philadining

I actually ended up catching this by chance during the original broadcast, and was stuck sitting in my car listening to the end of it. I thought it was amusing how Platt delivered his "he's not Valerie Plame" joke as if it were off the cuff, rather than a punchline he's been using quite regularly. But hey, it got a big laugh from the host...

My schedule is pretty jammed, but will post pix ASAP. I'll concur that the food was very good, as was the wine, and I enjoyed hearing from the winemakers and directly comparing their words to the juice in the glass. It was also big fun seeing old friends and making new ones, while enjoying good food and drink. More details to follow...

This is a couple of months old, but I just found it: Table for One in Philadelphia. (full disclosure: I may have had some small influence on the list of destinations, but none on the opinions of them!)

OK, so.... David Katz is indeed behind the stove at Silk City. The menu changes are not what you might expect! Victor Fiorillo posts in Philly Mag's Taste Daily: So Katz is actually rolling Dunmire's fanciness back a notch, to more of a trad diner-y thing. I think there's a place for really well-made diner food, so this could be cool. But it's sad to think we won't be able to eat Katz's more inventive creations. I doubt it would fit, but I'd love to see one of his funky things as a special each day... I can only assume that the confusion over whether he was taking the post or not came from Katz wanting to avoid confirming anything before an "official" announcement, but he probably could have found a more elegant way of dodging Michael Klein's question. But hey, he's not the Whitehouse press secretary, he's a chef... I guess this discussion should move over to a Silk City thread now, but it's odd timing that The City Paper reviewed Silk City this week, right as the menu is changing.

It's been pointed out to me that somehow I forgot to mention the Bahn Mi. I think it's because we split it 4 ways, so it really was just a bite or two. But quite a delightful bite. Should have ordered two. Or four.

I've done this before and discovered all sorts of wonderful nuances, some being more smoky, more fatty (Burgers'), a little spicy, mmmmm. ← You're my hero. Really. Where's the un-ironic smiley?!?

LaBan's review in the Inky here>> Only two bells, but it's one of those fond two-bell reviews. He seems to have similar concerns about consistency as some of us had (hmm...didn't like the crunchy pasta...) but overall likes the place.

I think I've paid more than $19 for a lobster roll that size, even right on the dock in Portland, Maine. But maybe they saw me coming...

We had: the Bentons country ham; a couple orders of pork buns; fried cauliflower; lamb belly; clams with bacon dashi, baby bok choy and chinese sausage; the above mentioned trout; and a hanger steak ssam. They were out of a few things, including the uni, but there was no shortage of choices. We'd actually seriously contemplated ordering all of the country hams, for the sake of comparison. The lamb belly was not especially well-liked, but I'm sure it was not a preparation issue, I just don't think we're fond of lamb belly. Everything else was almost incomprehensibly delicious. I'd order any of it again, in fact I hope to, soon.

It was a whole fish, and it was actually quite easy to eat, the moist flesh practically falling away from the skin and bones. Except that we were mostly eating the smoky, charred skin. That is, when we could pull free from the thrall of the corn, bacon and mushroom stuffing. I blame Mr. Benton.

More later, but I just cannot restrain myself from saying that the Grilled Brook Trout, with corn, Benton's bacon, nori and pickled chantrelles was one of the most transcendently delicious things I have ever had the pleasure of eating.

DiNic's roast pork with rabe, glorious rabe! The greens were just right: cooked till tender, but not mush; edgy but not too bitter; garlicky, but not too stinky. (It's a great sandwich, although, if you're Holly Moore, you apparently get to go in back and get a sample of something else...) Dropped by Hershel's and got a pastrami on rye for later. Well, most of it was for later. OK some of it was for later. The pastrami was moist, tender, spicy, generously-portioned. Not quite as decadent as a Katz sandwich in NY, but that's a high bar. And a long drive. I can live with this as a substitute.

I'll agree with doviakw, (and with Marnie Old) about the 2003 Faiveley Borgogne Blanc being quite a nice wine at $9.99.

So Katie, what's that drink called, with the St Germain, white wine, soda and twist of lemon? Or is it just called The Perfect Summer Cocktail?

There's been some talk that one of the existing Steven Starr restaurants might change to an Indian theme. This initially did not sound too thrilling to me, but Grub Street in NY, in an article about the sudden closing of the much loved Devi in Manahattan, mentioned in passing that Devi mastermind Suvir Saran is thought to be be talking with Starr about a Philly restaurant. Grub Street article>> A creative, modern, upscale Indian place somewhat like Devi? That, I could get excited about... We'll see if it happens...

Thanks for that update. So, wait, are you trying to say that something reported on blogs isn't 100 percent reliable??!?! Shocking. On one hand, I was having a hard time picturing Katz at Silk City, or North Third, on the other hand, I'd love to see what he could do with diner or pub food. But I suspect his cooking style is better served by a slightly more polished context.

Interesting development... rumor has it that former M chef David Katz will take over at Silk City (From the Philly mag blog). I'm eager to see what the food will turn out to be in this context, but in any case I'll be psyched to be able to enjoy Katz's cooking anywhere!

Rick Nichols reminds us to lighten up.... (but actually agrees with us now and then!)

In the course of our southern Chester County excursions, we found ourselves near Brandywine Prime. As it had just gotten a Best of Philly from Philly Mag for their burger, we felt obliged to try it. It is indeed a very fine burger. Best? Ahh, that's always a hard one, but it was very tasty, clearly reflecting the very good meat used for it. It had a light, loose, texture that indicated a gentle hand used in forming it, and restraint with the spatula! It was very juicy, but the light brioche bun handled that well. Toppings were fresh and flavorful, including good cheddar cheese, and a vivid slice of tomato. Fries were uneven: some were perfect, but an unfortunate percentage were limp and soggy. I'm not sure the burger is so profound that it rates a pilgrimage from great distances, but if you're anywhere nearby, it's absolutely worth checking out.

We did have some better luck dining down in the Kennett Square neighborhood. We actually had a nice little vacation to Mexico City without venturing far out of town. First of all, right on West State Street, in the "downtown" part of Kennett Square is a really cool little Panaderia. They must have had over 20 types of Mexican pastries, all on separate shelves, so one could cruise by with some tongs and make one's own selections. Then a little bit south of KS on rt 1 (actually into the town of Toughkenamin, if you want to be picky about it...) Is the El Cuñado grocery store. We were drawn not by the store, but by the guys set up out front, with some folding tables, a tent, and some pans of food. We figured this would have to be good. And indeed, they had an array of about 6 different meats, maybe more, warming in pans. We discovered that our taqueria Spanish was not as good as we thought, and the guy behind the line's English seemed limited to just "pork" and "beef." No problems, we pointed, nodded, held up a finger or two, and eventually were handed some absolutely delicious tacos. The roast pork was far and away the best I've ever had, the perfect mix of crusty, fatty, meaty, juicy.... Even the plain old beef tacos had terrific flavor. Another one we just pointed at had a reddish-orangish sauce on it, and while we're not sure what meat that was, we don't care, we're going back and pointing at it again. After tacos, we decided to take a look around the grocery. From the outside, it looks like a tiny convenience store, but it is in fact a rather large, full-on grocery, with lots of fresh produce, including unusual fruits and vegetables I'm not used to seeing. There's a full meat counter, offering specific cuts, and even marinated sliced meats. Of course, aisles of interesting sauces. Lots of tortillas. Home-made mole in little plastic tubs by the checkout. That not enough? They sell cool cowboy boots. Perhaps most importantly, they have two big coolers of ice cream, sherbet and ices on a stick. These are mostly the Michoacana brand, made nearby, featuring some flavors you are unlikely to find even at Capogiro. We had the elotes (corn) which was sweet, creamy and a little spicy at the bottom, as it was dusted with just a little cinnamon and chile, and also a Watermelon Ice that was reportedly just like the fresh, sweet fruit, but colder. The next day I went back to the East State Street la Michoacana store, and got some hand-dipped ice cream, this time Cajeta con Crema. Yowza! Even the more conventional flavors had great flavor and texture. Highly recommended. There was varying amounts of English spoken at these stops, but everyone was super-nice, and we did fine with a few words and a bit of pointing and nodding. I assume it's because the Mexican population has been established for longer in that area, but it seems that the traditional shops are way more developed out there than in South Philly. At least so far... There are several restaurants that need to be investigated. I've been to Moroleon, but we passed at least 5 more that must be sampled. Stay tuned.

Made a quick stop at Firehouse BBQ for a small sample. Tried the ribs and the brisket, jalapeno cornbread, fried mac and cheese, and coleslaw. The Ribs had a bold smokiness, but oddly didn't taste like much else, except for what came from an unpleasant sugary glaze. We figured one of the many sauces provided on the table might help, but all of those, even the ones marked spicy, were extremely sweet. And not spicy. And not that good. The meat was very tender, but pulled completely off the bone upon the first bite, and had receded pretty far up each bone, each a sure sign of being cooked too long. They were also pretty tiny, but as they're sold by the pound, I suppose that's OK. The Brisket was moist and tender, but as with the ribs, just didn't taste like much. We got one nice slice, and one strange mass of shredded edges. To be fair, it is early days, and pretty much the whole staff seemed very young, so maybe they're just not quite in the groove yet, both with the cooking and the cutting. Fried Mac and Cheese was quite tasty, 2-inch cubes of their regular mac and cheese, breaded and fried to order, resulting in a crispy crust and oozing, cheesey center. Coleslaw was OK. Cornbread was on the dry side, but had a pleasant-enough flavor. So I can't say we were thrilled by the Firehouse, but it might be worth letting them settle-in a little before passing final judgement.

Three years posting here and I've finally found my signature line. Thank you. ← I'm honored. And wish I'd thought of it!

Thanks for the report, I've been wanting to check that place out, and just haven't gotten around to it. (and I fixed your image links...)

I don't think there's been any evidence that LaBan doesn't know what a strip steak is. It seems that the problem has arisen because he does know what a strip steak is, and reported on it. None of the reporting I've seen has clearly established the chronology of the uttering of the words "strip steak" by a waiter, but I don't think we have any reason to believe that LaBan stared, dumbfounded, at his plate and called the waiter over to identify his food. It seems much more likely that at the time of ordering his steak frites, he asked what cut of beef it was. Or, after eating what he thought was a strip steak, with journalistic diligence, he asked the waiter to confirm. The restaurant has already admitted that they sometimes serve a strip steak as their steak frites. As for what was on THAT plate, whose accounts do we have? The owner, who was not even involved in the incident at the time it occurred, and who has already made, and retracted, an incorrect claim about what was ordered, and who certainly would have a self-serving interest in contending that it was not his prized strip steak on that plate. The waiters, who according to the Philly Mag account, seemed rather confused about what meat was used in that dish, telling the magazine's reporters different things. The chef, or more likely in the case of a lunch, line cooks, none of whom we have heard-from, would have no reason to remember this particular steak frites from any number of others. Given that the restaurant itself says that strip steaks are sometimes used for this dish, the only damning evidence I could imagine would be if the kitchen swore that they never, ever, under any circumstances, put out a strip steak on a steak frites order. We haven't heard that. And unless they literally never had that cut in the house, it would be hard to believe that it was impossible that some line cook in the lunch rush didn't grab some piece of meat he wasn't supposed to. I've been served a parsley mojito. Shit happens. And then we have the experienced food critic, who has certainly eaten a few steaks, and is paid to pay attention to details about what he's eating. So, Rich, why are you so sure that LaBan's the one who got it wrong? I know that you've said that you thought Chops was a good restaurant, and it may be, but is it really out of the realm of possibility that they, at least once, put out a bad steak on a lunch plate? Is it really impossible that it was a piece of strip steak?

Also, I'm not sure it makes any difference, but the exact verbiage from the original offending review was: "a miserably tough and fatty strip steak" LaBan did not use the term "New York Strip Steak," as Chops apparently does to identify the piece of meat they are so proud of on their dinner menu. Is that a relevant distinction when it comes down to a lawsuit? I haven't a clue. Maybe we'll find out...