Thursday, January 28, 2010

Pierogie Week at Green Rock Tavern

I was quite excited when I heard about Pierogie Week at the nearby Green Rock Tavern. Jonny and I visited for dinner on Tuesday night. Green Rock Tavern is a little corner bar on Lehigh Ave in Port Richmond. The bar is a quant little hang out. They have an old school dart board, and the place seemed to be filled with regulars. The draft list is nothing special, and there is no happy hour. The prices seem average, and the bottle list is halfway decent.

This week, they were offering different pierogie dishes matched with a PBC beer for $10. They were out of two different kinds of pierogie's, which I get it: They didn't expect to have the kind of demand they received. We ordered and received our dishes in a timely manner. Jonny had bacon, chive and potato, while I had "Farmer's cheese." We both had decent food, but six peirogies and a small side of kraut just isn't a meal. I wasn't about to order a second dish, either. The beer pairings seemed to be completely arbitrary, but to be fair, there isn't really a science to match those PBC beers with the food offered.

The service was fine and the bartender was nice. When we got our check, it said "Two dude under the highlife sign" on it. That was kind of funny.

Bottom Line: There's not much to say. Pierogie's weren't enough for me. The bar is nice, and if it was around the corner I could see myself going there more often. But it's not, so I won't.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Chifa

Chifa was my first stop for restaurant week. I was excited for my first stop at a Jose Garces restaurant, as the man has quickly become Steven Starr's main competitor over the last few years. Restaurant week is when over a hundred restaurants over the city offer a three course, prix fix meal for $35. However, portions and quality vary greatly.

I met with my friend Bryana and we were seated quickly, right on time for our reservations. The atmosphere is weird here. Low lights, modern/trendy decorations, terrible but trying to be
cool and in the background music. Overall, it just wasn't my thing. This doesn't make a huge difference though. Our server was excellent. Attentive and friendly, she made the dining experience better.

The menu is Peruvian/Asian fusion food, which sounded random until our server explained. You should ask during your visit. The menu
is set up for sharing, and between the two of us we ordered four different first courses, four seconds, and two desserts. I also opted for the wine pairing which offered a glass of red and white wine. While not amazing, they were modestly prices and matched well with a majority of the food. I also opted for the wine because the beer list was average and overpriced: Flying Fish, Dogfish Head, PBC, ect for $6 or $7.

Dishes are brought out in the order they are prepared, which was a bit faster than I wanted to eat them. We started of with civiche, which was deliciously well prepared. Our pork belly bun came out next, which is a star of the menu. The meat was delicious, but I thought the bun was bland and in poor ratio to the rest of the dish. Despite my complaint, Bryana declared it her favorite dish. We had spring rolls next, which were my favorite. They were flaky and perfectly seasoned. The BBQ ribs were the last of the first courses. It was good, but if you want ribs, go to a place that does ribs, because I wasn't impressed. The meat wasn't memorably tender, and the sauce was average.

Pho started our second course. This dish was poorly made. The spiciness from the jalapenos
overpowered any other taste it might have had. Further it was made from noodles only a few inches long, making it almost impossible to eat with a fork or the provided chop sticks. We were served mussels next, which were great. The sauce was thick and flavorful, the best mussels I've had outside a Belgian joint. Another fantastic dish came out next, seasoned rice mixed with scallops. Chifa did the best job with the seafood dishes. Our last dish before dessert were mushrooms, and they come out in a dish that looked like a pot pie. The crust was unnecessary, but the mushrooms were cooked in a great sauce and were excellent wild mushrooms.

We had hit and miss dishes for both courses. We sampled both desserts from the menu. The first was coconut and passionfruit sorbet dish. This was nice and tangy, but not the way I love to end my meal. I was much more into the other dessert, chocolate ganache with hazelnut brittle.

Bottom Line: With the offerings of a lot of different dishes, the portions are small, but the meal ends up being adequate. Our server told me that the restaurant week menu was a good representation of the regular menu. The whole night was good, but hit or miss. I would have been disappointed if I paid full price, and I honestly can't see myself going back again. If you do have a strong urge to try this place out, opt for the small $18 lunch special. It's almost exactly half of the restaurant week dinner offering. Chifa cooks up interesting fusion dishes, but doesn't quite hit the nail on the head.

Essentials:
707 Chestnut St
215-925-5555
Avg dinner: 35-55
Cash Only: No
Reservations: Required

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Varga Bar

Dan and I stopped by Varga for a nice weekday lunch. I knew they started a new "speed lunch" menu. Also, I hadn't been here since summer. During lunch, this spot is pretty slow. Still, the city is in sore need of good bars that serve weekday lunch, so I'm really happy this is open.

The beer list, as always, in incredible. They also standardized the beer list: 3.5 for half pints, 6 for goblets or pints, and $25 growler fill. Between us we tried Bell's Hopslam, Great Divide St. Brigid's Porter, Slyfox Odyssey, Great Divide Old Ruffian barleywine, and St. Victorious Doppelbock. They have so many choices that I really love the new offering of half pints. Varga also keeps their beermenus page and twitter meticulously up to date.

Dan and I were both craving burger, so we skipped the lunch menu. The burger was good; well topped with bacon, aged cheddar, lettuce and tomato. The burger was also served with fries and house made ketchup and mustard. I enjoyed my meal, but it's not my favorite burger in the city, and the $14 price tag is steep despite the Kobe label.

We also split a bowl of spicy gumbo with chirzo and shrimp. This was a good idea because neither of us ate all of our food, and the bowl of soup was $8. Considering the speed lunch includes a bowl of soup and half a sandwich for $9, you almost can't pass up this deal.

Bottom Line: I still like Varga a lot. It's a great choice for good lunch and beer in the neighborhood. When the weather gets nice and you can sit outside, that just another reason to love this place.

Essentials:
10th and Spruce
(215) 627-5200
Reservations: No
Cash Only: No
Avg Ent: 10-16

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Hikari

I'm not a huge fan of sushi, but I love good company and trying out new places. So when my friends Diana, Greg, and Lauren invited me out for sushi, I decided to go for it. Hikari is a small BYO on Liberties Walk. It has a clean, modern interior with an open sushi bar. It always inspires confidence when you can see everything the chefs are working on. There are about ten or so tables, so it's not a big place, but it's comfortable.

We split a nice bottle of red wine and ordered edamame and fried dumplings. Both of these were nice appetizers, but I have my favorite spots for both of these dishes elsewhere in the city. We ordered six different rolls between the four of us, and it ended up being the perfect amount of food. I was impressed with the price, too. BYO helps a lot; the final check for the four of us was under $60.

We ordered eel, yellowtail, Philadelphia (smoked salmon and cream cheese), shitaki, spicy tuna, and another spicy one. I wasn't blown away by the taste on any of these, but I was impressed by the variety. Eel is a unique taste, and it's one of my top recommendations here. A lot of the rolls include avocado, which was a great addition. My one grip would be that the spicy rolls could have been a few notches hotter.

The service here was great. Our waiter was friendly and attentive. The menu is diverse and offers many rolls, including a few options if you're vehemently against sushi. Still, I recommend you try it regardless of your past experiences.

Bottom Line: This is a nice little spot and one of the more unique and enjoyable restaurants in Northern Liberties. I recommend bringing your own alcohol and a few friends and try out all of the different options the menu has to offer. I didn't discover a new found love for sushi, but I had a nice meal.

Essentials:
1040 N American St (Liberties Walk)
215-923-2654
Avg Roll: 6-9 (includes 6-8 pieces)
Cash Only: No
Reservations: Yes
BYOB: Yes


Monday, January 18, 2010

Jovan's Place

I've been passing by Jovan's Place for years. I've been meaning to eat her for almost as long. I don't know why I waited. I met with my good friend Ethan for dinner on Friday night. For starters, Jovan's Place is a weird space. It's a corner bar with no windows, and when you walk in there's a large bar, a big screen TV, and then a small dining room, all sort of crammed into one. The place wasn't full, and we were seated right away. All of the food is meticulously made to order, so we grabbed the menus right away to get our orders in; we knew they would take a bit of time.

The menu has about ten different entrees to chose from. There were several enticing options. I went with a schnitzel rolled with ham and cheese. Ethan ordered a pork cutlet. While we were ordering we were given some great bread and homemade pesto dipping sauce. It was an excellent way to pass the time. Ethan and I were catching up and it didn't seem like an abnormal wait time for the food.

The beer selection is weak. Draft beers consist only of major domestics, but there is a small selection from PBC. It's too bad this isn't a BYO, that would take it up a notch.

The service here is unmatched. I think I love it because this restaurant is complete family affair; our man server/bartender was the owner. His wife and mother make all of the food. His young son was sitting at one of the tables playing Nintendo DS. His older son was having dinner with friends at another table. It was a great vibe. On top of that, everyone is incredibly nice and attentive. They were genuinely concerned with us enjoying our meals.

The schnitzel was nothing like I expected. It kind of looked like a corndog. But it tasted amazing. One of the cheeses was home made. It was like a fancy cordon-blue. All of the meats/cheeses were high quality products and complimented each other well. Ethan's dish was more what I expected mine to look like, and he enjoyed it. I did a comparison taste test, and it wasn't as good of a cut as I ordered. We both had a side of mashed potatoes, which were fine, and a lot of veggies. The vegetables were the low point of the meal, I think they were canned. Overall, the meal was excellent.

The owner insisted that we try his homemade cherry liqueur for dessert. They use homegrown cherries, and it tastes phenomenal. I highly recommend it as a perfect end to your meal here.

Bottom Line: Jovan's Place is a self proclaimed Yugoslavian restaurant. I love that. The food is excellent, the service is great, and it's a nice place to chill out. The prices are just a bit higher that comparable spots, but it's so worth it, you shouldn't give it a second thought. Try this place out.

Essentials:

2327 York St (York and Memphis)

(215) 634-3330

Avg Ent: 11-16

Cash only: Yes

Reservations: Not needed. They also do Take Out.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Hinge Cafe

It's been far too long since I've written anything here. Holidays, cooking in, cold weather, and nothing too exciting on the restaurant front have all conspired against me trying out new places. I'll definitely have two new posts for restaurant week.

I went to Hinge Cafe for brunch on Sunday. I went to this spot months ago, and decided to try it out again. Despite its location on a weird block on Port Richmond, this spot was packed for Sunday brunch. We only had to wait a few minutes before being seated. It's nice to be able to have a good brunch spot close by without epic Sabrinia's-esc waits.

I had an omelet that was on special. It was filled with cheese, and several kinds of peppers and onions. It was a generous portion, probably a three egg omelet. With the side of potatoes, it was honestly enough food to fill me up for the entire day. Dining with my friend Bryana, she also ordered from the special board: eggs florentine. She had a similar assessment as myself; the meal was delicious and served in generous portions.

There are two factors that impress me the most about Hinge: The coffee is excellent and served continuously, and the menu is extensive. There were several great offerings on the board for specials that I didn't even take a serious look at the regular menu. I could easily come back here several times in the future and have a lot of good, different options. Hinge doesn't just do brunch, either, they have a good offers for all meals.

Bottom Line: Hinge offers quick service and meals at affordable prices. It makes a great brunch spot that is (for me) close to home. I've never been at night, but apparently Hinge also host small music events. It would even make a great stop for a coffee shop, as it has a few small tables up front and a bakery case filled with mouthwatering desserts. If nothing else, it's great to support this spot in a neighborhood that needs it.