philadining

I think this place was called Zhi Wei Guan, at least for a little while... If it is indeed the same spot, a few of us weren't knocked-out by the XLB a little while ago, but they were definitely in transition at the time. So I'm glad to hear you liked the dumplings this time, perhaps they've gotten it together. We'd also had some regular dinner dishes that were really terrific, like pork tongue in "herb sauce" as well as a really different pork belly dish, that I hope are still available. Will have to check that out, so thanks for the heads-up. I'm curious about the name change, they hadn't been Zhi Wei Guan for that long! But it might correlate with the switch to specifically Hanzhou cuisine.

Recently had another Spiedie from Spiedie Bistro in Phoenixville. As I expected, they've simplified the menu significantly, retaining most of the spiedies, but streamlining the salads, and adding bison burgers and portobello burgers. I Got a Blutarski Spiedie (with provolone, peppers and onions) made with beef, and it tasted very good. it still felt like it took a little too long to get the sandwich, but I liked that it was cooked to order. In any case, it seems like they might be getting in the groove, I just hope people can find them in their space back off of Bridge street. There's a parking lot in back, but I'm not sure that's obvious from Bridge street.

I think we might be addicted... Dropped in again and got some of the faves to start: Scallops; Spinach Salad with Pear; Beet and Goat Cheese Salad. All delicious, and relatively light starters for what was to come. Then we continued with a Steak Frites Frites were especially good tonight, as was the steak. Lamb Chops The chef was flirting with a too-aggressive of a sear on the outside of the chops, but they were overall very nicely cooked, unbelievably tender and very tasty. And a special Pork Trio: Pork Belly, Garlic Sausage and Deep-Fried Trotters. It was served atop a heap of kraut and fingerling potatoes, studded with a bit more porky goodness, for what was effectively a berserk choucroute garni. All quite delicious, and in portions so large that even we couldn't finish it all...

More great desserts at Chick's: Strawberry Shortcake (With a homemade Brioche instead of the traditional shortcake.) That brioche is absolutely amazing, making this dessert a real upgrade to the old favorite. Vanilla and Blood Orange Gelato with Sparkling Italian Orange Juice creates a crazy good creamsicle float. After a huge meal at Cochon, dessert was the last thing on our minds, but when these mysteriously appeared... we made fast work of them. Both were really delicious! (Edited to add) I just realized I failed to give credit where credit is due: these desserts were the creation of Pastry chef Kristin Weber. Thanks Kristin!

Whoops, thanks Katie, I fixed the label for the picadillo... I knew something didn't sound right when I typed it!

It had been WAY too long since we'd dropped in at Tierra Columbiana. Because we couldn't decide, we got an appetizer combo: It had Chorizo, beef, an empanada or two, arepas, maduros, tostones, potatoes, probably a few more things that have faded into a deep-fried haze. But, we were concerned that we might not get enough crispy things, so we added Aranitas and Croquettas de Jamon This, of course, required a delicious Caipirinha, as pictured above. Or maybe Mojitos. Which was all warm-up for the Pernil and the Picadillo (with black beans and rice, of course.) Finish up with a Mamey Shake, and that makes for a pretty awesome meal. Everything was quite delicious, our server was quite nice, and the price was not bad at all. Definitely worth a trek out to the Northeast.

A quick holiday visit to Rochester resulted in very little eating-out, but there were a few things worth noting. First is the new-ish Tap and Mallet pub at 381 Gregory St (where the original MacGregor's once was.) They've done a really nice job fixing the place up, and they've got an excellent selection of beers both on draft and in bottles. We were very impressed with the service: we were greeted immediately, and menus drinks and food were brought promptly. More importantly, our waitress was very well-versed in the substantial beer list, making intelligent suggestions for an alternative to a beer that had run out. I'm not sure whether they're using the term "gastropub" but they do seem to be paying attention to the food, it's more than just a burger and wings afterthought for sure. We kept it petty simple and just got some sandwiches. Sliders: Bacon Cheeseburger, Black Bean Burger, Jerk Chicken I liked all three, although I think the star of the plate was the assertively spicy Jerk Chicken. I was also amazed that they managed to avoid overcooking the tiny cheeseburger... Cuban I don't know why I didn't reposition this so that you could actually see what was in it, but if you can imagine it, there was a juicy piece of pork loin, topped with ham, swiss and pickles. The ciabatta bread was good. Fries were OK. We drank a locally-made McBane's Best Bitter (Rohrbach's) and a Spaten Optimator from Germany, both fresh, at a good temperature, and in appropriate glassware. Overall, I was pretty impressed, I'll probably head back next time I'm in town. - I also had a predictable, but solidly good Greek meal at Olive Tree. The portions might have been a little small for the price, but the quality was high. Their skordalia is crazy good, and the various lamb dishes are always solid. Also, right now, Chen Garden is serving softshell crabs. They can prepare them several ways, the salt-and-pepper version was pretty rocking. And I enjoyed their version of Zha Jiang Mian, which featured a slightly spicy sauce with chopped pork and mushrooms.

You mean that's not true?!?! Crap... That Manhattan pictured above, that George whipped up for us, was pretty awesome. If I recall, it was Sazerac Rye and some obscure vermouth - Katie, do you remember?

The curse of eGullet! I do wonder if our raves about some places might be counter-productive, making the restaurants seem "too foodie" or too weird, or too much of a special destination. I'm not sure what tangible effects eGullet posts have, positive or negative, but I certainly hope that our Cochon comments haven't been creating the impression that it's an intimidating place, only to be appreciated by the daring and gluttonous among us. The opposite is true: I find most of the menu to be some of the most comforting and un-challenging food in town. It's just plain delicious. Sure there are a few weird organ meats around, but they're easy enough to avoid if that's not your thing!

Phoodie.info has a video interview with chef Jonny Mac on their site. Not really great timing, given that Drew Lazor reported that May 10 was the chef's last day at snackbar. We popped-in a few days before that, hoping to grab one more dose of Jonny Mac food, but it was feeling kind of in-transition already. Not sure what the plan is, the Lazor article said there'd be new chef info shortly... In any case, best wishes to chef McDonald, we selfishly hope he'll land somewhere local soon! And fingers crossed that Jonathan Makar can find someone interesting to fill those big shoes.

Cochon May 13, 2008 To start: Grilled Pâté, Deep Fried Head Cheese, Cornichons Fried Frog Legs Grilled Sweetbreads Grilled Scallops Fried Oysters Pork Belly, Garlic Sausage Blood Sausage, Frisée Mains: Pork Shoulder, Brussels Sprouts, Lentils, Poached Egg Duck Breast Veal Chop Lamb Chops Bass

Not to be too discouraging, but I'll agree with the others that a table for 10 at any of the usual suspects at this date is going to be pretty unlikely. I'm definitely in a rut, suggesting the same things over and over, but many places in Chinatown would have no trouble fitting you in, either at a table for ten or in a private room. That size group isn't going to throw most places off if you just showed up, but if you wanted, you could arrange a special room, even a special menu, if you wanted to make it more of an event. There are several places that would satisfy foodie friends: Ken's Seafood for super-fresh Cantonese fish and more; Sang Kee for Peking Duck, barbecued meats, etc; Four Rivers can do a pretty awesome banquet with about 3 days notice, we had one for CHinese New Year's but I got the impression you could do it any time, and customize what was on the menu (ours was for ten, and was WAY too much food!) But outside of Chinatown, I'm having a hard time imagining where you'll find a table for 10 serving interesting food at this point... good luck!

More Phoenixville developments: A sign on one of the storefronts in the new strip-mall adjoining the Acme supermarket says "Phoenix Diner." I personally believe that all diners should be required by law to stay open all night. Here's hoping this one will!

Yeah, I'm confident that sitting at the bar is a much better experience, it usually is anywhere. I'm absolutely willing to give them another try - I sincerely hope there will be more creative cocktail destinations in town, so I'd like to like them! As I mentioned, the Corpse Reviver #1 was spot-on, and the Sage Wisdom was pretty tasty, and interesting, if not a new favorite. But too high of a percentage of the drinks we got on friday night inspired furrowed brows rather than contented smiles. I'm thrilled to find original cocktails that don't involve Tang, Gummi Bears and Jagermeister, but I'd like them to be delicious, not just challenging. I'm willing to entertain the idea that what we got was a fluke. As for the crowd-control issue that TVC mentioned, as much as I hate having to wait outside a bar, I'd have to agree that they could have benefitted from limiting the numbers a bit. They did have a young woman at the front on friday who seemed to be theoretically serving that function, but sadly, I think they need a cliché big scary dude to do that, we saw more than a few people just walk right past her into the already jammed bar area. We got a little annoyed up at Pegu Club one night when the doorman wouldn't let us in, even though friends were holding seats for us upstairs. We tried every possible argument, but the guy wasn't interested. While it seemed a little ridiculous at the time (I'm OK with waiting for drinks, but can I do it with my friends upstairs?) I have to respect the greater concept that the management did not want the bar to be overwhelmed. So, again, it's early, the whole space isn't even open yet, and the bartenders might not have been completely in a groove. I recommend that more folks go and check it out, and let us know what they find!

I saw signs announcing that the Phoenixville farmers market has started up again, every saturday until November 22, 9am-1pm. They even have a website: www.phoenixvillefarmersmarket.org/wp/ This week the market featured: Artisan’s Gallery & Cafe Backyard Bison Baues Busy Bees Birchrun Hills Farm Betty’s Tasty Buttons Charlestown Cooperative Farm Countrytime Farm Great Harvest Bread Co. Jack’s Farm Marci’s Morsels Mitchell Program Mountain View Poultry Patashoo Shepherd’s Pie Dog Bakery Soap by Pat Sweetwater Baking Co. Whole Hearted Baking Co. Ocean Earth Wind Fire I, uh, forgot to check it out personally...

Finally made it over to SatchMo's in Collegeville and really enjoyed it. Crab and Andouille Gumbo had a nice medium roux base, and no tomatoes, which is the style we generally prefer. The sausage gave it a little heat, but it was generally only moderately spicy, but had good flavor overall. The Muffaletta was huge, as it should be, easily big enough to serve two. The roll and fillings were pretty close to what you'd get in New Orleans, and more importantly, made for a tasty sandwich. The Sloppy Burger usually has cheez whiz on top of the burger and barbecue pork, but we went a more minimal route and skipped the cheez. Our conclusion: why isn't this a more common thing? That was a delicious burger, a great combination of flavors. The Crawfish Popcorn Po Boy is on the menu has having creole mustard, cheese and sourcream on it, but we slimmed that down too, to just the mustard. And this was a very good sandwich, the crawfish tails were nice and crispy but still juicy. With the soft bread and mustard it was a great array of soft and crunchy and tangy and savory. Fried Pickles had a similar crunch, and while they were very good on their own, we really liked them stuffed into the crawfish poboy too. Overall, we liked everything, and will definitely go back for some of those same things, and to try more. Thanks for the heads-up, Percy!

Yo V, what did you drink? And TVC, did you check it out? If so please let us know what you thought. We stopped in on friday night and had a mixed experience. The place was pretty packed (ground floor only, the second floor and roof deck are not open yet) but we managed to grab a table in the front. The bar in the back was wall-to-wall people. Non-drink things: the appearance of the place is pretty nice, it has a minimal, modern, slick thing going on. It's all hard, flat surfaces though, so as you might guess, it gets cacophonous when it's full of drinking people. Seating at the tables out front felt a little cramped, and the tables and chairs themselves felt more oriented toward eating food than lounging with a drink. As mentioned above the menu prose is a bit over-the-top. (see it on the Food and Drinq blog) The choices are overwhelming, the descriptions, while often amusing, are not all that clear. As Vadouvan suggested, I hope they'll streamline the menus a little. Our server was very friendly and attentive. Now, the drinks: On of our party availed himself of the good beer selection and was very happy with his Flying Dog Gonzo Porter, Old Speckled Hen Ale, and Carlsberg lager (all on draft) and with the fact that one has the opportunity to order a half-pint if desired. I started with a Corpse Reviver #1 (AppleJack, Brandy, sweet vermouth) which I liked quite a lot. Fearless Drinking Partner went off-menu and asked for a Pegu Club Cocktail. Our server returned a short time later and apologized that the bar said they couldn't make it, because they didn't have any tea. That would have been fine if there were tea in a Pegu Club, but hey, it's a slightly obscure cocktail, we just figured this crew would know it. (It's Gin, Cointreau, Lime and bitters, by the way, all elements I'm confident they had on-hand.) As a replacement, she ordered an Aviation (Gin, Maraschino, Crème de Violette and lemon juice). Unfortunately, this had an odd, medicinal aftertaste, reminiscent of having taken a handful of vitamins. I know the place is called Apothecary, but still... All four of us made a weird face after tasting it, and at least two of us have had this drink before, and had enjoyed it. And so, we embarked on an experiment. Of course we could have complained about it, but we always feel strange about simply saying we don't like something. If we get the wrong thing, or if it's clearly done badly, we'll mention it, but if it's correct but just not to our liking, we figure that's really our fault. And this was in a gray area, was it badly mixed, or do we just not like this correctly-made drink? Anyway, FDP immediately ordered another drink, and left the Aviation sitting, barely touched, maybe 6 small sips out of it, in plain view. We didn't bring it up, but passive-agressively hoped that our server would notice that we didn't like it. Didn't happen. Later, a different server came by and offered to clear some glasses, and when we asker her to take that one, she did ask if we hadn't enjoyed it. FDP said that she'd had the drink before, but this one had an unpleasant aftertaste. This server (or perhaps a manager?) seemed very well-informed, and explained that it could be the Creme de Violet, which was an original ingredient in the drink, but had been left out of many modern recipes. She admitted that it took her a little while to get used to that flavor too. So, apparently it's the traditional recipe, and it's not interesting to them that we found it unpleasant! (Yes the drink was on our bill.) FDP's back-up drink was a Sage Wisdom (Clèment Premier Canne White Rhum Agricole, Clèment Créole Shrubb, fresh white grapefruit, fresh sage leaves, gingko, pineapple-sage foam.) This was fairly tasty, the herbs giving a mysterious twist, the foam adding a nice creamy mouthfeel. For a second drink I ordered the Tippling Bros. Magical Pain Extractor (Amaro, Q Tonic, fresh mint and rosemary, cayenne extract, bitter apple foam). This was interesting, complex, and may indeed have extracted some pain. We also sampled an Immunity Idol (Hendrick’s Gin, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, fresh pineapple and orange, champagne, orange bitters, echinacea, hawthorn root and elderberry liniment, with inebriated berries) which was nice enough, and an El Floridita Daiquiri (Rhum, Luxardo Maraschino, fresh lime) which was also fairly pleasant. But, the sad fact is that although the Aviation was the only drink we actively disliked, the Corpse Reviver was the only one we truly enjoyed. The others were interesting, unusual, novel, but didn't bring a whole lot of joy, didn't inspire us to want to get another one. And at $11-12 each, I'd hope to at least enjoy them. I am not a bartender, but here's my amateur theory: I think most of these drinks have too much going on. There are too many tinctures and herbs and spices and other flavorings deployed all at once, and those, regardless of their numbers, those accents are added heavy-handedly. I enjoy bitter flavors, I drink bitter ales, I order cocktails with bitters in them, but many of these drinks we sampled struck me as unpleasantly bitter, with a vaguely medicinal flavor. That said, it's the first few days they're open, they were very busy, and our reactions could come down to personal taste. But I've been pleased with unusual cocktails at Pegu Club, PDT, Tailor and Employees Only in NY. Back here in Philly, I've had many inventive concoctions from Katie Loeb at Chicks, and classic cocktails at Southwark, and have always enjoyed them, rather than staring quizzically at my glass wondering "what IS that flavor?" I'm most certainly going to head back and check them out again once they've gotten settled, but after one visit, they have not replaced Chick's and Southwark as my preferred cocktail destinations in town, and have not quelled my desire to head to NY for cutting-edge drinks.

The egg itself was soft-cooked, probably slowly at low-temp in a waterbath, it had that custardy consistency I associate with that technique, but I suppose it could have been simply poached. That soft egg was then coated in panko and deep-fried to give it that crunchy exterior. The contrast was great, as were the interactions with the other flavors and textures in the rest of the dish. I heard several people say it was their favorite course of the night.

There were four of us, which I've come to believe is a really good number for excursions such as these, it's easier to order a variety of things at each place without falling into a food coma too quickly. Smaller groups are more flexible, but everyone gets filled-up faster... larger numbers would be too cumbersome to coordinate and seat. The tricky part, no matter how many people are with you, is to exercise some self-restraint at each place. It was very hard to resist ordering more ramen, or more dumplings, or another pizza, or half the menu at Momofuku...

I thought that dish was pretty rocking, and especially enjoyed the grilled part. But I didn't eat the whole thing myself...

Those were both on the list, but we figured either might slow us down... We hit PDT on our last trip up and totally loved it, so I'm sure it'll be in a future sweep.

Some friends and I made an all-too-brief, random, fairly illogical dining tour of NY over the weekend, and despite its quirks, we were pretty happy with the results. So we thought we should share our tips for a successful rapid tour of NY food and drink. First: get invited to a wedding at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. OK, I realize that this might be tricky, but work on it, its worth the trouble. Drop hints to friends, insinuate yourself into social groups that might schedule an event up there, I'd even suggest lurking outside the entrance to the restaurant in formal attire, in case there happens to be a wedding, and someone's date cancels at the last minute. Delicious hors d'oeuvres were passed: mini beet burgers, asparagus wrapped in pancetta, liver sandwiched in chocolate, bits of chicken wing crowned with fresh vegetables... and several more that were hoovered by the otherwise elegant crowd too quickly to be captured with contemporary photographic technology. I recall an excellent salami, simple baby vegetables with just a hint of sea salt, a glass of fresh yogurt spiked with herb purée. These were accompanied by several different wines, or Blue Hill's own sorrel margarita, or apple-celery juice. The formal dinner consisted of: This Morning's Soft/Fried Farm Egg local mushrooms asparagus, lettuce broth Handmade Ravioli Ramps, mustard greens, pine nuts, pancetta, homemade ricotta Stone Barns Berkshire Pork loin, belly, boudin blanc, rapini, mokum carrot and a dessert of Peanut Butter and Farono Beets and Meyer Lemon and Arugula. Sadly, I think I was hypnotized by dessert, and dove immediately in, so there are no photos... All of the food was wonderful, displaying both the attention to freshness and quality that is their hallmark, and the skill and care of the kitchen. Service was spectacular - simultaneously elegant and comfortable. I guess you could just make a reservation and go have dinner there, but I highly recommend getting invited to a wedding. Look into it. After getting back to Manhattan, we opted for a nightcap at Tailor. Clockwise from the top, that's a Waylon (Bourbon and Smoked Coke), a Mushroom Margarita (Huitlacoche Mezcal, Triple Sec, lime juice, Lava Salt), a Blood and Sand (Scotch, Sweet Vermouth, cherry ale, orange head), a Sazerac, and an Agua Verde (Tequilla, tomatillo, cliantro, habanero). We couldn't possibly resist the "Solids" which consisted of Cuba Libre, Ramos Gin Fizz and White Russian, in altered states. The Cuba Libre was basically an elegant rum and coke jello shot, which got a little overwhelmed by the dehydrated lime chip underneath. The marshmallow did incredible things in the mouth, transitioning from sweet to citrusy to creamy. Loved it. And why didn't we think of pouring a White Russian on our Rice Krispies earlier? Great place, cool vibe, and the drinks were pleasingly odd. I'm eager to return, and look forward to making it while the kitchen is still open. Oh yeah. props on the ice cubes... awesome. Sadly, after Tailor closed up, some of our party seemed convinced that sleeping was in order, so we agreed to meet at noon sunday and get back to work. Sunday: 1pm Ippudo Ramen. Pickles Karaage (Deep-fried Chicken chunks) Akamaru Modern Ramen (with extra pork and egg) Shiomaru Ramen (with extra pork and egg, of course...) The ramen was crazy good, either broth would make me very happy on any given day, but I preferred the Akamaru modern. The big surprise was that the karaage was delicious too! Pickles were great as well, but rather pricey ($7) for, you know, pickles. 2pm - We decide to stay on the Japanese snacking path for a moment, and go around the corner to Otafuku (236 E 9th S) for a quick dose of Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki. Pretty decent snacks: the takoyaki is mostly fried dough and air, only a small piece of octopus hidden within, but one of our party testified that that was the case with ones she got just recently in Osaka too. This okonomiyaki tasted a bit more like an omelet than a pancake, and not quite as packed full of stuff as some, but still was pretty good. Then again, what doesn't taste good dosed with that sweet okonomiyaki sauce, Kewpie Mayo and fish flakes? I could imagine craving an order of either of these after some serious drinking, but although both were well-made, I probably wouldn't go out of my way to head back to Otafuku. 2:30 pm - we head back south and west a few blocks for some dim sum at Chinatown Brasserie. I don't recall the name of the first cocktail, but it had yuzu, ginger, something else... The middle one was a Chinatown Old Fashioned with kumquat and brandied cherry. The last was a rhubarb bellini. Drinks were decent, but we were here for dim sum. Barbecued Duck Spring Rolls Steamed Roast Pork Buns Watercress Dumplings with Shrimp & Pork Crabmeat & Pork Soup Dumplings. Lamb Potstickers with Spicy Vegetables The spring rolls and steamed pork buns were serviceable, but the other three dumplings were spectacular. The wrappers on the watercress dumplings were so delicate as to be barely detectable. The soup dumplings also featured a refined wrapper, just barely structurally sound enough to contain a flavorful broth and nugget of pork. The lamb potstickers featured a more hardy dough that had crisped up nicely, and was an ideal container for the assertive lamb. This made us want additional dumplings, but we had more stops to make, so we showed restraint. 4:00pm - Momofuku Noodle Bar We weren't going to sully the memory of our Ippudo visit with any other noodles, so we went directly to what we were truly craving after previous visits: the pork belly buns. But while we were staring at the menus, we found it impossible to resist the grilled beef tongue: Both things were fantastic. There's little else in the universe that will make our crew happier than those pork buns, but the tongue came close to overshadowing them. We saw plenty more we wanted, but we were on a mission. 5:00pm - Una Pizza Napoletana. Marinara Margherita coffee (it's very nice, you know...) 6:00pm - Bar Carrera. We kind of figured we'd just get a couple of glasses of wine, but then, tapas really started sounding good, so who could resist a plate or two. Or three. or... Chorizo Mini Chorizo Patatas Bravas Jamon Iberico Pork Belly Anchovies oh yeah, and some wine. I can't recall which... I think that's a good sign. 7:30pm - Employees Only We needed a little break from all that eating, but that should never keep us from drinking. So we headed over to the west village. I just can't recall the name of the drink on the left, it involved chartreuse... That's a Ruby Tuesday on the right. There's a Pimm's Cup hiding in the back, and I think that was an Amelia in the back... We later ordered a Sazerac that we're convinced featured the innovative twist of a rinse of artisinal jet fuel. It was really delicious, but I wouldn't want to hold it near an open flame! Great place, again a lovely vibe, very pleasant service, excellent drinks. We didn't eat, we had another stop to make. 9:00pm - R.U.B. We should have known. In retrospect, it's totally obvious that this wouldn't work out, but we strolled in obsessed with burnt ends. Of course they had run out by this time of night on a sunday. After a bit of wailing and gnashing of teeth, we consoled ourselves with some brisket, sausages, pulled pork, bacon, greens, beans and potato salad. Or at least we tried to console ourselves. The brisket was pretty disappointing - dry, and not all that flavorful. However the pulled pork was superb: moist, vividly flavorful, just fatty enough. The sausages were pretty good, with a pleasing coarse texture and a solid spice. The "house cured, triple smoked, Berkshire black pork belly bacon" was insane. Sweet, chewy, fatty, salty, smoky: even on a day when we'd consumed a lot of pork fat in general, and pork belly in particular, this was a stand-out. Sides were all strong. So all in all, it was an OK visit, but we're still jonesing for the burnt ends of brisket... 10:30pm - Yakitori Totto. Ok, it's getting late, we're stuffed, we need to drive back to Philly, we should go. But our minds have been poisoned with the idea of the frozen banana dessert at Yakitori Totto. Hey, at this point, a quick dessert would be a nice end to the evening. But - we discover that even a few minutes before closing, the staff is holding firm to the $20 per person minimum. I completely understand that rule for most of the evening, but shortly before closing? I suppose the reasonable thing to do would have been to leave, but where's the fun in that? So we decide to stay, and order some Yakitori to bulk up the bill. The waitress was quite a good sport, and helped us just barely crack the minimum. They had predictably sold out of the exotic items that make this place famous, but we found plenty of tasty grilled things to eat. Enoki and Bacon Bacon and Asparagus Chicken and Asparagus Shishitou Tsukune (Chicken Meatballs in Peppers) Kuro Buta (Pork) Kuro Buta Negi Pon Kawa (Chicken Skin) Momo (thigh) jeeze, why does this stuff have to be so affordable?!? OK, almost to $20 each... Tuna and Avocado Ocha Zuke (rice with hot broth) and finally... what we came for in the first place! Ice Banana (frozen banana chunks, coconut milk, tapioca, mint - peanut powder and molasses on the side) Everything was quite good, I'd really like to go back sometime when I'm hungry! And I suppose it's testament to how awesome that banana dessert is that we all thought it was worth soldiering through the yakitori, and we all finished our desserts, despite imminent risk of exploding. - We decided that was enough for one day, and agreed to skip the visit to Katz's on the way out of town. Somehow we managed to resist stopping for snacks on the Turnpike. We are completely mystified about how this happened, but every place we went, we showed up, and immediately sat down and ate (or drank.) We waited a few minutes for Una Pizza Napoletana to open, but otherwise we somehow managed to walk right into every place without waiting. So I'm not sure how easy it is to duplicate our itinerary to the minute, but it's worth a try! Many of the early places are within a few blocks of one another on the Lower East Side, so it makes for an easy stroll, even after several cocktails. We enjoyed everything we ate and drank, some items more than others, but nothing was overtly bad. The ramen at Ippudo and the pizza really stood out for me, but I have a few other new favorite things that I'm certainly going to want to get again next time we're in town. And there were several places on our lists that we just didn't make it to, mostly because of time or geography, so we'll be back. Next time we're shooting for more places in one day. Gotta get up before noon, I guess! (edited to add some details.)

Adam Erace in the Weekly likes some of the food at Chick's, but not all of it. He has only good words for Katie Loeb though: Full review here>>

Tom Wahl's is on rts 5&20 in Avon, and they serve their own root beer in frosty mugs, and pretty good burgers. I can't think of other places near Avon famous for root beer.

Confirmed by Michael Klein in Food and Drinq. They're moving to 2010 Sansom. No definite news on what will go in the current space, but Klein plants a chef David Katz rumor...