serpentine

Herbacidal, there are several Vietnamese places on 8th just north of Washington Ave that have seating of varying amounts and serve coffee -- Cafe Huong Lan and...can't remember the name of the other, but it's right there. Cafe Nyuh, on Christian at 8th, has the best bahn mi, but not enough room to sit. And there's Cafe Cuong, Catherine-ish on 8th...never been there, so I don't know how big it is inside. Ba Le has expanded and now has seating at the 6th and Washington Plaza, and of course Pho Ha is in the back of that shopping center. At the 11th and Washington shopping center, you have Nam Phuong and Viet Huong and Pho75. A new bakery just opened on the 11th Street side, also. The new place, O Sandwiches, is a cute place for coffee, IMO. It's at 9th/Federal/Passyunk.

I've been. It's fantastic. Really fantastic. Nice folks, too. I'm pretty suspicious of the potential deliciousness of most vegan cuisine, truth be told, but this guy really knows what he's doing with his ingredients -- he manages to give the food some real richness and complexity. And they mix some great tropical drinks. And I initially forgot that it was soy milk in my cappuccino and didn't even mind. (And I'm just sayin', because I've known some vegans -- I did indeed happen to be wearing a leather coat and shoes, and there was no weirdness.)

The new chef is Mark McKinney, formerly of Vesuvio. He's been there for a week or so. The menu (it has been a laminated piece of paper for quite awhile now) and list of specials is smaller, but I thought that it had gotten pretty bloated before. The prices have been ratcheted back down from the stratosphere. I had very good gnocchi with mushrooms, spinach, pine nuts, roasted tomatoes, pecorino ($7/generous app/14 entree.) Grilled cheese sandwhich with smoked gouda, goat cheese, provolone, truffle butter and a side salad or fries ($6, I think.)

Matt, I love that you guys are being more creative with the foie gras. I'll never turn up my nose at the traditional presentation, but I like seeing what chefs can do with it as an ingredient, as well. Bring it on!

Yep, they're BYO for the time being.

I was there on Saturday. The food was fantastic. I had mussels and vegetarian kofta, and had tastes of carrot salad, falafel, labneh, carrot dumplings, beet salad, and a few other dishes. Portions are not huge, but everything is priced reasonably -- for a full dinner, expect to order perhaps 3-4 dishes. I was with a large group -- we ordered a lot of food, no-one left hungry and we paid about $30/person. The owners and the chef are super people, very friendly. It's on Sixth just below South.

Any sightings of the elusive kumquat? (Okay, I'm making fun of Ms. Hesser a little bit, as I've seen kumquats at the 10th and Reed Acme, for pete's sake, but I am curious as to whether Iovine has any.)

I don't think it's of no consequence, or I wouldn't have posted. Sorry to interrupt your lecture on libertarianism, state's rights, and free trade. Carry on.

It's neither a secret nor an implication of conspiracy to say that Philadelphia and other similar glossy regional magazines (not just in this area!) are beholden to their advertisers to the extent that content is...affected.

What Greg said. Exactly what I was thinking, and well said. (Um, except for the part about the author of the article working for Rx. I didn't think that part.)

Maria's Dream Soup at Cucina Forte. Light chicken broth, mushrooms, chicken, a bit of spinach and other veggies, cubes of bread sauteed w/egg wash. Simple, comforting, and yes, I do dream of it.

Help me not starve at lunchtime! Besides Nan Zhou, what are some of your other very very cheap and tasty Chinatown lunch options?

Seconding that the South Philly places are not a good fit. Carman's is way too small, and Morning Glory and Sabrina's don't do reservations. Sabrina's would be big enough, but you're going to wait on the sidewalk for an hour with a party of nine. For Mexican, I love La Lupe's huevos, but the service is going to be too slow. Garibaldi would be a better bet, but as with any of the Mexican places, the breakfast selection is limited to two or three egg dishes. Standard Tap, also hard to get a table and a little too smoky for the baby, probably. N. 3rd would be a better bet, but do they do reservations? I'm not a big fan of Jones, but even I must admit they handle brunch well. I'd also recommend Fork -- the service is always terrific and they do a classy brunch. (Though really, if I were you I'd probably take Greg up on his offer and go to Rx, since he offered so nicely to accomodate your family. Can't beat having an in with the owner!)

That's about right, since a dozen is $4. (It's been fun watching the more skeptical of my co-workers convert to enthusiasts when I bring that bag of hot pretzels in.)

What time were you looking? There are pretzels at all of the sandwich tiny metal carts (not the Chinese food or fresh fruit ones) that I've ever seen in Center City, but they do all close up shop at about 3. I live near Federal Bakery. I vouch for the wonderfulness of their hot-from-the-oven pretzels. It turned me from a what's-with-these-pretzels person into a pretzel-lover.

Vadouvan, I live in South Philly and know the restaurants well. Please note that my entire post was not directed to you specifically; my comments were directed to the discussion at large.

Yo, Vadovan. Copy and paste your text into the reply, highlight, hit the QUOTE button above the editing box. A few points I'd like to throw into the discussion. 1) It's tacky to completely trash a restaurant if completely unfamiliar with the food. An article on the opening does not count as "familiarity." However, it's true that this isn't much of a foodie NYC event. (It is a Philly-relevant event, though.) 2) This isn't Italy. Batali is American. Especially considering the breadth of Italian food in Philly, it's silly to use "Italian-American" as a pejorative term. And no matter how fine Batali's technique or authentic his ingredients, this is a type of Italian-American food. Especially considering the cost of dining in his restaurants. 3) Not Italian-American does not necessary equal "like Babbo."

Heck, I have the same problem with the 9th Street Market. I live right in the neighborhood, but even if I leave work at exactly 5 and hurry home, most stores are closed by the time I get there. Sure, I could stop at SuperFresh, Whole Foods, or Acme, but honestly, going to a supermarket is a lot more time-consuming and less enjoyable than popping into a local shop, and I'd rather support local small businesses.

I was a little surprised by the LeBan rave, as I find the food at La Lupe quite uneven. The pozole is lovely, I'm not overfond of their tortas, and the tacos are either unspeakably delicious or really not great. While I wouldn't call the service "gruff", I wouldn't call it particularly warm, either, though I've never had any complaints.

zeffer, your experience matches mine (a few years ago) and several trustworthy friends (more recently) particularly on the service issue. Unattentive, condescending waitstaff. I remember our food being good, but not outstanding, with a very long wait for entrees and a bizarrely long wait for the check. I give it a big meh. There's certainly plenty of good Italian nearby, and I've never had service issues like that anywhere else in the neighborhood.

Had a good beef stew last night. Basic old-fashioned recipe of carrots, potatoes, onions, beef, plenty of wine in thickened gravy. Not a victim of the oversalting plague that affects so many dishes there. My compatriot at the bar, after seeing (and smelling) my stew ordered his own. We agreed that our only complaint, and a minor one, is that it was a bit heavy on the beef. Not that we want them to skimp on the main ingredient, but we both were wishing for more carrot and potato bites in between chunks of meat. (Those chunks were undeniably tender and flavorful, though.) The steak and black bean tacos have been on the board for weeks now -- they're pretty much a regular item. And one of the best on the menu, at that. Comes with terrific and unfussy guac. (Which is the way I like it.) A little pricey considering the proximity to La Lupe, but then again, La Lupe doesn't have Beamish on tap. Menu prices do continue to rise, though. I can't say I was happy to see entrees topping 22 bucks that would be going for $15 at any of our other fine gastropubs. I do find that the soups, stews, salads, and smaller entrees give you more bang for your buck. (Caveat: I'm usually eating there quite late and am therefore in the market for a smaller dinner.)

I can add nothing except to say: Very nice post! (Note to mods: Pinworthy?)

Ongoing Royal report: I was going to post yesterday to say that I was pleased to find that the offerings seem to be even-ing out a bit at Royal, even if they do still tend toward oversalting. And then I tasted truly dreadful "potato soup" last night that tasted like thickened chicken bouillon and a truly bizarre amount of ground pepper. However, I've had several specials that were quite good, including truly great steak tacos, classic French frisee salad (w/poached egg and sherry vinaigrette) and several good soups, including a bacon/potato and "three lilies" (think multiple members of the onion family.) I'm going to stick with "uneven" as a judgment, though this is a big step above my previous assessment of "bleh!"

Curious. All the veggie bahn mi I've had use tofu. About half toast the rolls.

Is this really blending new and local traditions, or are they just making a Vietnamese hoagie on an Italian roll because their customers have come around to Vietnamese fare instead of just traditional hoagies? Just curious...don't know the place in West Philly. (FWIW, my favorite veggie hoagie in South Philly is at Cafe Nyuh Y at 8th and Christian.)