Andrew Fenton

Interesting; I ordered it without sugar and there was lots and lots of crema. So I don't think that's the secret- though in the interests of research, I ought to go back and order it both ways. I agree absolutely about the intrigue and mystique: what's the guy doing behind the bar? Something Aleister Crowley-esque, no doubt.

hey, what else is youth for? Sounds pretty good...

You're hard core: I don't know that I could do granita di caffe more than once a week! It's not as sweet as gelato, but it's so rich that I don't think I'd want it too often, even (or maybe especially) when it's hot out. I think that for me, granita, like cookies for Cookie Monster, "is a sometimes food."

It's gotten hot again here-- temperatures in the 90's-- and so the other evening after it had cooled off a bit, I decided to take a long walk, with a theme. That theme, you ask? Baroque Rome? The splendors of antiquity? Oh no: as I said, it's hot, and hot weather demands some icy sweets. With that in mind, I started in Trastevere. On the Lungotevere degli Anguillara, on one end of the Ponte Cestio that leads to Tiber Island, there's a little stand called Sora Mirella la Grattachecca. They've been there since 1915 and do one thing, very well: shaved ice. I have the sense that this treat used to be more common in Rome than it is now; there's another stand up the street, but grattachecca doesn't fill the streets the way gelato does. It's a shame, because as far as I'm concerned, as a hot-weather treat, it can kick gelato's butt around the corner every day of the week and twice on Sundays. Superficially, grattachecca is like a snow cone, but I've always hated snow cones: massive granules of ice that threaten to break your teeth and lousy artificial-tasting syrup don't really have much to offer. This is a lot better, for several reasons. First, the ice is finely shaved by hand into a soft texture, then scraped into a cup. The syrup is also good quality-- for me, amarena (sour cherry)-- and you know, actually, like, tastes what it's supposed to be. And best of all, they top the concoction with a little bit of fruit: in this case, a few sugared black cherries. This gave me the strength I needed to cross the bridge into the centro storico, where I wandered (lonely as a cloud) and ended up not in a field of daffodils, but the Campo di Fiori. There I walked by the famous forno, which, I'm told, turns out the best pizza bianca in the city. They were closed, of course (damn you, August!) but the sign promised that they will be back later in the month. And finally, ground zero for frozen goodness: Giolitti, near the Pantheon and in the eyes of many, the best gelato Rome has to offer. How can you live up to that? It's hard, but they make a good go at it. They have a wide selection of flavors (Champagne gelato, anyone?) but when it's hot I like to go for fruit: this time, I tried mora (mulberry) and lampone (raspberry, which had just come out from the back: good to see that they make the gelato continuously) topped with a nice big dollop of soft, fluffy panna. I don't, frankly, know what to make of the mora: its color was outstanding, purple verging on black, but had a flavor that you might describe as "subtle" or, less charitably, "not much". But I'll be honest: I don't think I've had mulberry before (I just like Pyramus and Thisbe), so that might be a characteristic of the fruit. Lampone, on the other hand, was outstanding. You know how raspberries (and some other berries, too, like blackberry) have, underneath the bright berry flavor, a sort of green, vegetal taste? I don't know if it comes from the seeds or what, but the presence of that flavor has always been a touchstone for me in judging whether a gelato is really good. Giolitti's lampone had it, oh yes. Good stuff, and I'll be back. I couldn't eat any more sweet stuff that night, but the next afternoon's walk oh-so-conveniently brought me back to the neighborhood of the Pantheon (hey, it was closed before. What's a guy supposed to do?) This time around, I went over to the dark side-- literally, in this case-- at Tazza D'Oro. This is another super-famous place; one of the top caffes in the City, and particularly well-known for their granita di caffe. I don't remember exactly when granita machines started appearing in cafes in the US: maybe the mid- or late 90s? I was never all that impressed; they always struck me as sort of a fancy, or at least Italianified version of a milkshake, sort of like the frappucino explosion that hit a few years later. Mostly sweet, not much character. But Tazza d'Oro's granita is the real deal: sweet, true, but with a dark richness that comes from using absolutely first-rate coffee. It's very strong, like good (frozen)espresso, but without any bitterness. And it doesn't hurt that the granita comes sandwiched between two layers of first-rate whipped cream, like a coffee parfait. You can scarf it down at the bar, or take it to the steps of the Pantheon and savor it as you watch people pass by. Finally (and irresistably, if non gelato-ally), I felt that it'd be wrong to check out Tazza d'Oro without hitting its competitor, Caffe Sant' Eustachio. This is the Rolling Stones to Tazza d'Oro's Beatles (or maybe it's a Roma/Lazio sort of thing, if you prefer a soccer analogy): you're supposed to like one or the other. I can't make a fair comparison yet, but the espresso at Sant' Eustachio is wonderful; I don't know what sort of black magic they use, but somehow they wind up with pillows of smooth crema that covers the coffee. Lovely. What's a little bit surprising about Sant' Eustachio is just how unprepossessing it is from the outside. From its reputation as a temple of the bean, you'd expect something huge; but it's almost literally a hole in the wall. But a hole in the wall that knows its way around coffee...

Goddamn, that looks like a good dinner. Wow. STH seems like a good test case for seeing how deep a menu can go; lots of dishes that, while they might not look so interesting on the page, turn out to be really good. Y'all should continue your research: arteries be damned!

What sad news; a terrible loss to so many people.

My apologies if this has been answered already, but why not simply raise prices by 20% and have a "service included" note on the menu? I have no problem with including service in the cost of the meal, but I'd prefer it if the restaurant were up-front about it.

As the man said, "love the one you're with." Besides, I haven't found any decent kebabs in Italy yet, so you should feel lucky. Anyway, I agree with FIET that Persian Grill's kebabs are tops.

I like the yogurt soda (it's like carbonated doog/dough/however you spell it) but did you look at the sodium content? One bottle is like 50% of your daily salt. If you don't have high blood pressure before you drink it, you will afterwards...

mmm, "un sandwich"? I dunno... but I'll check out Bar Rinelli and report back. Anyway, my last meal in Philly was a pastrami sandwich from Famous Fourth Street Deli, someplace I'd managed to avoid, despite living around the corner from it for five years. Which just shows I'm a loser-- or at least a loser for the last six months since it changed hands-- because it was a hell of a sandwich. Too much of a sandwich; especially after noshing on complimentary sauerkraut n' pickles and the potato "pancakes" (really more like tater tots or potato balls or somethin') I was only able to finish half. So I packed the other half of the sandwich and took it on the plane with me: a pound of fatty meat and two Benadryls sent me off to dreamland as a 118 knot tailwind sped the plane over the sea to Italy. Next stop: tripa alla Romana Club! All eGulleteers are welcome. It's been fun, folks.

I'm a big fan of the Lock Spot; it's where I always head when I'm in town.

Drinks last night at Davio's for their summer happy hour special. Davio's is super-expensive for dinner, but their happy hour rules. Drinks are cheap and good, and the appetizers are tasty. Pizza, shrimp cocktail (with shrimp the size of kittens), nice olives and cheesesteak spring rolls could make for a dinner in themselves. And Gus the bartender is a cool guy. Had intended to head to Pho Xe Lua for dinner, but they were closed, so instead we headed to Rangoon. I can't add much to this exhaustive account of the dinner, just say that I'm glad we ended up at Rangoon. I've never had a bad meal there, and I keep discovering new dishes on the menu.

Hard to say. I mean, it would have been fun, duh, but Vietnamese isn't much like Burmese. Easiest way to find out is to check out Pho Xe Lua for yourself, of course.

I'll admit; I was one of those mockers. There I was, standing with my finger pointed, yelling HAR HAR HAR! Because for all the years I've been going to Rangoon, I've always figured that the kung pao was just a sop for whitey and his unsophisticated palate. But then I remembered: this is Mr. Phil A. Dining, the man with a keggerator in his car, and the guy who turned me on to the Szechuan Tasty House. So I placed the other order and damn if it wasn't good stuff. The other new-to-me dish that I just luuurved was the festival rice, which really was a festival. Of chicken. And in my mouth. It's really not like anything else on the menu, more like a Burmese biryani. I've been told that Burmese food is a lot like some Indian regional cuisines, and I wonder if this isn't an example. Anyway, Rangoon is really one of my top favorite restaurants in the city, and it was serendipitous that we ended up there. Good stuff.

Hey, how about an update? (Warning: navel-gazing up ahead. Don't say I didn't warn ya.) Executive summary: with only a couple of days left, I feel pretty good about covering most of my Philadelphia culinary bases. Highlights included two dinners at Studiokitchen. Didn't get greedy and go for a third: my heart and mouth said yes! yes! but my wallet and waistline said no! no! I hit all of my fave BYOBs at least once, and I feel good about that. If each of the hoagies I ate was a wolf, I'd have assembled a mighty pack of slavering beasties by now: all Philadelphia would bow before my awesome power. And I've discovered some of Philly's unknown (to me, duh) ethnic gems, from Caribbean Feast to Zep's (why oh why didn't I go anywhere that starts with an A? Sigh.) I missed a few: still never been to Fork, Balkan Express, or Fuji. And I didn't make it up to Trenton for a Delorenzo's pie. Too bad. Over the last couple of days, I've been busy packing, and that combined with the brutal, punishing heat has conspired me to keep close to home. So... what've I eaten lately? Sweet Lucy's: Okay, this isn't close to home. But I folded it into a trip to Franklin Mills. I really can't say anything about this place that I haven't before; it's just really really good. I did see a couple who were there with a printout of Holly's page in hand. The place was packed, even on a Sunday. Hikaru: not the greatest sushi on the planet. But I can walk to it, and I was in the mood for something light on a hot evening. Dark Horse: I really like the burgers there, but I was in the mood for fish and chips. I shoulda just walked the distance to Royal Tavern; these were sort of disappointing. Lots of breading that was sort of mushy and undercooked. Not so good. But then I got a water ice, and all was right with the world. That was from Rita's: kid-sized mango and lemon. I love that they have kid-sized water ice. It's dirt cheap ($1.20, I think) and a perfect size for filling most water-ice needs. And lunch today was the tuna special hoagie from Chickie's. If this isn't the best tuna sandwich in the world, please tell me where I can find it. Because let me tell you, it rules the school.

I tried a bag of TJ's goat cheese and fines herbes potato chips recently. Nasty stuff: sweet (which chips just shouldn't be), not particularly goat-cheesy flavor. Can't win 'em all, I guess. But I do love, love, love the triple-ginger cookies. Those may be my favorite store-bought cookies EVAH.

I'll second this. Rx is a great choice for a warm summer evening. That's especially true if you can sit outside, but even if not, it's a bright, airy space. (And you'll be staying in the same general West Philly neighborhood; a karmic consideration.)

Ohhhhh, that's rough. Did Shola give you a reason? Cucina Forte is solid Italian. There are others I prefer, starting with Tre Scalini and followed by l'Angolo, but CF isn't bad. You might try a call to Lolita. They don't usually take reservations on weekends, but might for a group of eight; that might get you in. Other than that, the only suggestion I have is to make a list of your favorite spots and work your way down it...

Not to contradict you, but years of juvenile delinquency spent playing heavy-metal records backwards lead me to believe that "natas" means something quite different... ← No confusion. I just called him "Dad". ← Ah, understood. (I'm suddenly reminded of the kid who as a result of an unfortunate typo, sold his soul to Stan...)

Not to contradict you, but years of juvenile delinquency spent playing heavy-metal records backwards lead me to believe that "natas" means something quite different...

I totally agree; went in there a while ago and was dismayed by the overwhelming chocolatude of the sight. I just don't like chocolate all that much, especially in the summer.

Thanks, Evan. Disclaimer: I've never been there, though I've eaten their patties and they're good- though I have little to compare them to. They're also a chain (100 franchises), if you care about that, and have a website. I recently ate at Caribbean Feast Restaurant (215) 223-2665 1338 Rising Sun Ave Philadelphia, PA 19140 up near Temple Hospital. They had patties, but instead I tried the jerk chicken with cabbage, rice and peas. Good stuff, and cheap cheap cheap...

Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery (215) 747-2060 141 S 52nd St Philadelphia, PA 19139

I went to one of these a year ago: either Plain N Fancy or Good N Plenty. Honestly, I can't remember which (which gives you an idea of just how memorable the meal was), but it definitely had an "N" in the name. Or an "and". I don't think it had a backwards "R", 'cuz that's a toy store. Anyway, it was fine. I have a sneaking suspicion that all those restaurants are pretty comparable. You should visit the Lancaster Brewing Company (nb: Flash alert) when you're in Lancaster. I haven't been to their brewery or restaurant, but they do turn out a good beer.

Yes, tubed anchovy. Brilliant! Just don't get it confused with the Crest.