philadining

Percy actually covered it pretty well, but I'll add my pics to fill in a few holes. Abóbora e Castanhas Squash and Chestnut Soup Caldo Verde Potato soup with collards and chouriço Bitoque Picanha steak, presunto, fried egg, fried potatoes Biscuits and linguiça sausage gravy Clássico (w/chouriço) Ovos com Chouriço e Ervilhas Poached eggs with chouriço and peas Sardinhas na Brasa Grilled Sardines Prego no Pão Sandwich with Steak, caramelized onions, mushrooms, garlic mayo As usual, everything was quite tasty. I heard a little grumbling about eggs not being runny enough in a couple of the dishes, which we could likely fix next time by making sure to ask for the eggs a little softer. But as a result, a couple of the more casserole-ish things were a little less exiting than the other dishes, but might have been better received with runny eggs. Thankfully, the poached eggs on my plate of sausage gravy on biscuits were perfectly cooked, dribbling yolk into the already rich sauce when pierced. I don't think this is a traditional Portuguese breakfast, but the twist of using linguiça in this folky American dish was a very successful cultural fusion. Carla's biscuits are just crazy good on their own, even better swimming in gravy... That was definitely my favorite dish of the brunch. The Caldo Verde was quite good, and had a few more slices of chouriço than the photo shows, they had just sunk into the smooth potato broth. I think I might have liked the squash and chestnut soup even better, which is no insult to the caldo verde, it's just that the vibrant flavors of this orange soup were new to me. This serving of the Bitoque is half, maybe a third, the size of the dinner portion, but no less delicious. I really like the sharing concept at dinner, but they might want to consider serving this size at dinner too, it's just perfect as a one-person meal. And that steak works pretty well as a sandwich too, due in part to the good fresh bread. So, count this as another great brunch spot for Philly, and one that has not seemed to have caught on yet, there were a few other customers while we were there, but plenty of open tables too. So stop waiting around for an hour to get into those same-old spots, you could be eating, rather than shivering on the sidewalk! It's also worth remembering that this is not sunday-only, they do lunch friday, saturday and sunday. I'm not sure if the eggy breakfasty stuff is available all three days, but the sandwiches, soups and smaller portions of a few of the dinner offerings are for sure. Also - there's still about a week left (until Feb 15, 2010) to try their tasting menu at dinner. A few of us did it a short time ago and loved it. $75 for two is a great deal, and the food is terrific. I especially enjoyed the goat stew. pdf of the Menu here>>

Some delicious new cocktails at The Oyster House the other night. I'm not sure how inherently wintery they are, but I can't imagine a nicer way to wait-out a blizzard than knocking back a few of these and having some chowder, or turtle soup... The No Alibi Reposado Tequila, L'Alibi liqueur, and a smoky mist of laphroaig. Refreshing, yet complex... The Say Goodnight Gracie Silver Rum, Creme de Violet, rhubarb bitters. A little sweet for me, but only a little, and very layered and rich, so folks who enjoy a sweeter cocktail should totally love this. I don't think this photo quite communicates the lovely color of the drink, it's a quite elegant lavender, set-off by a lime twist. Cosmo drinkers: give this a try, it's WAY more interesting, yet approachable. The Pluto's Mistress Gold Rum, Averna, Cranberry. This was very big and round-tasting, almost like a Manhattan. The Averna did a great job of balancing the booze and juice, making it very full-flavored but not rummy or fruity. Of course I was drinking these cocktails with Katie Loeb, who played a large part in their creation, so my impressions may be a little skewed by hearing the back story, but I don't think that narrative can change how they taste! I'm not sure they're on the printed cocktail menu yet, but they may be mentioned by your server as new special drinks, or just ask for them, I think any of the bartenders can make them for you. But if you happen to catch Katie behind the bar, she'll be happy to whip one of them up, I'm sure. I'm really jonesing for a No Alibi all of a sudden. I just need to figure out whether it's worth risking being stuck in 2 feet of snow tonight to get one...

The rice in the cloth bag might be Bomba, which is often used in paella, but makes a really nice risotto too.

Amusing post about Handy Nasty, errr, Han Dynasty, on Phoodie>>

I can totally sympathize with you about the rabbit with peanuts possibly being too much trouble - but then again, I do always enjoy it, so for me, it might come down to what mood I'm in. But I think you're definitely right about the dry pot dishes: they have not been as hot as they're supposed to be. I don't think Han is dialing it back, I'm pretty sure that the chef doesn't believe him that non-Chinese can handle it! The versions I've had at the other Han Dynasty branches have been much spicier. That said, I think the dry pots here would be the best of all of them, if the heat were kicked-up to where it should be. I found them pretty delicious even as-is, but I miss that stronger burn and tingle that I remember from other examples. As for what you described as a chalky, alkaline taste, I wonder if it might just be the after-effects of the Sichuan peppercorns. You might be describing something else, because I never think of it as chalky or like baking soda, I usually get more of a metallic sensation, but those Sichuan peppercorns can definitely make your water taste a little odd! The fact that it seemed to creep-up on you, especially in the leftovers in the dry pot, makes me suspect that they could be the culprits though... I'm pretty confident that the bamboo shoots in the dry pots are fresh, so I doubt it's a preserving liquid, but they certainly do soak up the surrounding flavors, so they may have become impregnated with that weird tingly numbing spice of the Sichuan peppercorns, which can then make other things taste a little strange. I'm kind of addicted to it now, but I found it disorienting at first. I'd try again with the dry pot. I always thought the default setting was very hot, but maybe the chef needs a little more convincing. I'm going to get one again soon and specifically ask for it at the traditional spice level, and see what happens...

I have no idea if this is what you're looking for, but there's a recipe for a Peruvian yellow sauce here: http://savour-fare.com/2009/06/03/peruvian-party-chicken-with-2-sauces/ It consists of manzana chiles, mayo, garlic and sugar. Hope that gets you closer!

Happy to see Craig Laban give KZD 3 Bells in the Inquirer. Congrats to the Gilbergs.

Sorry for the delay in reporting, there were a lot of photos to tweak! As was mentioned in another thread, about a dozen of us got together at Han Dynasty on Chestnut St for another of what has become a semi-regular feast. As we generally have done, we just let Han bring us whatever he thinks we should be having. We gave him a little bit of notice, so he was able to come up with a few special items that are not regularly available, including a Sichuan Hot Pot. We started with an array of cold appetizers, which is a strength of this kitchen, then some wontons and noodles, then a Sichuan Hot Pot, then the parade of main dishes... Somehow we managed to eat pretty much all of it... Pickled Carrots Cold Pork Belly in Chili Oil Fu Qi Fei Pian: Cold Tripe Tongue and Beef in Chili Oil Cold rabbit with peanuts Wontons in Chili Oil Dan Dan Noodles Then came the hot pot, divided in the middle to offer a spicy broth, and a milder one, in which to cook an array of sliced ingredients. Then the main dishes: Ma Po Tofu Dry Fried Green Beans Frog in Dry Pot Lamb with Cumin Beef in Hot Sauce Tilapia in Spicy Bean Sauce Taiwanese Sausage I quite enjoyed all of the food, but of course had some favorites. The Frog in Dry Pot was just delicious, enough to make it worth fighting around the little bones. They don't have frogs on the regular menu, but anything cooked dry pot style is pretty delicious. Love those Dan Dan Noodles. The sauce on that fish was great... But I'd be happy to have any of those dishes again, in fact I hope to have them all again eventually! I'm not completely convinced that Hot Pot is worth all the trouble: in the end, you're just boiling things in broth. But items cooked in the spicy side were pretty good, especially those slippery mushrooms. It's probably lots more fun to do with a smaller group with the pot in the center of the table, each person customizing what he or she wanted to cook, but our gang was too large to make that practical. I'd certainly try it again sometime with 6 or 8 people. They don't offer Hot Pots regularly at this time, but keep an eye out, they could be added, perhaps on certain days of the week. To finish this extravaganza, a dessert, a sweet soup. The "Lucky Winner" that found the red tapioca pearl in the soup was cajoled into doing something embarrassing or painful, some sadist at our table suggested taking a shot of chili oil. Which actually gave us an idea for a Sichuan Cocktail... I think they had to call in reinforcements to clear our table. I know I needed some help just getting myself out the door after all that food! We fought back the spice with an aray of fluids: I hope some of the wine drinkers were taking notes... I was sticking to beer, and was surprised to find so many different kinds of beer that were matching nicely. I enjoyed the sweet, fruity Peche Lambic from Lindemann's; the equally fruity, but more sour, Kasteel Rouge; the surprisingly dry, yet appley Ephemere; and the hoppy Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA. I even liked the Dogfish Head Jiahu, based on the reconstruction of an ancient Chinese brew, extrapolated from residue found in an archeological dig. I didn't like it enough to buy more, but it was interesting... And an elegant sweet French Champagne tasted REALLY good at the end of the meal, calming the buzzing taste buds. So, big thanks to everyone who came, it was great to see some old friends, and make some new ones. Hope we can do it again soon! And of course big thanks to Han for getting it together, while running around trying to also take care of some other tables! And to the chefs, who knocked out some knock-out food.

I think you're on the right track - we've had pretty good luck with German-style white wines, and many kinds of beer. Interestingly, some sweeter Belgian-style beers, like fruit lambics, have been good matches, but almost any refreshing brew would be good. I was about to warn against high-alcohol anything, but I remembered that Victory Golden Monkey rocks with this food... I have a big bottle of Dogfish Head Jiahu that I'm bringing, I'm very curious to see how that plays with the food. (It's based on Penn archeologists' guesses at the components of what they think is the earliest known beer, derived from residue found at an excavation in China.) I haven't had a red wine that plays well with this kind of spice, but I suppose there could be some... Sparkling is a nice idea. I think we've had good luck with bubbly rieslings and other similar things. I'm not sure we've tried a classic dry champagne-style anything, but you never know... Katie?

Also, this is a second-hand report, but there's another interesting development out on Jefferson Road in Henrietta. Back around Thanksgiving time, I think I laughed out load when I drove by this location which used to be a Hooters, then Cheerleaders, and noticed it was now sporting a Japanese-style Torii gate motif on its facade. That's a bit of a transformation... But it is now Sunrise Japanese Steakhouse, and advertises (on a sign out front) Yakitori, Korean Barbecue, sushi and more. I didn't have a chance to stop in there when I was up there over the holidays, but I've gotten some positive reports from trusted associates... They're apparently not quite set-up for the Korean BBQ in-table grilling yet, but they will have several booths that are set-up for that, and a few others with hibachi-style flattops for the Japanese steakhouse thing. But they do already offer yakitori, shumai, some sushi, etc. I'm not sure that it's quite an Izakaya, but it does sound like a good place to grab some drinks and snacks. Apparently they're running some good bargain specials right now as they get going, so it could be worth checking out sooner than later. It's the same owners as Shogun on Ridge Road, and Sakura Home out on Monroe Ave near the Brighton/Pittsford border, but I haven't been to any of those places, so I can't say... I'm not personally all that attracted to the hibachi/teppanyaki scene, or the whacky-roll sushi thing, so again, I can't vouch for it personally, but I've heard good things. And the prospect of grabbing some yakitori and a beer, is kind of appealing, especially since they're open late. Almost makes it worth hanging around Henrietta... http://sunrisesteakhouse.com/ 945 Jefferson Road Rochester, NY 14623 I grew up in Henrietta, so I feel entitled to whine about it being a wasteland. But then, when I step back for a minute, I realize that it has the King and I, Thali and Tandoor, Bombay Chaat house, three decent Korean restaurants, El Dorado tacos, and there might even be a couple more good places to eat that I'm forgetting. So maybe I should be admitting my heritage more proudly! I wanted to take credit for Brandani's Pizza too, but I think that's over the border in Brighton. But hey, it's on West Henrietta road, so maybe we can claim it. The business has apparently been operating for 35 years, about 25 in that spot, but I'd never noticed them. According to their website, the Brandani family sold it about 5 years ago, but to a long-time employee, so it's apparently carrying-on a tradition. I don't know how it used to be, but we got a pizza recently and I was quite impressed. It's nothing especially unusual, but the toppings were very good quality, especially the Italian sausage, and I quite liked the crust. They're using regular commercial steel-deck pizza ovens, but the crust had a very nice texture and was actually cooked properly, to a very pleasing browned level that exhibited a great combination of chew and crunch. I just got the sense that the pizza was made with some care and attention, which improves anything, really! http://brandanispizza.com/ 2595 West Henrietta Road Rochester, NY 14623-2325 (585) 272-7180

Getting a group together for dinners at the Han Dynasty locations in the Philly suburbs has become an informal tradition among many of the Philly-area eGullet folks. Now that they've opened a Center City location, it feels like time to do one there! We'd organized them informally in the past, but here's a more structured invite: Han Dynasty has a new location: 108 Chestnut Street in Center City Philadelphia. (It's almost all the way to Front street on Chestnut, on the South side of the street, near Kabul and the Mexican Post.) We're getting a group together on Thursday, January 14, at 7:30 pm. This dinner needs to be limited in size to 15 people. PM me if you want to come, the group will be chosen on a first-come, first served basis (but please be aware that a few spaces have already been reserved by previous communication.) If there is enough interest to warrant it, we'll do more dinners at future dates. Cost will be approximately $30 per person. Cash makes things MUCH easier in a large group. It's BYO. Folks often bring beer or wine, often something to share. We don't want to do any accounting on the drinks side, so feel free to bring something for yourself and/or to share, or not, but the drinking part is fully voluntary. We are allowing Han to choose the menu for us, we will have no decisions to make, there will simply be a large number of dishes to be passed family-style, no special orders for individuals. We're happy to have anyone join us, but if that style of dining does not appeal to you, this is not the right dinner for you. We will be served a wide variety of foods, including beef, pork, seafood, organ meats and vegetable dishes, all presented as large dishes to share. If you do not eat one or more of those types of food, you MAY still be able to make a satisfying meal from the other items, but the point of this kind of dinner is to sample many different dishes, so if you avoid SEVERAL of those foods, this may not be the right dinner for you. We're not being judgmental, it just makes us sad to see someone not eating. In the future, we certainly could organize a more tightly focused dinner with a more specific menu for people with specific dietary restrictions if there is interest, but if, for instance, you don't eat pork, you might want to give this event a pass. There's going to be some pork. Han Dynasty serves authentic food from Sichuan province. MUCH OF IT IS VERY SPICY!!! Not every dish will be incendiary, but a large percentage of them will have a significant presence of chili peppers, sichuan peppercorns and other spicy ingredients. If you do not like spicy food, this may not be the restaurant for you! Many dishes are oily and and/or salty, that's part of the cuisine, so if you do not like those kinds of foods, this might not be the right dinner for you! After all those attempts to dissuade you, I should say that most people who have come to the previous dinners at the suburban restaurants have enjoyed them very much, even if they chose to skip a dish or two. A few of us have eaten at this new location a few times already, and can give assurances that we'll have a wonderful meal. But we have had experiences where people did not have as good a time as we'd hoped, because they did not care for this style of cooking. Again, the available seats are limited, and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. We do not require a deposit, but please honor your reservation, the rest of us will be on the hook for your dinner bill if you just don't show up. Please PM me if you are interested, I'll get back to you ASAP about whether you made this cutoff, or to ask if you'd be interested in another trip at a future date. THIS EVENT HAS BEEN ORGANIZED THROUGH EG FORUMS BY MEMBERS BUT IS NOT SPONSORED BY THE EGULLET SOCIETY FOR CULINARY ARTS AND LETTERS OR EG FORUMS. YOUR PARTICIPATION IN ANY EVENT OR ACTIVITY ARRANGED ON OR DISCUSSED IN EG FORUMS IS AT YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE RISK. BY USING AND PARTICIPATING IN THE FORUMS YOU AGREE AND UNDERSTAND (1) THAT IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR PARTICIPATION IN ANY EVENT OR ACTIVITY, YOU MAY BE EXPOSED TO A VARIETY OF HAZARDS AND RISKS ARISING FROM THOSE ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS; (2) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, YOU AGREE TO WAIVE, DISCHARGE CLAIMS, RELEASE, INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS THE SOCIETY, ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AGENTS, AND OTHER PARTNERS AND EMPLOYEES, FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY ON ACCOUNT OF, OR IN ANY WAY RESULTING FROM INJURIES AND DAMAGES IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH ANY SUCH EVENTS OR ACTIVITIES. YOU AGREE AND UNDERSTAND THAT THESE TERMS WILL BE BINDING UPON YOU AND YOUR HEIRS, EXECUTORS, AGENTS, ADMINISTRATORS AND ASSIGNS, AS WELL AS ANY GUESTS AND MINORS ACCOMPANYING YOU AT THE EVENTS. Click here for the terms under which this event is listed in eG Forums.

OMG these wontons in chili oil are crazy delicious. So, I think it might be time to do a wholesale invasion. I'll post something official with all the required language shortly.

I kind of doubt that the lamb is halal, and even if it were, I'd think that anyone concerned about that would be bothered by the rather overwhelming presence of pork in the place. I mean, it's pretty pig-centric... That said, the folks there are very nice, and they have a phone: (215) 923-7675. Ask them.

I wouldn't argue that improper temperatures are inconsequential, but on three visits, none of my wine had gone bad. The first time, it was pretty ridiculously hot, but at the next two visits my wine was served at a reasonable temperature, and tasted fine. So I'm a little surprised to hear that some customers are still experiencing a problem with that, it seemed to me like they'd figured it out.

I didn't have time to do as much eating around Rochester over the holidays as I'd hoped, but I did manage to squeeze in a few old favorites and find some new ones too. I had some very good Chinese at Chen Garden and Thai at King and I. These are regular destinations for me when I visit, and while there's been some small variation in quality over the years, both places did a great job during these recent visits. I also returned to Good Luck, which was not quite as thrilling as it was on my last visit, but was still solidly good. I ate there on New Year's Day, so I wouldn't be too surprised if the staff was a little blurry from the night before, although I don't even know if any of that was an issue... Service was very good, and the food was well-executed, it just seemed somehow a little less vibrant than I remembered. We started with a "snack" of a roasted beet tart with goat cheese and candied walnuts. That was pretty straightforward, but also quite delicious. We also had "cardoon cutlets" which we'd loved at our last visit, and this preparation was similar, but missing a little spark: the vegetable portion wasn't quite as light and crisp, the tomato sauce not quite as fresh, and this version didn't have some of the little touches, like bitter greens, that really elevated the earlier incarnation we'd had. We also got a very nice roasted wild sea bass with red cabbage and potatoes. There was nothing to complain about, we enjoyed it, but it's not something I've been dreaming about going back for. Maybe I was just cranky that they had taken the "Pitchfork" cocktail off the menu. I was really looking forward to trying this combination of Finger Lakes Distilling Glen Thunder Corn Whiskey, Drambuie, Schutt's Apple Cider and Bacon Syrup. I guess I'll just have to try to replicate it back home... I ended up ordering whatever replaced it, a warm whiskey somethingorother that was tasty, but unmemorable. Despite missing out on that drink at the Good Luck bar, I did manage to stock up on Finger Lakes Distilling's McKenzie Rye and Seneca Drums Gin, so I'll be working on some of my own cocktails... I made quick stops at some new places too. I picked up samosas and pakoras and chaat papri and breads at Bombay Chaat House. It's a tiny little place set up mostly for take-out, but there are a couple of small tables if you wanted to eat-in. As the name suggests, it's primarily the little snacks called "chaat" such as Pani Poori, Bhel Poori, Chaat Papri, etc. But they usually have a more substantial curry dish or two, and a Biryani, etc, if you want more than a light lunch or snacks. It's a small selection compared to your average Indian restaurant, but it's just right for a quick bite. I thought the food was very good, in a homey, personal sort of way. They don't have a tandoor, so the breads are done in a pan on a stove, which is fine, just different from those made in a hot clay oven! Thali of India offers a few chaat items, but this place has a few unique items that you'd have trouble finding elsewhere around town. Worth checking out for its home-made charm. Bombay Chaat House 1475 East Henrietta Road Rochester, NY 14623-3169 (585) 292-0099 Dropped by Vinh-Hao on South Clinton to grab a Banh Mi. It was pretty good, actually large-ish in the Banh Mi spectrum, and only $3.50, but I didn't love the roll. It was over the holidays, so perhaps I hit them on a day that they didn't get a bread delivery, so I should probably try them again to make sure. The whole thing was a little drier and blander than the ones at Pho Duong Dong, so I actually might prefer the ones at the Pho place, even if they're a little smaller (and cheaper.) But then again, Vinh-Hao is open a lot more, and easier to get to for most of us. Perhaps one day there will be a place that serves more than one kind of Banh Mi! But the highlight of my visit might have been an accidental snack. I'd stopped by The French Quarter Café intending to just look at the menu and check on their hours. They're open, but still ramping-up, the official grand opening isn't until February, so they don't have everything they're hoping to eventually serve, but it's still a decent menu. As it turns out, they were not going to be open at any time that was convenient for me to drop in for dinner, so I decided to try a couple of things while I was there. I started with a "cup" of gumbo, which was a pretty substantial serving of very tasty soup of chicken and sausage. It was more of a soup than some gumbos I've had, but I've learned that gumbo takes many, many forms, and none of them is abstractly "correct." This version has nice flavor, and I could taste a fullness from a traditional roux. Personally, I like the thicker, stewy consistency that comes from a bit more roux, but I enjoyed this style just fine. My only real complaint is that the sausage was pretty tame, I think a spicier andouille would be really nice in that gumbo. But still, I'm ordering it again next time I go. I couldn't resist ordering a Natchitoches Meat Pie. This had a nice flaky crust, and a mild, but pleasant filling of ground pork and beef. But what really grabbed me was the menu's description of the Roast Beef Po Boy. It promised that they cook down the beef until it's falling apart into what they call "debris" down in New Orleans. That tender beef, in a thick gravy, is then served on a roll dressed with lettuce, mayo (and usually pickles at the Po Boy shops I've been to.) There weren't any pickles on this version, and the mayo was spiked with horseradish, but despite those differences, the overwhelming sensation I got when eating it was that it was almost perfectly authentic. Authenticity can be overrated, but in this case, I was thrilled to discover a very close approximation of a sandwich that I have come to love after some visits to New Orleans. It's not quite as huge (or messy) as the ones you'd get at Parkway or Parasol, but it's plenty big, and plenty messy! It actually looked a little slight to me when it arrived, but there was in fact a good amount of beef on there. And most importantly, it tasted great. The combination of hot beef and gravy with lettuce and mayo always sounds bizarre to me, but it works. The magic ingredient in any po boy is the bread - there's a very specific texture to a po boy roll - it's light and airy, yet crusty, not as dense as the average submarine roll, with a crisp, thin outer crust. This roll was perfect! When I mentioned how great the bread was, I was told that they have those rolls shipped-in from Louisiana. This is a new development: if you'd tried their po boys when they were located on Arnett Blvd, you haven't tried these rolls. And it makes a huge difference. So I certainly hope they can continue to do this, or find a local baker than can duplicate that texture. They also have shrimp, catfish or smoked chicken as fillings for po boys, which are probably quite good, but I highly recommend checking out the roast beef, it's the real thing. Of course it's hard to extrapolate about a restaurant from three dishes, but there are some very promising indicators. The flavors of the gumbo are very true to what I've tasted in New Orleans. And the roast beef Po Boy gave me a real flashback to the versions available there. The husband and wife that own the place, and cook the food, have roots down south, in Louisiana and Alabama if I remember correctly, and still visit family there. So they're interested in presenting the true flavors that they remember, whihc in many cases may be more subtle than the popular clichés of Cajun and Creole food. In fact, most of that food is not especially loaded with chili peppers, so don't expect everything to set your tongue in fire. But you can expect full flavors, and some real effort toward authenticity, if what I sampled was any indication. It certainly bears some further investigation! I look forward to seeing what the menu will finally offer when they reach the official grand opening in a few weeks. I heard something about beignets... but in the interim, be ready for the menu to change a bit. French Quarter Café 176 South Goodman (at Park Ave - across from Parkleigh) 585-413-1151 Oh, and one last thing: I was fortunate enough to receive some chocolates from Hedonist as a gift. These happened to be some pretty highly-spiced peppery truffles, which I've found quite interesting. The flavor combinations are unusual, and quite good. I'd like to try some more of their offerings. Next visit! Hedonist Artisan Chocolates 674 South Ave Rochester 585-461-2815

A couple friends and I went a few weeks ago too, and liked it quite a lot, so the short answer to the original question is, yeah, you should go back and try more. The only hesitation I have is that I think we were more impressed with some of the early courses than with the mains, but everything was solidly good. We were actually quite knocked-out by the crudo selections, artfully served n big blocks of pink salt. It made for a nice presentation, and we liked how the fish seemed to pick up some saltiness from the serving piece. We also had scallops, which were quite good. I was shocked to hear that there were NO crudos on the menu when one of our party returned a short time later. I hope that was a temporary situation, they were the strongest part of our very good meal. The beet salad was much more tasty than one would expect, and it wasn't just because of the crunchy chicken skin. I'm a little tired of this dish, it's not exactly rare on contemporary menus, but I'm glad we got it, they do a very nice job with it here. The octopus carpaccio has gotten a lot of attention, and it's certainly unique, and interesting, although we found it a little bland. However, one person from our party ordered it again at another visit and said it was much better, so maybe ours was uncharacteristic. The mains were very good, but not quite as unique as the starters. The salmon was rather blah, just not a fabulous piece of fish, despite the hearty preparation that included roasted brussles sprouts. We liked the Suzuki much more. It was served with a slightly spicy broth and orzo. And the cod was good too, with a Spanish-tinged stew of sausage and potatoes. Our understanding is that the specific fish and preparations were likely to change day-to-day, depending on what product was best. All the fish was cooked a little further than we might have wanted, if you prefer it on the medium-rare side, it might be worth mentioning. And unless one of your dishes includes it, I'd recommend ordering the spaetzel with truffles, it was very hard to stop eating that! And try to leave room for dessert. They have the chef's mom imprisoned in the basement, baking. I hate to contribute to such cruel treatment, but if it's resulting in fantastic apple tarts like this, perhaps I can turn a blind eye. I forget what wines we had, but they were both very good. It's an interesting, well-chosen list, and the mark-ups are fairly reasonable for this context. So, I'd say, yeah, go back, have a full meal, and let us knwo what you thought!

Congrats to chef Katz and the Mémé crew, they got bumped to 3 Bells in Craig Laban's year-end review. It's been far too long since I've been there, especially since I've heard some serious raves about the pork chop for two...

A couple of us dropped by on wednesday night, and had some terrific food. But it is indeed a very soft opening - they don't even have menus yet! But that's not really a problem, the best way to eat there is to ignore the menu anyway and just talk with Han about what to order. So Han was nice enough to just give us a survey of a few dishes, whatever the kitchen felt like making, and everything was really delicious. Many of them were familiar from the other places, but with a slightly different spin. It's fascinating to experience the variations in flavor balances from chef to chef: even dishes you know seem a little different. The cold appetizer of sliced tripe, tongue and beef (fu qi fei pian - 夫妻肺片) was the best version that I've ever had, with a complexity of flavor far beyond the basic hot and numbing. A bowl of what looked like Dan Dan Noodles had an extra earthy funkiness that complimented the ground pork and hot spices really nicely. Green Bean noodles, (which are thick, semi-transparent, whitish noodles made from mung beans) are served cold with a tingly chili oil, and are an intriguing combination of cool and soothing and scorching. We had Chicken in Dry pot that I though was delicious, but Han was disappointed with it because the chef had toned it down for the non-Chinese eaters. It's OK, he'll get used to us, and hey, it was still pretty darn delicious even in that scaled-back form. Double-cooked pork was pretty assertively salty, but I'm not sure that that's a bad thing! I still ate plenty of it... Pork and pressed tofu was relatively mild, but a welcome contrast. The fried green beans were especially good, I generally like this dish, but these beans seemed somehow more vivid, I think the pork and preserved vegetable that gives the dish some bite were chopped especially finely, and were adhering better to the beans than is the case with some versions. Overall, it was a very promising indication of great food to come. They're still tweaking things in the kitchen, both in terms of hardware and recipes, so it will still be a little while until they're a final, buffed-up production, but I for one am happy to taste their experiments! I usually get grumpy about places that are open for business and not fully ready, but in this case, even the work-in-progress is pretty delicious, so I'd encourage you to go anyway. And just keep in mind that it's only going to get better! The hours are a little up in the air right now, they'll eventually be open fairly late, but until traffic picks-up, I wouldn't assume that they'd be serving past 9 or so. But you never know, it's worth checking. Sorry I didn't remember to get a phone number - I'll post it if I find it... And again, once they're feeling like they're up to speed, we'll get a group together, post some pictures, let you know which dishes we think are especially great. But in the interim, go, and just ask Han for advice, he should be there most of the time.

We totally should do an eGullet thing there in the new year. As soon as Han feels like he's ready for us, we'll put something together. Watch this space! BTW, it's BYOB for now, he's planning to get a liquor license, but who knows how long that will take.

So, the word from Han himself is that the new place at 108 Chestnut St. will be opening on Wednesday, December 23. It's a soft-open, the full menu will probably not be available yet, give them a few weeks to get up to full speed. But I suspect that some of the hot hits will be there (and I do mean hot... ) I've had really great food at both of the other places in the past week, so I figure it's my duty to try to hit the third one ASAP! So, I might just see you there if you go.

Wow, it hasn't been THAT long since I was in there, and the manager guy seemed all enthusiastic, talking about some ads he was planning to run, etc. But you never know... I certainly hope they aren't gone for good, those still are/were my favorite ribs in the city.

I apologize in advance for confusing things for you, but... First, I think it's a nice idea, and you should go to Bibou in any case. And I'm glad you already made a reservation, because it's probably going to get even harder to get in here now that Alan Richman named it as one of the ten best new restaurants of 2009 in GQ Magazine. The food is very good, and you can probably get some small sense of a general style of French cuisine, although any one restaurant will only give you a tiny part of the picture. There's a lot of variety in French Cuisine as a whole. BUT, despite the numerous accolades given to the foie-stuffed pig's foot, I'm not sure I'd recommend that as one of your two entrees. Of course, you never know, perhaps you'll like it, but for me, it's not among my favorite dishes there. It strikes me as too rich, too unctuous, too much of a soft, gooey texture. But that's me, lots of people seem to love it, maybe you will too. I do love the lentils it's served with... but I found a little bit went a long way. In either case, I wouldn't say it's any more or less French than most other things on the menu. I've quite enjoyed everything I've had there, so get whatever looks good, I'm just suggesting that you don't get fixated on the pig's foot. You could always ask Charlotte (the Hostess/manager/co-owner/chef's wife) for advice on what to order that she thinks is most representative of a typical French meal. And BTW, Parc is a fairly accurate representation of a half-way decent French Bistro, they serve many classic dishes, so you certainly could familiarize yourself with a different small slice of French cuisine there. Between the two, the food's better at Bibou, but Parc has a larger menu, and one more typical of classic mainstream bistro or brassierie food, if you're trying to learn names of dishes or find some things you like. The bigger suggestion I have is to not worry about it. Go to Paris, eat some food, I don't think you really need to get in training for it, it's not going to be SO alien. It couldn't hurt to learn some menu terms before you get there, or plan some dishes you especially want to try, but you'll be fine even if you don't. Gazillions of people visit there every year, and usually come back raving about the food, even if it's from a cart on the street. Or even if you end up at a super-swanky restaurant, you might find that you like, or don't, one particular chef's version of this thing or that. Relax, and enjoy.

Sorry I don't have a picture of it, but I had a pretty incredible sandwich the other day at an unlikely location. I had it at the bar called Alfa, at 1709 Walnut. It doesn't seem like the kind of place that would have good food, but it in fact has a surprisingly adventurous menu. They do have some typical bar food, like wings and burgers and sliders, etc, but also more sophisticated dinners, including several nightly specials (all of which they serve until 1am, seven days a week!) I recently couldn't resist their version of a Uraguayan Chivito, which is not on the regular menu right now, but I'm told it's a frequent special. It's kind of like a Chesesteak crossed with a Cubano visited by a muffuletta - or more accurately, all those things piled together. This one featured thin, tender slices of filet mignon, ham, bacon, Oaxacan cheese, a fried egg, olive salad and roasted peppers, all piled on a crusty long roll. It was a real challenge to get in my mouth, but with a little squeezing and squashing and stretching, I managed somehow. And wow, that is a delicious sandwich! It's a really nice collision of flavors, and despite the fact that it probably weighed about as much as the average SEPTA bus, I couldn't stop eating it until it was gone. Pretty good fries too, not that I could manage to eat many of those. So, I took two lessons from this: 1 - we should eat at Alfa more often. 2 - we need more Chivitos in this town.

Another really good meal at KZD. Couldn't resist repeating some favorite dishes, but tried a few new ones as well. The mushroom turnovers were perfectly fried for a crunchy yet tender exterior, with a mild, creamy center. Blood sausage salad featured an interesting, chunky sausage, whose richness was cut by a bracingly tart salad of beets, marinated peppers and fresh greens. Very good. The most surprising dish was the chicken gizzards. We like gizzards well enough, well - actually, I'm not especially fond of them - but my dining companions are, but these were better than any of us had imagined. They were uncharacteristically tender, apparently from a long braise, and delicately flavored, with a comforting, smooth sauce. For larger plates, we find it impossible to resist the Duck Rice. This was an especially nice version, with wonderful crusty edges on the baked rice. We also tried the grilled sardines, which are pretty straightforward: simply grilled, and accompanied by marinated peppers. Our representative from the authenticity police remarked that they'd probably be charred a little more severely if one was getting them in Portugal, but these were still pretty tasty, and had some good grill flavor. They are whole fish, so you need to be ready to do a little boning at the table, and its hard to catch all of those fine ribs, but it's worth the trouble. An finally we returned to another of my favorite dishes here, the Pork and Clams. I can't figure out what kind of magic Chef Gilberg is doing with the potatoes in this dish, they seem like pretty standard fried cubes, but there's something unusually light and fluffy and crunchy about them. The pork itself is tender and delicious, as are the clams, and the combination of the meat and seafood and potato and super-concentrated sauce... it's just one of my favorite things to eat in the whole city right now. As is the Duck Rice. Ooh, and that steak is strangely compelling. And I find myself craving some more of those mushroom turnovers... We managed to leave room for some desserts this time, and they were all really good. The Pastel de Nata (Custard Tart) has been tweaked a little since we first tried it, and for the better. I liked the first one, and this recent one even more. The Bolo de Bolacha ends up tasting a bit like a tiramisu, but airier. We liked it a lot. And the "Chocolate Salami" is quite delicious too: a dense composition of dark chocolate that has a texture somewhere between a cookie and fudge. It's very hard to do here, but try to leave room for dessert! We may have found the ideal formula for ordering. The portions here are very large, and presented family style, so it makes sense to abandon the conventional formula of each person ordering his or her own appetizer and entree. We found that three appetizers and three entrees for four people was just about perfect, we were pretty stuffed, yet still managed to squeeze-in some dessert. Or, as we mentioned in earlier posts, order more, and just be ready for the fact that you'll have leftovers. Ordering as we did made this restaurant a crazy bargain, somewhere in the range of $35 per person (including tip) for lots of excellent food, including dessert. Speaking of crazy bargains, alongside the check was a flier for their New Year's Eve dinner. It's a special 5-course dinner with a couple of choices for each course, for $75 per couple. Yes, that's per couple. Sure it's a BYOB, so you might want to bring your own bubbly, but on this night when most restaurants are quadrupling their normal prices and serving a reduced menu, this is a real anomaly. It looks like a way to sample a variety of their food, at what works out to be a discount from everyday prices, on New Year's Eve. I'd book now, if I were you!

Interesting mixed experience at Percy Street: First, wow! the brisket was awesome. We tried both the "moist" and the "lean" and while different, they were both delicious. The names are a little deceiving: we didn't find much difference in tho moistness or leanness between the two versions, but they are quite different. The "moist" seems to be cut from the point of the brisket, and therefore has more internal fat, as opposed to the layer of fat cap that adjoins the "lean" cut from the flat of the brisket. It's hard to make any broad assessments of the relative moistness or fattiness, because the long, slow smoking has rendered much of that fat out, but certainly some remains, which gives this beef its luxurious flavor and texture. It's not a lean cut of meat... Paradoxically, the "lean" cut looks fattier at first glance, due to the more obvious strip of fat along the edge, and I suppose if one were trying to avoid it, one could easily not eat that part, although you're losing some serious flavor if you do that... The point is more irregularly-shaped, so you don't get the lovely slices, but the internal layers of fat and connective tissue make it more unctuous. Percy Street's "Moist" Brisket: The "Lean" Brisket: We didn't try the "extra lean" because that just seems perverse when you're talking about brisket. If your preference is for lean meat, brisket is not what you want, and this restaurant probably isn't the place for you. But if you are a fan of brisket, they're doing a really nice job of it here. On the down-side, we didn't like the ribs at all. They're nice and meaty, and quite tender, but a few things bothered us. First was the texture. Rick Nichols reported in his Inquirer piece that Chef O'Shea is brining them, which is seen as heretical in some circles. As a result, they do indeed maintain a certain juiciness, but at the cost of an odd, hammy, squishy texture. Between the brining and the long slow cooking, they also become tender to the point of the meat pulling cleanly from the bone, which some people like, but I prefer a little more resistance. But the bigger problem was the smoke flavor. While the oak they use seems to accent the brisket very nicely, for these pork ribs, the smoke seemed to leave a sharp, acrid, burnt overtone that we did not enjoy. We noticed a bit of that effect on the chicken as well. This could very well be a personal preference, but I'm not feeling inclined to get the ribs again. We accompanied the meats with the German Potato Salad again, it's really good. We also tried the green beans, which we actively hated. I'm sure it's not the case, but they tasted like canned green beans like we used to get in the school cafeteria. And there was a tomato component that felt really out of place too. Perhaps we were just having disturbing flashbacks of traumatic childhood meals, but we couldn't eat them. We chatted briefly with a manager, who mentioned that Chef O'Shea is not really happy with them, and now that the place is up and rolling, she may change them. I certainly hope so! We were too stuffed for dessert, which is too bad, because I've been craving that pecan pie, and I seriously need a root beer float. The Yard's Root Beer, brewed specifically for Percy Street, and available on tap, is delicious. We just sampled the straight-up root beer, but a scoop of ice cream in there would surely be a beautiful thing. I'll try to save room next time, which will probably not be too long from now, because that brisket is calling to me...