katbert

I've only tried Old Forge pizza once and it was definitely a different style of pizza; poofier lighter airier inch thick crispy crust and gooier almost viscous pourable malleable cheese that didn't pull into strings as mozzarella tends to do. The cheese reminded me of some form of American cheese. Also it came out in rectangular baking sheet sized trays rather than rounds. Interesting to try and good in its own category, not my favorite pizza ever (I don't remember which place we went to though).

The crepe truck by the gym at 37th & walnut was run by the same people who do La Petite Cr/eperie in Houston Hall on Spruce Street. ISTR that they closed down the truck to concentrate on the storefront but I could be wrong. Be prepared for a 20-30min wait in Houston Hall if you're there during lunchtime student rush during a weekday. I third the recs for La Terrasse (where I like the bar menu better than whitedog) & White Dog (at the bar: interesting beer, bad fries, good dessert, hot apple cider mixed drinks). New Deck does the usual bar food (giant cheese fries!) and it's crazy crowded & loud on Fridays. Copabanana is also a variation on a theme of margarita bar-- good but not particularly interesting. Thumbs down to Mad4Mex where I have unfortunately ended up a bunch of times in the last year, ack (with the exception of the quesadillas). Koch's is a great great great deli, especially since it's <3 blocks away from me, but I'm not sure it would be worthwhile to haul up there for lunch & back in the cold. On the BYOB front, Rx is great (@45th & Spruce not 44th & locust), and I would also recommend Nan at 40th & Chestnut for well executed (AsiansomethingFrench?). Also one of the more popular food trucks is MexiCali on Spruce betw 36 & 37th-- there's usually a big line by 11:45am. I think their food is middlingaverage good, and probably a lack of exposure to better Mexican food makes it seem outstanding. There's a second MexiCali truck up by 38th & Walnut, but Richard is at the Spruce St truck-- he has a Soup Nazi like demeanour. I know someone who went to Halloween as "the MexiCali guy".

All the menus for restaurant week are now online. kt

has anyone been to Judy's Cafe for breakfast lately? We're trying to decide between there or reading terminal for a group of 6. Also if anyone wants to sell us on the Down Home Diner that would be helpful as well (I would be more inclined to go to the dutch place at the end). I went to BlueandGreen last weekend and wasn't particularly impressed- the breakfast burrito wasn't as good as either the giant one at 10th St Pourhouse or the barking chihuahua from Sabrina's. I like sitting in booths and the magazines at the counter but the food was average. (Sabrina's rates much higher for the same prices.) kt

I've tried Marrakesh three times and I haven't really liked the food with the exception of the chicken pastilla (warning: it always seems to arrive on the table straight out of the oven so wait a while before trying to dig in). I find the pillowy seating isn't particularly comfortable although I usually I like to either sit on floors or with my feet up, it's a little too dim, and not totally vegetarian friendly. Also generally speaking the menu is set and I remember the group dinner prix fixe is $20. OTOH, the mint tea pouring bit is pretty cool. kt

If you like seafood, Tai Lake is one of the best Chinese places that I've visited; I thought it was better than LHF or Ocean Harbor-- I don't remember specifically what I had but it was probably some version of the set menu plus a few extras. Other thoughts-- Nodding Head- I saw them do a group of >20 the other night in the side room -- Copabanana if you want to start out with margaritas kt

Made it to Miel on Sat and tried the pain au chocolat, a regular croissant, a big flaky apple turnover, an apple danish and a cranberry nut muffin; $8. The pain au chocolat was pretty good after being reheated in a toaster oven and seemed to have more than the usual pair of chocolate tubes running through it. Lots of buttery flaky goodness. The pastry pastries looked pretty, as did the full sized cakes and logs. One complaint-- the signs for distinguishing bread types need to be bigger if they're 6 feet away from customers trying to read them from the other side of the counter. kt

We finally made it to L'Angolo last night; the food was very good and we would definitely go back to try more of the menu. We started with calamari (tender) and shrimp in spicy tomato broth; the tomato broth seemed lightly spicy until late in the dish I had an encounter with a pepper that made me cry. [Here's a problem that I often seem to have in Italian restaurants-- I like the really hot crusty bread so much that often I just want to eat the bread with the olive oil or sauce or broth from my appetizer and I have a hard time restraining myself from just eating the bread and subsequently being too full for my entree.] Enjoyed the entrees of (great) gnocchi w/ shrimp and also a special of veal ravioli (both pastas were in a cream sauce). I don't eat much veal and ravioli probably isn't its best treatment- I think I may give up on veal completely though. Also loved the chocolate truffle torte w/ raspberry sauce. We ran out of time to get a bottle of wine, and received complimentary glasses on the house which turned out to be quite nice. Ambience= busy and buzzing for a Tuesday night late ~9pm, unfortunately the large (>20) party on the far side of the room had a loud out of control singing chick that killed the atmosphere for the rest of us- they were embarrassed but didn't gag her. kt

I third the rec for Jubilee's chocolates (although personally, I don't like the mint exactly b/c it tastes like real mint=weedy). Also LBF's chocolates come in a heavy duty gold foil covered box with a little brown ribbon- elegant compact presentation that says "i came from this $$$$ luxe michelin starred restaurant" but not in an obnoxious way. kt

I just got back from BKK a few weeks ago and the most fun food for me was everything off the random carts on the street-- such as breakfast chinese donuts, corn in the waffles, charcoal grilled stuff on a stick, fruit such as yellow watermelon, longan, rambutan, pomelo, desserts like those little marshmallowfluff on top of the crispy waferlike cookies that resemble a sunnyside up egg, the purple taro frozen yogurt/ice cream. Also I admit that we did go to McDonald's for the chocolate dipped ice cream cone while we were in a mall checking email- the chocolate was pretty good. kt

I think we're going to BnG this Sat for early breakfast although they might not be open quite early enough (8ish). hmm. We might have to change that. Also, 10th St Pourhouse does GIANT pancakes, mostly great homefries, a big breakfast burrito filled with omelette and topped with salsa, good frenchfries, a decent eggplant/fresh mozz sandwich w/ pesto in a buzzing coffeehouse kind of atmosphere. One time I did have not so good potatoes that had been sitting on the grill for too long and also the biscuit in sausage gravyness was not my favorite-- a sort of creamed chipped beef quality to it that I don't like. Also the Dutch eating place or whatever it's called at the northern end of Reading Terminal Market-- I can just finish a hot apple dumpling with heavy cream for breakfast and their regular breakfast is consistently good. Note that this isn't a good place for groups, 1-2 ppl is easiest b/c it's seating at stools at counterspace only unless you takeout and hunt for seating in the center of the market (which can also be hard if it's primetime in RTM). kt

We went to Carman's on Saturday, which is much less packed than on Sunday, and had excellent pineapple+someotherfruit waffles topped with sugared cranberries, walnuts & yogurt, and a lovely chanterelle+othermushroom, onion, shallot, garlic and goat cheese omelette. Yum. The lunch choice was quail with currants. I wish they had a website or answering machine so that you could check the 4 menu choices before you decide to go. Ditto this for Sarcone's bakery- half the time the long loaves are gone when I get there. kt

We couldn't get into L'Angolo until fairly late at night, so instead I took up Katie's suggestion of Langostino's @ Front & Morris. It was moderately busy through the evening, and a little on the cool inside. Bread took a little while to come out but it was fabulous and burning hot. Dippy: olive oil, balsamic, 5 olives. We tried the appetizer portion of the langostinos-- tasty: split, grilled, topped with diced tomatoes & capers, but I don't recommend them for value for the $ (I couldn't help but compare them with the giant (~7in) prawns that I had in Bangkok last week-- if you can go, you should). The mains otoh were great in the value for $ category: veal scallopine w/ peppers & mushrooms and linguine w/ lump crab and salmon in a cognac sauce. Ok, so personally, I've always considered veal to be a slippery taste androgynous version of a thin pork chop and I've never been wowed by it; this version was pretty tasty by virtue of the peppers. The veal was accompanied by good smoky greens and average mashed potatoes. For the linguine, I'm guesstimating there was at least 2/3 lb of pasta on the plate. Cooked perfectly al dente, with a healthy amount of crab and salmon, and the cognac sauce was light but interesting-- we finished out the veal but took half the pasta home and had to be rolled out of the restaurant. I would have liked some portion control for the pasta-- I think few individuals could contemplate finishing the plate in one sitting and not everyone likes to doggie bag or waste food. Next time a half order would be appropriate, even for two people if I had appetizers and wanted room for dessert. Service was fine, and we brought a bottle of Estancia merlot 2000 to try (thumbs up). S: I don't know why Porcini isn't on my list-- I think just b/c I walk by it all the time. Also someone at work keeps raving about La Viola. thanks for the help, I have to go buy cheesecake ingredients now. kt

Someone's taking me out to Italian and I'd like to go to all of the restaurants listed below so I thought I'd see if egullet could pick one. The restaurant with the most votes (from different posters) by 4pm is the one I'll try to go to tonight- I forget which take reservations. In alphabetical order: La Locanda in Old City L'Angolo in S. PHL Melograno in CC Mr. Martino's Trattoria in S. PHL Trattoria Primadonna in CC thanks, kt

FWIW, I've seen the omakase twice at Morimoto; both times the ending was a variety of sushi not sashimi. The first time I was seated in the restaurant and the second time at the sushi bar where most of the omakase dishes for our party were prepared. Each time the server presented the entire sushi plate with a description of each piece (which we promptly forgot), even at the sushi bar where the chef could have just handed it over, but instead each plate was put on top of the bar, then an explanation to the server, who would pick up the plate and move it three feet over to in front of us and then repeat the dish description. By the end of omakase at the sushi bar, we were talking to our sushi chef about restaurants around the US. Also the second time I didn't personally have the omakase; I ordered a chef's choice of sushi+sashimi, which came out all at once as a big board of sushi and a giant crushed ice filled boat of sashimi. kt

hey- someone needs to post a review/opinion/list of what you had/who was there/what good times were had/etc. On a side note, I went to the place at 6th & Washington that used to be Sunrise but I forget what it's called now and dim sum was not too crowded although it was a little challenging to find parking in the lot. I liked the choices (shrimp dumplings, curried pork rolls, steamed and baked bbq pork buns, tofu skin rolls, shu mai, rice noodles around shrimp, tripe, duck feet, the grilled square white gelatinous things, the sesame covered deep fried gelatinous gooiness around bbq pork, giant plate of crispy shrimp) and everything was well executed (the crispy shrimp especially although ppl got a little nervous when they realized that the shrimp were whole). Thanks, kt

My boss goes to the Beaux Arts every year w/ comp tix-- he's usually not too impressed by the costumes- lots of ppl tend to go in black tie b/c it's easier. Personally I think the Henri David Halloween party usually has some pretty amazing costumes though (I remember a picnic, the Empire States building, Atlas+globe, a plane crash+aftermath, Powerpuff girls, cell phones, the Osbourne family) - tix are something like $15 in advance at his jewelry store @ 1329 Pine. Halloween Eat before you go. Probably drink before you go as well. kt

Tuesday night we went to Prime Rib for their prime rib (beautifully done, we had rare and med-rare and they were perfect). The rest wasn't anything amazing but it was nice just for the moo. Wed we were seated in the mezzanine level up the staircase from the main dining room at LBF for the Le Bar Lyonnais menu. Started off w/ fresh crusty rolls (baguette, olive, or wheat) that was fabulous. Appetizer choices: the soup listed online, a seasonal veggie thing that came out as a cute elevated pile of vegs with a basil sauce, and a truffled risotto. The truffled risotto was probably the winner of the night for flavor. Main choices: the roasted salmon listed online, an item described as chicken shepherd's pie but was really two reasonably sized chunks of chicken with mashed potatoes in a (something something something) sauce, and sea bass, asian style. The sea bass had an evenly crispy skin, and arrived with a finely shredded pile of veggies and a mystery sauce. I need another word for sauce. Dessert choices: creme caramel creme brulee, sorbet trio (banana (?), raspberry, apricot), and flourless chocolate cake w/ vanilla ice cream. I liked the creme brulee better than the chocolate cake, although the ice cream was terrific. The LBx experience was characterized by the flawless and almost excessive service (everyone says something to you on your way out), a multiplicity of formal silverware, and care in presentation. Not snooty, but firmly nice- we always had water, were offered bread multiple times and they explained the spoon with the dent in it for us. We tried the Pinot Grigio recommended, and should have gotten a bottle. We also walked by the cheese cart and the two dessert carts on the way in and out. Next time! I think I might have liked to look at the wine menu but we didn't ask. (katie! I wish I could make it to Striped Bass but I'm already reserved for Pasion! & BP) kt

We went to Cibucan last night and tried the guacamole, salad, scallops and cold plate for starters, the tuna (x3) for the main, and also the poached pear and flan for dessert. The bread came with a lightly spicy roasted red pepper dippy stuff in a pool of olive oil. We liked the plantain chips b/c they weren't particularly greasy although they did break sometimes in the guacamole. Looking back at the web description, I don't think there was any avocado in the salad, and I could also see where the plate had been wiped off around the edges for dressing drips. =/ The cold plate surprised at least one person b/c one of the roasted peppers was maybe a serrano and not just a sweet pepper. oops! I thought the scallops were well executed, meaty and juicy, but someone else thought they were average. The little grape tomatoes that came with the scallops were really warm, which I liked. We ordered 2 rare tunas and 1 medium rare- these came out done exactly to order and we were very very happy with the fish and the balsamic reduction. Generous portions for the fish- some might find the plaintain crusting a bit greasy but I'm not particularly fat phobic and enjoyed the crunchiness. One person liked the mashed potatoes b/c they were on the thick and heavy side, although I prefer mine lighter and more whipped, the way they come out of my ricer. Also the green bean/ pea pods were very snappy and crisp. For dessert, the poached pear came out on a nice rectangular plate with a scoop of goat milk, honey and rosemary gelato. The texture of the pear was nice and firm, and we also really liked the gelato. The flan was very attractive and had a texture and eggy flavor similar to the egg custard tarts you find in Chinese bakeries, and the person who ordered it thought it wasn't lemony enough. With a mojito, margarita and a banana martini (average $7 each), the total came to $122 for the three of us, and we were pretty satisfied. The restaurant started out about 3/4 full when we showed up at 6pm, and was maybe ~1/3 full by the time we left. Service was fine although we had to ask for water more than once, and the runner for the food had to ask us every course who had ordered what. kt

The lobster roll at Yann was on a printed up paper menu, along with other salads and sandwiches. I went back for more gelato and it was $3.75 so I'm going to move on to trying some of the pretty looking pastries. kt

Also at the Bridge complex we're getting another Metropolitan Bakery. mmm. I also second the posts about the Philly diner being mediocre, but at the same time it's pretty convenient if you happen to be right there at 3am. Also I tried Abraccio two weeks ago, we just had sandwiches with fries- one was an eggplant, mozzarella, breaded deep fried affair (normally I love deep fried but I found that the eggplant turned mushy) and also a sausage and peppers sandwich which was ok but not exceptional. I would go back and try pastas, I don't think the sandwiches necessarily represent what they can do. kt

The last time I was at Yann in CC, there was something approximating a lobster roll on the menu but it wasn't on a hot dog bun. kt

If you check out the restaurant week link again, they've posted menus. Interesting. kt http://www.centercityphila.org/restaurantweek.html#

I made reservations at BPerrier (thu) and ~Pasion! (fri) and when I called LBF, Le Bar Lyonnais is "strictly walk in service only." I might try one of the big steak places as well although reservations are probably less necessary. Ok, and maybe Happy Rooster since you guys have been talking about it. How should I tell the guys in my parties to dress? I'm thinking button down shirt, no ties/jackets necessarily. kt

ok ok, I read the book. Thanks for all the reccs, we ended up with tuna from Reading Terminal, seared it med-rare and served w/ a citrus sauce & wasabi mashed potatoes. kt