lfabio2007

My debut on these boards was a review for Tinto's opening which was, to say the least, strongly unflattering. We've since been back a number of times and, ironically, this is becoming one of our go-to destinations in the city. The brunch is excellent - and a bargain to boot at $25 - and the dinner experience we had was a confirmation of our prior good experiences. We opted for the chef's tasting and wine pairing. I will get the sour note out of the way immediately and say that the wine pairing was a fair bit off. I do not even attempt to pretend to be in any way an expert on spanish wines, but the pairings simply did not flatter the food or the wine. Ayant dit ca, the tasting comprised 3x3 plates and two desserts. In front of everything, some excellent rolled cheese crisps, of which I could have probably eaten some three dozen. My only complaint is that they tasted like more . We then kept going with a cheese mixto, some verdial olives and the chorizo pamplona - all very good, with a particular mention for the chutney that was served with the cheeses. I am persuaded it contained saffron and it was very good - and very well paired to the goat cheeses. After that came the lamb loin broxetas with the eggplant sauce that we've all come to appreciate and love, green beans with orange and paprika vinagrette. After that, the duck confit with mushrooms and a chestnut soup was possibly one of the highlights, due to both an excellent chestnut soup and an outstanding confit, the turbot sauce pastis which was well done but honestly nothing more and a very good organic chicken with truffled whipped potatoes (which also tasted like more!). To finish off, the gateaux basques (where do they get the cherries?) and the chocolate cake with caramelised bananas and saffron crema, which came close to making me reevaluate my stand on bananas and chocolate. In what has become a recurring theme for us, this was all enjoyed outside, with a wonderful view on Capogiro. No, we couldn't bring ourselves to have some post-dessert icecream, sadly.

Just a quick note - we passed by here last night on the way to Modo Mio. Though Katie, sadly, was not there, the cocktails were very good, so were the bacon wrapped dates filled with blue and the cured meats were also very good! Edit: is Katie no longer here?

We went here yesterday evening, after getting fairly stuffed at Chick's. Due to the stuffedness, we didn't spring for the turista menu and only did pasta + second. I had the 'caramellos', pasta filled with potato and bolognese ragout (not quite...) both inside and outside as a sauce, my GF had the linguine with the vongole. The pasta was very good - I wonder if they make it themselves - with additional praise going to the vongole in the linguine, which were good even by venetian standard - possibly the best I've had stateside. After that, I had the 'costine', boneless pork ribs stewed in red wine with a pickled fennel and arugula arrangement, on top of a SIGNIFICANTLY oversalted panata. The costine were good - I particularly liked the fennel, which is not a frequent ingredient to be seen - but let's say that if one had not been stuffed from Chick's, the value really is in the turista menu, because the quantity of meat was quite minimal. GF had the animelle, which 'were not the best sweetbreads' and the lemon confit with them was somewhat harsh and heavy handed. A final note to strongly suggest eating outside, as we did - inside the noise was comparable to the Summit Point track paddock with Gruppe N cars on both tracks - and to just as strongly suggest avoiding the coffee. There is a big rant coming on that topic some other day, but I shall say this: the machines are the same, the coffee is often even better here, so I can't understand WHY the espresso range from vile to moderately awful more or less everywhere. Here, the fact that the machine had last been cleaned in 1631 didn't help. My final verdict is, the turista menu should really be selected and is a good bargain, whereas I can't say as much for the $44pp after tax and tip last night. The restaurant is good, but it certainly is not osteria at a lower pricepoint, Vaudovan is entirely correct. We shall return, however, a review after one try is a bit unfair.

The point was moot because, unfortunately, we were busy. And yes, they are good wines, I do not dispute that. Still, let's say that you're paying for the evening: I do that on a regular basis and I usually don't complain, though after a recent experience (truffles were involved but the tab *for the quality thereof* was best defined as offensive) I will probably go less often. In this case, however, at $171/person for the wines... I would probably have passed even if I had not been busy.

I do have thoughts: we were thinking of going, then thought again about the price and decided to pass. Vetri offers excellent meals, but their prices have stopped being justifiable. AFAIK there are still tables available, so we must not be the only people who have come to this conclusion. $250 + tax + tip = $640 per couple. No, thanks.

We went to Jimmy's last week. The brisket was good, though perhaps a little dry and not as ... intense as the genuine article. The pulled pork was very good, so were the ribs, though they were on the firm side. The bacon 'appetizer' OTOH merits abundant praise and the beans on the side were also very good. Collard greens were OK, mac & cheese decidedely not. On the whole, I think I preferred Lucy's.

Let's start organising, this forum seems to have taken a turn for the sleepy lately. Heck, I know I didn't review the last six or seven restaurants I've been to, including BTW a planned 'crow never tasted so good' post about Talula's Table.

And we passed by, looking for desserts after a test dinner at Sweet Lucy's BBQ (good - ribs are possibly the best). The beignets and the cheesecake were very good, so were Katy's drinks. We had the Diablo and the absitnthe-infused cocktail whose name presently escapes me and they hit the spot even as after-dinner drinks.

Good call - it was one of the best duck confits I had in quite a while. The whole ensemble was very remarkable, down to the potato/onion/bellpepper semi-remoulade under the duck egg. Highly recommended.

It tastes ridiculously good too. We were there last week.

I do not doubt your experience: however, I have to wonder how long the restaurant can survive as a going concern, as the wording goes, after that kind of a choice.

We were at Osteria last week. I may have a new favourite in the Frico appetizer. It's the kind with potatoes, doctored with bacon. While not 100% traditional, it is very good. Pizzas have become... almost too thin and crunchy at this point. Ingredients are still very good though.

OK question: what's in them? I mean - I ate them, but...

'And I am made Shiva, destroyer of brunch'. First Cafe Sud, then Ugly American, now Parc... I swear we have to stop going to places for brunch lest we run out of chefs. In actual content: we bought a baguette from them, now that they sell them separately. They were.. definitely not like the ones you have at the restaurant. I wonder if the chef had already left?

One word comment: AAAAAAAAARGH!! Further reflection: it takes a particularly shortsighted and masochist business owner to fire the people who are bringing good reviews (which means clients, which means BILLS IN THE CASH REGISTER). Something comes to mind about geese and golden eggs.

We went back to Fuji about a month ago. Everything was fine, but with the variety that I see posted here (and that I don't usually get to experience) I will launch an idea I had mentioned a while ago: how about organising a Fuji dinner-for-egulleters?

And we were back at Dim Sum Garden today: still no gas lines that I could see, the menu seems to have shrunk a little if anything... but the dumplings are still among the best I have ever eaten.

We went to Parc a couple weeks ago, Saturday for lunch. The food was very good, with a special mention for the charcuterie and the bread. The service was so bad that they ended up spontaneously comping our appetizer after it took over forty-five minutes to materialise. I'd love to go back for the food. I don't know if I will for the service. Pricing.. is what it is.

You get six - or eight - courses, though some would quibble that you get an amuse bouche, four courses and the piccola pasticceria at the end. The chef decides what courses these are, though they will ask you for allergies/dislikes and will of course take suggestions. One thing that bears mentioning is that mr. Benjamin, the partner/maitre, is an asset, not only for his extensive knowledge of wine.

Bringing this back up: did anyone go for the Jun 20th event? I quote: European-style BBQ! Bring your appetite; we’ll bring the food. Thirty dollars gets you a heaping plate for two. With roasted pig, assorted grilled meats, and marinated vegetables you’re bound to be in back-yard heaven. With an excellent selection of ice cold beers on tap, and the best AC in the city to sweeten the deal, why wouldn’t you be there? I would've liked to be on the right side of the ocean, though I guess Ansill is now last year's news.

Very good indeed. The sausage ravioli are also highly recommended.

Well since noone steps up... do we want to set something up for brunch?

Sadly, they were out of the pig at Osteria last time we were there (I think it was two weeks ago?), they seem to run out of it VERY early in the evening. I think we may just go visit ClC based on your recommendation though.

Matt, you can get the *individual* baked goods - we had an excellent danish, with dried apricots on top of the cheese, a nice addition - and a very good cinnamon roll, but not the basket. Still, I think their pastry baking is one of their strong points.

In a slight change from the usual, my girlfriend wrote the review. I'm just the man behind the C-C C-V. We've been to the Ugly American twice, both for Sunday brunch. Both times, I came away with an overall favorable impression, and an inkling that we may have found our new favourite brunch spot (which is something we've been lacking ever since Cafe Sud closed down). The only low point, either time, was our waitress's tendency to vanish into the aether for extended periods of time. Perhaps the waitresses are taken into that mysterious oubliette at the bottom of that spiral stair up front, where they undergo some sort of deprogramming. Perhaps it ate her and spat out a clone, which then took some time in coming up to speed with current events. Whichever it was, it took an awfully long time to get our orders in and drinks on the table on our first visit, and on both visits we were obliged to get up and hunt down someone who could give us our check. Some of the highlights from our trips: - On our first trip, we ordered a basket of baked goods for a table - an option we noted was discontinued on our second trip, and what a pity that was. The cinnamon bun had the right amount of cinnamony tingle without being like biting into a cinnamon stick, the dough (a brioche, or brioche-like, perhaps - I'm no baker) was buttery-rich and yet kept its fluff, and a lovely medium dark caramel sauce nestled in all of the crevices therein, injecting the whole with its mellow sweetness. The croissant, enjoyed by lfabio, was pronounced an accurate representation of its kind, airy and flaky and buttery without being leaden. The danish was another classic rendition, but was rendered with the same competence (which is hard) and the same flair (which is much harder) as the rest. By the time we got to the cupcake (carrot with cream cheese frosting), there was only one out of four of us who dared to carve off a chunk, because by now we were beginning to understand that portion sizes at the Ugly American are very much American-sized, and we were already feeling a bit challenged by the pre-brunch binge on caffeine and sugar. - After seeing philadining's review, I opted to try the biscuits with sausage gravy and poached eggs. The biscuits were outstanding - both the smothered and non-smothered versions. How do I know this, you ask? In the interests of scientific enquiry, I nabbed a chunk of a friend's biscuit and did a comparison. Neither were found lacking, which is always a good indication that the cook's hit on a winner. The sausage gravy had the right balance of creamy-sweet-peppery, the eggs were perfectly poached, and the whole shebang, once breached with fork and knife, ended up dissolving into a great, gooey, delicious mess. - The classic breakfast was more of the same as the pastries - classic, homey stuff, but done with good ingredients, good technique, and gusto. The eggs (both scrambled) were fluffy, the home fries had a light crunch on the exterior and a tender, smooth, interior, the sausage wasn't the typical sweet breakfast sausage (which was just fine by all parties involved), and the biscuits, of course, very nearly stole the whole damn show. - After our experiences with portion sizes, we were expecting maybe a whole T-bone to play the role of the steak in our steak and eggs. Instead, we ended up with what seemed to be a flank steak, sliced on the bias and cooked medium rare. It was pronounced tasty, and the hollandaise was not only the real deal but fresh, stable, and went very well. - The lobster and leek omelet may have been the only low-ish point. Mind you, it wasn't bad, but the lobster was minimal and a bit chewy, and I question the addition of cilantro to the whole. But then, I often question the addition of cilantro in anything except perhaps for guacamole, so I would jot that particular note down under the 'entirely subjective' column and throw it to the side. Nevertheless, it took me by surprise, and getting ambushed by wild cilantro can be a terrible way to start your morning. - The coffee was good. Nothing more than that, but many a perfectly good brunch has been spoiled by getting a steaming cup full o' Mobil 1, so I thought I'd mention it. - Did I mention portion sizes. I think the table buckled when our entrees hit it. So, for that matter, did my knees. Good thing I was sitting at the time. All in all, a welcome addition to the Philly brunch rotation. You won't find any high-falutin' cuisine here, but you will find a pretty solid selection of well-executed traditional fare at reasonable prices. And if the waitress takes a while to turn up with your check, well, it's Sunday. Roll with it. Oh, and I'd also like to add a shout-out to Matt, who was observant enough to notice us sitting at a window table and kind enough to stop in and say hi.