Lula

[aliwaks]

On my first visit to Philly 6 years ago I had Tapas at a restaurant on 12th & Locust, I remember having a great time and by the time I made Philly it was my home it was gone, since then the spot was a Dmitiris (ok) then Sukothai (decent) and now it has become Lula.

I am always skeptical of the bad spot aura and this location certianly has had some funky mojo HOWEVER this time the food was a pleasure.

I can't say I am overly fond of the decor, the upholstered walls are very pretty but the space seemed harsh regadless of the soft touches here and there (banquettes, the aforementioned raw silk walls) maybe its the strip mall type windows looking out over Planned Parenthood that make it feel a bit wonky.

I gotta say though I was glad I stayed..the tapas menu was intriguing enough to lure me in, in true tapas style we ordered slow, three dishes to share with our cocktails ( I had a glass of champagne my sister a martini..she was not pleased us New Yorkers like the big martini in the big glass this one was the weensy glass and accompaning mini shaker)

Oh yeah the food, we started with the Charcuterie I think it is called the serrano plate, Serrano Ham, a salami (of which I was not overly fond, too mild), a good sized slab of well temped Humbolt fog, pile of Cabrales and a couple of chunks of manchego ..such a please to not be served cold cheese and the nicest part of this was three little dishes of condiments, olives, a carrot relish and some plumped up raisins...and a HUGE basket of flatbread. the serrano/raisin/cabrales combo was my favorite it was delightful ,

then we had spiced chip with caviar dip..much less lady like than it sounds the chips portion again was hearty the dip was a interpretation of tarmosalata..tahini thick with a dollop pf caviar. the chip & dip combo texture wies is my favorite thing ever but had to hold myself back from gobbling the whole thing.

Next we had garlicy shrimp a tapas staple the flavor was great though I would have preferred a different presentation maybe a terracotta crock with a cover , they cooled off too quickly and there was no bread offered to soak up all the lovely juices. Again the portion was quite large.

I actually though portions were too big, was full by the time the chef sent over a comp sampler of skirt steak with cabrales & onion rings, salmon with a sauce I regretfully cannot recall ( it was sweetish) and mahi mahi with braised fennel (LOVED IT!!!!!).

There were piles of menu items I was eyeing most especially the baby lamb chops at $2.50 a peice... best idea ever , so often I find myself with a glass of wine at a bar wishing I had just one lamb chop...no seriously I really do, everyone should do this. There were tamarind glazed ribs I coveted and lamb meatballs..and mussels and octopus and squid oh my. Carnivorous beast that I am I have neglected to remember the the vegie dishes, as for the dinner menu , not a glance will wait for my next visit.

The cocktail list is not sophistcated enough for the food (for my taste) would havelosved to see a nice infused house cocktail, the wine list is nicely priced and a decent selection by the glass, had a vihno verde and a gavi that I quite enjoyed..really liked the vihno verde

so obviously I will go back for the food, the atmosphere was not my favorite but I will allow for growing pains, Lula is owned by the same guys that own dark Horse & Black Sheep and some of the casual pub atmospheer prevails , not so much a good thing, but Chef Robert Leget is one to be watched some real talent in that kitchen

Edited May 13, 2005 by aliwaks (log)

[Capaneus]

I took a quick look at the menus today, and I've got to say I was impressed by the wine list: the few things I recognized were marked up to about twice retail. Steele Pacini for $37 is not a common sight anywhere, and especially not in Philadelphia, great strides notwithstanding.

The menu seemed interesting, prices seemed a bit high, but may well be fair, depending on what you get. Aliwaks' description certainly suggests so. I was a bit put off by the typo-strewn text - I could have gotten over it if it weren't sprinkled with odd Spanish and Portuguese near-gibberish.

[Andrew Fenton]

Ye olde tapas place on the same spot-- Pamplona?-- was the second Philadelphia restaurant at which I ate. So for that reason, as well as because of general pleasure at seeing tapas return, MacArthur-like, to Center City, I was glad to have the chance to go to Lula.

The service was friendly, and we were happy to start off with a bottle of prosecco. One of the reasons we wanted to eat there was that we weren't starving, so thought some little plates would go well.

We ordered the chip/dip combo, which (pace aliwaks' comments) I thought didn't have much in common with taramosalata other than the presence of fish eggs. I didn't taste any tahini; much more like onion dip with a spoonful of fish eggs on top, served with BBQ potato chips. Sweet and sour shrimp were okay; the sauce was sort of overpowered by tamarind, I thought.

I also liked the zucchini fritters: seven marble-sized balls of ricotta served with a nice smoky red pepper sauce. If I'd been served them blind, I wouldn't have been able to tell you that they were zucchini-based. They were mostly cheese; but is there anything wrong with fried cheese? I think not.

The other dish we tried was an arugula, blood orange and bacon salad. It was fine, but really light on the orange: only a couple of small pieces. Sort of a bummer.

[mrbigjas]

We ordered the chip/dip combo, which (pace aliwaks' comments) I thought didn't have much in common with taramosalata other than the presence of fish eggs.  I didn't taste any tahini; much more like onion dip with a spoonful of fish eggs on top,

tahini in taramasalata? well i never!

I also liked the zucchini fritters: seven marble-sized balls of ricotta served with a nice smoky red pepper sauce.  If I'd been served them blind, I wouldn't have been able to tell you that they were zucchini-based.  They were mostly cheese; but is there anything wrong with fried cheese?  I think not. 

i find zucchini fritters are always like that. it's kind of the beauty of them--when i was a kid zucchini was one of my least favorite things in the world, but fritters i'd eat right up. can't go wrong with fry!

[Andrew Fenton]

We ordered the chip/dip combo, which (pace aliwaks' comments) I thought didn't have much in common with taramosalata other than the presence of fish eggs.  I didn't taste any tahini; much more like onion dip with a spoonful of fish eggs on top,

tahini in taramasalata? well i never!

Eh, well, maybe nobody ever. Anyway, I stand by the main point: this was basically onion dip topped with caviar.

I also liked the zucchini fritters: seven marble-sized balls of ricotta served with a nice smoky red pepper sauce.  If I'd been served them blind, I wouldn't have been able to tell you that they were zucchini-based.  They were mostly cheese; but is there anything wrong with fried cheese?  I think not. 

i find zucchini fritters are always like that. it's kind of the beauty of them--when i was a kid zucchini was one of my least favorite things in the world, but fritters i'd eat right up. can't go wrong with fry!

You know, zucchini was the one thing that I wouldn't eat when I was a kid. I hated, hated, hated it; wouldn't even touch zucchini bread. (I still don't like zucchini bread, though I like the vegetable in other forms.) I don't know if I'd have eaten these, but I'd eat them now.

Anyway, what's the origin of zucchini fritters? Are they Italian or what?

[aliwaks]

I took a quick look at the menus today, and I've got to say I was impressed by the wine list: the few things I recognized were marked up to about twice retail. Steele Pacini for $37 is not a common sight anywhere, and especially not in Philadelphia, great strides notwithstanding.

The menu seemed interesting, prices seemed a bit high, but may well be fair, depending on what you get. Aliwaks' description certainly suggests so. I was a bit put off by the typo-strewn text - I could have gotten over it if it weren't sprinkled with odd Spanish and Portuguese near-gibberish.

←

Is that my post you're referring to or the menu?

Edited May 17, 2005 by aliwaks (log)

[aliwaks]

We ordered the chip/dip combo, which (pace aliwaks' comments) I thought didn't have much in common with taramosalata other than the presence of fish eggs.  I didn't taste any tahini; much more like onion dip with a spoonful of fish eggs on top,

tahini in taramasalata? well i never!

I meant tahini-thick as in thick like tahini not tastes thickly of tahini..my bad

[Capaneus]

I took a quick look at the menus today, and I've got to say I was impressed by the wine list: the few things I recognized were marked up to about twice retail. Steele Pacini for $37 is not a common sight anywhere, and especially not in Philadelphia, great strides notwithstanding.

The menu seemed interesting, prices seemed a bit high, but may well be fair, depending on what you get. Aliwaks' description certainly suggests so. I was a bit put off by the typo-strewn text - I could have gotten over it if it weren't sprinkled with odd Spanish and Portuguese near-gibberish.

←

Is that my post you're referring to or the menu?

←

Yoiks! Didn't notice the ambiguity. Sorry - I meant the menu, I do try to keep my largely obnoxiously judgemental self in check.

I'm Portuguese myself, and I'm told some of the ownership is too, and it felt to me like they were trying to insert Portuguese into the whole thing (Lula is Portuguese for squid, eg), but with a terrible tin ear. Some of it was Spanglified, some of it was odd English false cognates, and some of it was just plain wrong.