thin pasta.

Fortunately, they did give me a healthy plate of pasta, which was nice because I was starving (our appetizer of grilled shrimp and squid was yummy, but sparse). That’s the best thing I can say though. I ate because I was hungry, not because the dish was particularly outstanding. There was nothing specifically bad about the dish – the pasta was cooked right, the sauce didn’t have any bones it in (I’ve had that problem before), and everything was hot. But there was no real interesting flavors there – I ate because I was hungry and I got down to the bottom of my plate. I will say that the wife’s dish looked a little more promising – it was sort of a bowtie pasta kind of shape with wild mushrooms. Again, though, it was just OK.

Our dessert -- Pizza Dolce – also sounded great on the menu, but it just didn’t come through. The sponge cake was too soft and the filling wasn't anything special. All in all, a very average meal in a very crowded category of Italian restaurants.

On to the full review…

THE FOOD: I was so hungry I would have chowed down on anything edible, but I was still a little disappointed. I have generally had pretty good luck with south Philly Italian joints, but Le Virtu didn’t come through (Get it? It rhymes? Vertu=come through. OK, forget it. I'm tired, OK?)

THE DRINKS: Unlike a large percentage of Philadelphia Italian joints, Le Virtu is not a BYOB. The glass of chardonnay I ordered was awful. I NEVER send back wine, but I considered it. It was that bad.

THE STAFF: There were a lot of waiters and waitresses floating around late on a Sunday night. Some knew more than others. Our main waiter was pretty inexperienced and fumbled over a lot of the specials. He tried, but he just wasn’t very good.

MAD PROPS FOR: The pretty outdoor area. It addition to the patio, there was a well-manicured lawn next door. It was a bit odd as it seemed like they would have annexed it into more seating, but it did help the ambiance.

OVERALL: Eh.

THE CHECK: $80 for a dinner for two. For those prices, I expected better. Pass.

We’ve hit a stumbling block here recently, but there are a lot of places with good reputations on the horizon. Let’s hope for some improvements.

On to the Ms...

Ineligible restaurants for round 13

Mad Mex -- Really good margaritas and pretty darn good Mexican food near Penn's campus. It sort of has a chain-ish feel, but I have had good times here.
Mama Palma's -- On my Philly Top 10 list. The best pizza in the city, at least for eat-in places. Don't get take out -- the pizza needs to be eaten right out of the oven.
Mandarin Garden -- The family "special occasion" Chinese restaurant growing up. It was fine, I guess.
Marathon Grill -- A great example of a successful chain that knows its appeal. Marathon is great for breakfast, good for lunch, and fine for dinner.
McDonalds -- All in all, I have probably eaten more at McDonalds than any "restaurant" in the world. I'm not proud of it. I had a think for Chicken McNuggets and McRib sandwiches when I was in middle and high school. And don't get me started on my Filet O' Fish story. Thank God I don't eat here anymore.
Melting Pot -- I don't get this place. The one time I ate here, it sucked. The format is unique, I guess, and it's a big suburban date place, but don't go for a good meal.
Meritage -- Very pretty corner spot north of Rittenhouse Square. It's a good destination meal -- not cheap, but good.
Mixto -- Good booze, bad food.
Modo Mio -- I really liked this high-end Italian joint in a somewhat sketchy north of Northern Liberties locale. The wife wasn't as crazy about it.
Morimoto -- One of these days, I would love to try the $100+ omikase tasting menu here. I have read great things about it. The one time I had the off-the-menu dinner, it was good, but not overwhelming. The tableside tofu was a neat touch though.
Mugshots -- We're here lots of Saturday morning and some Sundays. Good coffee, good muffins, decent bagels. Big crowds though so be prepared to wait in line.

Candidates for round 13:

Marigold Kitchen -- Admittedly, I have been to Marigold, but it was several years ago before they changed chefs and concepts. It's a totally different restaurant now, so it qualifies. http://marigoldkitchenbyob.com/
Meme -- There has been a lot of buzz about this Rittenhouse newcomer to the BYOB scene. Want to know what it's all about? http://www.memerestaurant.com/
Memphis Taproom -- Another new joint that has gotten a lot of good publicity. A twist on pub food out in Fishtown. http://www.memphistaproom.com/
Mustard Greens -- Not your typical Chinese restaurant. First of all, it's in Queen's Village instead of Chinatown. Secondly, it's a much more diverse menu. http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurants/mustard-greens/

"K" is for Kanella

2009-05-21T20:49:00.005-04:00

I like to think of myself as a very open-minded and adventurous eater. I would watch Fear Factor and see the contestants get all grossed out eating bugs or brains or whatever other unsavory items that were placed before them and think "Stop being such a wuss. I could get through this 'challenge' easily."

Of course, I wasn't always this way. Thanks to a suburban upbringing, my impression of "ethnic" restaurants growing up were Chi Chis (Mexican), Olive Garden (Italian), and King Tien/Mandarin Garden/whatever other Americanized name (Chinese). That was pretty much it. I would still try various items probably beyond most teenagers when we went to nicer restaurants -- I was on a duck kick for many years, and it remains one of my favorite dishes when done well, and I distinctly remember ordering snake one time -- but looking back, my palate was limited. And frankly, I probably wouldn't have liked a lot of the ethnic places in the city back then -- it's easy to grow up closed minded to food because that is what you are around and that is what you know. Indian food? Gross! French? Yuck, yuck, yuck. Give me TGI Friday's any day!

Fortunately, as I grew older and burst out of my suburban shell, I recognized that there is more to life than General Tso's chicken, unlimited breadsticks, and bean burritos. One of my favorite things -- if not my absolute favorite thing -- about living in the city is the wealth and diversity of culinary choices. As I hope I have demonstrated in my blog so far this year, you can experience so many different parts of the world within only a few minutes drive that it's a crime not to open your eyes and your mouth to see what is out there, what you truly do like and truly don't like.

However, I have to admit sometimes I am too open minded and have a hard time admitting that there are some foods and some cuisines that I just don't like. Take eggplant for instance. It's a relatively popular vegetable that pops up on so many menus and I know a lot of people enjoy it. So when I kept trying it served in many different ways and as part of many different dishes and constantly said "Ick," I kept figuring it must have been the way it was prepared. It took years to finally recognize, "You know, maybe I just don't like eggplant that much."

So what does all this have to do with our latest stop, Kanella? Well, Greek food is my "eggplant." The wife and I spent our honeymoon in Greece, and while the country and scenary was beautiful, the food was general uninspiring. The best thing I ate was a $2 gyro from a street cart near the beach in Santorini. Everything else was bland, mushy, and just generally uninspiring. But I kept chalking it up to, "Well, the chef here must not have been that good." I went to a Greek place in San Francisco back in November and was equally unimpressed. Obviously, a pattern was forming, but I remained convinced it was the restaurants and not me.

And so I arrived at Kanella with an open mind. I really, really wanted to like Greek food. I mean, I read the menu and it sounded OK so I figured, "Heck, I should like this, right?"

We were greeted by a very cheerful brother and sister team (waiter and hostess) who were really exceptionally friendly and accommodating. They treated us very well and did their best to guide us through the menu to the right choices. Frankly, nothing jumped out at me as a "must have" so I was happy to have some help. I knew from the start that we were going to get the pita with the "dips of the day" -- those are usually among the best bets for the wife and I -- but I was somewhat at a loss for my entree.

I didn't want something boring -- whole fish, steak, or chicken -- so I narrowed my choices to the two most ethnic choices on the menu, the braised rabbit and the goat stew. As I soon as I mentioned my options to our waiter, he didn't hesitate in guiding me toward the goat stew. OK, I was willing to go for it.

It arrived and looked pretty bad -- it just didn't present well. The goat looked like something that might have been floating in the toilet. But I have had some excellent meals that weren't visually appealing -- it doesn't happen often, but it happens. Unfortunately, this was not one of those times. There was nothing wrong with how the dish was presented -- the goat was cooked fine, but it just didn't taste like anything. The accompanying beans and vegetables were also OK, but it just didn't excite me. Everything was just so very blah. Especially with a $24 price tag. Alas...

On to the full review...

THE FOOD: Outside of my main course, the pita and dips were yummy. There were three kinds -- hummus with sardine paste, fava beans with parsley, and eggplant (talk about a signal!). I really like salty fish, so the hummus with sardine paste was my favorite, but they were all good. The wife got the moussaka for dinner -- as traditional Greek as it gets -- I tried it and hated it, but she liked it.

THE DRINKS: Kanella is a BYOB. They had an interesting-sounding almond drink on the menu, but I didn't try it.

THE STAFF: As mentioned earlier, the waiter and hostess were both very nice and they tried their best. When I noted to our waiter that I wasn't crazy about the stew, he said, "Guess I should have recommended the rabbit." But he didn't offer to take anything off our bill. Oh well.

MAD PROPS FOR: I must give credit to our waiter for saving me from my own stupidity. We were walking back to the car when I realized I was missing something -- namely, my wallet. I turned around and walked 2 blocks back to the restaurant. Fortunately, our waiter had it in his hands waiting for me. My credit cards were all still there too.

OVERALL: Sadly, I think it's time to swear off Greek restaurants. Kanella may indeed be a worthwhile stop for others -- there was nothing about it that screamed out, "Don't eat here!" -- but it's not for me. One more minor qualm -- the new restaurant across the street that replaced Azul Cantina (our first entry in this series) played very, very loud music and really hurt the overall ambiance on a nice Friday night.

THE CHECK: $62 with tip for the 2 of us. It's not a cheap joint.

On the Ls...

Ineligible restaurants for round 12:

La Locanda del Ghiotonne -- Hot, bright, loud, and reeking of garlic -- exactly the way a classic Italian restaurant should be. La Locanda has lots of personality and great food. One of my favorite places in the city.
L'Angolo -- A big reputation that, at least on my night there, didn't quite live up to the accolades.
Las Bugambillas -- There are a lot of Mexican fusion places in the city that I love; Las Bugambillas doesn't mess with that sort of stuff. It's high-quality, traditional Mexican food. Enchiladas, burritos, etc., with a lot of seafood as well.
Las Cazuelas -- This Mexican gem on Girard Ave. has quite a following. I like it, don't love it.
La Viola -- This place did so well that it opened up a sister restaurant across the street with the same name. I'm told the original restaurant is nicer -- I only ate in the loud, crowded neighbor.
Little Fish -- Easily one of my top 3 favorite restaurants in the city. It is VERY small, but I love the open kitchen, the small menu, and the absolutely fabulous food. It deserves every one of the accolades it has received in recent years.
L'Oca -- L'Oca is a weird place. Everyone in my neighborhood was very excited when it opened a few years ago, but it hit a rough spot and people soured on it. Yet it has hung in there and I'm hearing better things. Time for a revisit soon.
Lolita -- Love the BYOT (tequila) concept, hate the surly wait staff.
London Grill -- One of Fairmount's original gastropubs. London Grill is a nice place to sit outside, have a drink, and order a plate of fish and chips. The higher end fare is not worth the trouble.

Candidates for round 12:

Le Bec-Fin -- Philadelphia's stalwart, Le Bec-Fin has been the city's culinary anchor on Walnut St. for many, many years. Anyone want to foot the bill? http://www.lebecfin.com/
Le Virtu -- Not your usual south Philly Italian joint. The restaurant has an interesting mix of pastas and heartier entrees. http://www.levirtu.com/
Lovash -- A pretty Indian restaurant right in the heart of hipster South Street. I've read mixed things about the food. http://www.lovashindiancuisine.com/
Ly Michael's -- Upscale Asian food in Chinatown. I'm up for something hot and spicy if you are. http://lymichaelsrestaurant.com/default.aspx

"J" is for John's Roast Pork

2009-05-18T22:16:00.003-04:00

If you ask people across the United States what Philadelphia is best known for, you may get a few answers. "The Liberty Bell" or "Obnoxious Sports Fans" or "Really Cute Jewish Men" but more often than not, they are going to throw out "Cheesesteaks!" At least a dozen times a year, I am asked on my summer walking tours of Independence Square (coming soon!), "So where is the best place to get a cheesesteak?" Now I don't purport to be a cheesesteak connoisiour -- I probably only eat one or two a year -- but I have been to many of the big-name places. Geno's. Pat's. Jim's. None are particularly wonderful, but they are all a true Philadelphia experience. But I am very clear when I recommend one of these places (usually Jim's since it is closest) -- if you are expecting to a memorable meal flavorwise, you are going to be disappointed.

Traditionally, my favorite joint has been Delassandro's down in Roxborough. I was turned onto it by a friend a few years ago and usually go every now and then. It's a good sandwich that follows the hallmark of a respectable cheesesteak -- checklist to come later -- but it's a bit of a hike from downtown Philly.

I had first heard John's Roast Pork mentioned as a worthy challenger a few years back in Philadelphia Magazine's section on the best cheesesteaks in town (or was in the Inquirer? I forget) and then again on WIP when they had some sort of cheesesteak competition (which gave them a puny trophy that wasn't even as nice as my 2nd grade "participation" soccer trophy -- very very weak). Both times, the voters lavished praise on this tiny little south Philly shack in the shadows of Ikea. So why has it taken me so long to get there? Well, basically, because it's not exactly a customer friendly place.

John's Roast Pork is only open weekdays, and only then until 3 p.m. (grill closes at 2:30). It's certainly not within walking distance from downtown, which means I either have to take a day off from work, "work from home," or convince a co-worker to drive down there. I tried the last approach, but no one would bite, so I finally decided, "Screw it, I am working from home today. Today is the day!" And it was. Barely.

I walked it at 2:25 due to an unavoidable meeting at the office. I was the last person served before they turned off the grill. I would have been really, really pissed if I had been turned away. Fortunately, the food Gods were on my side.

So was it worth the wait? Oh yes. Oh yes indeed. Prepare yourselves people. John's Roast Pork is every bit as good as its reputation.

On to the full review...

THE FOOD: A good cheesesteak needs three things -- high quality chopped steak meat, cheese that is actually melted into the meat, and a hearty, moisture-absorbant roll. I can't emphasize this last point enough. If your cheesesteak drips onto your sleeve, it belongs in the trash can. John's cheesesteak passed the test in all three areas. Not only was their roll sturdy, but it has sesame seeds on the outside which only added to the flavor. I like mushrooms and onions on my cheesesteak, so those got piled on as well. It all added up to heaven. Hot, yummy, and filling. I was really, really impressed. It burned the roof of my mouth a little, but I didn't care even a little.

THE DRINKS: I got a Barq's root beer. Whoopie.

THE STAFF: John's is a family run joint. They move people in and out quickly -- it is a popular place. Like I said, I walked in at 2:25 p.m. on a Monday and there were 6 people ahead of me. Ten minutes later, lunch was served.

MAD PROPS FOR: The outdoor picnic tables. John's is nothing to look at. It's a shack next to the railroad tracks. But it was nice on a sunny day to be able to sit outside, spread out my sandwich and my napkins, and eat in peace.

OVERALL: If you have never been to John's, you really should go. It isn't the Philadelphia experience that Pat's, Geno's, or Jim's is, but this is a cheesesteak the way it's meant to be. They have other sandwiches on the menu also -- fish cake, anyone? -- but I can only recommend the one. It was everything it was cracked up to be. I will deliver my trophy next time I am there, probably in another 5 years.

THE CHECK: $9.75 for sandwich and a soda. It's a fair price for what you get.

On to the Ks....

Ineligible restaurants for round 11:

Kabul -- I remember going to this Afghan place in Old City a few weeks after 9/11. It felt a bit eerie. Traditional, cheap food at this surprisingly good BYOB.
Kentucky Fried Chicken -- The wife told me her "favorite meal" growing up was a bucket of KFC. Shed a tear for her, folks. How she couldn't appreciate the joys of Chicken McNuggets is beyond me.
Kibitz in the City -- The "New York" style Jewish deli near my office. The overstuffed sandwiches are good, but it's very much overpriced. I don't get it.
King George II Inn -- This Bristol restaurant is where I went to dinner the night I got engaged (we stole the thunder of the mom, whose birthday it was -- oops).
Kisso -- I tried to like this sushi joint when I first moved back to Philly, but it never caught on with me. It was OK, but nothing special.
Kite and Key -- One of Fairmount's newer gastropubs. The setup is great to enjoy the summertime weather and the food isn't bad.

Candidates for round 11:

Kanella -- I have heard good things about this upscale Greek joint near Washington Square. www.kanellarestaurant.com
Ken Shin Asian Diner -- This place just opened a few weeks ago. It's a total wildcard. I have no clue. http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurants/ken-shin-asian-diner/
Kimberton Inn -- This round's suburban entry. Alas, I have no clue where Kimberton is. Just follow the manure, I suppose. www.kimbertoninn.com
Kristian's Ristorante -- We're due to get back to a top-notch Italian restaurant soon. Here is your chance. http://www.kristiansrestaurant.com/

One more thing before I go. Special props to Copper Bistro out in Northern Liberties -- we had a surprise party for 18 for the mother-in-law over the weekend and not only were they accommodating and flexible every step of the way, but the food was very good at a very affordable price. I could not have been more impressed.

Enjoy the outdoor eating everyone!

"I" is for Imperial Inn

2009-04-24T17:42:00.006-04:00

"Excuse me, but I thought I read that you guys serve dim sum," I said to our waitress as we eyed our typical suburban bastardized version of a Chinese menu (heavy on the sweet and sour, general Tso's, and fried rice).

"Only until 2 o'clock."

"Whoops. Guess we'll come back another time."

And so, in a nutshell, this explains why this blog has gone dark for most of the last month. The wife and I first stepped foot into Imperial Inn 2 weeks ago with the intent of continuing our food journey, but once we realized this was not what I was intending and that it was going to be, well, it was going to suck, we hightailed it out of there. I thought briefly about cheating and either skipping Imperial Inn or choosing one of the losing "I" restaurants, but then I thought, "How dare I shortchange everyone who waits with bated breath before making a single dining decision based upon my feedback! And how dare I reverse a lifetime of playing by the rules, calling it like it is, and refusing to take shortcuts (yeah, yeah, that's right!)!!!"

As a result, I waited patiently. Imperial Inn isn't that far from my office, and there is nothing chaining to me desk. Unfortunately, the first day I wanted to go, it was pouring. No thanks. The second time, a meeting popped up. Cancelamundo. So it was this week that I was able to convince two colleagues to come with me to Imperial Inn, despite the following exchange.

"Want to try a dim sum restaurant?"
"Sorry, I don't eat soup."
"Um, dim sum isn't soup."
"Oh, OK."

For those of you who have never been to a dim sum restaurant, it's sort of a hybrid between today's popular Brazilian steakhouses and the tapas movement rushing through the city. Various waitresses wheel around carts with about 4 or 5 different items on them, sort of grouped together (one will, for instance, have several kinds of dumplings, while another will have several kinds of noodle dishes). You tell them which ones you want and they mark it down on your check. Every item costs exactly the same amount (about $2.50) so it's easy to tell how much you are spending.

The great thing about dim sum is that, if you go with enough people, you can try a lot of different things. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong two people to go with. They were nice enough and the conversation was fine, but they couldn't eat the dim sum. I mentioned their food no-nos -- well, almost all dim sum at the Imperial Inn had pork in it, so they ended up ordering from the regular menu. I was stuck fending for myself. I did my best.

On to the full review...

THE FOOD: I started too fast, I admit it. I ordered shrimp dumplings off of cart No. 1, pork and shrimp gyoza from cart No. 2, and fried taro balls with pork and shrimp from cart No. 3. I couldn't say no. I realized my mistake rather quickly -- they had a lot to choose from and my stomach can only take so much. I settled for one more dish -- I honestly can't even remember it was right now, but I know that it had pork. The food was actually pretty decent -- the taro balls were a little bit too mushy on the insides, but they were different. I liked the dumplings and gyoza. I really wish I could have tried more -- they had lots of interesting items on later carts. Oh well.

THE DRINKS: Philly finest (tap water). They have a bar, but it almost looks like they put it in what used to be the coat closet. Weird.

THE STAFF: Us: "So, is there anything vegetarian on the dum sum carts?" Them: "Yes, have vegetables. And pork and shrimp. Everything." Us: "Yeah, but is there anything a vegetarian can eat?" Them: "Order from menu." Us: "Oh, OK."

MAD PROPS FOR: The hostess. We walked in and were told to sit down near the entrance and that they would seat us in a few minutes (the place was very crowded). We sat down for about 30 seconds in seats about 6 feet away. A group of two others was sitting a little closer. She sat them first, of course, but then made us move into their seats, a whole 3 feet away. It felt like we were in line for a ride at the amusement park.

OVERALL: The wife is not much of a Chinatown fan, but I have always enjoyed the adventure. Still, Imperial Inn feels too much like an dumbed-down Chinese restaurant and the clientele was absolutely all over the place -- some people who spoke only Chinese and some people who appeared to be in from Iowa. I did like the dum sum concept, but I wouldn't go back to Imperial Inn. Alas...

THE CHECK: $36 for the 3 of us, with tip. I expensed it (no joke, it was our "going away lunch" for our intern. Have I mentioned how lax our company meal policy is?)

On to the J...

Ineligible restaurants for round 10:

Jack's Firehouse -- I so wish I could say nice things about this Fairmount staple. The space is stunning, but the food is just so subpar and so expensive that no one is happy with their experience. They do a great job marketing to the suburbanites who walk there from the Art Museum, which keeps the place afloat, but it always makes me sad when I walk by. It could be so good with the right concept and chef. Oh well.
James -- A favorite of foodies, I only went once 2 years or so ago and was underwhelmed. May have just been a bad night.
Jim's Steaks -- No place better for a 3 a.m. cheesesteak, and the line proves it. I send tourists here not because the cheesesteaks are wonderful, but because it has that Philly feel. Plus, you can walk there from Independence Park.
Jimmy John's -- The first time I noticed a Jimmy John's in Philadelphia, I did a double take. "A Decatur chain on the East Coast?" I guess they must be branching out.
J.L. Sullivan's Speakeasy -- Beautiful space that replaced Zanzibar Blue on Broad Street, but the menu is fried, fried, fried. It sort of is trying to be a sports bar. It isn't going to make it.
Johnny Manana's -- Fun place in East Falls, but not much more than a Friday's with Mexican food.
Jones -- I end up here a lot for lunch since it's right around the corner from my office, and let me tell you, this place cleans up. The food isn't cheap, but it is generally decent. I'm a sucker for their fried chicken in a basket with fries. The "make your own salad" can be good too. Portion size is out of control.

Candidates for round 10:

Jake's -- Loud and proud in Manayunk. http://www.jakesrestaurant.com/
Jamaican Jerk Hut -- Free joint with every order over $10. Kidding, kidding. I have heard mixed things about this no-nonsense joint, but more good than bad. http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurants/jamaican-jerk-hut/
John's Roast Pork -- A weird hut just off of 95. Only open for lunch Mondays through Fridays, but it consistently wins city contents for the best cheesesteak. It even, surprisingly, has its own website. http://www.johnsroastpork.com/
Joseph Ambler Inn -- I would almost bet I have been here in my younger days, but I don't remember it, that's for sure. Upscale Continental out in North Wales. http://www.josephamblerinn.com/.

"H" is for Hymie's Merion Station

2009-03-27T16:08:00.006-04:00

Got a little sidetracked by vacation, NCAA basketball and work, but the journey resumed this weekend with something a little bit different -- the traditional Jewish delicatessan in Philadelphia's traditional Main Line.

Jewish delis have a weird history -- Italians came over and started serving pasta, the German served sausages, and the Greeks their gyros. All traditional foods from the "home country." But since the wandering nomads of the world (that's us) didn't really have a "home country" they brought with them gigantic smoked meat sandwiches, matzo ball soup, and chopped liver. Why? Who knows. But we did, and good for us. I love a good corned beef on rye with russian dressing and cole slaw. I mean, that's three yummy things together -- how can you miss (that's a rhetorical question, people -- obviously, if any one of those three elements are subpar, you can miss big time)?

Which brings us to the latest stop on our restaurant odyssey -- Hymie's Merion Station. It's as traditional as it gets in the Jewish deli circles. Jewish delis are weird creatures -- it's as much the menu as it is the clientele. I know that the wife sometimes gets a little annoyed when I perpetuate Jewish stereotypes, but the Jewish customer is just classic in their rapid fire demands ("I want a turkey sandwich on rye, but I want the turkey sliced thin and the spicy mustard from New York, with half a side of cole slaw and half a side of potato salad, you can do that right?, and then I want an extra pickle, but don't charge me for it, you can do that right? and extra lemons for my water and two Sweet and Lows, and then a small slice of cheesecake for dessert (wink wink), and oh, are you single, wait let me show you a picture of my granddaughter") Maybe I'm exaggerating (but not much) -- I always snicker inside when I hear one of these orders. And then of course the sweet waitress nods her heads and says, "OK, sure, whatever bubbala."

That's exactly what happened at Hymie's at the table next to us. Just a very long, I-know-what-I-want-and-how-I-want-it kind of order. But I digress...

If you want to take the measure of a Jewish deli, you need to see how their matzo ball soup and corned beef/pastrami/chopped liver tastes. If they can't do that well, they can't survive. And, well, since Hymie's had thrived in the heart of moneyed Main Line for 70 years (there was a 10-minute wait for a table at noon on a Saturday and this isn't a small restaurant), I figured they were going to do these things well. And I was right. Very light, airy Matzo balls, but they didn't fall apart when you cut into them, which is key. And the corned beef/pastrami sandwich with russian dressing and cole slaw I got was very good. The cole slaw initially looked a little drippy, but it tasted the way it should. I will admit I was a little thrown off by the snootiness of the place -- perhaps because there have been so many weird articles in the Inky recently about these ridiculous in-fights going on on the Main Line -- but otherwise, there was a lot to like about Hymie's.

On the full review...

THE FOOD: Much like Murray's in Jenkintown (or thereabouts), there was a combinaton of traditional Jewish favorites for the old timers -- sable and whitefish anyone? -- with more common breakfast items, sandwiches, and more full dinners. The wife was very pleased with her eggs, home fries, bagel, and homemade danish. The home fries were particularly good -- a combination of the crisp, slightly burnt ones along with larger pieces and some fried onions. On any other visit, I probably would have stuck with breakfast as well (it was a bit early on a weekend for a full lunch), but I wanted to give my loyal readers (back down to 3 of you) a comprehensive review. The key to my sandwich was that it wasn't overly stuffed with meat but neither was it scrawny. Very yummy. The matzo ball soup, as mentioned earlier, was also just right. No complaints about the food.

THE DRINKS: I guess it's a good thing when my biggest complaint is about the water, but something was really off there. Especially for a Main Line restaurant, I was expecting drinkable water. It was awful swill. The coffee was good, though. Tables next to us got milkshakes, which looked yummy, but we had already ordered by the time we saw them.

THE STAFF: According to one of the articles on the wall -- Hymie's proudly displayed all the awards its won over the years -- our waitress had been there for 50+ years. I forget her name, but she was nice enough. I loved her hair -- one of those '60s hairdos. I asked the wife if she was going to be asking her hairdresser for that 'do. She kicked me.

MAD PROPS FOR: The clientele. Old, young, middle aged, single, married -- fun for the entire family. Needless to say, it was probably 90% Jewish, and there were some snooty Main Liners (more on that later), but it was entertaining to see the combinations of people walking in and eating together.

OVERALL: A nice change up. It's a very different vibe than, say, Honey's, but I can see why it's so popular. The food is priced right, they move through things quickly, and they pay attention to what their customers want. A well-stocked bakery and deli is attached to the restaurant for take out orders. I did get a little turned off by the snootiness of some customers -- I lined up in the wrong line to pay and the woman behind me sort of turned up her nose and said, "Uh, the register to pay is over there." I keyed her BMW on the way out. Just kidding (or am I?)

THE CHECK: $27, with tip. It was priced right for what we got.

Three months in and we've hit 8 restaurants. We hit a lull for a while, but there have been some recent winners. We're still a bit ahead of schedule and heading into the warmer weather, which means more outdoor seating and checking out the honeys walking by on the sidewalk. I'll bring my camera along to show you the sites.

On to the Is...

Ineligible restaurants for round 9:

International House of Pancakes: When I was little, I loved the idea of IHOP. Lots of yummy pancakes with lots of yummy syrups. Now? Not so much. I'm a snob.
Il Cantuccio: My first meal at this Italian stalwart in Northern Liberties was one of the best Italian dinners I've ever had. The second time around was not as stellar, but this is still a reliable (but busy) spot.
Illuminare: When I first moved into Fairmount, I really used to like Illuminare. The layout is great, with an open kitchen up front, a beautiful courtyard, and really comfortable seating. But the food just isn't where it needs to be for as much as they are charging. It's been a while since I've been back.
Inn Flight: I think I was here once, but what sticks out for me about Inn Flight is the really low budget commercials they used to constantly have on TV when I was little. For some reason, they stuck.
Irish Pub: The beer is OK, the atmosphere not so great, and the food is awful. Yet it packs in the college kids.

Candidates for Round 9:

Ida Mae's Bruncherie: Much as I try to avoid Fishtown, I've read good things about this interesting locale. http://www.idamaesbruncherie.com/.
Imperial Inn: Dim sum in Chinatown. Somehow, I have never had dim sum in my life. Is it time to try it? http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurantdetails?restaurantid=39480.
Indonesia Restaurant: Weird that there is an Indonesian restaurant near the South Philly stadiums, but why not/ http://www.indonesiarestaurant.com/.
Inn at St. Peter's Village: Cozy B&B wayyyy out in the boonies. http://www.innatsaintpeters.com/.

"G" is for Geechee Girl Rice Cafe

2009-03-08T21:23:00.004-04:00

Back during the Dark Ages (otherwise known as the 3.5 years I lived in Decatur, IL), it always used to annoy me when I asked people from Chicago if they had ever been to Central Illinois. They often looked at me as if I had a third eye before saying, "Now why would I ever leave Chicago for anything! There is no way anything outside of the city is worth a damn!" It was a weird, closed-minded mentality that didn't seem to make sense.

But now that I'm on the other side of the fence -- living in downtown Philadelphia where restaurants are as plentiful as acne on a 16-year-old -- I can sort of see where that elitist, urban, "we've got the best of everything" attitude comes from. So it was nice to break out of the downtown rut this weekend and drive over to Geechee Girl Rice Cafe, tucked away on a pretty little piece of Mt. Airy. Now, granted, it isn't as if it was much of a trek -- maybe 20 minutes each way. But it is still a very different sort of feel than Center City.

And Geechee Girl is a different sort of restaurant. It bills itself as West African, though admittedly, the menu is a little bit all over the place. It is family owned by 2 or 3 sisters -- they told us, but I forget. The owner's family actually showed up to sit down for dinner while we were there -- talk about a good strategy to get a free meal! It was larger than I was expected and really done up nicely. There were a group of family pictures on the wall near the entrance, local artwork around the restaurants, and some attractive track lighting throughout. I liked it.

I had carefully scouted the menu prior to our arrival and I had a sense of what I wanted. But then I heard "fried chicken" among the specials and I jumped. I really like fried chicken, and yes, I know how awful it is for me. Now I'm not talking KFC fried chicken -- gross -- but fried chicken in a good restaurant that is not greasy but crispy and crunchy and moist and just yum yum yum. Anyway, about 5 minutes after I ordered it, I thought to myself how stupid I was. It wasn't that I was worried if it would be good or not, but I was there to try something different and ethnic and unique, and I settled for Thai fried chicken. Now, it was very good -- all of the food I had was very good (the wife's dinner was so-so, but otherwise, thumbs up across the board) -- but I should have gotten something more unique to the restaurant. Oh well.

On to the full rundown of Geechee Girl Rice Cafe...

THE FOOD: The fried okra and corn fritters had more okra than corn, which was fine. They were pretty much fancy latkes -- not too heavy or greasy. Very yummy. Our waiter was nice enough to give me a little taste of their black eyed peas with ham as well -- also good. Every entree comes with a choice of various kind of rice, which I thought was a cool touch. My fried chicken was good, but it was cut up into pieces instead of "pick it up, lick your fingers, and towel off" fried chicken, which I actually prefer. There was a sweet glaze on the chicken (that was the thai part) and the sauce was excellent. The Asian slaw was pretty mediocre. Still, I liked the flavors and the presentation overall.

THE DRINKS: Honestly, their South African Ginger Beer was one of the best nonalcoholic drinks I have ever had. It tasted unlike anything I had had before. It was sort of like a ginger iced tea, but way better. I only drank one, but it was excellent.

THE STAFF: I initially ordered the black eyed peas and ham instead of rice to go with my entree. A minute or so later, our waiter came over and said, "You know, that probably won't go so well with the sauce." I appreciated his input and changed my order. He was even nice enough to give me a taste of the black eyed peas. We also spoke to the owner and one of the other waitresses, both of whom were very nice.

MAD PROPS FOR: The neighborhood. I had never been in the pseudo-downtown Mt. Airy. There wasn't much to it, but it was a neat vibe. Geechee Girl is very much a neighborhood place -- we could tell most everyone else there were regulars or near-regulars.

OVERALL: You're probably to this point and thinking, "Wow, this is a great place. I should go." And I'm not saying you shouldn't. But the one thing to keep in mind is that the restaurant is overpriced by at least 25%. I don't mind paying for good food, but this was a little on the high side, especially in this economy. That was my only negative mark on Geechee Girl. Otherwise, I'd be back. If I ever leave the city to eat again.

THE CHECK: $60, with tip. Not awful, I know, but for 3 fritters, 2 middle-of-the-road entrees as far as ingredients go, and 1 nonalcoholic drink, it was a bit too much.

On to the "Hs"...

Ineligible restaurants for round 8:

Hamifgash -- Talk about a mismanaged restaurant. I was sort of excited when this Glatt kosher place opened up near my office, but then they put up pictures of the food. It looks like various shades of throw up. Too bad too, because the chicken shwarma in a pita is quite good. I'm surprised it's lasted as long as it has, to be honest.
Hard Rock Cafe -- I know this will sound weird, but one of the best meals I had was as a 16-year-old at a Hard Rock Cafe. Watermelon ribs -- I can still taste them on my lips. One of my first great meals.
Honey's Sit and Eat -- Ahhh, Honey's. As close to a perfect restaurant as you can get. The best brunch in the city for the price, and dinner is pretty f'in good as well. Plus, the waitstaff is incredibly cool and they laugh at my jokes. I even had a waitress who knew my birthday. That's love. I love Honey's. You know how people on death row get to choose their last meal? I would seriously consider choosing Honey's. Yes, you have to wait for a table for brunch, BUT THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT PEOPLE? You want the best, you wait. Period.
Hooters -- Wait, they serve food here? Huh, I never noticed.

Candidates for round 8:

Honey -- No, it's not Honey's, and no, it's not in the city. But it's gotten some good ink... for a suburban joint. http://www.honeyrestaurant.com/
Horizons -- Philadelphia's No. 1 vegan restaurant. I'll sneak in a Slim Jim and munch on it in front of all the other customers with a dumb, "What's wrong?" look on my face. http://www.horizonsphiladelphia.com/
Hostaria Da Elio -- Small, intimate BYOB off of South Street. http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurantdetails?restaurantid=39971
Hymie's Merion Station -- There is some weird fight going on between Jewish delis on the Main Line. This is one of the pugilists. http://www.hymies.com/deli.html

Blue Plate Special -- Dinosaur Barbecue

2009-03-01T16:21:00.003-05:00

After spending four years in dark, grey, and dreary Syracuse, NY, there is very little that I miss about the Salt City. There was a coffee shop (long since closed) just off campus where I learned that there is more to a cup of joe than Folgers or Maxwell House. I spent many, many hours at 744 Ostrom Ave. at the offices of the Daily Orange at my first sort-of real job as the sports editor of the campus newspaper (lot of good that did me).

But in reality, there is only one place that I truly miss about Syracuse -- Dinosaur Barbecue. The Dino (no one calls it that but I'm going to anyway, dammit) was one of those places that stand out in part because it is so much better than everything around it, but really just because it is frigging awesome. Picture Angelina Jolie living in, I don't know, let's say Decatur, IL. People would be drooling at the sight of her. That's what happens in Syracuse when you walk up to The Dino. It's really not much to look at -- a blues and biker bar that just happens to have the best barbecue I have ever eaten. They pile it on thick, they pile it on meaty, and they pile it on yummy. I must have eaten there or gotten take out 50 times in my four years at SU -- it was right around the corner from the "real" newspaper in Syracuse, so when I interned there as a senior, I used to call and the food would be ready to be picked up 2 minutes later. It never failed.

A few years ago, the mom bought me the cookbook from The Dino and to this day, it is one of my favorites. So many awesome recipes to choose from. I ALWAYS have a large tupperware full of homemade barbecue sauce, which has so many uses. I could eat it by the spoonful (and sometimes do).

The Dino has been in Syracuse since probably the 80s (just a guess) and a few years ago they branched out to Harlem and Rochester. I had sort of talked about going once or twice, but had never really seriously planned anything. I did try to go to the original Dino when I was back in Syracuse two years ago, but I kept getting turned around and never did find it (cue the sad music).

But I digress...

On Monday, the wife had an idea that we should drive to Harlem the next Saturday to go to the Dino for dinner. I thought it was a great idea. She emailed the brother-in-law and the girlfriend, who live in Manhattan, to see if they wanted to come along. They were in.

One problem -- no available reservations, at all, for Saturday night. $#@!%

I tried on Tuesday. Nothing. $#@!%. Wednesday. Nothing. $#@!%. Thursday. Friday. Nothing and nothing. $#@!%. We had pretty much given up hope by then, but nonetheless, when I woke up Friday, I tried one more time online (OpenTable.com I love you!)

Table for 2, 7:30 p.m. Book it. Unfortunately, the brother-in-law and girlfriend were already tied up for the night, but that was pretty much expected at that point.

Needless to say, I was incredibly excited. We left with plenty of lead time to account for traffic and potentially getting lost, but the drive wasn't too bad -- a little under 2 hours each way. The Dino is actually right over the GW Bridge, so it was very easy to find. And oh was it worth it.

The full rundown on one of the best restaurants in the whole wide world...

THE FOOD: What can I say. The fried green tomatoes with blue cheese sauce were OK, but during our appetizer portion of the meal, I tried all five of the different barbecue sauces on the table. The primary sauce (or the Mutha Sauce) tasted similar to the one I have. in the fridge -- yum. The others ratcheted up on the spicy scale. Interesting experiment. The wife and I got the "Sweetheart Sampler" -- a full rack of ribs with our choice of four sides. Oh mama. This was no stringy, cheap ass rack of ribs. The ribs were perfect in size and in flavor. I slathered each bite in the Mutha Sauce and it was heavenly. I mean, really really good. The sides I chose, the baked beans and potato salad, were also excellent. I don't like mac and cheese but the wife liked it. The cornbread was also yummy. Despite being stuffed, we took a shot at the key lime pie for dessert -- I like the one I make better. It was just OK. But only a minor damper on the evening.

THE DRINKS: We "pre-partied" at a bar down the street to kill time until our reservations. We were just about ready to ,leave when the bartender said, "Did you guys know this was happy hour? All drinks were half off." I did not know, but thank you, thank you, thank you. The wife was already wobbly by the time we sat down for dinner, so we stuck with water at the Dino.

THE STAFF: The place was packed. It made Honey's look empty. I imagine it was a very long wait for walk-ins to be seated, but they sat us in less than 5 minutes thanks to our reservations. Despite how big and busy the place in, the food came at us quickly and our waiter was pretty attentive. Good stuff.

MAD PROPS FOR: Now I know that a dirty bathroom is usually a turnoff. But one of the coolest things about The Dino in Syracuse was all the poetic graffiti on the wall. No poems in Harlem, but lots of graffiti. And since I didn't need to sit down in a stall, it was all good. We had a very cool table as well, really a neat location.

OVERALL: It takes an awful lot for me to be convinced to drive 2 hours each way to eat dinner. The Dino is a special place and it was nice to see that while the vibe was a little more upscale in Harlem, the food was still the reason to be there.

THE CHECK: $50 for the two of us, with tip. I mean, c'mon, how can you beat that?

Back to the real reviews later this week... weather permitting.

"F" is for Fuji Mountain

2009-02-21T15:19:00.009-05:00

In the medical world, there is a phrase called the "gold standard." Essentially, what it means is that, for an individual disease or condition, there has been a best treatment option previously identified by many, many researchers - this is called the "gold standard." For instance, the gold standard for preventing stroke is warfarin. And so, any new treatment that comes along purporting to prevent stroke is compared to that gold standard. Are patients living longer? Less side effects? Something else significant? If the answer is "no," then the gold standard remains the gold standard. If the answer is "yes," and results are reproducable over a long period of time, a new gold standard is then put into place.

"What the heck is he talking about?" you ask. "I thought this was a fricking restaurant blog!"

Patience, loyal readers (now up to 4 of you). I'll explain.

Sushi is not particularly complicated. Take your few basics ingredients -- fish, rice, wasabi, soy, ginger, etc. -- and go. Sushi at restaurant X is going to probably look pretty similar to sushi at restaurant Y. With sashimi, the variables are even fewer. The differences are usually subtle -- How fresh is the fish? Is it cut with the proper thickness? Is there enough vinegar is the rice? And how does the soy sauce complete everything? -- but once you eat enough sushi, it is not too difficult to differentiate good sushi from mediocre sushi and from mediocre sushi to bad sushi.

Consequently, choosing a "gold standard" sushi restaurant is much easier than choosing a gold standard Italian, French, or Indian place. Since your order probably isn't going to change much and the preparation will only vary slightly, comparing apples to apples, so to speak, is quite possible.

For about the last three years, Raw Sushi and Sake has been my personal gold standard sushi restaurant in Philadelphia. From my first visit on opening night (the only restaurant I have ever been to on the night it opened) right through present day, it has been consistently excellent. Not perfect -- a recent trip, in particular, led to a spider roll which, no exaggeration, tasted like vomit -- but usually really good fish prepared extremely well at a reasonable price. I have tried several other places that have been good, but not good enough to supplant the gold standard.

Which brings me to Fuji Mountain, the latest stop on our restaurant journey. As with any new sushi restaurant I walk into, right from the beginning, I went down my checklist to compare Fuji Mountain against Raw. How was the waitstaff (pretty good)? How was the ambiance (not bad)? The drink list (iffy)? Most importantly, though, how was the food?

And overall, it wasn't bad, certainly better than the last few stops on this jaunt. There were four of us and so we ordered the "sushi for 4" entree, which was actually a nice touch and made selections easier. There was plenty for us to eat, it was well presented, and variety was not bad. You had your tuna, your salmon, and your eel, of course, but they also gave us some more mid-range choices like striped bass and white tuna (my current favorite piece of sashimi). Nothing too exotic, but I wasn't expecting that.

There were a few pieces that were a little too chewy -- I want my sushi to more or less melt in my mouth -- but for the most part, I was happy with the quality of the fish. The rolls that came along with the entree -- spicy tuna, shrimp tempura, and dragon rolls -- were not bad, especially the latter two. It wasn't anything that blew me away, but Fuji Mountain definitely proved itself to be a nice alternative to the Raw. Not quite up to the level of the gold standard, but not too far down the list.

On to the full rundown of Fuji Mountain...

THE FOOD: First off, I liked that they gave all four of us both soup and salad as part of our order (and even "upgraded" the wife to an avocado salad for free). The miso and the house salad were fine -- pretty basic stuff. The sushi was presented nicely, on one of those large wooden "boats" some other sushi restaurants use. There was enough ginger and wasabi for the table (and I must say, the wasabi was really smoking -- I got a major brain burn at one point in the meal that was painful but oddly pleasurable at the same time). The cuts of fish were fair -- not sloppy and overly large, but not chintzy and small. Like I said, though, a few pieces were just a little too chewy and there wasn't anything on the plate that made me sit up and say, "Wow, that was a really great piece of fish."

THE DRINKS: In hindsight, we may have been better off going for sake or maybe a nice bottle of Sapporo. The bottle of wine we ordered was OK, but a bit pricey. They didn't have what we originally asked for, so they substituted what they said was a similar quality bottle. Whether they were lying or not, I have no clue.

THE DECOR: It was a busy night, which is key for a sushi place. The worst feeling is walking into a sushi restaurant that is empty at 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday -- you just know the quality of the fish can't be very good. I liked the sushi bar right when you walk in and the tables were relatively nice. There was an odd fireplace mounted against the wall, but that was really the only thing that seemed out of place. The whole restaurant could use a redesign to catch up to the times, but it wasn't anything that detracted from the meal.

THE STAFF: Nice touch to have the waitresses wear kimonos. The cousin was a bit miffed that she "pre-opened" the wine before she came to the table and then didn't serve the ladies first, but it didn't bother me so much.

MAD PROPS FOR: Dessert afterward at Capogiro, Philly's gelato king. That place is simply awesome. A huge crowd of about 30 teenagers filed in five minutes after we arrived. Thank God we had ordered by then.

OVERALL: Not a bad way to celebrate the engagement of the cousin and his fiancee. And fortunately, the in-depth conversation about farting waited until after dinner.

THE CHECK: $180 for 4 of us. Ouch. Sushi isn't cheap, and the wine was a little pricey. Still, probably a bit overpriced for what we got. Oh well, it was a splurge.

On to the "Gs"...

Ineligible restaurants for round 7:

Geno's Steaks -- It's the age old argument -- Pat's or Geno's. Of course, as most native Philadelphians know, the answer is neither, but if I was forced to choose, Geno's it would be.
Genji -- When I was first learning sushi, Genji often was my "tutor." It's been a while since I've been back, but it was decent.
Golden "XXX" -- There are so many generic Chinese restaurants that are called Golden "Something" that I'm sure I've been to at least one of them. They all stink equally.
Good Dog -- The food is surprisingly good when you want a simple burger and fries. The over/under on tattoos among clientele (and staff for that matter) is 6.
Great American Pub -- It's "the place to be" on Saturday night in Conshocken. Ugh.

Candidates for round 7:

Gayle -- Easy on the palate, not so much on the wallet. Chef Daniel Stern's first hit in Philadelphia. http://www.gaylephiladelphia.com/
Geechee Girl Rice Cafe -- Sounds Asian but it's not. Downhome country food in the heart of Germantown. http://www.geecheegirlricecafe.com/index.php
Giwa -- Nothing fancy about this Korean place just off of Rittenhouse Square, but Korean food usually doesn't play too many tricks. http://www.giwakoreanfood.com/menu.pdf
Gnocchi -- Apparently, the owners didn't feel like being creative with their name. South Philly Italian, of course. http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurantdetails?restaurantid=28949.

"E" is for Erawan

2009-02-11T22:07:00.005-05:00

Picture it in your mind. A pretty, quiet corner just west of Rittenhouse Square. Cool, muted colors on the walls and nicely arranged decor. Soft, soothing music in the background. Polite, if a bit amaterish, wait staff sitting and waiting for you to take your time sipping wine while reviewing the intricate menu.

All sounds pretty romantic, right? Well, at least until you look toward the hostess stand where they are showing Jeopardy on a randomly-placed television for all customers to see.

"I'll take 'What the F&^%' for $400, Alex."

Maybe it should have been a clue that it was going to be a very up and down evening, one that started well but spiralled down and down and down.

Erawan got off to a good start -- the menu read well and it really is a very nice space. There were a number of interesting options on the menu to choose from that all sounded good -- crispy duck, lots of curry and noodle dishes, traditional pad thai (which the wife is a sucker for). I was frankly not all that excited leading up to the meal, but reading the menu raised my level of intrigue. I was hoping for good things. Good Thai food is hard to find in Philadelphia. There is Tamarind, where I had an awesome meal a few weeks ago, and then not much else. Aqua is sort of thai as well, but they bill themselves as Malaysian, whatever that means.

So Erawan does fill a needed niche. People generally like good thai food and it caters to carnivores, fish lovers, and hard-core vegetarians. A good Thai restaurant in a spot like Erawan should do well. If, of course, they can deliver good food.

The appetizer -- a combination of fried and steamed vegetable dumplings -- was excellent, but it was unfortunately not a harbinger of things to come. My meal was awful -- it was billed as "Holy Basil Supreme" but it should have been called "Holy Crap Does My Stomach Hurt." For starters, I didn't taste a whiff of basil. In addition, the beef in it was fatty and overcooked, and the sauce was caked onto the plate in way too many layers. They even managed to mess up the wife's pad thai, although that wasn't awful. But it wasn't good either. Sigh...

On to the full rundown of Erawan...

THE FOOD: The menu read like a thai diner -- there were probably 100 items on the menu, which is about 60 too many. I can't stress this enough -- make your menu fit your space. If you are going to be serving 50 people a night, you don't need 100 entree choices. Be good at a few things, not average at a lot. Erawan, at least for me, was barely average overall, at least on this night.

THE DRINKS: BYOB. Our waitress couldn't figure out how to open our wine bottle so she had to call for backup. I'll give her some leeway though -- it was a weird cap. Not exactly a twist-off, but not a cork either. Kind of a hybrid. They were good at filling up the water glasses.

THE DECOR: As I said, take away the TV and it's a cute dining area. The weirdest thing is, there isn't a bar or anything where people would be watching the TV. Who exactly is it meant for? Strange days indeed,

THE STAFF: Nothing to complain about. Our waitress was fine, but we didn't tax her too much.

MAD PROPS FOR: The bizzare "customer survey" stuck inside the check. In addition to the customary questions (quality of food, cleanliness of restaurant), they asked "Your kind of music (name the artist)" Name the artist? So if I write down, "Play more Twisted Sister" the next time I come in, they'll be cranking out "We're Not Gonna Take It!"? Awesome.

OVERALL: Another thumbs down unfortunately. C'mon people, you need to do better.

THE CHECK: $40 for 2 of us, with tip. At least the price tag wasn't onerous.

Here's to better times in the next future. On to the "Fs"...

Ineligible restaurants for round 6:

Fado -- I used to like Fado back in my younger, single days. It's loud but it's a little funky.
Farmicia -- Only went here once for Restaurant Week but I'd like to go back. Cool vibe.
Figs -- The best restaurant in my neighborhood (Fairmount). Consistently excellent and the owner is incredibly nice. We go several times each year.
Finn McCool's -- They have done a great job renovating. It's a cool after work spot for a drink.
Fox & Hound -- Lots of TVs, fried food, and beer. Philly's best example of an urban sports bar.
Franklin Fountain -- I love Franklin Fountain. The best ice cream in the city, a great location, and staff who dress in garb from the early 1910s. It's pricey, but it's worth every penny.
Friday Saturday Sunday -- This is supposed to be a romanticc hotspot, but it's about 15 years past it's prime. It needs to go.
Friendly's -- The only place I know where you can say to a woman (if she's your waitress) "I'll have a Happy Ending" and you won't get slapped.

Candidates for round 6:

Fatou and Fama's -- Funky African food in University City. http://www.fatouandfama.com/
Frederick's -- More high-end Italian in South Philly. http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurantdetails?restaurantid=28963
Fuji Mountain -- I have gotten way too hung up on going to Raw for all of my sushi needs. This is a good place to start branching out. http://www.fujimt.com/
Four Rivers -- I'm reading a book about an English woman who spent many years in Szechuan China. This Chinatown staple would be right up her alley. http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurantdetails?restaurantid=29139

"D" is for Divan Turkish Kitchen

2009-01-31T10:11:00.006-05:00

There were a lot of memorable moments on the wife and I's honeymoon to Greece -- beautiful scenery, cool island towns, and nice people. But the food wasn't at the top of the list. Forget the fact that the wife got an acute case of food poisoning (which may have been caused in part by her allergy to lamb, which we just discovered) that laid her up for a day -- the rest of our meals weren't anything special. Outside of the cheap gyros at the street vendor, I can't honestly remember one meal that stood out. We did see the "house cat' throw up about 10 feet next to us at one restaurant in Athens, but that's not exactly a good memory. Greek food, in Greece at least, entailed a lot of lamb, runny moussaka, stringy spanikopota, eggplant, pita and hummus, and some boring desserts.

Looking over the menu at Divan Turkish Kitchen, located in a really fast changing neighborhood (for the better) near Graduate Hospital, reminded me somewhat of those Greek restaurants we sampled about two years back, but I was hoping the execution would be a bit more refined and the ingredients a bit more interesting. Sadly, it was mostly a bland reminder of times past.

Turkey is separated from Greece by the Meditarranean Sea (but of course, I'm sure you all already knew that) so the food is pretty similar, as the menu at Divan Turkish Kitchen proved. There were a lot of lamb dishes, with a couple of chicken, fish, and vegetarian dishes thrown in. The appetizers -- the clear highlight of the night -- featured a bevy of different salads with a number of different consistencies and flavors. Coupled with the warm, sesame bread, which was very good, I could have, and probably should have, made a meal just of these. Sadly, things went downhill quickly after our appetizer place.

Our waiter -- a low-talker to the extreme -- sucked. His recommendations sucked. His knowledge of the menu sucked. His fish filleting technique sucked. The only good thing I can say about him is that he didn't rush us out of the restaurant after we finished eating.

On to the full rundown of Divan Turkish Kitchen:

THE FOOD: You have to at least try to make dishes look appetizing. Good flavor is 75% taste and 25% visual appeal. My entree looked gross -- just a huge pile of meat with a gigantic glop of yogurt sauce. It tasted OK, but the portion side was way, way too much and it was just unattractive. The other entrees at our table -- lamb chops, a whole fish filleted (more accurately, butchered) "tableside" (not really, but more on that later), and an eggplant puree with chopped chicken -- all looked and tasted much better. The dessert -- sort of a baklava cousin with shredded filo dough called katafi (the wife was convinced it was Shredded Wheat) -- looked nice, but it was lousy. All in all, not good.

THE DRINKS: Our waiter recommended that we try the "house special" yogurt drink. He claimed it would be refreshing. It was poured from a giant container and it was absolutely disgusting. I will say our waiter was honest in telling us it would taste like plain yogurt. I'm just not sure why that was supposed to be a good thing. My post-meal Turkish coffee was yummy after I added a packet of sugar.

THE DECOR: Divan Turkish Kitchen isn't well marked, but it is a very nice building and a very pretty space. If it weren't for the ethnic music, though, it could have been an Italian or French restaurant -- they haven't done much to make it seem authentic.

THE STAFF: Need I say more? Our waiter brought the salad on a tray and explained what they all were except one. We asked him what that last one was and he replied, "Gee, I was hoping you wouldn't ask that. I don't know." At least, I think that is what he said -- we could barely understand him he talked so softly. But that's not even my favorite story. When describing the menu, he said that the whole fish would be "filleted by him tableside" so when the mom ordered the whole branzino, I was looking forward to checking out his skills. He brought the fish on a plate to our table, showed it to us, and then turned around and went back to the bar for his "tableside filet." Seeing him struggle with it, I guess I understood why he didn't want to embarass himself in front of everyone, but it was just strange. Fileting a whole fish isn't rocket science, ass canoe.

MAD PROPS FOR: On a cold night, they gave me a seat right on top of a heating vent. Much appreciated. It brought back childhood memories of cozying up to the vents to try to raise my body temperature above 32 degrees F.

OVERALL: Disappointing. While others enjoyed their food (the dad had lamb chops that looked a bit puny, but he claimed they were good), mine was a major letdown. More than anything else, the presentation of my entree killed things. It just looked disgusting, even if it didn't taste that bad.

THE CHECK: $120 for 4 of us, without tip.

January's summary: We managed to hit the first four restaurants on our journey, which puts us ahead of pace at this point. One very good (Cucina Forte), one pretty good (Azul Cantina), and two pretty bad choices (Branzino, Divan Turkish Kitchen). But I think I've proven, for those who didn't already know, that it takes a lot to impress me from a food perspective. I suspect this good:bad ratio is about the way things will stay, though I can hope for better down the line.

On to the "Es"...

Ineligible restaurants for round 5:

Effie's: I have heard a few people grumble about Effie's, but it used to be one of my regular spots. They have a weird setup with a separate building in the back, but that is definitely the coolest place to sit.
El Azteca: I have co-workers who love El Azteca, but I hate it. Cheap Mexican food, but beware the consequences.
El Vez: Stephen Starr started the rejuvination of this pocket near Broad St. with this bright, energetic spot. The margaritas and guacamole are good -- the rest, you are paying for the show and the, ahem, scenery.
Ernesto's 1521 Cafe: Not bad, but nothing special about this Italian joint near the Kimmel Center.
Eulogy Belgian Tavern: Among my current favorites for reasonable, reliable vittles, the beer list is huge and the sandwiches are good, but not great. It's got a cool vibe about it.

Candidates for round 5:

Estia: High-end Greek food near the Kimmel Center. Dare we give another shot at Meditarranean cuisine? http://www.estiarestaurant.com/
Earth Bread + Brewery: A new gastropub in Mount Airy that has gotten some good pub. http://earthbreadbrewery.com/
Ekta: From the original chef at Tiffin, our favorite place for Indian takeout: http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurantdetails?restaurantid=54407.
Erawan: I admit I never even heard of this Thai place near Rittenhouse Square. http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurantdetails?restaurantid=28430

One more thing: I see that Craig LaBan is reviewing Little Fish in the Inky next Sunday. It's always a bit of a push-pull when you see one of your favorite "unknown" spots thrust into the spotlight. You like to see what "an expert" thinks, but you also are fearful that the review will be so good that you won't be able to get in without reservations a month in advance. Little Fish is one of my Top 3 or 4 favorite restaurants in the city and I'm going to hazard a guess that the review is going kick ass (I've read some rumblings to that extent). We shall see though...

"C" is for Cucina Forte

2009-01-24T17:11:00.007-05:00

I'm a skeptical person at heart, and I like to think I'm not a sucker (unfortunate for the guy last night who approached me claiming that "I just got robbed a few blocks back and I need money to get home to Frankford" I told him to call 911. He said, "I don't want to have to fill out all those forms." Snicker snicker).

So when a restaurant claims on their menu to have a "world-famous chili" or an "award-winning fried chicken," I'm rarely impressed. It doesn't really mean much more to me than "we're trying to push this item and make up some fancy marketing technique to do so." I rarely find that the award-winning, world-famous item is any better than anything else on the menu.

Last night's meal at Cucina Forte made me rethink that a bit. "Maria's Famous Gnocchi" was fantastic. Loyal blog readers (all 3 of you) may remember the subpar gnocchi I had at Branzino recently. Well, this was loads better. The wife and I tried both the riccota gnocchi in gorgonzola sauce (heavy but delicious) as well as the spinach gnocchi in marinara sauce (light and fluffly) -- they were both excellent. The shapes were a bit unusual -- each "piece" was about 3 times of the size of anything else I had ever seen -- but that was more an interesting conversation piece for 3 seconds than anything else. Our waitress explained that was partially because there is no potato in the Cucina Forte gnocchi -- it comes from the owner's family recipe back in Italy. It may have been the best gnocchi I have ever had -- it was that good. Added bonus that they let you order the gnocchi as an entree and get half of one kind and half of the other.

Here is the full rundown on Cucina Forte:

THE FOOD: If you want to be a good Italian restaurant, you need to get your pasta right. And Cucina Forte did it. Along with the gnocchi, the wide spinach pasta with porcini mushrooms in a cream sauce was fabulous. Just really, really good. Very filling though. The one disappointment was the grilled calamari appetizer with balsamic vinegar. It was bland and tasteless. I would have liked to have taken a shot at dessert, but I was stuffed.

THE DRINKS: BYOB. Props to our waitress for having a bucket of ice for our bottle of white wine ready for us without us asking. More props for making sure we could reach it (again, see Branzino)

THE DECOR: What South Philly Italian restaurants should be. An open, airy space, lots of mirrors, cheesy photo of the owners hanging on the wall, and Sinatra on the stereo system. Interesting mix of clientele too -- old, young, white, black. It was Restaurant Week in many Center City restaurants (but not here) so I wasn't expecting much of a crowd, especially for a Tuesday night when they were calling for snow, but it was relatively full.

THE STAFF: Our waitress was fine. The wife thought she was a bit surly, but I had no problem with her.

MAD PROPS FOR: The chef. I simply could not have been happier about the pasta dishes. It's what South Philly Italian should be, but rarely is.

OVERALL: I'll be back. I really like Italian food done well (maybe because making pasta is not something I am good at). The menu at Cucina Forte isn't overly fancy, though there were quite a few specials, but the quality was excellent.

THE CHECK: $55, with tip, for two of us. Very reasonable.

On to the "Ds"...

Ineligible restaurants for Round 4 -- it's a short list. For some reason, there are a lot of places I haven't been to here:

Dallesandro's Steaks -- Everyone has their favorite cheesesteak place. I don't pretend to be a cheesesteak connoissoire, but Dallesandro's down in the heart of Roxborough gets my vote.
Dante & Luigi's -- A true south Philadelphia experience. Decent enough food, but it comes with a free opera performance courtesy of the wait staff. It's a fun group experience.
Delilah's -- Not so sure about the food, but the scenery is quite titillating. Or so I hear.
Dilworthtown Inn -- Fancy fancy in Bucks County. It's a quaint place for a romantic (and pricey) summer getaway.
Distrito -- The latest Jose Garces incarnation (least until his newest, Chifa, opens this year). It's farther afield in West Philadelphia, but it's still very good. The Mexican wrestler masks all over the wall are cool to look at.
Dutch Eating Place -- One of the eating stands in the Reading Terminal. The widest selection of pickles (love those Amish) I've ever seen.

Candidates for Round 4:

Derek's -- It's probably the Manayunk spot with the longest history and most cache. http://www.dereksrestaurant.com/
Devil's Alley -- Center City has a barbecue joint? Huh, who knew? http://www.devilsalleybarandgrill.com/
Divan Turkish Kitchen -- An intriguing take on Mediterranean near Graduate Hospital. http://www.divanturkishkitchen.com/menu.html
DiNardo's Famous Crabs -- I always liked their sign. Straight forward seafood, with an obvious emphasis on crabs, on the fringes of Old City. http://www.dinardos.com/

Only a few days to vote for this one -- we are going on Saturday with special guests. Reservations have been made at each venue so we'll be all set depending on the public's input.

A Little Something on the Side

2009-01-24T09:58:00.003-05:00

No "C" restaurant review just yet though the poll is closed (check back on Wednesday) but I thought I'd share something nonetheless.

Met the sous chef from Chez Colette (ironically, one of the current "C" choices) at a party the other night and we got to talking about food and Philadelphia. He was bemoaning the fact that the trend toward doing weird things with food in weird ways (basically, using the kitchen as a science lab) wasn't succeeding in Philly the way that it was in other culinary hubs (NYC, Chicago San Fran). Frankly, I didn't even know that there were restaurants in Philly trying this -- apparently, the chef at Snackbar tried and failed -- but my argument was that he was talking about international cities with international clientele who were willing to spend spend spend on the latest trend, no matter what it was.

So anyway, he asked me if I thought that Philadelphia would ever be ready to embrace that sort of concept and, in his paraphrased words, become a groundbreaking restaurant city on the front lines of innovation. I thought about it for a second and told him, "I doubt it." Here is why:

Philadelphia has undoubtedly become a much better city for eating out, but our restaurants are good, for the most part, because of the food. It's not so much because of the dining "experience" or the joy of telling our friends, "I just spent $30 for an asparagus spear that was seared at 1500 degrees with a modified blow torch in a pizza oven!" Eating out in the city isn't cheap, but I rarely feel like I've been ripped off because of anything outside of, "The food sucked," which happens. I don't want the chef preparing my food to have a Master's degree in psychics just so he knows that a piece of goose fat with congeal and turn purple when it's exposed to liquid nitrogen for 3 minutes. I want him to know how to cook, and I think most Philadelphians do too.

I see it as no great failure on our part that what works in the big-name restaurant cities does not work here. Good cooking is an art, not a science. And I sucked at science in school (for that matter, I sucked at art too, so why do I like to cook? Hmmm).

That's all I got, in a nutshell.

"B" is for Branzino

2009-01-14T15:49:00.014-05:00

I have never been a waiter. I never want to be a waiter. I would be too honest and tell people how I really felt when they said, "So how is the pan-seared liver special with roasted tomatoes? That sounds kind of weird." Really, though, I wish there were more waiters who wouldn't blow sunshine up customers' rumpuses just to protect their job and their chef.

Which brings me to the latest stop on our tour, Branzino, located on 17th St. between Locust and Spruce. Here are some of the lines our waiters tried on it. I'm embarassed to say I fell for a few of them:

"We have an extra special appetizer tonight..." I got it, even after I asked him "What makes it extra special?" and he gave me a really lame answer.
"You guys are in luck! Our chef usually goes around during the afternoon and buys fresh items from local stores, but since it was so cold today, he didn't leave the kitchen and he's been cooking all day!" I still haven't figured out how exactly that made us lucky, but whatever.
"I am in charge of making the 40 shots of espresso for the tiramisu every day. I always know I need to be on time or else I'd have to buy them at Starbucks!" Uh huh, sure. Whatever ass canoe.

And there were more. Our waiter wasn't any more misleading than most others, and I do think he was trying to be friendly, but his "advice" stunk. That "extra special appetizer" was pan seared sardines with a basilish sauce. All of the flavor was cooked out of the sardines -- it was incredibly bland. And that was just the beginning...

Here is the rundown on Branzino:

THE FOOD: Branzino's menu is pretty large, especially considering the size of the space. We stuck to the "extra special" sardine appetizer and each got a pasta dish. The wife got green and white pasta with shrimp and other stuff, which was quite good and had a little kick. It was easily the best thing we had.

I chose the gnocchi in tomato sauce. Now I really like gnocchi, and for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to make it properly. The two times I tried, it ended up in the trash. So I can appreciate when gnocchi is done well. But this wasn't done well. The gnocchi themselves were fine and pretty light, but they were drowned in the tomato sauce and the "fresh" mozarella on top of them was ice cold. Our waiter didn't seem to get the hint when he asked us how our food was and I commented that, "My wife's dish was good." Oh well. The three layer chocolate cake for dessert was OK, but certainly not the orgasmic, decadent treat our waiter was promising.

THE DRINKS: It's a BYOB, which is great, but if you are going to put our bottle in a bucket of ice on the other side of the room, I don't want to have to ask the busboy to refill my glass.

THE DECOR: Gaudy, stodgy, and old. Just like the majority of our dining companions in the restaurant. I hated the look of the place. I'm all for romantic, and I think that is what they were trying to go for, but I didn't get it.

THE STAFF: I've said enough I think. And really fella, a 2-foot long pony tail? Yuck yuck yuck.

MAD PROPS FOR: The bathroom was heated (which meant a lot on a freezing night) and spacious. They say you can tell a lot about how clean a restaurant is based upon their bathroom. No complaints here.

OVERALL: I had high hopes. It was a Wednesday night, the restaurant was not even half full, and the chef "had been cooking all day" (Whoopie!) Aside from the wife's dinner, which again, really was quite good, I was underwhelmed. Plus, it's a weird setup with a split dining room and gaudy mirrors and artwork. I got the sense in talking to our waiters that they get a lot of older regulars and that's who they sort of cater to. That's all good, but that ain't me.

THE CHECK: $72 with tip. Could have been worse.

Quick update on "A is for Azul Cantina": The day my "review" went up, they announced they had sold the place. Let's hope this isn't a harbinger of things to come (or in some cases, I guess let's hope that it is a harbinger of things to come).

One small change to the evolving blog -- below the list of "ineligibles," I included very brief descriptions of the restaurants being voted on, along with links to their menus (no idea how outdated these may be). It was suggested that this would help people who didn't want to just vote blind (although go ahead and keep voting blind for all I care).

Ineligible restaurants for Round 3:

Cafe Estelle -- Not a bad brunch backup.
Cafe Spice -- Been around for a while and not exactly sure why. It is in a great location in Old City, has a great space, but the food is nothing special.
Capogiro -- Not a restaurant per se, but one of Philly's food gems. Always interesting flavors of gelatos and they are not pushy at all. You can try as much as you like before ordering.
Caribou Cafe -- Another great space, great layout, and even a great concept (Creole), but this never quite clicks the way it should. It's never bad, but it's not a showstopper.
Carmine's Country Kitchen -- I like how this is called "Philadelphia's only R-rated restaurant." If you haven't sat outside at the table set up in the bed of the pickup truck in from of the restaurant for Sunday brunch, do it once. It's fun. And, oh, it's R-rated, I guess, because they claim to "Have put the (ahem) 'count' in 'country."
Cheesecake Factory -- The definition of suburban hell. When you ask the hostess, "How long is the wait for a party of 4?" and she responds, "Wednesday," that means YOU NEED TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!
Chloe -- A very pretty restaurant that knows what it is and what it does well. It's another of those small BYOBs that can be hard to miss, but it's worth trying.
Cin Cin -- One of several restaurants I like on Germantown Ave. in Chestnut Hill. I've had some weird experiences with servers here, but it's solid gourmet-ish Chinese food.
City Tavern -- Ugh. I understand that this is a place for tourists, but it just isn't worth it.
Cochon -- Not for the faint of heart. If you enjoy weird cuts of meat that make your wife say "Ew!!!", Cochon is your kind of place. If you think sweetbreads have flour and sugar in them, well, stay away.
Continental -- Stephen Starr's original, Continental (and Continental Midtown) is still one of the best summertime restaurants in the city. The menu is fun, yet interesting.
Copper Bistro -- One of the many reasons to like Northern Liberties. Open kitchen (big plus), limited menu (another plus), and tight quarters (not a plus). Copper is probably one of my top 20 places for dinner in the city.
Creperie Beau Monde -- I was down on this place, but my shrimp crepe the last time I ate here was excellent.
Crown Fried Chicken -- I know it's gross, but it always smells so good.
Cuba Libre -- Another fave of suburbanites that markets itself well. Lots of pretty people in the summertime, but I don't love love love it the way others do. I've had good meals, but it's just too much for me.

Candidates for Round 3:

Cafe de Laos -- In the Thai section of South Philly. A little less bizaare than some of the others nearby. http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurantdetails?restaurantid=31450
Caffe Casta Diva -- Small Italian BYO near Rittenhouse. http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurantdetails?restaurantid=39262
Chez Colette -- In the Sofitel Hotel, where the wife and I stayed on our wedding night. High-end French food. http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurantdetails.asp?areaid=0&restaurantid=31453&neighborhoodid=0&cuisineid=0
Cucina Forte -- As South Philly as it gets. http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurantdetails?restaurantid=31810

"A" is for Azul Cantina

2009-01-02T23:09:00.003-05:00

There are some street corners in Philadelphia -- and probably elsewhere -- that just have a restaurant curse. You can put the best chef with the nicest kitchen and the tastiest food in there, but since there have been so many losers in that spot, people just won't come. The spectre of failure is just too much to overcome. The space simply cannot be adapted to a new concept -- it needs to be ripped down, the demons exorcised, and rebuilt in a totally different way. Unfortunately, that ain't cheap and that ain't easy.

It's too soon to tell if Azul Cantina will be this sort of restaurant. Located at the corner at 10th and Spruce, it would seem to be a solid choice for a mid-level Mexican restaurant. There are monied residents, two hospitals, and some parking (though not a ton). But it's a location that has not fared well in the past -- there used to be a nondescript pizza joint, followed by Sauce, a shortlived gourmet pizza place. Neither place thrived. It's a dark corner sort of tucked between the dining destinations of Queen's Village, Rittenhouse, and the 13th St. corridor (whatever that neighborhood is called) so it's easy to overlook. And that's a shame, because there is a lot to like about Azul Cantina's food, if not their decor.

Philadelphia has seen the rise of several good Mexican restaurants the past few years -- Xochitl, Las Bugamlilias, Tequila, and Las Cazuelas all fill a needed niche. Mexican food done well offers complex but familiar flavors and can be so much more than beef and cheese tacos, burritos, and enchiladas. I like good Mexican food a lot, so it's nice to have places to choose from. Here is the rundown on Azul Cantina.

THE FOOD -- Azul Cantina doesn't have a complicated menu with unusual entrees, although a few of the items seemed odd (a New York strip steak special just didn't seem right -- either did the 8 oz. pork chop), but for the most part, its menu hits the mark. The habanero guacamole was excellent, although it didn't have any of the habanero kick to it. I had the pork tacos, which were also quite good. The shrimp tacos and bean and cheese enchiladadas also went over well with the others in our party of 4. There were few complaints here -- the plates were plentiful and not too expensive.

THE DRINKS -- Azul Cantina offers a lot of drink choices, especially for tequilla lovers, with various tequilla flights as well as margaritas, mojitos, and other specialty drinks. We stuck with the margaritas, which were available in various flavors. The watermelon was the best of the bunch. Stay away from the fizzy mojitos -- something just wasn't right about those.

THE DECOR -- It was relatively nice, but it lacked some finishing touches. The women complained how cold it was in the restaurant (the bathrooms were freezing!), although the men, being tough and rugged, were fine. The bathroom faucet and sink filled with rocks were unique touches. I always like places that do something a bit different in the bathroom.

THE STAFF -- There were a lot of people working the tables, even for a Friday night. As a customer, obviously, this was great, but it was easy to see they were probably overstaffed. Completely full at the bar and all tables, Azul Cantina probably sits about 50 people. That doesn't require 10 staff in the front. Still, again, no complains as a customer. Our waitresses were nice enough and replaced our lousy mojito with a magarita without complaint.

OVERALL -- In the right location, Azul Cantina would thrive. I know that many of my Fairmount neighbors have been clamoring for just such a restaurant for years. The food is fairly priced and there were no misses amongst the four of us. There were some minor glitches, but nothing that would prevent me from recommending the place wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, Azul Cantina's location and design may be its downfall. There just isn't anything all that attractive about the place, and the food can't always carry a restaurant in a location that has lost so many times. When we left at about 8:30 p.m. on a Friday night, about half of the tables were full. That always worries me.

THE CHECK: Came to about $150 for the four of us, including tip.

For the first restaurant on this yearly "adventure," Azul Cantina was a good start. Despite the lateness of our friends (we forgave them), it was a very good meal.

And now, on to the "Bs." Thanks to everyone who voted on the original entry. Hopefully you'll stick with this.

Ineligible restaurants for Round Two (the Bs):

Bar Ferdinand -- With the Jose Garces (Amada, Tinto, Distrito) publicity machine, Bar Ferdinand sort of gets lost in the tapas realm, but it is a beautiful restaurant with some very good food. The almonds are fantastic.
Belgian Cafe -- "Monk's Jr." arrived in Fairmount with a lot of fanfare, but there is little that separates it from the other mediocre gastropubs in the neighborhood.
Ben & Irv's -- All Jews know Ben & Irv's. I end up there at least once a year after softball games. It's a tradition.
Bennigan's -- Just kidding
Bertucci's -- Still just kidding
Bindi -- Excellent Indian food. It's not cheap, but among the best choices on the 13th St. corridor.
Bishop's Collar -- It's easy not to take the Collar seriously, but the food is cheap and it is damn good. I really like the meatloaf sandwich. Too bad they got rid of the menus in the kiddies books -- that was one of those cool touches I love.
Bistro 7 -- Some people really like Bistro 7. It's been OK when I'm gone before, but I wouldn't rush back.
Bistro Romano -- Totally unmemorable. It stunk the one time I went years ago.
Bistro St. Tropez -- They market this as a "romantic hotspot" because it's on a high floor of a Center City hotel. Don't waste your time.
Black Sheep -- Good times drinking, but not eating
Brasserie Perrier -- Boy was I surprised when I heard this closed on NYE 2008. Not sad, but surprised.
Bridgid's -- I like their fried chicken.
Brigid Foy's -- There is something that has always just been quite off about this place. It's in such a great location that it should kill, but it doesn't.
Buddakan -- Perhaps the most well-known spot in the city for suburbanites. It's reputation is well deserved too -- it's just a cool place to go. Not my favorite certainly, but it's fun and the food is still good.
Burger King -- Really just kidding

At the beginning -- The Letter A

2008-12-27T21:39:00.001-05:00

Several years ago, my friend Steve and I had this idea that we would go down the alphabet from A to Z and try one restaurant in our hometown of Philadephia representing a cuisine that began with that letter (e.g., A=Afghan [Kabul], B=Brazilian [Brazil -- long defunct], etc.) We got through D, I believe, before the idea fizzled out and Steve moved to California. It wasn't a bad concept, though I don't have a clue where we might have gone when we reached letters like Q or X. Still, it was an idea I always kept tucked away, waiting to revisit sometime in the future, albeit in a modified fashion.

And so, with 2009 about to begin, that's exactly what I'll be doing over the course of the next 52 weeks. But instead of wracking my brain trying to find an Israeli, Indonesia, Indian, or Iraqi restaurant inside the city limits, the concept is a little different this time (and admittedly somewhat easier). Instead of matching cuisines to letters, I'll simply be matching restaurants to them. Fortunately, with the vibrant restaurant scene throughout the city, it should be both pretty simple and pretty tasty.

There is but one catch -- every restaurant I'll visit will be one I've never been to before. This is unfortunately going to eliminate quite a few of Philadelphia better places, but hopefully it will also allow me to find some venues that I wouldn't have scouted out before. I'll come up with a list of possible choices in a poll for anyone who happens to stumble upon this site (my wife) that will help guide the final decision.

After each visit, I'll give a synopsis of what I saw and tasted, what I liked and disliked, and hopefully share a funny story or two. Other folks will undoubtedly will be coming along during the year, and hopefully they'll share their thoughts as well.

Ineligible restaurants for Round One (the "As"):

Alma de Cuba -- Good drinks (drinking a mojito at an outside table in the summer is prime territory for watching the beautiful people stroll by) but mediocre food.
Amada -- Almost everyone who likes to eat out has been at Amada by now, even if it is less than 5 years old. The chef (Jose Garces) has made quite a name for himself and his food is consistently excellent. I'm sure Amada is on the Top 10 list of most Philadelphians.
Ansill -- You need to have a sense of adventure at Ansill (as do your companions). I hope you don't mistakenly think that sweetbreads are a pastry.
Aqua -- Simple Malaysian food. Nothing fancy, but you get your money's worth.
Artful Dodger -- I was here the night I met my wife. That's about the only good thing I can say about the place.
Aspen -- In the neighborhood but never a favorite. High prices, spotty food. They have been closed for a few months reportedly for tax purposes.
Audrey Claire -- Lots of good publicity, but the one time I was there, I was unimpressed. I'd go back for another try in the future though. Too many people have too many good things to say.