der's Profile
The last Man Standing in Stone Harbor...
When did you go there. What frustrates me is that I have had yet another post flagged (now three) about this restaurant, and I would believe that you probably went there after my original post sometime after 11th of April. If you were going on the report by jodell above, then it is obvious you were expecting something great. How can chowhound flag posts that give an honest view of a restaurant, and leave a glowing report like the one above with no caution to its readers. The funniest thing is that I am so polite, that I ate a cup of the crab soup in that stinky place, but had to get the lobster roll to go, so i could dispose of it in a polite way, as I couldn't bear to sit there any longer.
BTW - this post will probably be flagged as well.
Great food for just $8
For roughly the price of a cheesesteak, I recently had the following:
Chicken Gumbo - Khyber Pass Pub, Old City $8
Kedgeree - Kanella (lunch - I think thirs, fri, sat, sun) 10th/Spruce $8
Absolutely amazing flavors, I have raved about the gumbo elsewhere, but the kedgeree had the most beautiful in-house smoked mackerel (fish in this dish changes according to the chef), and tons of herbs and flavor for just $8. I am personally not a great fan of Kanella, no idea why, but this dish was incredible.
What else is out there for just $8?
Former Philadelphian Back for a Visit - Need Food Advice
If you are into gastropubs, go to South Philly Tap Room, between 15th and 6th on Mifflin Street. Eat from the special menu. Drink an incredible selection of beer. It is hard to beat this place. It doesn't have the bullshittiness of places like Village Whiskey - and has a completely different burger, and as I say, eat from the special menu.
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Tap Room
10 Palmer Sq E, Princeton, NJ 08542
The Khyber Pass Pub
I posted about the gumbo before it is awesome. The mac and cheese is also good, as is the burger and the fun service. I am not a big fan of the brisket sandwich - i, like others found it chewy and fatty. They have an incredible selection of beers and great music, and last time I was there it was packed. A great effort, in such a short time.
Barside Dining for One Old City/Independence Hall Area
I ate the chicken gumbo at Khyber Pass Pub last night and it was the best $4 worth of food I have had in a while - they also have a decent burger and good mac and cheese and founders breakfast stout. The place was dead though. The Philadelphia brew room to me is way below par, you only have to look at the cheap furniture to get a feel for what it is, bland food, average brews. The continental is always left out, but has a great "pat la Frieda" burger, and also some great beers on tap. I live in old city, and I do travel on the el to the South Philly Tap Room a lot, but would definitely reccomend the bar at Amada and Zahav, the latter has great cocktails and always great wine by the glass, the former incredible food and solid wines.
Rankings of Gatropubs/Pubs in Philly Region
You had better get down there right now, as they are running a roasted wild striped bass special with a warm potato watercress salad, tossed with olives, oil and lemon juice. Another incredible effort by SPTR, and they have the brussel sprouts.
wild boat in Philly area
d'Angelo's does stock it if you have the patience to be abused by their horrible customer service. Then when you have waited about an hour for the meat, take it home and try to recreate one of those beautiful jugged wild boar dishes that you find in great rustic restaurants in France and Italy. You will find, that the flavor of the meat is not truly "wild" but more akin to the domestic pig, producing a rather bland result - it is something to do with the species of pig available in this country. I remember reading a french recipe book that recommended marinating the meat for three days in red wine with peppercorns and other herbs and flavorings, and I remember getting good results. However I purchased the meat in Europe on that occasion.
Reccommendation for Beer and Dinner place?
South Philly Tap Room - make sure you order food from their specials menu which is for the most part interesting and excellent. Wild Boar tacos are also notable, and they have great oysters.
Poutine?
South Philly Tap Room had it as a special during beer week, it was made with beef short ribs and good enough to warrant eating two portions all to myself in one sitting.
Bored off the old haunts in South Philly - new reccs?
I have been to SPTR twice in lst few weeks, and they have a great food menu, great beer and a really cool low key ambience. Oysters = excellent, watercress salad with "head", delicacy taken from cows head and crispy potatoes = excellent. head tacos at $1 a piece are great snacks etc.. everything we tried was really tasty, except for chopped salad, ok but not as good as everything else! - I am more of a regular at Royal Tavern and prefer to travel to SPTR.
Wanted: Lunch recommendation near Jeweler's Row
My experience of Jones over the summer was poor food (brisket sandwich akin to slop), poor service - too many staff (including the manager on their cell phones) and an added gratuity to my check - we were 2 diners with 2 children. Another Steven Starr place where the staff are more important than the guests.
Montreal for a long weekend..suggestions please!
Don't miss breakfast in Montreal. Ask the locals, I haven't been for a while, but the local breakfast delicacy is smoked meat? which is unbelievable. Seek it out, it looks like scrapple which i would never order, and tastes unbelievable.
Best Italian Sausage in Philadelphia?
You have to get Canulli's - It is different to Fiorella's - difficult to pinpoint why, but you must go buy some. I am not even an italian sausage fan, but found myself cooking up more and more of Canullis (no fennel version) sausage. It seems to have a smoother and sweeter consistency than Fiorellas, but still sufficient meatiness. They are on the left hand corner of 17th and Ritner as you get to the traffic light. Oh by the way I only live a couple of blocks from Fiorellas and would drive to Canullis every time.
New Philadelphia Wine Bar?
All closed now. The Latham is to reopen the Redhead/eno spot as a coffee lounge and the original Jollys at 17th and Walnut as a more casual sandwich/light fare bar/restaurant once they have concluded the finalization of Jollys lease.
Southwark
I loved Ansill too.
Contrary to Craig Laban I found the Pork Bellies to be excellent.
Southwark
I went early in its existence and our party of four all enjoyed our appetizers - veal cheeks were excellent. However Cod and Cabbage slop aka Brandade was faultily prepared and to my taste was inedible, and the waitstaffs' attitude to us showing up with kids was a disgrace, especially in light of their being only one other couple in the pleasant back dining room. I have been back since for a nice pint of Amish Ale but would never eat there again as a result of their attitude, and average food. Just like the ""sadly missed"" Sud at 6th and Catherine(I never ate there but sat outside once for 15 mins waiting for service), if you put a sign up that offends your guests, you better be sure you're good enough for the long haul.
my Philly food itinerary - opinions?
Dessert is dull, I tried to support it as much as possible, as it was my local, but eventually gave up on Mothers Day when they were trying to shsshh my 3 yr old child, who was paying her fair way to support their ok Mothers day effort. If you want a good dessert place take a $29 flight to Providence, RHode Island and go to Pastiche (just off the Square) on Federal Hill.
New Indian - Tiffin - Philadelphia
Location is on the edge of Northern Liberties, a couple of blocks away from Las cazuelas i guess. Food is packaged seperately. My traditional favorite take out indian was Karma, but recently i felt they were cutting corners, eg the chicken in Tikka Masala was little bitty pieces, whereas here you get the chunks with the skewer holes through. My other point on the vegetable dishes, is that if you want a vegetable as a side (and here portion size is the same) at restaurants such as Karma, you are paying around $12 - $13, whereas here you are paying around half. I am not deliberately hitting on Karma, I still believe their chicken saag to be excellent and the only place where i would buy the okra (not at all slimy, I feel this place worth the support from my initial take-out meal. Website was up and running yesterday at www.tiffin.com, but their second address www.tiffinstore.com was not working.
Where to buy wine for all these BYOBs?
Total wine has a great store just behind the Cherry Hill Mall, I don't recall the address. I went there and asked for some decent value Bordeaux and came away with about a dozen bottles of lesser chateaux from good vintages all recommended by the incredibly knowledgable sales manager (he knew his wines) all were excellent. Not so at Moore Bros - the same request for recommendations left me with a dozen bottles of mediocre wine. While Moore Bros has some good finds, a lot of the stuff isn't worth it, don't forget if you have buying relationships with small wineries in the Southwest of France, you generally will purchase wine in lesser vintages that you will have to sell to your customers. The Namaans road staff of Total wine do not know their product as well as those at Cherry Hill, and the PLCB staff are pitiful.
New Indian - Tiffin - Philadelphia
Location 710 W Girard Ave. We ordered take out tonight and feel that the quality of the food was as good as Karma at about half the price.
Veggie samosas were the plump doughy style pretty good at $1.95 for two. Onion Bhaji a little floury but still good. Excellent Chicken Tikka salad. Entrees - Chicken Tikka Masala was excellent for $9.95. Lamb Saag also good for the same price. Naan bread just a dollar. What was particularly interesting was that things such as raita come with the meal as standard and that veggie dishes eg Aloo Gobi and an unusually deliberately smoky eggplant bhaji (Baigan Bharta)are just 6.95, which allows plenty of variety at an affordable price, something other Indian restaurants should take note of. This place is a perfect replacement for the sadly missed Darbar Grill on Market Street. Currently just doing take out and delivery and I believe to be expanding into other neighborhoods. www.tiffin.com.
