FoodADelphia

Back from Costa Rica

2010-02-10T06:30:00.000-08:00

A week and a half of tropical paradise, and now back to snow and indoor light. C'est la vie.

A few notes on Costa Rica:

Gallo Pinto with Salsa Lizano is one of the best breakfast inventions ever.
We need good Casado in Philadelphia.
I learned last night that most of the Ceviche in Philadelphia is shark -- when the fishermen catch shark, it's hard to sell on a menu, so most restaurants mask it as ceviche.
Fried plantains make every meal more enjoyable.

Not such a Triumph

2010-01-30T02:52:00.000-08:00

Triumph Brewing Company
117 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Hankerin' for a burger, my friends and I decided to brave the wait at Village Whiskey. However, when the wait was quoted at 3+ hours and it was already 8 PM, we decided we needed to try something else. One of my friends in particular is a huge fan of the blue cheese burger at Triumph, so we decided to cab it to the O.C. and try out the food.

Upon arrival, we were told we'd be on the wait list (apparently a busy night in Philadelphia) -- we grabbed drinks and about twenty minutes later our buzzer asked us (in a woman's voice!) to return the buzzer to the host desk! Mind you I should digress briefly to talk about the brunch stout. Slightly sweet, very coffee-ish, and an undetectable amount of bitterness made this a great stout -- it tasted a little like irish coffee, to be honest. Really intriguing beer. Anyway, we sit down and they don't have enough menus and ask us to share. Strike 1. Then they don't have water glasses, so we wait for water. Strike 2. I then order my burger and a second beer, this time going with the "Jewish Rye" -- which tasted somewhat like a lion's head with an after taste of caraway. Again, a rather pleasant, albeit kitschy beer.

Now the burger comes out. Sure it's cooked medium rare and there's a ton of blue cheese as well as this goopy tomato marmalade spread on the bun. Bun is eggy and soft. But the burger truly lacked any distinguishable flavor. Salt? Pepper? This was just ground meat griddled up until hot. Did not taste or looked hand packed either. At this point, I am fully doubting my friends' taste in burgery goodness. Next time, I'm sticking to Good Dog.

Cafe Coco

2010-01-30T02:51:00.000-08:00

1735 Market St
Philadelphia, PA 19103

This should more aptly be named "a tale of two Coco's."

Cafe Coco is the little deli in the basement of my office building. It's a little dated in decor (what with the neon lights and metal "ice cream parlor" chairs reminiscent of 1990 (or Rachael's Nosheri). The place is small and the selection seems smaller, with a few breakfast pastries out and a small grill for egg sandwiches. Prices are reasonable. And that's where the story of Cafe Coco, the mediocre deli in the basement of the Mellon Bank Center ends.

Then there's Cafe Coco, the catering. Thick, hearty chili. Make your own salads with TONS of ingredients (two types of chicken salad AND grilled chicken??? Mozzarella balls galore???), tasty, not-too-vinegary pasta salad. And all sorts of assorted panini. Boy, when lunch comes in from Coco, I just have to smile.

Funny thing is, despite how much I enjoy the office lunches from here, I never do make it down there for a quick sandwich. Must be something about the lights...

Sampan

2010-01-30T02:50:00.000-08:00

124 S 13th St
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Usually Asian fusion means a) deep fried, b) sushi, or c) a chinese restaurant that's trying to branch out by offering thai noodle dishes, pho soup, and a few rolls out of a how to make sushi handbook. Thus, when my friend suggested we try Sampan, I was a little worried that all the good Michael Schulson dishes would be left at his restaurant and we'd be stuck with yet another cheesesteak eggroll, tuna tartare, and duck salad. While there is a tuna tartare (which we didn't try out of want to be different), I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of the menu on the website.

Arriving at the restaurant, there was no wait (several tables were open -- I guess it is a Monday), but I was struck instantly by the sleek, sultry, yet inviting and Asian decor. Think Pegu Club in NY. I think this is the look that Chew Man Chu was going for and missed.

For drinks, they have a small beer and wine by the glass list, as well as a few specialty cocktails. My friend went with some iced tea thing that was a little too girly for me -- I stuck with a decent, albeit light, Chinese beer (Tiger) that I hadn't had before.

As for food: everything is served family style with no rhyme or reason to delivery. Which is fine, because there's no delineation between apps and entrees (ahem, another strike to Chew Man Chu -- read my review ;) ) Cheesesteak Bao get a little away from the cheesesteak eggroll trend, and alas, these are delish, with sriracha replacing ketchup, a sharp provolone adding a salty bite, and the tender, juicy meat just enough for one-to-two bites of goodness. But these are hardly bao. More like a softer bruschetta.

Edamame dumplings are as everybody's stated. Decadent (due to the truffle oil), yet a little heavy. Are they mixed with potato? Even if you puree the crap out of edamame, the edamame flavor isn't so light...

Chicken Buri Bap is a play on Bi Bim Bap -- moist dark meat chicken is piled on already-crisp rice, topped with veggies and a fried egg, and the egg is broken apart by the runner. Frankly, I'd rather this was done in the kitchen -- while I would have missed the "show," our runner really didn't do justice to this dish, so I had to do a little work on it. Furthermore, without the typical hot sauce, it missed a little of bi bim bap's kick. I bet we could have asked for it on the side, but that's almost like asking for salt -- I just wouldn't do it at a well-respected chef's restaurant.

Speaking of salt, the short ribs were beautifully presented over lo mein with a few well chosen veggies, and some sort of honey wasabi sweet crunch that was a welcomed surprise. But the meat was too salty and although tender, was not as moist as I expected.

Continuing our gluttony we also tried the chicken samosa -- although surprisingly spicy (it hit late and hard), the soft flaky pastry helped hold together one of the strongest dishes of the night.

For dessert, we shared the peanut butter cups -- baked chocolate cups filled with peanut butter and mascarpone. Decadent. Simply.

Bill was very reasonable and I left stuffed. Frankly, several more dishes I wanted to try (which rarely happens for me), so I plan to be back. But first, I will have to try Zama...

Bibou

2010-01-30T02:49:00.000-08:00

1009 S. Eighth St
Philadelphia, PA 19147

My buddy and I somehow got in for a 9PM reservation to enjoy their 4 course Sunday, $45 menu.

We started with a hearty, rich lentil based soup with small chunks of veal in the stock. What was so memorable about this soup was that it was incredibly thick, rich, and smooth, with the soup almost coating the spoon -- a delicious way to start the meal.

Second course was a choice between escargot, oxtail terrine, and foie gras. They had just run out of the oxtail, which worked out well as my friend wanted the escargot and I the foie gras. The escargot sat perfectly cooked with lima beans in a rich, salty sauce. My friend commented that it was the single best escargot presentation he's ever had. For me, I've never had better foie gras either. Buttery and soft, yet crispy on the outside, this paired incredibly with the kumquats and a small piece of syrupy bread.

For mains, the choices were a pigs feet braise, scallops, hangar steak, or a branzino fillet special. I chose the branzino, perfectly seared over well cooked veggies. Very light yet very flavorful. My friend went with the hangar steak, which was cooked medium rare. The highlight, however, was the asparagus and hashbrown mix served as a side. This is classical french cooking at its best.

Dessert was a choice of cranberry pie, creme brulee (sold out), chocolate roll, or ice cream and sorbet. My friend went with the ice cream and sorbet -- a scoop of slightly too sweet raspberry sorbet and a scoop of light and delicate pistachio ice cream. I went with the chocolate roll, which intertwined layers of soft white cake with perfect chocolate mousse. A garnish of whipped cream and a few berries completed a great dessert. I wasn't expecting a lot out of dessert here -- as a small byo, they don't have a pastry chef that I'm aware of -- but it was very well executed.

Service was professional if a bit rushed. Charlotte, the co-owner, makes sure to stop by every table and greet customers -- her charm is only overshadowed by her husband's cooking. A great meal, and truly lived up to the hype!

Chew Man Chu

2010-01-30T02:48:00.000-08:00

440 S Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147

I was in the area and not in the mood for Korean, so we stopped by Chew Man Chu to check it out. Ain't nothing wrong with good Asian food.

Mind you, one of the crazy women who work at my hair cutter was saying that she was there opening night and "everyone" was there. With this nugget in the back of my mind, I was expecting a little bit Pearl, a little bit PF Changs, and a dash of Mad River. And that's pretty much exactly what I got. I'm not really sure what the decor is -- it's not really cheeky; it's not really d-bag-y; it's not really modern. The centerpiece of the room is a large fluorescent table that I'd personally be scared would irradiate my food. So I'm taking a point off for decor.

Wait staff were nice, eager, helpful. Not amazing but certainly serviceable.

As far as food goes, I was expecting full on Asian. I got Chinese with a hint of Thai. Very few Korean, Japanese, Malaysia, Cambodian dishes, etc. Now that's fine in my book, but they go to great lengths to make the place sound pan-Asian. Not pan-Asian.

We started with the steamed veggie dumplings, which to me were under-seasoned although not bad. We also had the chicken moo shu, which came with a giant fried egg on top. The moo shu was a solid version -- well seasoned and not greasy. However, the surprisingly large chicken chunks kind of threw me off as too chewy for the dish. We also tried the tofu green curry which had a great curry and coconut flavor, enriched with basil.

Portions are huge, and are brought out as they're ready. Frankly, this creates a little bit of a problem, as we received our curry about 5 mins before the rice came out. The dumplings were also the second dish to come out -- I would have preferred a true appetizer course. Oh well.

So I found this place overall "meh." Nothing outstanding, but nothing horrible. It's well priced and a lot nicer than your run-of-the-mill Chinese joint, but I'm not going out of my way to go back.

Cafe Loftus

2010-01-30T02:47:00.000-08:00

136 South 15th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102

I'm not really sure how to describe Loftus. Maybe forgettably solid. Maybe La Colombe lite. Sadly, I feel the place lacks any identity of its own.

It kind of looks like La Colombe, what with the marble bar counter, pastry display, dark woods and light paint, and they serve La Colombe coffee, but whereas La Colombe is bustling, quick, loud, and intense, Loftus is relaxed, slow, and quiet. The barista is a little slow to make drinks but I can deal with that for an inexpensive coffee and a place to sit.

Haven't tried the sandwiches or any food other than an orange, but the selection is varied (albeit small). It's a great largely undiscovered go to.

And we're back.

2010-01-30T02:44:00.000-08:00

After a 2+ year hiatus, I'm back to writing about food. And really back. For now, I'm just uploading a lot of my reviews from another site, but I expect to keep this updated with a little more content (pictures, random food articles, random Philly stuff). I'm probably a little slower to blog than to post on other sites, but I'll do my best to update this pretty regularly. Oh and Craig LaBan, if you're looking for anybody to take with you to a meal, I'll keep your identity REALLY quiet. Promise. Sam Sifton, same goes for you...

Publish Post

Campo's and Overpriced Denim

2007-10-14T07:18:00.001-07:00

My friend Rudy is one of the few people who can convince me to change planned behavior. That is, if I was planning on not drinking, Rudy can get me to drink. If I'm supposed to leave for somewhere at three and take a train, Rudy can typically convince me to leave at six and drive with him. Rudy also convinced me to shell far too much money out on a pair of designer jeans just because he wanted to go to the jeans store. But they do look pretty good on me... (digression).

Anyway, Charlie's Jeans for Men is located on 2nd and Market...right by Campo's. Now I've always loved Campo's despite their relatively high prices, sometimes surly counter service, and a location pretty much always out of my way, but when in Rome, one should do like the Romans do.

I had my standard Chicken Salad. Their version is homemade (i.e. you know there's actual chicken in there) and the pieces are pretty chunky. There's also a decent amount of celery in the salad. There is, however, far too much mayo, as I still feel my arteries being clogged. I had the sandwich served standardly (with pickles on the side -- no free vinegar cukes here!) with lettuce, tomato on a hoagie roll. I added sharp provolone to the mix. Oddly, their sharp provolone is sprinkled on, leading to a little bit of a mess.

Taste wise, the sandwich was fantastic. Creamy mayo-chicken goodness, crunchy veggies, a soft roll, and a sharp tang from the cheese is about all you can ask for in life. With a soda, this came to a little pricey $10.

Rudy went with the cheesesteak, which he seemed to like a lot. His friend Paul, however, went with something worth discussing: The Stockyard. The Stockyard is a hoagie made with chicken, steak, both american and mascarpone cheeses, bacon, pepperoni, and fried onions. We watched them throw all of the meats on the grill, allowing the fats to meld, as they spread the bread with mascarpone. Then, melting the cheese, they put the entire heart attack on the bread. Now, Paul is not a small guy (he's probably around 6'4"), but he only got about halfway through what he called a great hoagie. On the flip side, when he brought his tray back in to have the other half wrapped to go, there was a big puddle of grease on the table. MMM...fat.

Anyway, Campo's is always a fun option down in Old City... 2nd and Market. Added Bonus? They sell beer.

Wawa Mac N' Cheese: Nothing Comes Closer To Home

2007-09-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

A quick post as I've finally deciphered the familiarity of the taste of Wawa Mac and Cheese. Velveeta? No. Kraft Dinner? No, eh. Jones? Certainly not. But Stouffer's? Yes, everyone's favorite microwaveable meal is available already nuked at the Wawa. I cite two reasons:

1) Overcooked elbows: Alone, this is not a valid reason. But neither Wawa nor Stouffer can produce anything even close to Al Dente, resulting in a too-soft noodle.

2) Cream Cheese consistency: You know when you eat cream cheese and it reminds you of peanut butter, in that you can't seem to get the cheese film out of your mouth? And it's tasty, so you just kind of deal, despite being grossed out that your mouth is now enveloped in a coating of dairy. Well, mix that cheese with some canned Cheddar, and you have Wawa Cheese. What it lacks in sharpness or, well, flavor, it makes up for with that certain sense of home. Why does this remind me of home? Because nothing comes closer to home than Stouffer's. Point proven.

What I would give for a 24 hour Whole Foods in Rittenhouse...

The dish that brought me back: under $10 perfection

2007-09-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

I'm not the biggest believer in Tampopo. Sure, the food is good enough, but there are better options. Typically I find the chicken a little too dry and the portions a little on the small side. This evening, however, I tasted their gold standard.

To be honest, yesterday I went for some Teriyaki Chicken mainly because it's close and inexpensive. Someone had ordered a Fresh Tuna Bi-Bim-Bop which looked simply amazing -- I quickly developed "order jealousy."

As I walked home today, something was pulling me towards Tampopo. Vic? Not today. Palumbo's? How much Chicken Salad can one person eat? Primo's? Like they'd be open at night. And as I appreciate food as much as the next person, Wawa Mac N' Cheese wasn't going to do it for me. So I walk into the minimalist space, run up to the counter, and get the Tuna Bi-Bim-Bop. Extra Tuna for $2.00 extra. Brown rice. And I wait... and wait... and 10 minutes later, they call my name. In the elevator, I'm trying to figure out how to take a picture of it, as it looks so good, it could be a display piece. Large morsels of rich deep pink floating over a bed of green and purple, red sauce, and brown rice on bottom. Magnificent.

I open up the plastic dish and immediately the smell of fresh tuna and spicy sauce comes flying out of the container. I mix the cabbage, avocado, lettuce, rice, and other greens in this atypical bi-bim-bop (remember, Tampopo is not a traditional restaurant by any means). The taste is incredibly fresh, if not overly spicy. The fresh fish has great bite, and the portion is very generous for $10. The veggies provide a nice crunch, the avocado (a fruit), a nice fatty contrast to the lean fish. Too much hot sauce marred the dish, but not enough for me to lose the fact that underneath that mask was a perfect combination of food.

Full and inspired, empty plate in front of me, I'm back to blogging.

Palumbo's Grill

2007-02-11T17:08:00.000-08:00

It’s been a little long since I’ve written. As many of my b-school readers know, I’m one of the writers of Follies, and that was consuming most of my life for the last five months. There’s other stuff too, but that was the largest time sink.

I figured if I’m getting back into my blog, I might as well try to help out the business owner who is responsible for the weight I’m putting on, so that when he loses my business in the next few months (I’m training for my first ten-mile race), there are other customers to fill the void.

Jack Palumbo recently opened up Palumbo’s Grill on 21^st and Chestnut. What appears as a storefront diner actually dishes up fantastic home-cooked food at reasonable prices. I’ve been in there a number of times, so I think it’s best to comment on specific dishes rather than write about the entire experience.

Breakfast:

I’ve only tried the French Toast, but received three thick slabs of cinnamon bread perfectly egg dipped and fried. Frankly, there are many ways to screw up French Toast. They don’t.

Sandwiches:

Sandwiches are all offered “deluxe” with fries, a pickle, and cole slaw. Frankly, the slaw is a little peppery for my taste, and I’m not a fan of dill deli pickles. The fries are pretty standard, and they haven’t ever been undercooked. Sandwiches themselves come stacked high. The chicken salad is quite tasty and light on the mayo, which I like – it’s also enough for two meals. The grilled chicken on a hard roll with mushrooms and cheese was quite filling and a good flavor combination, but I felt that the chicken was a little overcooked and did not enjoy the sprinkling of rosemary.

The selection of sandwiches is rather limited for a diner.

Dinners:

This is where Jack provides value and taste. The first time I ordered dinner, I got the grilled chicken pomodoro (topped with sauce and cheese), served with rigatoni and salad. I got two meals out of it, and probably could have gotten three if I wasn’t too hungry. The chicken was good, but at the end of the day, it’s a chicken cutlet. The sauce had a nice spice to it, and the flavor permeated the rest of the dish. The rigatoni was cooked al dente and quite tasty – not typical for a diner. The bill came to under $11.

I should mention that you get either pasta or choice of two veggies. When I asked Jack what the options were, he had green beans and three types of potato. Hopefully as he’s added business, this has changed.

I’ve also had the Chicken Parm. I’ve never seen a piece of chicken that big in my life. I’m not really sure what breading he uses – it reminds me of a Panko crumb and brought new life to a traditional dish. This came with a side of the rigatoni, as well as a salad and garlic bread. The Caesar Salad served on the side is generous and tasty. Furthermore, the loaf of garlic bread that Jack gave me that night was buttery delicious.

Jack doesn’t have much of a dessert menu, but you won’t have room for it anyway. If you eat in, it’s BYO, but this isn’t exactly a date place. However, a couple of well hidden take out trays, and your guests will never know that Jack cooked dinner for you.

My favorite restaurant in Philadelpiha

2006-10-09T04:33:00.001-07:00

There have been several “restaurant renaissances” in Philadelphia. It’s ironic that they’re all called “renaissances,” because in my research on the last 30 or so years, I haven’t exactly been able to find a “dark ages.” Perhaps my native readers can offer some enlightenment. It seemed that my first four years in Philadelphia was marked mainly by the “gourmet BYOB,” with restaurants such as Django and Pif joining the restaurant scene. The current trend seems to be focus on the continued revitalization of West Philadelphia, correlated strongly with my defection from UCity. Granted, with the exception of Pod and Nan, the fantastic 40^th and Chestnut restaurant, not a lot has happened in West Philly in the last 15 years, but it’s coming.

When you think of the remnants of the first restaurant “renaissance” in Philadelphia, there are some shared characteristics – long time waitstaffs, gourmet food done simply and well, and a feeling of comfort in the restaurant – you feel like you’re eating at a restaurant, not a theme park (although sometimes I enjoy this as much as the next person). The restaurant that I think best embodies this spirit is the famed Fri Sat Sun, my favorite restaurant in Philadelphia.

Fri Sat Sun is a funny place. First off, the décor is pretty tacky – and surprisingly similar to that of Japanese restaurant Aoi, but we’ve already discussed that. Neon tube lighting is ample at worst, and the dark space is in use of a makeover. However, that’s where the negatives end, in my opinion.

The service at Fri Sat Sun is exemplary. It’s my understanding that the waiters are all partial owners and this shows. Waiters are courteous, helpful, and gregarious, yet polite. There is such a difference when you experience service by people who have chosen this as a career, rather than as a stepping stone. Each time I’ve been there, I’ve been impressed. This time was no surprise, where my dining companion and I chose to split a salad, and they responded by bringing out half portions on separate plates for no charge.

A nice feature of Fri Sat Sun is their wine policy – all wine is offered at only $10 above cost. This gives you the opportunity to experience a really great wine at a pretty reasonable price. We enjoyed a Napa Cab that was quite good, and would have gone for a lot more at most other restaurants.

And then there’s the food. Simple, yet elegant. I have a few favorites on the menu, first of all being the Dijon chicken. Two chicken breasts are pan fried, and served with a dijon cream sauce. The portion is generous, and a pretty basic chicken dish is made spectacular with a wonderfully tangy sauce. Most dishes are served with haricot vertes and mashed potatoes, and this is no exception. The citrus tuna is also quite good – a large tuna steak is served perfectly seared. Desserts also stand out, with the rich cheesecake and thick mousse cake among favorites. Dessert portions are quite generous.

Fri Sat Sun won’t break the bank, either, with apps in the $7-11 range, entrees from $18-25, and desserts at an incredibly reasonable $5. It’s the combination of great, consistent, reasonably priced food and unbelievable service that make Fri Sat Sun my favorite restaurant in Philadelphia.

www.frisatsun.com

Pardon the Interruption

2006-10-01T05:34:00.000-07:00

Minor setback in the blogging due to this thing called school. I'll be back shortly with the following reviews:

Fri Sat Sun
Mizu
Why Au Bon Pain is the worst run restaurant chain in Philadelphia
Jack's Firehouse

The Melting Pot

2006-09-16T07:09:00.000-07:00

My sister was in town a couple of weeks ago and really wanted to go to the Melting Pot. For some reason I obliged.

The restaurant itself is fairly pleasant looking - large tables and fairly plain, cookie cutter decor. That's probably where my excitement about this restaurant ends. We start off by waiting about 10 minutes for the Host to find our reservation and get his act together -- this despite the place being empty and our telling him that we were in a rush.

Finally we sit, and the waitress gives us menus and takes our drink order...and forgets my drink. I'll chalk this one up to ineptitude. We pick our choices and the food comes out.

The first course is the cheese course. We order traditional Swiss fondue and a dish called "Wisconsin Fondue:" a mix of cheddar, blue, and fontina cheeses. Now I don't know if this is a requirement for fondue, but the bread that came out was stale. Other than that, this was a decent course -- i mean, you can't go wrong with cheese.

Then the main course comes out. We ordered a vegetarian plate, a fish plate, and a beef plate (there were five of us in all), and ordered both oil and broth as our cooking media. They bring out a number of batters and sauces and show us what to do. I try battering some meat. The batter (of course) won't stay on the meat. I stick the half-battered piece of steak into the fryer and overcook it. Even overcooked, the batter doesn't cook properly (the oil isn't hot enough). So I wind up with some nasty excuse for tempura beef. The salmon, veggies, etc. aren't much better. The nice thing is that it's hard to really truly overcook food in fondue -- it's probably going to stay moist. In few words: this became a meal of sauces, as they were the only way to mask my distaste for basically everything else.

All in all, my take is that this is a gimmicky chain with mediocre food. See, I did promise you some bad reviews...

A Nation In Mourning Five Years Later

2006-09-11T04:48:00.000-07:00

It's hard not to reflect on the fifth anniversary of the largest terrorist attack the world has, and hopefully will ever see. Like many people, I'll never forget where I was when I learned of the attacks. A sophomore in college, we had lost power two of the last three nights as PECO struggled to fix a transformer on fortieth and spruce. We spent much of the night of the 10th playing board games by candlelight and talking to our neighbors on the porches around us. I resolved the following morning to call PECO. I also called my dad and asked him to call me at 10:30 to make sure I got up for class.

At 10:15 or so, I wake up on my own (I didn't have class until noon), and we still don't have power. I try calling PECO and get the "all circuits are busy" message that became so common that day. About half an hour later, the power comes back on and my phone rings about 30 seconds later: it's my sister and she's in tears, but at least she's reached both of my parents and they're alive. I never before considered the possibility of the death of my immediate family members before that day, but as a born and bred Lower Manhattanite (I grew up about a mile from Ground Zero on the lower east side), it was quite real that day.

I was beside myself. Luckily, I lived with a fantastic group of guys who realized that none of us should be alone that day. One of my housemates suggested we go to donate blood, and we walked towards the hospital. This is when the most inspiring part of the day occurred. Everybody was trying to help. Phone banks had already been set up on campus, allowing students to find family. People were being turned away at the blood bank (including us) because they couldn't handle the crowds. Money was raised, and the entire school (it seemed) wore ribbons made of intertwined red, white, and blue threads. We helped as much as we could, sending supplies and volunteers to DC and NY, yet it never felt like enough as our help could only go so far.

I wanted to link to Matt Gelb's piece on the first Mets game post 9/11, as it really resonated with me.

I'm not going to write about my feelings on the current state of the world -- today is a day of reflection (and this is a food blog anyway). But today, like many of you, I will take some time out of my busy day to reflect, mourn, and remember.

Coocoo for Tampopo Puffs

2006-09-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

Less than a block from my house is the oft-crowded Tampopo, a little teriyaki hut that typically releases fantastic smells. Having never been, I avoided the temptation of Five Guys to try the rice bowls at Tampopo. Basically, Tampopo makes about 6 different types of meat (breaded, grilled, and spicy chicken, beef), some fish, and some vegetarian options. You then pick between rice bowl and bento box, and you enjoy. Some sushi is available.

The place is quite clean and the staff very cheery. Many people were eating in, despite everything pointing to a focus on takeout (cash register at the counter, disposable bowls). Prices are reasonable, in the $5-8 range.

I ordered Bi Bim Bop with beef, a classic Korean dish consisting of rice, steamed veggies, egg, and meat. This used to be my favorite dish at the old "Korean and Japanese Food Truck" on 38th and Walnut, now known as KoJa (the quality, in my opinion, suffered greatly when the new owners took over), and since they removed it from the menu, I've been pressed to find the dish for under $10. I paid $7.44 at Tampopo.

My food arrives and I mix in the hot oil (to me, much more palatable than the usual korean sauces, which are way too hot for my taste). The egg was missing from the dish, and the meat was not exactly plentiful. Additionally, the veggies were soggy (I like some crunchier bean sprouts in mine). Tasting the dish, the rice was well cooked and the meat was very flavorful. For the most part, I enjoyed the dish, yet it lacked the depth of a "traditional" bi bim bop. I put traditional in quotes because I'm not Korean, I've never been to Korea, and I'm basing this solely on the sum of my experiences with Korean foods at different restaurants.

So in general, I need to try this place again, but I thought it was a mediocre attempt. Based on the crowds, I'm expecting better than what I got. Readers, weigh in...

New Feature: Recipes

2006-09-09T07:38:00.000-07:00

So I don't only like to eat, I also like to cook. Periodically, I'm going to share a recipe that I've created for some of my favorite foods...

I'm on a little bit of a barbecue kick. Luckily, since my readership is quite discerning, you all realize that I'm talking about sauce and meat, and not coals and meat. Big difference. While barbecue purists will be appalled by what I do, I can make a decent pulled chicken in maybe 20 minutes.

Quick Chopped/Pulled Barbecue Chicken

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken breasts
1/2 medium onion
1 bottle of Trader Joe's BBQ sauce (I like the smoky taste of it)
Oil

1. Chop the onion and heat in a saucepan (oiled) until tender. Remove from flame and set aside in mixing bowl.

2. Cut chicken into strips, and heat in saucepan on low/med heat. Keep the lid on the pan, yet turn the chicken every few minutes. By keeping the lid on, you'll create a steaming effect which will keep the chicken nice and moist. When the chicken is cooked, remove from heat and let stand for 10-20 minutes.

3. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and either a) chop or b) manually pull the chicken apart. I chop, as I'm lazy. Place the chicken in the mixing bowl with the onion.

4. Slowly mix in your barbecue sauce. Make sure all of the chicken is coated with sauce.

5. Enjoy!

This was a pretty simple one, but hey, I'm a student (as are many of my readers) and don't necessarily have time to be more complex...

Why I Hate The New Marathon Menu

2006-09-08T16:12:00.000-07:00

I love Marathon Grill. I've been going there religiously since I was an undergrad, and have shared many a lunch at pretty much all of the locations. I love the simplicity of the diner food and appreciate the gourmet spin. Now I love a tuna melt as much as anybody else (probably moreso), but I feel much better about doing it with a garden salad on the side rather than french fries. Marathon lets me do that. Sure, it's a little more expensive than Midtown, for instance, but, as I'll post in a couple of days, you don't have to deal with possibly the poorest excuse I've ever seen for french onion soup. Today I went twice, just to show my loyalty.

Breakfast was fine. The "Blue Dot" coffee was, as always, refreshingly strong and effortlessly bottomless. The home fries were fantastic, and the egg wrap (with Pico, cheddar, and sour cream) was solid, but a little light on the pico.

Lunch was a whole different story. First, let's start with the menu. The new menu is smaller, with some new items, such as the flounder filet sandwich, the curried turkey salad on walnut bread (served with a beet and feta salad?!), and a shortribs sandwich. They've also changed several of the items, adding, for example, lemon aioli to my personal favorite, the chicken salad sandwich, and adding thousand island dressing to one of the burgers, in an attempt to gourmet-ify a Big Mac. They also removed (as far as we could tell), the hot dogs and the cheesesteaks.

The weirdest part of the menu though is a section called "Jay's Faves." In no particular order, "Jay" lists about 8 items off the menu that he "likes," yet all of these are new menus on the item. Thus, while a clever way to highlight the new items, this will get old fairly quickly. Plus, the B-School student in me realizes that they may make future menu decisions without taking into account the overpromotion of these items.

Then, the paper insert suggests some "items from the new menu" which is just a rearranged version of "Jay's Faves." Lastly, Mr. Rogers does not appear on this menu, a highlight of the old menu.

So after being told three times about the new short rib sandwich, I figured I'd try it, against my better judgement. What came out was a mess. First off, the sandwich is spilling out of the bun from the kitchen. I don't know how meat wound up UNDER the bottom of the bun, but it was there. There's really no excuse for this -- my sandwich rule 1: as hefty as a sandwich is, all meat should be reasonably contained by bread at time of serving.

My first bite (with only about a third of the meat in the roll) presented me with a slightly leathery beef drenched in gravy. Now I make short ribs. And the whole POINT of short ribs is that you cook them until the meat is incredibly tender. You don't quickly cook this meat, as the muscle fibers don't get broken down. Either their beef was very cheap, or the ribs needed more time in the crockpot. Furthermore, they've loaded up the sandwich with this horseradish mustard, which I was really looking forward too. However, when mixed, Grey Poupon and Horseradish create a tart, overbearing taste, taking away from the meat. A good deli mustard and a little bit of horseradish would have been a better choice to bring out the flavor. In essence, this sandwich pretty much tasted like something that would be served at Penn's 1920 Commons. My side salad was decent, coated an interesting, yet tasty thai lime yogurt dressing.

I tasted my friend's flounder sandwich, and it was quite good, leading me to believe that at least some of the new menu was decent. On further thought, however, I realized that Marathon is sending mixed signals. Their new comfort foods are good, because Marathon is good at comfort foods. That's their thing. When they try to fancify foods, they tend to mess up. Hence I don't think I'll be trying the curried turkey salad on walnut bread with a beet and feta salad on the side.

Marathon, do me a favor and bring back the cheesesteak... this is, after all, Philadelphia.

Now Feeding Wharton

2006-09-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

So we're hitting the big time. And by the big time, I mean that not only has one of our readers offered to guest write about her favorite restaurants, but I've now opened up the feed to WhartonLink. That's right, we're commercializing, as any good Wharton MBA should do...

Five Guys Famous Burger and Fries

2006-09-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of The Washington Post

A few weeks ago, I walked by one of the most garish looking storefronts I've ever seen. Looking like a picnic tablecloth exploded onto a wall, Five Guys did not initially impress me. Granted, I have not been to DC in a while, and was unaware of the fame of this place.

The following Wednesday, I walked by with my friend Mike, who repeatedly sang its praises. I had to try it.

When you walk into Five Guys, you are greeted with peanuts on the tables -- a testament to their allegiance to peanut oil as their oil of choice. Grab some while you wait, as depending on the length of the line, you might be sitting there for a while.

A standard cheeseburger is the equivalent to an In-N-Out 2x2: 2 patties, 2 pieces of cheese. Patties are flipped once and only pressed down once on each side to hold in the juices. Customers are allowed to choose from a list of toppings, including sauteed mushrooms and fried onions, at no extra charge.

I ordered a cheeseburger with mushrooms, onions, lettuce, tomato, and ketchup. Surprisingly, my order was ready in under five minutes, and I headed home. When I opened up the burger in my apartment, the burger drew similarities to In-N-Out. Taste wise, I think this may be a little better (dare I say). Two reasons: First, I really liked that there was a little bit of a char taste on the burger, which I don't remember from In-N-Out. Second, I really like the toppings choice. To me, any burger is made better with mushrooms.

I remind you that this is still a fast food burger. There are better burgers available in Philadelphia for not much more money (and in some cases, less). However, as far as fast food goes, this may be the best I've had.

On a side note, it may seem that I'm positive about a lot of places. Two reasons for that: first, food in Philadelphia is quite good overall, second, I'm writing about a mix of places I've been to and places I've recently visited. When I hate something, I'll be clear.

Five Guys Famous Burger and Fries
1527 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
tel. 215-972-1375

Aoi Aoi

2006-09-02T08:10:00.000-07:00

I haven't had much sushi since I moved to Philadelphia. Although I love it, it doesn't really fit into the concept of a student budget, so I've avoided it as best I could. Last night, though, I was in the mood...really in the mood. I called my friend Jon up to see if he had any interest in going for all you can eat Sushi at Aoi. I remembered the place having pretty good fish, so it was worth a try.

Aoi is a strange place. You walk in to the black room with grey carpet and it feels more like a place out of the Philadelphia 1970's restaurant revolution (e.g. Fri Sat Sun with its fish tank and Christmas lights). There's half of a car sticking out of the wall over a bathroom -- kitsch at its best. It seems when they took over the restaurant, they spent as little as possible on renovations, adding just a couple of Japanese posters to the walls.

The waitress took a while to show up, and we informed her we'd be doing the all you can eat ($19.95). She took our menus away and brought special menus for the all you can eat. We then learned the rules:

Nigiri = 1 point per piece
Maki = 3 points per six pieces
Temaki = 3 points per hand roll
You can order up to 15 points per order
No sharing
You pay a la carte for any piece you don't finish (we'll get back to this one)

The fish selection was pretty good, with various combinations of tuna, mackerel, yellowtail, salmon, tamago, crab stick, and some shell fish/eel. We ordered our 15 points and she offered us soup and salad -- i took the salad and Jon went with the soup. The ginger dressing for the salad was quite good but pretty standard, although they also offered wasabi and sesame dressing choices.

Plate one comes out: I'm not too keen on the rolls -- the rice seems to be a little too chewy and sticky (a sign of not enough vinegar), but the nigiri is pretty good. A little too much rice, but hey, they're trying to slow down your fish consumption. The fish was surprisingly plentiful and quite tasty. The hamachi was especially good, with it's buttery bite and clean taste. The salmon was also quite fresh. Tuna and whitefish were less special, but still solid. We order plate two -- Jon is already struggling so he orders only six points, while I go for the full 15, limiting to just hand rolls and nigiri. I ask Jon to remind me to take a picture of plate two for the blog.

Plate two comes out: We both forget about the picture, and I go to town on my fish. I ordered tamago this time around to complete the meal (this is tradition in Japan according to Rachel J., who lived there for 8 years), and it's a little on the sweet side but still good. Again, I'm really surprised by the good quality of the fish.

Jon then reminds me that I haven't taken pictures. Because I care about all three of my readers, I decide to order more, albeit already pushing my limits here. I order two temaki and one nigiri. I can finish that, right? Wrong. The food comes out and I eat the nigiri with no problem. I start on the temaki. Problem. I've hit a wall. I have three choices:

Pay the a la carte for the pieces I didn't finish (recall the rules)
Take a short break and force them in
Stuff them in my mouth, go to the bathroom, and spit them out into the toilet

I chose the latter. In a truly classic disruption of my dignity solely to take pictures for you, my three readers, I go to the bathroom and spit the food into the toilet. I push really hard on the flusher and luckily both rolls go down. The biggest issue: I haven't yet figured out how to get the photos off of my camera phone...

In conclusion, scary decor, good service, and decent sushi at a great price. I wouldn't recommend this place for a la carte, as for me, the best part of a la carte sushi is finding really creative rolls. I'm sure Aoi has creative rolls, but I find it much harder to ignore the rice consistency with maki than with nigiri. But for all you can eat? this place is great.

Aoi
1210 Walnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 985-1838

Primo's Last Stand

2006-09-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

I received some flak for my Primo's post. Elizabeth commented that I should try the Schwartzie. Brett suggested that I try earlier in the day when the Sarcone's rolls are softer. I figured I'd try one more time.

I walked in today and the place was bumping. There were bags and bags of sandwiches awaiting delivery -- much different than my Saturday trip.

I ordered the Schwartzie -- with pickles and Swiss Lorraine (sharper and less fat than your standard Swiss).

The bread was softer, the corned beef thinly sliced and plentiful. The cole slaw and pickles gave the sandwich a nice crunch. The Russian dressing was probably a little too plentiful, but who's counting. The only drawback was that they didn't cut my hoagie in half.

So Primo's gets a plus in my book thanks to Brett and Elizabeth. I guess the best thing a place can have is an extremely supportive fan base...

Bucks County (Iced Coffee Review)

2006-08-29T07:28:00.000-07:00

I'm mildly obsessed with coffee. If you put six different iced coffees in front of me sans labels, I could tell you where each one is from. One of my favorites is Bucks County.

The iced coffee at Bucks County has a nice smooth body, relatively low acidity, and a slight hint of mocha (don't worry, you're not getting a frappuccino instead of an iced coffee). It is, however, quite pricey, as a small at $2.56 is nearly double the price of the small at Au Bon Pain ($1.39). Thus, this is well worth it on a hot summer's day, but hardly an everyday purchase on this student's budget.

Bucks County also recently received Philadelphia Magazine's "Best In Philly - Iced Coffee" -- I am not alone.

Bucks has seemingly gotten rid of their huge and delicious pastry selection in favor of sandwiches from Le Bus. While I haven't tried them yet, I'm a little mixed -- the old Bucks County sandwiches were horrible, but the pastry selection is pretty sparse these days.

Bucks County Coffee

Various Locations

Buckscountycoffee.com

Primo's Part Deux

2006-08-29T07:26:00.000-07:00

Two days in and already receiving comments.

I've been told to try the "Schwarzie" at Primo's. Apparently the change in ingredients will change my mind, although if the bread is stale again (as in a bad day at Bui's stale, for all you Penn grads), I don't think I'll be going back.