philadining

Sorry Holly! I'm actually not trying to be arty, it's a consequence of shooting with available light. I just took those shots at the table (I'll admit to actually pushing the table around, or moving the plates up onto the windowsill to get better light) but in order to not use flash, I need to use a really wide aperture on the lens. And it's just part of the physics of lenses, that creates a very shallow depth of field. That happens to be a popular style of food photography these days, and it sometimes does look cool, but I'd actually prefer to have a little more of the food in focus some of the time! But until I start bringing the tripod, or violating my own no-flash credo, I'm going to end up posting that whacky background blur... I can assure you that the food is fully in-focus in person.

spaghetti squash.yuzu.red pepper beef gyoza. black trumpets. mustard whiting. parsley. saffron. potatoes pear jam. pain levain. white beer SO good it deserves another pic.... mango. sunflower shoots. lavender banana. curry. cilantro crumb Another really excellent meal. I especially liked the pear jam - the beer foam gave the fruit a light boozy edge, and the texture of the bread was perfect. Perfect brunch food. Pretty damn good any time. The spaghetti squash and the mango both were way tastier than they had a right to be: they're very simple, but a little yuzu vinaigrette woke the squash right up, and a salty, herby edge to the mango really turned the fruitiness on its side. I love it when food is both delicious and interesting. I loved the flavor of the gyoza, Im still deciding about the super-tender meat filling. I think I like it, but the texture will take some getting used to. I'm happy to try! The whiting was very nicely done: clean, simple, but you know, it's a whiting so it's just not going to get super-exciting. Loved the potatoes that accompanied. And the curry on the banana was just great, and it was cooked perfectly, just a tiny bit soft, but not mushy. Cilantro sand gave some crunchy contrast. It was still pretty crowded when I got here about 10pm on a weeknight, but some tables opened pretty fast, and there were no wrestling matches over tables. I'd suggest off-peak times, it's much more chill.... Menu's pretty complete now, although I heard some rumors of baby octopi... I'll be back for them!

OK, this might be a new phenomenon: Rod's mention of the mango has caused me to order one. WIFI is a beautiful thing. Nothing like on-site recommendations! ETA - really nice, light, a little salty, made it extra tasty.

So, other than whiting and melon, this sounds like pretty much the same menu as last week, yes? I had been hoping that we'd see a few more cards flipped over. Not that I'd be reluctant to eat that same stuff again! I think some of these varied reactions can indeed be just different strokes - pork belly in a broth: I love it at Momofuku, I love it here! And I really liked the apple/miso/pea thing, and especially liked the coarse crunch of the wasabi peas. And "every element screaming itself" sounds fine to me, if they're screaming in harmony. I thought they were. But again, that's just me. Thanks for the wine report, as much as I like the BYOB thing, it will be a nice place to drop in unprepared and get a glass of wine and a few plates. I hope.... You might be right Jas, it could get a bit too busy to be that casual. Maybe on the off-hours, as Rod mentioned. I look forward to more.

I'll try: Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Ketchup, Mustard....sour cream!? potatoes!?!How was it? How drunk were you? (I suspect the answers to those questions are correlated.)

Welcome Rod! (or do your friends call you "the"?) Good points, all. What did you eat?

It's their flagship store, and so it's like most of their newer mondo-mega-stores, but plus a little. All the new stores are pretty spectacular, but this one seems to be consistently stocked better, have especially good staff, etc. The last time I was in there the fish counter was pushing halibut cheeks...Probably the most distinctive difference is that it has a full-service restaurant, attempting serious cuisine. It's just a Wegmans, but this one goes to 11.

I had some very good Ethiopian at Dashen at 503 South Ave in Rochester. It might have been a year ago though... I've eaten Ethiopian in NYC, D.C. and Philly and I thought this held up quite well in comparison. The neighborhood's not exactly a destination, and the place itself doesn't look like much, but the food's good. I have not been to Abyssinia, so I can't compare them, sorry.

Capogiro is a gelato shop, not a "food store" per se, but many of us in Philly have become so entranced by their product that we start believing that gelato is really the only food we need. But back on topic, somebody had to say it: Wegmans in Pittsford, NY.

Yeah James, we noticed the clams too late too, and I swear I saw a guy eating curried octopus, but hey, next time! And all three of us were of the opinion that chicken feet are just too much work... Those might have been pork, shrimp and watercress dumplings, I'm thinking watercress seems a more plausible flavor than cilantro in what we had. Usually, if I eat a dumpling with shrimp in it, I am not a happy camper, but maybe I got lucky and got a low-dose one. As Diann said, it's pretty common in Cantonese cooking to just toss some shrimp into most anything, because, you know, it will be better! And as much fun as the carts are, I'd trade them for the much more delicate and fresh offerings at Dim Sum GoGo in NY any time. I love that place. pix>>

Thanks Daniel! And yeah, it's a weird thing: pretty much every time I go in, there's ALWAYS a big group jammed around that back table. The rest of the place might be empty, but that big round table is full of people. I don't think its the same folks all the time. I think I'm with you Jas, that twice-cooked pork is a dish I pretty much have to get every time...

A hungry, if small, band of eGulleteers headed to Ocean City restaurant at 234 N 9th St in Chinatown for dim sum on sunday. It's traditional cart service, with the expected offerings, and all in all we thought it was very good. Servers were friendly, and were pretty good about describing things in English if we needed. It was busy, but not packed, so we didn't have to wait, and lingered at the table without feeling guilty, because there were always a few open. As always happens, we might have gotten a little over-exited early on, requesting one of almost everything that came by at first. We probably should have paced ourselves, because we saw a few good dishes roll by later, after we were over-full. Between three of us we had: Steamed Ribs, Pork Shu Mai (front) Har Gao (shrimp dumplings) Tofu Skin Rolls with Pork Sticky Rice Char Siu Bao Rice Noodle Rolls with Beef Some sort of noodley thing.... maybe yam noodles or something? Eggplant Congee Steamed Meatballs we thought they were Cilantro and Pork dumplings, but the didn't taste all that Cilantro-ish... but they were good! Sticky Rice balls Sweet Sesame Balls Custard Tarts So, that was about 15 dishes, PLENTY of food for 3 of us. $40 for all of it. Great value, I think... I really enjoyed it. Nothing was especially exemplary, nor was anything especially bad: I'd say it was a good solid dim sum experience. It's certainly not world-class dim sum, maybe not even the "best" in town, but it was very good. I think I might like many of the specific dishes better at Lakeside, but there's something fun and serendipitous about carts. I wouldn't be reluctant to come back here. Any other current faves for places with carts?

Just a reprise of some old faves: A big bowl of crushed red pepper, with some beef and Chinese celery hiding in there somewhere, otherwise known as Braised Beef Filet with Szechuan Style Very hot, but delicious, featuring very tender beef. Szechuan Twice-Cooked Pork Fatty, salty, spicy, what else can you want? Sliced Chicken with Spicy Tangy Sauce I think this one gets overlooked for some of the more dramatic preparations, but this has a great flavor, and no small amount of heat. Thanks to V for recommending the perfect accompaniment to all that spice: a big bottle of Lindemann's Peche Lambic. They were pretty busy on a sunday night, and the woman who i presume is the manager said they've been really full much of the time, enough so that they're thinking of expanding to a larger place right nearby. They have the Best of Philly award and Laban's 2-Bell review proudly posted on the wall, and I have no doubt both have helped them. Service was friendly, if a little frazzled, it took several requests to get glasses for the beer, but they had a big table of rowdy guys at the back, most of the other tables were full, they were doing some take-out, and I think it's one guy in the kitchen. But that guy can cook.... Great stuff.

Got some more take out last night, and it was very good. As a starter, (cold) Sliced Beef in Five-Spice Fairly subtle, but nice flavors and interesting texture, with a mix of fat and lean. As a main, Pork with Cilantro This was really tasty, and very spicy, so at least the stuff from the Sichuan side of the menu is still pretty serious! I did take-out, so I can't comment on the service.

re prices: veggies were $7 or 8 apples were a steal at $5 fish was $9-11 Chicken was $10, pork was $11 Cheeses were $3-4 each Desserts were $5-6. Again, these are small plates, but the prices seemed totally reasonable to me. It's important to note that although we decadently rampaged through the entire menu, this is a limited, opening days selection, there'll be more on the menu eventually. As for the crowds, it's a tiny place, but there were a few empty seats during most of the time we were there. I doubt that will be the case for long!! I'd go soon. 253 S. 20th St. (Between Locust and Spruce at the corner of... I can't remember) There's no sign that I could see yet, but just look for the cool orange glow.

I'll basically agree with V. The pork belly was outrageous, but what really put it over the top was that amazing smoked onion dashi. The perfectly-textured spring egg didn't hurt either! We knew going in that we'd need multiples of this, we didn't even wait to try it, and we almost ordered more afterwards... The Chicken was not especially unusual, just delicious, enough so that we ordered another. The roasted Brussels Sprouts were quite tender and tasty, but the shavings of truffle and the almonds, gave them an extra dimension that elevated them beyond simple comfort food. That roasted corn with tallegio and polenta was out of this world. It was a great combination of textures and flavors. The presentation is pretty wild, but I'm cool with that.... Due to this opening BYOB phase, we were drinking some of that magic Hermann Wiemer Gewurtztraminer (2005) that seems to go with almost everything, but it was just absolutely revelatory with the corn. The ocean trout was absolutely perfectly cooked - silky, almost custardy in the tongue, its sweetness nicely balanced by the stripe of acidic cranberry. There was a brief fistfight over the satisfyingly crackly skin. And those apples... what a fantastic combination of sweet and salt and spice and soft and crunch. I would be happy dropping by for a snack of these any time. I'd eat them for breakfast. I'd eat them alongside the pork bellies, or the trout, or anything. The flavor of the wasabi pea crust is more subtle than you'd expect, but it's just right, and the crispness is a great effect. I've decided that I'm coating everything in crushed wasabi peas from now on.... The figs with goat milk were fine, but the overall dish might be too subtle, or maybe the figs just aren't all that thrilling right now. Not bad, but the only thing all night that got a bit of a yawn. But I'd like to give props to the broth on the mushroom, I could just drink mugs of that. The little gelatinous cubes of cider that accompanied the mackerel brightened the dish by exactly the right amount. The combination of butternut squash with escargot was lovely (and the snails were nicely tender too.) There was some longing for a few noodles in the broth that surrounded the pork belly, and that would indeed be delicious, but I suppose we're just locked into old patterns... The cheeses were all very interesting, and accompanied by carefully-selected compliments. I especially liked the home-made mostardo that chaperoned the chiantino. And the licorice overtones to the chocolate cake, along with the slightly salty malted coffee, elevated that dessert well above the same-old molten-center cake. Even so, the financier might have stolen the show, with its subtle flavors. Almost everything displayed that rare combination of being interesting, surprising, and delicious. Can't ask for much more than that!

snackbar Nov 1, 2006 brussels & truffles. marcona almonds. maitake. negra modelo broth. scallion. sweet corn. polenta. tallegio. oregano. black figs in red wine. goat milk. smoked salt. apples. miso caramel. wasabi peas. mackerel. fennel. lemon. apple cider. ocean trout. vanilla pomme puree. cranberry. escargot skewers. butternut. walnuts chicken thighs. bbq. daikon. pork (beer) belly. slow egg. dashi cheese: crozier. rocastin. chiantino. bouq emissaire. chocolate cake. licorice. malted coffee olive oil financier. white chocolate. rose. Once my head has cleared, I'll try to add details, but for now, I'll just say everything was amazingly delicious. Like, some of the best food I've had in a long time, and not just in Philly. Really. Adventurous ideas, interesting combinations, assured execution. This is a really exciting new place. Lovely, warm, inviting look and feel to the space, good service. They're BYOB until November 4, when they should have their liquor license. Awesome place. Seriously.

In the City Paper's Feeding Frenzy, Drew Lazor says: "We recently checked out the white-beer-braised pork belly served with poached egg and charred-onion broth." ahhh....Pork bellies...

Well, I suppose this only muddies the waters, but I finally saw the print version of the Esquire article, and the Ansill mention is presented as a sort of sidebar, in a little box, not as part of the main Mariani article. It's credited "-m.c." presumably Maile Carpenter.

I'm eager to see the menu, but my sense is that the offerings will be a bit more substantial than the term "snacks" might suggest. I expect really interesting small-plates (sorry, I know that's a tired phrase) that one can snack on, or mix-up to make more of a meal. Rumors I've heard seem very promising...

At last! We finally managed to convene a group for a tasting menu at Majolica. It's really not such a big deal, one does not need a certain sized group, or even much advance notice. (They do prefer that you arrange it when you make a reservation, but we were told that they might do it on the spot if the kitchen is not too busy. They do ask that the whole table gets the tasting menu.) You can get 6 or 8 courses. Want to guess which one we went for? Amuse: cheese-filled Gougeres An airy puff of pastry, filled with Brie, I think, or something like it. A nice accompaniment for the Petit Chablis we had started drinking. Raw Oyster served with Champagne/Shallot Mignonette The oyster was from Virginia, of all places, and was really one of the better oysters I've had in a long while: big, firm, plump, salty. The sauce was a bit more assertive than I would have guessed, and if I had another oyster I would have just put a tiny splash on, but even the heavier dose I applied brightened it in a complimentary way. Mussels I think this is not normally part of the tasting, but Percy wisely asked to add a couple of orders for the table to share, and indeed, these were amazingly good, especially the buttery sauce. For the oyster and the mussels, we were drinking a Basque Txakolina, from Txomin Etxaniz. Squash Soup This was almost too cute, but it was tasty enough to carry it off, especially as we hit nuggets of lobster hidden within the silky liquid. We drank a Hermann Wiemer Gewurtztraminer with this course, a wine that's just ideal for squash soup, if you ask me. Seared Tuna This was beautifully done, a nice sear on one side, still pristinely rare on the other, seated on a bed of fall vegetables and a stripe of olive sauce. Crispy Sweetbreads with Lobster Mushroom We've had crispier sweetbreads here previously, but any reduction in crunch was offset by the great flavor the of the veal demi coating them. A creamy tarragon emulsion added a pleasantly contrasting note. Foie Gras Beautifully seared foie, the richness cut by a nice concassé of mango. Simple. Delicious. I really enjoyed the dots of Five-Spice Gastrique We were a bit at-sea for wines during those last three courses, we had a couple of red Burgundies open, and some of us were preserving the Gewurtz (which worked surprisingly well with the tuna). I'm not sure anything was matching perfectly, but somehow we muddled through! Pineapple Sorbet, Olive Oil, Fried Sage Chef has a way with sorbets, they're always interesting, surprising, and quite tasty. This was no exception, the texture and flavor of the sorbet itself was wonderful, only amplified by the mellowing olive oil and crisp sage. Pork Belly It's amazing that this is almost becoming routine on menus around here, but I'm not complaining! This was a fairly restrained version, its subtle smokiness meshing nicely with the French Lentils. The fat hadn't rendered down to that barely-there custardy creaminess that I've come to love, but it was still a very enjoyable dish. An Arrowood Cab (details Percy?) that seemed a little rough at first actually went really nicely with the pork, and I enjoyed it with the cheese and dessert as well. Hendricks Farms "Cow Pie" Cheese We're not entirely sure what kind of cheese "cow pie" is, except that it's really good... The presentation was lovely, although some of the fruits were pale shadows of their in-season selves... I would have been happy with just the honeycomb and the almond! Chocolate Soufflé Textbook: perfectly-done, airy-creamy, rich, luxurious. No real way to improve upon that. Oh wait - how about some caramel sauce? Might be gilding the lily, but it's not like we rejected it! It was actually very nice addition. I think we all surprised ourselves when the chef came out and asked us what our favorite course was, and we all just kind of sat there spinning our wheels: it was consistently delicious across the board, so it was hard to single anything out. None of the courses completely knocked me out of my chair, but I thoroughly enjoyed all of ten (!) of them, which is no small accomplishment. Everything we had was carefully, artfully prepared, from fine ingredients, and so it's no surprise that it was all so satisfying. This was really a terrific meal, with excellent service as well. We've praised this restaurant before, and I'd only amplify that now, and recommend trying the tasting menu if you have the opportunity. It was $100 plus tax and tip for the 8 courses (+), which was a perfectly reasonable price for a LOT of food, and pretty luxurious ingredients, as you can see. I believe the 6-course is $80. Big thanks to Percy for getting this together, and especially for persevering through all our various cancellations and excuses and delays and rescheduling, and getting it done! Thanks to the folks at Majolica too for the warm welcome and fine food, and putting up with a few of our quirks.... I'm eager to do that again, so to those of you who didn't make this one: let's go!

Tried their Duck Terrine recently, and I hereby declare it the Least Emasculating Pâté of 2006. Very tasty too. We got smart and asked for more bread at the onset. Much happier. Also discovered a good combo: the duck egg and smoked salmon trout, along with the hanger steak. It makes a steak-and-eggs, surf-and-turf thing all at the same time. Toss on some mushrooms from the sweetbreads, and you've really got something there... The place was actually pretty full this time, with lots of people eating at the bar, but still, you could have squeezed in if you dropped-by, so... where were you?!? (Edited to fix the fish...)

Indeed, welcome Phila-Foodie! I too hope you'll join-in our conversations here, and post pics!

Chowfun, I think you're on the right track, there's plenty to be had there that's not especially intimidating. Definitely get the Roti Canai, the foodies will love it for sure, but even the more timid diners will likely start fighting for shreds of the bread. The dipping sauce is like a Thai green curry, so if the inexperienced folks like that, you might have just given them a clue about something else they might like... It's hard to go wrong with satay, that's bound to be popular, and they make a good version. I haven't had their springrolls, so I don't know how they are, but keep in mind that they have something a little unusual called "Rice Net" springrolls that look interesting. I haven't tried those, but there's a description (and picture) at Philafoodie. The Tom Yum is delicious, but it is intense, might scare off some folks. The Tom Kha was good, but a little bland, but maybe that would be a good thing! They have two different sizes of those soups, the smaller one could serve two, the larger, probably at least 4. Depending on the size of your group, maybe you could order one of each, and toss in something really safe, for the truly timid. I haven't had the chowfun at Aqua, but love the versions at both Penang and Banana Leaf, so it's probably good here.... Philafoodie liked the Pad Thai. They've got a gazillion noodle dishes with lots of stuff on them, just be careful to make sure that you know whether the dish is more of a soup or a stir-fry, it's not always obvious! The Hainanese Chicken was quite good, and not especially challenging, the only thing is that it's served at room temperature, and some people are creeped-out by that. We liked it. The sizzling whatever platters are not a huge thrill, but they're good, and approachable. I'd recommend the Aqua Tofu too, it's really good, might even convert some tofu-haters if you can get them to try it. (It's not a veggie dish though, it's got ground pork on it.) Also, I haven't ordered it at Aqua, but Mango Chicken has always been a crowd-pleaser at Penang and Banana Leaf. Please let us know how it goes!

Made another run by Ansill a little while ago, and apropos of HD73's question about getting a table, it was no problem at all, in fact it was surprisingly open. Not empty, but really, this place ought to be packed all the time, so if you've been reluctant, thinking it might be a hassle, or if it's fallen off your radar, now is the time! Boquerones Crostini At first crunch, all I could taste was the bright, tart marinade, but the flavors changed in the mouth, eventually revealing the fresh, subtle anchovies. I liked it. Scrambled Duck Egg with Smoked Trout Midway thought eating this we were trying to remember what kind of pork it was that was so delicious on these creamy eggs. We were both shocked to recall that it was smoked trout. This was really good. Ceviche with Watermelon Pickle I'm embarrassed to say that I don't remember what kind of fish this was... but it was very tasty, with a great texture and tang from the cure. We especially liked the watermelon pickle. Wild Boar Prosciutto Nice silky texture to both the meat and the fat, good flavor, not especially thrilling, but good. Woohoo!! we got promoted up to 4 pieces of bread!! I should have known by now and just asked for some more, but we really needed a few more slices. What is the deal?!?! Shirred Eggs with Foie Gras and truffle There's not really anything to say that hasn't been said plenty of times previously. This just rocks. Oh wait, I thought of something: more bread!!! Pork Belly This might have been the best version I've had of all my visits, and I've liked all of them. The spaetzel seemed a bit less mustardy, which is not necessarily an improvement, but the meat was really nicely cooked, not all that fatty, but what there was had rendered down to that luxurious custardy texture... Hanger Steak Holy Shizzy!! This was pretty straight-ahead, just a grilled steak with a winey sauce, but wow, it had a great depth of flavor, and was surprisingly tender for a hanger. One of the highlights of the night. (OK, I've had one better hanger steak recently, but I can't talk about it...) Osso Buco Sandwich I've said it before, and I'll stand by it, this is one of my favorite things to eat in the whole city. The whole meal was really quite delicious. if I had to quibble about anything, it might be the order, and pacing of some of the dishes. I posted them in the order they were delivered, and I think the flavor flow was a little weird... I ended up setting the duck egg aside for a little while because the boquerones were followed a little better by the ceviche, rather than bouncing over to the eggs, and then back to cistrusy fish. As a result the eggs had cooled a bit by the time I was ready for them, they were still very good, but would have been better hot. And I might have had the prosciutto earlier, maybe they were intentionally separating the eggs...but i would have been OK with those following one another. The only other criticism I have is that there wasn't much to choose from by way of vegetables, and save for a few good green beans with the steak, not much accompanied the dishes as served. It wasn't a crisis, but if there had been something green and crunchy (I've ordered the asparagus previously) we would have gotten it. Still, those are minor comments, we both really enjoyed the food, and service was friendly and helpful too. We started out with some bubbly, a prosecco which was really good with most of the early dishes, and a lambrusco that was less so. A white burgundy carried us well through the middle range, especially the eggs, and a rioja did well for the meaty parts at the end. This was probably too much food for two people, but hey... somehow we finished it. As I mentioned, it was not especially busy, but should be, so go!