tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90796252024-03-14T10:39:50.163-05:00The Philadining BlogThe Philadining Blog is an interactive spot for quick posts about the Philadelphia restaurant scene. Older reviews still appear at <a href="http://www.philadining.com">philadining.com</a>. Look here for first impressions, thoughts, raves and uncontrolled whining about new places, or recent visits to old favorites.philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-56288590648359547902011-04-14T05:08:00.004-05:002012-03-24T01:45:26.995-05:00925 Race Street - Pearl Restaurant - Szechuan NoodlesUPDATE: CLOSEDAs mentioned in this review, there's lots of turnover in this location, and sadly, Pearl didn't last long either... it's been replaced by a budget buffet... Oh well..
I could almost devote a blog to the comings and goings in this one storefront: it's been the home of a large number of exciting places. Sadly, none of them has stuck around for long. I first was intrigued philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-14452532229246542342011-04-14T04:03:00.000-05:002011-04-14T04:03:07.565-05:00Regional Cuisine in Chinatown: FuzhouOn the surface, the majority of restaurants in Philly's Chinatown appear to be variations on a theme: Americanized food, based loosely on Cantonese or Hong Kong style cooking. Of course, there are exceptions, like the Sichuan cuisine offered at Four Rivers, Szechuan Tasty House and E Mei, or the Shanghainese specialties at Dim Sum Garden and Sakura Mandarin. There's Taiwanese food at philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-54510027079509582772011-01-27T14:54:00.003-05:002012-03-24T01:48:01.804-05:00SpeckulationDespite my optimism, the Speck project crashed and burned shortly after this post, and never opened. But if you are curious about what it might have been, these pix might give you an idea..
You can keep up with Shola's activities at his website: http://www.studiokitchen.com/
At last, one of the most eagerly anticipated Philadelphia restaurants in years, Speck, the long-awaited philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-26852354464108008292010-09-29T02:03:00.001-05:002010-09-29T02:07:00.022-05:00Red Kings - Diverse regional ChineseOK, I'll admit it, it was the soup dumplings that drew us in.
Although we still have Dim Sum Garden and Sakura Mandarin providing Xiao Long Bao here in Philly, there can never be too many sources for these delicate dumplings filled with broth.
Restaurants rarely call them soup dumplings, more often they're listed on menus as steamed juicy buns or just Xiao Long Bao. Here, they're called philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-36736282430198537602010-06-01T13:02:00.001-05:002012-03-24T01:50:01.320-05:00Frog Burger - Backyard grilled flavors and wretched excessDespite good reviews in the summer of 2010, Frog Burger did not return in 2011, so the project is looking dead... I'll update if it returns as the weather warms up in 2012...
I'm not sure what triggered it, but all of a sudden, Philadelphia is awash in burger joints. Steven Starr's burger stand in Franklin Square has started its second season with a surprising lack of buzz, a philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-78892892344219626202010-05-03T02:24:00.000-05:002010-05-03T02:24:26.304-05:00Awesomeness Alert: Mexican Hot DogThey're all the rage in Los Angeles, although the health department keeps shutting-down the carts that sell them - something about the bacon, I think. Every time I read about the Mexican Hot Dog I develop a powerful craving for one: a hot dog, wrapped in bacon, grilled, doused with mayo, sprinkled with cotija cheese, maybe a couple of slices of jalapeño, plopped in a roll.
And finally, I found philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-50211862911696018862010-03-31T11:35:00.004-05:002010-03-31T11:49:26.390-05:00Passover at ZahavFor a year, I've been hearing about how great the Passover dinner at Zahav was, in particular, the superlative brisket. Finally, the calendar has flipped around, and I had the chance to try it for myself. It didn't take too much to convince me, I've had several very good meals at Zahav, so I trusted that chef Michael Solomonov would deliver, even if traditional Passover food is often philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-35097211892603119532010-03-12T00:13:00.001-05:002010-03-12T21:49:12.825-05:00Doma - Modern Japanese/Korean in FranklintownComplaining about sushi in Philly is a favorite pastime of local foodies, but a bigger shortcoming is the city's sparsity of Japanese cooked food. Most restaurants offer some non-sushi items, but that section of the menu is rarely the focus. This really doesn't make any sense: in Japan, there are restaurants that specialize in many types of food, and Japanese people eat all kinds of food in philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-37289691634188971332010-03-10T01:42:00.013-05:002012-03-24T01:51:53.449-05:00Ro-Zu - New sushi in Queen Village Update: sadly, it appears that chef Todd Kulper left Ro-Zu in late May. The main appeal of the restaurant was the unique work this chef was doing, so it's hard to imagine what Ro-Zu will be without him...
RoZu continued-on for a short while with a new Sushi Chef. Trey Popp gave it a mixed review in the City Paper, but closed shortly thereafter. There's another sushi joint in philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-2899870667069812222010-03-09T05:06:00.006-05:002010-03-10T01:41:20.329-05:00Awesomeness Alert: King Crab at Ken's SeafoodWe've been fans of the fresh fish at Ken's Seafood in Chinatown since their opening night almost two years ago. We always scan the tanks at the front of the restaurant on our way in, and also ask Ken if there's anything especially good. We've often enjoyed the fresh, vivid taste of live scallops, shrimp, finned fish, eels, geoduck clams and Dungeness crabs. There's always variation in what's philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-43589031162282508442010-02-24T15:30:00.014-05:002010-03-10T17:54:25.082-05:00Meritage - Meritorious FusionTwo words lured us into Meritage recently, and they weren't the two that have been getting all the attention around town. The restaurant has gotten significant buzz for serving Korean Tacos, a culinary meme that has evolved from a lunch truck fad in Los Angeles to an almost required menu item at an edgy restaurant in 2010. And don't get me wrong - the Korean Shortrib Tacos are delicious - its a philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-17678467897054354482010-02-02T10:57:00.009-05:002012-03-24T01:53:18.510-05:00Awesomeness Alert: Duck Fat Potato Chips at the Franklin Update: the food has changed at the Franklin, now supervised by the folks at Supper, there's a wider variety, but sadly, no more duck fat chips...
We tend to shorthand the real name of this place, just calling it The Franklin, but just to be clear: no, we don't mean the Franklin Fountain ice cream parlor, we're talking about the cocktail bar named the Franklin Mortgage and Investment philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-59511840150190729192010-01-28T03:27:00.007-05:002010-02-02T04:06:46.592-05:00Kabobeesh - Pakistani KebabsUniversity City used to be the gravitational center of Indian food in Philadelphia. Within a few blocks of the intersection of 40th and Chestnut, there was a large array of choices. Sure, they were mostly pretty similar in style and toned-down in that student-discount-buffet kind of way, but there was some good food lurking among the lukewarm curries. A few of those places remain, but the philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-84536927812200823652010-01-20T18:54:00.014-05:002010-01-21T12:14:42.153-05:00Zavino - Artisan pizza in Midtown VillageWow, is this toasty feeling evidence of Philly's pizza wars heating-up? Oh, wait... it's just that we're sitting a little too close to the 900 degree oven in Zavino, the latest contender in the long-overdue craft-pizza trend that's finally hitting Philadelphia. Osteria got us going a couple of years ago with its finely-crafted Roman-style pizzas, and Steven Starr recently opened Pizzaria philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-48144551701487897122010-01-20T13:24:00.018-05:002010-01-21T00:43:26.203-05:00Spinal Tapas - jokey name, serious food.Having picked a name like Spinal Tapas, the organizers of this ongoing series of group dinners probably shouldn't be surprised that people aren't sure whether to take them seriously or not. Even looking beyond the moniker, it's natural enough to be skeptical about a couple of guys who aren't professional chefs hosting dinners in a rented space. Sure, it could be kind of charming to eat food philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-23676307488492894752010-01-18T00:04:00.023-05:002010-01-20T15:49:29.199-05:00Han Dynasty Center City - Authentic Sichuan on Chestnut St.Over the last few years, residents of Philly's western suburbs have had the pleasure of experiencing delicious authentic Chinese food at two Han Dynasty restaurants, in Exton and Royersford. But these spots are difficult to reach for Center City Philadelphia residents, making it impractical for people without cars to enjoy these places. It just got easier for city dwellers: the third Han philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-16587618560073985572009-11-10T00:11:00.009-05:002009-11-10T05:16:34.121-05:00Koo Zee Doo -Portugueze in Northern LibertiesI have to admit having some trepidation about Koo Zee Doo, the new Portuguese restaurant at 614 North Second Street. It seemed almost eerily similar in concept to their neighbors a few doors up at Kong: both new places featuring experienced chefs interpreting the traditional cuisine of their wives' families. In the case of Kong, it's the street food of Hong Kong; for Koo Zee Doo it's the homey philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-44922805791218730532009-10-09T23:17:00.006-05:002009-10-10T00:28:04.590-05:00Awesomeness Alert: English Onion Soup at Pub and KitchenI'll readily admit it: I'm a snob about French Onion Soup. I do not like it when liberties are taken, especially the popular trend of using mozzarella and/or provolone for the cheese. This should be declared a culinary crime, and anyone using salad croutons as a support for the cheese, rather than proper toasts, should be subjected to a lethal injection of Lipton Cup-a-Soup.I make a pretty philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-82188976748821565112009-09-30T10:46:00.016-05:002009-10-09T23:14:40.986-05:00Stella - Starry Opening NightI usually try to avoid opening nights, especially at buzzed-about restaurants, it's usually too much of a mob-scene, the food and service are still shaking-out the inevitable quirks of a new operation, it's just not a great way to asses a new restaurant. but I found myself unable to resist the opening of Stella, Stephen Starr's new pizza place at 2nd and Lombard. Friends and I have long been philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-2031115938679584042009-07-29T21:43:00.007-05:002009-10-01T11:21:22.142-05:00Awesomeness Alert: Charbroiled Beef Short Ribs at Vietnam PalaceI'm not sure how I ended up taking sides on in long-standing rivalry that exists between Vietnam Palace and Vietnam, restaurants directly across 11th street from one another in Philly's Chinatown. But somehow, I ended up in the Vietnam camp, and I still stand by their huge barbecue platter as one of the best appetizers in town - heck a friend and I will sometimes just share one as a meal. But philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-29468212535254202782009-06-05T11:57:00.010-05:002009-06-05T16:27:25.398-05:00The Oyster House - A New BeginningThe traditional, informal seafood house had almost become a thing of the past in Philadelphia, with the closing of the Sansom Street Oyster House, and Bookbinders, there were very few places to go for a bowl of snapper soup, a plate of raw clams, and some fried oysters. Nevermind that even when they were open, most of the traditional spots had slipped significantly in quality, or become philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-24788293607099649502009-05-20T12:19:00.007-05:002009-05-29T10:39:01.903-05:00Sakura - More Soup Dumplings in ChinatownIt has somehow become my role in the Philadelphia dining community to shoot-up a signal flare whenever Xiao Long Bao are spotted in the area. I'm pleased to say that I can report another spot that offers the delicate "juicy buns" and not only that - they just might be the best yet.The high quality of these dumplings shouldn't come as a surprise: the new-ish restaurant Sakura, at the corner of philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-91178986173988491232009-04-17T12:11:00.011-05:002009-09-30T16:21:28.404-05:00Han Dynasty in Royersford - A Feast for 15We were thrilled to hear that Han Dynasty in Royersford was being reviewed in the Philadelphia Inquirer, which should garner it some well-deserved attention. A few devotees, myself included, have been spreading the word about this restaurant (and its original outpost in Exton) as much as possible, but even with the reach of the internet, we could never hope to compare to the impact of a review byphiladininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-91440728670903795792009-04-09T02:03:00.015-05:002009-04-09T15:29:12.656-05:00Sakura - Regional Chinese, and Sushi tooSakura is a restaurant with multiple personalities. One might think from their name that they're a Japanese restaurant, but although they serve sushi, their main focus is on Chinese food. To add another layer of complexity, they serve Chinese food that draws from many parts of China. There are dishes that are typical of Shanghai, some from Sichuan, northern dishes, and the broad selection of philadininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9079625.post-33215858427407974482009-04-07T13:45:00.009-05:002012-03-24T01:54:17.282-05:00Awesomeness Alert - Cocktails and Charcuterie at JamesUpdate: sadly James has closed, and the chef has moved to NYC...
The restaurant James has gotten its share of recognition as a destination restaurant for modern Italian food, a place to go for creative pastas like duck ragu with bitter chocolate and orange, Dover Sole with an egg on top, or perhaps to indulge in a tasting menu. We never think of it as a place to drop in and have a drinkphiladininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12750098089453682928noreply@blogger.com1