Ippudo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.