Andrew Fenton

Phoodie.info is reporting that Ansill is now offering Korean tacos for $5 on their happy hour menu. As if I didn't have enough reasons to head to Ansill for happy hour already:

Katie is of course right. But let me add mrbigjas's sage advice on eating around Delaware Ave.: I'd take Ikea over Famous Dave's any day.

The pulled pork at Bebe's is quite good! Next time, I'll ask if I can have it with sauce on the side, though. No disrespect to the sauce, which was fine, but it overwhelmed the meat a little. When I had it this afternoon, they were pulling it right off the bone, so getting it sauce-free wouldn't have been a problem. The collard greens were first-rate. Firm texture, great flavor without a hint of bitterness. I'll echo Jeff's criticism from above: at noon on a Thursday, they had only pork (no brisket or ribs) mac and cheese, collards and cole slaw. Fortunately, I like all those things! But I get the sense that the owners are still really scrambling to get the operation going at full speed. I certainly give them my best wishes!

Yep, that's the Main Line, all right. Unfortunately, the Main Line restaurant scene-- at least, in that area of the Main Line-- isn't so great. Sang Kee in Wynnewood isn't bad for Chinese, and it's definitely convenient.

That sounds good. I mean, what's not to like about fried rice balls? Minus the batter, it's not substantially different from arancini.

Sacre bleu! Another French BYOB can't be a bad thing. Which press is that? Most of what I've seen about Bibou has been pretty anodyne (like this short piece in Philadelphia Magazine). The menu looks good!

Cooking will kill bacteria, yeah. But some bacteria (e.g., staphylococcus aureus) produce toxins that aren't destroyed by cooking. So if the bacteria have had time to produce those toxins, you could still get very sick, even if the sushi has been boiled.

That is indeed a very good burger! Thick, juicy patty, cooked as I asked, just on the rare side of medium rare. I like the pickled peppers, and I liked the smoked Gouda. I wasn't crazy about the bun-- it was a little dry for my taste-- but it's definitely worth ordering.

Ha, I hadn't noticed the credit, but there it is: congrats! The Royal is an interesting choice. I don't remember its burger showing up on "best of" lists in the way that the burger at Good Dog or Rouge does. But the rest of the food is good, so it's not hard to believe the burger is good too. And it's gratifying to see a list like this make a less-obvious choice. (Though really, In-N-Out is the best burger in California? This I do not believe.)

The Food Network agrees with your assessment. They have a state-by-state survey of the best burgers in American, and the Royal Tavern burger came out tops in PA. I've never had a Royal Tavern burger-- and in fact, it's been a while since I've eaten there. Clearly I ought to stop on by!

Sounds like a line from "Lucy in The Sky With Diamonds", but it isn't! ← I think y'all are thinking of champagne wishes and caviar dreams.

And having done the research, I can confidently state that that pork does, in fact, make an awesome sandwich topping. So good that it might be worth buying takeout for that purpose alone.

Interesting! Though I do wonder why De Cecco didn't make the cut. Rummo I've never heard of.

My, what an experience the Lacroix brunch is! It's a wonderful mix of slightly avant-garde (chocolate-coated foie gras lollipops, beet gelee with pop rocks), well-prepared variations on classics (terrific smoked fishes, meats of many lands at the carving station) and stuff that's just plain fun (liquid nitrogen station, WHEE). It's that mix of styles that makes the experience what it is. While the kitchen has no problem turning out a first-rate glazed salmon, for example, they clearly have some fun playing around with and mixing up traditions. For example, duck confit was served with broccoli rabe and provolone: toss that on a Sarcone's roll and you'd have the best sandwich EVER. Some things didn't work so well. An octopus brochette just doesn't go with lemon cream. There were some items that didn't rise above standard brunch buffet fare: scrambled eggs a la heat lamp, a heavy garlic bread pudding. And I'm sorry, but I get grossed out by the idea of a chocolate fountain. Still, because it's a buffet, you can focus on what's really good. At the head of the highlights for me was a chilled lobster consomme: the essence of lobster, more intense than the crustacean itself. The peppered mackerel was also wonderful. Pork n' beans, with chunks of belly and tiny white beans, was a rich treat. And that beet gelee pop rocked my world.

Madness! But sublime madness. It's really wonderful to see so much creativity and love at work. Thanks for sharing it.

Sakura, at the corner of 11th and Race, has been getting some good press lately, first from Phil A. "Look On My Blog, Ye Mighty, And Despair" Dining, and more recently a short writeup from David Snyder in the City Paper. As everybody notes, the concept is a little misbegotten, with a menu that's half Chinese, half Japanese. I'd walked by a few times, but that combination scared me off. I figured, it's like chili and Junior Mints: both tasty, but would you want them together? Fortunately, Phil & co., taking the hits so we don't have to, assured me that it'd be a worthwhile visit. And it was! The space is large, clean and bright. Windows on two sides provide a lot of light, unlike anywhere else in Chinatown. This was reassuring to the missus, who gets a little turned off by some of the dingier places we go to... But the food-- at least, the Chinese half of the menu-- is the real draw. Scallion pancakes were good, with a flaky exterior and a rich, almost cake-like interior. The spring rolls were even better. While spring rolls are almost always at least okay-- they're fried? How bad can they be?-- they're rarely all that special. These were: the filling was fresh-tasting, with distinct ingredients and flavors. Almost spring-like, I dare say. The biggest hit at the table was the diced chicken with hot peppers and cucumber. Oddly enough, there was no cucumber to be found in the dish, just chicken, small red peppers and larger cut-up peppers. Hot, but not out-of-control hot like the triple-pepper chicken at Szechuan Tasty House. Braised pork shoulder was a massive joint of pig, melting, tender, crazy fatty. (I have some of this left over and I'm trying to figure out what I should do with it. It's almost too good to just eat straight: I'd like to serve it on a roll with some shredded and pickled vegetables, banh mi style.) We also ordered a plate of udon, Shanghai-style. I don't know if this is genuine fusion, or whether there's a Chinese equivalent to udon. Either way, it was simple but tasty: fat, chewy noodles with a basic brown beef sauce. The only disappointment was the ma po tofu. Not bad, but not anything special, really. We were eating with seafood-phobes, which is a shame, as there are lots of terrific-looking fish and shrimp dishes. We'll give those a try next time.

So I went to Cajun Kate's for the first time today. (For trip-planning reference, it's just a hop away from Longwood Gardens. Go there for lunch when the grandparents visit and want to go look at flowers or whatever.) And it's as great as everybody says. I had my doubts about the smoked brisket po-boy-- that's an odd combination. But it works! At least if you don't think about it too much... The beef is actually terrific on its own- smoky and juicy- but slopping a whole bunch of other stuff on it is the New Orleans way, and who am I to argue? I was underwhelmed by the muffaletta- as Philadining mentioned way upthread, it doesn't have as much meat on it as you might ask for- but it was still tasty. Red beans and rice made a perfect toddler lunch (except for the bites I stole. From my own child's plate.) And we got a quart of sausage and shrimp gumbo to take home for dinner. So all in all, a big success. And it's totally worthwhile to go, just to see the weird "farmers' market" that houses it. Next time I'll come a little hungrier, and get some onion rings as a hors d'oeuvre. Oh, and be sure to mention that Phil A. sent you: they'll give you lots of free samples! Actually, they'll probably give you free samples anyway. I believe they call that a "lagniappe". Or "jambalaya". One or the other.

That's great news about the farmers' market! Not least because of the hours: there are a lot of people who would like to stop by RTM after work, but are stymied by them closing at 6.

And on that same corner, there's Slice, maybe the best pizza in the city. That's a good block, right there!

Truth. Also, don't forget the tamale lady! And word on the street is that there's a new BBQ joint down that way...

Googling "new jersey soul food" gives 411,000 results. Just sayin', is all. In the early 1990s, they had a policy (since rescinded) of firing gay employees. They have also faced all kinds of lawsuits over the years for sexual harassment and discriminating against nonwhite customers.

Sorry. I missed the debate! What is it exactly that she did that has changed things? Before Alice Waters, we cooked our eggs in a pan. Now we know to cook them one at a time, in a spoon, using the wood-fired ovens in our kitchens.

A visit to Zahav is a very good idea. I'm not much of a cocktail drinker, but I was really impressed by their cocktails. In particular, I really enjoyed their Israeli salad martini, which was refreshing, not too boozy-tasting and not sweet (my two cocktail bugaboos).

I find that a piece of meat, vegetables, etc. are pretty easy to use up. The challenge comes with dishes that are heavily sauced and/or spiced. Chinese and Indian food come to mind: they'll often have more assertive flavors or textures that don't play well with others. One technique that I've picked up from percyn is to use a little bit of leftovers to top creamy scrambled eggs. Here's Percy's Szechuan chicken on eggs and toast: The eggs aren't a neutral flavor, exactly, but they go well with lots of other flavors. It's a good way to use up a few tablespoons of whatever leftovers you have around.

Doesn't a shank by definition have a bone? Anyway, I think you'd use it for any dish that calls for a ham bone. Pea soup is certainly traditional and good.