philadining

I agree, even the "modest" $80 omakase at Morimoto was one of the more memorable meals I've had in Philly. Sure, it's a little pricey, but we got out for less than we paid for similarly excellent meals at Lacroix and Striped Bass. I can't afford this kind of thing very often, but for special occasions, it has always felt "worth it" to me when the food and experience is good. The NY boards seem plagued with these arguments: can a doughnut be worth $2? Can sushi justify $300 a head? what's the right price for a dumpling? Can Per Se possibly stand up to all the hype? And in the end it's a personal thing... there certainly are restaurants that seem geared completely toward expense accounts and show-offs, others that charge more because they're popular, and others that give you value for even stratospheric prices. I think it's totally understandable that folks might be put-off by some places that seem to be charging for the vibe, but to me, Morimoto had a very welcoming feel and a sense of place, perhaps even "soul". I might have gotten lucky, somehow ending up with the same good server twice, but everyone in my various dining parties wanted to go back... In the end, the traditional sushi that was the last course of the omakase felt underwhelming, but I think it was more a function of being overshadowed by flashier early courses than being poor quality. Often overlooked in the fuss about fish, their rice is really outstanding. (That might seem like a ridiculous point, but we wax rhapsodic about hoagie rolls here, so I feel empowered to rave about rice...) Anyway, I like it there. It's too expensive to be my regular sushi joint, and there's too much on the menu to distract me from sushi anyway. But for birthdays or other celebrations, it's high on my list.

Several of the items on Morimoto's menu are very similar to Nobu's, but I can't compare quality, having never been to Nobu. I had two very enjoyable meals at Morimoto, only one of which was insanely expensive. Katie, did you not like it, or did you just think it was too expensive for what it was? (forgive me if I'm reading too much onto that "Okaaaaayyyy")

I've never been to this place, but there was a passing compliment on a NY Pizza thread about Il Pizzaiolo in Pittsburgh. That post is here. Not that NYC folks visiting Pittsburgh would necessarily want to eat pizza, but I might check it out next time I'm out west...

So, is this really a Pittsburgh specialty, or just something that everybody serves at family reunions and graduation parties, and sort-of affectionately tolerates? I grew up in western NY, and one side of my family (who never had any link to Pittsburgh as far as I know...) served something like this at almost every casual get-together, but it's not something you would ever see in a restaurant, or would consider an indigenous food. Regardless, what does one want to be sure to eat while in Pittsburgh? Something you really can only get there?

Yes. Yes it would. I'll bet it's not a bad sandwich; I think Wawa hoagies are pretty good. Not amazing, but they'll do the trick if that's what there is. ← I had a Wawa hot roast pork hoagie today, and as predicted it was....not bad! It certainly isn't going to give DiNics any competition, but it is indeed WAY better than most chain fast food. And most important - you can probably get one at 3:30 am in the suburbs.

That's in important distinction lost on most Americans. But, Roya for instance, serves hummus, taboulli, pita bread, etc, that you would find in a "Middle Eastern" restaurant. And you can get kebabs in so many different cuisines, so I can see where people would get confused. I'm not familar enough with the origins of those foods to know what started where, and I suppose it doesn't matter, each cuture puts a distinct spin on them...

This is actually very complicated: the term "Persian" is used in many different ways by different people in different contexts. In general, a restaurant that calls itself Persian in the US is almost certainly Iranian. Of course, it's not unique to that region that cultural, liguistic and culinary borders rarely correlate to political boundaries. The ancient Persian empire extended well beyond the borders of present-day Iran, and so the edges of cultural and culinary similarities predictably transcend national distinctions. In broad generalities, the cuisines of Iran and Afghanistan, especially what we find in restaurants in the US, are pretty similar. I have little doubt that people from those cultures might object to that over-simplification, and I mean no offense, surely there are distinctions between the food from the two countries, and even within regions of each country, that are obvious to those that grew up with it, or eat it all the time. But in the wide-view, both cuisines feature kebabs, polo/pilaw/pilaf rice dishes, "Khoresht" stews, dumplings, etc... But there are indeed differences from "Middle Eastern" cuisine, although that term is obviously inherently vague. A friend of mine who has visited Afghanistan a couple of times tells me that Afghans generally don't identify themselves as Middle Eastern, instead, they will say that they are Central Asians. And I believe there's a similar distinction made in Iran. Of course there's been enough cutural flow over the centuries that there's overlap and influence among the various regions in that area. But Persian and Afghani food tends to be a bit more like Indian/ Central Asian cuisine than like Lebanese or Egyptian or Arabic cooking. I'm not nearly as well-versed in this as I should be to be commenting at all, so I hope I've gotten close to accurate. I've mostly just eaten at Kabul and Ariana and Roya and the Persian Grill, and a few places in NY and LA, and noticed a similarity among those, and a difference from Cedar's, or Alyans, Bitars, etc. Although they're not THAT dissimilar.... I don't know anything about differences in decor...

Cedar's is on 2nd, just below South St.

Roya on Sansom between 18th and 19th is good.

Is it just me, or are the reviewers all following each other around lately? Anyway, odd literary device in Lauren McCutcheon's review of Marigold: the meta-review... Anyway, she liked it. (edited for typo)

Ahhh the great Fentoni's predictions have come true.... There's a brief mention of Tony Luke's NY location in the NYTimes here They rave about a sandwich of sauteed rabe with or without provelone. The sandwich with the greens and roast pork "is good too" according to the Times...

Rich Pawlak did a good article about just this thing in the current PhillyStyle magazine. Rich, what's your top pick(s)? Any good spots that got cut from the article? One of the places he mentions is Friday, Saturday, Sunday which I always remember fondly as having that perfect vibe.

This is very good at Karma, and they also make a killer version at Desi Village in King of Prussia (called "Chat Papri" there). And Cafe Spice makes a similar thing called "Raj Kachoori." I regret that I couldn't attend that DDC dinner, but thanks for posting the menu and reactions, I'll use them as a guide next time I go to Karma!

Review in the Weekly

Maxine Keyser reviewed Marigold in the City Paper this week. (I think this link always brings up the current review, so won't link to Marigold always.)

There's a drive-through beer distributor in Phoenixville. It's not big, but they have some decent brews. I've always wondered if I could call ahead, roll in slowly and get a case without even stopping the car... Sadly, no lard-fried chips in sight.

While we're congratulating Katie on the SSOH gig (indeed congrats!) she also deserves some props for a groovy GruVee article in Philly Style. I don't see it on line anywhere, so you'll just have to go buy the magazine. Which you ought to do anyway, if you can lift it -- it's about the size of a phone book this month. It's got a great article on romantic dining spots by Rich Pawlak, and (good god, the magazine is just lousy with eGulleteers!) a brief review by Andrew Fenton as well. I only read it for the food writing, I wasn't looking at the lingerie models, honest.

I suspect you get slapped with a hot spatula if you order a "roast pork italian". ← I've ordered "a roast pork with sharp provolone and spinach" and heard the lady at the cash register yell "roast pork italian". This happened at both Oregon Ave and 18th st. ← I decided to risk derision as a newbie, or worse, out-of-towner, and sauntered up to the window, adopted as confident as a tone as I could muster, and ordered "Roast Pork Italian". From the counter: not a blink, no snickering, no flagellation with a bunch of rabe, indeed, as Rockhopper reported, the cashier turned and repeated the phrase to the cooks. So I guess I've been doing it the hard way all this time, perhaps even unknowingly flagging myself as one who doesn't really know how to order. I'm so ashamed.... It's like going to Pat's and asking for "A cheesesteak with cheese whiz and fried onions please," I mean, sure you'll get your food, but it's a long line, every syllable counts!!! I even heard a couple of (clearly) neighborhood girls discussing that they were going to order "Roast Beef Italian." It IS indeed phrased like that, right there on the menu... Now we know...

New review (jan 04) in the Weekly by Lauren McCutcheon

Pica's in Upper Darby makes a tasty pizza like that.

wow, I'd never even heard of this place and it's already my favorite bar. It's hard to find a place with good local microbrews that allows badger dancing.

I could make a hole in my ridiculous schedule for this...

I suspect you get slapped with a hot spatula if you order a "roast pork italian".

It never seems to work to export this kind of thing, but who knows.... I saw this at: NYMetro.com Object of Desire In spite of what you might have thought, Philadelphia has more to offer, culinarily speaking, than scrapple and cheese steaks. There’s also the syntactically challenged but terribly addictive concoction known as the “Roast Pork Italian”—juicy pork sliced thin, sharp provolone, and broccoli rabe on a soft hoagie roll—to say nothing of the “Chicken Cutlet Italian” (same as above but with chicken instead of pork). For many discriminating trenchermen, Tony Luke’s is the go-to place for both, as well as world-class cheese steaks, all of which can now be happily devoured (standing up, as tradition dictates) at the first-ever Tony Luke’s spinoff in Hell’s Kitchen. Tony Luke’s Old Philly Style Sandwiches 576 Ninth Ave., nr. 41st St.; 212-967-3055 ..... And does anybody really call it a "Roast Pork Italian"?

aaaaaagghh!!! more foie gras!!! it's everywhere! when you find out that it's the reason that the capogiro gelato is so freaking good, just don't tell me, OK?