Archive for the ‘in Philadelphia’ Category
terakawa ramen
t says: bw and I were trying to brainstorm Asian eateries in Philly. You see, sometimes you want Asian that will be so spicy it’ll rip a hole in your stomach, and so salty that you’ll have pitting edema in 12 hours flat … and in those instances, you want Han Dynasty. But other times, you’re in the mood for noodles … and not some Lo Mein takeout noodles, but something … ramen-y. And not overhyped, overrated ramen (like Cheu, or nom nom), but real ramen. Unfortunately, bw and I just had no idea where to go. So we consulted the recent article and eventually settled on Terakawa – it’s in Chinatown!
May 2014, Friday Dinner, Party of 3. bw, g, and I rolled up into Terakawa after having called and telling them we were “15 minutes away”. Alas, it ended up being 20 due to taxi nonsense, so they gave away the free table. BUT … then they asked, “do you mind splitting a two-person table?”. The three of us looked at eachother for 30 msec before saying, “no! Let’s do it!”. And that’s how we got in Terakawa on a Friday night with no wait – booyah!
steamed pork bun: great pork, great bun, but not sure where the tomato comes in – next time, no tomato, more pickled veggies. we also trialed some gyoza that were very nicely done with a good crisp outside and a refreshingly vegetably interior.
the mayu ramen was savory upon savory upon savory, with roasted leaks, mushrooms, pork, etc. it wasn’t so much a complex dish, rather, a hit-you-in-the-face with homey goodness, making you wish you were eating a bowl by a fire in the middle of snowy winter night. it won’t win any awards for fancy-shmancy … but who needs those when you have perfectly al dente noodles?
I’d go back to Terakawa without reservation. But next time … I’d bring wine! Did you know it’s BYO? No one told me! I can’t imagine what would have happened hitting up this place with a bottle of Riesling in hand … (whatever would happen, it wouldn’t have a steamed pork bun involved.)
foo’s gold
t says: I had the good fortune of being stranded around36th and Market around lunch time. With a good hour for lunch, I set out to browse the food truck offerings … and should they fail, I knew I had that whole new Drexel Village complex a short walk away as backup. But of course – as hard as I tried to go and see all the options, the first one I went to grabbed my attention and didn’t let me go …
May 2014, Wednesday Lunch, Party of 2.
Behold! A brightly-colored food truck! It’s “Foo Truck”.
Like a bee attracted to bright colors, I knew I had to check out this truck. Unsurprisingly, it was staffed by near-hipsters (real hipsters are so “over” food trucks – they’d peddle around a hot dog cart so they could be more ‘green’). Surprsingly, it took me a few seconds to try and piece together what it was they were selling: what was a “foo”? (I kept thinking of Mr. T: “I pity the foo'”) Furthermore, what was a foo-which? Are there items on the menu that aren’t foo-whiches? And why was there a big blank under “specials”? Ok – it turns out that they are selling their take on a sandwich, in which the “bread” is a grilled flour tortilla, and the innards are the variety of fillings that they boast on their menu. Being half-korean, I could not help but hear the kimchi fried rice (with Chinese sausage!) calling … One foo-which please!
What came out was a griddled, square shaped, tortilla-wrapped object filled with …
… kimchi fried rice! I would best describe this thing as a hot pocket … but more delicious and less likely to cause diarrhea. The filling was great, with a nicely cooked kimchi (it was hot!) and good chunks of sausage. And, because rice was a major component, it was very filling indeed – try as hard as I could, I couldn’t finish it – it’s about 85% the size of a chipotle burrito. As much as I liked the filling, I do want to suggest that the thing could have benefited from some sort of charred leafy green (maybe like some brussel sprout leaves?) or perhaps a crunchy vegetable (bean sprouts?) – just to try and add some textural variety and fiber to the gut-filling rice and meat (yes, i know that was what the kimchi was for – so maybe include more of the leafy green parts of cabbage next time!). My colleague had one involving an assortment of veggies and quinoa – she approved!
dessert at Foo Truck consisted of these red velvet cake balls. they. were. crazy! Imagine a cakeball … and then make it 3.7x better … and that’s what this was. It’s a pretty darn steep price at $1.50 for one (or $5 for 4) and as you can see, they are pretty tiny … but they’re probably so loaded with sugar and fat, so you probably shouldn’t eat more than one.
I was very satisfied with my lunch at Foo Truck. I will blame it, however, for inducing a food coma that I could only remedy with caffeine (from Joe Coffee, of course). But if that’s really the worst thing about eating at Foo Truck, then I’d say they’re in good shape. I’d go back. I will go back!
P.S. Similar to last time’s post about Joe Coffee’s vegan chocolate chip cookie, this time I bought a gluten-free salted PB cookie, and it was awesome. Great saltiness, awesome thickness, and wonderfully chewy … I’m thankful I only got one, because I had gotten any more, I would have eaten them all.
that’s a serious board!
t says: You know, there is nothing like a weekday lunch to bestow awesomeness upon a week. Here’s the rundown of a liesurely lunch at Zavino in University City …
May 2014, Monday Lunch, Party of 2. The space for the new Zavino is quite nice – a modern-looking place with ample seating … and some soccer on the big screen at the bar for occasional score-checks. But the food! Let me tell you more about the food!
when I first walked in, I knew we had to get me some charcuterie – as they had several logs of meat behind some kind of charcuterie counter on the right … just waiting to be sliced paper-thin. We ordered the meat board, and it came with some cheese, olives, pickled items, and bread which looked a lot like nan, but was probably just some plain pizza dough rolled out. This was one helluva serious board! Oddly, we found the meat to be pretty unremarkable – i mean there was great texture, but we could have used more flavor in both meats. Similarly, the cheeses were just “fine”, both being mild (and one coming across as a pretty plain cheddar – although who knows what it really was). Ultimately, the ample bread was the most interesting part, allowing us to construct little mini-pizzas from meat, cheese, and jams. They just gotta step up that meat and cheese to get a real nod of approval.
the ravioli of the day, featuring rabbit, was pretty delicious, albeit small. the flavor was interesting because it had a very potent herbed essence that hit me in the back of my mouth/palate exactly like the secret-ingredient-laden KFC original recipe. i’m not sure if zavino would want that, but i know i loved it. a agreed with its chickenyness – not necessarily the KFC-ness, but he, too, liked it quite a bit.
the pizza was a site to behold. “the stache” as it’s called had a gloriously prepared whole wheat crust, as well as pesto and arugula. i can see how some of the previous critics laid into the doughiness of the crust (it’s not paper thin and has some squish to it), but I kind of like that! that’s pizza! this isn’t just some thin slice of grilled bread with toppings – this is pizza! a decided that he and v are going to totally rip this combination of ingredients for their future homemade pizzas – he just has to convince v to use their pizza stone.
so with the above criticisms I’ve laid down, why did I feel like this meal was worthy of “awesome”. this is the key, right here. the real winner of the meal was this rose, which contained everything i want in a summer drinking rose: berry nose, little bit of tropical fruit, finishes with a clean refreshing zip … it’s quite wonderful!
so what lunch would be complete without dessert? i didn’t want to stick with one at zavino, as I was in the mood for some coffee at Joe just down the street. while waiting in line, a jar of cookies caught my eye. i immediately resolved to get one … right up until i found that they were vegan … but then, maybe that one glass of wine had me in a buzz, but somehow, as i thought, “why would someone want to eat a vegan cookie?”, i jumped to: “why the hell not?” – and plunked down a whole $2.25 for a single cookie. in the end, it was pretty darn good. it reminded me of a snickerdoodle cookie, but with less cinnamon, some good chocolate chips, and a nice hit of salt. while the cookie had far less cakeinness than I enjoy (it was more like crystalline sugar), it was not a bad showing for a cookie … I wouldn’t buy another … but I wouldn’t avoid one if it was put in front of me.
So … Zavino … great for lunch [with wine]. Try it out on a weekday – you’ll thank me later!
amis, it’s been too long!
t says: We were lucky enough to have come into an gift certificate for a Vetri restaurant (except not Vetri), so g and I had to figure out which restaurant to go to. We love Osteria, but it is kinda-sorta-out-of-the-way. Alla Spina had great food, but we were in more of a date-y mood. We knew what had to be done: Amis.
April 2014, Friday Dinner, Party of 2. As documented in one of the rare phenomena of adsz (an entire post written by g!), we did like the food overall at Amis, but not so much as to make it back … at all … over the past 4 years. Yikes! Well, we were about to see how much has changed since then:
First off, lets just say that the server was fantastic. He didn’t over-sell us on food, he memorized our order to perfection, and checked in with us frequently to make sure we were happy with everything. Also, as we had brought our own wine, he was very courteous with refilling our glasses, making for a very happy, buzz-filled evening. He gets thumbs-up all the way.
crudo: special of the evening was a crudo of some sort of bass that was superbly executed. minimally treated with salt, pepper, olive oil, and a few garnishes, the fish really sang through. probably some of the best crudo i’ve had from an Italian restaurant!
sal’s meatballs were fascintating. the meatballs, in combination with a tomato-potato sauce (well, less “sauce” and more “stewed tomato and potato”) came across more like a breakfast dish than anything else. if i closed my eyes and savored the moment, it did taste more like home fries, stewed tomato, and a piece of Italian beef-pork meatloaf. it’s not a bad thing at all, as the meatballs were moist and homely, just unexpected.
We ate other foods, too, but the pictures were all darker than this one. As we had hinted at before, the atmosphere in Amis can be very date-y, which is great, as it has those darker woods, dim lights, etc. Be that as it may, it is incredibly loud in there – even at the octogenarian time slot at which we ate (~6pm), the evening din was more like a cacophony … which was peculiar because indeed the restaurant was full older patrons. Fortunately, g and i were up to the challenge and easily matched the volume of our surroundings. But back to the food: the escarole salad hit g in all the right places – how can you say no to fresh greens, fruit, and cheese? As far as the pastas, we went for the cacio e pepe (above) and the spinach-and-meat lasagna. The lasagna was good and homey – g dug the spinach aspect. But to be honest, i’ve seen g’s mom (and g!) throw together a better lasagna, with a firmer noodle and more flavorful meat (g sometimes likes to brown the whole meatball first, and then break it up for the lasagna). As for the cacio e pepe, it was very cacio, and not very pepe. I preferred melograno’s cacio e pepe, which has a nicely salty cheese and a pronounced pepper bite. But, what I will say is that Amis’s noodles were perfectly al dente and the sauce’s texture was luxuriously rich due to the cheese. Nevertheless … I felt like maybe they could do better … (more to come below). But you know what they could not do better with is the Brussels sprouts. Those bad boys were fried. Not pan-fried – they were fried-fried. And they. were. incredible. Now of course, Brussels sprouts were supposed to have gone out of style about 2 years ago (along with pork belly, to make way for kale, which has already come and gone) … but you just can’t keep a good sprout down.
what dinner would be complete without dessert? Here is the nutella covered waffle with some ice cream. Bam – now that is a dessert. A perfectly crisp waffle, luscious nutella, and a creamy ice cream. Is it a $10 dessert? No way. But it sure is a great one.
While I did complain about Amis’s pastas some, g and I were plenty enough impressed with the food as a whole that we had a wonderful time. Amis’s service and pacing were spot on (oh, and did I mention that their bread was off the hook?) so it’s probably one of the best date nights out we’ve had in a while. The damages ended up being comparable to eating at Talula’s Garden, but of course … if you’ve got a totally bawler gift card in your wallet, every bite tastes better, every sip tastes sweeter. Three cheers to the gifters! Oh – and there was the morning after, too:
g and I had some leftovers: the cacio e pepe and the fried sprouts. this got me thinking: why not have a dish with both? you could still get a rich cheesey pasta, mixed with a hit of pepper (I added more), and the sweetness of fried sprouts? it probably isn’t “traditional” or whatever, but you bet your bunsen burner that it was a dynamite leftovers lunch.
my road not taken …
t says: A long time ago, when I was a wee lad, I tried to use this Robert Frost poem for a school-related speech.
But little did I realize that “The Road Not Taken” was not at all about the righteous choosing of a road less traveled, rather, an anticipation of remorse when choosing from two equally attractive roads. What does this have to do with a food blog?
This might be my road not taken:
I’ve seen my fair share of Matyson’s menus show up on Foobooz or in my inbox. This one is perhaps the most delicious-sounding one I have ever seen, with not a single item that doesn’t make my mouth water – right down to the deconstructed KandyKake at the end! But ultimately, I couldn’t justify a weekday $45 splurge (not including tax, gratuity, or the wine I’d bring), and it was torrentially raining outside. Thus, I opted to stay indoors and whip up a full-on homemade meal – which turned out great! But now, after several hours have passed, as my shiftwork insomnia sets in and I’m left to sit and stare at Matyson’s menu I cannot help but wonder if perhaps I should have chosen the other road?
I guess we’ll never know …
(well … unless you go tomorrow – then you can tell me how awesome it was!)
P.S. Dear Matyson … if you could just offer this menu on a weekend, I’d be extraordinarily grateful. I’d gladly share some wine with you!
EDIT:
t says: it turns out that a loyal adsz reader went to Matyson to check out the menu. Here is the official report, copied from the comments attached to this post, and the photos from foobooz’s website!
rch says: Verdict: It was really delicious, one of the best I’ve had at Matyson. Standout was the roast pork. I could have eaten 3 more of those. Oyster was nice, really refreshing with the blood orange and cilantro. Pretzel was a little odd, actually – super delicious, but it didn’t really call back “pretzel” at all – more just Philly Italian food. The wagyu beef with gougere was tender and awesome, though I would have liked more onion flavor. But that’s just nitpicking; it was delicious. Dessert was good too, but we seriously considered asking for a second helping of roast pork instead of dessert, and I’m still sort of sorry we didn’t! Wish you could have been there with us – fingers crossed they’ll add a couple of these to the regular menu…
Credit: foobooz
Credit: foobooz
Credit: foobooz
Credit: foobooz
Credit: foobooz
luke … i am your lobster
t says: First things first: yes, I know that the actual Star Wars quote is one of the most commonly misquoted quotes ever, as it is much longer than “Luke … I am your father”. Ok – now that that’s settled, let’s talk about the real topic of this post: Luke’s Lobster. Armed with the knowledge of a relatively new outpost on 17th street, g and I decided to make the most of a beautiful weekend day by ordering us up some lobster rolls.
April 2014, Friday Lunch, Party of 2 … at home! We picked the lobster rolls from Luke’s , and it was quite packed! But, the staff knows how to move through the line pretty quickly, and most people flocked to the street with their Luke’s bags, likely to go back to work.
the board tells all: the menu is small, but do you really need anything other than lobster, crab, or shrimp rolls? not really. sure, there are things like soup and crab claws, but who really cares about those? we want us some rolls!
when we saw all these maine-sourced sodas, we had to take a pic for bw.
they run a tight ship in their little sub-ground shop – it does feel kind of like a little out-of-the-way shack somewhere in New England.
the crab roll: this 1/2 crab roll was loadd to the brim with beautifully succulent crab meat – it was quite delicious indeed. and with the light sprinkling of some seasoning, it was clear that the name of the game was “taste this crab”. My only criticism is that the chunks of crab are quite small, so you do miss out on the feeling of biting into a nice big piece that might have come from a crab claw, but i guess i can’t complain if i’m not the one doing the meat picking.
now here is the main event. don’t be fooled by this extreme close-up. luke’s “rolls” are quite small. I’d say about 6 inches for the whole. They do load it up with an impressive amount of intact claw meat, and the flavor is quite nice. once again, the dressing is kept to a minimum, so you’re really enjoying a crapload of lobster on a buttery bun. for me, the lobster roll was superior to the crab … and that says a lot because i’m actually not that big of a lobster fan – i’m much more of a crab guy. but there was something about biting into a huge chunk of well-prepared lobster (it was not tough/dry/rubbery at all) that put a smile on my face. g was all about it, showing her roll no mercy.
Mix the above sandwiches with a glass of lemony 2012 Ransom Riesling from our cellar, and what we had was a perfect outdoor lunch on our patio. It was just the right size to quench our hunger but keeping our stomachs un-bursting enough so we could enjoy walking, shopping, errands, and whatever else it was we had to do outside. But, there was a pretty obvious corollary here: these suckers are quite small. At around 6″ each, my dad could easily down two of these things … which would make for a pretty darn expensive lunch. We now know why so many people were getting “combos” with chips and soda – the other items would help fill them up. Does that mean “it’s not worth it” … no! It was absolutely worth it. We envision a summertime outdoor party, with lots of white wine, some home-made sides, some fruit-filled pies, and a platter of lobster rolls. Now THAT is how we party.
Stop and Smell the Rosa Blanca
t says: It’s been a while since we’ve dined at a Jose Garces joint. Sure, Amada will always hold a special place in our hearts, it’s a bit too pricey for “normal” weekend dinners (as is Tinto). JG Domestic has pretty much fizzled out in our eyes. Distrito’s a bit of a hike. Village Whiskey is fun, but I can’t put away those shortrib-smothered-fries like I used to. Garces Trading Co is pretty much dead to us now, after deciding to charge corkage, the disbanding of the market, and a previous bad experience. So now what? Enter the new Cuban Diner inspired Rosa Blanca. The crew met up a week or so ago and put it through its paces …
March 2014, Weekend Dinner, Party of 4. The atmosphere’s cute. Garces is trying to walk the line between a take-out business and a sit-down business, so the front of house has this come-and-go feel, while the main dining room is more “formal” … but don’t let that word scare you – this is not a formal place by any stretch of the imagination. To be honest, it’s probably the most casual Garces restaurant I’ve been to. I was happy to see children around – it really added to the diner-esque atmosphere!
I don’t remember what these were – I want to say they were the croquetes de jamon. It’s funny because my memory fails me, but I do recall the urge to eat them forever, as they were fried to perfection and filled with oozy cheeze. It was like a chicken cordon bleu … without the chicken …
Empanada de Picadillo with beef and green olives. This empanada was fantastic – g’s not even an olive fan and she enjoyed her share of empanada with nary a crumb left on the plate. v agreed that the filling was pretty spot-on (oh, did I mention that v is Cuban?)
You know, when it comes to bread, there’s either “yea, here’s some bread” or there’s “hey, check out this bread”. This was much moreso the latter. I believe this was yuca bread, and it was phenomenal. The textures were just right, balancing an outer layer of crisp with an inside of some kind of intriguing gummy texture that I couldn’t get enough of.
Cordero al Caribe. This guy stuck out as the oddest dish – I wasn’t expecting such a curry-ful lamb dish. Maybe there is a secret Indian-Cuban fusion somewhere in the Cuban culture? In any case, with such beautifully cooked down lamb and such depth of spices, I wasn’t complaining. Best darn Indian-Cuban dish I’ve ever had (I apologize if this shows both my ignorance of Cuban and Indian cuisine). In the background was that RIDICULOUS ropa vieja, with brisket and rice – it was insane. Probably the best thing we ate – I declare g the winner of the evening.
Pollo a la Brasa: rotisserie chicken. Once again, garces nailed it with a succulent chicken presented in such a casual manner that it looks like child’s play – seriously – after eating this, you wonder why it is you have ever come across a dry chicken before. And, of course, well-seasoned, well-dressed, and nothing we wanted to change, as it really hit that home-made chicken note.
Masitas de Puerco. Chunks of fried pork shoulder? How could you go wrong? You can’t! Well – maybe you can, as there is only a limited quantity in the plate. v confessed that she could have housed a heaping mountain of these guys (and maybe she has when her family has made it). I would have liked to have seen slightly larger pieces this way beyond the crispy exterior would be more of a tender interior, this way you’d get some more textural contrast, but as far as flavors go, I got nothing bad to say.
Dessert smorgasboard! You see the flan, which was ok (it was flan – nothing really to report there) as well as a a chocolate dulce-de-leche cake that vanished within seconds of being put on the table. v went for the sorbet-shake-thingee and smiled for the rest of the evening.
In all, the gang was really happy with Rosa Blanca. It’s definitely not fussy, not fancy, not pretentious Cuban-inspired cuisine. v felt that there was a lot of faithful representations in there, with some notable exceptions (e.g. that curry lamb, and apparently there was one dish that was Puerto Rican, not Cuban, which for some diehards could be a point of contention). The service was still working out the kinks and trying to hit the right balance of pace, smiles, and confidence in what they were doing. Certainly the kitchen is doing a fabulous job. I only hope that the uniqueness of Cuban cuisine is enough to keep us coming back for more. It’s tough because the style of food is almost weeknight-ish, but done up a little (and priced up enough for) a weekend dinner … where there’ll be a lot of competition from the likes of Kanella, Mercato, and company. I guess time will tell … but trust us – the food is good!
after dinner sneeze 