philadining

It's a good idea, they're not that big...

I completely understand the appeal of food delivery, and am more than a little jealous of the options of city-dwellers. Pizza places are the only ones that will come to me out in the burbs... But I doubt you're ever going to get a reliable read on "objective" food quality from delivery. Sure, some restaurants, sometimes, can get your order to you so fast that it seems like they cooked it on the way, but many times, it's been waiting in the restaurant for some other orders to be put together, then bounced around the delivery vehicle, and who knows, maybe today you were last in line. So we decided to check out Plan Eat Thai and eat there, to remove the variables of delivery efficiency. Well... that didn't really work, this is a purely take-out place. For some reason I thought that there might be a small table or two, but no, there's just a tiny lobby space, encased in bullet-proof plexiglass. There's no real sign, just Plan Eat Thai hand-scrawled on the doorway. In fact if I hadn't had strong recommendations from some people I trust, there's no way in hell I would have gone in there, it's pretty bleak looking from outside, and the block it's on doesn't inspire confidence either. So maybe delivery's not such a bad idea... But we were there, and hungry, so we decided to order, and just eat in the car. We ordered a Masaman Beef and a Pad Kee Mow (drunken noodles) with chicken. I'm glad we decided to stick around. The Masaman Beef was very good, and although it's not quite the same as what I consider the ultimate version, one I used to get on South Street years ago, it's close. This is clearly long-cooked, with large chunks of beef stewed until tender. The fact that they don't offer a variety of ingredients supports this theory: this is not just random veggies, random protein, splash of curry and coconut milk, this is something that takes a while to cook. But then, this is the real world, and standing there in the lobby, we could see that they seem to have pre-made the stew, portioned it, and frozen it. They pulled a homemade-looking cube of something brown (not a commercial package) out of a freezer, and dropped it in a pan. It was taking a while to get the large chunks of meat to defrost, so don't expect this one too quickly! I'm not sure if this is always the process, or if they sometimes have a pot of it going and had just run out this time... In any case, the base of it didn't seem to have suffered much from its cryogenic phase, and it was perked-up with fresh vegetables and peanuts. The meat was a little stringy, but actually very tender and flavorful. As Andrew mentioned, it's more like a beef stew than the sliced-meat versions. There were nice big chunks of potato (whose texture had actually degraded a little, getting mealy from the freezing, but it wasn't tragic) cabbage, broccoli and peanuts in a very tasty masaman curry. I'm not sure the curry flavor itself was significantly more interesting than others around town, but the whole package was better than most, from the long-slow cooking of the beef. The Drunken Noodles were not as basil-infused as most versions I've had. What it was infused with was spice! We'd asked for it spicy, and I'm happy to report that they'll give it to you hot! The noodles had a great texture. This type of rice noodle is especially susceptible to getting gummy when sitting around, so I'm sure this benefitted from our eating it pretty promptly. Although we immediately started sweating from the level of chile heat, it was hard to stop eating it, the flavors were so seductive. So, this place is a bit of an oddity. Although I only tried two things, they were both quite good, and especially good fresh and hot from the kitchen. But you can't eat there, and eating in your car parked outside is not always that attractive of an option, so you might have to get delivery, or at least take out, and take you chances on it not being as good as few minutes later. Here's hoping they can move up to a proper restaurant with tables sometime.

It's been a couple of years for me too, but last time I was in, they still had the fries, which, I agree are rocking! The falafel is good, but I have a hard time resisting a kebab platter there. Overall, I vote with Katie: I love Bitar's grilled falafel.

I think those are all good suggestions above, but FWIW, we recently reserved a table for 8 at Matyson, and that worked out fine. Or is it 5-8 adults PLUS kids?

I've always thought Apple Stores should have restaurants in them, like IKEA...

A lot of restaurants have New Years banquet menus and you can just arrange to have it sometime around the date. That exact day (the 26th this year) will probably be pretty crazed, but most places will still do a special dinner for a week or two. You generally want to have a decent-sized group, it's hard to have a banquet for two people...

Yes and Yes

Yes. They even have lunch specials 11:30-3, according to the online menu. BTW, the offical address is: 70 Buckwalter RD Royersford, PA 19468 610-792-9600 www.handynasty.net

A fair number of eG folks have made it to Han Dynasty in Exton, and it remains one of my favorite places for traditional Chinese food, especially Sichuan and Taiwanese specialties. So I was thrilled to hear that they were opening a second location in Royersford, which is closer to my home. In the midst of a crazy fall, a few months went by before i managed to find my way out there. I don't tend to go in that particluar direction all that much, but I will now, since I discovered that the new place is really easy to get to, and is at least as good, maybe even better than the original. The new location is just a stone's-throw from the Royersford exit off of rt 422. Heading west, you just bear right off the exit, make a left at the stoplight you come to almost immediately, then another immediate left into a big plaza with a Genuardi's supermarket, a "Texas Roadhouse" restaurant, a bunch of fast-food places, pretty much a typical suburban strip-mall. But, much like in Exton, hidden behind that generic facade is an exemplary restaurant. Sadly, the Taiwanese dishes that are among the standouts at the original place are not available here, at least not right now, they may add some in the future. But the spicy cuisine of Sichuan is well-represented, with a few more selections than are on the menu at the first restaurant. And most importantly, the execution here is top-notch. I'm a big fan of the chef at the Exton location, having followed him from Tifco China Bistro, to Chung King Garden in Chinatown, and back out to Han Dynasty, so I'm reluctant to start ranking the kitchens, but everything I had at this new place tasted a little bit more focused, vivid, intense than I've had anywhere else. That includes the Chinatown places and some fabled spots in NY as well. Yep, I think this food is significantly better than Szechuan Tasty House, Chung King Garden, even Four Rivers. I'd even go so far as to say that I like it better than Grand Sichuan International and Wu Liang Ye in Manhattan. Of course, all these assessments are subjective, and to be candid, I did recieve some special treatment. They recognize me as a frequent customer from the other place, and have figured out that I post pictures, so I'm sure the kitchen brought their A-game. Han, the manager, was even nice enough to sit and chat with me, arranged for some extra samples, even gave me a beer. I'll admit that I've done some irresponsible things under the influence of Victory's Golden Monkey, but I'm feeling pretty confident that my judgment was still intact after one of them! Of course, it's hard not to get caught up in the thrill of a place close to your home that has good food, and where they're being very nice to you, but I feel like I can step back and objectively say that this food is first-rate. The random customer might not get quite as much attention, but I'm confident that they will get excellent food. I'm currently mired in some computer problems that are making it harder for me to manage and edit photos, so please forgive the incompleteness of the documentation, there are a few more photos on my blog, and I'll try to add more here when my technical problems get sorted out! Wontons in Chile Oil are especially good here. At the other place, they're served in a spicy broth, but I prefer this version with just the hot oil. Double-Cooked Pork is much lighter here than any other version I've had. Yes, it's still a heap of bacon, but it's not swimming in oil, and the intense smokiness of this pork gives it a dimension that's missing in most other renditions I've encountered. Tea-Smoked Duck was especially delicate, with a wonderful crispy skin, and tender, juicy meat carrying the complex flavors of smoldering tea leaves. I didn't get a really good translation of this dish's name, it's one of those poetic ones, something like "Man in Red Robes Standing in the Snow." It featured tender slices of beef, tingling with spice from abundant dried chile and Sichuan peppercorn, over snow-white noodles made from green mung beans. This was pretty punishingly hot, but perhaps my favorite dish, the complex flavors were intriguing, as they faded into the fuzzy numbness of that unique spice effect. I also sampled a fried sweet-potato cake, a wonton soup, the classic "Husband and Wife Lungs" which is actually sliced tripe and tongue, Bang Bang Chicken, and Fish in Dry Pot. Every one of them was delicious, and quite distinct. I especially liked the fish in dry pot, I've had it before with lamb, but the (boneless) fish filets might have been an even more effective delivery system for the Sichuan peppercorns that studded this dish. I'm really thrilled to have yet another source for traditional Chinese food. That it happens to be not too far from my home is a bonus for me, but I'd highly recommend to even you city-dwellers that a quick drive out route 422 would be worth your while. I'm pretty sure that's why Philly Car Share was founded, to help people get better Chinese food...

Cantonese House 3159 Winton Road South 585-272-9126 I've heard their dim sum was good. For some weird reason I've never gone, even though I've been to other places in that plaza, like Thali of India, many times.

I know this doesn't really help you Center City dwellers, but I've been getting very good Thai food in Phoenixville, at Thai L'Elephant. Not quite as vivid as the Thai food that seems routinely available on the west coast, but still very enjoyable. It seems significantly better when eating there, as opposed to take-out, I'm not entirely sure why. You guessed it: www.thailelephant.com Also, I suppose it's stretching the definition of "Thai food" a little, but we had a "Jungle Chicken" at Rangoon recently, which was essentially a very citrus-y Thai green curry. Totally delicious. Now I gotta go try that Masaman curry at Plan Eat Thai, that sounds awesome.

I haven't been to Eulogy in a while, but there was a young Belgian waiter there who was pretty amazing - seemed to know the entire list of beers off the top of his head and could describe them all. But, I see your point, Chris, you don't want to count on him being there... and him being your waiter... Still, it's nice to have an extensive selection in case you happen to have an obscure Belgian favorite. Even better to have descriptions in case you're looking for something new.

Oh, wouldn't it have been fun to see Perrier ask for his help keeping Brasserie Perrier open? Sure, the audio would probably be one constant bleep-tone as they swore at each other in various languages, but it could have been gripping TV!

The "Bocconcini" Pizza; Pigs Trotters Meatballs, tomato, mozzarella, crispy capers. The meatballs themselves were plainer than I expected, not at all bad, but not as distinctive as I thought they might be. But the pizza as a whole was excellent, with a perfectly crisp crust, just the right amount of excellent tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, salty capers...

Also hit up a tiny little place in Henrietta: El Dorado (not to be confused with Dorado on Park Ave.) It's a hole-in the wall spot in a tiny, faceless strip mall, between a weird liquor store and Peddler's bike shop. Which is to say, exactly the right kind of location for a couple of young guys doing a pretty authentic taqueria kind of thing. Pork Tamale, a Cecina Taco, and a Chorizo Taco. Enchilada platter As you can see, the tacos and such are smallish, but they're very inexpensive, less than $2 each, and they're quite tasty. The tortillas are soft and fresh, the tacos are not loaded down with cheese and sour cream and all that crap, just some meat, some onion and cilantro, maybe a little spray of lettuce. They might dress them up more for you if want, I'm not sure, I happen to like straight-up tacos like they serve them. The cecina had a nice concentrated flavor, and the chorizo was just the right level of greasy: enough that it was flavorful and moist, but not so much that red oil was dripping off my elbows! The tamales were a little on the plain side, like many tamales I've had in my life, but a dose of the spicy salsa, made with chiles de arbol, perked them right up. I didn't get a taste of the enchiladas, but my dining companions liked them. There were also raves for the regular shredded-beef tacos. And there are more elaborate platters as well: Carne Asada, Guisado de Puerco, we got to try a little sample of a very juicy and flavorful Pollo en Achiote. It's mostly a take-out place, they only have paper plates and plastic silverware, but you can eat-in too, there's a counter with about 10 stools. While you wait, you might get some nice warm chips, and fresh salsa. Just watch out for the spice in that salsa de arbol! El Dorado 2513 East Henrietta road (near Calkins)

I can imagine! Gotta be frustrating for someone operating a coal oven. I would have been fine with a touch more char, but it's pretty close to perfect in my book. I certainly wouldn't have wanted it any lighter. The clams, well, those could have been in for a little less time...

I haven't seen that article, but I had some pretty terrific pizza at Tony D's in Corn Hill. They've got a coal oven that does a great job creating a tasty crust, with a touch of char around the edges. It's not quite the same style as the NYC coal-oven pizzarias: that Patsy's East Harlem - Grimaldi's - Lombardi's school does a thinner crust, and is lighter on the toppings. I prefer that style by a little, but Tony D's made a very tasty pie. The thicker crust and heavier toppings were in pretty good balance, and it's hard to know whether a more minimal approach would fly in RaChaCha. The guys at Tony D's are obviously very dialed-in on how the oven is running, I think the crust was cooked perfectly. We got one white pizza with clams and sausage, which was a very nice flavor combination, but the clams were a little over-cooked. I imagine that's tricky, but I've had clam pizzas that managed it. We also had a sausage and hot pepper pizza, which I thought was more successful. It's not going to push Patsy's out of my coal-oven top spot, but it's pretty darn good, and if I'm in the mood for pizza in Rochester, this is going to be my go-to place. Of course, I still have to try the pizza at Rocco's...

We dropped in to Ansill on saturday night and ended up eating at the bar, as all tables were full, including what seemed to be a birthday party or some such thing in the back room. I'm pleased to report that everything was quite delicious, making me kick myself for not making a policy of eating here once a week or so. I'm sorry to report that the light at the bar is very low, so I have no photo evidence. We started with a simple green salad, which made us marvel at the artistry necessary to make such a minimal thing so satisfying. Pristine, tender leaves of butter lettuce, very lightly dressed with an elegant vinaigrette, a few nuts, some small chunks of grapefruit, salt, that's all there was to it, yet we couldn't stop commenting on how great this salad was. Tomato bread was grilled, then rubbed with tomato, served with tiny tomatoes and garlic cloves that mushed beautifully onto the toast. We opted to add chorizo, which was served in paper-thin slices, providing a surprisingly subtle addition to the flavors, but a good one. The meat from pigs trotters was formed into discs, lightly breaded and perfectly fried, accompanied by strong purple mustard. The contrast of the crispy exterior and the meltingly moist interior was especially thrilling. We then moved on to slightly larger plates. Two slices of beef tenderloin sat in the shadow of a towering bone, a spoon protruding from its top. In retrospect, we should have asked for some bread to accompany the marrow, but we had no trouble finding other things to slather it on. The beef was perfectly cooked, and deeply flavored, a solid char fading to a juicy medium-rare. It sat in a pool of delicious jus. Crispy sweetbreads were just that, nicely crusty, encasing a delicate interior. Potatoes Boulanger proved to be another lesson in elegant simplicity: thinly-sliced potatoes, onions, bacon and kitchen magic. Each of us was employing a bit of elbowing and misdirection, trying to hoard more of those potatoes, without the others noticing... Brussels sprouts were just as we like them, with dark, roasted edges playing up their sweetness, a little bacon balancing that with smoky salt. And with that, three of us were stuffed, not able to contemplate dessert. But we did vow to return again soon. The cooking at Ansill has always been fairly direct and unfussy, but it seems to have gotten even more focused, concentrating on intense, fundamental flavors. And I'm all for that...

So whatever happened to Le Lemon Grass, and/or his outpost over by the Public Market?

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too, I'm usually impressed with Fiorella's sausages, but this one seemed a little plain. Not bad, but not distinctive either. It certainly wasn't spicy, it was just billed as Fiorella's Fennel Sausage. I suppose it's a lot to expect, but I guess I was hoping for something transcendent, like the fennel sausage at Delorenzo's (Hudson st) in Trenton...

I'm in pretty solid agreement with David's assessment of Coopers, so I'm not sure I have much to add, except maybe some pix... Pizza with Fennel Sausage and Banana Peppers The flavor combination was nice here, even though I wasn't completely knocked-out by the sausage (from Fiorella's.) But the pizza as a whole failed on two counts: the crust was soggy, probably inevitable when overloaded with toppings as it was; and as you can probably see, it looks kind of like it was assembled by throwing ingredients into a darkened room. I certainly don't need meticulous geometric patterns on my pizza, but come on, some slices had heaps of sausage or peppers, other slices, almost nothing at all. Pizza with Braised Shortrib, Port sauce, Horseradish Cream. I thought this was very tasty, although it was suffering even more from sogginess, the center of the pizza was more of a stew... It was enjoyable, but sadly not even close competition for the similarly-composed shortrib flatbread at Amada. On top of the sogginess, I just found the crust to have no character whatsoever. Even the crispy edges, which did achieve a light crackery texture, had little flavor. Both pizzas could have used a few more minutes in the oven, but I don't think even that would have fixed all the problems with the crust. Just as we were losing faith, the Duck Confit arrived to save the day. This was one of the better confits that either of us have had around town. Not only was the duck still moist and very flavorful, the accompaniments were terrific. Potatoes were tender, light, slightly tart, with a subtle perfume of tarragon, or some similar herb. Frisée was fresh and bitter, a perfect foil for the duck. Halved brussels sprouts were barely recognizable, having been caramelized down to sweet black clumps - which is to say that they were delicious! We'd also ordered a side of Maple Brussels Sprouts which we had enjoyed until we encountered these dark-roasted ones, infused with duck fat. The tamer maple version seemed a bit dull in contrast, and could have used a little touch of something, but they were well-cooked, tender and nicely roasty. I wasn't especially thrilled with any of the wines we tried, although it's an attractively unconventional list. It's a bit on the pricey side for the level of wines being served. Beer selection is good, with an interesting variety on the taps and in bottles. Despite my complaints about the pizza, I still liked the place, and I'm interested in trying a few more things from the menu. As David had mentioned, the elegance of that Duck Confit indicates that there's significant talent in the kitchen, it just might take a bit of exploration to see what it is that they do best. Oddly, it doesn't seem to be the brick oven pizzas, around which the place is based.

A few days later, we headed up to Erawan (menupages link>>) on 23rd St near Sansom. It had changed hands sometime in the not-too-distant-past, so we were curious how it was holding up. This space housed one of the earliest Thai restaurants in Philly (the Thai Royal Barge) many years ago, and although it doesn't look like much from outside, it's always been a nice space. The menu hasn't changed much, if at all, since the change, it looked very familiar from the last time I'd been there. And I'd say the food was every bit as good, maybe even better than it had been. We weren't convinced at first... We started with an order of their version of Thai sausage, and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't especially interesting either, reminding us of a mild, unsmoked kielbasa. Still, that's not so terrible, it was fairly tasty, just not quite as interesting as Tamarind's version, or the dill-spiked Laotian sausages at Vientiane. (The light is pretty dim in there, and despite a heroic assist from il professore's iPhone, I didn't manage to get a good photo of the sausages...) We got the lighting system down for the "Tha-iriffic Golden Tofu" which was merely OK. It was fried tofu. Well-made, mind you, nicely crisp and not at all greasy, but in the end it's just fried tofu. Fish Cake was better, with a touch of curry behind the fish. But this still left us a little less than thrilled. Thankfully things took a turn with the entrees. Masaman Beef was one of the better renditions of this classic "Muslim curry" that I've had in Philly. The sauce had a cinnamony sweetness that balanced the mild heat and complex spicing. Peanuts and potatoes provided textural contrast to the tender beef. I still yearn for the slow-cooked, chunky version that was served years ago at a restaurant in the space that is now Tamarind, but this is not a bad substitute! "Exotic Pork" otherwise known as Wild Boar with Red Curry was very flavorful, with an assertive level of heat to the curry, but I must say that the version around the corner at Thai Chef and Noodle Fusion had a more balanced curry and more tender pork. The surprise favorite of the night was the Drunken Noodles which had a perfect chewy texture to the wide rice noodles, dosed with a basil-laced sauce. The chicken that accompanied was moist and tasty as well. So, despite a somewhat lackluster start, we ended up really enjoying Erawan, especially the Masaman curry and Drunken noodles. This place requires more investigation too. But first, we're rotating through some of the other options. Stay tuned...

Our continuing search for awesome Thai food has so far been unsuccessful, but along the way, we've run into some surprisingly good dishes. As mentioned above, there are a few things at Thai Chef and Noodle Fusion that we liked a lot, and that pattern has been repeated at the next few places: a few good items, maybe even an excellent one here or there, a few blah... At Tamarind (on South St, near front) we found a few things we liked, and especially enjoyed that there were several Isan preparations, reflecting a northern regional style that's not widely seen around Philly. In fact, we started with the Isan Sausage Which was especially good smeared with a little of the hot sauce, which seemed like a tame Sriracha. Chicken Satay was nicely executed, then meat still tender and juicy, although the peanut sauce was a bit less interesting than some we've had. Isan Style Pork Loin was a little on the dry side, but the flavors were quite nice, it had a tangy sweetness and some intriguing spicing not commonly seen in most Thai restaurants. Yellow Curry with Chicken was very good, but on the subtle side. Of course yellow curries tend toward that range, but even though it was very pleasant, we've had other yellow curries that were more vivid. Tamarind Noodles with Beef had a solid level of chile spice propping up the sour sauce, and the noodles them selves had a pleasingly firm texture, but the beef was dry and uninteresting. Overall we liked Tamarind, and plan to go back to try more of the menu, especially more Isan specialties. We also noticed some very nice-looking duck dishes passing our table, so we'll have to try them as well...

So, as we were sampling the very tasty Shepherd's Pie, we wondered if anyone else actually uses mutton, like, you know, a shepherd might. Even in Southwark's case, it's not a really old sheep, so it's not super funky gamey mutton, but they did arrange with a local farmer for an adult animal, so the shredded meat has a nice full flavor. Prepared the way it is, with fresh vegetables and a rich broth, topped with fluffy mashed potatoes, it's a really delicious version. I suppose there's nothing wrong with ground beef in a shepherd's pie, but if you want a more shepherdy version, make your way to Southwark. Oh, and while you're there, you might want a nice cocktail, say, like the Brooklyn in the background...

Black Chicken "tonic" soup Stir Fried Duck Tongues Pan-Fried Dumplngs Deep-Fried Spare Ribs Peking Duck Snow Pea Leaves with Garlic Pork Belly with preserved vegetables Overall, I think I'm in agreement with my dining companions, I thought everything was quite good, and I liked that there wasn't any drama getting things from the traditional menu. The soup was on the mild side, but as was noted, it was supposed to be a healthful tonic, so it's no big surprise that it wasn't super-intense. The chicken had a nice flavor though. The duck tongues were fine, not really all that weird, but not especially delicious either. Decent snack, I'd eat them again if they were in front of me, but I'm not going out of my way to get them either. I thought the fried dumplings were excellent. The Deep-fried ribs were very nicely done, the batter was perfectly crisp and not greasy, but overall I felt like they needed a little something, a dipping sauce maybe? Perhaps we should have been drinking beer. I thought the Peking Duck was quite good, right up there with the best. I used to be in the thin-pancake camp, but I've been seduced by the soft squishy buns... And I like this style of presentation that leaves more meat on the crispy skin. The Sang Kee style is good too, and I do like having the second course of stir-fried duck, but having a bit more meat in the buns is nice too. Hey, it's nice to have alternatives, and this is a good one! The sautéed Snow Pea leaves were really great, very garlicky, not too soupy like some places make them. And I'm going to divert from the crowd a little: I thought the pork belly clay pot thing was a little blah. The tangy preserved vegetables were very good, but there weren't enough of them, and although the pork itself was very tender and tasty, the sauce was just sort-of... brown... I've had better versions of this in Chinatown. Not bad, just bland. Despite that last comment, I like the place overall. Service was good, the space is pleasant, there's a large, interesting menu. Yes, we must check it out for dim sum.