gabe

Cafe de Laos is a terrific place. I've now been four times or so, and it keeps getting better. I've not tried the ant egg soup, but the snakehead fish was delicious in soup, if a little on the bony side. The non-fried spring rolls are fantastic, and the Laotian appetizer sampler plate is a good introduction to the cuisine. Their menu has grown substantially, I might add, since they opened. And who ever heard of putting dill in a curry? Not me, surely, but they pull it off nicely. Kaeng Om, I think it was called.

Pretty straightforward, really: call ahead. There's nowhere to wait, so you'll be thankfull you did. By the way, how many is "a few"? They have no easy way to seat more than four, I'd think. "Carman's: we put the c**t back in country". Actual business card. Heh. ← Just two others, so four people total. Would I have to call the morning-of, or could I call later this week?

I've never been to this place, but Saturday's my birthday, and I'd like to go with my wife and a few friends for brunch. I seem to remember hearing about funny reservation requirements, but I can't remember the specifics. Can anyone enlighten me? I've heard nothing but raves about the place, so I'm really looking forward to it.

There is wonderful beer and pub food to be had in Philadelphia. These places take no reservations but are worth a visit: Monk's Cafe (16th & Spruce) Ludwig's Garten (13th & Sansom) Standard Tap (2nd & Poplar) Royal Tavern (7th & Carpenter) Johnny Brenda's (Frankford & Girard) The first two are downtown -- Monk's has a legendary beer selection and delicious Belgian-inspired food. Mussels are a must. Ludwig's has 20-some German beers on tap and German food that's decent. Standard Tap is a short drive or cab ride from Center City and has the best atmosphere and food of any pub in the city and great local microbrews. Royal Tavern is just off the Italian Market and is approaching Standard Tap in atmosphere and food. Johnny Brenda's is an old-school dive bar reopened by the Standard Tap folks and featuring lighter fare and great local beer.

Marra's is great for pizza and they will probably deliver to 10th & fitz since they definitely deliver to 10th & league.

Great thread on this awhile back: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=30830 The topic might be a little different -- what bars have good food versus restaurants where it's fun to eat at the bar. Recent favorites of mine have been Royal Tavern, Bridgid's and Caribou. Standard Tap, I agree with Rich, is the sine qua non of Philadelphia bar-based dining.

Monk's can't be beat for Belgian food in the city. Their lapin a la gueuze is terrific. It was the first rabbit I'd ever had, and I still consider it the standard. It will soak up a lot of belgian beer at dinner, too. You might enjoy Caribou -- order a nice Belgian beer (they have several good ones) with your steak frites and enjoy. I should add that there are many choices for mussels at Monk's, and I find the "red light" spicy variety to be the best. Don't order the "spanish fly" wings, though, if you want to taste your beer.

Back to the topic of food trucks, I have become mildly addicted, as it's gotten colder outside, to the meatball sandwiches from the truck on the west side of 11th between Filbert and Market. $2.75 for a large. Because sometimes, even though you're near Reading Terminal's temple of lunchy goodness, you don't want to spend $6 or more on lunch.

I've been on to this place for awhile. There are few better $3 meals than "two with the works" at APJ. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=574370 The waitresses will call you "hon," too. That's always a plus.

12th & Chestnut superstore was all sold out of the Burgess Zin yesterday afternoon... problem with great $8 wines in limited quantities is that folks buy them by the case and there's nothing left over for us bottle-at-a-timers! More like this, please, PLCB! I wound up with an $8 liter jug of surprisingly good California Zinfandel from Three Thieves... love it when whimsy is backed up by tastiness.

If you can't get into Vetri, L'Angolo or Melograno would be good, if less highfalutin, choices for Italian. And both of those are BYO.

If the chef actually confited the guinea hen in guinea-hen fat, color me impressed! :)

My wife and I really liked hanging out on a lazy weekend day at La Colombe on Main Street when we lived in the burbs, and I've always liked Sonoma. But we moved to Bella Vista and ditched the car... now there's no real reason or easy way to get to Manayunk.

http://readingterminalmarket.org/classes.php The demonstration kitchen at Foster's Gourmet Cookware in the Reading Terminal Market hosts classes in cooperation with Temple U. The link above has more information, but their upcoming schedule looks good:

Perhaps I am the only one not in on the secret -- under what name and in what publication did (does) David Fields review restaurants?

Okay, I know it goes down the hatch, but I was wondering what are some of the ways people enjoy this peculiar, bitter, sweet little herbal-tasting Italian soda. On the rocks I find it a bit bracing -- I love the bitterness, but it's a bit too sweet. I like how it tastes with orange juice, and it was all right (though still too sweet) with Squirt grapefruit soda. I haven't tried it with booze, but it's interesting enough that I bet it would make a great mixer in the hands of someone more intuitive than I about those things. Or is it a good idea to mix it with, say, soda or tonic water. Quite the interesting find -- it comes in beautiful 3.4-oz. glass bottles in a ten-pack. Very sexy Italian design.

Django. Make your reservation exactly one month in advance -- that's when they open and quickly fill up their book. Search this forum for people's experiences. (215) 922-7151 (it's BYO, too, which is a hallmark of Philly's exciting dining scene)

Sounds like Rick has a crush...

Iovine's in Reading Terminal Market has them already, in little tupperwares by the truffles, herbs, and mushrooms. They are pricey, though, since they are not in season anywhere local yet.

They are on the menu at Novelty on 3rd St.

Thanks Gabe, I've know for a long time that I am painfully hip, but too few people see that in me. I could tell by the picture of your shirt...

The Green Line Cafe is a nice joint but does get crowded on weekends, both inside and out as they have tables outside. Cafe Clave at 43d & Locust is becoming a bit of a local hotspot -- the owner's friendly, there's always cool latin jazz on the PA, and there are both couches inside and tables outside. Gooch, the proprietor, makes a nice cuban coffee, which is espresso with brown sugar tamped into the filter along with coffee. It comes out kind of caramel-tasting: sweet and as potent as espresso. He uses Lavazza espresso and Torreo coffee -- and perhaps most successfully, makes a dynamite chai tea from scratch. Cafe Paris 41, on 41st between Chestnut and Walnut, has a likable French vibe, La Colombe coffee, a pleasant and accomodating French owner, and free wireless Internet. The La Colombe coffeehouse in Rittenhouse is great, but I actually prefer the location in Manayunk -- same fabulous coffee (and it is, I think, the best in the city), but a smaller place and less painfully hip clientele. The kicker is that the Manayunk La Colombe has delicious fresh-grilled panini in combinations like fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil and prosciutto. Old City Coffee Roasters (I usually hit the one in the RTM) has a nice rotation of interesting coffee-du-jour selections, but I've not tried their espresso. I can remember having a very expensive and tasty coffee from Ray's Cafe in Chinatown, but what lingers in my mind is being fascinated watching them brew it on the vacuum apparatus. If you want to spend double digits on a cup of Jamaica Blue Mountain, I don't know of anywhere else to go. Ambience there is a bit lacking, though, I must say. Capogiro serves La Colombe espresso in beautiful china in addition to the ambrosial gelati. I'll be moving from University City to the Italian Market in two months -- does anyone have recommendations around there? I've been to Anthony's on 9th a few times, but have never lingered. Sabrina's, around the corner from there, seems nice, too, but I think it's more of a restaurant.

There were Indian restaurants on both sides of the street there -- Jewel of India is/was on the north side and another (most recently called Nirvana, I think) was on the south side. The south-side-of-the-street place has closed and reopened a few times recently. I haven't been to Jewel of India in about a month, but who knows, maybe they closed, too. I hope not. And as for calling Gujarat South India, I plead insanity.

Main Line Jewel of India on Lancaster Ave in Ardmore focuses on South Indian food, though not specifically Gujarati. They have excellent, excellent dosas, among many other delicious items. It's BYO.

What was Bitar's on 40th St. between Walnut and Sansom has been changed by the owners (still the Bitar's people, I think) into a more upscale concept (though with similar Mediterranean/Middle Eastern fare) and is now called "Simsum." I think it's a good place, but the last few times I've been, there have not been many customers. I'll certainly go again. When I say "upscale," I mean it's upscale from Bitar's, not upscale in the absolute sense. It's still a BYO and a very cheap place to eat.