philadining

I might just be too easy-going for my own good, but I encounter really strange service in little places like this so often that it rarely bothers me. It doesn't seem to be specific to any type of cuisine or national origin, it's more a factor of independent, small, casual restaurants being the kind of places that'll hire some kid because he's somebody's son, or neighbor or a friend of a friend... And sure, sometimes those guys are clueless, and sometimes they're downright maddening, but you know, it's just part of the deal at little family-run places. I choose not to let it get to me, unless the servers are actively pouring hot soup all over me or calling me names. I've honestly had good service at Tifco's more often than bad, but it's just not the kind of place that's going to have super-slick ultra-professional service. Ever. And if that's going to annoy people, we probably shouldn't descend upon them en mass and set up the afore-mentioned donnybrook! But if we can be a little chill and just realize that they're a place that just gets the food on the table, I'll bet we could have a good time. And dangerous too!.

Yes and No... they've got the space, the manager's cool, I'll bet we could set something up. BUT! As Katie's and the Flavor Flav's (and my) experiences demonstrate, it puts the D back in DDC. They could tone it down, which sort of negates the reason for going there, but much of the food is freaking seriously spicy. I actually like it like that, as have others here, but it's just too much for some folks. Of course, we could probably design a banquet-ish thing with a range of heat. Any other opinions?

Yep, Trader Joe's in Devon has the wasabi peanuts too. No cashews though.

We've had some very good coffee at Majolica that was roasted locally by Kimberton Coffee Roasters

I found the folks at WD-50 to be very willing to switch things around, quite readily and pleasantly making substitutions to avoid food allergy problems, etc. So I'll bet they'd be happy to work with you. In your position, I might contemplate the nature of some of the cooking processes: the fried mayo has already been mentioned; the very nature of sous-vide holds foods at lower temps for extended periods; I had a piece of fish cooked in a pan, but a very low temp, etc... None of that made me worried about my own health, and I'm quite sure these techniques are executed with care and with good attention to food safety, but in the particular circumstance of a pregnant woman being extra careful, it's worth contemplating. Again, I found the staff to be very gracious and accommodating, I'm sure a phone call could answer many questions. But I'm not sure there's a bulletin issued from the Weird Techniques in the Kitchen Society pertaining to the propriety of any of these preparations for pregnant women. I don't know whether sous-vide and other low-temp cookery should be a concern. But it's worth thinking about.

I would argue again that BYOBs are not merely pearls formed by an irritated oyster. There are BYOBs in areas free from state-run liquor authorities. Getting a liquor license is an expensive and/or cumbersome process almost anywhere. There were BYOBs in years past, but in the last several years, the BYOB scene in Philly has really taken off. I would suggest that that particular recent popularity has little to do the PLCB. And sure, we can debate the merits of the State controlling anything, but that's neither here nor there in this particular argument. The PLCB exists. It's not going anywhere anytime soon. Given that, what do we think about the BYOB scene? Did you really feel that Green's message in "Say Goodbye to the BYOB" was that it's all good? Does her line “They represent the entirely wrong direction for our city’s culinary future” convey feelings that they are a lovely, valued part of our big happy mosaic? It's an old journalistic trick to say something that boldly defies the conventional wisdom, in fact Philly Mag features a column called "the Contrarian" that does that pretty much every month. That doesn't mean they are pandering to advertisers, they're just provoking a debate. There's really nothing too scandalous about that, it's standard operating procedure at even the most respected publications. It's a means to make a point. It's really much less interesting to read a piece that hedges and equivocates and goes to great lengths to be extra-sensitive to everyone's feelings. And then we agree and disagree in conversations over the water cooler, and here. Voila! the article has done what it was meant to!

I don't think anybody's pushing for more state control. Like it or not, there seems to be little indication that the PLCB is going away anytime soon, despite active lobbying from interests much stronger than the refined-dining bloc. There have been restrictive liquor laws in PA for, like, ever. There have been BYOBs in Philly for quite some time, the baseline conditions in PA have been the same for years. OK, the market price of liquor licenses has skyrocketed, but not through any change in policy by the PLCB. There are lots of BYOBs serving excellent food in New Jersey, far from the death-grip of state controlled wine sales. It seems to be that the recent flowering of the scene has been spurred by something else. Most of the new BYOBs are neighborhood places, catering to neighborhood people, generating loyal regulars and only on occasion generating the kind of buzz that draws masses of tourists. So talking about whether the BYOB status of a 30 seat restaurant is convenient to out-of-town visitors is somewhat moot. Those places live and die based on local, regular traffic. I doubt anyone's going to argue against having choice, but a restaurant having a liquor license removes one of my choices: to simply enjoy an inexpensive wine from my own collection. Even the kindest corkage fees make that kind of thing ludicrous. Sure, a well-thought-out wine and drink selection can be an added pleasure, but I can say from my own experience that I've discovered more new wines, drunk more interesting varieties, and just generally drunk more wine, by several orders of magnitude, at BYOBs than at restaurants with extensive wine lists. Personally I would like to continue that pattern. Wine carriers that hold two or three bottles are neither expensive nor cumbersome, it's not difficult to bring a few bottles along to a BYOB so as to have some alternatives when ordering, or to enjoy a variety over the course of the meal. I have on more than one occasion opened, 2, 3, 4 bottles of wine over the course of a dinner for two, leaving a good portion of it for the staff. That might seem excessive, except that it STILL cost me less than a single bottle at Striped Bass. As already mentioned, it's sadly not unusual to see 3 and 4 fold mark-ups on wine lists around here. Sorry, for me that doesn't provide me with more choice, an opportunity to have a sparkler to start, a glass of white with apps and a more robust red later in the meal. It provides me with an occasion to jealously ration the precious sips of the glass or two I can afford. These days there are loads of excellent bargains at the PLCB stores, and the really savvy wine shoppers are coming FROM New Jersey and Delaware to check out the Chariman's Selections. But that's another topic... As others have already noted, it's not a black and white issue: BYOBs aren't stunting the local restaurant scene, but at the same time, many of us are welcoming the small chef-driven places with a similar aesthetic that DO serve drinks, like Gayle, Ansill, and Southwark. And I'd agree that the BYOBs are driving some of that creativity and also putting pressure on those smaller places to keep wine prices under control. It's not necessarily cynical calculation or pandering to advertisers that inspires someone write or publish a controversial article. It's a more entertaining read to have someone state a bold thesis, even if you disagree with it. It got us talking didn't it?!? I don't happen to think that BYOBs are a dead end for the Philly dining scene. I suspect that they will continue to be an interesting and stimulating aspect of the larger picture. But at the same time, it's worth discussing...

Yeah, Adam, I totally understand your decision to just call it a night, if you're going to drop the kind of money that you end up spending at Morimoto, you shouldn't be exiled to a cement gulag while you're doing it. I'm glad to hear that the staff was at least somewhat sympathetic and tried to smooth it out, but again, I can't blame you for not wanting to wait around. I look forward to your eventual report...

I'm happy to say that dinner at Tifco's last night was solidly good all the way around. Service was friendly and helpful, they automatically brought bowls and spoons for soup-sharing, and there was no rushing us out the door... We tried the first soup on the Chinese menu, which our handy translation menu called tomato soup with egg drop or pork. What we got was both: a very nice, mild, but rich soup, featuring a slightly creamy stock in which were floating pieces of tomato, strings of egg, and large shreds of pork. Very comforting on a cold night, and a HUGE portion for $5.95, it could easily serve four. Not the most exciting soup in the world, but very tasty, hearty and satisfying. We also ordered the double-cooked pork (#47) which was excellent, as always. Thick slices of pork belly are braised, then fried, with scallions, ginger, garlic and a bit of hot pepper. It's a little spicy but not over-the-top, it's mostly just nice salty, crispy, fatty, porky goodness! We took a chance on #44 which is untranslated on the in-house menu, but described as "sliced chicken with special sauce" on our menu, courtesy of Eastlake... This was a very elegant dish, but mild in every way. It featured very tender, wide slices of chicken breast, large, flavorful black mushroom caps, and a subtle, velvety, light sauce. Some might find this a little dull, and I'm not sure it's on the top of my list of things to get again, but it was an excellent version of this kind of dish, with a luxurious texture and quiet, but pleasant flavors of mushroom and chicken. Again, loads of food, filled two of us up and left plenty to take home, $30. Next time, we try more soups!

I'll concur with the others, in short: yes. For the sake of limiting the variables, I'll just talk about eggs at StudioKitchen - I've had regular poached eggs several times, and the "hot spring" eggs twice. The hot spring eggs were just something different altogether from the poached eggs. As already noted by Bryan and others, the texture is very different, and the flavor is much more pronounced, although that could be somewhat due to the eggs themselves. Bryan noted trouble getting the eggs out of their shells cleanly, but I happened to be watching Shola do about 16 of them over the course of a couple of dinners, and only one gave him trouble... the rest just slid right out. I wonder what the secret is? I'm not sure it's worth buying a water bath just to do eggs, but if you have one, it gives a pretty impressive result.

I'm voting with mod*betty for the Charcoal Pit. I grabbed a cheeseburger and a black and white shake about a week ago, and it was just perfect. OK, it's stretching things a little to call that Philadelphia, but hey...

Tria was featuring a Torrentes from Argentina as an inexpensive by-the-glass special a couple of weeks ago, and it was really quite nice. I meant to make a note of the details, but failed to. I wonder if it was that Crios de Susanna... In any case, I agree wholeheartedly that this is a grape worth keeping an eye out for. I could picture it going nicely with Tifco's Szechuan food. (Although some of that foam they spray on the runways during plane crashes might be handy too...)

Ever wonder how one might get such a lovely spiral of sauce on a plate? Does your microwave have a little wheeled turntable mechanism you can borrow for a few minutes? I think I could do that. But making that sauce out of something interesting, and whipping up something tasty to put on top of it, that's more of a challenge...

Maybe it's a college-area thing, many of the pizza joints around Penn are Greek. They're often, but not always, identifiable by the word "style" in the name, or somewhere on the sign... I probably would have starved in college if it weren't for philly's Greek-style pizza, so I'm not knocking it, but given a choice, I prefer the less-dense, less oily pizzas than are typically found at those places.

Yikes! I think you're going to get some arguments from the New Haveners...

Many of the soups at Studio Kitchen contain hidden treasures, and that was certainly the case with the: Parsley Root Soup Pink Grapefruit Salad, Melted Scallions Candied Pecans Sorrento Lemon Oil here's what it looked like before adding the creamy soup: and here's the finished product, in progress: Again, immensely entertaining to watch, even more fulfilling to eat!

Those of us lucky enough to eat at StudioKitchen often talk about how the experience is made even more special by the interaction with the chef, by being able to observe some of the techniques employed in making the food we're eating and learn about the inspirations and concepts behind them. Here's a taste: One of the highlights of our recent meal was an amazing egg preparation, inspired to a degree by the Shirred Eggs with truffle and Foie Gras Shola had enjoyed at the new Philadelphia restaurant Ansill. Not surprisingly, he put his own spin on it! His version: Hot Spring Egg Unagi Kabayaki, Preserved Nameko Mushrooms Roasted Foie Gras, Sancho “Blis” Maple Vinaigrette If you don't happen to have a natural hot spring in which to submerge your eggs, you could use a finely-calibrated laboratory water bath: Exactly 63.8 Celsius for about an hour will produce a beautifully poached egg, still in its shell, all you need to do is carefully crack it! It doesn't hurt to start with excellent eggs, from hormone-free, cage-free, free range chickens. We didn't witness all of the background prep, but final assembly started with a piece of grilled Unagi: Add a piece of roasted foie gras: very gently crack those slow-poached eggs into a separate bowl and then spoon them alongside the unagi and foie: Make a simple vinaigrette using maple syrup that has been aged in bourbon barrels: Inject that maple flavoring into the eggs: Add some mushrooms: and you're done! Watching it go together was almost as interesting as eating it. Wait, no it wasn't, eating it was WAY better...

StudioKitchen February 23, 2006 Maguro, Yuzu Kosho, Sorrento Lemon Oil, Takikomi Wakame Shime Saba, Granny Smith Apple, Blood Orange Oil, Radish Hamachi Belly Tataki, Preserved Lemon, Ponzo Froth Blue Moon Acres Mezza Arugula Three fresh and intense, fairly traditional Japanese preparations: the maguro was all luxurious tender tuna goodness, brightened with a snap of citrus and a little marine saltiness; the strong mackerel was perfectly balanced with the sweetness and crunch of apple; the star of the dish was the Hamachi, a decadently fatty belly cut, just barely seared to give that dark-sweet edge of caramelization, and perked up with the citrus saltiness of ponzu. And OK, maybe the arugula was mostly filling space in the 4th hole, but it was a nice cleansing accent! Smoked Salmon and Dill Truffle - Egg Chiboust Chlorophyll Sauce Wild Maple Cured Steelhead Roe Simple smoked salmon, rolled with a dill-impregnated crepe, contrasted beautifully with the creamy, airy egg salad, which carried the subtle, but unmistakable aura of truffles. And that maple-cured roe... that's just amazing stuff: sweet, salty, springy, practically self-luminescent... Parsley Root Soup Pink Grapefruit Salad, Melted Scallions Candied Pecans Sorrento Lemon Oil This is pretty much the same as was in the little shotglass from tuesday, and I was thrilled to have a bit more to taste. I don't think I'd had parsley root before this week, but after tasting it I don't know why it's not more common. It made a delicious, earthy soup, not too different from turnips or heck, even potatoes. But that sharp, sour snap from the grapefruits, the sweet crunch of the candied pecan, the light aroma of the lemon oil, all conspired to lift this above mere comfort. Australian Barramundi Brandade Croquette Nicoise Condiment Lobster Piperade Jus The light sea-bass-ish barramundi had a nice crust on it, and was accented beautifully by the relish of olives, capers and other strong mediterranean flavors, as well as the intense jus. But I almost forgot about the rest of the dish when biting into the airy, crunchy, perfect mcnugget of salt cod and potato, crusted with croissant crumbs. Whoa, that was good! Our menus accidentally carried the brainstorming-note Shola had written when planning the dish: "appropriately salty brandade" and indeed it was just right, with an unapologetic fish presence, but not too much... Hot Spring Egg Unagi Kabayaki, Preserved Nameko Mushrooms Roasted Foie Gras, Sancho “Blis” Maple Vinaigrette The amazing texture of the just-barely set egg, injected with maple and a touch of vinegar to restrain the sweetness would have been enough. But if you can have it with roasted foie, and grilled unagi, it's even better! Peanut Scented Rolled Cap of Mishima Ribeye Caesar Salad Stew Condensed Madiera Jus Gratuitous Vegetables, Gratuitously Stacked Any sous-vide skeptics just need to try this dish. That slow, long cooking concentrated the beefiness of the meat, and softened, but did not lose, the decadent marbling of this incredibly tender, juicy meat. A quick sear on the outside gave that charred complexity, while leaving the bulk of the meat at an ideal medium rare. Perched atop some braised lettuce, strong with the flavors of a caesar salad, drizzled with a dark wine sauce, this would knock them dead even at a mainstream steakhouse. The texture and flavor of that meat was just mind-blowing. We got a good laugh out of the next accidentally-included menu prose: "gratuitous veg." And maybe they were beside the point, but the tender discs of carrot, zucchini and tomato made good companions to the beef. Ginger Scented Peaches Crystallized Orange Sweet Fennel Compote Cauliflower Ice Cream Elderflower Syrup Shola's been riffing on the cauliflower ice cream thing, and it's different every time. In this incarnation, that earthy vegetal edge, in concert with the uncooked, but softened fennel compote, served to counter the sweetness of the Peach purée and the crunchy orange disc in a way that balanced just perfectly. Yet another unlikely, but very tasty combination. It's very interesting to experience the different expressions of similar ingredients, and even small tweaks create a whole new thing... I'd be perfectly happy to eat some of these things over and over, but entertained that I never have, it's always a novel experience, and a delicious one! As always, big thanks to the folks around the table for the good company and sharing fabulous wines. And thanks to Shola, again, for yet another revelatory experience!

Many of the folks at Pagoda, including the chef, used to be at Sang Kee, and so, yes, I agree with Tarte Tatin that the soups there rock. As they still do at Sang Kee in Chinatown (and I'd presume out in Wynnewood, although I haven't made it there.) My fave is the Roast Pork egg-noodle soup. Also in Chinatown, Nan Zhou's hand-pulled noodle soups are just great. The broths are good, if not spectacular, but the fresh noodles transcend anything, I'd probably eat them in a bowl of hot water. And I'll thank Katie for her recommendation of Lee How Fook for Hot and Sour Soup. Almost any soup at North Third is great. They change all the time. Skip the French Onion. Love the escarole soup at Marra's. Little Saigon in Upper Darby has the expected Pho, which is decent, but the real star is the spicy beef Hue Soup. Even their simple pork wonton soup has an incredibly complex, elegant broth. The Chicken Lemongrass soup at Nan is the most refined, perfect version of Tom Yum Kai you could ever ask for. (of course "SoupKitchen" has all my all-time favorite soups, but it's tough to get a table, and you can't order take-out...)

Nice, if slightly odd review of Ansill in The Daily News. The review itself is one of those "we don't really know anything about this, but..." pieces. It makes one wonder if there will ever be a new restaurant reviewer there, or if they'll just get some staffer to write one now and then? (Apparently the former reviewer, Sono Motoyama, is still doing some food writing, we might see something of eG interest soon...)

Sadly, there's not too much insipiring pizza in and around Phoenixville, I end up going to Sal's Pizza Box out of pure convenience, and every once in a while they accidentally make an incredibly good pizza, but most of the time, it's merely OK. Up the road in Collegeville, there's a little family-run place called Marzella's that makes really good pizza. It's hard to put my finger on what's good about it, it's just very tasty... Marzella's Pizza: on the corner of 5th Ave & Main St, Collegeville, PA 19426 (610) 489-4946 As for the bigger topic you bring up: we've had some discussions here in the past about Philadelphia pizza, and while I personally maintain that there isn't a specific, distinctive "Philly Style" pizza, the good stuff downtown certainly has in common a good, flavorful thin-ish crust, probably more flavorful than NY style, although maybe not quite as thin and crispy. Tacconelli's pizza is legendary in the area, and worth the haul a bit north of Center City, and worth the extra trouble of calling a day ahead to "reserve your dough". In south Philly, many are fond of Marra's (including me) and I think it has some of that distinctive philly taste. Search around the philly board a bit, there have been a few discussions of this before, as you might imagine!

One of my favorite winter lunches when I lived downtown was to go to Sang Kee and get a big bowl of roast pork noodle soup. That's it. Long tangly egg noodles, really great roast pork and an intense broth: it would hold me all day. About $5. But almost anything mentioned upthread would make for a good lunch and not be too pricey.

Ahhh, jas, thanks for the reality check, I don't know if the price was just getting higher every time it got repeated, or if the all-in with extras was being used as a baseline. In any case friends that went last weekend ended up spending about $100 per person, including everything, tax, tip, drinks, who knows maybe some foie? I'll try to get details, I doubt they went nuts on the booze. Anyway, back to the original predicament: what's this crowd of 9 like? Will they want to do a fancy brunch, or is more down-home OK? Are they really picky eaters (because for instance, Carman only has a few things to choose from, and you'll be getting those the way she makes them. Which, by the way, is the right way, but folks that like to change every little thing about what they order could get slapped with a hot spatula.) And what do you mean by kid-friendly? Is it a really little baby who's likely to be sleeping? Just about anywhere will be fairly mellow at sunday brunch, but if the child is likely to be fussy or loud, or older and wanting to run around, many of these spots would be out... I see parents with kids in North 3rd with some regularity, they too have a good brunch, it's not too different a vibe from Standard Tap, and only a couple blocks away. It too can be crowded, but if you go early, you can beat the hung-over hipsters in. Good basic gastropub food, funky bohemian arty vibe. norththird.com I don't see any indication on their website that ElVez does brunch, so I wouldn't plan on that. Jones would be fine with a kid of any age. Jones would probably be fun, but it's only a block or so from Independence Hall and all that touristy stuff, so it can get busy. Again, call ahead... 215-223-5663. They say they don't take reservations, but they might be able to tell you somethng about your chances... I think Rx would be good, it's certainly a bit mellower. Call them and see if you can get a table for 9 (unless Greg chimes in first!) 215-222-9590. It's out in West Philly, near the University of Pennsylvania. I think all of the South Philly Places: Carman's, Morning Glory and Sabrina's are all a bit small and cramped for your group. And Herb's right that our Dim Sum isn't in a league with Toronto, if you get there much, but it's fun and usually easy to do with a large group.

As our trusty wine scribe organizes his notes, I added some commentary to the original post, if you're amused by futile attempts to capture the essence of these foods in words...

El Vez: I don't think I knew they did sunday brunch, but if so they could probably handle that size party if you reserved, like... now! Standard Tap: I've actually done brunch with 9 people down there, and we just walked in, but I feel like we got incredibly lucky. It's often a struggle to find a table for two... I don't think they take reservations. Good brunch though. Carman's Country Kitchen: it's indeed very small, so you'd probably have to split up, and just out of practicality, you aren't going to get all 9 plates at the same time, it's just Carman cooking. Great food, but hard to negotiate as a large crowd. If they're not ready for you, there's no where to wait, except out on the sidewalk, etc... If you were thinking of going you MUST call that morning (not before) and reserve a space 215-339-9613. You could always call on thurs or friday and just see if she thought it was a good idea. La Croix: Indeed very expensive. Probably one of the most luxurious brunches you'll encounter, but you pay for that. I think it's $65 per person for the whole deal, but no drinks... some friends went this past weekend and spent $100 each. Jones: it's pretty basic, but they could handle your group, it's pretty fun and not crazy expensive (unless you order lots of drinks). Nothing amazing, but I've had brunch there and liked it. Rx: I had a very nice brunch there not long ago, it's also small-ish, not as small as Carman's but it can be crowded on the weekends. But you could probably make a reservation. They have a pretty broad menu, so this is a strong contender. Does geography make any difference? Trying to coordinate the movements of 9 people can be a challenge in and of itself, so is there a part of town that's easier to deal with? Have you thought about Dim Sum? 9 people is easy almost anywhere...