philadining

As you can probably see in the pictures, the St Louis Ribs we got from Dante's weren't totally soaked in sauce, so I felt like I was getting a good taste of the meat, but then again, maybe the sauce is why I didn't think they were all that smoky at first. For what it's worth, I re-heated a couple of leftover ribs, which pretty much dried-up the sauce, and wow, might they have gotten even more tasty? Nah... doesn't seem possible... but damn they were good.

There are several signs on the front of the papered-over front window of the restaurant, saying "Heard the Rumors? The truth comes out 031409". Their website currently says the same thing. This certainly makes the "closing" sound like a bit of a publicity stunt. Whether it means they're reopening, or moving to another location, it certainly seems to indicate that there's some sort of a part B. I suppose if they really are completely re-imagining the place, it IS a closing and re-opening, so it's not that the announcement was a lie, but I'm not sure it would be any less newsworthy to simply say that they were changing concepts (or whatever it is they're doing.) Who knows, maybe this kind of thing works. Georges Perrier got several minutes on the evening news by hinting at closing Le Bec Fin. He probably wouldn't have gotten so much attention if he'd just said that he was making the changes he did. His changes seemed to elicit a big yawn in most circles, but it probably did get the word out more effectively than simply issuing a press release. And so this kerfuffle around Majolica might be effective for them, but I'd imagine that eventually reporters and readers are going to resent being manipulated for PR purposes.

It's been quite a while since I had sushi at Morimoto, but I think it could be worth it for Tim to experience, if only for the rice. If we're actually talking about Sushi, as opposed to Japanese food in general, or raw fish, at its core, Sushi is about the rice, and Morimoto's is really good. When I did Omakase there, there were several sashimi-ish courses, but only one Sushi course. That was very simple, straight ahead nigiri, and very good. Morimoto happened to be in the house that night, but I have no reason to believe that he actually made my sushi. You might consider just ordering some sushi by the piece, rather than committing to the elaborate meal, but the omakase is sure to be varied, so you'll likely enjoy most of it, even if you're still not sold on the raw fish. But don't be afraid to ask to tweak the omakase to your liking, with more or less fish, cooked fish, raw fish, whatever... But if you're there, you might as well try the range of what they do.

And then there's Jimmy's out in Malvern. I thought these ribs were quite good, maybe not quite as juicy and perfect as Danté's, but a pretty close runner-up. They do dry-rubbed Memphis Style, and I was perfectly happy to eat these as-is, but there is some sauce on the tables, and some hot sauce at the counter. I'll agree with Percy, that house sauce is a little too sweet for me, but the flavor's pretty good otherwise. I'd love to see a few more barbecue sauces to choose from, and even their hot-sauce collection was pretty limited, but I was pretty satisfied eating most everything without sauce. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I really liked the brisket. This has been pretty elusive, although I had a few good platters at The Smoked Joint. We chatted a little with Jimmy, and he said that he's only recently finally dialed-in the right technique for the brisket, so if you've been disappointed before, it might be time to try it again! Our portion was nicely moist, and those blackened edges were freaking awesome. We got it as part of a combo platter with Pulled Pork, which also had very good flavor, but was bordering on dry - not bad at all, but better with a little sauce. The dusting of spices was not as overwhelming as it looks, it was actually a nice accent. We also had a starter of thick-sliced bacon, which was assertively smoky, salty and fatty, which is to say, pretty tasty. I liked it, but it might be a little too overtly fatty for some. Jimmy said he's been slicing it a little thinner lately, and whatever he's doing now seems about right to me. Sides were solid, if not the main reason to go here. I liked the collard greens quite a lot, and the baked beans were pleasingly sweet and tangy. Sweet potatoes were simple, but good. Mac and Cheese was fine, if not especially exciting. I'd been seeing some very mixed reviews elsewhere on the web, but I was very impressed after one visit. I suspect that some of those less-positive reviews might have been due to Jimmy's settling into a new space, or even people just not understanding the dry-rub barbecue aesthetic. The execution seemed pretty solid to me, and I'm happy to head back over there and do some more sampling... soon, I hope... They're open 10-8 sunday-thursday, 10-9 friday and saturday. Jimmy says he might start staying open later (I vote in favor of that!!) Jimmy's Barbecue Westgate Plaza 309 Lancaster Avenue Malvern Pa 19355 http://jimmysbbq.com/

Those really lovely pork spare ribs are from Danté's, out at 48th and Lancaster Ave, and they tasted as good as they look. They were tender and moist, and had a subtle smoke flavor that built gradually until you eventually felt like you were sitting right next to the pit. Based on one visit, these have shot to the top of my list of favorite ribs in the city. I'm eager to try more of their meats, and verify that these weren't a fluke, so I'll be heading back out there soon. We also tried their fried chicken, which was perfectly credible, in fact quite impressively crisp and un-greasy, but just not quite as exciting as the barbecue. We only tried a few sides, but totally loved the collards, which had a firm-yet-tender texture, and actually tasted like greens. The potato salad was a little too strong with celery seed for me, but that's a very personal thing... It's take-out only, and I don't remember for sure, but maybe cash-only. I'll check, and don't worry, it won't be long, Im already jonesing for more of those ribs, or maybe the dry-rubbed Memphis style baby backs... or the smoked hot sausage... Danté's Barbecue 4834 Lancaster Avenue Philadelphia, PA 215-473-0177

So... any reports? I was majorly bummed that a few different logistical problems prevented me from getting to this event. The menu looked pretty great, and its been WAY too long since I had a Shola dinner!

This is very odd, because "That Italian Place" (not "That's Italian" as reported in the Inky) is still very new, in fact there are still grand-opening streamers hanging outside the very recently -opened sit-down restaurant part of the operation. That said, the take-out market and pizza half of their operation has been open a bit longer, and who knows, maybe business hasn't been good, or someone made them a great offer... Still seems very weird. I only managed to get to That Italian Place a couple of times, largely because they closed at weirdly early hours for a restaurant, especially for a pizza place. (Hmm... maybe there's a clue...) But I had gotten a pizza and a sandwich from them fairly early on, each of them quite delicious. I drove by there on Sunday, and there was no indication of a change coming, and the Mims pizza operation is supposed to be starting on friday? The main dining room a few days later?? I guess it doesn't take too long to change the ingredients in the kitchen, but you'd think they'd be doing a little redecoration or something. I'll try to keep an eye on it, but I wouldn't be surprised if the timeline ends up being a little different than has been suggested.

I was doing some errands in Exton a few days ago, and dropped into (the original) Han Dynasty for some take-out. Although we've been buzzing about the new place in Royersford lately, it's important to point out that the Exton branch is still excellent! Everything was good, but the real highlight of my latest visit was the Deep-Fried Shredded Beef. It's every bit as good as the version we got a part of our extravaganza in Rofo. It's very spicy, but irresistibly addictive: just when I felt like I couldn't take any more spice, I found myself unable to stop eating it... It's perfect for absent-minded nibbling too, the beef is fairly dry, almost like a tender jerky, so it's easy to eat with your fingers, a piece or two at a time. Just don't rub your eyes!! This dish and a cold beer makes a perfect snack.

After much too long of a pause, we made it back to Modo Mio recently. They've been pretty consistently busy, and so it's been almost impossible to stroll in on short notice. But we managed to get a table fairly late one night, and soon were berating ourselves for not coming here more often. We had no problems with the service, in fact they were very accommodating. The food was very good across the board, much of it excellent. They indicated that the menu is about to change, so I'm not sure that the specifics of what we ordered will be helpful for long, but the consistent quality throughout should be reassuring. The cotechino starter was not especially lovely to look at, but it was absolutely delicious. A softly-fried egg was draped over a puck of hearty, subtly-spiced sausage, comfort food at its best. We also tried the Lingua, which was almost opposite in terms of sensation, but no less delicious. Thin slices of cold tongue were mingled with beets, goat cheese and a bright, sharp dressing. They had just changed the gnocchi from the version Andrew mentioned above, which was disappointing until we tasted the replacement. The small, light, pillowy dumplings are now accompanied by wild mushrooms and gorgonzola to excellent effect. I've always enjoyed the gnocchi here, no matter the preparation. Agnolotti were filled with lamb and rabbit, and while quite good, they paled in comparison to the gnocchi. Secondi were strikingly good. The porchetta was just crazy, tender and juicy, seated in a pool of intense jus. I suspect roasting-off pigs for the sandwich shop across the street has helped them perfect this, and really makes me want a sandwich too... A shortrib special brought a piece of meat about the size of a standard masonry brick. Thankfully the resemblance ended at its dimensions. It was falling-apart tender, and intensely flavored, from a long braise in red wine. A bed of rabe made a pleasing contrast. A nice-looking skirt steak got hoovered-up by my dining companions before I managed to steal a taste, but I think that counts as a thumbs-up. Desserts were decent, but not quite as thrilling as the rest of the meal. As noted several times, the $32 "tourista" menu remains an insane bargain, but even at higher prices the meal we had would be easy to recommend. I'm planning on getting back there sooner than later...

We really wanted to try the pork belly buns, but they'd run out of something, maybe the buns themselves. Glad to hear that they're good. And I was very curious about the beef tenderloin and potato dish. What were the potatoes like? Were they french-fry-like in any way? The traditional Peruvian dish Lomo Saltado is perversely seductive: strips of beef stir-fried with french fries and a soy-touched gravy. But I wasn't sure that was something that would maintain its appeal when made with better ingredients... We probably should remember that it's early days, and even the best-planned places tend to make some tweaks as they get going for real. (and BTW that dish with the skewers is spelled ANTICUCHOS, I realize it has a typo in my first post, and it's too late to edit it... )

We dropped in recently ad I'm not sure disappointed is quite the right word, but I think we were hoping for more big wow! moments than we got. I haven't been to Peru, and the Peruvian food I've had here hasn't been from the Chinese-influenced side of things (unless you count the Lomo Saltado) so I can't comment on the authenticity issue. I generally don't care too much about that anyway, I believe it's possible for creative chefs to improve on authenticity. Much like brescd01 commented, we found the service to be friendly, informed and professional. The space itself is attractive, although it looked much nicer in the back half. I'll agree that the bread is pretty great: airy little rolls spiked with Manchego. That's a Pisco Sour in the corner there, and while I wouldn't call it poor, as David's wife did, I like this drink more bracingly tart, with a bit more of an edge from bitters. This version will probably be a crowd-pleaser though, it was quaffable. We started with the Hiramasa Ceviche, which was very good, but suffering from the micro portioning that seems to be the style in the Garces empire. Very good fish though. Then Anitcuchos Adobo Pork Belly, Cilantro Chicken and Ginger Shrimp. Very tasty, especially the pork belly, which was perfectly cooked, but again, the portions were pretty tiny. Those skewers are about 6 inches long. The Chimichurri sauce was delicious. The sweet chili sauce and peanut sauce - meh. barbecue Ribs Smoky, tangy, sweet, sticky. Hard to go wrong there. Scallion Pancakes Excellent: crispy, salty, a little gooey in the middle. But you guessed it: they're pretty small. You might need a few orders of these. Chifa Chicken This was actually a good sized half of a chicken, and had flavorful, juicy meat beneath that lovely crispy skin. But it also had a kind of springy texture that I've encountered with meats that have been brined a bit too long. I don't know for sure that this one was brined, but it sure seemed like it. The hoisin and sriracha sauces that came with it are both made in house, and both are quite tasty, but yow! the sriracha has a kick! I'm in favor of that, but be careful... We were warned, but I generally don't believe it when people that tell me things are really spicy. Anyway, all in all it was a good meal, but I was hoping for something a little more exciting. 4 small plates and one larger one, one Pisco Sour and one beer, came to $85. I'm still wondering if this particular tweak to traditional food is a significant improvement over the original. I'm in favor of fusions, I like new interpretations of classics. But I'm not quite convinced that I prefer these versions to just getting Chinese food, or hauling up to the Northeast for some Peruvian food. But maybe I will. There's more food there that looks interesting, and bears further investigation.

Lakeside has closed. Any of the places in Chinatown will have options for the timid, so your friend will be OK, pick what's interesting for you. As others have mentioned: Ken's Seafood, or Xiao Guan for Cantonese. Dim Sum Garden for Shanghai specialties like soup dumplings, meatballs, noodle dishes, etc. Zhi Wei Guan for Hangzhou cuisine, including soup dumplings, and other noodles and dumplings. Try the fried rice. Seriously. Four Rivers for Sichuan. There are plenty of non-spicy things on the menu if your friend is not up for that. Sang Kee for roasted duck, pork or ribs. Scroll around some of these topics (like Chinatown Highlights) and I'm sure you'll find some dishes to focus on. But the best advice I can give is to ask your server. Tell him or her that you want to try some traditional dishes, and ask what's especially good at their place. Some things are obvious: Ken's Seafood has tanks of live fish in the front. Plus, it's called Ken's Seafood. So get some live shrimp, or an eel, or a whole fish, or scallops. Ask them how it's best prepared. If you go to Four Rivers, get a classic dish from Sichuan province, like Ma Po Tofu, or Twice-Cooked pork, or Cumin Beef. Incidentally, they have some Shanghainese dishes here too, and they rock. Wu Xi ribs are awesome. The Special Sweet Ham is fatty, but tender and delicious. Convince your server that you really want traditional food, and they'll give it to you. But it's bad form to send it back if you think it's weird...

Of course, we're getting into semantics when we start discussing the meaning of "voluntary" but I have to agree with Katie, that tipping, at least in the US, is not really voluntary in a functional sense. True, it's not mandatory in a legal sense, nor is there a required specific percentage, but it's expected, not out of some misplaced sense of entitlement on the part of the tipped employee, but (as has been explained many times here) because that's how their compensation is structured. Yes, you COULD have a hotel bellman come to your room and load up a cart with a huge pile of bags, and roll it down to your car, and pack everything in your trunk, and not tip him, but you're being a jerk if you don't. That person is paid less than minimum wage, with the understanding that people who use his services will make up the difference with tips. Sure, you can refuse to participate, just like you can refuse to chip-in for gas if your friend drives his car on your vacation together. You can refuse to put any money in the coffee-fund at work even though you drink the coffee, and every one else is contributing. It's voluntary, right? Sure those things are "voluntary" but you're being a selfish, exploitative person to not pay up. So sure, you COULD refuse to tip your waiter or bartender because you don't like the system, but you're really just causing that employee to be underpaid. It's not that you're refusing to reward them, you're causing them to earn less than minimum wage. Restaurants, and hotels and hair salons, and lots of other businesses structure their budgets like that. They (legally) underpay their employees, with the culturally-accepted understanding that the customers will makeup the difference. If they didn't do that, they'd have to charge higher prices for the food, or the hotel room, or the haircut, or whatever. So you're getting your food at a discount. You're getting your hotel room at a reduced rate. But that reduction is being borne on the backs of the workers, and if you just pocket those savings, you're doing it at the expense of the people serving you. Your meal has been discounted 15-20 percent from what the restaurant would need to charge for it if they paid the waitstaff a living wage. You're expected to make that up. It may be a crappy system, but that's the system. Paradoxically, I'll agree that it's bad form to chase people down and chide them about their tipping habits, but there are relatively elegant ways to ask if there's a problem, even ways to tactfully explain that no tip, or a very low tip usually indicates dissatisfaction. I've seen it done smoothly. Sometimes it is a matter of a visitor not understanding, or someone well-intentioned simply ding the math incorrectly, and in those cases a customer might even be happy that it's been pointed out. I'll agree that it's not easy to do politely, so it's probably a safer policy to not say anything, but it can be done.

I really need to do a side-by-side comparison, as I look back, I think our big blow-out dinner included dumplings in chili oil, and not wontons as I had labeled them. I seem to recall that they're both good, but I'd like to figure out what the differences are, besides shape. I agree, they make a pretty great hot and sour soup. But there are just so many other unusual soups there that I rarely think to get it.

Thanks, I never thought of XIX for brunch...

Just noticed that Philly Mag has a list of their favorite brunch spots. I found myself agreeing with most all of the selections, although I'm curious about why they left out Lacroix. They did include The Fountain at The Four Seasons, so it's not a money or style thing. That said, it's been a long time since I've done brunch at Lacroix. It was long enough ago that Lacroix was at Lacroix. So I can't personally vouch for the current state of brunch there. Any other suggestions? I've been having a hard time going anywhere other than Cantina Dos Segundos lately. Why, you ask? Bentons bacon on the Huevos Dos Segundos. Cajeta on the pancakes...

Three Cup Chicken is on the regular menu at the Exton branch, but I don't think it is in Royersford. (Edited to update: The Royersford Menu DOES indeed feature "Triple Delight Chicken" which I'm pretty confident is the dish we're talking about, the Chinese characters are right for Three Cup Chicken - 三杯雞 ) I've seen a bunch of different recipes indicating what the three cups are. I think traditionally it's Sesame Oil, Rice Wine and Soy Sauce. It is indeed a slightly sweet dish, but I'm not sure there's a whole cup of sugar in there! It's kind of sweet, but also very garlicky and gingery.

This spice level of the food is variable - I've had some of those particular dishes served hotter. I suspect they toned it down a bit for a large group of non-Chinese. That said, there was indeed still some serious spice lurking around some of those dishes... But whatever your preference is, just let them know: if you'd rather it not be all that spicy, or full-on raging inferno, they can adjust. As for the look of the restaurant - as I understand it, they inherited the decor of the previous restaurant that inhabited that space, and indeed several people have mentioned that it looks a lot like the Sang Kee in the burbs. It's a nice-looking space, so I wouldn't urge them to change it, but apparently the design is mostly just what was there. Maybe the previous owners used the same interior designer as Sang Kee did...

We convened a group up in Royersford for, well, I suppose it was a Chinese New Year's banquet... really it was just an excuse for some friends to get together and eat! We put ourselves in the capable hands of Han, and just let him pick a selection of dishes for us. He made some last-minute tweaks to a couple of dishes to accommodate some dining restrictions, but I don't think anything suffered from the changes. (OK, there was some small heartbreak among a couple of diners over the Ma Po Tofu being stripped of its pork, but you know, it was still quite tasty! And it's not as if we were hurting for pork! Although somehow the controversy caused me to miss taking a picture of it... ) I'm sorry to tell you that not all these dishes are on the regular menu, a few of them weren't even specials posted on the wall. But many of them are straight off the menu, so you could get most of these dishes on any given day. Fish and Pickled Vegetable Soup Sweet Potato Cakes Wontons in Chile Oil Sliced Beef and Tripe in Hot Sauce (cold) Spicy Rabbit with Peanuts (cold) Chengdu Style Green Bean Noodles (cold) Shredded Chicken in Spicy Sesame Sauce (cold) Spicy Hot Pot (with fish, shrimp, scallops, beef, noodles, tofu, vegetables, probably more treasures that I didn't manage to find...) Sweet and Sour Fish Filet (no, it's not always served with the carved carrot sculpture!) Smoked Bacon with Leeks Tea Smoked Duck in Beer Sauce Szechuan Style Sea Bass Eggplant Stuffed with Shrimp Three Cup Chicken Fish in Dry Pot Stir-Fried String Beans Chicken with Dry Hot Pepper Ma Po Tofu (missing photo) Taiwanese Sausage with Snow Peas Deep Fried Shredded Beef Bok Choy with Black Mushroom Lamb with Cumin Braised Bacon Sesame Dumplings I thought everything was delicious. Even the Sweet and Sour Fish, substituted-in to offer a respite from the meat and the spice, was very tasty, perfectly fried, and not doused in that typical over-sweet, florescent red goop. I found myself obsessed with the Deep Fried Shredded Beef, and I don't think it was just because the plate was parked next to me. I just couldn't resist going back for just one more chewy jerky-like shred of beef, tingling with spice. I think I would have done the same thing with the Chicken with dry hot pepper if I hadn't gotten the plate away from me. We've decided we want to get buckets of those two dishes to take-out, and sneak them into the movies as a snack. Except we'd need beer. Heck, we can smuggle that in too, I suppose... The bacon with leek was stunning, perhaps in part because it was so simple. The intensely smoky pork is the key. We were told that the entire recipe consists of: bacon, leeks, a little salt. Stir-fry. Done. I really enjoyed the duck in beer sauce. The meat was tender, and that sauce! I think I would probably drink that with a straw, given the chance. I loved the soup. Ahhh, the sausage with snow peas... I basically totally enjoyed this dinner... Big thanks to Han for taking care of us so well, the selections were excellent. And even bigger thanks to the chef for executing it so expertly. Thanks also to my dining companions, many of whom made long drives in the snow. It's so much more fun with a group of simpatico eaters. And thanks for the great wine and beer. Happy New Year!

It seems to go down like this from time to time... hang tight, it usually reappears before too long!

Lindemans Pêche, a brew I'm not normally all that fond of, is shockingly good with super-spicy Sichuan food.

I had focused on the Laotian stuff when I was there, and thought it was fine, but not all that exciting. I preferred Vientiane for that stuff. But people have told me that their Thai food is quite good, I just haven't gotten around to checking it for myself. But your post makes me want to...

Yeah, some of the more exotic stuff can get up there, so you definitely have to be careful if you get geoduck, or abalone or shark's fin, etc. The geoduck is good to share among a decent-sized group to spread the expense, although that tactic also creates some bitter fighting over the fried bellies...

We'd asked if they could do a spicy crab, and it ended up being very tasty, and only a little spicy. Ken told us that they don't usually make it like that, but did an experiment for us. I thought it was quite good, if a little messy!

A few of us dropped by Ken's Seafood and had an impromptu New Year's dinner. It was a bit of a mash-up of a set banquet menu they're used to serving and some special requests from us for some favorites. Special thanks to I Call the Duck! (or more accurately, her mom) for making a list of some special dishes to request. House Soup - Watercress and Pork Bone (Not really part of a New Year's banquet, just the soup they were serving that day, but it was delicious...) Pan Fried Dumplings Geoduck (Giant Clam) Sashimi Fried Geoduck Bellies with Eggplant Salt and Pepper Live Shrimp Peking Duck Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables Lamb with Mushroom Clay Pot Shimp-Stuffed Tofu with Conch Sautéed Flounder Lobster and Dungeness Crab with Chile Sauce Chinese Broccoli with Chinese Sausage and Ham Fried Rice with Dried Scallop, Dried Shrimp and Sausage Sweet Bean Soup I was very pleased with this meal,and got the sense the others were too. Everything was quite delicious, and nicely varied. I was surprised how much I liked the flounder, it was very simple, but elegant and somehow almost buttery-tasting. Both courses of giant clam were really good, but the fried bellies were especially noteworthy, like the best fried clams ever, amplified. But I thoroughly enjoyed all of it, except for the couple of things I couldn't eat, but I was assured by my tablemates that those were quite good as well. So thanks to Ken for coming up with a great menu (and to Karen's mom for kibitzing.) And bigger thanks to the chefs at Ken's...