philadining

With DiFara closed for a while, we satisfied a Brooklyn pizza jones at Grimaldi's on sunday. It was solidly good, not quite up with the best I've had at Patsy's, or even at the late lamented Lombardi's in Philly, but still a very fine pizza. I think it could have benefitted from another minute or two in the oven. (Is Grimaldi's one of those places one needs to order it dark or well-done?) Some silly teens sitting near us actually sent their pizza back, saying it was burnt... I should have grabbed that one, it looked good as it went by. The obligatory sliceny.com-style shot: The crust was pretty tasty, but would have been even better with a bit more char. The structural integrity would have improved as well, as this pie did suffer from: The Heartbreak of Tip-Droop. Despite the slightly floppy crust, it was still a very enjoyable meal. I wouldn't be reluctant to go back if I'm in the 'hood. I liked the the whole package a bit more at Patsy's and Una Pizza Napolitana, but this pie was not far behind. There was a line even at 5:30, but it moved quickly. Service was terse but effective. It's more than a little claustrophobic in there, but it's worth facing those fears for a pizza this good.

Flav, thanks for posting that recipe, it certainly looks good! And of course you're right about people having different preferences and expectations. I'm not arguing that Little Saigon's Hue soup is especially authentic, I wouldn't know, and don't much care, I'm just saying that it's an extremely tasty soup. And I'm still very skeptical about the implication that it could be derived from a commercial soup base. As I mentioned upthread, I've had this quite a lot, and never tasted even a hint of that, and I know the pride that they take in all the soups there. So, while I wasn't in the kitchen, and can't prove how it's made, I'd be shocked if it wasn't based on a homemade stock. And in the end, if they do make it with some commercial product, well, more power to them, they're getting a great result.

Upper Darby, April 1, 2006 450,000 calories without crossing the street. What was originally conceived-of as a simple trip the H-Mart somehow turned into an all-day eating binge. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that these things happen when eGulleteers get together. Our intent was to visit all of the iconic eateries near the H-Mart, but after a few stops it became obvious that we couldn't possibly manage to visit all the places that looked interesting, so there'll have to be a part two.... probably a part three... We literally did not cross the street all day, simply exploring the amazing diversity that exists on one single block. We started in the newly-opened H-Mart Upstairs, there's a small food court and a few other businesses. There's Chinese, fried chicken, Sushi, a bakery and Korean. A little observation revealed that everyone was ordering fom the Korean counter, so we followed suit. Oddly, even though we sat there for some time, not a single person seemed to order anything from any of the other areas, just the Korean. And everything we saw others order from Jian Korean Cuisine looked really good. As we were trying to pace ourselves for a long trek, and this was officially breakfast, we simply ordered two soups: SulRong Tang (Snowy White Ox Bone Soup) This was very mild, but comforting and warming, with a few slices of beef, and not too much else in the murky broth. Some sliced scallions, a little salt, and even a touch of hot sauce (all provided in little cups) perked it up a bit. I think we all preferred the Yook Gae Jang (Spicy Beef and Vegetable Soup) This was not extremely spicy, but carried a nice gentle kick. The very flavorful broth hid a wide variety of textures and tastes, with various vegetables and tender shreds of beef. This was a real winner. Jian mostly serves soups, stews, rice dishes, casseroles and other things in bowls, all of it between 5 and 7 dollars. We're not sure why nobody went to any of the other counters, but we certainly understand why they do order from Jian. Next, we went downstairs to the H-Mart proper. There's actually not a whole lot of square footage in this store, but they pack in an astonishing amount of food in there. The produce looks fresh and is VERY cheap, and there's a vast array of fresh and live seafood, prepared foods, fresh and frozen meats, and the expected packaged foods. There was an amazing range of hard-to-find meats, often pre-cut in various shapes and sizes. There had to be 10 different cuts of pork belly (including Berkshire Pork, cut like thick bacon), thick and thin slices of shortribs, amazingly meaty-looking oxtails, tongues, tails, gizzards and on and on... There were also a surprising number of free samples on offer, one could put together a decent lunch on saturday just browsing the aisles. There were many free tastes offered of what looked like house-made preparations for sale in bulk, ranging from spicy pork, through bulgogi, to pickled vegetables and dried squid. One could also try an example of their vast array of frozen dumplings, and more... Great place, I'm eager to go back soon, when I wouldn't have to drag fresh pork bellies around with me all day! We took a left out of the H-Mart, and another left past Little Saigon, which we discovered does not do lunch on saturdays, but no worries, we just kept going around the block, and just around the next corner was Sol de Peru. I figure it's always a good idea to drink the local drinks with the local cuisine, so I went for an Inka Cola as we perused the menu. It's, umm.. very yellow. Make that golden. It was actually not bad at all, a little sweet, but fruity in an unusual way, it almost had a hint of banana, and some citrus, and...yellow. We also tried some fruit drinks, which are available mixed with water or milk, we did these con leche My apologies, I don't remember which fruits these were, but they were both quite good, refreshing like a thin milkshake. The main menu looked good, but very hearty, and indeed some plates we saw as we walked in looked HUGE, so we decided to just order some appetizers, in order to save space for a few more stops. We had a side order of Maduros Plantanos which were nicely sweet and soft with crunchy edges, and not at all oily. When in a Peruvian place, it only seems right to get something based on potatoes, so we got an order of Papas Rellenas This was surprisingly light mashed potatoes filled with spiced ground beef, and fried. We liked this a lot, like the plantains, it was fried perfectly, to give a nice crust without getting greasy. we also ordered Aji de Mondongo, tripe in a yellow pepper sauce, served on top of (surprise!) potatoes, topped with an egg. The pepper sauce was very tasty, but the tripe was bit rubbery and uninteresting, and the potatoes were a little plain. All in all, it wasn't bad, just not a thrill. We also ordered Anticuchos (Grilled Beef Heart with...potatoes... ) The meat itself was very tasty, and not all that different in texture from a more common cut of beef. It had a nice slightly sweet marinade on it, but it got even better with some of their hot sauce, which had an excellent chile flavor, and a slowly building heat. These roasted potatoes were excellent too. The man who took our order seemed to be the owner, and he was super-friendly and helpful. As it turns out, we were there about an hour too early, on the first saturday of each month they do an all-you can eat buffet, which looked really great when we poked out heads in again later. We didn't notice a price, but the place was crowded, so I'll bet it's a bargain. We're going to try to remember this at the beginning of May or June. All these carbs gave us the energy to get up and walk a few feet down the block to Sabor Latino where we promptly indulged in....more carbs. But first, another fruit drink. I think this one is Guava. It just so happens it's not an incredibly beautiful color, but tasted good. Their fresh Lemonade is good too, maybe a touch too sweet, but very refreshing. Sabor Latino serves dishes from Mexico, Ecuador, Columbia, Cuba, and maybe a few more countries. And we lost track of which recipes were from where, but it was all good, so we'll just ignore borders for now. Empanadas were seasoned ground beef in a nice crispy corn shell. Arepas came a few different ways, we got the corn cakes with fried pork ribs. The arepas themselves had a slight cheesey taste, and were good supports for the very tasty pork. We decided it would have been nice to have some sort of sauce with this, like a mojo or chimichurri, as the pork had great flavor and crunch, but was a touch dry. The Pernil Asado appeared under two different country's sections, I'm not sure which one we got, but wherever it was from it was delicious. The pork was extremely tender and juicy, the onions added a great flavor as well. The sweet plantains were an excellent accompaniment, as were the rice and beans. Sabor Latino has a very deep menu, we could have spent all day just in there and covered a lot of culinary territory. I've been there before, and enjoyed the food then too, so I can say they have lots of good items on the menu, and plenty more to explore. Finally fortified, we worked up the energy to walk about 100 yards back to Little Saigon. This was almost a tragedy: we'd all been looking forward to this stop on the tour, but it was a few minutes after 5pm, and the place was dark and deserted, no signs of life, despite the listed opening time of 4pm on the door. Just as we were about to give up, the owners showed up, full of apologies for making us wait. They'd been held-up at a family affair, but got up to speed at an amazingly quick rate. And we're glad we didn't walk away, as this was a fitting capper on the day of eating. Of course, we needed some Spring Rolls which are distinguished by an unusually crunchy, almost bubbly texture to the wrappers, without being at all greasy. Not only that, but the filling is more tasty than most as well, with a generous portion of ground pork, as well as mushrooms and cellophane noodles. We followed that with the Bun Bo Hue (Spicy Beef Soup from Hue) I'm not sure what could have been wrong with the bowl that Flav referenced upthread, but this one was truly outstanding, with a very complex broth, tender thin-sliced beef, and slippery rice noodles. Equally good, in a more subtle way, was the Roast Pork Wonton Noodle Soup That perfectly clear, yet hearty, broth is indicative of the care they put into their stocks here, and transforms a simple soup like this into something especially delicious. Beef Cubes in Garlic Sauce is not an offering I see at most Vietnamese restaurants, but it might be worth coming to Little Saigon just for this. Meltingly tender cubes of Filet Mignon are cooked with a subtly garlicky sauce and a few peppers and onions. It's pretty simple, but succeeds on the quality of the beef, and the flavorful sauce. There's lots more good stuff on this menu, but we had reached our limit, and will have to consign further explorations to future visits. But first, a jackfruit shake: and a classic Vietnamse Iced Coffee with condensed milk. Our original intent was to make it to Pojangmacha, The Irish Coffee Shop, Pica's and a few other landmarks of Upper Darby, but when confronting the limits of our appetites, we realized we couldn't do those places justice, so, we'll have to come back and fill-in the gaps on another trip. Even barely scratching the surface as we did, one has to marvel at the diversity of food available in this very compact area. I can't think of any blocks in any cities I've been to that offer Korean, Vietnamese, Mexican, Peruvian, Chinese and pan-SouthAmerican all within a few hundred yards of each other. And again, we kept ourselves well-fed and amused for over 7 hours without crossing a street. It's an amazing neighborhood. For you Center City dwellers, as well as those of you in other areas, it's an easy ride on the El, or any of several buses. Just about everything terminates at the 69th street terminal. All of these places are located about three blocks west of the terminal. Cross over to the south side of Market street, then go a few blocks west to Garret Road or Terminal Square, turn left, and you're there. It's worth a visit, even for just one of these places, don't feel obliged to hit ALL of them. Although, there are worse ways to spend a saturday....

this wired world is so great... I was totally set to go to DiFara this weekend, but thanks to this alert I won't go all the way out there for nothing. It looks like Dom will be out of commission, so the place will be closed, for at least a little while. Best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.

Try Cedar's on 2nd St just south of South.

Seriously great pics u.e. thanks for posting them.

I've had extensive conversations with Edward, the owner, about their soups, and I can guarantee there are no prefab broths at Little Saigon. Still, sorry you didn't like it. I've had that countless times and loved each bowl. I've found that particular soup to be superior to others in town, but I'd love to know where you get a better one.

don't feel bad, u.e. it apparently happens all the time... I'm glad I'd read the stories, or I'm sure I would have been wrestling with the blue door too!

I think that Urena has tolerated the insults about the garish, over-lit decor of his place, because he's waiting for a visit from one of the resident maniacs here on eGullet who would appreciate the extra light for taking pictures. But has anyone obliged? Nooooo.... If we just post some well-lit pics, he can finally turn the brightness down to a reasonable level.

I certainly trust BondGirl's report, but I have to admit that I'm shocked, just because both Morimoto and Starr have so much riding on this working, the chef's reputation in particular, that I'm just amazed that they'd let such disappointing food go out. And whatever one thinks of the Philly restaurant, THAT was not a complaint I heard much. It would be one thing if people didn't like the concept or the style, but it seems that perhaps with the exception of augieland's experiences at the omakase counter, we're seeing mostly reports of plain-old shoddy execution. And it surprises me that they'd let that happen. I was expecting some reviews opining that the food was not innovative enough, or too innovative, or cliché, or ill-concieved. But I really didn't expect to see people saying that it was poorly-done or that the ingredients weren't very good. I think there are plenty of valid reasons for people to like, or not like, the style of the food or the place as a whole, but again, I'm truly amazed to hear people report that the inherent quality and execution of the food is disappointing.

I feel ya SaxChic, I didn't ask for any changes in the heat, and the Guizhou I ordered on monday practically melted the serving spoon.... but man it was good!! Tuesday, I stir-fried an entire sweet onion, a bell pepper, and a carrot, added a little chicken broth, and then dumped in a small amount of leftover chicken, and it STILL smacked me around pretty good. It's really not a macho thing about how much heat I can tolerate, I really think it's a delicious dish as it is, and I'm happy to have it the way they think is best. But wow, it's right up to the edge of what I can handle. It's seriously sad news that Tifco's will likely be just a plain old Americanized Chinese place in the future, it was a real asset to Chester County. I get into Philly enough that I'll be at the Chef's new place in Chinatown just as often, but it was nice to have something that good out here. Don't know if I can make it out there tonight, but I'm glad I went on monday!

Nice article, Rich and Holly. Sorry if this is OT here, but Holly, why do you think hot dog stands are almost always mom-and-pop operations? Why aren't there big national chains of hot-dog restaurants? A couple of years ago, McDonalds offered a hotdog for a few months, but I've always been mystified why the fast food chains don't have hot dogs on the menus all the time.

As Jas said, the H-Mart is where woo rae kwan was, which is to say, on the west side of terminal square, just to the east of the trolley tracks. If you stepped out of the H-Mart, turned 5 degrees to the right, and threw that durian you just bought across the trolley tracks, you might hit Pojangmacha. If instead of tossing stinky fruit, you turned to your left, and then made a hard left at the Hello Kitty emporium on the corner, the next shop on the south-facing side of Terminal Square is Little Saigon. Next to that is a newish Mexican place. A few hundred feet down the block, and just barely around the corner to the left on the east-facing side of terminal Square is El Sol de Peru. A few more feet down that side of the block is Sabor Latino. One could eat one's self silly on that block without ever crossing the street, except to get to Pojangmacha. Which is exactly what we're going to try... (see ISO)

Welcome, Neuronix! Is El Rey Del Sol the one next to Tower, or the one across the street and down a little? What do you like to get there?

Got a few bites at Ansill tonight, and thoroughly enjoyed everything again. (My apologies, the pix are a little dicey, we were at a very dimly-lit table, but I gave it my best shot...) The Osso Buco "Sandwich" This was delicious, with tender, falling-apart shank meat over a slice of brioche, fully soaked with rich juices. This is definitely on the list to get again. And it's a charming continuum to keep osso buco on the menu, it was such a strong presence on the Judy's menu. Fingerling Potatoes Pretty straightforward, but very tasty. The vinegary sauce and no small amount of bacon, resulted in a dish that reminded me of my Grandmother's homemade german potato salad, (and I mean that as a high compliment.) Boar Belly I'm not sure I could distinguish this as Boar, as opposed to domestic pig, but it was every bit as satisfying as an earlier version I had here. The fat was not quite as rendered-out as it might be in a perfect world, but it's not as if that stopped me from totally digging this dish. As has been commented on many times in this thread, the pork is great, and both the mustardy sauce and the spaetzel are excellent reinforcements. Grilled Baby Octopus It wasn't this blurry in real life... I've had a lot of good grilled octopus, including transcendent versions at Amada recently, and of course the classic at Dimitri's. I'm somewhat surprised to say that Ansill's version is the best I've ever had, by a good margin. This was impossibly tender, with a smoky grilled edge to the flavor, and a slightly tangy twist from a gentle marinade. Perfect. The new standard. Chocolate Pain des Genes with vanilla lime sauce A very dense cocoa-almond cake was topped with a buttery ganache, and surrounded by an assertively tart lime sauce. I've always liked citrus and chocolate, but the slight nutty component of the cake bridged the flavors even more elegantly. Loved it. Ansill is really doing this style of food right, and this style of food feels like exactly the right thing at this point in history. Excellent ingredients, excellent execution, simple and flexible menu, it's just what I want these days... (eta) Service was also exactly right: friendly, funny, helpful, but not hovering. I'll be back soon.

I didn't need more of a prompt than that, and headed over with a friend tonight: fully nuclear versions of guizhou chicken and lamb with cumin, hottest I've ever had them, but still really tasty. I certainly wish the chef luck in Chinatown, and hope they find a worthy successor at Tifco's!

All this talk of Little Saigon made it impossible to resist those springrolls, so I got a couple orders to take-out. Tragically, we got there pretty late, and there had been an unexpected demand for regular spring rolls earlier in the evening, and they had run out, so we got the vegetarian version. And I was fine with that, they're almost as good as the ones made with ground pork. It's really all about the crackly, bubbly flaky, crispy wrappers that somehow end up less oily than most. Both fillings are tasty too, not the blah shreds of cabbage and noodles you end up with some places. We also ordered pork with curry sauce, and beef with lemongrass, both of which were even better than I had remembered, or maybe they're just better made with those meats than with the chicken I often order, for some reason... Sorry, they didn't look like much in their take-out containers, so I didn't bother with pix. Next time!

Also, I haven't made it in yet, so I'm not sure of this, but I think there's prepared food on the second level of the H-Mart, so you could get pretty stuffed just in that building...

Little Saigon makes the best spring rolls in the known universe. And some very fine soups too. Get the Hue soup if it's even a little bit cold out. Or hot out. Or raining. Or dry. Just get the Hue soup. They also have this beef cubes with garlic sauce thing that's really good... it's pretty solid, if not spectacular, in general. Some of the bigger places in Chinatown or Washington Ave might be stronger overall, but for a few things, Little Saigon rocks... Jeeze, i might have to go get springrolls now... I like Sabor Latino, it's got offerings from many countries south of the border, and the several I've tried have been good. There's also a little Peruvian Place (El Sol de Peru?) which is basic, homey, hearty, good stuff. James loves the little place across the street from the H Mart in the old White Castle, he can tell you what to get there. I used to like Xochimilco, but they moved, and changed names. I haven't been to what's there now. And I LOVED Alisa Cafe, but as noted above, it's long-gone. You can get some pretty darn good food in Upper Darby, just decide from what country...

those are some very helpful insights, well-stated. Thanks bigboss!

phungi, that's hilarious... the McCauliflower Milkshake concept has some real potential.... and we could get the kids to eat their vegetables!

I haven't worked the front of house for any fine-dining establishments, but having eaten in a few, I certainly would expect that management would deal with something that was disrupting my evening, not just throw up their hands and tell me it was my bad luck to come at that time... Are you really suggesting that if a baby is wailing at the top of its lungs, or some guy is singing at the top of his, or if some troubled teen is throwing silverware at me, that I really shouldn't expect that my waiter or the maitre d' might do something to stop it? Whether it's a loud and drunken adult, or a screaming baby, or a homeless person asking for money (yes, i've seen this in a restaurant) it's really incumbent upon the staff to make sure nothing is annoying the customers. Of course I can understand that the situation described is a dicey one, but still, a skilled manager ought to be able to smooth that out somehow. And as to whether the specific table was a problem, that wasn't really the main thrust of the complaint. It would likely not have risen to the level of a formal complaint of that table was not also in close proximity to the decidedly NOT closed-off private dining area. I'd think that Chef Lacroix and/or managers would be interested to know that a patron found that table to be unpleasant. All that said, I think for a few different reasons, a letter, sent through the US Mail, would have more weight, and would be more likely to be read, and responded to, than a fax.

Welcome matthewj, thanks for joining the discussion, and we'll certainly appreciate any insight you can give. And it's good to know bigboss was indeed referring to this incident as well as the Lacroix brunch, I couldn't tell for sure... We're not asking either of you to violate confidences, but anything you can add to this (and other threads) will be much appreciated. Again, welcome to you both.

not a chance

They're very accommodating there, and I doubt they'd insist on a whole table doing the tasting menu, but I think you'd have a logistical problem doing a tasting if your friends are ordering a la carte. The time I did a tasting menu there, it took a LONG time, and a table next to us was seated midway through our meal, had apps and entrees and left well before we were done. You'd probably end up with rather bored friends, so I think Doc has the right idea, order some stuff off the a la carte menu, and if there's something you're eager to try from the tasting menu, ask about it, you could probably get it. You'll still get to experience some interesting cooking. But Bryan's right too, the tasting menu is way more fun, if there's any way to talk your friends into it.