philadining

I'm never quite sure what to expect from this place, but in general, I've been enjoying the food... We dropped in again recently and had the Octopus/Squid salad, which was quite good, although one of my dining companions pointed out that a little textural variety would be nice. That reminded me that the somewhat similar salad that Chef Painter made at Tangerine had crunchy green beans in it, which was a nice contrast. Still, I'm amazed at how tender that squid is. The Sausage and lentils dish was very tasty. Arugula/Beet salad was pretty standard, but still worth getting. We got three pizzas, with varying results. The Finocchio featured roasted fennel and black olives atop a perfectly thin, airy crust. The fennel was a bit sweet, the olives nicely salty, all in all a very balanced and satisfying pizza. The Vongole looked and smelled great, but just as the previous pizza was balanced, this one was out of whack. It tasted mostly of broccoli rabe, with a bit of pancetta and garlic, but the clams had gotten a bit lost. This crust was a bit damp, surely from the greens and clams both likely to exude some water while cooking. The flavors weren't bad, just out of proportion to one another. This pizza could probably do with a lighter hand with the toppings in general, the greens in particular. Although we'd had it before, we also got a pepperoni pizza, because, well, it's delicious. And this one was very good, but a little odd in that the crust was simultaneously thick and thin: beautifully delicate and crisp in the middle, but weirdly bulbous around the perimeter. Not a tragedy by any means, but it was just strange to have a very thin pizza with a high, dense cornicione. And it seemed especially odd that the crusts on three pizzas made at approximately the same time would be so different. The Finocchio's was consistent and light, almost flaky, with a very slightly thicker rim. The clam pie's crust was denser and thicker overall. The pepperoni's was thinner than the other two, except around the edge. I'd be surprised if they were making adjustments to the dough based on what was going on it, but you never know... The lesson we took from this was: get the Finocchio.

I somehow missed these lines: and And now it all makes sense. You're just having fun with us, aren't you? You start a topic called The Worst Steakhouses, and base your critiques on not eating steak, order fish in a way that's sure to confuse the cooks, sit in the bar rather than the dining room, claim that you don't normally notice when food and service are bad, keep referring to the nonexistent Barclay Grill, and try to convince us that Capital Grill gives you different colored napkins so the lint is color-coordinated. I'll admit, you had me going for a while...

Of course you can order anything you want, but why would you? You're just setting yourself up for disappointment. It's not a huge logical leap to propose that you'll have better luck when you order things that a particular restaurant does best. Conversely, you should go to restaurants that excel in preparing what you want to eat. It just seems like you're intentionally reducing your odds of having a good meal, for what purpose, I can't imagine. Sure, steakhouses have other things on the menu, and in a perfect world, everything would be delicious. But the practical reality is that every restaurant does some things better than others, and sometimes there are items on the menu put there for members of groups that don't like the house specialties. That doesn't mean that the kitchen actually knows how to cook them well. They've got an eggplant parm on the menu for the poor vegetarian who got dragged to the steakhouse, not because the chef secretly wants to be known for his vegetable dishes. In general, Chinese restaurants don't make great burgers. Cheesesteak stands don't often have excellent salads. You can order them if you happen to see them on the menu, but you shouldn't be surprised if they're not good. As you stated at the top of this topic, you have proposed that Philly steakhouses are distinguished by being skilled at non-steak cuisine as well. How are you feeling about that theory? I think the trick to having truly satisfactory restaurant meals is to figure out what the place you've chosen does best, and order that. And associated with that, pick the right place for what you feel like eating. And don't order pizza at a sushi bar.

Lari Robling raves about KZD in the Daily News.

Do you remember how many ribs a half-pound was? And how were they?

Yes. I also forgot to mention that the meats are served with some raw onion, a few slices of pretty ordinary pickle, and some dense, but pleasant-enough white bread. I could definitely go for some more interesting pickles... We had a half pound of sausage, a half chicken, two small sides, two draft beers and one slice of pecan pie. A little over $50 for a decent amount of food for two people, in the future I might get more sides, or larger ones. And I had heard that Percy St uses Oak in the smokers, but that is second-hand info, or third hand, so I'm not completely sure that is correct. But I believe that would indeed be authentic for Texas barbecue, many different kinds of wood are used in that style, but as Holly says, Oak is common.

So, there are indeed pinto beans on the menu, although we didn't try them, so I can't describe the style... We dropped by really late on their first night, so we couldn't be completely surprised that they'd run out of a lot of the meats. I'm sure they'll eventually be able to estimate how much they'll need on any given day. So our assessment of the the brisket, ribs and pork belly will have to wait but we did get to try the chicken and the sausage. Both were good, if not mind-blowing. I enjoyed the juiciness of the coarse-ground sausage, but couldn't help wishing for a deeper smokiness, and maybe a little more spice. Still, it was good, and it will be interesting to see whether they continue tweaking the recipes and smoking procedures, or if they've settled on how they want to do it. The chicken had many of the same attributes: nicely moist with a prominent smoky flavor, but one that didn't seem to penetrate too deeply into the meat. That said, it had a nice chicken-y flavor - you know how some restaurant chicken doesn't taste like anything? I would have loved the skin to be crisper, or drier or something, it was a bit rubbery in some sections. The smoke flavor itself is not what one usually finds around here from Hickory or fruitwoods, it has a sharper, edgier twist. That might just take some getting used to, or might just be a matter of personal preference, I haven't made up my mind yet... The collard greens were quite good, in fact some of the most skillfully-cooked that I've ever had. The texture was just about perfect: tender without becoming mushy. I enjoyed the German Potato Salad too, especially the forkfulls that included some bacon. The warm, tangy potatoes were falling-apart soft, which is how I've always had it, so it was comfortingly familiar, as well as being a good accompaniment to the meats. Pecan pie was spectacular. Really, really good. The nuts were chopped, which we prefer to intact halves, despite how attractive that is. There was a toffee/caramel/praline toastiness to the filling, not just nuts and syrupy sweetness. So... I certainly can't make any grand pronouncements before trying the ribs and brisket, something I hope to rectify soon. What we had was certainly enjoyable, but I'm not sure whether it would draw me back again and again. We'll see - it's too early to say for sure. If the brisket and ribs are good, I'll be there all the time, regardless of the prices.

Word.

I've gone twice with three people, but you know our crowd, maybe that counts as 6 normal people? The three of us actually ordered four main dishes last time... Mr Big makes a good point, but I guess it depends on your perspective. You could get a couple of starters and share a main, you'd have plenty of food, and wouldn't spend much money. Or you can get two mains for the sake of variety, and just count on leftovers. I personally think entrees are fairly-priced for what they are (most are in the mid-twenties.) That might seem a little expensive for duck on rice, or pork cubes with clams, but there's a lot of food there. Plus, it's delicious. As a rule, I think their portioning and serving style is probably a better fit for groups of 4 or more, but I've seen couples there looking pretty happy. Duos just have to be serene with sharing the same entree, or having a lot of food.

From what little I know about Portuguese food, that's a classic dish, and it is excellent here. We had a good version up at El Balconcito in the Northeast too, but this one was even better. Lunch: Friday-Sunday 12pm-3pm Dinner: Thursday, Sunday, Monday: 5:30pm-10pm, Friday-Saturday: 5:30-11pm CLOSED: Tuesday, Wednesday The closed on tuesday-wednesday thing has thrown us off a couple of times, but I'm glad they're open sundays and mondays. official website: www.koozeedoo.com

OK, the name's a little silly, but we've had a couple of terrific meals at this new BYOB on North 2nd street. It's in the space where Copper Bistro was, just a stone's throw north of Spring Garden St. For some reason, I never made it to Copper, so I'm not sure how much it's changed, but the space is cozy (Koo Zee?) with recessed candles in the walls, a few cork-topped tables, and an attractive counter overlooking the kitchen. The owner/chefs are David Gilberg and Carla Concalves, previously responsible for the interesting menu at the early days of The Ugly American, the first minute and a half of Coquette, and before that, Loie, Matyson and others. Carla Goncalves was born in Portugal, so she's the one bringing the authenticity to the table, but Gilberg seems to have absorbed a lot from some visits to the country, and Goncalves family dinners, because what we've eaten has been pretty delicious. I'm not all that obsessed with authenticity if the food's good, but I do enjoy eating food that is actually reflective of a place, not just having a few flavors splashed here and there to give a vague impression. I've generally found the more authentic flavors to be much more interesting and satisfying than when they're only hinted at in the interest of being more accessible. In this particular case, we happened to have an expert witness handy, so we brought a real, live Portugeezer with us to offer his opinion. We were a little worried at first, he was making some strange faces when reading the menu and listening to descriptions from our server, but when the food started arriving, he unclenched, and eventually, we're pretty sure we actually saw him smile! Of course nothing is ever going to be exactly the way each person's family did it, but overall, he found the flavors and aromas to be familiar and legitimate, even if the final dishes had some unique twists. Most importantly, the food was tasty. I'm totally fine with interpretations, as long as the chef understands what he's interpreting. A perfect example of that is the Bacalau Salad. Gilberg cures his fish in-house, creating a lighter, fresher, flakier version of salt cod, but one that still fills the role of the traditional preserved product. In this presentation, it melds beautifully with the chickpeas, olives and egg. We also loved the Pork and Clams, which featured tender chunks of meat amidst a variety of clams, including some lovely tiny sweet ones, that might have been cockles. Perfectly roasted cubes of potato rest on top, and soak up the intense sauce that collects in the bottom of the serving dish. Duck rice is crazy good, leg meat baked into the rice, a grilled breast on top. The steak would be pretty tasty on its own, but drape it with ham, add some runny eggs, sauteed rabe and amazing fried potatoes, and wow... The signature Cozido Minhoto, a big pot of meats and vegetables, is a great cold-weather meal, with three kinds of sausage, ribs, chicken, root vegetables, and a comforting broth. It's homey, and homely, boiling everything together will do that, but the variety of ingredients makes it more interesting than mom's pot roast. We liked the Milho Frito, which was kind of like slabs of fried polenta accopanied by roasted and grilled vegetables. It's dense, rib-sticking food, even this vegetarian dish, but marked by vibrant flavors, like the smoky accents on the grilled and roasted vegetables. The desserts all look good, but so far we've only, barely, had room to try one, the Pastel de Nata, a custard tart. That had a beautifully flaky crust and creamy filling, so I'm willing to bet all the desserts rock. Some day I'll leave room to try some. Maybe. Portions are huge, and things are served family-style, so go with some friends, or family, and go hungry. This particular style of food is not well-represented in Philly, except for a few places out in the northeast, and this is a great chance to try this cuisine in a context where it's executed very well, and has a modern updated feel, while retaining a solid link to tradition. A few more musings on my blog>>

Hungry C - no tomatoes in the Gator Gumbo, but you're right, it had more the texture of a sauce picante, or perhaps an étoufée. They were also serving crawfish étoufée that day and we got a little sample of that, but decided not to order a whole portion because it just didn't taste like anything... Bluehensfan - yes, I could go for a Ferdi Special, or straight-up debris po boy... maybe we should ask the Becks folks if they could make that someday.

Bleh. I really wanted to like Beck's, partly because the people working the counter were super-nice, and partly because I simply wanted access to a bowl of gumbo, or a po boy, or a muffuletta, without driving almost all the way to Delaware, during the few hours that Cajun Kate's is open... And things looked promising: the menu is appealing, the stuff on display looked attractive. Like, this is a great-looking muffuletta, isn't it? As Bob posted above, the bread is very good, and pretty close to the roll one finds at the Central Grocery in New Orleans - a little crustier, airier, but not a bad stand-in at all. And the fillings look right: Italian cold-cuts, cheese, olive salad. So why was it so bland? I mean, it was an OK sandwich, but it had none of the spark of a typical muffuletta (yes, I've had one from Central Grocery.) The only thing I can figure is that the meats they're using are just more blah. There certainly did seem to be a higher percentage of mortadella and plain ham compared to the more vibrant salamis (and I saw no evidence of tasso...) Here's one from Central Grocery in New Orleans: As you can see, the assembly looks pretty much the same as the Beck's version, but the Central Grocery version has more salami (it's really killer salami too!) less of the mellower cold cuts. And while the Beck's version had a decent layer of olive salad, it somehow wasn't standing out like it should. There either wasn't enough of it, or it wasn't as intensely-flavored as the version they use at the Central Grocery, or the flavor is getting sucked-up by the bulkier bread. It definitely wasn't quite as oily or messy as the original, I suppose it's a matter of opinion whether that's good or bad! Anyway the Beck's muffuletta is an OK sandwich, but it doesn't provide the thrill that the original does. It needs more intense salami and more olive flavor. But OK, how about gumbo? They had run out of the chicken and andouille that I was hoping to try, but had "gator gumbo." That turned out to be made with gator sausage, not pieces of gator, and that's fine, except that this particular sausage was pretty dull. Beck's makes a big deal about importing ingredients from Louisiana but this particular sausage, at least cooked into a gumbo, doesn't taste like much of anything. The bigger problem is that the gumbo was missing that deep-dark roux flavor, and the onions and celery and peppers that make up the essential "holy trinity" of flavorings were still whole, barely cooked, not integrated into the murky essence of the liquid. As a result, the gumbo broth was not especially intense, it needed more... everything. It's also kind of a lot of rice for the amount of gumbo. And...Jambalaya. This too was missing the deep flavors and spice that one hopes for in this particular dish. In its place was a disorienting prevalence of Italian spices, like oregano and rosemary. Especially with the dollop of tomato sauce that was on the top for some reason, we couldn't help thinking that we were having spaghetti sauce on rice. The Andouille sausage in this was, again, way too tame. I suppose it's luck of the draw sometimes, but this serving had exactly one shrimp in it. A couple small pieces of chicken were hiding in there too, but it was mostly rice and tomato sauce. So, we were pretty disappointed. I'm certainly going to try again once they get a little more settled, but I don't think these were execution problems, they were conceptual ones. And it's certainly possible that it's not that they're doing anything wrong, that it's just not to my taste. There's nothing to say that a muffuletta has to taste exactly like Central Grocery's version, in fact there's plenty of debate among New Orleans natives about who makes the best version, whether it should be hot or cold, etc. And gumbo is different from every kitchen. People have different preferences in level of spice. All I can say is that I did not leave Becks craving more of any of the things we sampled. And I do continually crave gumbos I've had in New Orleans, and the ones at Cajun Kate's, and Po Boys from Parkway, and more... I'd certainly be interested in hearing more opinions, but at least from this sampling, Becks' isn't satisfying my almost constant desire for gumbo and po boys and muffulettas...

Ahh, thanks, I actually did read fried pickles, but those objects didn't register as fried pickles in my brain. But sure, I see it now! And want some...

That is a very fine looking hot dog, especially the bun. And tell us about the fried (potato?) disc-shaped thingies!

We might need to stop whining about the state of Thai food in Philly, at least if we're willing to trek out to Manayunk... For some perverse reason I still haven't made it to Chaaba Thai out there, but I finally visited their offshoot called Mango Moon. This was originally designed as a casual, pan-Asian, bar-snack kind of place, but they've recently re-focused more on food one might find in Bangkok street markets. The menu hasn't changed a lot, many of the original items are still there, and the focus is still on (not all that small) small plates. But there are also plenty of things that are basically entree-sized if you want to have more of a conventional large plate of food, rather than grazing on several things. The menu at at www.mymangomoon.com is a little out of date, but it's close... We started with the Northern-Style Sausage (Sai Auh) which is not as sour as some versions I've had, but was the best I've ever tasted, with a nice assertive char making the outside nicely crisp. The light was a little too low for my iPhone, so it's not a beautiful shot, but even so, it might communicate how delicious this sausage was... There's another sausage on the menu that I want to try too. I'm pretty psyched about any place with two types of sausage on the menu. Our server was kind enough to include samples of their pickles and cucumber salad, both of which were very good, and great accompaniments to the sausage. We also had what they call Stew Beef Soup, which is a clear broth with large chunks of beef in it, a few vegetables, beansprouts, thai basil. The beef itself didn't look too promising, but was in fact wonderfully tender and tasty. And the broth was absolutely delicious, vibrant and a little bit spicy, we've decided that this will rank right up there with our favorite soups for the winter, especially when nursing a cold. That said, I'll eat it any time of the year... The Spicy Pork Shoulder was just that - nicely grilled thin slices of pork neck in a thin tangy sauce, tossed with herbs. Really good. We also had Grilled Duck with Red Curry. I didn't completely love the texture of the slices of duck breast, which was very tender, juicy and flavorful, but had a slightly springy feel, perhaps from a touch too much brining or marinating before grilling. But that was a small complaint, because the dish as a whole was quite good. The red curry had assertive levels of spice, balanced by the calming coconut milk and jasmine rice. We accompanied that with a couple of cocktails, derived from interesting infusions they make in-house. Despite the risque and pun-filled names, the two we tried were rather tasty. There's also an interesting selection of sake, good wines and beers, and more original cocktails. The space itself is quite attractive, as are the plates and bowls and platters, very hip and modern. The service was excellent - very friendly, informed and helpful. This of course makes me want to try Chaaba Thai up the street too, but it's going to be very hard to resist this place. I like the style of food and the presentation, and I thought everything we had was delicious. Even better, they serve pretty late: regular menu until 9 or 10 or 11, depending on the night, a late-night menu after that... So, quit complaining about Thai food in Philly, and get yourself to Manayunk. Mango Moon 4161 Main St (Manayunk) 215.487.1230

Royal Tavern, and the Cantina Los Caballitos and Cantina Dos Segundos always have vegan offerings at brunch (the chef used to be a vegan) but of course also have plenty of bacon and other nitrate-rich pork products. I would specifically suggest the Cantina Dos Segundos, because they serve both vegan French Toast for your friends, and Huevos Dos Segundos for you. The latter consists of poached eggs and refried beans in corn masa cups, topped with Benton's bacon and a chipotle hollandaise sauce. Somehow I have managed to resist the call of the Benton's a couple of times and also enjoyed the pancakes with cajeta and fresh fruit... I feel confident you all can be happy. http://www.cantinadossegundos.com

Michael Klein reported that Coquette is subject to a Sheriff's sale in yesterday's The Insider blog>> Oddly, it doesn't even have anything to do with Coquette's operation, it's apparently related to an old court judgment involving a former employee of Sansom Street Oyster House, owner Cary Neff's previous place. A sheriff's sale seems like an extreme solution to a relatively small judgment, but.. In any case: drama. So I don't think I'd plan an important dinner there! But who knows, they may still be open. I passed by last night around 10:30-11:00pm and the lights were off, chairs were up on the tables, so they're certainly not doing the late-night thing that they used to. I'm not sure if they were open earlier in the evening.

BTW, Midatlantic IS open, just not on sundays, as indicated on their website.

I feel like they're doing that less these days. It's very likely that they have responded to customer complaints. I was looking for something the other day and was perfectly fine with the Wegman's brand, but I actually had to search a bit to find their version. The aisle-ends do tend to be more commonly stocked with their own brands than you see in most other stores, but the regular shelves feel less dominated than they used to be.

I knew there was something lurking in a vague memory... A Roadfood post raves about the steak sandwich at LDR Char Pit. Anybody here had one? The pics don't look all that exciting, like, you know, a grilled piece of beef on a bun.

I'm pretty sure Plear is more like a larb: ground meat, mint, lots of lime, pretty spicy.

I hear it's very hard to get a table there these days...

I think you might have hit the Rochester Public Market at the absolute peak of autumn bounty, because, although I certainly do enjoy it, on most visits I've made, it doesn't hold a candle to the other markets you compared it to. But yes, there is some pretty amazing produce at certain times of the year, and most from fairly near-by. But overall, I heartily agree with your post, especially the awesomeness of Zweigles White hots. And Corned Beef hash (breakfast in general) at the Highland Park Diner. I've never been there, but isn't the LDR Char Pit famous for some quirky kind of steak sandwich? Oh, and Robert Forster counts as A-list in RaChaCha.

I generally go to Cherry Hill, since that's closest to Center City. I was very disappointed when they droopped the kimmelwecks. Have you seen them recently at Collegeville or the other stores? Yep, got some at Downingtown recently. Did not see any at Collegeville, but I emailed through their website a while back to ask if they would have them regularly, and was told that the bakery manager would be happy to make them on request. So I'm not entirely sure how one goes about asking, but I think any of the stores would make a batch with some advance notice.