Authentic French Bistro

We wholeheartedly discourage anyone from going to eat at Caribou ever again. We ate there last night, and they used to be our favorite restaurant in the city, but they are a ghost of their former self. There appears to be a new manager there, and he has destroyed the entire place. The decor hasn't changed, but the wait staff is entirely replaced, and doesn't have a clue what is in their food or on the menu; they're also rude and careless, and not in a French way--with very classic American sloppiness and lack of interest or pride in their work. Also, the kitchen is clearly cutting corners in food prep that would never have been acceptable in the old days; the raie, which was one of the superb signature dishes of this establishment and melted like succulent butter in your mouth, was a bland, boring, pan-fried whitefish, and the divine beans with capers and wine which accompanied it were clearly made with canned beans, flavorless capers, and seemed to be lacking any wine at all. We had to send two dishes back to the kitchen, after explicitly asking for no soybean oil (which is in their no-longer-house-made mayo), and when the salmon came to the table the second time, it was burnt. There appears to be a lot of micro-managing going on, and no one is able to do their jobs well because they've got this guy peering over their shoulders constantly. The atmosphere, the food, and the service are completely shot. It is very sad, but there is absolutely no reason to ever waste your time/money/appetite on this disaster of a restaurant in a city with more great restaurants than there is time to try. 2nd worst restaurant experience ever.

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Caribou Cafe
1126 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19107

GasperHulvat in Pennsylvania

Kaya's Fusion Cuisine

We ate here last night, it was a fantastic meal. The caesar salad was basic but very good; the crabcakes were tender and delicious with a nice breading; the special was bison short ribs on garlic mashed potatoes--the meat was so tender and flavorful, a steak knife was provided but hardly needed, the meat just fell off the bones. It was so delicious! The quality of the cuisine easily met that of some of our favorite restaurants in the city--Caribou or Horizons, for example. Well worth the trip to Havertown! And further, Head Nut is a good deal further than 4 blocks away, probably closer to a half mile, and alas they were again short of hummus last night, but that was the only thing missing from the menu; and the service we received would have been well worth a $3 corkage fee, if we had thought to bring a bottle, which we will definitely do next time! As for local ingredients, the bison was purchased from the farmer's market up the street, and I regularly see the chef shopping when I'm at that market. And personally, I appreciate the fact that they're not puritanical about local ingredients--they do use some, but if guacamole is the flavor he's after, then I'm certainly not one to object. We greatly enjoyed our experience here and highly recommend it; we will be returning soon, I'm sure!

GasperHulvat in Pennsylvania

best food truck around temple?

I haven't been myself but most of my office is passionate about the crepe truck on norris between 12th and 13th.

I would second the falafel at Ali's as among the better than average. The Bagel Hut by Ritter Hall can be good but I sometimes think taking the train downtown would be faster.

Personally, I decided it was better to brown bag it. There seem to be many decent options but little to get excited about.

GasperHulvat in Pennsylvania

Philly vegetarian? other than Horizons?

I agree, as a happy carnivore I was skeptical about upscale vegan (wife is vegetarian) but if you have never been Horizons is worth the splurge. Would include as one my 2 best gourmet dining experience (l'Arpège would be the other).

Much friendlier on the budget we really enjoy Dahlak on Baltimore Ave (http://www.dahlakrestaurant.com/). It is a favorite West Philly stop of our relatives who haven't found a good Ethiopian option in NH.

GasperHulvat in Pennsylvania