philadining

Shola's booked up all weekends for the entire summer, he still has some days open during the week. So do not despair, there's still a chance, you should be able to book a weekday. Or just keep an eye on that ISO thread, like every 3 minutes or so!

It is indeed a bit softer than the ideal deli rye, and seedless, which I'll agree is sad. But it was sliced just thick enough, and the sandwich was juicy, but not drippy, so it held up just fine. It's not my favorite bread, but the sandwich as a whole overcame that.

I'm 99.9% sure they're dinner-only.

I just realized that I skipped a wine in my descriptions of our recent dinner...DON'T TELL KATIE.... jeeze, I'm going to be in trouble if she finds out I was drinking the Riesling with the Halibut. She'd actually picked the Riesling to go with the scallops and the foie gras ravioli, which it complimented quite nicely. We had a very dry rosé to go with the Halibut, and I liked that too, but just between you and me, I ended up going back to the Riesling with the Halibut. Each wine actually matched well in very different ways, nicely underlining the idea that there's no one answer. Nonetheless, she's going to be pissed if she realizes I snubbed her rosé. So don't tell Katie....

Thai Iced Tea was a very accurate representation of the beverage, but it seemed little thin, or something, I tired of it... Wildflower honey was so good that as I walked out with a cup of it, I was chased down Sansom Street by Heffalumps. Small price to pay.

It's right around the corner from me, but I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't made it over there yet. Although I can't vouch for the quality personally (yet) I did read a couple of things that made it sound interesting: Katherine Quillman in the Inquirer The Artful Diner I'll post here if I go, please do the same if you do!

Stopped by Famous Deli today, and must agree with some previous comments that it seems like a whole new place. It actually looks much the same, but gleamingly clean, with very friendly, almost over-attentive service. As I sat down, they brought a carafe of seltzer, a nice onion roll, and later a plate of pickles containing two old sours and two new half-sours. I ordered a "regular" brisket sandwich, for 9 bucks. It was so big I could barely get it in my mouth: (there's actually a bigger size for three more bucks, "the Zaftig") It was very delicious, warm, flaking-apart brisket on good rye bread, fine on its own, better with a little touch of horseradish. I still like the cold, thinner-sliced style like at Koch's, but this was every bit as good, certainly juicier and more tender. Other sandwiches going by looked great as well, and just as insanely large. I ordered potato pancakes as the one side order included with the sandwich, which were almost spherical, just slightly smooshed toward disc-ness, with a good crunch and tender, smooth interiors. I loved them. They also brought a complimentary small sample of matzoh ball soup, one tiny dumpling floating in a clear and subtle chicken broth. I'd get it on a cold day. As reported before, a Famous Chocolate Chip Cookie came with the bill. I have to admit that I'd stopped going to Famous, but I'd gone many times years ago, and this incarnation seems orders of magnitude better. And their decision to stay open until 9pm seven days a week is grounds for celebration. I'm of two minds about the gigantic portions, they're actually fairly priced for what you get, but I could actually do with a bit less. I'm ashamed to say that tonight, I sat there and slowly, methodically ate that thing... it was just so good!

LaBan gives Bookbinder's a One-Bell "Hit or Miss" review in the June 12 Inky. It's a surprisingly upbeat, hopeful review for that rating, and represents an upgrade from his no-bell review of the Old Original. He even hints at a possible bump up to two-bells in the future. Review should be on-line within a few days. He did have positive things to say about several offerings, but not what one might expect. Surprisingly, he didn't like the Snapper Soup, or the Lobster, or the Strawberry Shortcake, so according to him at least, the old reliables are not so reliable....

Great pics Percy! Thanks for integrating the words and images together, that works much better.

OK, here's my play-by-play, please forgive the rhapsodic waxing, it's easy to get carried away..... The Studio Kitchen experience, and Shola, our favorite Ronin chef, might just be reason enough to be proud of Philadelphia’s food scene. If every other place in town gave up and started serving Stouffer’s Lean Cuisine, I might still think Philly was a good food town if I were able to get to Studio Kitchen now and then. Once again, everything on all the plates was interesting, artful, and most importantly, delicious. And Katie’s wine pairings made everything even more enjoyable. I’m sure she’ll give some more details about the specific wines than I’m able to recall. We started with an amuse of Tomatoes and Mozzarella. These were tiny, chilled balls of sweet tomato-ness, soaking in an equally intense cool tomato broth, a just barely solid ooze of fresh mozz draping itself over the top. This had all the flavors of that summer classic, the Caprese Salad, but cross-pollinated with a sorbet, the coolness only amplifying the vivid flavors. Chilled Cucumber Buttermilk Soup Smoked Salmon, Avocado and Pickled Fruits Young Sorrel Leaves, Tarragon Infusion Another light, fresh, summery dish, a perfect antidote for the oppressively hot day. Smooth, rich, refreshing soup was poured around a timbale of tender, lightly smoked salmon. Hidden within the fish were little nuggets of avocado and pickled mango. The fattiness of the salmon and avocado gave this a mouthfeel similar to the now ubiquitous tuna tartare, but the smoke and light salt of the fish gave it an increased depth, and made it an appropriate foil for the cucumber. The tarragon oil drizzled around the edges of the soup evoked even more spring garden freshness. A glass of dry, sparkling Riesling made a nice companion, blending well with both the sweetness and salt. Roasted Dayboat Scallop with Porcini Crust PX – Truffle Glaze Foie Gras Ravioli Pickled White Asparagus Porcini Emulsion A simply-roasted scrupulously-fresh scallop with a light dusting of mushroom, that alone would have been pretty satisfying, but the intense glaze of Pedro Ximenez vinegar infused with truffle kicked it up into a higher orbit. Foie Gras was lightened a bit with a mousse of chicken, then encased in a tender ravioli, for a rich, but not over-rich, indulgence. A single stalk of white asparagus, pickled in a light rice vinegar, fenced-off the upper regions of the plate from attack by an aggressive stripe of watercress-tarragon puree. Halibut Roasted with Sansho Olive Oil Poached Tomatoes Lop Chong and Dungeness Crab Broth Shaved Thai Long pepper This just smelled so good, I could have forgone eating it and gone home happy! The allspice-like perfume of the dried Thai Long pepper gave the broth the aroma and taste of an ideal Pho. But instead of a nest of noodles and thin-sliced meats, we found a tender halibut filet, with nicely crunchy roasted corners, a little kick from the sancho pepper. Beside it was a squash blossom stuffed with the Lop Chong sausage and Crab that had given their flavors to the broth as well. I could eat this every day and never tire of it. A sweeter Riesling had been selected to combat what we had thought might be hot peppers, but it ended up being a nice partner for the different spice we encountered. Wagyu Beef Cooked 4 Ways Roasted Hanger Steak with Cocoa Nib-Star Anise Salt, Banyuls Vinaigrette Chuck Bolognese and Pine Nut Ravioli Braised Cheek on Almond Cauliflower Fondant, Rainwater Madiera Jus Oxtail and Potato Croquette It’s hard to pick a favorite among these very different preparations. The hanger steak had a pure, meaty intensity with a pleasantly chewy texture, given an extra edge from the dark flavors of the cocoa nib and star anise, and sweet vinaigrette. Chuck Bolognese (doesn’t he run a little pasta joint down near the Italian Market?) made for a lovely ravioli filling, and that oxtail and potato croquette could become a dangerous addiction, I mean, deep-fried beef, what could be better than that? But I think the braised cheek got me, that deep flavor and falling-apart tenderness, paired with the comforting cauliflower puree, was homey yet elegant at the same time. No, wait, the pure beefy hedonism of the hanger steak wins. But then, the croquette had that nice crunch and hearty filling. And the ravioli rocked.... What a dilemma! I wonder if we can talk him into cooking it again to really decide? I doubt it… A glass of Gigondas tied in with all the flavors nicely, although in retrospect, these preparations probably could have handled an even bigger, more aggressive red, but I’m not complaining. Plus, I got to say “Gigondas” out loud at least 4 or 5 times, and even threw in a “Guigal Gigondas” once or twice, which always makes my day. Next was a lovely cheese course, each cheese inherently good, but then improved by artful accompaniments. We had an Etorki, interleaved with fruity Membrillo; a creamy Rochetta drizzled with an assertive lemon oil, a pickled grape providing yet another twist; a Bleu de Gex, layered with “Pear Mustard” a preserved fruit I had not encountered before, which was perfect with the strong bleu; and a Caprino bathed in a truffle oil. This is what a cheese course ought to be, several distinctive cheeses, made even more enjoyable by careful accompaniments. I have nothing against letting good cheese speak for itself, but these condiments were more than complimentary. Caramelized Banana and Cocoa Nib St Nizier Chocolate Coffee Sorbet Butterscotch Foam Candied Puffed Rice. This dessert literally had people smiling and laughing out loud. And indeed there was something buoyantly joyous about it, the sweet crunch of the puffed rice playing against the paradoxically airy butterscotch, new layers of flavors revealing themselves as one dug deeper, eliciting another laugh, or moan of delight as one hit the sorbet, or a chunk of banana, or the dense cakiness of the St Nizer, another flavor and texture washing over the palate. An incredibly thick, rich Sherry matched nicely with both the cheese and the dessert. And we managed to empty a bottle of Muscat just for the sake of overindulgence. And so once again, Shola managed to amaze and delight us, with each aspect of each dish distinct yet harmonious, novel without being bizarre, delightful without being silly. This was an experience that’s going to rank as one of the best meals I’ve had anywhere, and even more as one of the nicest evenings, thanks to the excellent food, and wine, and company. It was especially nice to meet some eGullet folks for the first time, as well as to spend some more time with folks I’d met previously, and to catch up with old friends as well, all in the context of sharing such a spectacular meal. When are we going back?!?!

Well, the newest member of our crew has outdone us all and managed to document our evening already! We'll work on luring him over to eGullet proper, but for now he has some nice pics posted on his own webspace here. Nice work Scott! Watch this topic for some more pics, more reactions and details about the food and wine soon, as we recover.....

Well, even my obsessive self is too tired and satisfied and awash in culinary afterglow to go into detail about our Studio Kitchen dinner right now, but in short, Shola continues to amaze. Once again, every bit of dinner was both delicious and intriguing, challenging but not weird. Once again we had lovely wine pairings overseen by our own queen of the quaffable, Katie. And an important contributing element to the experience was the company: meeting new friends and reuniting with old ones, putting a face to an eGullet login, and of course Shola's engaging presence. Thanks to everybody who attended, and helped make it a memorable night. I hope we'll do it again soon! This dinner was pretty well documented, with photos from every angle, so we'll tease you with detailed, illustrated descriptions soon. (And yes, we did give Shola grief about being slow to answer his email, but he made a convincing argument that he's just swamped with work, so be patient, he really will try to get back to everybody as soon as he can!)

"Sushi Revolution" is really good...

patience, grasshopper... it will rain when it rains. Have faith, it probably just means he's busy.

You'll have to forgive Andrew's nitpickiness, in school he was frequently scolded for being assonant, and it's developed into a real complex. But seriously, Paul, I don't mean to bang on your choice of Sushi Nation, I can understand wanting to resist the techno cliche of Japanese culture, and I'm sure you have a bigger concept, and it might work out fine. But this recent linguistic silliness does bring up some interesting subtle aspects of marketing. Spoken, "Sushi Nation" does have that nice consonance (take that, il Fentoni!) of the repeated "sh" but it doesn't really flow trippingly off the tongue, tending more to elision into "Sushination" (which sounds like a medical term for some sort of primitive neurosurgery.) And it doesn't really contract well, "Wanna meet me at the Nation?" doesn't quite have the same ring as "See you at the Satellite..." And that word "nation" just has a bit of a herd-mentality connotation, "Fast Food Nation" and "Prozac Nation" used that term to indict our conformity. And it tends to evoke "nationalism" which feels more exclusionary than patriotic... You could make that name work, but I just think you have an uphill battle against some unconscious imagery and linguistic shortcomings. So, just think hard before you print up the menus!

That name has a really nice sound to it, but I think it would require electromagnetic plates to really get the appropriate speed down the track! And trying to grab that piece of yellowtail as it rockets by might get tricky...

I'll second that! I got goosebumps just reading about them...

The lure of those spicy dumplings dragged me back into the Szechuan Tasty house with a couple of friends. Before we could even get those, a complimentary plate of cold, thinly-sliced, something, (they insisted it was kidney, but didn't really taste like that) and tripe, with a spicy oil was brought to the table. You don't see this at most places in town! It was pretty mild-flavored, but good, and with interesting contrasting textures, a nice way to start the meal. Dumplings in a spicy sauce, of course. Really delicious, but inherently greasy, so the oil-sensitive might skip this. Everybody else should have it! They're only medium-spicy, and a little sweet. Cold sliced chicken in spicy sauce: a really nice rendition of this, a little less firey than the version at Tifco's out in Exton, or Grand Sichuan in NY, but still had a nice deep flavor. Three-pepper chicken: small chunks of meat, stir-fried with ground pepper, dry chilis, and lots of fresh green chilis, no additional sauce. This too was only moderately spicy overall, but some of the fresh chilis had a serious kick. We all liked this a lot. I reminded me of the Chili chicken I'd had in Nepalese restaurants. Szechuan Beef: very good, but not too different from what you'd get anywhere. Golden Coins: discs of Chinese eggplant, stuffed with ground pork and deep-fried tempura style. Nice crunch, and tender inside, even better with the hearty dipping sauce. They printed new menus, but the majority of dishes are still a little conventional. There's some good stuff here, though, just ask what's good. We did, and we got steered to some really tasty food. They said they're planning to offer set dinners for 4, 6 or 8, with a wide variety of szechuan dishes for really reasonable prices, less than $10 per person, which should be a great way to get an overview of the cuisine. This place offers some good alternatives to the same old stuff. Most dishes could actually stand to be a little bit spicier, but they're still pretty interesting.

Strawberry Tequila: I never seem to be able to taste any liquor in Capogiro's flavors, but this was still a delicious strawberry sorbetto. And the Cilantro Lime, because is was freaking hot out.... after a few spoons of that, I didn't care.

Andrew has always liked the purple berries. Maybe he went to Capogiro and ated the purple berry sortbetto....

Had a nice meal at The Green Papaya in Exton tonight. The menu is generally standard Vietnamese fare, with a few twists. It's a bit more elegant than most Vietnamese places I go to, and consequently more expensive, but I still thought prices were fair for the quality of food and the pleasant setting. Their standard fried spring rolls were really good, a dark, bubbly, crisp texture to the surface, and mostly ground pork as a filling. Some veggie summer rolls were good too, the soft ricepaper wrapping vegetables and tofu. They weren't as herby as some I've had, but the soy "vinaigrette" was a flavorful-enough dipping sauce that we didn't miss it. A grilled lemongrass pork banh hoi was served as large plate with thin-slices of tasty grilled pork, rice vermicelli, lettuce leaves, julienne of carrot and cucumber and spring of mint. Again, a few more herbs would have been nice. A sweet dipping sauce with a little bit of hot pepper in it was served on the side, as was a strange-looking array of nested plastic baskets that held several sheets of ricepaper, soft and separate. Weird as it looked, it actually worked, and I think this is the first time I've made it through a dish like this without accidentally tearing half of the ricepaper to shreds or it hardening up on me. This was very tasty, and fun if you're amused by trying to roll-your-own, laying out a piece of ricepaper, loading it up with whatever you want in it and trying to keep it sealed while you eat it. The portion of the meat was a little small for $13, just about right for 5 rolls. But I didn't leave hungry. WCDP1 had a special of chicken and shrimp pad thai with a curry sauce, and despite this not really being Vietnamese, they did a nice job with it, a rich Thai-style curry mingling with the expected rice noodles, bean sprouts, etc. WCDP2 had a special of soft-shell crabs, deep-fried and served with their sweet dipping sauce. He liked them, but pronounced the version a stone's-throw away at Tifco's China Bistro to be superior. Creme Caramel looked fantastic, but I wandered away from the table for a milisecond and it was gone. Must have been good! Vietnamese Iced coffees were sweet and rich as expected, although they could have been a touch icier... There's lots more on the menu that looks good, including "caramelized" meats and some fresh whole fish, so I'm looking forward to exploring some more. They have a bunch of teak chairs and tables outside, but I think they're selling them, rather than offering outdoor dining. Not that route 30 provides such a lovely view, but it could be nice on the right evening.

When I was trying to think of images the conveyor belt evoked, going around and around, and the name "NASCAR Sushi" popped in my head, and quickly made me feel all queasy. I have a suspicion this is already slang for something... I don't want to think about what.

Sorry, it's not bad, it just doesn't say anything to me.... I think you were on the right track, as you noted with Circle Sushi, I really think you need something that reinforces the concept, it would be more memorable. I think Satellite Sushi is pretty good, it gets at the orbiting thing. (and gives you some good logo possibilities!) Orbit Sushi, Cyclone Sushi, Sushi Roller, Rolling Sushi, something that highlights your uniqueness. That's my thought, but then I'm not a marketing genius...

There are a few places serving them around town, but I haven't found any good enough to put in this "highlights" topic. Bummer...

OK, this is admittedly irresponsible after one visit to a new restaurant, but I just can't get these out of my head! Szechuan Tasty House: Dumplings in a spicy sauce Dan-Dan Noodles I'm sure there's more....