philadining

there's an extra http// in there, this is the correct link: http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/travel/03choice.html

Well, you know, they're using pretty big knives to cut the blocks of cheese, you need some elbow room... Actually, I don't know what they're doing with the space toward the back, but they did say they were going to start making sandwiches soon, so maybe they will be doing more prep and cooking back there, not just cutting and wrapping cheese.

Yeah, I'm sure one can find most of these cheeses elsewhere around town (I think I've seen the Midnight Moon at Wegmans) but they just seem to have an especially well-chosen collection that I don't always see everywhere. I really liked that Ubraico, it struck me as more winey, more complex. But today, I'm still most enamored with the Hoch Ybrig. And remind me not to get on V's bad side!

I got an Ubraico that had been plugged to give the wine-washing of the rind some internal channels, so there are purple veins within the cheese. Also, some Midnight Moon, a firm almost gouda-ish goat cheese. And my fave, a Hoch Ybrig from Switzerland, another wine-washed cheese, but white wine this time, it's sharp, a slightly funky cheese that really throws a curve at the finish.... I kept forgetting about the bag of cheese in the backseat and every time I got in the car, I was shocked by the pungent aromas. Stinky, but tasty stuff though, all three of them

While wandering Third street yesterday, I discovered that Old City Cheese has opened in the old Petit Four space (west side of Third, just a few doors south of Race.) Physical layout is almost the same: a small retail space up front, with a fairly large workspace in the rear. There's only a small case with cheese, so the selection is much smaller than the other gourmet cheese shops in town, but what they do have is extremely well-chosen, unusual and interesting. Oh yeah, and pricey.... But I'll be back to pay those prices for sure, the staff is super-nice, well-informed and friendly. This might be a factor of opening-mode, but there were generous samples out at all times, including a big plate of prosciutto and some expensive aged gouda while I was there. Just staring at the case for a while elicited several rounds of "have you tried this one?" followed by the offer of a slice of something. And it worked, I tried a lot of cheese, and ended up buying several varieties I haven't even heard of before. There's lots of raw milk cheese, and less well-known cheeses in general. There are a few other products offered: some good looking charcuterie, including some hams , salamis and commercial packaged pates, a few fruity accompaniments, crackers and several baskets of good bread. Again, this place isn't going to give DiBruno's or Downtown Cheese any real competition on variety or price, but this is a great place to try some unusual cheeses selected by what seems to be a knowledgeable and helpful staff. And especially if you're in that part of town, its great to have an option for some serious cheese. I wasn't able to get their story, as in who they are, or what their backgrounds are, they were a little busy. I'm sure one of us can get that info! Or just go check out the cheese.

As Katie noted, this place delivers the goods for the Tacos Al Pastor. I'm not all that obsessed with the shwarma-style spit, I'm concerned with the flavor, and these are seriously great. the meat is really tender and juicy, with nicely charred edges, a slab of pineapple perfectly accenting the richness of the pork. I mean, you know, just look at that! Three tacos al pastor. Five bucks. These come off the vertical spit in the back. It's not so easy to see anymore, but we rudely charged into the kitchen and took pictures, they seemed amused by us... I have no idea if the pineapple actually drips down onto the meat, but the result is delicious. There are lots of other interesting Taco fillings done on the plancha, but it's going to be really hard for me to divert from the Al Pastor. I found them perfectly tasty just as they were, maybe a little squeeze of lime, but if you want to tart them up a bit, there's a plate of accompaniments, and some very tasty salsas. Nopales salad, some spicy marinated onions, cucumbers and radishes provide some nice contrast to the meaty tacos. The guacamole was simple, but very good, and not too salty as had been previously mentioned. The Frijoles a la Charra were not too salty either, I thought they were some of the tastiest beans I've had in a while. Of course it never hurts to load them up with bits of chirizo and float an armada of chicharones on top. Some of the tacos come with a couple of grilled spring onions, but not the al pastor, so we got a side order of them for 2 or 3 bucks. Deliciously sweet. This place doesn't have quite as deep of a menu as some restaurants nearby, but for Tacos, this is my new favorite spot - I really can't see any reason to go anywhere else. I'm eager to head back and try some other tacos, or their choriqueso, or....OK, maybe just a big pile of the al pastor!

I've always felt that it was a major failing of Wawas to not carry Utz. But I forget it too, and occasionally pop in and stare blankly at the wall of Herrs and Frito Lay products, then slink away despondently. I think I've whined about this before, but I've been undergoing a personal crisis lately, as the yellow-bag Utz waffle chips are increasingly hard to find. Utz says they still make them, but I think they're getting elbowed-off the shelves by some of the new weird flavor chips. I haven't been able to find them in a while, and it's negatively impacting my chip habits, and therefore, my general view of the world. Sorry, the blue-bag thin rippley ones don't do it for me... I've been resorting to Martin's waffle chips, and they're pretty good, but it's not the same.

Sorry, I don't know how to make this, but perhaps you can reverse-engineer it (or send Shola an email...) Had this at StudioKitchen, and it rocked: Sea Urchin Custard, Maple Sherry Caramel, Marcona Almond, American Hackleback Caviar

Some friends stayed at the Latham just a couple of weeks ago, and said that it was fine, if a little worn around the edges. You're right, Holly, that it's in a great location for food, but the the much newer Sofitel is only a couple of blocks away. For what it's worth, both the Sofitel and Latham seem to often have pretty good deals on rooms, especially on weekends. More budget left for eating! Just a few steps up Sansom Street from the Sofitel is the Creperie Cafe, where I'd be pretty often if I were staying in the neighborhood. As noted, that location is not far from Tria, Matyson, La Colombe, Striped Bass, Brasserie Perrier, Le Bec Fin, snackbar, about 150 Italian BYOBs.... As for the don't-miss Philly eats, that sounds like a good topic of its own, if it isn't already! But my shortlist would include: For food that's not specifically Philadelphian, but would likely be highlights of your dining, I'd suggest snackbar, Amada, and Ansill, all three small-plates kind of places with very interesting cooking. Those are places I'd take foodie friends if they were visiting today. In the more typically Philly zone - The Reading Terminal Market for a general tour, but also a stop at DiNic's for a Roast Pork sandwich, a pretzel at Fisher's, and ice cream at Bassett's. Don't even think about leaving town without trying Capogiro for gelato and sorbetto. Yes, even in January... Get a cup of coffee at La Colombe. . John's Roast Pork for a cheesesteak, because hey, you're in Philly, you might as well try the iconic sandwich, and it might as well be a good one. Or just get another roast pork sandwich... If you can't make it during their odd hours, Tony Lukes is not a bad fall-back. A real Philly Hoagie - I vote for Sarcone's. Try one (or more) of our inventive BYOB's: Matyson, Marigold, Django, Mandoline, Bistro 7... grab a bottle of wine from the State Store, check the Chairman's Selections for bargains. A real South Philly homey Italian place: Marra's, Ralph's, Villa di Roma, etc for basic hearty Italian-American food. That's more of an authentic Philly experience than a dining thrill, but places like that can be good, especially if you don't get a lot of that style where you are. There are also plenty of places that are more Italian than Italian-American: Melograno, Cafe Casta Diva, Radicchio, etc... Vetri has been mentioned more than once in national magazines as perhaps the best Italian restaurant in the country. For a showy event of a meal, the Steven Starr places can fit the bill. If you're already planning on doing Morimoto, you'll get the experience, with a cool setting and good food. If you want to splurge, Le Bec Fin is classic, old-school French. Lacroix is a lovely space, and perhaps before you get here we'll hear more reviews of the food. Their $85 Sunday brunch is a pretty great way to kill a day eating... Rangoon in Chinatown for Burmese food: partly because it's pretty hard to find most places, partly because it's just plain good If you want other tasty, inexpensive ethnic eats, Philly's got good Vietnamese, Laotian, Malaysian, Sichuan, Ethiopian, and recently, Mexican.... If any of that sounds good, ask for details! That's where I'd go. I'm sure others will chime-in with some other good ideas.

The Rittenhouse hotel/Lacroix restaurant is indeed the most obvious combination. If it matters, both the hotel and restaurant are pretty pricey. None of the Steven Starr restaurants are exactly in hotels, (I don't think the Barclay is a hotel right now, is it?) Pod is directly adjacent to The Inn at Penn, so that it's almost a hotel restaurant (but the non-Starr restaurant Penne is actually in the building.) I don't think they'll let you sleep at Morimoto... While there are plenty of restaurants in hotels here, few of them are especially noteworthy. The exceptions might be: Panorama, in the Penn's View Hotel, renowned for its huge by-the-glass wine selection; Restaurant M, in the Morris House; and as you already know, Lacroix in the Rittenhouse. You certainly wouldn't know it from their website, but Chef Lacroix is not directly involved in the restaurant any longer. We haven't had too many reports on the work of the new chef Matt Levin, but there's been some good buzz. What else? The Four Seasons, I guess... But to get back to your initial premise, Im not sure if any of those is a "great/cool" hotel, although both the Penn's View and the Morris House are small and charming. I think we might be lacking in cool hotels. But we have plenty of great restaurants, feel free to ask for more advice, just give us some guidelines and we'll be happy to help!

Another quick dinner at STH: Twice-Cooked Pork (just TRY to stop me from ordering this!) Three-Pepper Chicken: that combo of fresh peppers, dried peppers and Sichuan Peppercorns is both delicious and intriguing. Had us sweating a bit... Golden Coins: each time I marvel at how perfect this is. Sautéed Snow Pea Greens: not on the menu, but it pays to ask. They were sweet, still crunchy, garlicky, and a great safe-harbor from the spice. Overall a great meal. And come on, fess-up, who else was there last night? We overheard some conversations about Ansill from a table behind us, and the guys next to us had some crazy wines and their own glasses.... not your average random wednesday-night diners. Somebody else took photos for a change, but then, I think we have pix of all this stuff in this topic already.

I've only been to the 8th street one, so I can't compare them, but I find it hard to imagine anything tastier than the food we got there! For future reference, I'd love to know if the food is pretty consistent between locations. What appears to the the official website only mentions the 8th street and Olympic Blvd restaurants. I feel your pain Tom, there's recently been some decent Mexican food to be found in Philly, but nothing specifically Oaxacan that I can find, and no moles even vaguely as complex or delicious as I had at Guelaguetza. So, go while you're out there! And report back...

Oh man, I loved that place! Did they leave abruptly? I just assumed the staff were all abducted by aliens....

I think "Hog Maws" is usually used to mean the stomach, basically tripe from a pig. Is that what you mean Andy? Sorry, I don't have any fond memories or recipes or suggestions, I've never had it...

This quick trip was (sadly) not entirely focused on eating, so many of my decisions were made based on locations and timings. I even had the frustrating experience of standing at the the entrance to JK at the Gardiner but realizing that I just wasn't even a little bit hungry... and having to walk away, vowing to try it next time. The quick summary is that we had onion soup and crepes at La Papillon (I know nobody believes me, but both were delicious) sampled some chocolate at Soma, dinner at Lee, pastries for breakfast at Thuet, lunch at Swatow, late-night pie at Shanghai Cowgirl (I wasn't finding many dessert options out that way, and it wasn't bad at all, in that diner-pie kind of way - any suggestions for future midnight dessert cravings?) and finally, lunch at Pangaea. It bore little resemblance to what I'd planned, but we liked most everything we ate. If I can schedule a fully food-centric visit, you'll be getting an alert, Justin!

Sorry to hear that, the croissants I got were certainly not chewy! They might not have been quite as transcendent as some I've had in Paris, but they were light and flaky and clearly fresh (at about 9am on a friday).

Grabbed a butter croissant, a savory herb croissant and a baguette from the bakery for a quick breakfast. Loved all three.

I'm always surprised the Pangaea gets so little attention here on eGullet. I think I've been here 5 times over the last several years, and always had really terrific meals. It's a beautiful space, the chairs are unusually comfortable, and service has always been gracious without being stuffy. We could only schedule a lunch this time, but much of the menu is pretty serious mid-day, so it felt almost like dinner... Pear and Endive Salad: Roasted Pear, Shaved Fennel, Watercress, Frisée, Walnuts, Stilton, Mustard Dressing Simple, clean, elegant, and absolutely delicious. Soup "Fall Triptych": Pumpkin & Apple; Wild Mushroom; Roasted Golden Beet OK, these aren't all that pretty, and don't offer much tonal or textural variety, but each had distinct, bold flavors, and each was very tasty. The golden beet was especially good. Ocean Trout: pan-seared, on glazed squash, thyme infused beluga lentils, fried shallots. This dish successfully tread a fine line between a fresh and simple seafood preparation and a hearty autumn dish. The sweetness of the roasted squash and the earthiness of the lentils played well off the richness of the salmon-y fish. Pappardelle & Sweetbreads: sautéed mushrooms, truffle oil, baked garlic, tomato, parsley, seared sweetbreads, veal reduction. This was a rather gargantuan portion of pasta and sweetbreads, each carefully cooked to a pleasing texture. It was a little more tomatoey than I expected from the menu prose, but it nonetheless tasted great. I know not everyone thinks this way, but for me, a little bit of the richness of sweetbreads goes a long way, so this was almost too much of a good thing. Between sweetbread burnout and sheer size of the portion of pasta, I couldn't quite finish it. Although that might have been partly in order to leave some room for: Apple Crostada: rosemary cider sorbet, apple caramel sauce. Flawless. Not sure what else to say: great crunch on the light, sugar-dusted crust; perfect spicing on the warm apple filling; herby, grainy sorbet lightening the dense tart. It was not an inexpensive lunch: apps were in the low teens, mains in the mid twenties, desserts in the low teens. With one glass of wine, it was about $110 for two before tip, not too different from what we've paid for dinner. I thought it was fully worth it, a decent value for excellent food. My only complaint would be that they don't offer the duck for lunch - it's one of my favorite dinner selections. www.pangaearestaurant.com

Needed a quick, simple lunch after the AGO, so we hiked a few blocks over to Swatow. I got pointed here by some posts here on eG, (and some PMs - thanks Sadistick!) and it had charmed me by being open at 2am, crucial during a couple of previous visits... I'm embarrassed to say that we dived in and started eating the soup before I remembered to snap a picture, but this is pretty much what it looked like, there was just more of it... That's the Swatow special soup, with thin egg noodles, braised beef, various mysterious balls, a shrimp dumpling, greens, and most importantly, a really fantastic, rich broth. I'd be perfectly happy to just eat a bowl of this for lunch. I know there are way more interesting things on the menu, but Chicken in Black Bean sauce on rice sounded exactly perfect for the moment, and indeed it was. No revelation, just very tasty... I'm always happy to know about places like this: vaguely divey, inexpensive, but solid restaurants, especially if they're open late.

I had a very enjoyable meal at Lee a few days ago, and I think I generally agree with Gordon's assessment from almost 2 years ago. Interestingly, the menu doesn't seem to have changed much, if at all. Overall we enjoyed the food quite a lot, although the preparations next door are significantly more refined and exciting (and expensive...) It's a different context, much more casual and relaxed, which fit our mood better at the time than a multi-course marathon at Susur. The place was hopping on a Thursday night. (Can some locals enlighten me - is Thursday traditionally a big night to go out? In Toronto, or all over Canada, or just in that neighborhood?) We nonetheless were able to score two seats at the bar even as walk-ins, although only after a bit of a wait. The dining room remained very full throughout the evening. The bar was not at all a bad place to sit, the swiveling stools make it a little easier to converse with your partner without significant neck strain, and at least if you're seated along the back of the bar, one has a good vantage point for observing the goings-on among the glitterati. As noted, dishes were delivered in no particular order, with no particular pacing, which I find mildly irritating, but have gotten used-to, as it seems very much the style these days in many restaurants in many cities. Two of us ordered 5 plates, and that was plenty of food, although it was hard to narrow down, and if we hadn't had a late-ish lunch, we might have tossed another one or two into the mix. Caramelized Black Cod with Cantonese Preserves As seems to be the general consensus, we thought this was spectacular, by far our favorite of the evening. Perfectly cooked, luxuriously moist fish supported a sweet and slightly tangy sauce. We were tempted to order a few more of these.... Mushroom Dumpling, Red Pepper, Olives, Capers, Feta Cheese The dumplings themselves were tender and delicious, the surrounding veggies and cheese was a bit of a gooey mess, albeit a tasty one. The capers and feta pushed this to the verge of too-salty, and I suspect I might have liked it a little better with less of all of the accompaniments, but it was still quite good. Greek Feta Cheese Tart, Figs, Black Olive and Basil This was nothing too unusual, but quite nicely done, with a good crunchy crust and excellent toppings. Thai baked lentil, Paneer, Spinach, Coconut and Polenta This had a great Thai curry flavor to it, and a pleasing textural contrast among the thick sauce, the tender lentils and the more chewy polenta and paneer. It was right about here that we started to notice that we'd unconsciously ordered a lot of dishes with cheese.... Duck Confit, Pineapple, Spiced Nuts, Goat Cheese I'm still not entirely sure about this dish: on one level I enjoyed the flavors, on another it was a bit over-busy. An intense, salty shredded confit of duck leg was encased in a crepe, doused in creamy goat cheese, capped with a praline-like caramel of spiced nuts, flanked by roasted pineapple. These were all good flavors, but all together they were a bit dizzying. I liked this, but I think I could have done without one or two of the elements - any one or two of them. Sadly we were too stuffed for dessert, it looked appealing. Sorry to let the eG crowd down... We had a couple of glasses of Prosecco while waiting, and carried those over into the first part of dinner, then switched to a Cave Springs Riesling, both of which were quite enjoyable, and decent foils for the diverse foods we ordered. Service was friendly and efficient. The only complaint I might have is that the room is pretty loud, with fairly prominent background music and all hard flat surfaces to bounce the crowd noise around. As Gordon noted, the food and overall experience at Lee doesn't quite reach the heights of dinner at Susur, but then, it's not supposed to. It was quicker, more casual, and probably less than half the price. But one can certainly experience some interesting cooking, and bit of the Susur Lee style without committing several hours and a few hundred bucks. I'd go back.

So.... anybody else eaten at Oceannaire?

Filled-in a few holes in the snackbar experience: octopus I'm not sure if these have hit the regular menu yet, chef is still tweaking, but it seemed ready for prime-time to me! The octopus itself is nice and tender, and although the flavor is subtle on its own, it really sings when combined with the lemon-apple purée underneath, and the little cubes of parsley/truffle gelée. I really liked it. foie gras. plums. buckwheat bun I've become accustomed to a hard sear on foie gras, and while I still like that textural contrast, this more gentle preparation is still quite luxurious. I like the look of these cool painted-on sauces, but I'm always frustrated that I can't taste them as much as I'd like, they tend to just cement themselves to the plate... Nonetheless, the decadent richness of the foie, a trace of plummy sauce, a dab of fruity compote, the hearty, soft bun, nothing wrong with that! The other half of the buckwheat bun was floating in a cup of Peking Duck broth, and that bread, soaked with the intense duck flavor was an interesting alternate angle on duckiness. We discovered that the broth was a little over-salty to enjoy on its own, but soaked into the bun - really nice. tres leches brulée. churro. mate chino The creamy custard and crunchy surface was indeed a delicious fusion of the flavors of a tres leches cake and creme brulée. Excellent. The crumbled churro off to the side was an interesting textural contrast, but I found the infused foam on top kind of weird, a little too much like airy warm milk. We revisited a few previous dishes as well. The Spaghetti Squash and Pear Jam on toast were again quite tasty and interesting. The corn/polemta/tallegio dish was a little looser than the first time we had it, and not quite as intense, but still pretty good. I'm sad to say that on the second tasting, I think I've decided that I just don't really care for the texture of the gyoza filling, but that might just be me. I'd like something a little more chunky, or crunchy or chewy or something.... Still, I like the combo with the cornichons, trumpet mushrooms and coffee sauce. And our pork belly was very fatty this time. I suppose that's partly the luck of the draw with pork bellies, and of course it's an inherently fatty piece of meat, so I'll admit that it's a weird thing to complain about. But there's some mysterious percentage at which it just gets too much for me, and this time it was just a touch over the line. Flavor was fantastic though, I could drink jugs of that smoked onion dashi. Again, it made me crave noodles though... So, maybe not an out-of-the-park home-run this time, but a good solid stand-up double, might have even made it to third if the wind was blowing the right way. I'm totally going back for what I still say is some of the most interesting food in town.

I hope you all will excuse my patting myself on the back, but despite the appalling neglect of my main site (I blame you folks for making eG so much more fun to post to...) one thing I have been pretty good about is keeping my links page up to date. www.philadining.com/links.html I've been adding some automatic RSS feeds so that it now updates itself automatically with recent eGullet posts and Foobooz posts. I used to have Inky RSS feeds as well, but they would stall the page loading more often than updating it, but I'll keep working on that. I'm trying to make it a comprehensive overview of Philly food-centric blogs, lists, websites, etc. Hope it's helpful.

Ahh, right you are, and I can see where you'd be concerned about the potential for confusion. They certainly should fix that, and provide some updated menus and chef info. Thanks for the clarifications. Sheppard Mansion sounds great, please keep us informed of your progress!

For what it's worth, their website: www.evermay.com does not currently make reference to Chef Little. In fact the "Dining Menu" and "Chef's Notes" menu items don't currently link to anything. That doesn't seem like a good sign for the dining end of things, but it could just be a website design delay.... Susan, have the folks at Evermay told you anything, like who's the chef, or what the menu is? And Chef Little, thanks for joining us, and for the info on your current activities, please keep us updated. After reading Laban's raves about your work at Evermay, I'd hoped to get up there someday, but never managed it... If anyone makes it to Shepperd Mansion, please report back!