Diann

Well, I confirmed it -- they do indeed have pao de quejio, but they had run out by 10PM on Saturday night, when we stopped in. I will definitely go back to Picanha -- excellent sausages and ribs, good rice and beans and farofa, etc. -- but I think I like Samba on Girard a wee bit better. The server at Picanha cut up my Picanha in chunks, not thin slices, which I thought was odd, and everything was cooked past medium-rare ... I like my meat bloody. Also, Samba douses their grilled pineapple in cinnamon liqueur, yum! However, I like being able to order by the pound (for takeout, no less), so when it's just me and I actually feel like eating breakfast and lunch in addition to dinner, Picanha it is. I'm really beginning to love the Northeast. P.S. I hear those Portugese restaurants around Kuk-Il are pretty good... P.P.S. Craig LaBan mentioned that the staff at Picanha will mix up "killer capirinhas" for you if you BYO. Well...they're killer, all right. We brought a bottle of cachaca and they poured us each a good 8 oz serving! They were good, but MAN that's a lot of rum.

Did they have pao de queijo (cheese puffs made with tapioca flour) at Picanha?

Do you know their Saturday hours? This particular Saturday we're thinking of heading up to Newark for some rodizio, but it would be good to know for future reference. Thanks, Holly and Philadining, for the reminders about DiNic's, but honestly, I'm more of a Tony Luke's girl. I think it's the rabe and the crusty roll that I love so much. I HAVE been meaning to try DiNic's brisket and roast beef sandwiches, but I never seem to get to RTM before 2PM on Saturdays and the stand is usually closing up by then. Must stop by Johnny's Hots -- the Philadelphia surf n turf sounds good!

So how does it compare to Tony Luke's? To put it in context... the boyfriend is in town this weekend because I finally have a day off (Good Friday) and he, of course, wants a roast pork Italian. We always hit up Tony Luke's, but since I'll be free on a day when John's is actually open...should we go there instead? Or should we do one sandwich at both places?

That dark chocolate is like frozen melted brownies. No wonder they ran out! The cup I had (pineapple sage and hibiscus) was tropical and perfumey. Lovely. Next time I'm thinking... dark chocolate and seville orange? Dark chocolate and pineapple sage? Or anything citrusy, really. I know they have a million other flavors, but I need to recombine some of the ones we had last night. Dark chocolate and goat?

Just got back from lunch at Aman's -- excellent. The buffet is pretty extensive and included goat curry (one of my favorites today), two kinds of tandoori chicken (different spices), chicken korma, all sorts of vegetable dishes, a fish dish, five desserts, five chutneys, and so on. Their spice mixes seem a bit more sophisticated than what I've had in the past, especially with the mutter (matter?) paneer -- different, but really good. I thought I remembered hearing that the owner was Indian/Chinese, or did Indian/Malaysian cooking, or something like that... anyways, that might explain the differences. Whatever it was, I liked it. (Note: food wasn't hugely spicy, though. Might be the dishes I picked, might be because it's a buffet...just FYI.) It's so nice to find a quality lunch option around Plymouth Meeting, since it's almost all chains beyond Taqueria Michoacana and Persian Grill. If you're in the area, check it out!

Hi all! I've been reading the various China travel threads and thought I'd ask a few questions of my own, since I'm going back in June. I've been to Beijing a couple of times, but this time we are adding new stops to the itinerary -- a few days in Shanghai, an overnight in Suzhou to see the gardens, and an overnight in Jinan and Tai'an, north of Beijing, for the hot springs. So here are my questions, slightly different from everyone else's: 1) Where are the best xiao long bao in Shanghai? What about other Shanghai specialties -- stir fried rice cakes, "ti pang" (sorry for the misspelling and the bad English translation, but basically, braised fatty pork shank), lion's head meatballs, etc. -- which restaurants should I check out? 2) What about the high-end restaurants -- are any of them worth going to? I haven't been to a Jean Georges restaurant yet, so I was considering trying the one in Shanghai. 3) Suzhou, Jinan, Tai'an -- any can't miss restaurants, food stalls, whatever? High end and low end are both fine by me. 4) Beijing: We went to Quanjude last year (the one in the Dongcheng district, I think; anyways, close to Oriental Plaza) and I was disappointed. The duck was fine, but the duck soup was watery -- is there somewhere else where I can get really good duck AND duck soup? I'll try Made in China's duck -- everything else was excellent last time and I plan to go back. Thanks in advance for your help!

The one on the left is guanabana (soursop) and the one on the right was mamey...both excellent!! I'm coming back for some Peruvian roast chicken. Apparently this year is El Sol de Peru's 10th anniversary--no mean feat in the restaurant world. The owner gave us pens to commemorate the occasion. FYI -- the next buffets should be Saturday, May 6, and Saturday, June 3. Pernil asado, drool. Not much more to be said. James -- we didn't make it to Pojangmacha because we agreed that it really deserves its own day (or meal, at least) of eating... actually, we just barely scratched the surface at all of these places; I will definitely be back. P.S. Added bonus: parking is incredibly easy, and FREE!

My first and only time at Olive Garden was for a high school birthday party where the birthday girl had raved for days on end about how excited she was to be going to her favorite restaurant...and this is what I remember: dry cardboard chicken, disgustingly sugary/watery "tomato" sauce, spaghetti cooked to the point of mush, and in general either lack of seasoning (no discernable taste to the mushy noodles, either) or overseasoning. Plus, as was mentioned upthread, salad doused in chemical dressing and fake breadsticks. Seriously, I don't think it's worth spending the money, the calories, or the time to go there. Not even as a sociological(?) exercise. And I'm not that picky about restaurants--I've eaten at my fair share of Bertucci's and Macaroni Grill's and Maggiano's, all of which are fine. (Perhaps you should try one of them as a baseline for American Italian food, as Steven suggested?) But Olive Garden... yuuuuuck. The advertising doesn't help either. Y'know, though... now that we've all chimed in and collectively wrinkled our noses (most of the posters, that is) at Olive Garden, maybe we've set your expectations so low that when and if you do go, you'll start thinking "Hey, this isn't as bad as they made it out to be..." Quick! Somebody start reverse psychologizing!

Aw crap. Anyone feel like going on an eating tour of Upper Darby with me? Spring rolls here, a little bit of Korean food there, maybe some arepas, a little Peruvian food...and then let's go grocery shopping afterwards, just in case you didn't have enough food. That may be the only way to resolve my dilemma (don't know what to eat, so eat everything).

I'm thinking of stopping by the new Han Ah Reum/Hmart in Upper Darby this weekend and would like to grab a meal in the area since there are so many places to try... I had been thinking of Xochimilco (sp?) but apparently, they're closed, so what do you think about any of the following: - Sabor Latino - Alisa Cafe - Little Saigon - La Marqueza Do any of these places make something that's really great/can't miss? What about other restaurants I haven't heard of? LaBan gave Sabor Latino two stars, but I want more opinions. Thanks!

I was lucky enough to have been a last-minute replacement for that meal. Everything was phenomenal, of course (especially the amuses and the lobster) but my favorite aspect of Studiokitchen is the education. It's the opportunity to sniff a combava lime, taste chocolate salt, eat baby corn shoots, try PX vinegar as a breath spray... While each part of the Studiokitchen experience is lovely, the sum of the parts is sublime. Best of luck to Shola in Europe! P.S. The same corn shoots (or are they stalks?) garnished my entree Monday night at Brasserie Perrier. I would have squealed with delight, but it was a business dinner. So I settled for cleaning my plate. They have an intensely sugary aftertaste -- I'd love to see how Shola would use them.

Whole wheat, what were they thinking? ← It's Trader Joe's! You gotta be whole wheat or organic or better yet, both, to make it in there. I kid because I love. You should see my fridge and my pantry and my stash at work... Back on topic!

Not sure where to post this, but... FYI, Trader Joe's sells top sliced hot dog buns! They're whole wheat, so they're not 100% authentic, but they ARE good. I'm guessing the buns are New England-style because their distribution center on the East Coast is in Massachussetts. It was the only kind of bun I found in the store when I was looking a couple of weeks ago.

Serendipity strikes again! I was just rushing over to eGullet to post about the thumbs-up review from Philadelphia Weekly. So between this and the raves from Jeff, Katie and CherieV, Raw is looking pretty good. I have to try those gyoza!

NOW I'm jealous I missed this--gnocchi with fiddleheads and guanciale, yum! It looks like the dark chocolate fountain is three times the size of the milk chocolate fountain...I approve

For really good Italian, close to the stadiums, try L'Angolo (take the Broad Street line north one stop to Oregon St., walk two blocks north to Porter Street, and go to L'Angolo). I went a couple of times when my boyfriend had season tickets for the Flyers. GREAT (and relatively unusual) antipasti. FYI: It's a tiny place, so you should probably call to get a reservation (215-389-4252) and it's BYO. Another suggestion -- go to the Broad & Washington thread Jeff L. started for some recommendations close to the Washington St. stop (there's lots of Vietnamese and Mexican there, with a smattering of Korean and Thai-Laotian as well). Have fun!

It's the pork no matter how you slice it Diann! Until you get to Delorenzo's and of course you want sausage on your pie. ← Don't forget, sausage is pork too. Mmmm, piggy!

I know this isn't the point, but my last meal Trenton-style would DEFINITELY be a Delorenzo's sausage pie. Hands down, no contest. Choosing from all the options in Philadelphia is too hard. Maybe a roast pork Italiano from Tony Luke's to be quintessentially Philly. That Amada pig is good stuff, though! (I think Jeff L and I are slowly morping into the same person...)

What a relief to hear that Shola will only be gone for a month or so! Hopefully Studiokitchen will be up and running soon after he gets back. Philadining, thanks for posting those detailed pictures of dish assembly -- I think watching Shola put everything together is one of the best parts of the experience.

Urbanfabric: I'm so happy to hear about your wonderful dinner at Lacroix. THAT'S more like it. Your description of the service, the quality of the food, and the little extras reminded me of my original experience at Lacroix, and confirmed, as I was hoping, that my Restaurant Week dinner was just an anomaly. (And again, that wasn't bad, it was just unremarkable.) Thanks, and welcome to eGullet! Diann

I'd go with RX -- did you know they have a parking lot? (It's on the same block as the restaurant but a little closer to 44th than 45th). Should simplify the logistics a bit. Plus, their brunch is always good, even when it's something as basic as bacon and eggs. Great coffee, too, and it's BYO if you feel like making mimosas.

Well, arice, getting "back on topic" a little -- I think Matyson is consistently one of the best RW experiences around. You can choose any appetizer, any entree and any dessert, and two of my best RW dinners have been there. It helps that I've always loved their food -- comforting, slightly creative, and it's priced right. Can't wait for your report! I hope it's good.

I'm up for brunch at Lacroix! I could use a "spiritual experience" right about now.

Bumping this thread up -- I was there last night for Restaurant Week. I'm going to open with a curmudgeonly thought: I'm getting less and less enthusiastic about Restaurant Weeks -- service seems to deteriorate and the experience isn't the same as what you would get the other 50 weeks of the year. I don't blame restaurants for that (it's to be expected; this is just a giant loss leader-type promotion, after all) and I don't blame them for disliking Restaurant Week. It is what it is, in the immortal words of Britney Spears. I just feel like I'm beginning to notice it more. It feels more evident in the higher-end places I've visited (Pasion, Lacroix etc.) than in the places where conceivably, you could get a meal at regular price for $30 (Matyson and so on). That said, Lacroix was still quite nice last night. The Chef himself greeted us at the front entrance (happened to be passing through, I think) and even the hidden corner tables in that place have a lovely view of Rittenhouse Square. I miss the holiday lights. The menu is slightly different from what's posted on the RW website. My friend and I both started off with the celery soup (celery veloute, truffle oil, poached egg)--fantastic. Thick, velvety, comforting on a cold night, and the truffle fit in nicely. Other choices: salad, or skate wing. Second course -- The options were short ribs with a blue cheese (Gorgonzola, maybe) crust, braised endive, and some kind of reduction; seared scallops with veal and celery; or roast chicken. Strangely, neither of the first two entrees blew me away (maybe I should have gone with the chicken). Both were fine, though I thought the sauce on the beef (oddly tart) clashed with the blue cheese and endive. I think I was expecting Studiokitchen quality, and didn't quite get it. Dessert got back on track, though -- a chocolate-pistachio cake with salted caramel and almond ice creams, deliciously dark and decadent (I love ganache!), and a lemon poppyseed cake with citrus salad. There was an optional add-on course of lobster or ____ (forgot to take notes), but I wouldn't have been able to finish it all. The portions aren't gargantuan, but I think most people would fill up there. Especially during a typical meal (three courses plus dessert plus all the little freebies -- chocolates, amuse bouche, etc). I forgot to take a look at the cheese cart, which I seem to recall getting rave reviews, so instead, we went to Tria afterwards. Not a bad alternative... Service was radically different from my first visit there--I went on my birthday a few years back and experienced four- or five-star-type service: hushed, gliding, nearly invisible but always there to anticipate your needs, constantly replenishing bread and water and wine, lots of personal attention, that kind of thing. Last night was more along the lines of Restaurant Week service--the waiter and busboys only showed up at occasional intervals, and front of house was slightly brusque about arrivals and coat check and so on. I know they were absolutely packed, and turning tables nonstop, but I wasn't feeling much love last night. And I get especially grumpy when I feel like it's being chalked up to my age -- sure, my friends and I may be the youngest diners in the room by a good twenty years, but it doesn't automatically follow that (a) we are food Neanderthals or that (b) we're bad tippers. Anyways. End rant. It's still a good restaurant and I'm sure you'll get first-class service if you're there on a regular week. I still plan on going back for brunch!