mattohara
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Posts posted by mattohara
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That used to be Amara, right? Is it still the same folks? As you can tell, i haven't been there in a while..
not sure. i'm only two years old in Philly.
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i have been to Cafe de Laos and liked it very much. details are vague as once was a long time ago and the recent visit was takeout (and so less memorable by default). i will have to go again soon and have a proper dinner so i can report.
my problem reviewing Thai food for authenticity is that i'm not sure how to qualify. if there's a gold standard i can go to first point me in the right direction! from the thread so far it looks like i'll be starting at Erawan. convenient that my lady lives two blocks away.
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i did a search for Smile Cafe in the Forums but didn't find squat. i've been there a few times and had lovely food and lovely service. it's tiny and BYOB. 22nd street just between chestnut and sansom i think.
does it stack up to Siam?
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i know the post said 'upscale' but if you're not from the area you may not know about philly's huge BYOB scene. there are lots of smaller restaurants with really great food that let you bring your own beer/wine/liquor.
also i see that you're interested in baking and pastry. you should try to get to some of the fantastic italian pastry shops that are in south philly ( varallo, isgro, termini, cosmi ) or at least get to isgro's stand in the Reading Terminal Market.
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maybe i'm being a bit anal here but, ...........isn't it bruSchetta?
and isn't bruschetta toasted bread w/ olive oil and garlic? the toppings put on bruschetta can vary widely, no?
Somehow I don't think that etymology is a big deal at the pork shack, and that's the name of the steak. try one and you might forget the latin roots of the word too.
As Phil says, the meaning of bruschetta has migrated, from toasted bread, to toasted bread with stuff on it, to the stuff itself. Technically, I suppose it's an example of synecdoche. But it's also an example of the American delight in piling more stuff on top of other stuff: contrast the Italian pizza margherita with the all-American Meat Lover's Delite. The topping becomes more important than the thing itself.
Jars of "bruschetta" make Bambino Gesu cry bitter tears, but what are you gonna do? Anyway, adding a layer of tomato/garlic/onion flavor to a cheesesteak would be a good thing, I bet. It reminds me a little bit of that antipasto hoagie from, um, whatever that place is that has it. (Too lazy to look it up right now...)
i just wanted to add that i love you guys. no matter how new-friends we are, i love you all.
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i stopped in for dinner last night and had a bad experience. totally surprised me since i love Royal so much. i also know two people there that i used to work with and they both told me i should come back and have them take care of me so i'll probably do that soon. i'll definitely give them a second chance at least.
we got chips and salsa right away. i enjoyed both salsas very much. our Cadillac margarita pitcher was very good and big (though even with just the two of us splitting a pitcher we didn't feel any buzz).
we ordered some guacamole right off the bat. we took a few bites each before we decided that it had an off-flavor like bad lime juice. when mentioned it was taken away and taken off the bill.
we got the mahi mahi tacos and the pork empanadas next. both of which were mentioned above. our tacos looked the same as the ones above except no radish on the side. i think creme, radish and cabbage are all pretty traditional accompaniments but ours were just some overcooked fish cubes with cilantro that was overcooked to the point where i thought it was parsley (i couldn't taste it at all). so...fish cubes in tortillas.
the pork empanadas had a great texture (deep fryers do that!) but the filling was one-dimensional. so i tried with the salad, which made it better, and with the sauce (which made it wetter). for some reason we thought it was an almond vinaigrette, but the above description of the sauce sounds more accurate. a simple, light creamy sauce. not very flavourful to me though.
again i will definitely go back for another try. i love the atmosphere and the location and the great tequila collection is lots of fun.
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i wasn't trying to source brik, just mentioning some specialty shops.
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ha! that certainly does make me think twice about the Homemade Cashews. but damn they are tasty. oh and the other place is called Locust Deli and has a killer beer selection. serves food in the back too.
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the italian import shop is on 16th and mifflin.
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i just found some odd but amazing cashews at two stores on 21st st. there's Morning Calm deli (between chestnut and sansom) and another right by Locust st. there's a little clear plastic bag that sells for one dollar. inside it are about 15 cashews coated in what seems to be a powdered form a new compound i call ECM (Entire Chinese Meal). the ECM is a magical compound that is most likely comprised entirely of MSG. you eat one cashew and feel as though you've had a whole sit-down dinner! they're tasty and delicious!
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some of these might be well known but here's some other shops:
bitar's has all the middle-eastern goodness
9th and federal
there's an italian specialty shop that just opened across from varallo's
10th and morris
there are two asian supermarkets down here on washington ave. i've only been to the one in the plaza at 6th and washington. it's fantastic though! lots of exotic fruits and live animals. there's also the downstairs one in chinatown. great candy aisle and selection of cheap cleavers there.
assouline is definitely worth the trip. it's out there and not many people go to the shop (i had to yell to get somebody to come out of the back) but they have some cool stuff. my mom wanted a big container of Maille mustard so i got her a 9 lb. jug.
there's another italian shop just west of broad in south philly. i'll try to figure out the cross street.
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nice! i'm going tomorrow.
and should the subtitle of this post be changed? how about 'auspicious start for new RTM stall!' ?
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Good Luck Hershel's!
I can't wait to stop by. For a little while I worked at Jake's Deli in Milwaukee. I have never had a better sandwich in my life. Hand-sliced corned beef that is cooked in-house on rye with mustard and a pickle. It will honestly be hard to beat the memory of that sandwich but i'll give you a fair shake.
here's a link with some nice foodie pics:
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killer pics! i work at ansill and haven't been able to try to octopus yet i heard it's great. now i'm going to go search forums for tips on taking better food pics.
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i live right by all the vietnamese hoagie places so i've been conducting a survey recently. basically that means going to all the different bahn mi places i can find and having at least one of every hoagie! for the most part i've been finding them very much the same. the difference is more in what they offer besides the hoagies. Cafe Nhuy is the smallest and has the smallest menu, but does have the vegetarian option. Cafe Cuong always has some of those crazy vietnamese gelatinous desserts. Cafe Huong Lan has a full menu and tables to sit down.
that one is cooked pork (like a cold cut). the pate takes the place of the mayo or sauce.
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it's a block away from my apartment and we finally got around to going tonight.
everything was very good. loved the almejas and the mixto. flan was different than described above but absolutely amazing flavors and great texture. service was impeccable and impressive even to a professional server like myself. i have some good pics i just have to figure out where to upload them...
cactus salad
this was pretty cool. i can't remember if i've had cactus before. there were some little spicy peppers mixed in with the cactus. clemente said it's briefly marinated with some oil and vinegar and then grilled. it's firm but gives easily. it was a bit odd that the greens weren't dressed. i think the idea was maybe to toss it yourself at the table (we split it as a first course)? there was enough dressing on the cactus for this to make sense anyway.
got it! here goes nothin...
Empanadas de Huitlacoche
i'm into the idea of huitlacoche but this is the second time i've had it (royal tavern has it in quesadilla form) and been underwhelmed. tasty, nice crispy texture on the outside but a bit bland on the inside. could have used some more texture or spice. we used the tomatillo salsa as a sauce.
Almejas de Lala
my only gripe here is that they fall apart when you try to dig them out of the shell. if they had been separated before being broiled it would have been a pleasure to eat. superdelicious with the chorizo and the breadcrumbs. great texture and flavor combo.
Molcajete Mixto
you can't see the bubbles and steam from here but it's pretty impressive. it smells great and the sauce has a nice spice to it. beef, whole scallions, chicken, cactus and queso fresco. comes with some smaller tortillas and you build your own.
Rellenos
very nice. stuffed poblano with shredded pork inside. the rice was killer. soft and mild. the beans were perfect too (as noted above), must be that real lard!
Flan (of the gods)
this stuff just killed it. we had a great time the whole way through and were just blown away by this flan. best flan ever! i see it's different from the other pic. less of a smooth texture and the whipped cream came with some crunchy chocolatey bits.
so again:
service impeccable. folded napkins, chairs pulled out, wine poured, water filled, timing great.
food mostly very good, some great!
sangria and margarita mixes of the house are supposed to be very good.
get the flan!
i'm coming back on a cool summer night with a bunch of friends after a day of bocce and we're gonna drink pitchers of sangria.
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as a waiter in Philly, which has a ton of BYOBs (i work at one) here's what i got:
1. the owner has no hospitality training.
2. Chilean Sea Bass is really a made up moniker for Patagonian Toothfish: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagonian_toothfish
3. the owner may be really poor and struggling to stay in business. this is still no excuse for bad hospitality.
4. you are completely in the right and i feel your pain with some of the responses on this thread.
5. if you're doing a great job as a guest (and you are) only frequent places that make you feel comfortable. alternatively you could discuss the winelist and corkage fee with the owner in a roundabout way.
6. vis a vis the beer question: come to philly! you can bring any bottle of any alcohol to any BYOB and there's no fee! we have regulars who bring premixed cocktails, beer, champagne, wine, dessert wines and everything else under the sun.
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in the restaurants i've worked in there is always a consensus among the staff about what the best dishes on the menu are. and if you ask us to bring them to you blind we would of course be happy, knowing that you will mostly likely love them as well. you might have to accept one item being the most expensive on the list, but if the app, entree (and some people ask for waitstaff's favorite wine as well) and dessert are each the most expensive you should be suspicious and not leave a huge gratuity. a thinking waiter will appreciate this fact and be smart enough to not do that to you.
you just can't be someone who has to have a low salt intake, doesn't take well to butter, can't stand the smell of brussels sprouts, etc.
as a waiter i almost ALWAYS ask my waiter to tell me about or just bring his absolute favorite dishes. they know more than any reviewer. ;D
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we've got one at ansill but it's our house wine!
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hello everyone and thanks for all the kind words about Pif. i'm the Matt that waits tables there with the short hair and scruff.
i just joined and this is my first post!i moved to philly two years ago and have been working in restaurants (washington square, waterworks, now Pif and Ansill) since i got here. when my girlfriend and i went to Pif for my birthday and Ansill for hers a few weeks later i left thinking to myself 'i have to get a job here.'
a few months later Waterworks wasn't working out very well so i started to go hang out at Ansill. i started talking to David at the bar and a few weeks later got a call about starting work!
i started working at his restaurants because of the food. it's nice to see a lot of other people who feel the same way.
if you stop in and you see a skinny white guy with a shaved head please say hi.
A Great Steak and a Beer
in Pennsylvania: Dining
Posted
trying to stay on topic BUT:
i had a friend ask me about a place to get an good steak that's BYOB. i hesitated to recommend Pif cause 1. i work there and 2. it's $30.
anybody know a good BYOB with a straightforward steak?