Darling's Diner

I've been meaning to write about this spot for a while, and it kind of slipped my mind. At this point, I don't feel like going into too much detail, and there's too much to criticize. I hate the decor and atmosphere. This place has as much charm as a dumpy doctors office. The harsh lighting is horrible, especially at late night hours. There are booths to sit in, and you should be lucky enough to get one so you're not on a hard plastic chair stranded in the middle of a sea of diners. The space has high ceilings and lots of hard surfaces, so expect it to sound like a sporting event, even if there are only a few people.

Speaking of sports, why do you have three televisions, none of which are playing the Phillies when I walk in. There were no other sports going on. And when I ask for the game to be put on, no one working there even knows what channel to put on and my request is eventually ignored.

Which brings me to the service. I reserve some judgement because I caught a server during a shift change, but overall it was shoddy service. I shouldn't have an empty coffee cup on my table for a majority of the time I'm seated.

My last complaint is the prices. $22 for two coffees, and pies ala mode? Are you seriously charging $1.95 for two tiny scoops of ice cream along with my slice of pie? The slices of pie an enormous, and around $6 each. I don't want a slice of pie the size of Kansas. Just because we're American, we don't have to be fat and indulge in overeating every chance we get.

Bottom Line: The only reason I could see someone going here is if you're in Northern Liberties and you want to eat between the hours of 3 and 4 am. Before 2am, there are a million better choices, and between 2 and 3 visit the new Dapper Dog. There's so much wrong with this diner.

The Latest Dish

The Latest Dish was on my list for a while. This weekend while my Mom and Charlie were visiting, we had a chance to dine here. The dinner was my thank you for all of the hard work around and on the house, and my good friend Quinn met up with us.

This unassuming spot is right off South Street. They have a decently sized bar with a surprisingly good beer selection. I started off with one of my favorites, Bell's Two Hearted Ale, and then moved on to the wine that we split as a table; a nice white out of California. In addition to the beer list, The Latest Dish has a good selection of reasonably priced wines. I really like the decor and atmosphere of this place. Pounded brass tabletops are complimented by the action of the open kitchen in the back.

Before we ordered, a loaf of bread with pesto olive oil was brought out. Mom loved the olive oil. As another starter, we ordered calamari. The perfectly cooked calamari came with a spicy chili sauce. This was a great way to start the meal. Mom doesn't love calamari, but even she enjoyed the appetizer. Even as a meat eater, she went with the vegan burger made up from black beans and mushroom. The large, crumbly burger was excellent, and she was really pleased with it.

I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich which came topped with caramelized onions, blue cheese,

and bacon on focaccia. It was huge, and I probably should have saved half for lunch the next day. It was too tasty to stop. The fries on the side were great as well. Charlie's chicken tacos were great. The side of guacamole was creamy and well made. The tacos were small, but they're really intended to be a starter.

Taking after their name, The Latest Dish has a great selection of specials. Quinn ordered off of the specials list and got a crab cake. The presentation of all of the dishes is great, and hers was no exception. She was happy with the dish, but it wasn't as flavorful as everything else I sampled.

Bottom Line: I really like this place. It's a great space, the beer, wine and food menus are all varied enough to keep me happy upon multiple trips. It's a great place for dinner, or just a drink. It's one of the best restaurants around for the price range, and the service was great.

Essentials:

613 S 4th St (4th and Bainbridge)

215-629-0565

Hours: M-TH 5-11, F 5-1:30, SAT 3-1:30, SUN 3-11

Avg Ent: 9-18

Cash Only: No

Reservations: Not taken

Kraftwork

Just got back from lunch at Kraftwork. I'm impressed with this place. It's a small bar at the east end of Girard Ave. It boasts 24 taps. Stepping inside, there is a great, U shaped bar in the center of the space. The decor is modern/industrial, with a lot of exposed brick and metal work. There's several tables around as well; it's a good size without trying to be humongous. I really like the space.

It's not really fair to review a spot only a few days after it opens, but I'm going to do so anyways. When I first saw the menu and taplist, I was pessimistic. I thought, "With 24 taps, you should have high quality beer on each one." After visiting, however, I've changed my mind. Kraftwork doesn't have any bottled beer, so the tap list is aimed to have something to please every taste (or lack thereof). The older guys across from me, after trying several different craft beers and then ordering PBR, confirmed this.

I really like how the menu is set up. The 24 taps are listed, and next to them is the beer that will replace each one on tap. That's a whopping 48 beers on tap or on deck. Although there are a lot of repeats, it's still impressive. Depending on the beer, pours are served in a goblet, pint,

or half-pint. Many of the beers can be filled in a growler for a reasonable price.

It was quite busy while we ate. There was one bartender and one food runner, and both of these girls were overworked and still managed to provide excellent service. Before it got too crowded, Dan and I were offered several samples of beers on tap while we deliberated. I ended up drinking Southern Tier Hoppe and Bell's Consecrator.

The menu here is kind of small. I'm not sure if it will expand with time, or if they will continue to offer a small selection of solid food. I find that the cheeseburger is an excellent way to judge an entire menu. I ordered a medium rare burger with aged cheddar, lettuce, pickles, and caramelized onions. It was served on a great role and with thin, crispy fries tossed with rosemary. All of the food here is high qaulity, and everything was tasty. The patty is loose packed, good tasting meat. Dan ordered soup and I tried it: creme of mushroom. The mushrooms were pureed, giving the soup a creamy taste and smooth consistency. It was a unique take on a standard soup.

Bottom Line: I like this space, I like competition for Johnny Brenda's, and I expect this location to have a lot of good beers on tap. It won't likely be a regular lunch or dinner spot for me, but the beer, atmosphere and service are enough to keep me visiting. I'm also looking forward to having brunch here.

Essentials:

541 E Girard Ave (Girard and Montgomery)

Hours: (currently) 12pm-2am

Avg Ent: 10-12

Cash Only: Takes Cards

Reservations: No

Triumph Brewing Company

If you're in the know, you can order a very special cheeseburger at Triumph. It's not on the menu. They also have beers that are not on the taplist. These cool secrets raise this spot a bit in my book.

Jonny and I split this burger, and I'm glad we did. Because I would have felt horrible (mentally and possibly physically) if I ate it all alone. It starts with pork belly fried in duck fat. This delicious patty is then sandwiched by two grass-fed beef patties. This is all topped with bacon, gruyere, truffle oil, duck fat onion confit, a fried egg, and lettuce and tomato and onion. All served on a buttery brioche roll, this burger is a feat to be tasted.

Triumph has a beautiful, open space on Chestnut in Olde City. They have two bars pouring a good selection of there beer, all of which is made on location. The menu isn't amazing, it's standard American gastropub fare with regular prices. Avoid the mediocre calamari.

Bottom Line: I don't like to visit Olde City bars often, but the special burger tempted me. I really enjoyed it. I'm not running back to Triumph anytime soon, but I'll consider it if I'm in the neighborhood. (And then probably walk across the street to Eulogy)

Essentials:

117 Chestnut St (Chestnut & Front)

215-625-0855

Hours: 11:30-2am daily

Avg En: 8-16

Cash Only: No

Reservations: Taken, needed on busy nights

Photo from: burgerdelphia.com

500 Degrees

Dan and I stopped into 500 Degrees while working in Center City last week. We had eaten at Rouge before with less than amazing results. Still, we were interested in trying out this new place.

500 Degrees gets points for simplicity. You walk in and order at the register. The menu only consists of burgers, fries, and milkshakes. There are several incarnations of each of these items. Prices are slightly high, but you're paying for quality and location. The best part about this place is the ability to order how your burger is cooked. I went with a medium rare burger with lettuce, tomato and american cheese.

The burger came out quickly and cooked perfectly. But I wasn't thrilled. The beef wasn't seasoned well; just a dash of salt and pepper. They could have done so much more with the meat and made a better burger without much extra effort. It's a small burger at 6 oz, but the perfect amount for lunch. The fries are served regular, spicy, or truffle in huge servings at $2.50. One order of fries was more than enough for the two of us. The seasoning on the fries was unique, not very spicy, but interesting. The fries were served with "house sauce," which was close to 100o island dressing. The fries are slices thin and fried crispy. Not my favorite, but some people were really digging them.

I didn't have a shake here, but from the looks of them, I imagine they're good, but not great. It's almost impossible to crank out high quality food at the speed with which 500 degrees operates. 500 degrees is small, with two small tables to eat at. It's loud, they play hilarious music (like Marilyn Manson and Everclear while we were eating), and you'll definitely be elbow to elbow with strangers with juice dribbling down their chins. It's pretty fun.

I've heard a lot of mixed reviews from different people, with some saying this burger is the best in the city, while other parties find it mediocre. I've done my best to accurately represent this spot, but I've had a lot of cheeseburgers across Philadelphia, and I'd be surprised if this made even my top 10.

Bottom Line: This is fancy fast food. It's still fast food though, albeit some of the best you will find in the city. If you want an actual cheeseburger and to be in and out of the door in five minutes, this spot is fantastic. If you have some more time, I'd recommend other places for lunch.

Essentials:

1504 Sansom

Hours: M-T: 11-10, F,S,S: 11-3am

Burgers: $4.75 and up, meals $9 and up

Cash Only: No

Reservations: Never

Percy Street BBQ revisited

I went back to Percy Street while Laura was visiting this weekend. I hadn't been since my first visit with Quinn shortly after it opened. They've made a few changes, tweaked the menu and the service. The quality of the food is almost identical, which is great. The beer list is still poor. I'm not going to rehash my review, you can read it here, if you like, but surprisingly, this spot isn't as good as when it first opened. The servers are great, but not as friendly as my first visit, and the menu has been changed around to offer fewer choices as sides, moving dishes like mac and cheese and chili under "appetizers." Either way, you're going to get more than enough food when you eat here, and it will be delicious.

Pub and Kitchen

Pub and Kitchen, I can finally cross you off my list of new places to eat at. I can now add you to the list of disappointing spots that I'm unlikely to ever visit again.

My sister, Laura, was visiting this weekend and we went out for dinner. I gave her a few places to pick from, and I was happy when she chose Pub and Kitchen. It's a swanky little spot at 20th and Lombard. They don't take reservations, so we had to wait around at the bar until a seat opened outside and we could enjoy the beautiful weather. The tap list here isn't great; they have English beers on to go with the pub feeling, but I'd rather just have some stuff that is better and reasonably priced. I drank Thomas Hooker IPA, which was good and is actually pretty rare to see on tap.

The service here was poor. We waited too long at the bar for drinks and our table service was slow as well. The worst part is that all of the servers are dressed like the clients, making it difficult to flag down anyone to help you.

The atmosphere here is kind of annoying. It's darker, more crowded, and louder than it should be. If I wanted that, I go to any number of bars that I like better. The one good thing is the outdoor seating, because there isn't much car traffic passing by to annoy you as you eat. The bar has a few TVs, but they're all on the same spot. I wouldn't recommend this place if you're actually trying to watch anything, but if you want a baseball game on in the background, you'll probably be in luck.

The one saving grace here could be the food. I had read great things about the Windsor burger before coming, and was excited to eat it. My medium rare burger was properly cooked, and came out with cheddar and bacon. Nothing I ate seemed flavorful enough; everything was lacking. The entire meal was forgettable. Pub and Kitchen also overlooked the importance of good bread on a burger.

The portions here are pretty good, and the table next to us had the cheese platter and oysters which looked like decent appetizers. They also looked like you could get better elsewhere.

Bottom Line: Meh.

Essentials:

1946 Lombard St.

215-545-0350

Hours: M-F 4-2; S&S 11-2

Avg Ent: 12-20

Cash Only: No

Reservations: No taken