coookie's Profile
In Philly for 3 days/nights, must try places?
talula's garden - excellent, not-too-precious farm to table
matyson - excellent new american byob, with weekly themed tasting menus (as well as a la carte)
paesano's - superlative italian subs and waaaay better than cheesesteaks, which i think suck
han dynasty - outstanding spicy schezuan cuisine. not kidding about "spicy"
manakeesh - cafe serving lebanese flatbreads. best i've had in the US
nhu y - banh mi shop in south philly's little vietnam. get the special
monsu - creative sicilian in the italian market area.
that's just a start.
Are Spread bagels all that?
as others have said, their montreal-style bagels are ... different. if you try to evaluate them according to the standard of the new york bagel (in my mind, H&H with zabar's cream cheese and lox), they will fail. they will fail hard. personally, i don't think of them as bagels, or else i can't get over that. i think of them as sandwiches with holes in the middle.
so considered broadly as sandwiches, they're certainly tasty. the frittata scramble breakfast sandwich with smoked bacon and amish farm jam is satisfying.
i would chalk the lines up to the general dearth of to-go breakfast places around 20th and spruce, and maybe some to the novelty of the place.
a classic man's cocktail?
this is true. they were far rarer when i first posted this in ... 2006. good god.
Bostonhound visiting Philly
cafe barada is another place that i think is a better value than zahav. but this is all subjective. enjoy your meals!
Bostonhound visiting Philly
about a year ago. has it changed that much since? i looked at the menu online before posting above and it seemed pretty similar to my last experience.
a classic man's cocktail?
the sazerac! but anything with rye whiskey, really. gin, too.
Bostonhound visiting Philly
really??? gaaahhhhh...
i'll admit to hyping han dynasty. will try to keep it under control.
Bostonhound visiting Philly
sorry, this is a (probably irrational) pet peeve of mine, coming from that region of the world. good hummus isn't terribly difficult to make, so when i see it fetishized, put on a pedestal and served at double-digit prices, i get a little frustrated. several fancy places in NYC do this too and it drives me nuts.
obviously, there's no reason that middle eastern food can't be given the "haute cuisine" treatment like anything else, but if that's the case, i expect a little more creativity. hence my preference for oleana. basically, i think ana sortun is doing more interesting work with middle eastern flavors.
monsu dinner
we went about a month ago and found it good to great. standout dish was a lasagna that incorporated chocolate and raisins. really outstanding.
Bostonhound visiting Philly
i strongly disagree. oleana in cambridge is much, much, much better than zahav. don't bother.
frankly, i don't get all the zahav love on this board. it's fine. it's not great, and it's not an excellent value ($8-12 for run-of-the-mill hummus? no thanks.)
a classic man's cocktail?
you're about five years late with this sentiment, but ... thanks?
FAVORITE DISHES 2011
cumin lamb - han dynasty
lahm b'jeen - manakeesh
special banh mi - nhu y
A Philadelphia trip report
great review. re: duck fat fries - i've had them at both of the garces places that serve them: village whiskey and jg domestic. at both restaurants, i've had them right after the restaurant opened and then several months later, and in both cases, they were absolutely sublime when the places were new, and humdrum the second time around. my conclusion is that they are either difficult to get right, in which case the quality of the DFFs declines after garces is no longer working the line, or they skimp on the amount of duck fat after a few months of being open.
i agree about chifa. it's the least impressive and least coherent of garces' places. and i'm glad you went to kanella and not zahav.
matching alcohol with spicy foods?
fascinating; thanks! a friend had this very experience with a dry pot fish the last time we ate at this restaurant and we were all very confused by it.
matching alcohol with spicy foods?
that's ... unhelpful. as others have correctly and easily inferred, the point of my question is to figure out what alcohols go well with spicy food without inducing further pain.
matching alcohol with spicy foods?
this is a difficult topic to search, but i couldn't turn up anything, so: what spirits, wines, or beers do you hounds quaff with spicy food?
for example, i've read that rieslings are recommended. true? false? other ideas?
for what it's worth, the cuisine in question is szechuan, but broader responses are welcome!
tweed - offer on ruelala
ruelala is offering a 9-course dinner for two (with bottle of wine) at tweed for $80. i've never been. what's the latest opinion on the place?
i gotta say: seeing "cheesesteak croquettes" and "lollipop chicken wings" on the menu makes me nervous.
manakeesh cafe review
swung by this place over the weekend. it's across the street from saad's halal, and owned by the same folks. it's a very nice looking cafe (sort of starbucks-chic) with seating for about 25-30 people and a counter for ordering. you can eat in, in which case a runner brings you your food as soon as it's ready, or get your fix to go. the place was packed, with a nice mix of lebanese and non-lebanese. they're clearly still figuring out their assembly line process as the atmosphere behind the counter was insanely hectic, but the pies were flying out of the oven.
i ordered the classics, the yardstick by which all lebanese places ought to be measured: a za'atar manoushe (manoushe being the singular noun of manakeesh) and a lahm bajeen. a quick primer for the unfamiliar: za'atar is an aromatic thyme/sumac/olive oil mixture, which becomes "manoushe" when spread on flatbread and oven baked. lahm bajeen is a large flat meat pie, traditionally ground lamb, which is what this place serves.
verdict? really, really good. i mean, nearly indistinguishable-from-beirut good. all the indicators of skill were there: just the right amount of za'atar on the manoushe, perfect charring on the bottom of the pies, succulent and properly spiced ground lamb on the lahm bajeen. i couldn't find a flaw with any aspect of the food.
this is the real deal, people.
http://www.manakeeshcafe.com/
best hangover food in philly
i'm curious to hear what philly hounds consider the best hangover food(s) in philly. my nomination: the farmer's breakfast sandwich at le bus in rittenhouse. i discovered it while stumbling by in a haze of regret one saturday morning. it's comprised of the following: fluffy scrambled egg, potato, tomato, peppers, cheese and a bit of salsa in one of their sweet buns. they're apparently made fresh every morning and placed in a small basket by the register. mine was still warm at 9am. i wolfed it down in minutes and felt right as rain.
so what's yours?
(let it be known that the actual best hangover cure is proper hydration and a couple of tylenol.)
Weekend in Philly--yeah, I've read all the prior threads on the subject
just as an fyi - sahara grill is lebanese, not moroccan. but i agree that it is really good, verging on excellent.
Weekend in Philly--yeah, I've read all the prior threads on the subject
are you looking for all meals to be upscale? because if not: han dynasty, han dynasty, han dynasty.
also, i prefer kanella to zahav.
edit: i missed the center city restriction. han dynasty is in old city, but it's worth breaking the rules!
further edits: of the three garces places you listed, i think garces trading co is the most interesting.
openings and closings - winter 2011
the paper was definitely in their window. i stopped to look at the menu and inspect for signs of life. that being said, i just called them and they're open for dinner tonight. so scratch that!
B.B. Go
i haven't been (walk by it practically every day), but why not hit up the nearby giwa for quick dol sot?
openings and closings - winter 2011
the food journalism is pretty good in boston too, but people still seem to get value out of this kind of thread over there, primarily as a place to discuss with like-minded folk, rather than mull the news in solitude. it also helps to collect sometimes conflicting sources and pieces of information and sort through gossip.
but no pride of ownership: if philly hounds don't find it useful, this thread will die quietly.
openings and closings - winter 2011
i've seen several interesting things walking around the city, but haven't noticed discussion here on CH, so i'm stealing this idea from the boston boards to have a place to share notes.
to kick it off:
- moshi moshi, the dim-looking sushi place on 18th between sansom and chestnut, has changed ownership and re-opened as numa. more info here, including an interesting bit about the business model: http://citypaper.net/blogs/mealticket/2010/12/13/moshi-moshi-out-numa-in/
- i saw some signage for another new sushi place on 20th, just south of walnut, across from the citizen's bank atm and eye candy. can't remember the name, and haven't been by it recently to check on progress.
- slate, the new american place on 21st south of chestnut (next to tampopo), appears to have closed as i passed by it yesterday. while it's normal for businesses to not open on MLK, their windows and door were papered up.
- falafel factory, which opened on 18th just a few months ago, appears to have closed in the past month. never went inside, but the samples they gave out around opening weren't great, and the place was always empty.
- pearl, the trendoid asian fusion / nightclub joint at 19th and chestnut closed a while back and just reopened as kokopelli, a southwestern small plates restaurant. more here: http://www.kokopelliphilly.com/index.html
what else is shakin' in philly?
