MikeyTree

Le Virtu was available, so we've changed our plans and are going to try it out. Thanks for the suggestion! It sounds great, judging by the reviews and the menu. That's good to know. I've only ever been there in couples or small groups, and the service was decent.

I realize that now. This was for an out of town university, we didn't realize that Penn was having its graduations that weekend too. I booked at Bindi, though I've never been there. The cash-only policy will be annoying with a party that size though. Illuminare also available. I'm tempted to go there, for the atmosphere.

It's to celebrate a university graduation, so nice ambiance would be a plus, though nothing so intimate that it can't comfortably accomodate 10 diners. I don't have a set type of cuisine, but several of the people coming are foodies, so something interesting would be helpful. Unfortunately, apparently every university in the city is having graduations that weekend, so large reservations are hard to come by. I've tried at Amada, Raw, and Audrey Claire so far, but they all are full for large parties for dinner.

A bunch of my family is coming in town next weekend, and I'm going to book dinner for 10 on Sunday. I'd like to try a good restaurant, but not extremely expensive like Morimoto's or the like. Any recommendations?

I'm curious what everyone thinks are the best inexpensive restaurants in Philadelphia, where it's possible to get a good meal for less than $10-15 per person. I'm a grad student, so I don't have the ability to go out to many of the restaurants that get the best reviews. Ken Starr restaurants are right out. Chinatown is my favorite place for that, with Szechuan Tasty House and Chung King.

Is this cart still around? I've walked past that corner a couple times, and never saw it.

Ahh, I miss Montreal bagels. I'm from Toronto originally, and there are several excellent Montreal-style bagel bakeries there. Montreal bagels are a lot lighter than NY bagels, with a extremely thin crisp crust and a soft chewy inside, somewhat like a good fresh soft pretzel. They're a little bit sweet, and they're cooked in wood ovens, so they have a light smoky flavor in them as well, plus the taste of the toasted sesame or poppy seeds coating them. I miss them, and gorge myself whenever I go back to Toronto to visit.

You aren't kidding. An Indian friend of mind doesn't like spice, and asks waiters to make his dishes not at all spicy. Yet when he goes to Indian or southeast Asian restaurants with caucasian friends who love spice and ask for their food extra hot, the "mild" dishes they give my Indian friend are almost always much hotter than the caucasian "very hot" ones.

Before moving to Philly this summer, I lived in Delaware for almost 4 years, where there's only one or two passably spicy restaurants. I'm originally from Toronto, one of the best cities in the world for international cuisine, so I know what I've been missing. I have a lot of spice to make up for! What are your favorite blazingly spicy restaurants and foods in the city? I've already discovered Szechwan Tasty House and Chunk King thanks to you all, but now I'd like to find some properly spicy Indian, Thai, Mexican, Korean, and other cuisine. The more fiery the better.