Weeg Eats

Yumtown USA

2011-11-17T12:09:00.001-05:00

Temple's campus is still not mecca for lunch trucks, but Yumtown is certainly doing their part to bring the environment up a notch. They prepare fresh, local sandwiches and soups from good ingredients. And that simple fact means that they're better than most of the other food around.

It's pricier than the other food trucks, but he meals are well worth the price. If you're a fan of bread pudding, swing by here to taste the variety of the day for only $4.

When I visited, I had a pulled pork sandwich with pickled jalapenos and cabbage. At $7, it was a decently sized sandwich on crunchy french bread. The meat was good, and the toppings melded together well.

Bottom Line: Yumtown is a welcomed addition I hope to see for a long time on Temple's campus. 13th and Norris.

Cuba Libre

2011-11-11T10:57:00.001-05:00

Late nights are a nightmare here. Brunch, however, is a real treat. It's served tapas style, and although you can order all-you-can-eat brunch, you can certainly fill up for less than the $25 price tag.

The decor here is pretty nice, they definitely spend a good amount of cash making the place look cool. There's even a DJ for Sunday brunch playing easy listening bossa nova. Coffee is strong and the service is good. Everything is brought out as it is prepared, and this can sometime be a bit much as you can have four or five dishes suddenly piled up on the table.

I was dining with my friend Holly and we ordered all of our food from the breakfast part of the menu. We started with the assorted breakfast breads, and this was literally a mixed bag. Some were awesome (churro) while the muffin was far too sweet. The mango butter, however, is heavenly. The chorizo omelet was also one of the stars of the menu.

Bottom Line: Lots of small tasting plates makes for a nice, if slightly pricey brunch. Make sure you visit with someone who likes to share.

Ressurection Ale House

2011-11-09T15:39:00.003-05:00

A limited food menu and a good beer selection are the main points of Resurrection Ale House. There are better spots for food and beer, especially considering the price.

Twice fried chicken is a dark, crunchy and small meal.

If I was a rich yuppie trying to convince myself I was "down with the people" and that I "love craft beer" I probably be a regular. IF.

Lamb burger's flavor leaves something to be desired.

Trestle Inn

2011-11-07T16:52:00.002-05:00

The Trestle Inn is, simply put, a very cool joint. It boasts a decent beer list, and impressive whiskey list, and decent food to boot. The decor is perfect.

Large video projections of black and white go-go dancers play on the wall in the background. They might make your grandparents blush, but this place is for guys and gals.

Happy hour has some decent specials, $3 Whiskey Sours are the deal. Some of the other prices, like $7 per oz of Jamison, are flat-out criminal. The snack plate, with little meat and veggie bites, is a near perfect appetizer and/or bar snack.

I remember when this was a dirty, shady bar serving underage Temple students. Other than the storefront, everything has changed.

Bottom Line: Trestle Inn is swank. That fact alone will bring hordes of people, including me, back again and again.

@11th and Callowhill.

Molly Malloy's

2011-11-04T11:46:00.000-04:00

Already one of my favorite spots in the city, Reading Terminal got an upgrade with the opening of Molly Malloy's. It's a great use of space, with a huge, long U-shaped bar.

The food menu is extensive, and the prices are pretty good too. I stopped in here with my buddy Dan. His go to order, fish and chips, was pretty good, but a smallish portion. I felt the same way about my order, the Irish stew. We saw a good number of sandwiches come out of the kitchen, and they were pretty big.

The beer list here includes 24 or so taps, and while they didn't present me with anything new, the selection is still good. The pricing is wonky, with some beers normal prices (Bud $3, blithering idiot $5 wine glass) and some outragous (Rouge Dead Guy $9). Still, the point is there good beers are available.

Happy hour is from 4 to 6, when the bar closes. It's a bit odd that the bar closes the same time as the market.

Bottom Line: This spot is a pretty and tasty welcomed addition to reading terminal market. While its promises to be overcrowded with those on break from jury duty and conventions, it'd still worth a stop for your lunch break.

Polish Foods in Port Richmod

2011-11-03T11:32:00.000-04:00

While my friend Brent was visitng a few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of enjoying two Polish joints nearby:

Syrenka Luncheonette at Richmond and Alleghany:

Delicious Polish food served up cafeteria style. Completely authentic, and in a welcoming environment thanks to the staff willing to explain all of the food.

Pirogis, borsch, and golapkis were all fantastic. I believe the best way to order here is with little thought and just pick a few things that looks/sound good. The adventure will pay off handsomely.

Syrenka is about low prices and hot delicious food. This place doesn't have much going on besides that, and honestly, what else do you need?

Bottom line: For real Polish food, go here now (unless it's a sunday, or after 6. I failed so many times to eat here due to limited hours.

Czerw's Kielbasy at 3370 Tilton St

Probably the most delicious kielbasy I've ever had, and I come from a Polish family. Certainly in the top echelon.

Great selection, reasonable prices, and totally unique. The food is good enough on its own, but visiting Czerw's (and learning how to say it) and an experience in itself.

For starters, I recommend trying the Bigos (Polish stew with a impressive number of animals included) and the smoked Kielbasy.

Ippudo

2011-10-27T13:25:00.002-04:00

Laura and I looked at each other as soon as we sat down, "This place is so New York." Sure, Ippudo had a 20 minute wait at 11pm. And the dark, slick interior is cool as can be. Thumping club music bounces offs the wall and all the servers and cooks yell out greeting in Japanese to each new party. The point is, Ippudo oozes atmosphere. And places that do that usually get by with average or good food.

But Ippudo has amazing food. Truly delicious. Japanese gourmet ramen. A concept that sounds so simple until you taste it.

My recommendation: Order the pork buns for an appetizers and stick with the classic ramen. Laura and I both loved our dishes, large bowls filled with noodles and other fresh ingredients.

Bottom Line: Ippudo has top notch food and atmosphere. It's cool and delicious. That's rare, and is why there is still a wait for dinner at 11pm.

East Village, on 4th Ave between 9th and 10th

Taco Riendo

2011-10-05T16:41:00.003-04:00

After biking past here for years, I finally ventured in! This little Mexican establishment is weird, ordering is done at a counter and the whole place has a cafeteria feel. Charlie and I were out after a long day of work on the house, and this meal certainly hit the spot.

We ordered chips and salsa to start, and the salsa was a weak, watery excuse for salsa. Although it provided some good heat, it still left something to be desired.

I ordered a spicy shredded chicken burrito. Overall, it was filling and quite tasty; my only compliant was that it was not spicy. Charlie ordered the special: salmon tacos and enjoyed his meal as well. Portion sizes are decent for the prices.

It's BYOB, they sell Mexican (real cane sugar) soda, they use fresh ingredients, and it's pretty cheap. To be honest, there are a lot of spots similar, but that doesn't mean Taco Riendo isn't enjoyable. The service seemed a bit slow though.

Bottom Line: If you want great Mexican food in fancy taco bell atmosphere, this is the spot. The prices and quality make this a great spot, but I'd opt forgo dine in for to-go next time.

Interstate Draft House

2011-10-04T14:07:00.001-04:00

A bright Interstate sign illuminates this great little new spot from an otherwise unremarkable block. I stopped in the other night to check out what it's all about.

The Interstate Draft House is a beer bar/gastropub rendition by the owner of the late Azure in Northern Liberties. Great craft beer selection is combined with pub and Mexican food. The atmosphere here is great; it's really cozy, dim with candles along the bar. A medium sized wooden bar runs half the length of the building and gives way to a dining room in the back. Good music plays in the background until the Phillies come on. And I love when bars play the sound for local sports casts.

There's on HD TV over the bar, and a chalkboard will the current beer selections. With the exception of the prices noted on the beer list (and this is a welcomed inclusion), many details are reminiscent of Memphis Taproom. I say this with a note of admiration. I was hoping this new spot would have a lower price point, but let's face it: Fishtown is expensive now. This place, in price and a lot of other ways, it right up there with Memphis and Kraftwork.

The staff here is attentive and friendly; more so than I expect. I did visit while the business was quite new, but these guys still seemed genuine. For the menu, there are a few options that sound great. The one downside is that the mains and all sides are separate. First, ordering a burger and getting just that on a plate is disappointing; somehow just wrong (fries are a right, not a privilege). Second, a simple meal can inflate to almost $20 with a main and a side.

I ordered the Cubano, and this was a traditional representation of the delicious pressed sandwich. No complaints here; good ingredients, with special props to the spicy mustard. Rachel ordered the quesadilla and was happy with her order. The real treat was our order of fried plantains; sticky-sweet, perfectly cooked, and overall delicious. The might not be the best food to go with beer, but I'm happy to order them anytime nonetheless.

I like to write a lot when I visit spots and I doubt most anyone reads the whole thing.

The Bottom Line: I like this spot, it will thrive. I hope that it can keep the neighborhood feel and not get overrun. Interesting beer lists and a tasty, albeit a bit overpriced food menu will keep the folks coming again and again.

Cash only at the moment. On Palmer, just north of Girard.

Port Richmond Pour House

2011-10-03T11:07:00.000-04:00

Short and Sweet:

This place is simple; and I like it. Cheap craft beer ($4) and even cheaper bad beer. There isn't any food, just a no frills bar deep in Port Richmond. Friendly staff, a good mix of locals and hipsters, and a low key spot to catch some baseball.

Head bartender from Swift Half runs this joint. Hot Dogs coming soon!

2253 East Clearfield Street

Continental Midtown

2011-09-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

Continental has a great brunch, who knew? I visited a few days ago, and I was impressed with the amount of tempting options on the menu. The atmosphere is trying to be cool, but the open area seating area and large windows make for a pleasant brunch environment.

Despite the fact that our server was completely overworked, she took good care of us and was patient and attentive. There are a lot of good drink cocktails and other brunch drinks. The prices are actually reasonable, which I didn't expect.

For my brunch, I ordered an omelet with cheddar, monterrey jack, poblano, and corn. The ingredients were fresh and made for a delicious omelet. My omelet can with toast and below average breakfast potatoes. I was dining with my friends Lacey and Megan. Lacey ordered the bagel with lox; Megan went with crab, dill, Havarti and leek omelet with egg whites. All of our dishes were well made and came out quickly. Portion sizes were decent.

Bottom Line: I feel like a broken record when writing about Starr joints. There's simply not much to say about the Continental. He focuses on atmosphere, and the food is just okay. But with Continental, the food and prices were better than I anticipated. There are a lot of good food options on the menu, and I'd visit from brunch again if I was in the area.

Frankford Hall

2011-09-19T13:02:00.000-04:00

Stephen Starr ventured into two new worlds with his latest venture: Fishtown and a beer focused location. Last week I had my birthday party at Frankford Hall, this open air German-style beer garden.

For starters, this is a great place to have a gathering. People can come and go as they please. There is a lot of space. If people want to hang out without buying anything, it's not awkward. It's pay as you go, so at the end of the night there isn't come huge combined bill to fight with. Friends can order food as they're hungry. With a group of friends that is hard to co-ordinate (or simply fickle), it's perfect.

Sure, there are a few things that I could complain about. With post-season baseball around the corner, it's hard not to remark about the lack of TVs. The prices are a bit high, and the inclusion of valet parking in my neighborhood is laughable. I suppose it's off set by the decently sized bike rack.

Still, once inside, there's a large indoor and outdoor area filled with large picnic tables. There's ping pong and trees planted in the courtyard. Overall, it's a beautiful rehab of the space.

The menu consists mainly of sausages and wursts. I don't remember my exact choice, but I was happy with it. Sides of delicious red cabbage or sauerkraut come with the sausages, although bread is $1 per roll. In the middle of the space is a large condiment stand with several mustard options, which is great.

Another food option is the $5 soft pretzel imported from Germany. After a few bites, I wished they bought it locally and lowered the price, because the taste couldn't justify the ridiculous shipping distance.

The beer comes in half and full liters. Aside from the fact that everything is about $1 more than it is most other places, the heavy German influence on the beer list is impressive nonetheless. When the beers are domestic, they're German influenced. There is no price discount for buying the liter; they're all simply twice as much as the half. Stick with the half for the choice of variety and the convenience of your beer still being cool for the last five sips.

Bottom Line: This is an awesome space, and it's good to get a whole bunch of people together. If crowded, it could be a bit annoying, and the prices certainly deter me from being a regular customer. But I will definitely visit again.

Blind Pig

2011-09-01T13:41:00.000-04:00

I love trying out new spots. I've been here twice, once for drinks, once for dinner. There's a lot of good beer here, some with prices from reasonable to outrageous. Still, the selection gives you options no matter what your goal is, from sipping at heavy stout to drinking cheap pounders. I really liked that they give you a pint glass even when you order can beer.

There is a nice, long wooden bar which is the best spot at The Blind Pig. They have a few TVs, and this is a good place to catch the Phillies. There's also outdoor seating, which is fantastic if the weather cooperates.

The food menu is standard; average. There is nothing that jumps out, although lots of people rave about the Thanksgiving balls: deep fried turkey and mash potatoes served with gravy.

There was one special that I was intrigued by: Alligator sausage. It was a 70-30 blend made with pork, and the meat was delicious and flavorful, like a more gamey chorizo. It was served on a small white roll with a salad on the side. The bread was terrible. Is it too much to ask for Amaroso or Sarcone in Philadelphia? The salad was okay; forgettable.

Emily ordered a beat salad and wasn't thrilled either. The menu, overall, just seems to have little or no effort. The service was ok, but not on par with other spots I usually visit.

Bottom Line: I like the can beer selection, even if some are overpriced. The draft list offers good options, but the food is nothing special. The Blind Pig needs to find it's niche to survive, because right now, there is not much going on. Nothing bad either, but that's usually not enough.

Corner of 2nd and Fairmount.

Circles

2011-08-31T16:57:00.000-04:00

When I walked up to Circles, I wondered why I was eating at a dumpy to-go joint. But surprise!, they have a pretty nice dining room just across the street. The food is still cooked at the original spot, and then covered with a plastic tray and carried across the street.

I was out with my friend Cambria, and we both ordered apps and entrees, which was more food than either of us could eat. The prices for all of that food were quite reasonable. Her app, the summer rolls, had a light and crispy skin and was much higher quality than normal spring rolls I've had elsewhere. I ordered the corn and tofu fritters with lump crab dipping sauce, and these were awesome. It sounds like a weird app, but the somewhat bland fritters provide the perfect accompaniment to the crab sauce.

The place is veg friendly, but neither of us explored these options for dinner. All of the choices are available in four spice levels; medium, mild, hot, and Thai hot. I went with hot, and it was manageable and good (which means I wasn't sweating). Maybe next time I'll bump it to the top level.

For my main, I opted for the Chicken Pumpkin curry, and it was awesome. Just the right blend of spices, the pumpkin flavor was subtle, and the dish was enough food for two days. Cambria ordered a simple pad thai and really enjoyed that choice as well.

Even though the dining room is quite new, it doesn't have too much atmosphere. The service was okay during dinner. Nothing much going on in either of these departments.

Bottom Line: It's a bit far for me to be a regular, but the food here is good. Circles is a solid BYO, Thai place and has great prices.

It's at 15th and Tasker.

Liberties

2011-08-30T15:56:00.000-04:00

I'm afraid that the secret will get out about this place. Because on Mondays, they have an order of wings and a pitcher of (admittedly cheap) beer for $10. Liberties isn't great, but that's paradoxically what makes it good, especially for Northern Liberties. This is a low key spot, and the beer is always cheap, Rolling Rock pounders go for $2 and Kenzinger pints are only .50 more. I ate here with a bunch of friends, and its a good place for a group. It's not overrun and there's a bunch of space. Several flat screen TVs pump out sports in HD.

The food here is just okay. My friend Chris ordered a Bacon cheeseburger, which came out piled high and looked awesome, but ended up tasting average. The wings were okay, but great for the price. I ordered hot but was disappointed by the lack of heat. There isn't much atmosphere here, but its a small time joint seemingly filled with locals and served only by one bartender, who is chill and accommodating.

Bottom Line: Liberties is a breath of fresh air from the normal No Libs joints. That doesn't make it great, but I reward points for challenging the status quo.

It's at 2nd and Fairmount.

Old City Coffee

2011-08-29T15:53:00.000-04:00

Great treats and coffees. It's pricey though. I ordered the old city malted milkshake, and it was awesome, but I think my $6 could be better spent elsewhere. Still, this shake has perfect consistency, and was made with two shots of espresso. I'm sure I drank it much more quickly than I should have.

The atmosphere here is okay, but I wouldn't make it a normal coffee shop for myself, even if I lived close-by. It's not the most cozy. The owner was working when I went in and she was nice. I was out with a few friends and we shared the chocolate chip cookie. It was pretty good, not amazing.

Bottom Line: This place is fine. They have some fun coffee inspired shakes, and tasty baked goods. Just nothing that stands out.

221 Church St (between 2nd and 3rd, market and arch)

Llama Tooth

2011-08-23T11:17:00.005-04:00

I hope this place survives. It's quirky, but I like it. There is a beautiful outdoor space where you can eat if it's nice.

The menu doesn't have much of an identity, but that doesn't mean there's not a lot of good options. I guess it would fall under the broad and unhelpful classification of "New American."

The owner really worked on getting a good beer list going, which I appreciate. I do take a few issues, however, like Kenzinger and a 10% imperial stout from Duck Rabbit are both $6. The beer list isn't up to date either, so in our first round of drinks, two of our choices weren't available. These aren't huge issues though.

The food is reasonably priced and quite tasty. I have a hard time ignoring a Cuban sandwich on a menu, so I opted for that. While this is unlike a traditional Cuban, I still enjoyed it. My baguette came out topped with pork, thick slabs of bacon, cheese, and a pickle. The flavors really combined for a great sandwich.

My friends John and Allie both ordered burgers, hers lamb, his beef with bacon, and blue cheese. John's burger had the same thick slabs of bacon as mine and was cooked as ordered, medium rare. His burger also had "blackening spice." Neither of us knew what this was, and he commented that it may have been a bit too strong for a few bites. Allie remarked that her lamb burger was made of flavorful meat.

All our dishes came with fries, John and I went for the sweet potato variety and these thick cut fries were well made and hit the spot.

We were dining inside, and the atmosphere is a little bare. The music played is also a bit weird, but none of this distracted us from our dinner. The service was quick throughout the night, and the owner and chef came over and checked to see how we were enjoying the meal.

It's on Spring Garden between 10th and 11th.

Bill and Krissy's Place

2011-08-22T09:57:00.002-04:00

Bill and Krissy's place feels like a forgotten roadside diner on an old US highway. The atmosphere, the menu, the attentive service, mediocre coffee; all of these remind me of the quintessential roadside diner. And the prices! It's all an homage to another time.

I ate here with my friend Rachel for breakfast, and we both really enjoyed ourselves. The menu is really basic; french toast, pancakes, and egg platters are the only breakfast options. Lunch offers similar commonly found fare.

The food is by no means amazing, but it does hit the spot. I ordered an bacon cheese omelet, and I was happy with it. It came with toast and a tiny order of hash browns. Rachel got eggs sunny side, also with a generous serving of bacon. We sat outside on a wonderful morning, and both Bill and Krissy came and checked on us during the meal.

The bill for the two of us came to $13.40. What the heck, that's fantastic. As we were leaving, Bill rushed out to our table with a novelty slot machine. He insisted that we pull it and if we hit the jackpot we'd get a free dinner on the house. If that's not a great unique touch; I don't know what is.

Bottom Line: The charm and effort of the place, along with the rock bottom price, make it a worthwhile venture. You'll never have a wait for a table, even at 11am on the weekend. Unless, that is, people get wise of this location.

2723 E Cumberland St
215-275-1303

Stahley's Cellarette

2011-08-22T09:42:00.002-04:00

This place is by no means worth going out of your way for, but if you are nearby, it's certainly worth a stop. Stahley's is cheap. Really cheap. Sandwiches start at $4 and a pint of Yuengling was $1.75. In addition to the beers, they have birch beer on tap, which was really enjoyable.

The service was great; it was like my grandmother became much more sassy and was serving me lunch. I ordered the namesake sandwich, the Stahley's Cellarette. It was an odd sandwich; ham and cheese on a roll topped with pickles, peppers, and tomato sauce. I don't think the flavors complimented each other in any way, but at $4, I was happy with it. I ordered sweet potato fries on the side and they were pretty good.

I was out with my two friends Liz and Emily. Emily ordered a tuna melt that was piled high with enough tuna on it for two sandwiches. Liz went for the buffalo chicken sandwich which was also pretty big. Their sandwiches were also just average.

The atmosphere is pretty fun. Lots of locals, people who have probably been coming here for years upon years, kids running around, neon signs for all of the worst beers: it all combines into an oddly charming environment. Most of the bar patrons were closely following the state little league game. The whole place was quaint and simultaneously divey.

Bottom Line: The food is pretty average, but this is still a fun joint and you will definitely get your money's worth.

The Institute

2011-08-10T12:02:00.001-04:00

I'm shocked I haven't written about the Institute, because I've been here tons of times.

There's a lot to like about this bar: It's close to work (for me). It's got a chill atmosphere and is never too crowded. The beer list is good. The happy hour is every day of the week and features $2 off drafts and half priced apps. Most importantly, the Institute is always improving. The bar has expanded along with the number of draft lines, and the kitchen has always been experimenting and getting better ever since they started serving food.

I also finally had dinner here, and the burger is delicious. I'm pretty judgmental when it comes to cheese burgers, and the Institute was impressive. It was perfectly cooked to order, the meat was juicy and flavorful, and the toppings and bun are good quality. All of these are essential for a great burger.

I'll continue to hit up this joint and look forward to seeing how they improve. Maybe Quizzo?

Charlie's Hamburgers

2011-08-04T11:31:00.005-04:00

Charlie's hamburgers is a traditional burger stand, the kind that used to dominate before fast food chains took over nearly every roadway in the US and the world. And for this simple nostalgic reason, I'd probably like Carlie's even if they served up mediocre food.

But the burgers here are great. The grill man is a master. If you watch closely, you'll see him with a large slab of beef in one hand while picks off perfectly sized blobs and places them on the grill. The buns are also toasted on the griddle.

I ordered the two special burgers, the bunny special (tomato, lettuce, raw onion, pickles and cheese, and the Charlie special (fried onions, pickles, and cheese). The patties are on the small side, so I recommend ordering a double if you like a heavy meat to bun ratio.

The food isn't amazing, the beef is average, but the Charlie's serves up a gooey, messy burger that truly satisfies. The two burgers I ordered came out to just over $5. I've heard the milkshakes are good, but I can't bring myself to pay for them at $4.35. They don't have a deep fryer, so there aren't any fries.

This place looks more like someone's living room with an indoor grill than a restaurant. It's small, there's lots of locals, but the staff will quickly take care of you and get you fed. If you get the burgers to go, they come in little wax paper sacks, which I found oddly charming.

Bottom Line: It's a bit outside of the city, but if you're headed to/from the airport, it's not that far out of the way. It's a classic American burger stand, and I like it simply for that. But the burgers also hit the spot. Closed Tuesdays.

Distrito

2011-07-29T11:22:00.005-04:00

I wanted to check out this Garces restaurant. While dining with my friend Matt, we went to check out his Mexican tapas venture. The meal is good, but doesn't blow one away. To add to the average dining experience, the decor of the entire place is quite kitschy.

Even though the portions are pretty small, they're also pretty filling. The food doesn't come out as quickly as I'd like; dinner took about 90 minutes and we were often sitting without any food on the table.

Overall, the dishes are hit or miss. For the chips and guacamole, the chips were far too salty and I've had better guac from the grocery store. We ordered two ceviches, and neither were as acidic as they should be. I believe ceviche should have a noticeable citrus base, and the shrimp and octopus didn't really. I still enjoyed the octopus, but the shrimp is a miss.
Long time since I've been out to eat!

The fruit salad with lemon sorbet was pretty solid, and overall, the mains were good. The mahi tacos has great, slightly smokey flavor. The chorizo fundido is a cheesy mess that you place on small tortillas, again, pretty good. Scallops were great too.

The best part of the entire meal was the mushroom flatbread, and it's the only thing I ate that left a lasting impression. Dessert was fine but forgettable.

Beer here is disappointing. They have about five drafts, but two were kicked, and charging $6 for Dos Equis and a dollar less for Corona bottles is is huge stretch.

Bottom Line: The meal was pretty good, and the service was good too. I just can get better food at at better price a few other places. I enjoyed dinner but don't see myself ever visiting again.

Beer and Bacon Dinner with 20 Manning Grill and Dock Street Brewing

2011-06-06T10:44:00.005-04:00

Dock street and 20 Manning teamed up for a special dinner featuring Dock Streets beer paired with a variety of pork products. I found this idea really exciting.

I met with my good friend Quinn and we were able to snag a seat outside out a perfect spring day. The menu was set, so our first course came out quickly. Chicarones were served up with three different sauces: apple butter, avocado cream, and chipolte. The first two sauces were okay but forgettable. I thought the chipoltle was excellent, and used ever last drop. This course wasn't amazing, but it was a nice was to stoop our meal. The Bohemian Pils was the pairing of choice.

Next came cinnamon braised pork belly served with watermelon, jalapeños, and Kasseri cheese. This course seems have little forethought; the flavors did not mix well. The pork belly could have been much better prepared, but the cheese saved the entire course. I've never heard of Kasseri, but I enjoyed this thick, almost meaty cheese. Dock street summer session was served alongside, and this great beer was a treat.

At this point in the meal, I wasn't thrilled, by anything, but that was all about to change. The next course was simply fantastic. The main course started with a potato roti served with a poached egg. While this wasn't a common dinner item, i enjoyed it. I came with a salad covered in real bacon bits and drizzled with hot bacon cider dressing. Two large cubes of crispy pork were served with the salad, and these flavors together melded into a delicious pork explosion. Salad has never tasted so good. Dock street rye IPA was served with this course.

I was getting full at this point, but dessert was almost as exciting as the main course. The man full o trouble porter was served, which is a great beer for dessert. A "chip which" was served, which is a true culinary delight. Two perfectly chocolate cookies were held together with brandy cherry ice cream with sweet bacon bits infused. If given an unlimited amount, I probably would have eaten these until explosion.

Overall, I really enjoyed this special menu. I believe it gave a good idea of the overall food at 20 Manning. The service was certainly weird, our server talked with a air about him, almost as if it was beneath him to bring us food. It turned into one of our running jokes for evening. I liked that a Dock Street took over the taps for the evening, but the normal beer list is still pretty decent. About five craft taps at reasonable prices. I saw a few burgers come out of the kitchen and they looked great.

Bottom line: I enjoyed my visit, and I would certainly go again. Still, the food by the same owner over at Audrey Claire seems to have a bit more of a flair and is a byob to boot.

Penguin Drive-In

2011-06-03T10:21:00.000-04:00

Almost as quickly as a new edition of Hamburger America was released, I was lucky enough to be out and tasting the newest findings. This time, it was the Penguin Drive-In in Charlotte, North Carolina. We walked in shortly before six on a Friday and didn't have any trouble getting a seat. Our server came over quickly, and she was pleasant during our whole visit. She offered us the house special appetizer, fried pickles, but I'm certainly at a loss for shy see are so popular. My hometown favorite, Memphis taproom, blows them out of the water.

The beer selection offered standard big brews from across the us and world, as well three craft beers on Draft. I drank a beer from Old Meck right in Charlotte and Widmer Pale ale. Fat Tire was also on tap. The temperature on these beers was a bit warm, and the pours were anything but generous. Still, when the bill came out and I saw they were $2 each, my complaints vanished.

I was dining with Mom, Charlie ,and Laura, and everyone went for burgers. I stuck with the name sake, which came with lettuce, onions, friend pickles, and smothered in pimento cheese. The cheese isn't bad, but is still a novelty. American would taste be better. George Motts wrote about huge 1/3 pound patties, but these are nowhere to be found. Instead, small, griddle cooked burgers were served. They had that distinctive char taste, and the only disappointment with the patty was that it didn't cover all of the bread. It was a good burger, but certainly doesn't deserve a write up in a book that chronicles the country's best burger joints.

The best burger was ordered by Mom: southern style. Essentially a chili cheeseburger, it was quite tasty. We also ordered a few sides, onion rings and sweet potato fries. The fires were covered in cinnamon and sugar, making them like a dessert and frankly, ruining them. The onion rings weren't terrible , but lacked any real flavor and crispiness.

The atmosphere here is fun. Seat yourself, and look at pictures from the business over the last sixty years. It's part bar, part family restaurant, but it works. There's even a Rockola jukebox in the corner with an impressively bad playlist offered.

The bottom line: it seems this place recently came under new management, and maybe not for the better. Still, the burger is good, the beer, like everything else, is pretty cheap. Worth a stop, but don't go out of your way.

One Shot Coffee

2011-06-02T11:04:00.000-04:00

I've been to one shot a few times, and I have mixed feelings. I really believe that I should be able to order a cup of coffee for less than two dollars. I understand that they offer Stumptown, but the prices for drinks here still seem high. That being said, they do brew some delicious coffee, and I'd rather overpay for something I like then get a good deal on something that barely passes as coffee.

One Shot recently moved to a new location on George Street , and that whole place is beautiful. I met with my good friend Bryana and we sat outside and had coffee and breakfast. Charming 1940s music played inside and out, although Bryana told me this wasn't common. Whether inside or out, the atmosphere is great. Some people send hours in a coffee shop working on papers or other work, and one shot is the kind of place where you will almost enjoy yourself while typing away.

The food menu here is small and hit or miss, but there are a few items that really shine. Bryana ordered the bagel topped with creme cheese, crushed nuts, and drizzled with honey. One look brings on a doling mouth and a bit of envy. I ordered a weird sandwich: bacon egg and mac-n-cheese. This sounds odd, but makes the perfect meal, whether breakfast, lunch or dinner. Sure, you quickly become a cheese gooey mess, but I don't remember the last time I had so much fun doing so. I believe that this sandwhich is their flagship food, and certainly should be enjoyed on the fluffy and buttery brioches roll. One shot also offers house made treats like biscotti, cookies, and such.

Bottom line: I think this is a love it or hate it place. Coffee is a bit pricey, while food is reasonable. Its a pretty place, and is certainly worth at least one visit. The mac-n-cheese sandwich is must try, if not for its taste then simply for the originality.

Slyfox Brewey

2011-06-01T11:02:00.003-04:00

Sly Fox makes excellent beer. No doubt about that. Visiting the brewery, however, doesn't add much to their product. I do like the extensive tap list they offer, with some special brews that are rarely or never seen in the city.

Other than that, this place is miss-able. Tucked in a strip mall and with the charm of a Denny's, Slyfox fails to impress on several levels. Food is pretty average, although some specials, like $1 tacos on Sunday, are pretty good.

Bottom Line: Good beer, everything else needs improvement. If you plan ahead you can get a standard, but good brewery tour. It's hardly worth the trip outside of Philadelphia to visit Slyfox in person.
That is a good looking Black and Tan.

WMD Hot sauce

2011-05-25T16:53:00.001-04:00

Did you know there's a store at 12th and South that sells almost exclusively hot sauce?

I like this place a lot. I simply like the idea of such a specialized store, and I happen to like hot sauce. To top it all off, Bobby the owner is willing to talk to anyone while offering his expertise and samples.

The prices here aren't discount, but basically all of the sauces here are gourmet. I really like the stuff that is made in house, especially the hot sauce made with carrots, resulting in a great spicy-sweet combination.

In terms of hot sauce selection, this place is great. There are also other related items, like dry rubs and hot peanuts. If you love spicy food and are looking for a new kick to add, you must stop by WMD.

JG Domestic

2011-04-25T10:44:00.003-04:00

JG Domestic is one of Jose Garces' newest restaurants. It is in the Circa Center, the time crystal looking building attached to 30th Street Station. Set in the lobby of the building, the decor and absence of walls gives the restaurant the feel of a fancy, open air ranch. It's certainly the nicest and probably "best" place to eat if you are waiting at 30th Street Station. I picked up my wonderful mother at the station and we decided to visit while waiting for my sister to get into town.

As expected, JG Domestic offers good service. The beer list is small, but respectable. I ordered the house beer, a Victory brew that bears Garces' name. The style wasn't listed, but this bitter, amber ale is probably an ESB. Mom ordered a glass of house wine and wasn't impressed. Prices here are a bit above average, but within the normal bounds for this type of restaurant.

The lunch menu has a lot of choices, and I opted for the blue plate special. Wednesday's special, fish and chips, was exactly what I was craving. Sadly, it did not live up to my expectations. The amount of fish on my plate was laughable, close to half the normal serving size of a typical fish dish. The fish was breaded in small pieces, a la fish-sticks. These were set on a large bed of well seasoned fries - but fries should never constitute the main portion of a meal. Alongside my meal was a small ramekin of salad with a delicious green goddess dressing. My favorite part of the fish and chips plate was the condiment, a malt vinegar aoili that had the perfect taste and texture to compliment the fried fish.

Mom ordered the Cobb salad, which was topped with blue cheese, avocado, bacon, and grilled chicken. I was a bit jealous when her plate arrived; it looked fantastic and she really enjoyed her order.

Bottom Line: JG Domestic offers decent lunch specials and a good place to eat in a location that's relatively sparse otherwise. It's on par with Garces' other locations, but honestly, if I find myself stuck while waiting in 30^th Street Station again, I'd much rather check out the surprisingly extensive beer list at Bridgewater's.

Cafe Lift

2011-04-20T11:35:00.004-04:00

Previously, I'd only been to Cafe Lift for lunch. In addition to the great paninis and sandwhiches they offer, Life has a solid breakfast lineup. I wasn't the first to figure this out; at 10am on a Sunday there were quite a few people waiting to get a table.

The menu, which offers a lot of good choices, is supplemented by a chalkboard boasting about 6 different daily specials. It took me a while to narrow down the choices. I love the open kitchen, because you can get a preview of nearly every dish as it is served up and delivered.

I was out with Carly, and I ordered the panchetta frittata. It was made with sweet onions, kale, gruyere. It was perfectly cooked, the saltiness of the panchetta and cheese complimented the eggs. It was served with multi-grain toast and breakfast potatoes.

Carly also ordered from the specials, granola pancakes. I don't usually enjoy sweet breakfast, but even I had to admit that this dish was delicious. The granola cakes were topped with bananas and raspberries. Local honey and house made whipped cream were served alongside and made for perfect toppings.

The service here is pretty good, not amazing. The coffee is decent and has free refills. The portions at lift are generous, and the ingredients are high qaulity.

Bottom Line: Philly has a lot of good brunch places, and this is certainly in the upper echelon. Lift won't blow you away, but the ever rotating specials and overall cool atmosphere will make Lift an ever popular brunch option.

Shake Shack

2011-04-04T16:29:00.003-04:00

Shake Shack may have the best ground beef I've ever eaten. This is perfectly flavorful, juicy, griddle cooked beef that's ground fresh daily. Respectably, cheese is only offered as American, and the meat and cheese combine in a truly delicious fashion. If your lunch is like mine, a double shake burger will come out with lettuce, tomato, cheese, two patties, and "special" (thousand island) sauce on a squishy white bun, wrapped up in a wax paper sleeve.

This is all quite similar to an In-N-Out burger, but doesn't have the same quality of tomato and lettuce that the fantastic West Coast chain offers. In fact, the relative average quality of everything besides than the meat and cheese is what keeps the burger from being truly amazing.

While Corner Bistro still wins in my heart for favorite NYC burger, that's more because of the establishment as a whole. As I've said, the ground beef here is unbeatable.

I didn't partake in the name sake, but I'd like to try a shake at some point. The fries were average crinkle cut potatoes, nothing special. Be prepared for long wait here, or try and time your visit in between lunch and dinner on weekdays.

Bottom Line: These cows make my mouth water.

Marigold Kitchen

2011-03-28T12:49:00.004-04:00

It's been a few years since I visited Marigold, but I was skeptical because head chef Erin O'Shea left the restaurant. Much to my surprise, the new chef was able to take everything O'Shea had done and improve upon it, making a place I liked a lot even better.

To start, we ordered the cheese plate. This is one of the true pleasures at Marigold, and the portions are more generous than I remember. The three featured cheeses were a hard, mild cheddar, a blue cheese covered in vinaigrette, and a cheese that was similar to brie; I believe it was a Camembert. All of these were really good and diverse, and paired well with the honey and pears served alongside. A visit here without ordering the cheese plate is incomplete.

Throughout the evening, we had amouse bouche brought over bunches of times. In fact, there were so many that I can't remember them all. Some were really good, others forgettable. Some of my favorites included the chestnut filled ravioli, grapefruit soda, shaved parsnips, and all the desserts (best dessert was salted caramel).

For our appetizer we split General Tso's veal sweetbreads, which was a unique Asian fusion dish that was really tender. The mains were pork tenderloin and scallops with peas, bacon and mushrooms. The menu here has a lot of options, and I honestly had a hard time picking out my dish. Nothing disappointed.

The atmosphere here is nice. It's a converted West Philly house, and the rooms are small and it's a great place to dine. The servers here were fantastic; the manager checked up on us and we were well taken care of all night.

Bottom Line: This BYOB provides a great dining experience. I liked it before, and this last visit exceeded my expectations. It's fantastic food and service, and while it's not the cheapest, it's certainly a great value for a nice dinner.

Santucci's Original Square Pizza

2011-03-25T10:31:00.002-04:00

Santucci's is a hole in the wall. A delicious, delicious, hole in the wall. The pizza is unlike any I've ever had, it's square pizza with the sauce on top. Really, there's no point in writing a review, because Santucci's is something you must taste to understand.

The sauce is perfectly sweet, the crust is tasty, and even with the sauce on top its surprisingly not messy. I know down the road I'm going to have cravings for the unique pie. I recommend sticking with the cheese pie; no toppings needed.

Adsum

2011-03-21T10:46:00.003-04:00

I made my way here with my good friend Quinn on a Sunday for a quick bite to eat. I heard Adsum has a great burger. So at 5:30 we walk in and are seated at the bar. Sunday happy hour, not bad: $2 cans of Yella Pils and Phoenix pale ale.

The atmosphere here is kind of cool, it's trying to be an old time pharmacy. There are beakers and test tubes, and book shelves behind the bar filled with all kind of gadgets and books. Even though we were there pretty early in the evening and it wasn't busy, the service was surprisingly slack. We were the only people eating dinner and it took about 30 minutes to get our orders.

The burger is served with cheddar, which is not my favorite cheese for a burger. It's congealed before you can finish. The caramelized onions, however, were an excellent topping. But the size of the burger was the most problematic. It more of a ball shape than a patty. It's nearly impossible to fit into your mouth. To boot, my burger wasn't near the medium rare that I ordered. The duck fat fries, which were served on the side, were good and crispy, but had no flavor indication that they were cooked in any special way.

Bottom Line: This place is decent and unique. The service needs a little work, and if I'm back, I won't have the cheeseburger. I'm not going out of my way to visit Adsum again.

Bibou

2011-03-21T09:43:00.004-04:00

I don't often use the word charm when talking about restaurants, but Bibou exudes charm. This small, quant BYOB in bella vista is where Carly and I had dinner Friday night. Even with 35 people, this place would be packed. I love that Bibou focuses on the small details. The bathroom was really nice. The butter was imported from France. Our server was attentive and gave in depth explanations of thie entire menu. These little things cultivate a really nice environment for dinner.

We opted for some Cabernet Savignon to go with dinner. The menu here is set up in two courses, and there's a lot of excellent choices. We started with duck heats marinated with mushrooms. This dish had a lot of flavor, and the hearts were tender and succulent.

Main courses came out shortly after. Carly ordered the bone marrow special. Bibou only makes ten bone marrow specials each day, and when they sell out, thats it for the night. Pierre, the head chef, takes a cow bone and splits it down the middle. The marrow is scooped out, and then made into a delicious stuffing with mushrooms and breadcrumbs, and returned to the bone and roasted. Where else can you eat out of a bone? It also came with a side of some of the best roasted potatoes I've had in recent memory.

I ordered seared ahi tuna with cauliflower cuoscous with tomatillos and raisins. The whole dish was topped with a turmeric sauce . I ordered the tuna rare, and it was excellently cooked. My dish wasn't my favorite, but it was still way better than what I expect when I'm out to eat.
After dinner, Pierre had slow moment in the kitchen. He came out to each table individually and asked us about our meal and thanked us for dining with them. This simple gesture was really nice and wins big points in my book.

We also had dessert; a chocolate sampler. Chocolate mousse, a brownie thing and chocolate gealtto. Thses three different things were distinct and tasty, a perfect way to cap off our dinner.

Bottom line: This byob will impress you. Its an intimate place to grab dinner, not too expensive, and a real pleasure to enjoy. Hang around long enough to talk to Pierre and get the full experience.

Allentown Brew Works

2011-03-02T11:04:00.000-05:00

I hit up Allentown brew works on a Saturday night with a crew of hungry and thirsty dudes. There was a small wait for our table, so we made our way to the bar. The whole place was pretty packed, but service was still pretty good. The decor is new and modern, but not memorable. The weirdest thing was the club and hip-hop tunes that were loudly pumping all night. Not enough to annoy me, but certainly out of place.

For beer, the brewpub features ten of their own on tap. Four are their flagships, which represent the bar well. The knuckleball is a great session ale with subtle flavor; a good summer beer and a light 4.2 ABV. The wit was also a nice summer beer, very similar to Hoegaarden. Fegley’s Amber Lager went down easy, but didn't have a ton of flavor. Similar to Troegs Hopback. Last of the flagships was the Pawn Shop Porter. It was a bit thin, but had a good flavor and went down more quickly than porters usually do.

My favorite beer of the night was the bourbon aged Insidious. It was a strong, flavorful, well aged beer. The Bushy's Pale ale was a standout as well, a good representation of a West Coast pale ale that is actually balanced instead of crazily overhopped. Brew works offers a beer flight of six 5.5 oz pours for $10. This is an great deal and offers a good sampling of all of the beer available.

We were so hungry that we ordered the appetizer platter to get a good sampling of the food offered. Chicken fingers, wings, and pierogies were all okay.

The app sampler also came with a small order of the bavarian pretzels. They were incredible. Really. The perfect combination of a breadstick and a pretzel covered in a butter garlic sauce. They were so good, in fact, that we immediately ordered a second helping.

For my dinner, I ordered a flatbread: bleu cheese, pear, walnuts, and prosciutto. The combination of these flavor was perfect, and I really loved this dish. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their food as well.

Bottom Line: The pretzels alone are reason to come here. For real. The beer is good too. They have some good happy hour specials as well. Dinner won't disappoint. I'm not in Allentown much, but I still have no doubt that this is one of their best offerings.

Johnny's Hots

2011-03-01T11:19:00.001-05:00

My experience at Johnny Hots: I pull up to a tiny little stand off Delaware ave. It's populate with a bunch of guys standing around, mostly cops and construction workers, and a few people who have walked over from nearby. The menu has several sandwich options, but everyone seems to be ordering cheesesteaks and "the combo." I ordered the combo, a hot sausage topped with fishcakes on a white roll. I also got onions, long hots, and spicy mustard. My sandwich came out lightening fast, it was waiting for me even before I could put my change in my wallet.

The sandwich was good, and I scarfed it down pretty quickly. I didn't love the combination of sausage and fish cakes. The fish cakes have an okay taste, and the texture of scrapple. I did like the sausage, but nothing was amazing here.

Bottom Line: It's a good place, but not amazing. If I remember correctly, the hours are only breakfast and lunch during the week, and that makes it hard to eat here. The whole operation is really quick in and out, and it's proximity to 95 could make it a good stop if you needed to grab something before hopping on.

Rossi's

2011-02-28T10:55:00.003-05:00

I've never lost a battle to a burger until I ordered the Rossi burger. I was fully unprepared for this massive slab of delicious meat. Hamburger America led me to Rossi's for this famed Rossi burger.

Cheeseburgers are $6 and can be topped with a bunch of different options. I was out with Dan. Mine: Lettuce, Tomato, fried onions and American cheese cooked medium rare. Dan: Raw onion and American, also medium rare. The burger comes out on a large white roll, but the bread still can't contain the meat. As I bit into it, the juices began to flow. It was delicious meat and cooked as I ordered. Half way though my burger, it was a mess that's falling apart, and I had a big smile on my face.
We also ordered steak fries and fried zucchini. The fries were standard, and the fried zucchini was a huge order of a surprisingly tasty app. But we should have skipped these and focused on the burger; it was a lot of food.

Beer is pretty standard and nothing special. There are five or so taps; Stella, Yeungling, Miller Lite, Bud, Heineken were all represented, if I remember correctly. $5 for a pint of Stella isn't bad at all.

Most of the reviews on Yelp for Rossi's are silly. If you read most of them, most of the write-ups are about soda and topping prices. If you don't like that, don't get soda. And even with four or five toppings, the burger prices are still below average.

The bartender was nice and attentive, and even warned us that the kitchen was going to be closing down early so that we had enough time to get our order in. He was a fun guy. This place has a weird, but hometown atmosphere.

Bottom Line: The hours of 5-10pm 6 days a week are a downside. This place is still awesome, and completely worth the drive from Philly to try out this burger, which is surely a challenge to finish. I'm looking forward to my next attempt.

Xochitl

2011-02-01T11:20:00.007-05:00

Xochitl was my second pick for restaurant week. I don't know why, but this place has been on my list for well over a year. I met up with my good friend Quinn for a Friday night dinner. The menu was exciting, three course plus house made guacamole.

For starters, the drink menu here is decent. There's a large list of house cocktails, a small wine list (36-42 per bottle) and a small, but decent beer list. Drafts are Negro Modello, Dos Eqius Amber and Lager, and Victory Prima Pils and they're all $5.

Throughout the night, our service was just okay, but not what I'd expect of a restaurant this caliber. The one high point of the night though, is when a drink was spilled on our table, someone (the hostess, I think) came over within a minute to help clean up the small mess.

After we ordered our drinks, someone came over and made our order of guacamole table-side. He used a fresh avocado and then asked what we wanted to be added in. We had him add everything, onions, cilantro, some spices, and a few others that I forget. It was good, but certainly not the best I've had.

We split the two appetizers The "Cazuela de chorizo y papas" (casserole of chorizo, potatoes, and kale" sounded really excited but in reality was pretty bland. There's a lot of potential with these ingredients. The same can be said for our other app, the civiche.

The first main was pork tenderloin with Brussel sprouts and turnups. It was a little overdone for my taste, but Quinn really liked it. This dish was decent. Our other main was head on shrimp, and I liked this, but it still lacked a distinct flavor.

Dessert was my favorite part of the meal. I ordered churros and hot chocolate. The churcos were sweet and had a perfect texture. Dipping them in the chocolate was fantastic. Quinn ordered a coconut and quince pie. She liked it a lot, I thought it was okay, but I don't often go for coconut desserts.

Bottom Line: The whole night was good, but not remarkable. I'd rather go to a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place than a fancy one, and I don't even think Xochitl is doing the best Mexican. Still, if you find yourself here, you won't be disappointed.

Buddakan

2011-01-27T11:58:00.000-05:00

Buddakan is the quintessential Steven Starr restaurant. The food is goodish, and the atmosphere is great. The price is more than it should be, especially for drinks, but the majority of your money is going to decor and ambiance.

Nonetheless, I have been looking forward to dining here for a while. I was treating myself, and really wanted to enjoy the whole experience. I made my way to the bar and ordered a cocktail, awakening. It was made with Jose Cuervo, a thai chili, and pineapple juice, and was well made. Still, cocktails here are 10-13, plus tax and tip, which seems to be a bit much. There are some decent beer options available, I remember 60 IPA being $6. I was out with my friend Lena, and once I got to the table I split a pitcher of sangria, which was good an lasted the whole meal. Our server was attentive about filling up our glasses through out the night.

The service over all is good here. All of the dishes come out with good timing and are set in the middle for sharing. For starters we ordered the Kobe beef skewers and dumplings. Both of these were fine, nothing amazing, didn't have incredible flavor. My favorite part of the whole meal was my entree. I ordered the sea bass; it had great flavor, and was served with butternut squash. Lena ordered the Asian Pork BBQ, which was served medium rare and was good. The BBQ flavor was light but tasty. The weird thing about this dish was it was served with huge onion rings, and they seemed out of place.

For dessert we both went with a dish called Crying Chocolate. It was a small lava cake served with a dollop of Vietnamese coffee ice cream. We both really liked the dessert, Lena said the ice cream had a really authentic flavor; it was strong. I liked the cake a lot and it was a great way to finish out dinner.

Bottom Line: Service is decent, and atmosphere is great. The food isn't going to amaze you, but like all Starr restaurants, it's a nice experience.

White Manna

2011-01-19T13:02:00.000-05:00

I love history. I also love good food. And burgers....and when all three can be worked into one, well, I'm pretty excited. The book Hamburger America again shed light on the amazing White Manna location in Hackensack, NJ.

I almost couldn't believe the place when I saw it from my car. It's a tiny building, maybe around 600 sq ft. When you walk in there door, there is a griddle in the center of the room fenced off by a counter. At max capacity, you can't fit more than maybe fifteen people. There are two employees, the grill man, and another person taking care of fries, drinks, and the register. To order, you must wait until the grill man makes eye contact with you, and then, you tell him your order. The menu is small, but that doesn't matter, because the look no further than the double cheeseburger.

When you order you double cheeseburger, the grill man will take two small wads of meat and flatten them on the griddle. He'll top it with american cheese and onions. And then you'll see his meticulous work while he manages the griddle filled with upwards of twenty burgers. The bun is set on top to steam and soak up the grease and onion flavor. And once it's cooked, he expertly slides the spatula under the patty, grabs half the bun, and uses the bun to pull the whole thing off the spatula. The result is a messy, gooey concoction of beef, onions and cheese. It doesn't look pretty, but it tastes amazing. Pickles, mustard, and ketchup are on the side, and like traditional cheeseburgers, this tastes best with pickles and mustard. The double cheeseburger is highly recommended as it offers the perfect bun-cheese-meat ratio.

The decor is also great. The joint was designed after the 1939 World's Fair Diner of the Future, and it doesn't look like much has changed since then. Everyone converges here, from travellers, to business men, to highschoolers. It's fun.

Bottom Line: Eating at White Manna is an experience. From the ordering, to cooking, to decor, this place stands out. And to top it off, you're going to have some of the best cheeseburgers you will ever eat.

Fork and Barrel

2011-01-17T10:11:00.003-05:00

There are two reasons to go to Fork and Barrel: beer and atmosphere. With how well they present these two things, it's no surprise that Fork and Barrel are opening a location in Center City. It will thrive.

I must talk about beer first. The selection here in amazing. They have stuff that is just so rare, unique, and unavailable. Flights are $16 and come with five 5.5 oz pours, which for the quality of beer is an excellent deal.

I'm going to talk about all the beers I drank, and I expect most people to completely skip this paragraph. I'm not going to go into much detail, because we tried a lot of different beers. Gaspar Ale Picobrouwerij Alvinne was a Belgian IPA, finished too dry and sour. Didn't enjoy this one. Porterhouse Oyster Stout was on Nitro and was great. It was thick and incredibly flavorful, almost a dessert beer. Oyster flavor wasn't strong however. Wintercoat Cockney Imperial Stout was probably my favorite of the night, this Danish stout was strong and was so flavorful and smooth. 't browkot Netebuk was a smooth Belgian ale, we ordered this one twice. It's what Six Point Sweet Action wants to be. Schlenkerla Helles was a standard but delicious Helles lager. Gasser Huppendorfer Vollbier was on gravity tap and had a great thick, smokey flavor.

I was out with Rachel. For dinner, she had the lamb burger, and I had the duck confit. All of the entrees here are pretty small, but flavorful. The sandwiches were served on rectangular pieces of slate with small sides of coleslaw. We also ordered salt potatoes, which were small red potatoes covered with kosher salt. They were okay, I'm sure another side would have been more satisfying. The dishes here are small, but not too small. To finish the meal, we had the cranberry crisp for dessert. This was incredibly tart, and didn't taste much like a dessert at all. We both concluded that it needed more sugar and didn't finish it.

The service here wasn't great the night when we dined. Empty plates and dishes stayed on our table for a while. Our server seemed to have too many tables for her to handle. The decor is the downstairs is beautiful, it's entirely lit by candlelight, and they have a whole wall of beer bottles boasting some of the best and most rare beers in the world. There's hundreds. It's almost like eating in the most beautiful museum on beer you're likely to ever see. I didn't go upstairs, but they focus on American craft beer there, while downstairs is focused on the imports.
Bottom Line: Despite everything, we had a great night. Fork and Barrel has incredible beer selection, and the prices are pretty good too. Food is missable, but it's got to be one of the best spots in East Falls.

Bridgid's

2011-01-14T08:02:00.001-05:00

Almost 3 years had lapsed between meals at Bridgid's. I remember really liking this spot, but honestly, my standards have gone up since my last visit here. I was under the impression that it was a Belgain joint, but they only had one Belgain on tap. The beer list here is solid, but not stellar. They're all $5 or $6.

As far as a bar goes, they do offer two unique things. First, although small, the U shaped bar is great. Many bars could take cues on how to effectively use a small space. Secondly, the gravity tap is great. When I visited with Dan they had Yard's ESA on. The gravity tap comes from the uninsulated attic. The winter air chills the beer and the gravity forces out through the tap. The result is a beer that has the mouth feel of a beer engine and the temperature of a keg. It made the ESA even better.

I ordered the burger, and this came stuffed with bacon, bleu cheese and onions. It sounded good, but in reality, its a disaster. The burger came out pretty well done, which it needed to be to hold all of the ingredients together. The flavors tripping over each other, and the distribution of the filling was all wrong; they all were concentrated at the center and the edges of the burger were woefully plain. That being said, they do serve the most perfectly crispy fries. They're truly excellent.

Bottom Line: This spot didn't live up to my memory. That said, I still think it's one of, if not the, best in Fairmount. I like the gravity tap, but if you're going to dine here I recommend it for dinner rather than lunch. I still am planning on going back in the near future.

Devil's Den

2011-01-13T17:09:00.006-05:00

Last time I went to Devil's Den I remember horrible service, okay food and 3 lines tapped with no replacements in sight. My last visit, however, was much improved. This place first landed on my radar for the happy hour. M-F 5-7 gets you half priced drinks. And that's on top of the already reasonable prices. For beer selection, Devil's Den doesn't disappoint. Even though I don't go often, they always have something new for me to try, and I really appreciate that.

The decor here is great, I really like this place and it has a great long wooden bar. There are a few large screen TVs. I went here to watch a hockey game, and while there was music playing all night, the bartender turned up the TV's audio all the way so I could here the game a little bit. The service here does need some work. Everyone just seems to be moving on a slower pace, but it wasn't horrible.

I like the menu here. Dan ordered a raw meat platter and he enjoyed that. It had a lot of interesting different pairings, and the only complaint would be that it wasn't very filling for $15. I ordered the burger, my standard go-to. I ordered a cheeseburger, but it came out without my cheese. It was a few minutes before I could even get the bartender's attention to get it fixed, but I got a free beer for the ordeal. No harm, ho foul. There was harm in how it was cooked. I ordered medium rare, and it wasn't even close. No part of the inside of my burger was pink. The bread is great, the fries are good, and its served with a great aioli. If it came out with my cheese and cooked to order, I would be pretty satisfied. I was also out with Quinn, who is a lover of well done burgers, and she was still talking about it a few days later. I'm definitely willing to give it another go.

Bottom Line: They have a great happy hour here, good beer selection, and reasonable prices. It's not amazing, but Devil's Den is a welcomed retreat, especially in winter when you cozy up next to the fireplace, which brings the whole place up a notch on a blustery evening.

Catahoula

2011-01-13T14:03:00.000-05:00

I visited last night with my good friend Lauren. I heard about the "My burger" and wanted to check it out. Catahoula is a small, welcoming bar tucked away on south front street. The beer list has some good craft beers on tap; its nothing you won't around the city but even with six taps we were both able to find something to enjoy. Straub, Six Point, Dark Horse and Abita were all represented.

The atmosphere here is great. Its not a big place, but there a nice long bar with about six tall four top tables around the rest of the room. There are several large flat screens, and all were playing sports while we were eating. This would be a great place to causally catch a game if you want to escape the normal monotony of a sports bar. The service was good, and the bar tender was helpful and welcoming. I can't completely put my finger on it, but something about Catahoula is welcoming and inviting.

The menu here is great and I'd like to visit again to try some of the Cajun offerings. But the purpose of this visit was to try the "My burger." Its a massive 9 oz patty cooked to order topped with goat cheese, bacon a fried green tomato and some kind of aioli. I generally don't go for goat cheese on a burger, or in general, but I was really surprised by it. I highly recommend trying it when you visit.

Honestly, this burger has too much going on. I recommend getting something more simple. One of the reasons is because the meat is delicious. It's excellently prepared ground beef, and my medium-rare was as truly cooked as medium-rare can be. The bun was a large, squishy buttery role that was the prefect delivery method for the patty. The bacon and fried tomato were a little bit of flavor overkill. THe cajun fries served with the burger are strong and flavorful. My only other complaint is that at 9 oz, even I had trouble polishing it off.

Bottom Line: Catahoula servers a great burger, and I like this spot. It's a little more pricey than I would like, but I'm still going to make this a to go spot.

Tessaro's

2011-01-10T08:30:00.003-05:00

I'm always trying to hit up places that are listed in the fantastic book "Hamburger America." Tessaro's is one of two places to be listed for Pennsylvania. I visited while in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago with high expectations. I like the joint, it seems like a family run business, and there's a lot of people coming and going. We didn't have to wait long for a table, and the service was fine. I do like the atmosphere, but I just had so many better burgers that I just can't rave about this place.

They don't have a frier, so your burger comes with home fries or potato salad. This wasn't bad, but I really love the classic combination of burgers and fries. Maybe it was an off day. I know they have their own butcher who works in house, and that is exciting. But the burger wasn't memorable at all.

Bottom Line: I've had better.

Where did I eat?

2011-01-07T11:42:00.001-05:00

Guinea Pig

2011-01-06T12:09:00.000-05:00

I wish this picture was better, but it's the only evidence I have of my meal of fried guinea pig. I had it this summer while visiting peru with my two sister. If you look closely, you can see his head between my fingers. I'm about to bite into his skull and get an eyeball.

A quick google image search pulled up this image that it pretty much exacty what I ate. It looks like an entire guinea pig was skinned and then thrown into a deep frier. It comes out still with it's head, eyes, claws, teeth.

Guinea pig should not be eaten. There's not much meat on it, and what you can pull off is gamey, dark, tough, and salt. I'm glad I tried it, but I won't have it again. Not that I could find it within 3000 miles if I DID want it....

Osteria

2011-01-05T11:00:00.000-05:00

Does Osteria have the best pizza in Philly? I think so.

I'm so glad I waited to visit this place until my Mom and sisters were in town. Not only are they a blast to go out with, but this place in certainly best experienced with a group of four to eight. The menu is set up to encourage sharing, and there's so many mouth watering entrees on the menu that it is difficult to settle on just one or two choices.

We only had wine, but Osteria boasts an incredible beer list as well. There are several Italian craft beers on tap; you won't find them anywhere else in the city, or even the state. It's not cheap though, most bottles of wine are $45-65 or more.

The way the menu is set up is a bit confusing. There are the pizzas, a large list of appetizers, first (pasta) courses, and then entrees. We wanted to try a lot of different things, and ended up with two pizzas, one app, two first courses and two entrees.

The pizzas came out first. The margherita is a simple pleasure. The thin crust, sweet sauce, melted mozzarella topped with basil leaf is a delight; it's the definition of thin crust brick oven pizza. While I liked this, the toppings on all of the pizzas are well thought out, and out other choice had fig, prosciutto, and Gorgonzola. This pizza was pretty incredible, and combination of toppings shows that Osteria crafts pizza, they don't simple "make" them.

Our appetizer was the "mozzarella is carrozza," which Craig LeBan hailed as the reinvention of fried cheese. But no one at our table was buying that moniker. Yes, it's the restaurants take on mozzarella sticks, but it most closely resembled stuffed french toast. It was the low point of the meal.

Pasta dishes came out just as we were finishing the pizzas. One was stuffed with sausage, which was a favorite with the girls, and the other with cauliflower. This second one was excellent, my fav, and is a strong case for anyone who thinks they don't like the vegetable.

The first main was rabbit "casalinga" with pancetta, sage, brown butter and soft polenta. Rabbit is delicious, and this was a great dish that was a hit with everyone. We also ordered cod, which was served on a bed of greens and topped with braised pork belly. I'm a big fan of pork belly, and this dish perfectly paired it with seafood. Our entrees, like seemingly everything at Osteria, were put together with care and expertise. But I think I enjoyed getting to this point more than I did eating it.

The service is what you would expect of a place in the price range. I like the atmosphere too. We were seated out on the patio extension, which is a glass-room extension with a great view of the adjacent church. I love the touch of one of the walls covered in old wine crates. My only complaint is that we weren't given the reservation we wanted when we called in, although the restaurant didn't ever come close to capacity all night.

Bottom Line: This is a top notch dining experience. It's authentic northern Italian food, and the brick oven pizza is simply delicious. While the price can be prohibitive, I'm looking forward to my next visit, even if I'm sitting alone at the bar and dropping around $50 for a pizza and some craft Italian beer.

Swift Half Closed for good

2011-01-04T08:46:00.002-05:00

This new came quickly and was under my radar, but as of 1/1/11, Swift Half is closed for good. I'm not sure the reason, and even though I gave the pub a hard time, it's certainly one of the better choices in the area. I'd love to believe this is a chance for a really great spot to open up, but I fear we'll see something along the lines of PYT, or worse...

Taqueria Veracruzana

2011-01-03T12:17:00.000-05:00

Following a lead on the best Mexican food in Philly, I wondered in here for lunch on New Years Eve with my friend Rickey and his sister, Ashley. I expected it to be a tiny hole in the wall that had only enough room for a table or two and served mostly take out. And while the atmoshpere isn't much, it's better than I expected. There are about ten tables in a small dining area, and we seated ourselves. After a few moments, a waitress came over with chips and salsa. We looked over the menu, which was larger than I expected. From what we ordered, and seemingly everyone else, the tacos seem to be the obvious choice.

Three tacos are priced at $6. There are several different choices on kinds, and mix-and-match is no problem. I had a hard time narrowing it down, but finally went with chorizo, stuffed jalapeno, and pork. They are all simple tacos, with the meat sitting atop small steamed corn tortillas and garnished with raw onions and cilantro. The pork was simple, unmatinated, but flavorful. I would order it again. The jalapeno taco was interesting. It contained one large jalepeno stuffed with cheese and then breaded and fried. It was a good option, and has a decent amount of heat to it as well. The chorizo was served in crumbles, and left something to be desired. It was my lease favorite choice.

Rickey and Ashely had steak and and chicken tacos, and they both enjoyed their choices as well. When we recieved our food, the platters looked quite small. I didn't believe that it would fill me up, but we we all left satiated thanks to the surprisngly filling tacos. Veracruzana also offers imported Coke products (glass bottles and real sugar) and this is a plus.

Bottom Line: This is great Mexican, hole-in-the-wall food. Still, I have my preferences for other places that are closer to me. I don't think it's worth going out of your way, but you certainly won't be disappointed either. The price is right, and it's a BYOB with a six pack store four doors away. Still, an hour after much lunch there was the distinctive flavor of Taqueria Veracruzana lingering, and I loved it.

NYC's Corner Bistro

2010-12-15T15:29:00.008-05:00

Corner Bistro is nearly perfect. I packed in here with wonderful my sister, Laura, and a bunch of strangers on a Friday night while visiting NYC. We all stood in line in a small aisle between the bar and a few tables. The line moved pretty quickly, and the wait was made easy by the beer. McSorely's was available in two varieties, Dark and Light, which in real terms means one that's more malty, or one that resembles an amber ale. Both are decent, but I prefer the dark. At the price ($2.75 for 12 oz) you really can't beat it. I love an decently obscure local brew.

The burger is the reason to visit. The price is great, it's cooked to order, and it's damn good. It will please anyone, whether you like a big juicy burger or a little giddle patty, it's perfectly in between and so delicious. It's probably about a 7oz burger, and the namesake, the Bistro burger, comes with onion, lettuce, tomatoe, pickles, cheddar cheese, and bacon on a squishy white bun. I went with a simple cheese burger on my visit, which I recommend because the meat is flavorful enough to carry the burger. It's hand delivered daily from a butcher around the corner.

The service here is quick. I'm sure it's partly because the menu is so small, but the staff is efficient in the tiny kitchen. Alongside the burgers, fries are crispy shoestring fries that a glistening with hot oil. Like the burger, these are classic fries, and complete the meal.

Bottom Line: There's not much to say about Corner Bistro, because it needs to be experienced. I love this place, wish it was on my block, and look forward to my next visit. If you don't stick to a burger, fries, McSorley's combo, you're crazy.

Deluca's

2010-12-15T14:36:00.006-05:00

I love good breakfast, authentic eateries, and a wild environment; and, Deluca's has it all. It's no surprise that one can wait up to an hour in a line snaking down the block for a table on Saturday or Sunday morning.

While my friend Chris and Callen were waiting in line for Pens tickets, I decided to hit up the Strip District and check out this breakfast institution. It's been featured on the Travel and Food networks, and I knew I was in store for something special. There was a huge line of people waiting in freezing weather. Since I was alone, I decided to try and skip the huge line and nab a seat at the bar, which was a stellar idea.

The service here was great. Although everyone working here was buzzing around at incredible speeds, they still regularly checked in on me. After I ordered my food, it came out quickly and I had my refills of coffee. The atmosphere here is my favorite part. A long, counter bar runs the length of the establishment. Behind it are cooks hard at work on equipment that must be at least fifty years old. It it's not broken, don't fix it! I was also in the back, in full veiw of a wipeboard that helps employees keep track of everything. They needed to order five box of coffee and also didn't want employees to forget the holiday bowling party. Simply put: this place is fun.

The coffee is whatever, not bad, not great. For the food, I knew as soon as my eyes set on it: MOAB, or mother of all burritos. This was a huge soft tortilla filled with chorizo, scrambled eggs, hot banana peppers, tomatoes, onions, avocado and homefries. It's topped with salsa, cheddar and sour cream. Overall, delicious. There's a lot of flavors going on, but I really enjoyed this, and it was certainly filling enough to keep me going until dinner. Deluca's doesn't use the best ingredients, and it wasn't the most delicious breakfast, but I really enjoyed my visit. I'd go again.

Bottom Line: Enjoy the show by sitting at the bar. Marvel at the staff, and soak up the atmosphere. The food's not bad either. Cash only.

Sassafras International Cafe

2010-12-14T11:06:00.004-05:00

Sassafras, you're misplaced. Olde City is a sea of poor service, overcrowded bars, and annoying patrons. You escape the pitfalls and stand out.

I've been meaning to eat here for years. And there's a lot to like about this place. As soon as you step inside, the decor stands out. Simple, historic, well taken care of. A long wooden bar leads along one side with small dining area in the back. There's a fireplace, but sadly, it's not in use. There's also an awesome textured ceiling. And I hear the lady's room is a sight to see.

I was out with my good friend Cambria while we were waiting for a showtime of "Black Swan." I didn't get anything to drink, but the beer list was respectable. Lots of local beers. There isn't anything that isn't readily available elsewhere, but still good choices nonetheless. There's also an extensive whiskey list.

Our server was excellent. He had a fantastic dry sense of humor, and he was on top of everything all evening. He knew a lot about the menu, including the fat content of all of the different burgers, which was helpful info and impressive. We both opted for burgers, medium-rare lamb for myself and veggie for Cambria. They were served with sweet potatoe fries and garlic aioli, and both of these were great.

My burger was excellent. It was juicy, and cooked exactly right. The lamb was a great meat for the burger, with a different taste than beef but the same consistency and texture. There are a lot of options for toppings and cheese, but I went simple with American cheese. Overall, it's an excellent burger, and probably the best in the area. It's also pretty sizable, I'd guess between 6 and 8 oz. The veggie burger is impressive, with a red bean and wheat base. It actually tastes good and has a pretty palatable texture. I don't eat veggie burgers often, but I could certainly enjoy this one.

Bottom Line: I don't make my way down here often, and Eulogy is still my first choice. But Sassafras has a nice bar, a great atmoshpere, good service, and tasty burgers. It gets my recommendation, even if it may be quite some time before my next visit. Still, I wouldn't recommend showing up here after 8:30 on the weekends.

Primanti Brothers

2010-12-10T12:39:00.000-05:00

I've been busy with classes, but that's all done for a few weeks. I've been doing some traveling, and I want to get some pictures up about some of the food I had outside of Philadelphia. When I get back to Pittsburgh, I always make an attempt to eat at Primanti Brothers. These sandwhichs are delicious, and impossible to imitate. They stack griddle cooked meats, prefectly seasoned cole-slaw, and fries on squishy white bread in a heavenly combination. The sandwhiches are whipped out on pieces of wax paper and the whole atmoshpere of the place is quick and gruff; get in, eat, and out.

I was out with my good friend Callen and we split two different sandwiches, the pastrami and the capicola. Both were excellent, but I prefer the pastrami, which in my mind, is the best and most classic sandwich they serve. There's actually a lot of options on the menu, but stick to the

I love this place, its a Pittsburgh institution, and I recommend everyone to hit it up when your in Pittsburgh, and regularly if you live there.

Best of: Condiment

2010-11-26T16:31:00.004-05:00

I know, maybe doesn't seem like a sexy category for my intermittent "Best of" posts. But when you get the perfect sauce that compliments your food, it completes the meal. And a few places are taking their sauce concoctions to the next level. I have a lot of favorites, so I'm going tomention three, instead of just one.

Honorable mention: Eulogy's "Bat out of Hell" wing sauce. This is a great sauce that uses chili paste that's sold alongside sriracha. The wing sauce is a perfect combination of tangy, sweet, and hot. I love that it's unique and made in house. They didn't try and emulate other wings that you can get anywhere else, but really strove to create a new taste, and they did so with great success.

Runner up: Duck sauce at Tamarind. While dining there recently, I had the spring rolls with a side of this wonderful sauce. It blows the stuff you get out of the packets away. It's perfectly tangy, light enough to let the flavor of the spring come through. I like duck sauce in general, but this is really stepping up the game.

First Place: Mustard aioli made with Yard's Porter at Kraftwork. This is by far the best condiment I've had at a restaurant, and probably hands down. The most amazing part is that I don't really like mustard all that much, making my raving about Kraftwork's sauce even more impressive. The kitchen dishes out little bowls of this with the burger and fries, and I can't get enough. I'd buy it in a second if they put it in a jar. I'm generally on the Kraftwork bandwagon, but even if I wasn't, the mustard is reason enough to visit.

Dang, all that just made my hungry. What are your favorites?

Tamarind

2010-11-22T16:16:00.004-05:00

I can't recall the last time I had Thai food. And I love a good Thai meal. And good BYO, and a decently priced restaurant. Enter Tamarind.

Quinn lives around the corner for this spot and had never tried it out. It was a perfect spot for us to hit before catching a movie. Before dinner, I did some research and found that a riesling is probably the best wine pairing for Asian food. I picked one up that wasn't too fruity, yet had enough flavor to compliment the relatively big tastes served up by Tamarind.

We only had a short wait on a Friday night. Once inside, we were seated quickly and the impeccable service began immediately. Before we have even settled down at our table they took our bottle of win and brought it back in a wine chiller. The atmosphere is nothing special, but enjoyable enough. It's a good place to grab food, but you're not going to impress anyone here either.

The menu offers a lot of different choices, and I could be happy eating here a few times without repeating anything. We split appetizers of the chicken spring roll and steamed dumplings to start out. Both of these offered a lot of different flavors, and they were excellent renditions of standard dishes. Neither did anything new or exciting, they were just good. And I like that.

Shortly after we finished our first course, the mains showed up. The first was a Tamarind Spicy Noodle dish with pork. I liked this a lot; with the pork stir-fried with red pepper and large noodles. It was the heavier of the two dishes we ordered. It was good, but the real star of the meal was Pad Wonsoon. it's a rendition of a standard Pad Thai dish, with chicken and shrimp. Overall, it's very tasty, with the dish complimented by glass noodles.

Bottom Line: Tamarind is not breaking new ground, but they understand their food and craft well. There's so much to like about Tamarind. It's not going to change your life, but they provide great Thai dishes at reasonable prices and a BYOB to boot.

Essentials:

117 South St (at Front)

215-925-2764

Hours: Daily for dinner, lunch also on Fri, Sat, Sun

Avg Ent:10-15

Cash Only: No

Reservations: Accepted

BYOB: Yes

Sweet Lucy's Smokehouse

2010-11-09T14:39:00.006-05:00

While visiting Asheville, NC, I was searching for the best BBQ places to eat. While on my Internet hunt, I kept turning up results for Sweet Lucy's, which was in my hometown on Philadelphia. I didn't help me at the moment, but it instantly made it onto my must-try list.

I made the way out to the Northeast for dinner with Jonny and Kristen with out love our barbecue ready to be satiated. Sadly, we went on Monday night, which only offers a $20 all you can eat buffet. We were able to order take out though, so the night was salvaged. Peering into the dining room, I saw that we wouldn't be missing much in the way of atmosphere. The buffet was small but seemed to include most of sides and all of the meats. I can't and don't want to eat $20 worth of food, so the take out menu was a good alternative.

There are a lot of good options on the take out menu, and there are different meals to feed any number of people. For the three of us to split we ordered a pound of four different meats, a half rack of ribs, four different sides, and cornbread. We ordered and only had to wait a short time to get our food.

Back at my house, we divided up all of the food onto our plates. The first thing I had was the baked beans, and it was basically love at first taste. The baked beans, like nearly everything I ate from Sweet Lucy's, had such a good flavor. The blend of spices on the sides, meat, and sauce was perfectly blended. The mashed sweet potatoes were also a delicious side dish, and I would say those two are must-trys. I was less than impressed, however, with the creamed spinach.

For the meats, we got to try five different things. We had smoked kielbasa, which was good if you're a fan of the meat, but didn't lend itself well to the BBQ style. We also ordered the beef brisket, pulled pork, and pulled chicken. All of these were tasty, with the pork being my favorite. I was impressed with all of them. Still, because the same sauce and general cooking method is used with the aforementioned three, the only real difference lies in the texture of the meats. Stick with the one you like the best for your preferred Lucy's experience.

The ribs were very good, but not as tender as I like. The taste and blend on the meat was awesome, but the cooking could use some work. They were still excellent. The cornbread was a perfect accompaniment, tasty and moist. At the end of the evening, we all had enough to eat at about half the cost of the buffet. I can't really see any benefits to eating in at Lucy's, but it's nice that it's BYOB.

Bottom Line: I'm holding Lucy's to a very high standard. And despite that, they still pass in my book. I love barbecue and there's so many good options at Lucy's. I like this place a lot and plan to eat here again, annoying Northeast visit and all.

Essentials:

7500 State Road

215-331-3312

Hours: 11am-9pm daily

Avg Ent: 10-20

Cash Only: No

Reservations: No

BYOB: Yes

White Dog Cafe

2010-11-09T10:31:00.006-05:00

I finally got to visit this spot. It's tucked away on the 3400 block of Sansom, which is a charming little block with great house facades that have been turned into businesses. I had never even been down this street and it's a nice stroll through the generally otherwise annoying University City area.

White Dog has a neat atmosphere; it's a maze of different rooms set up as small dining rooms. The decorations are laid on pretty thick, and it's a great conversion of a house to restaurant without losing any of the charm. The service was swift and pleasant throughout the meal. I met here with my friend Quinn on a beautiful Saturday morning. Surprisingly, White Dog wasn't even close to full at 11am on a weekend.

I've heard complaints about the prices here, but I found it in line with other brunch places. The exception is the drink menu. Bloody Marys and mimosas for $9 are just far too high. I stuck with coffee for the morning, and was happy with the fresh brew they kept pouring.

Looking over the menu, there were several good options, but I landed with the steak and eggs. The dish had a good presentation, and overall I was satisfied with my choice. My only complaint was that the texture of the steak, in fact I question whether it truly was steak. It seems like a roast that was cut into strips before being topped with the other ingredients. Nonetheless, the dish was tasty and satisfying. Quinn ordered an omelet that came with mushrooms, onions, spinach, and smoked cheddar. She loved her option for brunch and the sample I had was good. She also opted for a side of extra crispy bacon, and it was cooked perfectly to her specification (although not to my taste).

Bottom Line: There's not enough going on here to make me want to make the trip regularly, but I do believe that White Dog Cafe is serving up the best brunch in West Philly. I enjoyed my brunch.

Rumor: Turducken

2010-11-07T12:12:00.001-05:00

I've read that Jake's Sandwich Board (122 South 12th Street) is going to feature a Turducken sandwich for the rest of the month. I'm not sure if they'll keep up with it until the end of November, so look for me to hit it up soon and post some (hopefully delicious) pictures and thoughts.

Bridget Foy's

2010-11-05T11:49:00.002-04:00

Wednesday night, $10 for a burger and a craft beer. You really can't beat that. And it's a great idea because it got me in the door at a place I would have never gone otherwise.

There's a lot going on at Bridget Foy's. Outdoor seating, a nice sized bar with a huge plasma screen, semi fancy dining room, 3rd floor function room, and weird 2nd floor overflow seating: they all converge here, somehow. The atmosphere isn't too much. As a restaurant, I think it's a little overpriced for what it is. That being said, the service is great. Throughout the whole night our server was nice and attentive.

The tap list is small, but crafted with care. Lager and Kenzinger are standard while four taps rotate respectable beers. I had the Stoudt's scarlet lady ESB, which went nicely with my food. I was visiting with Lulu, and she opted for a pumpkin beer, I forget the exact one.

There are several different burgers on the menu, and we opted to split the Head House and the New Mexico burgers. I'm usually a medium rare guy, but I have to admit the the medium we ordered was impressive. It wasn't juicy, but the medium cooking complimented the loosely packed and well flavored meat. The Head House burger, my favorite for the night, was topped with an egg, mushrooms and gruyere. The New Mexico was also good, with a little spice added by the chipotle aioli, roasted green chiles, and pepperjack cheese.

While the burgers are well-made, the choice of toppings is also a great craft and I applaud Bridget Foy's for working to have a few, thoughtful good cheeseburgers. They come topped on perfectly buttery roles that compliment the burger.

We were too full to have dessert, and I criticize the place for offering a dessert menu without prices, but our server brought out tiny complimentary slices of a chocolate cake that were delicious. If I wasn't so full, I would have liked to have a slice.

Bottom Line: With the general atmosphere and location of this place, it's not really my spot. The prices are a little high, but when you're selling your burgers that are normally 11-13 dollars at $10 with a beer, you can expect me to show up. Wednesday night: great burgers, and a decent spot.

Essentials:

200 South St (at 2nd)

215-922-1813

Hours: M-F: 8am-10pm, S: 9am-midnight, S:9am-10pm

Avg Ent: 10-18

Cash Only: No

Reservations: Accepted for dining room, not for burger night

Rumor: Stephen Starr's Bier garden

2010-11-02T16:03:00.000-04:00

I want to stress that this post is based on no info other than my speculation. You may know that a beer garden from Philly's Stephen Starr is underway. While on my run last week, I went past the space. Work is underway, the outdoor space looks quite big, probably seating at least 75. I'm at least excited to see how this all turns out. If nothing else, hopefully it will convince Johny Brenda's to charge reasonable prices for their beer.

Slack's Hoagie Shack

2010-11-01T15:59:00.002-04:00

I was checking in on a claim that Slack's has an excellent cheesesteak. Since Griladelphia went out of business, I've been craving a good cheesesteak place close to my house.

We ordered cheesesteaks while my mom was in town. She knew I'd be posting arrview, so she took notes as she picked up the food. The place was friendly and busy. There seemed to be a lot of regulars, and everyone behind the counter was at work on the lunch rush. Slacks has a pretty large menu, with subs as the main player, but wings, ect ect.

They charge extra for cheese wiz, which when talking about Philly cheesesteaks should be standard. Other than that, I was quite happy with everything from Slack's. The hoagies are pretty big, and everything here is reasonably priced. The meat is high quality, thin sliced and griddle cooked, as it should be, and it's clearly a good representation of a Philly cheesesteak. It's bigger, better, and cheaper than something you'd grab at Pat's or Geno's.

Bottom Line: There's not too much to say about this place. It doesn't blow me away, nor does it disappoint. Slack's doesn't do anything amazing, but it's a good cheesesteak, and I now know where to go when I need one.

Essentials:

2499 Aramingo Ave

215-423-4020

Avg Ent: 5-8

Cash Only: No

Victory Brewpub

2010-10-12T10:00:00.003-04:00

Victory is a great brewery. I'm glad to have it in the area. Still, I wish the brew pub was a bit closer. It's about a 45 minute drive from Philadelphia, but is completely worthwhile. Upon walking in, I was surprised. The brew pub, which is tucked away in a forgotten corner of a suburban housing development, is huge. Despite the size, and I'd guess it seats around 200, the place was packed. I was visiting with my good friends Allie and John and we had to wait almost an hour for a table.

Waiting here isn't really an issue. You can make your way to the bar and order drinks. Everything comes in two different sizes, and the prices on beer are reasonable. Victory boasts an impressive beer list, 22 Victory taps, four of which are hand-pump. While you're ordering at the bar, marvel at the growler filler that seems to have come from the future. Victory has their standard rotation, as well as one offs, rare, and out-of-season beers. I had the delicious Zeltbier, an Octoberfest style lager that is so new that I couldn't find a shred of information about it online. Growlers are on sale on site ($15) and cost between 7 and 11 dollars to fill. It's a great deal on some brewery fresh beer.

You can also visit the on-site store while waiting. They have interesting merchandise for sale, although I'm always confused as to why I can't buy koozies at breweries. The atmosphere overall is a bit weird, it's large and crowded like a beer hall, but filled with families, yuppies, and suburbanites. The service was a bit lacking too. Once we were seated, it wasn't bad, but we saw tables sit dormant for upwards for 20 minutes while parties crowded the door waiting for seats.

The menu here has a lot of interesting options, and I love that they suggest a beer pairing for every menu item. It's divided into two parts, a standard menu that consistently offers traditional bar and pub fare, as well as a large rotating menu that offers seasonal and special dishes.

I opted for the spicy pork loin topped with blue cheese and pear on a bed of sweet potatoes. There was a lot going on with this dish, and the chef perfectly blended the flavors. I was quite happy with my choice, especially considering this is the kind of place where I'll usually ordered a cheeseburger and not expect too much. Allie ordered the same dish I did and was also satisfied with it. John ordered a jerk chicken grinder that was a great rendition on a fairly standard sandwich. As a side we ordered fries, and were served with a bowl of steak and sweet potato fries topped with leeks. The fries, like all the other dishes we had, have an extra touch that put them above what you'd normally expect.

Bottom Line: I like victory's beer, and I like this place. It's way too far out of town for me to become a regular, but the option for limited edition beer and the cheap growler fills are definitely a draw. Everyone should visit at least once.

Essentials:

420 Acorn Lane, Downingtown, PA 19335

610-873-0881

Hours: M-Sat 11:30-12, Sun: 11:30-10

Avg Ent: 10-17

Cash Only: No

Reservation: Not taken

Best Of Philly: Chicken Wings

2010-10-08T15:12:00.002-04:00

I don't need to write too much, because my best of Philly chicken wings write up is likely to be a repeat of my previous entry on Moriarty's. I won't focus on the less than finer points of this establishment and get right to the wings. They're nearly perfect. For my taste, the sauce is spot on. It's spicy, but not over done. It has the classic buffalo flavor. I want to taste it right now just thinking about it. For size, these wings are great. There aren't many places that serve up full wings, and Moriaty's serves up large, full wings. They're cooked just right, with a crispy skin and tender meat underneath. No breading. And any chicken wing is incomplete without celery and blue cheese on the side. Again, Moriaty's doesn't fail. I don't love this place, but the delicious wings make me a regular customer. These are truly the best wings I've found in Philly.

Deals on Food in Philadelphia

2010-10-06T09:29:00.003-04:00

If you haven't signed up for Groupon or their daily email, I highly recommend it. Today's deal is for the Marigold Kitchen, which I wrote about all the way back in June of 2009. It's definitely a good deal on a charming BYOB.

Also, I'm not on to repost, but I'm sure a bunch of people still need to bear about the excellent deal at Bridget Foy's. $10 on a Wednesday night will get you a 1/2 lb burger and a beer. With 60 minute IPA on the list and a menu of burgers with thoughtful toppings, I'm aiming to hit this up soon.

If you haven't signed up for Groupon in the past, I'll happily take your referral. We both get $10 credit after your first purchase. My email address is wgkealey at gmail. Let me know of other deals, let me know where you find the best ones. Opentable.com just launched a group buying programs where they offer half off $50 gift certificates from a different spot each week. Check out the current deal here.

Fractured Prune donuts

2010-10-05T15:37:00.004-04:00

Driving down the Costal Highway in Ocean City, MD is fun. And while cruising with my friend Dan, he pulled into the Fractured Prune. Now I'm not crazy about donuts and I thought this joint had a dumb name, but when he walked in to order a half dozen, I followed him nonetheless.

Upon entering, I was pleasantly surprised; nay, blown away. After navigating through the small crowd of hungover bros, we stepped to the counter. Behind the register was a conveyer belt of hot fresh donuts pouring into a small bin in the staging area. They were just old fashioned, regular donuts; no glaze. Even by themselves they would have been some of the best donuts I've ever tasted.

Here's the trick, they're basically made to order donuts. They have several glazes, and more than a dozen crushed toppings. They will basically make anything you can think of, but the menu consists of the most tried and true. You can have their take on a reese's cup: peanut butter glaze with mini chocolate chips. Or my personal favorite: mocha glaze with crushed oreo crumbs. You can check out the whole menu here.

Bottom Line: They start with awesome donuts, and they're hot and fresh. Topping them with great glazes and ingredients only makes things better. These are delicious donuts, and this place is open to franchise. Please someone hop on this for Philadelphia and I'll do my best to personally keep you in business.

here's a picture I didn't take:

Best of Philly: Bartender

2010-09-24T20:00:00.000-04:00

In an effort to bring more content to my blog, I'm going to start a "best of" category. I'd like to do this weekly, but the amount of research required, along with the relatively low priority of this blog compared to other things going on in my life, will inevitably lead me to fall behind.

To start, I'd like to mention my favorite bartender: Dave from Eulogy. He's usually working the lunch shift during the week when I'm lucky enough to make it down there. He's friendly, attentive, and on top of his job as a server. It almost seems that everyone is a regular.

He has a great deal of beer knowledge without coming off as condescending. He is able to give great beer recommendations, and I've had some excellent beers served by him. Too bad I usually go for the most expensive beers.

He's also started his own website, which I'll take an opportunity to plug: sketchjobs.com.

Bottom Line: I really enjoy going to Eulogy, and Dave just makes the experience that much better. I recommend visiting and asking him for some beer selections, and then seeing where the day takes you.

Noble American Cookery

2010-09-23T08:08:00.001-04:00

I can't tell you the last time I so quickly decided that I wanted to revisit a restaurant. Noble was one of my picks for this round of restaurant week. I'm not sure how it ended up on my radar, but I'm really happy that I ended up there.

I dined with my good friend Quinn, and we met for dinner on a Friday night. We were seated quickly and began to look at the menu. The decor of the place in simple, earthy and elegant. I didn't see the bar, but I've heard it's also nice.

While we were still looking over the menus, we were brought a small taste, fried haddock with capers. It was good, and piqued my interest for the rest of the meal. For our appetizer, we both ordered the scallops. They were good and well cooked, but they should have more thoroughly washed. They were a still a bit sandy, but this was my biggest complaint of the night.

For my main course, I ordered the hanger steak. I ordered it as the chef recommended, medium rare, and was really happy with this dish. The steak was a good cut, and cooked and seasoned perfectly. It was served with mushrooms which accompanied the steak quite well. Quinn ordered a gnocchi, which was fabulously done. Perfect portion, cooking, and presentation made this tasty dish a real star.

Dessert was good, a great well to end the meal at Noble. I ordered a parfait that came with delicious toffee syrup. Quinn had a Vanilla pana cotta with berries. We both enjoyed our desserts. We swapped for a moment, but we generally like what we order on our own.

Noble also features local and organic food. While this idea can sometimes become a gimmick, it's not at Noble. They are serving excellent food and also happen to be conscientious about where it comes from and how it is grown. Impressively, they have a rooftop garden which features ingredients in several of the dishes. This idea is even extended to the beer selection, which consists of a lot of respectable locals, Yards, Victory, Troegs, PBC, and the likes while also offering featured beers from lesser known breweries in the US. To top it off, some of these featured beers are generally unavailable in the city, which is impressive for Philadelphia.

One of my favorite things about Noble is there is a beer and a wine pairing suggestion for each item on the menu. The pairings are well thought out, and our server was knowledgeable enough to talk about the menu, pairings, and drinks. The service was leisurely, but overall good. Our server was a little goofy, but added to our overall experience.

Bottom Line: Like I said, I can't tell you the last time I so quickly declared I wanted to revisit a place again. There's a lot to like about Noble. It's pretty, the food is good, and the menu has a lot of interesting options. I'm looking forward to my next visit. (Want to go, Mom?)

Essentials:

2025 Sansom St (at 20th)

215-568-7000

Hours: T&W: 5-10; Th&F: 5-11; Sat: 12-11; Sun: 11-9

Cash Only: No

Reservations: Strongly recommended

BYOB: On Sundays!

Kelliann's Bar & Grill

2010-09-22T07:59:00.000-04:00

I've ridden my bike past Kelliann's at least a hundred times. And while that's no exaggeration, I didn't know the name of this place until I visited last week. If you're unclear of the spot I'm referring to, you may know it as I did: "Crappy Irish place on the corner of 16th and Spring Garden." But my previous title and judgement were way off the mark.

This place is pretty small; a long bar greats you at the door and runs almost the entire length of the skinny space. Some outdoor seating surely helps this place from seeming too crowded. Upon entering, I looked towards the taps to judge the place. Some regular locals, plus Sam Adams, a few Irish brews, and the real star of the day, Spaten Octoberfest. This is a tasty beer, and at $5 for a 20 oz mug (in proper glassware, if that's your thing) it was a great deal. Overall, the beer list is nothing special, but you should be able to find something that will pacify if not satisfy.

The place doesn't have much atmosphere for itself, but it surely has an interesting collection of patrons. Off duty nurses, construction workers, staff and students from nearby CCP, and folks like myself are elbow to elbow at the bar. To help me feel more at home, our bartender was friendly welcoming, and attentive.

Looking at the menu, I received the biggest shock. Almost everything on the menu was between 5 and 7 dollars, and included items such as a cheeseburger, turkey club, 10 piece chicken wings, steak sandwich, and the likes. Not incredible food, but decent food at a good price. I had a few wings, which were solidly average, but enjoyable. The turkey club was also good, and included a ridiculous amount of sliced turkey, and was topped with cheese. I'd eat here again.

Bottom Line: Kelliann's isn't amazing. But the good deals on food and beer, coupled with good service and real people make this an enjoyable joint. Everyone should at least give it a chance.

Essentials:

1549 Spring Garden (Spring Garden and 16th)

215-563-6990

Avg Ent: 5-7

Cash Only: No

Reservation: No

St Stephen's Green: Is this normal?

2010-09-17T15:30:00.001-04:00

Am I crazy, or are experiences like this abnormal?

Wow. I've visited this place before an been indifferent. But my last visit was a different story. I walked into the pub for lunch, and was causally browsing the beer list. It seemed a just slightly overpriced to me (if everything would have been even just $.50 lower I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it.) $7 for Southern Tier's Pumpkin beer, $4.50 Brawler, $4 Yuengling, etc. Not the best prices around by any stretch.

As Dan and I were browsing the beer list, the bartender looked over at us and said, "If you're going to think about having a beer, I'm going to need to see your ID."

I jokingly replied, "Well, you don't need to see ID if I'm thinking about it, just if I'm going to order one." I meant no harm at all, and continued to look to decide on a beer. But said bartender was not amused. The response I received was, "If you want to order a beer while you're here, I'm going to need to see your ID, RIGHT NOW."

Woah dude. You're taking this a bit far. It's lunch time, there's four people sitting at the bar. You're not overworked, and I'm taking my time looking at the beer. No crime here.

I quickly decided that I didn't want to be here, and as I was walking out the bartender said bid us fairwell, but in a tone that suggested "Get out of here and don't come back."

We had one more exchange, and I can't recall exactly what was said, so I won't try to paraphrase and then misrepresent his or my words. What I've written in quotes in nearly verbatim. He projected the message clearly that if we didn't show ID immediately, we were not welcomed at the bar, even to browse. Keep in mind I'm talking about 1pm on an uncrowded weekday.

I actually had my ID on me, and don't mind getting carded. I do mind being treated with condescension and rudeness.

I decided I didn't really like the beer list, and certainly did not like my potential bartender. I walked out and will never visit again.

Le Bec Fin

2010-09-08T07:51:00.001-04:00

With Le Bec-Fin aiming it close its doors in the near future, and a chef's tasting menu running, I jumped at the chance to make reservations and dine here. The atmosphere is wild; it's like eating in a elaborate hotel. I don't know if I've ever dined at a place this fancy.

The service is an almost perfected choreographed show. Each person had a specific job; there's the bread person, the wine person, food runners, waiters, dessert cart people, ect. It's fun to watch them run around and literally wait on you hand and foot. I did see a few slip ups, like a bottle of champagne that was spilled, or a dish dropped on the floor. It's like seeing a mistake in a movie, it doesn't really bother you and it's fun to notice.

Le Bec-Fin boosts an impressive wine list, but the prices steered me away. I'd have to know a lot about a wine to want to drop 60-160 dollars on the bottle. I was out with Quinn, and we ordered the same appetizer to start our meals. We had octopus that was expertly grilled and seasoned. It was a great way to start the meal.

For my main course, I had stuffed quail. It was a good dish, but I wasn't blown away. Quinn ate salmon, and I think she felt along the same lines. After diner we were both served with a small slice of sheep's cheese from Spain. Again, good, not amazing.

The portions here seem small, but once you reach the end of the meal, it truly has been enough food to eat. At this point in our meal, I was satisfied, but certainly not raving about the meal or the experience. Still, we weren't finished: I had seen the dessert cart pushed by our table a few times while we were dining. I thought I knew what to expect.

The dessert cart girl came over and told us the dozen or so options. I really could have ordered three or four that I would have loved. That's why I was so happy when she told us that we each got to pick two desserts! To top it off, it came with a small dish of dessert bites, compliments of the pastry chef. I had a triple layer rum soaked chocolate cake that was truly amazing. The rum and chocolate flavors combined perfectly for this excellent dessert. My second choice was a coffee cake with cinnamon and a few other additives; the description of it sounded so good but I didn't pay too much attention. Quinn got a coconut cake topped with strawberry and kiwi, which I thought was mild and combined the flavors well. Her last choice was a milk chocolate cream cake with vanilla custard.

Bottom Line: Le Bec-Fin is fine French dining. It's not the kind of place I'd normally eat, and I probably wouldn't go again. That being said, the experience is worthwhile, if not more enjoyable than the food. The dessert cart is the best part of Le Bec-Fin. It's an experience everyone should have at least once. A few hours will fly by before you notice.

Essentials:

1523 Walnut Street

215-567-1000

Hours: 11am-11pm

Four Course Dinner: $80, Six Course: $120

Accepted Cards

Reservations Required

Bar Ferdinand

2010-09-06T08:34:00.004-04:00

Bar Ferdinand is a fancy place, and their brunch is no exception. Bryana and I visited on a beautiful Sunday . We ate outside, and the server brought over a water dish for Crosby. Throughout the whole meal, we had great service. The wait staff was attentive at bringing out and picking up dishes, which is crucial because you get so many during the meal. The menu for brunch is small, but offers interesting options. It was a prix fixe menu; each of the three choices was $15. They also offered tasty iced and hot coffee.

The presentation of all of the dishes is great. They also brought out all of the food as it was prepared. It's a bit weird having a side of bacon with nothing else to eat, but I don't know many people who'd be bothered by that.

My meal included the following: thin toast with a sweet tomato paste. It was a great way to start our meal. I followed up with a side potatoes, which were delicious and the most perfectly cooked potatoes I've ever had. My main course was a baked egg; a egg was placed in a bowl with tomato, chorizo, onions and peppers and put in the oven. Green beans were added, and major props for making them a breakfast food. It was an awesome dish. I finished with homemade granola and yogurt, lightly drizzled with fresh honey. I could have eaten a larger dish of this and been satisfied, it was that good.

Bryana and I shared a few things, and she got her own egg dish, which she also enjoyed. We both had enough food to eat, and were able to try a lot of different dishes that had a great variety of tastes.

Bottom Line: This is a great brunch spot. The outdoor seating, quick service, attractive presentation, and delicious dishes are all reasons to start your weekend at Bar Ferdinand.

Essentials:

1030 N 2nd St (at Liberties Walk)

215-923-1313

Takes Cards: Yes

Takes Reservations: Yes

Royal Tavern

2010-09-03T08:01:00.000-04:00

The "Royal Burger" is a hot item. If you don't believe me, steer over to the write up about it on Food Network, which calls it the best burger in the state. A more credible write up can be seen at A Hamburger Today. And if you still need more reading material, check Unbreaded. I needed to add myself to this laundry list of bloggers who have written about this famed burger.

I've been to the Royal a few times, and it's never struck me as a great place. The tap list is small, the prices aren't great ($9 for the burger is decent however), and the bar doesn't have much character. I went hoping the burger would be a reason to bring me in.

Before I finished my visit, I had another reason to avoid the Royal. I had the worst service I've experienced in Philadelphia in quite some time. Our drinks took far too long, as did the check. Empty glasses were left on our table, and I was brought the wrong beer. One or two of these may have been understandable, but the overall result was pretty poor.

I was dining with my friend Danny, and he ordered the chicken sandwich. He enjoyed it, but didn't really have too much to say, either. Nothing special. I was hoping that my burger would be something to rave about. On paper, it sounded fantastic: bacon, caramelized onions, smoked Gouda, pickled long hot peppers, and chili mayo.

The pickled long hot peppers had great taste, but they weren't strong enough to stand out with the rest of the flavors. That may be the problem with the burger; too many good flavors mixed together in a way that they just cover up each other.

The bun was thick and dense, and left a lot to be desired. I ordered medium rare, and it came out medium. The result was a dry burger, which wasn't even remedied by the chili mayo. I was underwhelmed by the burger.

Bottom Line: Not the best burger in Philadelphia, or even South Philly. Poor service and a limited beer selection leave a lot to be desired. I haven't been for brunch in years, but I remember liking this spot. They have a lot of veggie options. $17 for fish and chips is a complete joke.

Essentials:

937 E Passyunk (Passyunk between Carpenter and Montrose)

215-389-6694

Hours: 11:30-2am, opens at 10 on weekends

Avg Ent: 9-17

Cash Only: No

Reservations: No

Photo from: A Hamburger Today

McMenimins

2010-09-02T14:57:00.001-04:00

I've been meaning to go to McMenimins for months now. It's supposed to be the best bar in Germantown, and I needed to investigate this rumor.

I went out to dinner with John, Allie, and Rachel. The atmosphere here is pretty standard, a long dark bar greets you as from the front door. There is a back dinning room with a handful of tables, and a small outdoor seating area. The quality of seating varies in the outdoor area; one end is quite nice while the other is cramped, separated from the sidewalk only by a chain link fence. Choose your seat wisely.

The prices here are great for the food, and reasonable for the beer. As far as the beer list goes, it is good, even by Philadelphia standards. There have several American craft beers and a few Belgians. I started with the Kwak and then tried an IPA, but the names escapes me now.

Everyone else went with the fish and chips, while I opted for the burger. The rest of the group really enjoy the fish, and liked the fries even more. The first are the twice cooked fries that deliver crispy, perfect consistency inside and out; many spots could take lessons on these great fries.

For my burger, it only came with potato chips, which aren't the ideal side. Other than that, I was very happy with the burger, and would put it in the upper echelon of burgers in the city. The size and proportion of everything was great. I ordered medium rare and it came cooked to specification. It was large and messy, dripping with juices, and if I wasn't in such good company I may have been embarrassed by the process of eating this great burger.

Bottom Line: This is one of the best spots in Germantown. It doesn't have what it takes to bring me from my part of the city, but it's certainly worth visiting if you're in the neighborhood.

Essentials:

7071 Germantown Ave

215-247-9920

Hours: M-S: 11:30-2am; S 4pm-1am; Sunday during NFL 12:30-1am

Avg Ent: 7-15

Cash Only: No

Reservations: No

Pink

2010-08-27T15:07:00.005-04:00

I've been traveling a boat load this summer, so I haven't eaten at any new places in Philadelphia in weeks upon weeks. On the way down to Asheville Tim, Jonny and I stopped at the Pink Cadillac diner. This tiny, Elvis themed eatery is located right of the interstate, and seems to be a stop for locals and passerbys alike.

The decor here is crazy. As the name indicates, a Pink Cadillac is sitting in front of the

restaurant. Oddly, there is also a King Kong and Humpty Dumpty out front. Once inside, it seems like a 1950s diner, one that understandably pays homage to Elvis with nearly every inch of wall space.

The service here is fine. Our waitress was pleasent. I don't expect the same speed or quality that I'm used to in Philadelphia, which is good because the South operates at a slower speed.

We got to the restaurant shortly after 11am, which is when breakfast ends. I wasn't thrilled about this, but looked over the menu and ordered the Elvis burger. It's a basically a good version of the Big Mac, right down to the bread in the middle. Maybe it's because I wasn't expecting much from a roadside diner, or maybe it's because the food was great. Either way, the burger here was great. The patties were perfectly cooked and all of the ingredients were to perfect proportions. It was topped with a "special" sauce, and overall was a very enjoyable

burger.

The excellent fries I had as a side order were thick and crispy. Tim ordered onion rings as his side and they were some of the best I've had in a long time. Great meal overall, and a fun place to stop.

Bottom Line:

If you're driving through VA on I-81, Pink Cadillac is a great place to stop at and an even better place to eat a cheeseburger.

Essentials:

4337 S Lee Hwy

Natural Bridge, VA 24578

540-291-2378

Sazon

2010-08-01T12:56:00.001-04:00

A faded blue sign hangs over an exterior that needs a lot of TLC. From the outside, Sazon does not look impressive. I didn't know what to expect as I walked into this Venezuelan BYOB. The inside looks much better than the outside, and as we were walking through the dining room to our table, I stole a couple of looks at other people's dishes. I was instantly hooked.

I was out with my fried Sean; we split a bottle of Pinot Noir from Chile. The wine was okay. Our server was nice and attentive. While we were eating, the jovial owner stepped out of the kitchen to check in the with tables. He's passionate about the food and this was a really nice touch. The menu here is pretty extensive. They offer a good mix of appetizers, sandwiches, and entrees, making this a great place for lunch or dinner. The prices are a little bit higher than I expected, but it's offset by the fact that you can bring your own alcohol.

Our appetizer dish came with an empanada stuffed with black beans and cheese. It was basic, but not bad. The corn pastry stuffed with shredded pork was a step up. The meat was well seasoned and cooked, making for a nice little treat. To finish this dish, there were three cheese sticks, but they had puff pastry dough instead of a deep fried shell. The result was the best mozzarella stick I've ever had.

For dinner, we split the huge surf and turf special. The shrimp was decent.The chorizo was excellent, it was well cooked and had a perfectly spicy flavor. The serlion tips were my favorite part of this dish. They were well cooked and incredibly tender. There was a huge flavor to them, but the texture was so good that I didn't care. The dish came with a side salad, avocado, and fried yucca, all which went fantastically with the meat and seafood. It was a great thing to share, because it was a lot of food.

At this point, I was happy with my dining experience at Sazon. But it wasn't quite over. We were staring at a menu with several different hot chocolates that were too enticing to pass up. I can't put into works how good this was. It was a perfect dessert, depite being the middle of summer. I can't imagine how much better it would be on a wintry night. The classic hot chocolate, which is a "must taste", is a thick blend from five different kinds of chocolate. It's reason enough on its own to visit Sazon. We also ordered the orgasmo, which was a blend of peanut butter and Kahlua. It was good, but nothing compared to the classic.
Bottom Line: Sazon is a unique spot that is definitely worth visiting. The food, service, and atmosphere are all good, but not amazing. The hot chocolate, however, is fantastic.

Essentials:

9th and Spring Garden

T&W 5:30-9, TH 5:30-10, F 5:30-11, S 11:30-10, S 11:30-9

Accepts Cards

BYOB

Pope: Pub on Passyunk East

2010-07-19T11:15:00.003-04:00

I recently revisited this spot. Because it's so far from where I normally hang out, I rarely make it here. The Pope is an all around solid spot, and I'm sure I would visit a lot more if it was closer to me. Everything that they do is well done, but nothing stands out as excellent.

For atmosphere, this place is dark and cozy. If you're visiting during the day, expect to be blinded as soon as you walk out the door. The bartenders are friendly and attentive. The beer selection is very good, even by Philadelphia standards. They had a few beers that I hadn't seen on tap in the city or had not seen in a good while. It's nice to find a bar that can craft a good beer list in a city where standards are so high. They have one flat screen TV in the corner if you're trying to catch some sports.

For food, I had the Pope Burger. I'm drawing a blank on the toppings, I think I had a red onion, lettuce, tomato, and American cheese. I ordered medium rare and it came out cooked perfectly. While not the best burger in the city, it will certainly satisfy you. Dan ordered fish and chips, which he deemed best fish can chips value (at $8) that he has found in the city.

Bottom Line: Pope isn't doing anything amazing, but they're doing everything very well. You won't be disappointed when you visit.

Misconduct Tavern

2010-07-14T15:58:00.003-04:00

While I was initially thrown off by the overly enthusiastic seafaring theme at Misconduct Tavern, I do aim to try out all different kinds of bars. Coupled with their 1/2 burger Monday, it seems like a good place to try out.

Dan and I visited for lunch. It wasn't busy, and the server was pleasant and attentive. The beer list here is good and has some nice variety and smaller breweries, but not outstanding. $5.50 for Bell's Quinnanin Falls Lager (12 oz), $6 Ommegang Witte oints are slightly overpriced. I dislike bars that don't clearly advertise their prices, and Misconduct provides a tap list without any indication of price.

We ordered wings and cheeseburgers. The wings served are whole wings, I believe an order or five was $9. At that price, I expected nothing short of condor size wings in the most delicious sauce available. In short, they're more expensive and less falvorful and enjoyable than the wings served up at Moriarty's.

We both ordered medium rare burgers. We both received well done burgers. I don't like sending food back to the kitchen, so I ate and enjoyed my burger, but it was an oversight that shouldn't have occurred. The fries served alongside are okay, nothing special.

Bottom Line:

I can get better food, drink, prices, service, and atmosphere within a two block radius. On the other hand, there are far worse places in the same vicinity. If you're going to visit, at least do so on a Monday, when you can get a handsome burger for $5.

Elevation Burger

2010-07-13T15:46:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago I grabbed a great deal on Groupon: A $20 Elevation burger coupon for $10. I've been meaning to make the trip out here for a while, and at 50% off it's even more worthwhile. Dan and I drove out last weekend. We both love a good cheeseburger, and expectations were high.

In appearance and atmosphere, the location is a pretty standard fast food joint You order at the counter, and take a seat while your food is made. For counter service, the girl taking our orders was pleasant and helpful.

Everything is made to order. The "Elevation Burger" comes with two patties and two slices of cheese on a small bun. I believe they only offer cheddar cheese. At any rate, we weren't offered any choices. Toppings are free, and I went with Elevation sauce (basically Thousand Island dressing), lettuce, tomato, and caramelized onions. The patties are small and thin, but to the perfect amount. The ratios of all of the ingredients are great. The burgers aren't cooked to order; everything here comes out close to well done. While it's not my preferred style, Elevation serves up a delicious cheeseburger. The meat tastes great, and the patties are still juicy despite being well cooked. Overall I was thoroughly impressed with the burger, especially as it was a delicious, well crafted small patty burger. And all that is priced at a cool $6.

I ordered a vanilla shake and fries to round out the meal. The fries are thin cut. Essential, they're a forgettable filler when compared to the burger. You could skip them completely, or order one basket to share among several people. The shake was very thick, but lacked any real flavor and/or texture. I feel like I could make a better one in the comfort of my own home. Neither of these were worth ordering in comparison to the burger.

The Bottom Line: Elevation Burger is delicious. I like their sustainable approach, and it's the closest to In-N-Out we're going to get in PA. While the fries and shakes leave something to be desired, the burgers themselves are reason enough to visit this suburban location. I'll visit again.

City Tap House

2010-06-23T18:56:00.005-04:00

Not wanting to squander a rare lunch break in West Philly, Dan and I ventured in search of the best bar in the area. We ended up at City Tap House. This huge new space is beautiful, if weird. Located in the heart of University City, it has the potential to attract an annoying crowd. But we didn’t deal with any of that on our visit. The staff here is great, and our bartender was knowledgeable about his beer. He was willing to pour samples and offered carefully thought suggestions.

The space is beautiful. The bar is probably the largest in the city, and City Tap house also boasts a sizable dining room with an open kitchen. To top it off, there’s an great outdoor area complete with faux fire pits. Overall, the space is impressive and well used. even the bathrooms leave a good impression.

Let’s move on to the important part: Beer. The first time I visited City Tap House I was part of a record setting night: Most taps by a brewery in a single place at once. Ever. The brewery was Bell’s and there were some great beers available. Still, on a normal day, the Tap House boast a quite respectable list. With the sixty taps available, they offer something for everyone and are simultaneously able to have more than a few rare and impressive drinks on tap. I had a black IPA, Hop in the Dark, from Deschutes Brewery, and, at the moment, City Tap House is the only place in the state that has beer from Deschutes. I cannot imagine the person (other than those who do not like beer at all) that is unable to find something enjoyable.

The menu here is impressive. While ordering, I was wrestling between several different choices, and there is a dinner menu available that I didn’t even see. Because I believe the cheeseburger is the standard to which all other food at an establishment can be benchmarked, I ordered one medium rare with mushrooms and bleu. It came out quickly and well cooked. It was a huge burger, and in reality, I should have only ate half of it. Everything on the burger was high quality, with the bleu cheese as an incredible standout. While not my favorite burger I’ve ever had, I have no hesitation putting this on the highest echelon of burgers in the city. The thin, crispy fries perfectly round out the dish.

Dan ordered a pizza, and it came out perfectly cooked. The pizza is cooked in a brick oven, and the result is a crispy, thin pizza that, like the burger, is excellently crafted. Also like the burger, one pizza is more than enough food for one person. City Tap House offers several mouth watering combinations of toppings for the pies.

Bottom Line: Prices are on par with everything else in this area. The space is beautiful and huge, just like the tap list. The food rounds out this contender for the best bar in West Philadelphia.

Charcoal Pit

2010-06-16T10:08:00.000-04:00

I have a booked called Hamburger America in my bathroom. It's a nice read, and it was also my inspiration for a spontaneous trip down to Delaware this weekend.

The Charcoal Pit win for one of the most awkward dining experiences I've ever had. When we first walked in, there was a small area chained off that made us think we had walked in the wrong entrance. The hostess then yelled at us, only half jokingly. We seated ourselves, and our server came over quickly. Everything she said was a statement, like "You want more time" and "You want mayo" instead of asking.

The atmosphere here is pretty traditional 50s diner, and although we were eating a little early (around 5pm) it was oddly almost exclusively populated by senior citizens.

For food, this place is supposed to have excellent ice cream as well as burgers. We were all too full from dinner to try dessert. The prices here are great. We each had a 8 oz cheeseburger, fries, and a drink and it was under $10.

The french fries were pathetically soggy. Our orders were all mixed up. When finally sorted out, I had a medium rare burger topped with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and onions. The fixings were good, but the bread was soggy and thin. My burger was cooked well, but I can't say the same for everyone at the table. Its great to bit into a burger and have to dripping juice, but overall meat wasn't anything special. Neither was the burger.

Bottom Line: George Mots, you mislead me on this one. The poor service coupled with an average burger produces less than desired results. I wouldn't go to this place if it was in Philadelphia, and I'm certainly not making a trip out of the state to go here again.

The Grey Lodge Pub

2010-06-14T09:48:00.002-04:00

I'm rarely in the Northeast. But when I needed to take my car to Nick Schummer's shop, I used the trip to stop by the Grey Lodge. Many have said that this is one of the best bars in the city, and I hadn't given it more than a passing drink until this weekend.

It's hard to determine what is most notable about this bar. As many have remarked, the beer list is excellent. Eleven taps pour a good variety of styles and breweries. I started with a rare beer from Sierra Nevada: Charlie, Fred and Ken's Lager. It was an excellent beer. Grey Lodge also boasts one of the most impressive whiskey lists I've seen in Philadelphia.

I also love the atmosphere at this place. The bar is a large J shape that utilizes the space well. It's also generally busy with a motley mix of people. Whether its Northeasters drinking Bud, Mainliners, or snobby beer geeks, there's no judgement and everyone seems to be having a good time. I also remember remarking that the music here was awesome. Someone made some wise choices when stocking the jukebox. There are also several TVs on the first floor, and it's a good place to catch a Phillies game. To top it off, the mosaic of famous beer quotes in the bathroom is one of my favorite parts of the Grey Lodge.

The prices for everything are excellent. Even a few miles outside of center city Philadelphia the prices are lower than what I usually expect. I ordered a "surf and turf cheesesteak" a Philly cheese steak topped with shrimp, which was $9. It was standard, traditionally made cheesesteak, with the shrimp topping it off as a nice addition. I ordered a side of fries, a mix of potato and sweet potato, and these were good as well. Dan ordered and enjoyed the fish and chips. But both of us agreed that the food was good but nothing special. It's clear that the Grey Lodge does not approach their food menu with the same seriousness or care that do with their drink menu.

Bottom Line: For me, it's not worth making the trip to go to the Grey Lodge alone. The food is so-so, but the drinks, atmosphere and affordable prices more than make up the difference. Although I have no other bars to compare to, I'm sure this is one of the best in the northeast.

Essentials:

6235 Frankford (Frankford and Robbins)

(215) 825-5357

Hours: 10am-2am, sun 11am-2am

Avg Ent: 6-12

Cash only: No

Chicago Food in pictures

2010-06-10T08:21:00.000-04:00

Gino's East:

Kuma's Corner:

Ann Sather's:

Giordano's

Beer Week Notes, Part 1

2010-06-09T08:06:00.000-04:00

Beer week officially started Friday June 4th. As of writing this, it's been four full days of events.

I am less excited about Beer Week this year. Last year, it was a new experience for me and (I believe) the city of Philadelphia. It was a huge success, and this year many more restaurants and breweries wanted to get in on the action. Thus we have a less organized, lower aggregate quality, diluted Beer Week. But I digress, I've found a lot to enjoy. It's just like walking through a jewelry store looking for a gem (2009) versus walking through the swamp looking for one.

I had Bell's Hopslam for the first time. This is a hyped up beer, and I can't say I'm crazy about it. I was crazy about the Bell's event Monday night at the City Tap House. I was a part of a near 600 strong crowd that helped set a Guinness World Record - Most beers on tap by one brewery in one location. 31 in total. There were some great brews here, my favorite being the "Batch 6000." It was a great American strong ale complex enough to have several different tastes through the ten ounce pour.

Dan and I ventured down to Varga for a Terrapin event. I loved every drop of their wheat wine, Gamma Ray. Pick this up if you have a chance. In a short sighted move, Varga discontinued their speed lunch during beer week. I guess the idea was to create more space for the beer events. But when there is one table during occupied during your lunch rush, and (somehow) two bartenders, two servers, and a hostess can provide subpar service, the management needs to be called into question.

Sub par service continued at Triumph for the East Coast vs West Coast IPA event. I had tried a majority of the beer menu before visiting, but it was still a cool idea. By far, the best beer was from Allentown's Brew Works. This light, balanced IPA was my favorite drink of the day. I guessed the ABV to be between five and six and was floored when I learned it clocked in at 11.5. Great IPA from a generically named brewery that has been off my radar until now.

The most poorly managed event I attended was at Noddinghead. One of the advertised beers was never brewed, and two more were kicked less than halfway through the event. With beer, it's easy to have too little, and rarely a problem to have extra. The server was overworked and thus provided poor service. I did love that they had a pinata filled with homebrew supplies.

I loved that Memphis Taproom is right around the corner from my house. I like the idea of "No Repeat Beer Week" where they tap a brand new keg for ten days straight. I haven't had anything incredible yet, but I'll keep trying. There's definitely some great stuff in the queue.

The German Societies' festival was fun to briefly stop by at. Jonny and I had pork sandwiches with delicious German mustard. But a beer event that doesn't feature anything better than Spaten and Franziskaner needs some inspiration.

Jonny convinced me to visit Eulogy for a stout event while it was reaching 90 degrees outside. I'm glad he did though, because the Peche Mortel in an incredible drink, complex, flavorful and interesting. I highly recommend trying it if you have the chance.

I went to a Hitachino event at Kraftwork. I've never been a huge fan of this brewery; the beers are generally outrageously priced because they are shipped from Japan. After trying four new beers from Japan's foremost brewery, I have to stick to my guns. There are better beers available cheaper made closer to home. The witbeir is the most notable for me, and it's a great beer for the style, but I'm still not crazy about it.

I had Stoudt's Double IPA on firkin at the Oyster House. I don't love firkins, but it really mellowed out the hops in this beer, resulting in a drinkable double IPA. The beer prices here are terrible. To balance them out, visit from 5 to 7 and take advantage of buck a shuck: $1 for the oyster of the day.

Bottom Line: It may sound like I'm complaining, but I've tried some really exciting new beers and breweries that I've never heard of. This is the kind of stuff that I (and maybe you) need to develop a opinions and a palate to back them up. I look forward to the events I'll hit up the rest of the week. The service has been poor at several locations, but I understand that it can be hard to judge demand and attendance for events. It's easy to be a critic, but I shouldn't have to wait fifteen minutes for my first drink or another twenty for the check (twice in one day).

Darling's Diner

2010-05-27T13:02:00.004-04:00

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

2010-05-26T10:13:00.007-04:00

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

2010-05-11T16:01:00.004-04:00

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

2010-05-11T11:42:00.005-04:00

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

2010-05-10T11:13:00.005-04:00

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

2010-05-04T15:20:00.004-04:00

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

2010-05-03T16:01:00.004-04:00

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

Eulogy Belgian Tavern

2010-04-29T13:03:00.003-04:00

I've written about Euloguy in the past, and my last visit was nothing different. I did, however, use it as an oppertunity to test out my new camera:

The shrimp here are massive. They're cooked in shell, which gives them a great flavor, but can also make they annoying to eat. I highly

recommend these if you're an Old Bay fan. My burger was excellent as well. The day bartender here is awesome, he's knowledgeable about beer, and I always leave having learned something. He knowledge about beer never comes off as condescending either. I love this place for lunch, and I favor this place to monk's because they always seem to have delicious beers on tap that I really love, like Gulden Draak, Kwak Amber, and St Bernardus 12. It's a little pricey overall, but worth it.

Pura Vida

2010-04-19T10:16:00.002-04:00

I've pasted Pura Vida dozens of times on my bike, and for some reason, I've always been interested in eating here. I stopped in with Emily on Saturday night for dinner.

Right off the bat, I was surprised by how empty this place was. At 7:30 on a Saturday night, there were only two other tables. The decor here is awful; kitschy tropical themed pieces around the room outlined by Christmas lights. To top it if, terrible trance music was playing the entire time we were there. Seriously, who can take that much trance music?? Luckily, as if some kind of make up call, our servers were attentive and friendly. The service is as good as the atmosphere is bad.

Our appetizer was a grilled zucchini and cheese dish. It tasted good, nothing amazing, and was pathetically small for $7. We both ordered enchilada dishes for entrees. Orders can with rice, beans, a dollop of guacamole and three enchiladas. I mixed and got three different kinds of meat. The chorizo was pretty good, and the chicken was okay. I wish I would have gone with the shredded beef for all three because it was the only thing I ate that came close to impressing my palate. Emily was quite happy with her order of vegetarian chorizo however.

I like that this spot is a BYO, but there's not much to say about eating here. My experience was incredibly average. It looks like they have some outdoor seating, but not any when we visited.

Bottom Line: It's cheaper than most areas in the neighborhood, and also not as nice. I could provide several better recommendations, even if you're in the mood for cheap BYOB Mexican. They have Cuban sandwiches on the menu which may be the only thing that could entice me to return.

Essentials:

527 Fairmount Ave (6th and Fairmount)

215-922-6433

Avg Ent: 8-15

Cash Only: Yes

Reservations: They take them, but you'll never need them

BYOB: Yes

Koo Zee Doo

2010-04-13T10:30:00.005-04:00

When I saw Koo Zee Doo receive several nominations from the James Beard Foundation, I knew I had to visit this spot before it completely blew up. On a personal note, I hate the name because I have a hard time remembering what it actually is, and it seems like infantile tri-syllabic mumbling. That effectively ends the negative things I have to say about this establishment. I'm afraid as I'm writing this I'm going to run out of different ways to say how much I liked my meal.

Quinn and I met on Friday night for dinner. We only made our reservations a day in advance, so there weren't any tables available. Instead, we reserved seating at the counter, right in front of the two cooks who were making all the food for the entire restaurant. It was quite a show, and I actually recommend sitting here if you have the chance. Along with the cozy, pleasant decor, everything makes for a great dining atmosphere. Our server was friendly and attentive, and the service overall is high quality. Our server was even paying attention to our wine glasses and kept them filled for us throughout the meal, which doesn't always happen at a BYO.

Currently, Koo Zee Doo is running a five course tasting menu. Our server told us it was an excellent representation of their kitchen, and gives several unique, strong tastes of Portuguese food. After deliberation, we ordered the recommended menu and chicken gizzards to round out the meal. The gizzards came out first, and they were awesome. They were perfectly cooked and extremely tender, tossed in a delicious marinade that I couldn't quite figure out what it was made of. Served alongside the gizzards were salt cod and potato croquettes. These were perfectly seasoned and crispy, and both dishes were some of the best appetizers I've had in a long time.

We next had soup with snails and mushrooms. This dish was pretty good, but the broth was too thick and oily. The snails and mushrooms, however, were great and complimented each other well. I didn't love the soup. Our next dish was deep fried rabbit with spicy aioli. This dish blew me away. The fried skin was perfectly crisp, and as I bit into the rabbit I tasted the fantastically tender, delicious rabbit meat. I can't put into words how good this dish was; you are going to have to try it for yourself. Our last dish was roasted lamb and potatoes, and it wasn't anything special, especially in juxtaposition to the last treat. Unlike all of our other dishes, the lamb was lacking and didn't seem to have a strong enough flavor to carry the dish. It was topped with

mandarin orange slices, which was a nice touch to the otherwise lacking dish.

Dessert was a caramelized almond tart, and this was a great way to finish our meal. It hones in on the restaurant's best skill: combining flavors that are not most commonly not mixed. For dessert, it was the almonds, chocolate, sorbet, and the bready crust of the tart. It's not unheard of, but exotic enough to make it really interesting. That statement basically sums up the whole dining experience here.

Bottom Line: Koo Zee Doo is exceptional. It borders on fancy, and dining here is and should be

a special occasion. Sharing is the best way to eat here, so visit with someone who has similar culinary tendencies. It is certainly making a name for itself and I hope it's the beginning of a restaurant revolution in Northern Liberties. I won't eat here often, but I already look forward to my next visit.

Essentials:

614 N 2nd St (just north of Spring Garden)

215-923-8080

Hours: Open for lunch and dinner, closed Tuesday and Wednesday

Avg Ent: 19-28

Cash Only: No

Reservations: Required

BYOB: Yes

Dos Segundos Brunch

2010-04-12T09:41:00.002-04:00

I met with my good friend Bryana for brunch at Dos Segundos on Sunday. It was nice to sit outside, but overall, it was not nice to eat here.

As soon as we sat down, we were brought a bowl of chips and two kinds of salsa. I love their salsa verde here; it's tangy and has the perfect amount of lime. It's nice that you get chips here, even if you're just having drinks. I had coffee, and Bryana went with iced coffee. As the weather gets warmer, this option is (or should be) essential. I'm not if they were understaffed when we visited, but our server was not attentive. I had an empty coffee cup as often as it was filled.

I ordered the Huevos Dos Segundos, and I'm a firm believer that if you have a dish named after your restaurant, it should be one of the best meals on your menu and an excellent representation of your kitchen. I was disappointed with my meal. Two poached eggs were served over corn cakes with refried beans, which were both bland. The breakfast potatoes and the hollandaise sauce bordered on tasteless, as if the kitchen ran out of several key spices and decided to go on cooking without them. The worst travesty of my meal was the bacon, which was dry and looked as if it was prepared in a microwave. The presentation of the meal was pretty good, but that doesn't count for anything if the taste isn't there. My meal wasn't bad. It was mediocre, bland, and disappointing.

Botton Line: I like this spot for happy hour, half priced margaritas. For brunch, it is a poor option, and Dos Segundos is negligent on the little details that bring a dining experience up a notch. I've had better visits in the past, but nothing spectacular. With so many quality spots in the vicinity, this place needs to significantly step up the game to entice me.

Square Burger

2010-04-09T10:45:00.000-04:00

I've been meaning to go to Square Burger basically since the day it opened. It's not in a convenient location, which may be one of the reasons I haven't made it. But yesterday, in the perfect weather, I rode my bike down here for lunch.

Square Burger is nothing more than a shack. Sure, it's owned and operated by Philadelphia's (arguably) most well known restauranteur, Stephen Starr, but that doesn't make it fancy. The atmosphere here is great though. You're in a nice, Philadelphia park with a Merry-Go-Round pumping out music and a mini-golf course nearby. There is a fountain in the middle and tables scattered around the park. On a nice day, it's a great place to eat.

The menu here is small. Cheeseburgers,hot dogs, fries and shakes are the mainstays. I believe there was also a salad, maybe a few other options. We both ordered cheese burgers and fries. The fries are fine, but nothing special. The burgers are small, but not too small. They're a great representation of outback, BBQ grilling. The buns are grilled, and the burgers are cooked on high heat to get a crunch outside, but are still well cooked throughout. The toppings here need some work, as our cheeseburger only came with diced onions and pickles. Tomatoes and lettuce go a long way.

I didn't have a milkshake, but I saw one being made. It looked fantastic. It had two butter cream TastyKake crumpet mashed in. It was the shake of the month, and next month they'll put peanut butter cupcakes in the shake.

There are two slight downsides: The line moves more slowly. Also, the prices are higher than they should be.

Bottom Line: It's nice to spend some time in the park. If you're like me, you could have a better burger at a fraction of the cost in your own backyard. The milkshakes are the biggest draw here. If you're sneaky, a trip to the Foodery at 10th and Pine can bring the whole experience up a notch.

Bottom Line:

Franklin Square (6th and Race)

Burgers: 4-5, Fries 2, Shakes 3.75

Hours: Varies according to weather, at least 10am-7pm daily, later during summer.

Cash Only: No

Village Whiskey

2010-04-05T07:59:00.003-04:00

There are only so many ways I can saw wow. From now on, I will question anyone who says "Blah blah blah has my favorite burger..." with "Have you been to Village Whiskey?" Because it's really that good. It's an all around phenomenal burger.

Dan and I had lunch here last week. It was a beautiful day, and Village Whiskey has some great outdoor seating. They run tables along the wall like most places, but they have a bit more room than normal and an awning to provide shade. We didn't step inside, but I'm sure it has a nice atmosphere. The service during our whole meal was good; I'd be surprised to find anything less at a place like this.

True to its name, this spot has an incredible selection of whiskey. We didn't partake, but I'd like to at some point. The beer list is decent, even though everything is one or two more dollars than it should be. There are about six draft beers that rotate, along with a decent bottle list, including about ten large format bottles. We split a 25oz bottle of red and white for $25, which isn't bad at all. This Dogfish Head beer is a a whit aged in pinot noir barrels. I really love it.

We both went with the burger. There's an option to get a $24 burger with blue cheese, bacon

and foie gras on top. It sounds like overkill to me. I went with the regular burger with blue cheese. When it came out, I didn't like the looks of the burger. Large chunks of blue cheese topped a patty that looked larger than a hockey puck. I thought this huge patty was ridiculously oversized. It only took one bite to change my mind. To start, the burger was more tender and juicy than any other I've had. Second, the ground beef was so lightly packed that it was almost barely formed. This gave the meat great texture, and was why the patty seemed so large. The burger was perfectly cooked and seasoned. The blue cheese was a fantastic addition; it's quickly becoming my favorite cheese for burgers.

The burgers don't come with any sides, so we put in an order of fries. We decided to splurge and order the duck fat fries topped with Sly Fox cheddar sauce and braised short ribs. It's a bit of overkill. It's also delicious. Every part of this side dish is well executed. If you can forget that it's well over 1000 calories, you'll be able to enjoy these beefy cheddar fries. To be honest, I think I'll order the plain fries next time.

Bottom Line: The burger here is amazing, and it's reason enough to visit. It's a bit pricey, but that's what you should expect for the area. If you eat meat, I highly recommend coming here. A little more effort in the beer list is desired, but other than that Village Whiskey doesn't disappoint. I look forward to my next visit.

Essentials:

118 S 20th St (20th and Sansom)

215-665-1088

Hours: M-F 11:30-2am, S&S 4pm-2am

Avg Ent: 8-12, with a few crazy outliers

Reservations: Not taken

Cash Only: No

Cherry Street Tavern

2010-04-02T10:30:00.000-04:00

There's one special thing about this bar: You can step out the front door and walk along the river. Other than that....nada.

It has a slightly thoughtful beer list, a few beers like Dogfish Head, Stouds, and PBC sit inbetween Miller, Coors, Harp, Guiness, ect. The prices are good, as is the service. It doesn't look like a place I'd like to grab a meal.

There's not much going on in terms of atmosphere. It looks dumpy from the outside, and stepping inside is no different. It does have a nice, large wooden bar. Other than that, there are a few tables, and a large back room.

Bottom Line: This place is fine for where it is. I'm not in this area often, and the bar has no pull at all. I'll be surprised if I am here again.

Essentials:

129 N 22nd St (22nd and Cherry)

215-561-5683

Cash Only: No

La Locanda Del Ghiottone

2010-03-30T08:35:00.001-04:00

In a rare mood Friday night, I suggested and Italian dinner. When I saw how excited Emily got, I couldn't turn it down. Somehow, La Locando wound up on my short list of places to try out, and so we were off.

La Locanda Del Ghiottone is a cozy little BYO in Olde City. It's a plus that there's a good wine store only a few blocks away at 2nd and Market. The atmosphere is the most noticeable aspect of dining. It's small, loud, and and inviting. The tables are crammed together in a fashion that if you don't talk to the people next to you at least politely at some point, it's more awkward than ignoring them. The servers all work together and are excellent and almost nonstop. The servers also like to joke around, give you a hard time, and yell at the top of their lungs. If you're not in the mood, it could be annoying, but it's really all in good fun. When taking too long to order, the waiter asked me if I was "waiting for the executioner to come."

We started out with mussels as the appetizer. They claim to use a "14 year old secret sauce." It's no secret that it could use some improvement. White wine is the best base for mussels, and although we were severed delicious mussels, the red tomato sauce just doesn't cut it. These were, however, well cooked and sizable. It was a good amount for $9.

A regiment of specials compliment the regular menu, and they seem to be a great place to start looking for dinner. I remember hearing that he gnocchi here was excellent, so I chose that with Gorgonzola tomato sauce. The gnocchi is made from ricotta, and it truly is probably the best gnocchi I've ever had. It's rich and creamy, and the sauce was excellent; it complimented the pasta without overpowering it. The portion was perfectly sized. Emily was excited about the spaghetti carbonara. She order it sans bacon, and her dish was also great. Well prepared and tasty with a good mix of the ingredients. By the end of the meal, we were too full to take on dessert. I did see it from the table next to us, and it looked great.

Bottom Line: This place is a lot of fun. The food here is great, too, so it's not like you're just coming for the atmosphere. You definitely have to be in a particular mood to enjoy dinner. It's a great little BYO, and it has excellent prices for where it's located in the city and what you get.

Essential:

130 N 3rd St (3rd and Race)

215-829-1465

Avg Ent: 14-20

Cash Only: Yes

Reservations: Required

BYOB: Yes, no cork fee

Byrne's Tavern

2010-03-29T11:08:00.003-04:00

I heard the wings here are fantastic, so I came searching. Alas, they don't live up to my standards. I'm sure there are people who will love the style of wings here. They are quite tender. They pressure cook the wings to get the soft, almost chewy consistency. The meat almost falls off the bone. I just don't love that style for chicken wings. The wing sauce isn't anything special, either.

I went with my good friend Dan to check out a hockey game and eat and drink. The bartender here was awesome, friendly and on top of his game. We were never left with a moment without a beer in front of us. The atmosphere here is what you'd expect. The clientele is mostly old, white, Irish Catholic blue collar. Everyone seems to be jovial, just trying to have a good time.

The beers here are also what you'd expect. National brews from the US and Ireland. The best thing here is Yeungling, so that gives you an idea of what you're getting into.

Bottom Line: The wings might be your style, but you shouldn't come here for the beer or food. It's a great place to meet real people, and catch a game. Nothing more than that.

Essentials:

3301 Richmond St (Richmond and Westmoreland)

215-634-8707

Hours: 11am-2pm

Wings: 7.25 per dozen (25% off Mondays)

Cash Only: No

Reservations: Never