Clare Din | Food

The Tasting Menu will delight the senses of any foodie in your life. With eight courses of everything from caviar to pasta to meat and seafood, it's also magnificent enough to give nearby LaCroix a run for its money. The first course Royal Ossetra Caviar with hazlenut créme fraîche, benne, and yuca reminded me of a miniature charcuterie plate, only this one had a dollop of fancy caviar on it! Our server encouraged us to assemble our tiny arepas with the caviar and the puréed spreads. "That's frickin' yummy," I said to myself. Speaking of miniature, every plate of this tasting menu was small and designed to give you basically a taste of the culinary diversity that Chef Chad Williams offers his guests. Fred Flintstone appetites can stay home! The next plate was Crudo with yuzu, sunchoke, and bone marrow gelée. It was a little tuna pie that was delicious! The next dish was Chestnut Caramelle with hazlenut and marjoram. Caramelle is a stuffed pasta. Inside each of the four little candy wrapper shapes was a burst of intense flavor that made my eyes widen. This was as good as anything I've had at the six times I've been to Vetri! Maybe even more so as Vetri tends to sometimes undercook their pasta a few seconds short. The next course was Sweetbreads with mushroom, plantains, and poached egg. The dish didn't look like much, but it tasted sooo goood!!! The sweetbreads were crisped nicely on the outside and butter soft on the inside. The next course was Fish with lobster butter and citrus. The fish of the day was halibut and it was so delicious, I wish I had a big slab of it. If you haven't figured out the theme by now, it's SO DELICIOUS! The next dish was New York Strip with caraflex cabbage and sweet onion. All of you meat eaters will be delighted to taste this excellently prepared steak. This was another dish that I wish I had more of... until the next dish, which was Veal Cheek with chermoula and yam. Just think of the best beef short rib you've ever had and imagine it's better than that! Sadly, I didn't get a picture of this fantastic dish because I was so distracted by its presentation. The cheek was wrapped in a leaf! No meal would be complete without dessert, which was Carrot and Squash Cake with marscapone, a yummy version of the perfect little carrot cake with frosting.

The Tomahawk Ribeye is one serious steak. 38 ounces of dry-aged steak served with roasted garlic and pickled shallots. Aged for 45 days, the intense flavor from the perfect char on the outside and the super-juicy inside was outstanding. A Tomahawk is one of the more challenging steaks to prepare, so if they prepared it this well, you can expect the smaller steaks to be grilled to perfection. The steak was presented whole and slice tableside. My friend Tom and I were talking about how the place reminded him of Peter Luger's in Brooklyn. "Oh, we'll pit any of our steaks against Peter Luger's," our waiter challenged. I've had many ribeyes from the big chain places (Morton's, Smith & Wollensky, The Palm), but they weren't like this! We also had the Bone Marrow Toast and Oysters Rockefeller. The sliced bread in the Bone Marrow Toast was topped with a generous helping of beef cheeks braised in red wine. The bone marrow was glazed with something carmelized and sweet. Cracking it with a fork made a beautiful sound. I absolutely loved this dish and would've ordered two plates, one as an appetizer and the other as an entrée. The Oysters Rockefeller was good, but not as impressive as the bone marrow. The green herbs usually in a dish like this were replaced with what appeared to be creamed spinach. We were so creamed spinached out that we changed our creamed spinach side to mashed potatoes instead. The restaurant is small, but they made good use of the space. It feels bigger than it is and looks like a classic steakhouse. A small whiskey bar is in the rear. The kitchen is open air, but not open air enough where you could see the grilling.

If you are celebrating a birthday or special event, Vetri deserves serious consideration for that rare memorable meal. "Oh, my God, don't you remember the /fill-in-the-dish/ you had at Vetri? Wasn't it orgasmic?" That's the type of place Vetri is. For those of you who've never had food that was so good it was orgasmic, I cannot describe that feeling to you. You have to experience it for yourself. The meal started with a wine spritzer, a plate of assaggi, and a crudité. The highlight was the foie gras torchon on toast. Sandwiched in between the layers was a fruit marmalade. It was heavenly. Our next courses were bison tartare with black caviar and potato dumplings and hamachi crudo. I thought the foie gras was great. The tartare was orgasmic! Crazy good. I had to control my emotions. Our next courses were a prosciutto cotto and a vidalia onion tart. I had hunted a hog last year and had my fill of pork products for a long while. The prosciutto reignited my love for pork products. Such exquisite flavor with the nuts and peppers! We had five pasta dishes next and they were all very good to incredible. I felt like I was eating at Babbo! The spinach gnocchi has always been my favorite. Best gnocchi in Philly. The almond tortellini was outstanding. I'm allergic to almonds and I still ate it, because - fuck it - it was that good! By the way, if you are a true foodie, you'll work through your allergies... just like the time my throat was closing when I ate macadamia-encrusted opa and thoroughly enjoying it as if it were my last meal on earth! Our main courses of capretto (baby goat) with soft polenta and duck with chicories and 'nduja were especially satisfying. "I encourage you to pick up the chop with your fingers," our server recommended. It was finger-licking good! Since it was my dinner companion's first time at Vetri, his meal was comprised of classics, such as the spinach gnocchi and the onion tart. A palate cleanser of grapefruit sorbet was refreshing. Our desserts were chocolate polenta cake and cheesecake. At the end of the meal, I was presented with a goodie bag with a package of petit fours, biscotti, and an autographed copy of the month's menu. As always, Vetri never fails to impress and remains one of my favorite restaurants. It's expensive, but totally worth it for the food, ambiance, and service. It's a complete restaurant experience. When we left the restaurant, there was already a long line of people waiting for the next seating.

Amma's deserves a special mention for its lunchtime thali platter. For the low price of $11.95 (all-vegetable) or $13.95 (vegetables and meats), you get 10 small portions of food in little tins along with two breads and a garnish. Please note that this is a very filling portion of food! The meal shown includes rice, goat curry, shrimp thokku, veggie biryani, dessert, ghee cream, pickled veggies, veggie curry, and two veggie stews. The two breads are naan and papadum. On a second visit, the goat curry and shrimp thokku were replaced with chicken curry and lamb skewers. Everything was so delicious. This is quite possibly the best thali platter I've had since my visit to India. If you like spicy foods, you will love this, because Amma's cooks food with a kick.

The location for Thanal will always have a special place in my heart because many years ago it was home to the Arch Street Diner and the little bar attached to it where I got my first bartending job. Several restaurant changes later, almost all Indian cuisine, and we have Thanal, which is by far the best incarnation yet. It is ironic that the cycle of death and rebirth has led to progressively better restaurants over the years. On its way to Moksha (liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth), we have a modern Indian bistro with classic, authentic dishes paired with modern, progressive libations. Start your meal with a Maharani Toast (Cruzan Mango Rum, mango nectar, raspberry, and Brut) and an order of Gobi Manchirian (spicy crisped cauliflower) and Prawn Milagu Varuval (prawns with black pepper and curry leaves) to experience the range of flavors the chef can prepare. Order a fresh baked Peshwari Walnut Naan with your curry (or two). My boyfriend Joey and I ordered two good curries, Chicken Tikka Masala and Lamb Korma.

Spice levels range from 1 to 10. Since it was his first time at an Indian restaurant, we ordered 5 out of 10 for spiciness. It was pretty spicy, but hella good! Joey and I thoroughly enjoyed our curries. We ended our meal with Mango Kulfi, a rosewater based ice cream that was heavenly. This is my third visit to Thanal and every time has been filled with fond memories of delicious food for reasonable prices. Give this place a try. You won't be disappointed!

If you think you might enjoy a variation of American brunch with a Mediterranean flair, try Spice Finch, Top Chef Jen Carroll's newest restaurant experience in Rittenhouse Square. The Berbere Crisps have a nice spicy kick to them and will leave a dusting of heat on your lips as you try to temper them with any of six different spreads. My friend Ken and I tried the Tahina (with sesame, lemon, and olive oil) and Beet Borani (with feta cheese and za'atar), a nice pairing of salty and sweet with the spiciness. For my entrée, I ordered the Shakshuka, a skillet dish with spiced tomato, peppers, nigella seeds, and an egg cooking from the heat still in the skillet. My dish was accompanied by a thick, warm, pillowy soft sourdough pita. Sooooo delicious was my dish, I could not help but gobble it up spoonful after glorious spoonful. It reminded me of an exotic ratatouille! For dessert, I ordered the Burnt Cream, a large disk of toasted cream that sat in a pool of heavenly sweet rose syrup and topped with fresh berries. Basically a Turkish-style variation of créme brulée, this was a marvelous sweet treat to end a gloriously spiced meal.

After reading Craig Laban's rave reviews about this restaurant, I had to try it for myself. My friend, Ken, and I ordered a veritable smorgasbord of dishes. I had fresh grilled sardines atop homemade bruschetta bread and fritto misto with head-on shrimp, calamari, and smelts. He had the meatballs and garlic bread. When people think of sardines, they often think of the canned variety soaked in an oily tomato paste. Don't think like this! Fresh grilled sardines are a culinary delight and not to be missed, especially when they are expertly deboned, char-grilled, and lightly dabbed with olive oil. The fritto misto reminded me of a dish I had in Malaga. The fried smelts were wonderful and perfect to snack on. I seldom order meatballs of any kind because nobody beats my four-hour slow cooked meatballs that are so soft they literally fall apart in your mouth. Cry Baby's meatballs were close, but only because of the ingenious cheat of adding gelatin in the mix. The special of the day, “Trophy Pasta,” hand rolled pasta (like spaetzle) covered with a savory sauce made with chanterelle mushrooms, duck, and chicken liver and topped with shaved Parmesan, was excellent as was everything else. It reminded me of a cross-country collaboration of Germany and Southern-style home cooking. Our server did a good job of selling us on certain dishes without overselling them. I did want to try the squid ink pasta with clams and chilis, but will save that for another day.

I finally got to try the "new" steakhouse in my neighborhood, Urban Farmer. I ordered a Piedmontese filet mignon, medium rare, and it was every bit as good as I had imagined. Bite after delicious bite, Urban Farmer's preparation reminded me of seared ahi tuna. Piedmontese beef is truly more tender, juicy, and lean than many USDA Prime meats. So is this ungraded steak comparable to or better than USDA Prime? Yes, it's every bit as tender. Leaner, too. The decor was a bit eclectic with its oddly matched tables and seats. The dress was cwasual and the vibe was unpretentious. It was a place where businessmen and hipsters alike would find comfort. Our Caesar salad included a single fresh anchovy. The bread basket included a hot, sfresh cornbread muffin and pretzel buns. Perhaps the only strike was the heirloom carrots, flame-grilled with olive oil but a bit too firm.

Sakana bills itself as "the first affordable omakase restaurant in Philadelphia." Among the omakase options are the 12-piece Signature Omakase for $58, the 10-piece Sashimi Omakase for $58, and the 21-item Sakana Omakase that includes sushi as well as cooked dishes for $108. Each of these omakase meals include premium cuts of fish not found in many sushi restaurants. My dinner companion, Chris W, and I were fortunate enough to have Chef Sam Lin, owner of Sakana, prepare our meals. Chef Lin has worked at Masa, Momoya, and Sushi by Bou in New York City. We arrived early and were promptly seated. Chef Lin began by asking us if we had any food allergies or dislikes he needed to be aware of, so he can avoid using those ingredients. Our first course was a raw oyster topped with uzu foam, a refreshing way to prepare our palates for the courses ahead. Our second was the most perfectly delectable piece of sea bream I've ever had and this is coming from someone who has experienced Morimoto's $150 omakase 23 times. Our third and fourth courses were two kinds of mackerel. You haven't lived until you try mackerel this good. Usually, I am least impressed with mackerel on any sushi plate. These were very different. They actually tasted like fish and not fish jerky. We then moved on to our fifth course, baby squid, something you would normally not see at most restaurants that are not named Zama. At this point, with all of the intricate preparation involving gently torching the fish, brushing the surface of the fish with a light coat of soy, and decorating it with anything from caviar to gold flakes, I could not help but compare Chef Lin's masterful techniques to the famed sushi master, Jiro Ono, in the documentary film, Jiro Dreams of Sushi. "How the hell is he doing all of this for the price he's charging?" I wondered. Chef Lin's gentle, knowing smile leads me to believe that he enjoys what he does and that, my friends, makes for a chef's best meals! The familiar fish arrived next - Albacore, yellowfin, salmon, bluefin, toro, and a two-tuna combo - but each fish tasted quite different from what we were used to. "I age the fish from 7 to 30 days," Chef Lin said. "I'm the only one in Philadelphia who does this." I am a fish snob, having eaten fish in home-cooked multi-course Chinese dinners almost every day of my youth. In other words, every day was an omakase meal in my parents' home. Chef Lin is onto something with the aging process and I wish more sushi restaurants would learn his methods. Each fish was a melt-in-your-mouth experience and even something as simple as bluefin tuna had a complex flavor that tasted like it was well-seasoned, but without any sauces to mask the flavor of the fish. The grand finalé was the wagyu beef and sea urchin sushi, Chef Lin's play on surf and turf. The lightly seared wagyu danced on my tongue while the sea urchin covered it in a rich, buttery texture. It was sublime. Every omakase meal is a little different. Since it's the chef's choice, expect to experience a random assortment of any of the following items: wagyu beef, sea urchin, scallops, baby squid, live shrimp, fresh fishes of the day, and more. Chris W was a bit skeptical of Sakana at first, but I told him to trust me. Chef Lin's omakase was course after course of bite-size deliciousness. His sushi is small, warm, and truly wonderful to behold and taste. I love the warm, perfectly seasoned rice, just the way sushi was meant to be eaten. If you are truly hungry after eating 12 pieces of Sakana sushi, you can always purchase additional pieces for reasonable prices. This is, after all, your omakase meal. Add on and customize as you wish. Our additional courses were extraordinary. The live shrimp sushi is not to be missed. "Sometimes you can see the muscles moving," Chef Lin said of our shrimp sushi. The Hokkaido salmon is buttery soft and very different in taste and texture from the American salmon we were served in an earlier course. Give Sakana a try. You will be blown away!

Looking for a great budget omakase in Philadelphia? Look no further than DK Sushi in the Franklin's Table Food Hall on the Penn campus! For just $35, the meal changes slightly every day and allows the different chefs assigned to particular days to express their vision and creativity. My dinner companion, Ken, was hesitant at first on trying all the different fishes, but was open-minded enough to dive right in. Our chef, Zion, started our meals with two tried and true omakase courses - tuna tartare and hamachi ceviché - along with a special miso soup with shrimp tempura. From there, our chef churned out plates of traditional sushi, two or three pieces at a time. The sea urchin and scallops were delightful, light, and refreshing. The toro, really a chu-toro, and yellowtail toro had good flavors. I prefer fatty cuts of fish over lean cuts. The Kobe and ikura were the chef's play on "surf and turf" and were melt in your mouth good and squishy bubbles of salty delight! The toro scallion roll almost served as a palate cleanser for the intense flavors of the final dish, a miso foi gras mini hand roll and eel sushi. I could eat ten of the foie gras sushi! The incredible thing about all of the sushi is the sushi rice was warm and perfectly seasoned. Warm rice is the only way to eat sushi! Big kudos to Chef Zion for using the available ingredients to craft a very nice omakase meal.

My second omakase was with Chef Mindy. Her focus was on the garnishings atop each piece of nigiri, everything from fruits to spices to caviar. The initial soup and salad were basic staples, nowhere near as impressive as Chef Zion's appetizers, but I could tell Chef Mindy had something in the works. The nigiri started with Hamachi topped with Yuzu (not pictured) followed by bigeye tuna, hotate scallop topped with chili paste and sea salt, salmon belly topped with caviar and shiso leaf, ikura mixed with eel sauce, eel topped with sesame seeds, sea urchin topped with caviar, and wagyu beef topped with sea salt. Each piece up until the sea urchin had a more impressive flavor profile than the last. Unlike my previous omakase meal, there were long waits between each plate as new orders came in. Chef Mindy presented me with edamame as an in-between palate cleanser. Sadly, my wagyu nigiri was cooked a little too long and the toro scallion roll didn't have the oomph of Chef Zion's double tuna version, but the next two courses were standouts. In place of the usual Miso Foie Mini Roll, Chef Mindy substituted a gorgeous Soft Shell Crab Mini Hand Roll. The Miso Foie Gras Mini Roll is typically one bite of food; the Soft Shell Crab Mini Hand Roll was three and it was meaty, juicy, and superb! So full of umami. As a special bonus for being a repeat omakase customer, Chef Mindy prepared a delicious inside-out shrimp tempura roll topped with bigeye tuna and avocado paste. That, too, was excellent. My dessert was a plate of two macarons - green tea and yuzu - and DK Sushi's special buttercake.

French resturants in Philadelphia come and ago, from the classic Le Bec Fin to the recently closed Le Cheri, but the one powerhouse fine French eatery that has endured the test of time is Lacroix in the gorgeous Rittenhouse Hotel. With a beautiful view that overlooks the park, this is the perfect place for an intimate evening with a good friend or loved one. Now, let me preface this by saying that Lacroix is not for everyone. Guys who have a "value for the money" mentality will never understand this type of cuisine. For those of you, like me, who are satisfied with just a taste of something extraordinary before moving on to the next dish, you are going to love Lacroix. It is a perfect birthday dinner restaurant. I went there for my 51st birthday. Executive Chef Jon Cichon continues to craft outstanding dishes that are a sight to behold.

The Saloon is one of those Philly restaurants you must go to. It's got that rare combination of style, ambiance, great food, and good service. It's the kind of place for people who love food. Do not invite your friends or family who eat to sustain. We all know people like that. They are not the audience here. The portions are all about decadence and plenty of it. You will be treated to magnificent portions of steak, veal, seafood, and more and you won't want to bring any of it home because it's so good, you'll want to finish it all there. The beauty of The Saloon, like most good places, is you can customize everything. If jumbo lump crabmeat is your thing, you can have it as a topping on any entrée. I added it to my Veal Piccante and it was soooo good. It made a good thing great. I also love the Grilled Langoustines. I ate all four. So good! I had them last time I was there, too, when I ordered the incredible Lobster Francaise, a South African lobster tail lightly battered and fried... and crabmeat on top! Don't forget the crabmeat! The martinis are also fabulous. Given a choice between this place and the chain steak places, The Saloon would win every time. Pray and hope that you get a table upstairs for a dynamite experience.

I have had some wonderful meals at Zama. I usually order the Chef's Tasting Menus at the $75 or $100 price points. Each 7-course meal is a step above the omakases at Morimoto in terms of quality of ingredients, consistency of taste, and imagination.

Here is the $100 Chef's Tasting Menu I ordered in February 2018 during my dinner with my friend Bill W:

Here is the $75 Chef's Tasting Menu I ordered in August 2017 during my dinner with my friend Bill F:

Six years ago in July 2011, I enjoyed my first dining experience at a.kitchen and I've returned several times after that enjoying such entrées as leg of lamb, fried chicken, razor clams, fish stew, and more. On my most recent visit, I tempered my expectations a little not knowing what to expect. Little did I know that this was Chef Eli Collins' new haunt! Yes, the famed Pub & Kitchen chef - the one who created the amazing chorizo-filled roasted calamari - is now the new executive chef at a.kitchen. Chef Collins describes his new menu at a.kitchen as vegetable-centric with a French spin. Vegetable-lovers have a plethora of options here, including broccolini and the delicious tempura-battered Zucchini Blossoms with skordalia purée and shaved fennel. For my entrée, I had the wonderful Poached Monkfish. Each piece of this North Atlantic sea creature was delicately prepared, mild, mouth-watering, and if I were to describe in one word... beautiful... which is funny because a monkfish is actually an extremely ugly fish. Some people have referred to monkfish as tasting like "poor man's lobster," but I have never had monkfish that tasted like lobster in all of the places I've tried monkfish until now. The greens were snappy sugar peas and fresh garden spinach. I felt the sauces were a little bold, but not overpowering. Overall, I enjoyed the dish immensely. I remember the wonderful dishes the previous chef, Bryan Sikora, crafted at here and I think Chef Collins' continues the wonderful traditions that Chef Sikora, started.

You haven't lived until you try a "feast meal" from Chef Eli Kulp at Fork. This season's big feast is the Peking Style Whole Muscovy Duck Feast, a tantalizing tummy tickling culinary adventure that is sure to please every foodie out there. "It will take over an hour to prepare," our hostess warns. My friend Chris W and I shrugged. The best thngs come to those who wait! We started our evening with the Vitello Tonnato, a variation of a veal carpaccio dish that has surfaced on other menus throughout the city. This version had raw Ahi tuna and marinated cucumbers. Chris and I agreed that the dish should focus solely on the veal and omit the tuna. "The veal should stand out on its own," Chris commented. Criticism aside, it was a beautiful presentation and our server mentioned that it was one of Fork's most popular dishes. After a scant half hour, a server presented us with a giant whole roasted duck on a rustic wood serving board and described how every part of the duck will be used to create our four dishes. "Are we getting the liver? I want the liver," I said to him. "Oh, yes, the liver will be used in the meatballs," he replied. Sweet. And so we waited another half an hour or so for our meal to be prepared as we dicussed the merits of eating whole animals and not wasting anything. Our expectations of this much-lauded meal were increasing by the minute. When the dishes finally arrived, we were in awe at the four totally different preparations. Chris and I were each presented with a plate of the most beautifully sliced pieces of breast meat. The meat was unbelievably tender and the crispy skin was so delicious it was a joy to eat. The honey glaze, cream, candied garlic, and duck jus accompaniments made our tastebuds dance. "Oh, my God... a non-Chinese person made this!!!" I screamed silently to myself as my eyes widened and I couldn't stop chewing each succulent, juicy morsel of meat. As a Chinese person, it somewhat pains me to say that this is simply the best Peking duck I've ever eaten and that includes my many New York and Philadelphia Chinatown duck house experiences. Chinese roast duck is comfort food, much like duck confit is to a Parisian. The meatballs were the best I've ever eaten at a restaurant and many of you know I know my meatballs! The spicy tomato sauce contained hearty chunks of mushrooms and red peppers. So good! The duck confit salad contained delicate, melt-in-your-mouth meat pulled right off the bone. Even the duck heart salad, something I know many of you would cringe at, was prepared in a completely accessible way. Duck hearts, when prepared this well, are tasty little morsels of meat just like tongues, livers, and sweetbreads. The pears were a delight to eat and I can't stop thinking about the candied almonds. Chef Kulp took the concept of roast duck to a whole new level with this feast. It's so good I'm left speechless. Kudos goes to the chef and the impeccable service at Fork. We had no less than four servers working our table and all were polished professionals.

If you've ever tried fondue or Korean BBQ, you're already familiar with the "make your own meal" concept. Rather than a pot of hot sauce or an in-table grill, you get to prepare your meal in a Japanese hot pot. The idea can be simple, fun, and, with the right ingredients, potentially an excellent meal. I cannot find fault with Simply Shabu. You get a lot for your money and the ingredients are top notch. Whether you're a vegetarian or a meat lover, you can enjoy a sumptuous meal that includes a huge bowl of fresh vegetables, steaming hot broth that is warmed at your table, and your choice of rice or udon noodles. Meat options include USDA Choice rib eye, pork, chicken, lamb, beef meatballs, pork meatballs, shrimp, Dungeness crab, scallops, cod, clams, crab meat, fish tofu, fish meatballs, and cuttlefish meatballs. You can order a preconfigured combo meal or a la carte. There is one inherent danger to the concept - undercooking your food - but really the onus is on you to use your better judgement in deciding which ingredients look "cooked enough" for you. The seafood appears to be mostly frozen and I found myself biting into a cold cuttlefish ball at one point, so you have to be careful with timing and knowing where your finished stuff versus your transitional stuff is. In general, my fellow foodie companion, Chris W, and I had fun making our own meals. We each ordered the Surf & Turf combo shabus. I had the lamb and Chris had the pork. We each received a plate with five to six slices of meat and an assortment of seafood. After all of the ingredients are added to the broth, the result is a very complex, flavorful stew. Perhaps the only misstep is one of our servers asked us if we needed more bowls, presumably for the assortment of spices available at the spice counter, when we were about halfway done with our meal. Depending on the person, this is a place that will live and die by its sauces. I created a wonderful blend of soy, scallion, and garlic that I used to season most of my ingredients. The sesame sauce and BBQ sauce, which is not like any BBQ sauce we've ever tasted, are also recommended. The ingredients actually stand up well on their own, but the sauces just add that extra oomph.

This was the second time I've dined at Branzino with my friend Chris W. I almost always go for the veal dishes, so this time I tried something new. The Garganelli pasta is perfectly al dente. The duck confit was extraordinary. I love the contrasts. The rich, soft duck paired with simple, firm pasta. The fresh shallots and kale give a crisp crunch. When I finished my last bite, I wanted more. That's the sign of a great appetizer. The Branzino was an extraordinary piece of seared fish with crispy skin, juicy chunks of fish that flaked off easily with a fork, and tomato "salsa" and pasta accompaniments that really paired well with the fish. It was a delight to eat. The Panna Cotta was a delicious ending to a great meal. The raspberry compote is not to be missed.

Bibou is one of my favorite restaurants in Philly because of Chef Pierre Calmels, former executive chef at Le Bec-Fin. When I heard he had opened Le Cheri in Rittenhouse Square, I was dying to try it, but alas my foodie friend Chris W and I only dine on Monday nights, a night that unfortunately Le Cheri is closed. The wait was well worth it because my friend Ben took me there. Through the hallway of the Philadelphia Art Alliance building, hostess Charlotte Calmels greeted us with a warm smile and remembered me. One of the servers did, too, and I greeted the two of them as if they were old friends. Through the doorway, we were seated in a beautiful dining room with lovely decor that just makes you say "Wow....." Le Cheri is the perfect setting for a romantic dinner. The food, like Bibou, is some of the best in the city. I couldn't get a picture with Chef Calmels this time because, as Charlotte pointed out, "Pierre hasn't hired a sous chef yet and is cooking all by himself, so he's quite busy right now." I advise all of my fellow foodie friends out there to go to Le Cheri now because until the sous chef arrives, you are getting the real deal food preparation from a world-class chef. The food is priced like Bibou, a BYOB, with the added bonus of Swiss and French wines, liquors, and beer! The food at Le Cheri is magnificent, as expected. The chilled foie gras is delicious. Soaked in red wine and garnished with a light dusting of sea salt, the flavors complement the sweetness of the pears and the richness of the buttered toast point. Every preparation of foie gras that comes out of Chef Calmels' kitchen rocks my world. I remember at Bibou, he would tell us, "I make a different version of my dishes every week." Amen to that. On a whim, I decided to try the Rabbit Ballotine. Who would've guessed that this would turn out to be one of my favorite Chef Calmels dishes? My cutting knife sliced through the ballotine, a deboned leg of rabbit stuffed with a mousse of rabbit meat and chunks of tender morsels of rabbit and foie gras, like a hot knife through butter. My first taste of this heavenly sausage ignited my tastebuds and sparked the following thoughts, "Whoa-a-a-a-a..... yeah... mmmmm... oh, hell yeah!!!" The mousse melted in my mouth and the morsels of meat and foie gras were so flavorful. I could eat this dish again and again, prepared the same way. It is quite simply the best preparation of rabbit I have ever eaten. Kudos to Chef Calmels! Normally, I don't find desserts that exceptional in most restaurants, but Bibou and Le Cheri are exceptions. My pear and vanilla Charlotte, ladyfinger cakes soaked in pear and vanilla cream cheese, was a very nice, sweet ending to a fantastic meal. There is a better French restaurant in Philadelphia because Le Cheri takes Bibou to the next level. I will boldly say that Le Cheri is going to be the next Le Bec-Fin for years to come. Welcome to Rittenhouse Square, Chef Calmels!

The big question is... does a rice bowl here beat a rice bowl from Qdoba or Chipolte? You would hope so because Bayless' name is attached to it. For basically a dollar more than its competitors, Bayless offers a slightly smaller portioned, zestier blend of higher quality ingredients that certainly tastes better than its competitors. The Shrimp Veracruzana Bowl contains five seared shrimp, piquillo pepper, roasted onions, zucchini, garlic tomato sauce, capers, olives, pickled jalapenos, and cilantro served over rice. The Chipotle Pork Tinga Bowl contains slow-braised pork, homemade chorizo sausage, posole corn, queso fresco, fresh avocado, and cilantro served over rice. You don't get a lot of meat for your money. If you want lots of meat, go to Qdoba. If you want something cooked a whole lot better, come here. There are many different varieties of tortas (Mexican sandwiches), rice bowls, soups, flatbread pizzas, and more on the menu.

This is just a mini-review of a single menu item that my friend Deborah clued me into recently: the mussels in red sauce. Wow, are they good! You get a sizeable portion of mussels that's shareable between two people. The sauce contained lots of fresh tomatoes, onions, and garlic and was so delicious! I had read some scathing reviews by locals who claimed that there was sand in the mussels, but I couldn't find any sand in any mussel I ate. For a measly $6.95, you've got to try them!

The omakase at Zama is clearly the best multi-course meal in Philadelphia at the moment and Chef Hiroyuki "Zama" Tanaka is easily our city's best sushi chef. I sat and watched the passion in Chef Zama's eyes as he prepared everyone's meal. It is a passion to be the best - the top dog - and that requires supreme command of all of his skills and knowledge of what looks good, smells good, and tastes good. I'm a foodie and good food is the fuel that drives me, excites me, and satisfies me. A few of my friends, such as Chris W, share my enthusiasm for food. He and I sat at Zama's sushi bar and watched a master at work. In order to get an omakase, you have to make a reservation in advance so the chef can have all of the ingredients needed on hand. You also need to sit at the sushi bar so that Chef Zama has an opportunity to gauge what you like and don't like during the course of your meal. "Give me everything. I love all it all," I told Chef Zama with a big, bright smile. He nodded and smiled back with his signature grin. Our first course was a dish with two appetizers, a small bowl of delicately fried fish with slivers of carrots, mushrooms, and onions in a delicious ponzu sauce and a juicy softshell shrimp that was completely edible, shell and all. Totally yummy. The next course was a sashimi platter with a variety of tasty selections. The scallops and clams are always my favorite. I like the contrast of soft and jello-like to firm and crunchy. The marinated baby squid packed a sweet, salty, pungent punch. It was almost too salty for its own good, but there was no denying the incredible, explosive flavor in each squid. I love eating whole animals! The oyster shooters were another winner. "It tastes like different parts of the ocean," Chris commented of the oyster topped with sea urchin and roe. Indeed, it did. The hamachi collar was a familiar favorite from our last omakase. There were several flaky, buttery pieces of goodness in each collar. Surprisingly, the fin was edible, too. It was almost like eating a fried shrimp chip. The sushi course began with the familiar and moved to more exotic cuts of fish with each course. Chef Zama presented our sushi in pairs. "On your right is striped bass. On your left is sea bream," he said. Ahh, nice! I love how the warmth of the sushi rice paired with the cooled fish. As the pairs of sushi followed, I simply scarfed them as soon as they came so apologies for not having pictures of everything I ate. Not pictured are the fluke, hamachi, salmon belly, and fluke fin sushi. The final pieces of sushi - salmon belly and fluke fin - were especially notable. Both had a firm jelly-like consistency and were spiced with a lot of flavor. As if that weren't enough, the subsequent maki course was incredible. Three kinds of tuna in one maki! Salmon belly, sweet shrimp, and roe in the other. Now I've gone to Heaven! "May I have something with egg omelet?" I asked Chef Zama. He nodded reassuringly. According to the seminal film, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, every great sushi chef is known for his egg omelet. Chef Zama's is a sweet treat. For the final course, we received a handroll with two pieces of eel, egg omelet, and cucumber. What an excellent "dessert" ending to a fantastic meal!

Chef Judy Suzarra-Campbell makes homemade yummy-in-your-tummy arepas filled with tender, hearty, slow-roasted meats and veggies. If that weren't enough, Sazon's Robert Campbell, also known as The Chocolate Alchemist, is an artisan chocolatier who has a rich knowledge of Venezuelan cacao beans. The restaurant is run mom-and-pop style so you get to chat with Chef Judy, Chef Robert, and the servers. Robyn and I always have a great meal there. She loves the Pabellon (shredded beef, plaintains, black beans, queso fresco) and I love the Pernil (roast pork, onions). Really, really good. I wasn't too keen on the Tequeños, which tasted like a variation of mozzarella sticks to me, but the arepas are always a winner. The chocolate truffles and cocoa drinks are out of this world. They even have a truffle and a drink called Orgasmo. You will have an orgasm eating or drinking one! Much, much better than Delicias. Give this place a try!

Iron Chef José Garces has another winner in Rosa Blanca, a Cuban diner restaurant serving homestyle meals and sandwiches. Aside from the Disney-like Cuba Libré, this is the only restaurant in the heart of Center City serving authentic Cuban sandwiches. I no longer have to drive 1200 miles away to get a taste of Cuba. My friend Chris W and I loved our meals. He started with a hearty bowl of Guiso de Maiz (sweet corn chowder with smoked ham, tomato, and pumpkin) and a chicken empanada and I had the Pulpo en Escabeche (grilled marinated octopus). The octopus was cooked perfectly and the sliced peppers and onions were spicy and tasty. I love the yuca chips. I would've enjoyed an entire entrée of octopus prepared like that. For our entrées, we each had the Masitas de Puerco (fried pork shoulder with tamal en cazuela) with Fufu (mashed sweet plaintains). I didn't know what tamal en cazuela was until I tried it and researched it. It's Cuban polenta! I loved its creamy consistency, a perfect contrast to the crispiness of the large nuggets of fried pork. And, oh... my... God... the Fufu was amazing! We had something similar called "mofongo" at the Rum Bar some time ago, but this is worlds better! There's more than just plaintains in the fufu. I detected corn and pieces of pork as well. Wow!!! A truly extraordinary entrée for a reasonable price.

What are the chances of eating pork in three different eateries in the same week and having them all be exceptional? Sazon, Rosa Blanca, and now The Whirly Pig. That's right, The Whirly Pig, artisan porkmongers. There's a cartoon logo of a pig wearing a propeller cap on the side of the truck. The moment I saw the man slice the monstrous slab of pork belly inside the truck, I knew I had to try it. "If the pork belly tastes half as good as it looks, I'll be satisfied," I told my friend Robert. Indeed, the pork belly sandwich exceeded all of my expectations and then some. The honey-topped bun was buttered and toasted. The slaw added a nice tang to the tender roasted pork belly. It reminded me of a high-quality char siu bao (Chinese roast pork bun). On a second visit, I got the Hog Roast Sandwich. Apple slaw and pickles topped six different cuts of meat - pork belly, pork loin, pork butt, pig cheeks, rib meat, and bacon - all inside an onion brioche bun. It was delicious! There are only a handful of sandwiches on the menu and they all look good. Only once on my six visits did my sandwich fall short of being lovingly prepared, but otherwise I give this truck a thumbs up!

The first thing you'll notice when you walk into The Fat Ham is how tiny the space is. There are 30 seats in the restaurant and an additional 12 at the bar, but the seating is creatively arranged to allow guests and servers to move through the restaurant with ease. The decor is an odd juxtaposition of rustic meets modern. You notice the variety of whiskey bottles on the shelves behind the bar and immediately acknowledge that you're in a Southern-style restaurant. Service moves at a slow, steady pace. The first of our dishes arrives, a bed of mustard greens tossed with benne seeds and peanuts. The dressing is fiery hot and spicy good! Spicy without being unbearable, the dressing accents the nuts and greens nicely. What a crazy flavor combination! The shrimp and grits were utter perfection. Big, juicy, grilled shrimp sitting on top of a small helping of creamy, buttery grits with diced pieces of country ham strewn for good measure. Who would think grits could be this good? The buttermilk coated fried oyster slider with its burst of flavor in the middle was just sooo good! Move over crabcake and filet sliders, this oyster slider has found a place in my heart! The blackened catfish was one of the best pieces of catfish I've ever eaten. It was firm like rockfish, but didn't have that characteristic catfish taste or odor. The Carolina gold rice is one of the best accompaniments I've ordered in a while. It pairs really well with the hot chicken, which is OH. MY. GOD. everything that the hype says it is. It is indeed fiery hot, as in spicy hot. It is indeed crispy on the outside and juicy in the middle. My friend Chris W and I were ready, willing, and able to dive right into the alleged chicken that saw fit to win the heart of local food critic, Craig Laban. In our two orders, our server stated how fortunate we were to have one dish with white meat and one dish with dark meat. Without hesitation, I went for the dark meat. I tasted a small sample of the breast meat on Chris's plate and it, too, was juicy good. Almost too good. Was there crack in the chicken? The pecan pie was a delicious ending to a fantastic meal. You can't ask for a better meal anywhere. I felt like I was at Morimoto or Vetri. For this reason, I can honestly give The Fat Ham my highest rating.

Many of you probably didn't know this, but I grew up on Caribbean food. My high school had a fairly large black population and the cafeteria cooks were black, so my first taste of Caribbean food was the delicious Jamaican beef patty served every Monday. It was the perfect little sandwich-like meal for a growing child. Spiced ground beef encased in bread... what could be better than that? I found myself making deals with my friends to secure their Jamaican beef patties in exchange for my milk or fruit cup. It was a beautiful time. Fast forward to college and my tastes for different cuisines continued to develop. Chinese people whose mothers make several dishes each night develop some of the most sophisticated palates in the world. Their senses are so heightened from their culinary experiences that they often make the best judges in food competitions. I have no way to verify this. Just give me the opportunity and I will show you why so many men want to date me and take me out to dinner. I literally orgasm when I experience great food! While Gigi & Big R is not orgasmic, it is something much more approachable to the average American. There is fried chicken or fried fish, there is curry chicken for the slightly more adventurous, and there is jerk chicken for the much more adventurous. And if you want something very nice and beefy but a little out of the ordinary, try the oxtail stew. The fried chicken or fried fish can be made spicy with "hot sauce" the truck servers dowse over it, but it's not necessary. Why mask the goodness of the preparation? The food here is very comforting and there's a lot of it. A "small" platter, which is now called "medium" on the menu, can feed two people. A "large" can feed three. I've ordered the jerk chicken, curry chicken, oxtail stew, and fried chicken platters many times from their trucks. Each platter has always been consistently good. Service is sometimes slow, but it's worth the wait. I find the sides to be belly-busting goodness. I like the cabbage, the yams, and the mac 'n' cheese. I also find the rice and beans, collard greens, and veggies nice, too. I'm sure you'll find some favorites among these and other choices as well. There's something to be said about a truck that attracts a loyal following. I always see a line of both teens and adults at my workplace waiting patiently for their food. Most of them seem to know good food. Most of them also seem to know a value when they see it. It's all good. My most recent dish was a small jerk chicken platter. You get two drumsticks and a thigh with this combination, although there are other chicken options as well. It's all good. The chicken is very tender and moist. The skin is an absolute delight to eat. You can always judge a well prepared chicken by the edibility of its skin. The spices are fabulous. They dance on your tongue. Damn good. About the only things that can temper the heat are the sides, so you scarf down a mouthful of the sides with your chicken. You close your eyes and enjoy the experience. It's all good.

Indian food in an upscale setting has always been met with a skeptical eye, but throw in some proteins, such as crab meat, swordfish, lamb shank, and pork shoulder, that seldom exist in your typical Indian restaurant and you can have a truly outstanding experience. My friend Chris W and I noted the location of Indeblue with some skepticism. "I bought a custom-made dress in this location years ago," I said to him. When we walked in, my jaw dropped. They completely gutted the place. Tastefully done decor with a chandelier, giant framed pictures, and an ornamental gate adorn the main dining room. No seat was a bad seat. It was truly a beautiful setting for a nice meal. Our appetizers included the scallops, lollipop lamb chops, and crispy spinach chaat. All were delicious. The scallops were giant U/10 beauties pan-seared and immersed in a light coconut milk-based curry. My only criticism is they could've used a little less salt. The lollipop lamb chops were grilled to perfection and coated with ginger, garlic, nutmeg, yogurt, mace, mint, and mojito. They were so good I wanted another order. The crispy spinach chaat was amazing. The spinach leaves were coated with chickpea batter and flash fried. Combine that with chopped tomatoes, shallots, yogurt, crispy noodles, and sweet tamarind date sauce. I couldn't stop eating it. Our main course was the seafood moilee, a coconut curry with jumbo shrimp and crabmeat that was accompanied by a saffron rice with peanuts, mustard seed, curry leaf, and chili peppers. This dish sang and danced in our mouths. We also got a side of tandoor roasted eggplant with tomatoes, carmelized onions, and green peas. It was like a smoky ratatouille. I love this place.

My friend Chris W and I were in the mood for Italian, so we went to Chef Chris Painter's Il Pittore, a restaurant famous for its mostly northern Italian cuisine. I've been to Il Pittore shortly after it first opened and this visit evoked fond memories of that first visit... until the accident. Chris' porter beer dropped off the server's plate and spilled all over the center of the table. The servers were deeply apologetic and came up with a contingency plan to hide the mess. The manager stopped by to apologize and offered us a complimentary appetizer, drinks, and desserts for our troubles. I laud them for their efforts. Stephen Starr-owned restaurants have always handled issues like this with class. The Brussel Sprouts with kale, poached egg, and carrot purée was a beautiful combination of textures and flavors. I liked how the sweetness of the carrots tempered the bitterness of the greens. The Butter Squash Agrodolce was almost like eating a savory candy. I liked the crunch of the mandolined butternut squash. Alas, I did not love the two pastas. My Chanterelle Agnolotti was better in its duck form on my first visit and the Gramigna left me wanting a little more sausage. The Roasted Venison Loin was exceptionally tender and juicy. I loved it. Chris didn't. He had fond memories of hunting and eating venison in his youth. I told him he shouldn't compare the two venison experiences in quite the same way. My Slow-Cooked Suckling Pig knocked my socks right off... and my shoes, too. OH. MY. GOD... whoa, honey! This is wayyy too orgasmic!!! My words to Chris were, "This is really really really really really really really really good!" Yes, I did say "really" eight times. The crispy skin. The fork tender meat. So soft... moist... juicy... it's better than sex. Seriously. I loved the pear mostarda topping. I loved the baby carrots. This dish is better than the first time I had it. My Chestnut Cheesecake was really good. I loved every bite, especially the cinnamon whipped cream. The Espresso Bonet, or coffee flan, was good. Chris liked the little cookies that came with it. Overall, I'm a fan of the food here. I look forward to my next visit.

My partner Robyn and I love a nicely done burger. I introduced her to 500 Degrees not long ago and it's been our go-to place for our red meat cravings after our grueling Bikram Yoga workouts. We love "The 500" with its simple combination of lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, bacon, and house sauce. Sometimes the best things in life are the simplest. Of course, my foodie sensibilities usually influence something in our meal, so I always go for truffle oil on my fries. Village Whiskey, a more recent addition to the Philadelphia burger scene, purports to have "the best burger in Philly." How does it compare to 500 Degrees? "If Village Whiskey is a 9/10, then 500 Degrees is a 9.1/10. Don't get me wrong. Village Whiskey is really good, but 500 Degrees edges it out," Robyn stated. Those of you who know the restaurant scene in Philly know that 500 Degrees is owned by the same people as Rouge restaurant. Rouge was noted as having one of the best burgers in America, so it is no slap in the face to have a cheaper 500 Degrees burger beat its higher priced competitor. Still, Village Whiskey creates a damn good burger. I'd actually reverse the rating. I think Village Whiskey edges out 500 Degrees. I like the bun more. I like the mix of pork in the burger patty. I like the top shelf ingredients that are used in every Village Whiskey sandwich, but be prepared to pay a lot for those ingredients. Burger purists will complain that the Village Whiskey burger has no fries accompanying it. Fries need to be ordered a la carte. The fries are covered with duck fat and come with an optional side of Sly Fox cheddar cheese for an additional charge. They are delicious, perhaps the best fries I've ever eaten. For the same price as one Village Whiskey burger with fries, I can get two 500 Degrees burgers with fries. It's safe to say that 500 Degrees would win more hearts than Village Whiskey on that point alone. Seeing that the two burgers are almost equivalent in enjoyment factor, 500 Degrees would be my recommendation to most people who ask me who makes the best burger in Philly for the money.

My friend Mike took me out to lunch at Pod where I was pleasantly surprised to find a revamped menu featuring new robata grill items, sandwiches, and a rice dish called Frosty Kobe Beef Fried Rice. Frosty Kobe Beef Fried Rice is something everyone should try. It's basically fried rice with raw kobe beef in it. "We wanted to give customers the flavor of beef tartare. Lots of people told us they love it," our server said. Indeed, how could you go wrong with kobe beef, foie gras, and a fried egg? It was delicious. I was really enamored with it. The corn and diced carrots complete the Americanized feel of the dish, which was Asian fusion to the extreme. Our server also recommended the grilled cauliflower, which was good, but not quite the culinary delight she made it out to be. I like my cauliflower a little less crunchy. Mike's Rockin' Spicy Tuna roll was decent, but wasn't as spicy as Mike had hoped for. I explained that Pod tries to cater to its demographic, which is older professors whose tastebuds might not be used to the spices of a person who grew up eating truly spicy food. "It's University spicy, not 'real' spicy," I commented. Mike was impressed with my culinary knowledge, as well as my knowledge of art and music.

If you're a carnivore and you've ever had any doubts as to whether you could eat a vegan meal, you need to try this place because the food is incredible. Chef Rich Landau first introduced the concept of meatless fine dining in his now-defunct Horizons restaurant. I've had the pleasure of dining there when it was in its heydey and was sad when it closed. Several years later, Vedge rocked the city and has won rave reviews from everywhere. The menu is innovative and decadent. Many of you may have shunned eating veggies growing up because your mom simply steamed them. Chef Landau's creative use of Asian, French, Italian, and other various cooking styles injects a sublime flavor to every dish. My friend Chris W and I started our meal with a trio of items from the "For the Table" section: chile roasted almonds, pickled curry cauliflower, and mixed black olives. The Portabella Carpaccio was beautifully seasoned. I found it a bit difficult to peel off an individual slice, but it was so yummy I had no problems eating more than one. The Jambalaya was excellent. Chris couldn't believe it had no meat or essence of meat in it. We both agreed it could've been bigger and more of a satisfying meal unto itself. The Eggplant Braciole was a bit of a mystery to me. Was it trying to be a sausage or a Chinese bean curd roll? A traditional braciole is slices of meat rolled up with veggies stuffed inside. This was more of a veggie in veggie sausage. It was very good, but needs to be renamed. The Mushroom Fazzoletti was everything I hoped it would be. Beautifully thin slices of seasoned mushrooms swimming in basil, olive oil, and tomato. Yummy yummy. The Grilled Seitan was a favorite of mine at Horizons and continues to be at Vedge. The texture is more mushroom than meat, but it is so delicious! You haven't lived until you tried it. Due to the fact that you can't get vegan food like this anywhere else and it all tastes so good, I feel both humbled and honored by the experience.

If you're looking for huge portions of delicious, authentic Mexican food for low, low prices, look no further than Puebladelphia, the area of Philly just south of the Italian Market and north of the world famous cheesesteak eateries, Geno's and Pat's. There you will find taco shops, grocery stores, music stores, and fashion boutiques with all kinds of stripper clothes. Mole Poblano is a little family owed restaurant with limited seating, lots of local patrons, and incredible smells emanating from its kitchen. Except for the weekend specials, nothing on the menu tops ten dollars, including the restaurant's signature dish, the Mole Poblano, which is not listed on the menu. I highly recommend ordering it on your first visit. You will enjoy a slow-roasted chicken leg and thigh smothered in a totally delicious mole poblano sauce with rice and refried beans. The sauce is dark brown and made of about twenty different ingredients, including chili peppers, spices, day-old bread, nuts, and chocolate. Totally, totally delicious. As I was consuming every tender, succulent morsel of chicken smothered in the delectable, rich, spicy chocolate sauce, I found myself not wanting the experience to end. That is the sign of great food. I could eat this every day of the week and twice on Sundays. With your entrées, you will get free chips and salsa and depending on the day of the week, a free bowl of soup and dessert. All of the food at Mole Poblano has a wonderful, spicy kick to it and my friend Chris W and I became enamored with the place immediately. I was so impressed with my Mole Poblano that I returned the next day for a second helping. Thank you, God, for showing me the way to Mole Poblano.

Once in a while you come across a combination of food that is so clever and so delicious that you wonder why others aren't following suit. This is how I feel about the Roasted Squid dish at Chef Eli Collins' Pub & Kitchen, which is nothing short of remarkable. A generous portion of chorizo fills the body of the cephalopod that is then roasted to perfection and cut into bite size pieces. Sausage within a sausage. As if that weren't enough, pairing the squid sausage with grilled yet cruncy veggies adds a wonderful combination of textures and a new dimension to the fish. Don't forget the tentacles, which are my favorite part of the squid. These are cooked to perfection as well. My Mulard Duck Breast was good - and I've had better after being spoiled by the Muscovy Duck Feast at Fork - but it was simply not as good as the outstanding Roasted Squid. My friend Chris W had the Warm Hummus and Cape Cod Mussels with soybeans, serrano chili peppers, bok choy, ginger, and green onion broth. These were very good dishes as well. Particularly noteworthy is the unique cocktail menu, which includes the Hecho en Philly made with an amber grape brandy called Macchu Pisco, lime, sugar, egg white (for the foam), and plum bitters and the Hemingway Julep made with Old Overholt Rye, grapefruit, mint, Maraschino liquor, and Demerara (crunchy light brown sugar). My only gripe is the long wait for our appetizers. We were already on our third drink before they finally arrived.

My review of this authentic Sichuan crowd pleaser has long been overdue and that's because I've been foolishly ordering the same safe item every time I eat there. What is this savory dish I order, you may ask? None other than Dan Dan Noodles, a spicy noodle dish containing peanut butter, chili oil, Sichuan pepper, minced pork, and scallions. It was my go-to dish. One day, I decided to join some foodie friends for lunch and we each ordered a different dish to be shared. We ordered Dry Pepper Style Fish, Cumin Style Beef, Deep Fry Style Pork, and Cold Sesame Noodles. The noodles were a non-spicy derivative of Dan Dan Noodles. Simple yet delicious. The pork had the texture of crunchy bacon and was hot and flavorful. The beef was a spicy version of pepper steak, one of my favorite Chinese dishes. The fish was my favorite dish. Delectable pieces of triple-flash fried fish sat atop a bed of long hot and dry chili peppers. Everything is flavored with chili peppercorns. The spicier dishes can range from mildly spicy, a tingle on your tongue, to numbing. This food probably won't appeal to the typical greasy spooners, but you can leave them home while you go out and enjoy this place with your culinary adventurous friends.

Craft fried chicken? Sounds kind of gimmicky to me... until I tried it and said to myself, "Wow, this is good stuff!" I tried a sampling of their three craft fried chicken offerings - white meat tenders, dark meat tenders , and wings - as well as their hand-crafted "Red Neck Pecan Pie." The reason why the chicken is so good is because it's buttermilk battered with a pretzel crust. The chicken's not perfect, however. My white meat piece was a superior experience with its big slab of juicy breast meat and wonderful pretzel crust coating. My wing, on the other hand, was a little dry. The dark meat pieces were okay - one of my pieces was a little stringy - and nowhere near as good as the white meat piece. I typically enjoy dark meat over white meat for its richer flavor, but it wasn't happening here. I really like the pretzel coating. It's nice and crunchy and provides a good balance with moist chicken. The chicken is priced at $11 per pound and each little container of dipping sauce is 50 cents. The pie, which resembles a homemade Hostess cherry or apple turnover, was quite good, but priced a bit high at $4. You'll be amazed at how quickly your bill adds up. My four pieces of chicken, pie, and dipping sauce costs about $10 and some change. I would expect these kinds of prices in Center City, but not in a neighborhood full of college students.

My friend Chris W and I ordered a number of dishes that ranged from just okay to excellent. The Salmon Tataki with Avocado Salad arrived first and it was the best dish of the night. The pieces of seared salmon topped with salmon roe were just a delight to eat. Chris and I felt that the salad could be made into an entrée with just a few more pieces of salmon. The vegetables were all fresh and the ginger dressing was very tasty. Big thumbs up on the salad. The Shrimp Dumplings with Jala Ponzu were the usual dumplings you'd find in every sushi restaurant appetizer menu. My problem with these dumplings is they taste exactly the same no matter where I go, which leads me to believe that they're pre-made and store-bought rather than homemade, but I can't fault Kidari for that since everyone else seems to be doing the same. Our third dish was the Shrimp Tempura with Citrus Chunky Tomato Salsa on Creamy Wasabi Noodles. I like the fra diavolo style angel hair pasta and the shrimp were nicely done. The salsa was okay. It's almost as if this dish has an identity problem. It can't decide whether it's Japanese, Italian, or Tex-Mex. I think the concept is good, but the marriage of the pieces needs a little refinement. Chris had the 1/2 Set Maki Combo with tuna, salmon, eel, and kanpyo fish and I had the Tangerine Roll (Karai sake salmon on top of crunchy spicy salmon and jalapeno with citrus green tea and spicy sauce). The rolls were rather bland. There was very little flavor in my roll. It's almost as if the spiciness of the jalapenos were removed before they were added to the roll. I cannot recommend either one. The positives are the chef makes aesthetically pleasing food and the quality of the fish is very high. I can only imagine that some of the hospital personnel in the area have caused Kidari to tone down their spice levels to a point where they no longer want to take a chance on flavor.

Freshly made food with natural ingredients is certainly not a new concept, but the concept of a "Japanese burrito" sounded interesting. Of course, when I saw what it was, it became quite apparent that Japanese burritos are nothing more than big, uncut maki rolls. Yes, seaweed is the magic ingredient for keeping the calorie count down. Asians have known this for quite some time as Vietnamese restaurants have been wrapping meats in lettuce leaves for ages. Unfortunately, Americans who are obsessed with bread are sacrificing their ability to achieve a trim waistline by adding 150 calories per burrito wrap. I commend Hai Street for promoting the use of a healthier alternative to bread, but can a die-hard Tex Mex eater change? I doubt it. I know people who are slow to change their ways. These people would complain if their créme brulée was anything but vanilla. I do hope this place becomes successful because their idea does seem like a winning formula. People under 30 are likely to embrace the concept more easily than older folks. My Slammin' Salmon was pretty good and tasted like a decent salmon maki roll but with less rice. The salmon was excellent, the veggies were all fresh and crunchy, and the sauce was delightfully spicy. Madame Saito would've been proud to see that these guys didn't mess up their raw salmon with spicy mayo like a bad sushi restaurant would. In fact, spicy mayo can be found on the shrimp tempura roll as it should. I intend to pay return visits to Hai Street to try their less Asian-inspired "burritos." If you're one of those anti-sushi types who despise seaweed, you can get the ingredients in a bowl form. I think it's still too early to reward them with much better than a three-star grade, but if they wow me a little more next time, they'll definitely get a revised four-star review from me.

The warm June weather convinced my friend Chris W and I to dine on the beautiful sailing ship-turned-restaurant called Moshulu. The views of the Camden Waterfront and the Delaware River from the dining room's many windows were quite dazzling. We started with a complimentary appetizer of artichoke hummus with crostini. "This is delicious! But I wouldn't eat it normally because it's so strong," I mused, admiring the taste of garlic. Our appetizers of Tropical Style Salmon Ceviche Tostada with salmon, mango, avocado, queso fresco corn tostada, and pineapple cilantro mojo and Pan Seared Baby Spanish Octopus with saffron potatoes, feta cigar, crispy chick peas, watercress, and smoked pepper purée were okay to unimpressive. The salmon and mango was a nice combination. The tostada chip was overkill. The octopus, sous-vided for several hours, was indeed tender as our waitress described, but lacked any flavor whatsoever. The smoked pepper purée sauce was quite bland. Perhaps the saving graces were the potatoes and chick peas. Our entrées were a different story. The Massachusetts Monkfish "BLT" came with smoked bacon, seared vine ripened tomato, grilled head lettuce, toasted brioche, and lobster chive Hollandaisse sauce. Everything on my plate was nicely prepared and tasted amazing. The tomato was mouthwateringly juicy. The bacon was thick and tasted like the best Virginia ham. The lobster chive Hollandaise sauce had a generous helping of chopped claw meat. It was amazing. Oddly, the monkfish didn't taste like lobster as our waitress described. It had more of the firmness of crab meat. Perhaps even stranger is the fact that the chef could've omitted the monkfish and I wouldn't have missed it because the rest of the ingredients were so good. Chris' Grilled Achiote Rubbed Quails deserves special mention. The quails had a delicious gamey, tasty flavor. I wasn't as impressed with its accompaniment of a foie gras and ramp tamale, however, as I found it to be quite bland. Where was the foie gras in it?

I've been searching for a good crab cake in the Philadelphia area, one that surpasses Phillip's Seafood and matches the goodness of Gunning's in Columbia, Maryland. I think I may have found my crab cake! At the Wawa Welcome America Liberty Block Party on June 28, 2014, a mobile food truck representing Rigatoni's restaurant sold crabcake sandwiches, crab-stuffed onions, and crab pretzels. I've had crab cakes that were supposedly "the best" from food trucks and they were never anything to write home about, but this one was different. In fact, it was stellar. A 50+ year-old recipe that originated from Baltimore. Lots of tasty lump crab meat in every bite. It was a delicious, satisfying experience. I highly recommend this place. There is no longer any reason to journey down to Baltimore for crab cakes.

coZara is probably not going to appeal to most people. Sure, there are mass-appeal items like the whole chicken yakitori and the steak tataki, but most people will probably skip the more adventurous items, such as the head-on shrimp, marinated raw octopus, fried anchovies, and hamachi collar. Chris W and I love to try the kinds of culinary delights that find their way in more cosmopolitan cities like Philly. coZara takes a chance by presenting itself as a non-sushi Japanese restaurant. Will it succeed? I hope so. There's nothing else like it in Philly. I'm already familiar with Chef Zama's cuisine from his much-heralded Zama restaurant in Rittenhouse Square, home of many memorable meals. coZara has the kinds of things that Zama would prepare for his special omakase meals. The head-on shrimp are not bad. Big and meaty, they don't taste like much even with their fried coating that's a bit too soft for my liking, as if the dish were sitting in a humid place for a while. Better soft shell shrimp can be had at a sushi spot like Fuji Mountain. The two slices of jalapeno provide much needed flavor to the dish, but there are six shrimp to two spice slices. The anchovies are very pungent and tasty. They remind me of small marinated sardines like the kind Morimoto served in one of my 23 omakase meals. The marinade includes sliced mushrooms and carrots. I actually enjoyed this Izakaya menu item. The wasabi flavor in the octopus was too overpowering, although the the quality of the octopus was on point. The kampachi collar reminded me of my first omakase at Zama, which was a very pleasurable experience (a subsequent collar at my second omakase was a bit too salty). I almost wish I could order a giant version of this collar. The homemade gyoza dumplings were pretty good, but nothing to write home about as better dumplings can be had from many non-Japanese establishments. The Ochazuke is a salmon and rice seafood broth that was very flavorful and full of nice little surprise textures, such as the toasted rice pellets, seaweed, and soft rice. The grilled rice ball isn't anything to write home about, either, as it is basically a pan-crisped ball of rice partially dipped in sauce. The sake selection has something for everyone, so give the ones that come in little cans a try. If you dare call yourself an adventurous foodie, you ought to give coZara a try before they start making the menu more mundane for the boring, herd mentality souls that choose to give a place like Shake Shack five stars and call themselves a foodie.

Perhaps the most beautiful steakhouse in Philadelphia, Butcher and Singer transports diners into a 1940's Prohibition-style space with high-ceilings and gorgeous chandeliers. If this were all flash and no substance, the restaurant would not be completely packed. My friend Chris W and I shared the Lump Crab Cocktail, a small portion of delectable jumbo lump crabmeat. We then set our sights on a medium-rare Porterhouse Steak for Two, a beautiful piece of meat dry aged for 21 to 30 days and charred to perfection. Our side was a potato hashbrown cake filled with onions and sour cream. "This is the best steak I've ever eaten," Chris commented. Indeed, this steak surpasses the Porterhouse at Morton's and the filet portions are as juicy and tender as anything you'll find at Smith & Wollensky, Capital Grille, Ruth's Chris, Sullivan's, and The Palm. The strip steak portion was equally delicious. The potato hashbrown cake simply elevates the experience into the ethereal. A steakhouse experience wouldn't be the same without a Manhattan, so I ordered a Butcher Manhattan (Bulleit whiskey, Dolin sweet vermouth, Vermont maple syrup, and Aztec chocolate). "I normally don't like Manhattans, but this is good!" Chris said. The food alone is excellent and the service is equally outstanding, but I'd expect nothing less from a Stephen Starr restaurant. It was three years since my last visit and I am still impressed. I've recommended this restaurant to several friends. Butcher and Singer is a first-class steak experience all the way.

Most people think of Middle Eastern food as vegetable dips like hummus and babagannush as well as shish kabobs of various meats, but there is one item on every menu that epitomizes what a satisfying, home-cooked meal is all about: the lamb shank. Oven roasted for over four hours, Istanbul Lounge's version comes with its vegetables neatly wrapped around it. The tender, succulent pieces of stewed eggplant and tomato pair exquisitely with the melt-in-your-mouth tenderness of the lamb. The sauce that this heavenly leg is cooked in is just sublime. Even the rice pilav deserves mention. A layer of rice mixed with bulgar and tomato sits on top of a traditional layer of chicken stock rice. Turkish rice meets Greek rice. An excellent combination! My friend Chris and I shared an appetizer platter of hummus, babagannush, and stuffed grape leaves. I loved the two vegetable dips. The grape leaves were a bit strong in flavor. The bread was fantastic. Chris had the kofte, five handmade sausage patties of spiced beef and lamb. The texture of the sausage was fantastic. "It's melt-in-your-mouth good," Chris commented. Indeed. The portions at Istanbul Lounge are on the smaller side like Estia. They don't try to stuff you here. Instead, they present the food with an air of refinement in a nice atmosphere. The restaurant looks polished and spacious. The servers and host are all very nice. Perhaps my only gripe is the tables are a little weird. A six-person table has a platform in the middle that hinders the middle two people from sitting comfortably. The tables are beautiful, but the table design doesn't quite work as intended. I also had a little trouble knowing that the place was Istanbul Lounge since the signs were very understated. These minor quibbles aside, the food itself is the reason to come here and I anxiously await my next visit.

I never would've believed it unless I tasted it for myself. It is possible to have good pizza from a truck. The ingredients are top-notch. The pillowy soft crust is baked to perfection in a fiery hot 800-degree wood burning oven. The truck is actually a large, spacious trailer where its three workers have ample room to move. Every personal size pizza my friends and I ordered was delicious and different. The roasted eggplant with marinated red peppers, ricotta cheese, and basil was classic Italian. The sausage with roasted mushrooms, carmelized onions, pecorino cheese, and bechamel sauce was creamy and savory. The soppressata with pancetta ham, onion, mozzarella, and pecorino was spicy good. Great for pepperoni pizza lovers. A small menu of six pizzas ensures consistent quality. Prior to boxing, a generous splash of oilve oil is added to each pie. Perhaps my only complaint is the crust was soft by the time we sat down to eat the pizza, but that was not the fault of the pizza makers. This pizza is as good as any restaurant pizza around. Think Lombardi's Pizza in New York (or the one that used to be in Philly) or Pietro's Coal Oven Pizza. Try it. It will change the way you think about pizza from a truck.

The smell of raw fish may be overpowering to some, but, to me, it's a sign of a sushi restaurant with a larger than average selection of fish. For six years, RAW has been both delighting and frustrating diners in the Midtown Village area with its creative sushi in a posh lounge atmosphere. Perhaps its biggest complaints center around the Morimoto-like pricing for non-celebrity chef-endorsed sushi. It is a pricey venue, but is the meal worth it? I think it is. The rock shrimp tempura is nicely crisped on the outside and very tender on the inside. Three dipping sauces provide plenty of variety and the portion of rock shrimp is pretty sizable. The sashimi appetizer was a selection of basically what every other sushi restaurant serves, so there's nothing special there. The Torimy Roll (spicy tuna and eel maki topped with torched squid, sweet soy sauce, creamy sauce, tobiko, and scallions) and my sushi selections of yellowtail, sea scallop, king crab, surf clam, and jumbo sweet shrimp were all expertly handcrafted. The sushi was in between the smaller sushi you get from Morimoto and other authentic Japanese sushi restaurants and the big, jumbo fuckers you get from stupid Americanized sushi places. The phrase "bigger is better" doesn't apply to sushi. So is RAW on par with Morimoto? No, but it has a different atmosphere. Morimoto appeals to the see-and-be-seen crowd. In other words, guys who thought I was the most beautiful woman in the world have taken me to Morimoto and we'd do the omakase together. You will likely end your night at Morimoto because the omakase takes about three hours to complete. RAW appeals to clubgoers who are about to go out and party at a nightclub later in the night. The place is dark and it's difficult to see who your neighbor is in the next booth. There are some really nice cocktail and sake selections. Nigori sake is one of my favorites. Comparing RAW to Morimoto is unfair because Morimoto tries to be super authentic by making simple Edo-style sushi and basic rolls. RAW tries to be the elite of the creative maki restaurants that are all basically the same place but with different names. What RAW does well is understand restraint. Unlike the cheapie places like Jay's Favorite Sushi, they don't kill a dish with excess ingredients. I think of Jay's as the kind of place a five year old could work where he or she just throws huge amounts of whatever on a plate and call it sushi. RAW gives you just enough of each ingredient so you get a taste and even an accent on something else. The wasabi actually tasted real, not like the creamy or powder-based stuff in other sushi places. That's a special touch I truly appreciate.

Can a fast food restaurant survive on selling what most people view as an appetizer? It can if it's really, really good. Fortunately for Dizengoff, it is. Sure, the prices are astronomical for hummus, but it's homemade with the highest quality ingredients. Anyone who has watched Chef Michael Solomonov's videos knows he is the undisputed king of hummus in Philly. He only uses the best and freshest ingredients available. "It tastes like it was made in a blender," critiqued the Israeli man sitting next to my dining companion and I. Indeed, Chef Solomonov is known for using Vitamix blenders to produce his creamy creations. The Israeli man told his friends he was used to eating lumpy hummus. I like lumpy hummus, too, but Chef Solomonov's version is a smooth delight similar in texture to Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter. There's nothing wrong with that. You could taste the quality in every savory bite. The homemade pita by itself should earn five stars for its quality. It is simply the best pita bread you can eat in the city outside of Zahav, Chef Solomonov's flagship restaurant. Your $10 or $11 "appetizer" at Dizengoff includes delicious stuff in the middle, such as roasted tomato and half a soft-boiled egg or lamb and pistachios or eggplant. You also get two small dishes of tomato and cucumber salad and pickles, onions, and cabbage. Did I mention the bread? Yes? It's that good. Don't miss it. The frozen lemonade drink was a little too tart for my liking. It would be incredible if they offered other frozen drink flavors, such as tangerine or mango. Overall, you have to give Dizengoff a try. I would certainly spoil myself every now and again with something this good.

The quaint little village of Government Camp has some nice shops for ski and snowboarding supplies as well as comfort foods, such as pizza, tacos, and coffee. The Taco Shoppe, as its name implies, is all about Mexican food and it does a lot of things right considering its location. The extensive menu includes tacos, burritos, tamales, quesadillas, nachos, and even margueritas. The five layer dip was especially noteworthy. The salsa had some good heat in it. The guacamole was also very good. The chili con queso was okay. The steak fajita had a lot of good qualities. It had a lot of steak, peppers, and onions and was very juicy. Although the steak was a bit tough and chewy, the peppers and onions saved the day. Everything is smothered in the delicious juice that all of the ingredients are cooked in. It was good comfort food.

Once a popular BYOB, Lolita has recently acquired a liquor license and lowered its prices. The menu looks like a more traditional Mexican restaurant, but with higher-end ingredients, such as smoked duck in the Duck Fat Tamale and raw scallops, red snapper, and tuna in the Seafood Tostadas. Gone is the wonderful grilled shrimp dish that I so fondly remember from my first dinner there. In its place are grilled shrimp tacos, which are not quite the same. The tacos are small but amply filled and come three to a plate. Each trio is affordably priced so it's possible to share a taco or two with a friend or two. The Salsa Negra Marinated Pork Tacos were a standout. The pork shoulder and pork cheek meat were moist and succulent. A little more meat than a typical slider, but without the bellybusting bread. Were the tacos better than the tacquerias in South Philly? Yes and no. There are times when the cheaper, more authentic tacos are what we crave, but Lolita's tacos are gourmet. They have ingredients in them that your typical taco place wouldn't use. It almost makes the food Tex-Mex style a la Rick Bayless. Too bad Frontera's food doesn't taste as good as Lolita's. The Carnitas y Panza Tacos with pork shoulder and pork belly were quite tasty and about as close to the South Philly tacquerias as you can get here. The Duck Fat Tamale was really good, almost orgasmic. The tomatoes and corn take it over the top. What a nice, sweet crunch! The duck meat is so tender and juicy, it melts in your mouth. "If you didn't say it was duck, I would've thought it was pork," my foodie friend Chris W said. I think that's why it's so good. This is accessible food for the average joe, because the average joe would never order something like this unless he knew it tasted like pork. The drink list includes a nice selection of margueritas and other cocktails. I like the changes to the restaurant, but I still miss the old Lolita.

After much anticipation, the second location of Nom Nom Ramen has finally opened and in the Penn food court, of all places! At first, I thought the choice of location was questionable, but it makes sense. Everyone loves ramen, especially college kids, but will the high prices turn off budget-conscious students? Not if the food has quality ingredients! The same broth that Nom Nom-ers know and love from the original outpost is here. It arguably tastes better here, as a matter of fact, as my recent Shoyu Ramen proves. The broth is amazing and has much more flavor than the Shio. The ingredients in this week's bowl included fresh scallions, marinated bamboo shoots, crunchy kikurage mushrooms, juicy chashu pork belly sprinkled with sesame seeds, and an added bonus... nori seaweed! Yes!!! The scallions and mushrooms are fresh and crunchy. The bamboo shoots are juicy and flavorful. The seaweed adds more of a sea component to the soup, something that the fish cake alone had left me wanting more of. The soup is more balanced now. I love adding a soft-boiled egg to my soup for extra protein. I was never a fan of red ginger and am glad it doesn't exist in this soup. Don't be turned off by the fact that Nom Nom Ramen II is in a food court. Places like this can only make food courts better. Is it better than Terakawa? Yes. Is it better than The Ramen Bar? Yes. Is it better than Nom Nom 1? Yes.

I'm not normally enamored with bar food, but this is not your usual bar. The graffiti-laden walls and ceilings, stickers and flyers adorning the restroom stalls, and narrow booths hint of dive bar - but it looks too clean to be a dive bar - and the drink specials are nothing short of extraordinary. Various flavored crushes with vodka and mojitos are highlights on the drink menu. They also have a drink that comes in a goldfish bowl-sized glass. The food is Tex-Mex. My friends and I ordered the jumbo steamed shrimp, quesadillas, and tacos. The steamed shrimp was excellent. In all my years visiting Ocean City, I have never had jumbo steamed shrimp as large and as equally delicious as this. My jerk shrimp taco also had large shrimp in it (not as large as the jumbo steamed shrimp, but every bit as good) and large grilled pineapple chunks and came with a generous helping of rice and beans, all equally tasty. Good job, guys and girls!

Captain's Galley has a special place in my heart because after eating a myriad of crappy crabcakes that all claimed to be "the best," this one truly is. The crab is buttery soft jumbo lump held together with the lightest of fillers. Each savory bite delights the senses without the overpowering taste of fishiness of lesser "crapcakes." The crabcake sandwich here comes with lettuce, two slices of beefsteak tomato, and a pillowy soft Kaiser roll. Every bite of this sandwich is delicious because the crabcake actually fills the bread nicely, unlike other places that give you a tiny crabcake in a gigantic bun. Perhaps the only thing I didn't like was the cole slaw, which is on the dry side, but this is a minor issue. Even though the restaurant has closed, the crabcakes live on in a smaller takeout shop with great prices.

Warm custom-made donuts with your choice of glaze and toppings... what is there not to like about the Fractured Prune? You can't just get one because there are so many different delicious combinations. Six is overkill, even for three people, but we got the half dozen because they're priced nicely that way. The warm cake donut with the crispy outside and moist inside reminded me a lot of my fave donut truck in Philly, Undrgrnd Donuts. The choice of 19 glazes and 13 toppings is simply astounding. Perhaps the only thing missing is a syrupy swirl topping, such as jelly or cream. My Banana Nut Crunch would've tasted better with walnuts instead of peanuts. My Strawberry Shortcake could've tasted more strawberry. But these are minor quibbles. The donuts here are great, much better than Dunkin, and ultimately more satisfying.

My friend Chris W and I decided to try a highly-regarded, well-established Philadelphia seafood house, Snockey's Oyster House, in Queen's Village. This is not the usual gourmet fare that we're used to from the see-and-be-seen places we frequent on Walnut and Chestnut Streets. This is down-home shore-style cooking with no pretenses and a lot of comfort food sensibilities. The garlic mashed potatoes were very good as a side. My jumbo shrimp were carefully deveined and wonderfully juicy. My jumbo lump crabmeat had nary a shell in it, seasoned with a light dusting of sea salt. Perhaps the biggest disappointment with my combo platter was the fried oysters that strangely didn't taste like anything. There was not a hint of the wonderful aroma of oysters that I like and there was a little too much breading for my liking. Still, the shrimp and crab cocktails were very good. Chris' broiled combo platter was the winner of the two. The scallops were grilled to perfection. I was not a fan of the crabcake as it used a lot of shredded jumbo lump meat rather than the big lumps of crabmeat I had on my platter. Our starters of crab fries and Manhattan clam chowder were mediocre. I couldn't find a clam in the chowder and the crab fries used an inferior crab meat not like the tasty morsels on my platter.

My friend Chris W wanted to eat something healthy and nutritious, so I suggested a new vegan restaurant, Charlie Was A Sinner. "Now, hold on," Chris said, "I was thinking more along the lines of chicken and fish rather than beef and pork, but if it's anyting like Vedge, I'll give it a try." I told him it was very much like Vedge from all that I've read, so we went and we ordered four dishes and they were fantastic. Our first dish, Spiced Cauliflower with Royal Trumpet Steak was an absolute delight to eat. The steak was plump, tender, and juicy and grilled to pan roasted to perfection. So were the cauliflower heads mixed with raisins, dates, pine nuts, and acini de pepe (little pasta balls). I had read about how fabulous the Maryland Style Crab Cake sliders were, so I ordered them and was not disappointed. Made of zucchini, these crab cakes were delicious replicas of the taste and texture of creamy shredded lump crabcakes. The little slider buns were pillowy soft. The Confit Potato Cup and Mushroom dish was very good. The wild mushrooms were bursting with flavor. The Tofu and Bean Sausages were tasty replicas of breakfast-style pork sausages. I loved the flavors of the carmelized onions and pesto.

The first thing I noticed about The Treemont was its chic interior, like something out of an Upper East Side restaurant in New York. My friend Chris W and I had drinks at the bar in the past, so we felt it was time to dine at this remarkable place. Chef Chip Roman had cut his teeth in such fine dining establishments as Blackfish, Mica, and Ela. His newest residency has dishes displaying elements from all of them. My dorade, two tender filets that reminded me of sea bass, was tender, flaky, and oh so juicy. The combination of veggie crunch, quinoa chew, foam bubbles, and cream with the dorade was a wonderful titillation of the senses. Chris' pork loin was brilliant comfort food made to look elegant. Chef Roman definitely channeled Chef Daniel Stern with that dish. The cavatelli with lamb ragu was another winner with tender slow-cooked lamb enhancing the flavors of a delicious pasta dish.

We're all very familiar with Asian Fusion cuisine, that adventurous blend of the best flavors of the East and West. Sometimes the mix works. Other times it's simply disastrous. My otherwise stellar meals at Morimoto were occasionally marred by a bad plate, such as the seafood gazpacho martini or the "fresh sardines in tomato" that tasted no better than the canned variety. Dozens of copycat restaurants have popped up in Philly after Morimoto, most never quite rivaling the Iron Chef giant. Behold... we have a new contender and it's not Asian Fusion!

My tastebuds have been tantalized by what appears to be the most unique gastronomic delightfulness to have graced my plate in years... Jewish Fusion!

Salami and eggs... gefilte fish... kasha varnishkes... all are familiar dishes in Jewish cuisine but the modernized versions at Abe Fisher are not like anything you've tried before. "We're not cooking here like Jewish grandmothers," owner Michael Solomonov says. Indeed, the first restaurant to speak of Jewish Fusion was Chef Solomonov's flagship, Zahav, and even that was not quite the culinary adventure that Abe Fisher simply is. My foodie companion, Chris W, was a little hesitant at first, not knowing what he was in for. "I simply trust your judgement," he said, "because you've never steered me wrong." Our Raw and Marinated Bass had two preparations of sea bass. The raw preparation hinted of the sublime textures and tastes of fish carpaccio in such places as Morimoto and Buddakan, but the real winner was the small cake of marinated bass with avocado cream cheese. It was an absolutely delicious blend of fish and dairy. I could eat this atop my favorite crackers all day long. The Salami and Eggs was pure nirvana. The dish spoke of an unbridled passion of taking risks and seeing one such risk emerge as a workable, even superior, solution. This is clearly one of the best fusion dishes I've ever eaten and what makes it even more stupendous is... it's comfort food. Good, simple comfort good. Frickin' genius comfort food. I would stop in for Happy Hour or dinner just to eat that. Our entrées of Roumanian Steak and Stuffed Trout "Gefilte Fish" were amazing. At its most basic level, the Roumanian Steak is simply Chinese beef and broccoli with Middle Eastern flavors. At a deeper level, it is simply the juiciest, most tender skirt steak I've eaten in a long time. The broccoli had that crisp, charred outside and juicy goodness inside. An outstanding dish. I didn't quite know what to make of the Gefilte Fish when I got it. It looked like no gefilte fish I had ever seen. In fact, one look and you would think that Daniel Stern made a guest appearance in the kitchen to prepare this! Imagine a cylinder made of a whole piece of boneless trout stuffed with a finely chopped filling made of smoked trout, walnuts, and matzo meal. The tube of deliciousness sat in a small sea of delectable carrot puree. I could do without the carrot and raisin salad, though, because it didn't pair well with the fish. For dessert, I had the Apple Strudel, which was very good, and Chris W had the Bacon and Egg Cream, which I wasn't too fond of. The host gave each of us a complimentary glass of dessert wine with our dessert course. The cocktails were very unusual, but strangely good. One had beet juice in it. Two others had cherry juice. I don't know the significance of red in the drinks, other than that all of the drinks tasted like variations of Sangria-like wine. Kudos to the cool names for the drinks, such as The Bitter End, Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition, and Blood and Smoke. Abe Fisher gets my highest recommendation as a restaurant with unique, delicious food that is accessible to the masses. It's easy to see why this is the new "in" spot in Center City. Congratulations, Chef Solomonov, for bringing life to Sansom Street!

It's very rare that I give a 5 star review to a new food truck or restaurant right off the bat. It has to seriously wow me and that's what these guys did. What made Tacos Don Memo or La Lupe great, Dos Hermanos took it to another level by crisping the outside of their soft shells. It's a simple gesture to fry the bread on the grill for a little bit, baking the juices of the marinated meat prepared on it into the bread. The outer shell of the doubled taco shell is crisp and chewy and wonderful. There are a variety of meat fillings for your tacos... al pastor (pineapple pork), carnitas, tinga (shredded chicken), chorizo, shrimp, asada (steak), and more. I've tried the al pastor, chorizo, and asada tacos. The al pastor meat is insanely great. Fucking awesome. The chorizo was good, but the al pastor is great. The asada is okay. I would avoid this and recommend the al pastor instead. Get the green sauce. Ask for "everything", which includes cilantro, radishes, and a lime. You will love these tacos. I sure did.

When your tummy grumbles, nothing feels better than a good seafood sandwich. Crabcake or cod fish burger, Ippolito's in South Philly has it all... a fine selection of fresh seafood, including crab legs, fish, scallops, and more delights of the sea. This is the kind of seafood market that puts all other seafood markets to shame. The people behind the counter actually try to get to know their customers and make recommendations on what to get and how to prepare their products. This place reminds me so much of my neighborhood seafood market in Brooklyn. There are free recipe cards to help you plan out your next seafood meal. There are also pre-prepared seafood salads, jumbo sea scallops wrapped in bacon, and sumptuous side dishes for those of you who want a quick meal. My partner Robyn and I tried their "Best of Philly" crabcake sandwich and "Cod Father" codfish burger sandwich. She loved her crabcake. I loved my codfish burger. Before you think "Codfish burger? How mundane!" let me assure you that this is probably the best codfish burger you'll ever have. It's got carmelized onions in it, brown mustard, and tartar sauce in a toasted brioche bun. Let me repeat... it's got carmelized onions in it! So good! Throw every preconceived notion you have about fried fish sandwiches out the window. The Cod Father will make you a believer. While we were waiting for our sandwiches, one of the guys behind the counter offered us a sample of pulpo (octopus) salad. It was frickin' delicious! Huge chunks of pulpo, chickpeas, olives, and more. We also tried the Deluxe Seafood Salad, which had imitation crabmeat, bay scallops, and shrimp. That, too, was amazing.

SUMO Sushi is a nice, clean sushi bar with a friendly staff and decent food. On my first visit, I tried the $10.95 lunch sushi set, which included miso soup and six pieces of nigiri (two tuna, two salmon, one white tuna, one whitefish) and an inside-out California roll. The fish tasted very fresh and the presentation was very nice. The three sushi chefs were very quick and efficient. On my second visit, my friend Chris W and I enjoyed the soft shell crab and the sunomono as appetizers. The soft shell crab was very meaty and delicious. The sunomono was unlike other sunomono I've had. Usually, there are pieces of diced fish soaking in ponzu sauce. This was more like a separate order of sashimi with ponzu sauce on the side. Curious, I looked up what sunomono was and discovered it's actually a Japanese cucumber salad that uses a sauce made with rice vinegar. I'm pretty sure that sauce might be ponzu sauce. Scanning the Internet, I noticed that everyone seems to have their version of what sunomono is. It seems to be a type of mystery dish created at the chef's discretion. Whatever we were eating, the sashimi (two tuna, two salmon, two white tuna, three whitefish) was excellent and using the ponzu as a dipping sauce made everything taste better. Chris ordered the Fancy Salmon and Princess rolls, which were good. I ordered a sushi platter with white tuna, salmon, sea urchin with quail egg, and eel. Our server remembered me from my first visit a few days ago and recommended the sea urchin. She said it was very fresh and just arrived that day. Indeed, the sea urchin was amazing. The eel was also quite memorable. We received a complimentary dessert of green tea and strawberry mochi ice cream, a nice finishing touch. I can tell that SUMO Sushi really aims to please.This is my go-to sushi spot when I'm in Midtown Village.

Recent renovations have made Ting Wong look shiny new, but the focus has never been on atmosphere or service. It's all about the food. The roast duck is incredible. The roast pork is possibly the best you can get in Chinatown. The roast pig - crunchy skin attached to juicy morsels of meat - is excellent. The soy sauce chicken is finger-lickin' good. Forget Sang Kee. While they and others are pricing themselves out of the water with their rice dishes, Ting Wong has kept their single meat on rice dish at a modest $5.50. I don't have to give Ting Wong five stars, because Ting Wong's reputation precedes it. Craig Laban gave it a glowing review back in 2011. Die-hard foodies who want good old-fashioned Chinese soul food go here often. So what's my motive? Why am I reviewing this place now after three years of keeping it as one of my most heavily guarded secrets? Have I found another place I like better? Maybe, but maybe not. I want this place to thrive, to continue to be busy because there are more restaurants in Philly now than ever before. It would be a shame to lose a gem like Ting Wong. From recent visits, that's likely not going to happen. If I had a last meal on earth, it would be difficult to choose between Ting Wong's three meats on rice and Zama's omakase. If I chose Ting Wong, I could feed twelve of my friends for the same price as a single omakase. Long live Ting Wong!

If you want a specialty pizzas that's different from your usual neighborhood pizza joint, you need to go here. In my own very stringent taste tests, I've annointed Rustica as the best of the Ten Killer Slices of Pizza in Philly. The addition of unusual specialty pizzas solidifies its outstanding rating. Take, for instance, the spinach and roasted tomato red pie. Each mouthwatering bite of juicy spinach and flavorful tomato is sure to leave your tastebuds tantalized and your tummy craving more. The sausage and broccoli rabe was another winner. Paper thin slices of sweet Italian sausage and juicy chunks of broccoli rabe combine perfectly in this heavenly slice. The brisket, brown gravy, and mashed potato was a sleeper hit. It was like eating a tasty open-faced dinner sandwich. Perhaps my only gripe is the bread is a little thick, but it's cooked nicely and does have a lot of ingredients to support. There's a lot to like about Rustica. Give it a try if you haven't already.

My friend Chris recently recommended a restaurant that totally escaped my radar until now. The food was really good. "I get credit for this one," he tooted. The special Restaurant Week menu featured an assortment of fine dishes that were variations from their regular menu, including the Heirloom Pumpkin Croquetas, Tosta de Setas (seared wild mushrooms, dry olorosso, cadi urgelia cheese, truffle oil, thyme on toasted bread), Pescado a la Placha (seared dorade, smashed smoked olive oil potatoes, romanesco, white wine-caper sauce), Gambas al Ajillo (grilled herb-chile shrimp, white beans, roasted peppers, garlic). The crispy Papa Frita potatoes are not to be missed. My Warm Nocilla Bread Pudding (milk chocolate-hazelnut bread pudding, vanilla ice cream, spiced spanish peanuts, salted caramel sauce) was particularly noteworthy. As far as desserts go, it was one of the best desserts I've had in the past year. The seats are a little cramped, even for my skinny ass, but I love the trendiness of this place. The bar is beautiful and definitely a draw.

Chef Michael Kollarik's Superbowl-inspired cuisine for tonight's Dinner Lab meal was bold in some places yet quite conservative in others. Each dish was quite telling of his diverse range of culinary skills. You don't get to work at Edi & The Wolf, Momofuku, and Pêche and win Chopped unless you're someone special.

This is why it was a little surprising to see Chef Kollarik hold back a little too conservatively. The first course, Buffalo Sweetbreads with pickled celery and blue cheese espuma, was the chef's take on buffalo wings. The sweetbreads were cooked to perfection, but the outer coating was inconsistent from piece to piece. Some were perfect. Others were too soggy, too chewy, or inedible. I liked the accompanying celery and espuma. The espuma was a whipped mousse made with blue cheese. I felt that two small dots of espuma were not enough for my six sweetbreads. The second course, Celery Root Taco with fluke crudo, leche de tigre, and butternut squash tartar, showed me the chef's creative genius. Chef Kollarik must've been channeling Chef Rich Landau and Chef Hiroyuki “Zama” Tanaka by using a thin sliver of celery root as a taco shell. The second course was accompanied by a beer pairing of Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale. The third course, what Chef Kollarik calls "Gameday Pizza" was actually a pasta dish with ricotta cavatelli, pepperoni ragu, and pickled pepper. The little cavatelli dumplings reminded me more of potato gnocchi than ricotta gnocchi. I wish they were softer. The ragu and pickled pepper were wonderful tastes and while this qualified as good comfort food, it didn't necessarily strike me as something I could find at a gourmet restaurant. The fourth course, what Chef Kollarik calls "Cheese Steak" was actually braised short ribs with charred onions, confit potatoes, and gruyere au poivre sauce. It was paired with a red zinfadel by Forever Vineyards. Pardon me for saying this, but where was the gruyere sauce? It looked like brown gravy to me. This was a decent dish even without the gruyere sauce, but it lacked any originality whatsoever. The fifth course, a Brown Butter Donut with coffee sugar and whiskey cream, was too dry. There wasn't enough cream. I complained to my server and she brought me another with a lot more cream. With the additional cream, it was very good. Our apertif was a cucumber and gin tonic with simple syrup. Out of all of the alcohol offered, I actually enjoyed that drink the most. I cannot say that my first Dinner Lab experience was a magnificent one. It was okay. I hope to see more creative dishes in the future.

Perhaps one of the nicest meals I've enjoyed in a while is from one of the first places I've dined at more than ten years ago: Lacroix. Back then, Chef Jean-Marie Lacroix was at the helm training a generation of young chefs and helping Philadelphia make a name for itself in the culinary world. His retirement gave way to a rapid succession of executive chefs who ranged from very good to excellent. Now Chef de Cuisine Steve Eckerd, formerly Executive Chef of the short-lived Le Bec Fin 2.0, prepares the meals at this esteemed restaurant under the guidance of Executive Chef Jon Cichon. I've always enjoyed the scenic views of Rittenhouse Square from the restaurant's enormous windows. The restaurant itself is simply beautiful. That and the exquisite greet-by-name service has not changed. You want to go back to a place like Lacroix again and again because each new chef brings new ideas and skills to the table. On the flip side, those of you who want to eat the same meal from ten or twenty years ago will be sorely disappointed. There are restaurants that cater to those types of meals. Lacroix is not one of them. What I enjoy most as a progressive foodie is the change. Change is good. The bread basket included five different kinds of fresh bread, including baguette, rye, sourdough, raisin, and sesame cracker. The amuse bouche was a delicious creme fraiche salad with apples, greens, and salmon roe. My first course, Foie Gras Torchon with raw venison, pineapple, crisped kale, and black radish foam, was exquisite. The warm slice of bread reminded me of an unsweetened buttermilk poundcake, the perfect taste and texture complement to the creamy torchon. In fact, the entire dish was a veritable palette of different tastes and textures and paired nicely with my sauternes dessert wine. My second course, Turbot with sweet potato purée, pickled cucumber, picholine olives, and sumac, was a delightful fish dish. I loved the turbot filet and its associated crisped skin. The palette cleanser of a smidge of raspberry sorbet sandwiched between two vanilla wafers was very nice. My third course, Veal Breast with polenta canelloni, charred cippolini onion, grilled yellowfoot chanterelle mushrooms, and bone marrow, was what I affectionately call "Robin Hood's Feast." Wow, just wow. It was a celebration of earthy flavors from the game meat to the wild mushrooms. The veal breast was juicy and tender like the best meat roasts with a sublime molasses-like skin. It reminded me of the best of Chef Pierre Calmels meat dishes. The bone marrow was prepared like some of the best French restaurants in Philly. The chef removes the bone marrow, mixes it with something else, and stuffs it back into the bone. I heard that egg was one of the ingredients. What a fantastic taste! The polenta-filled canelloni was amazing. It soaked up many of the earthy flavors in the entire dish. Both the fish and meat courses paired well with with my Riesling. Sadly, my fourth course, the Pomelo with coconut, sweet potato, tarragon dessert, was the only failed dish in the entire meal. The bitter taste of the fruit just didn't work for me. I appreciated the cleverness of the liquid nitrogen-enhanced foam. I know the pastry chef was trying to go for a Japanese sunomono feel with the dish, but the flavors were just off and didn't work well together. After the dessert course was a long plate with petit fours pastries, including a madeleine, chocolate nougat, chocolate macaron, etched chocolate candy, and fruit jelly. As if all of that weren't enough, I received a bite-sized marzipan-covered chocolate cake with a candle and "Happy Birthday" nicely written in chocolate on the plate. As if that weren't enough, I also received a small banana walnut loaf filled with chocolate as a gift from the host. The sequencing of each course reminded me so much of a Zama omakase meal. In all, a four-course meal ended up being a nine-course affair. Wow, just wow. "Should we keep our chef de cuisine?" our host joked. I smiled and enthusiastically nodded. Yes, definitely keep him for as long as he wishes to stay!

I was majorly disappointed that Chef Zama wasn't present to prepare my birthday omakase, especially since Robyn made our reservation well over a month ago. Still, the chef de cuisine of the night did a fantastic job with the upgrades in the $75 Tasting Menu. My first course, Nambanzuke, a seaweed salad with fried fish marinated in soy, dashi, and vinegar, was a very nice starter and very similar to the first course of my previous Zama omakase. My second course, a Yuzu Lobster roll filled with shrimp, yuzu creme jelly, crispy shallots, and yuzu tobiko was wrapped in thinly sliced Daikon radish and topped with a fresh lobster salad and sliced kumquat. The roll was accompanied with small drops of yuzu miso sauce. I loved the intricate flavors of this roll and it was refreshing to taste something so progressive. My third course, Japanese Crudo, was four kinds of sashimi (bluefin tuna, yellowtail, red snapper, and salmon) with lime, shiso, olive oil, and Himalayan salt. This was an upgrade from the usual three kinds of fish in this course. My fourth course, Mixed Tuna Tartare, was a cylinder of tuna made with blue fin, big eye, and albacore with ponzu and wasabi inside and topped off with paddle fish and golden caviar. Crispy shallot chips served as an accompaniment. Especially noteworthy are the specks of gold flake in the caviar. This was an absolutely delicious dish. Zama took the tuna tartare concept to a whole new level here. My fifth course, Miyazaki Beef Steak Tataki, two prized cubes of Japanese Wagyu beef topped with ponzu jelly, chili pepper, and micro cilantro, was a melt-in-your-mouth delight. The crispy bed of shallots beneath the Wagyu were infused with bamboo charcoal salt. Robyn and I found ourselves wishing for more pieces of this delicious beef. My sixth course, Nigiri, was a five piece Chef's selection of nigiri sushi. Our host made sure the chef included sea urchin in the course. As luck would have it, fresh sea urchin, shucked that day, was included in two of the five pieces. One of the pieces also had tobiko (black fish eggs). Wow! All five selections were delicious. My seventh course, Truffled SST, a handroll filled with spicy shrimp tempura, eel, scallions, and truffled eel sauce, was a fantastic end note to the savory part of our meal. I've had this wonderful "sushi dessert" in the past and it was absolutely delish back then as it is now. My eighth course, a dessert trio of yuzu créme brûlée, tofu beignets with caramel sauce, and banana and chocolate spring roll was a very nice ending to a fantastic meal. Robyn was enamored with the spring roll. I enjoyed the créme brûlée. A carafe of Ozeki Junmai Nigori, a California sake, was a nice wine pairing to our meal.

One of my previous nights with my fellow foodie friend Chris W included what we thought were excellent drinks at José Garces' The Olde Bar. We were enchanted by the ambience of this "contemporary oyster saloon" so much so that we decided to dine there someday. Unfortunately, the food didn't live up to the hype of a Garces-owned restaurant. Our server did a wonderful job selling us on various items on the menu. "The Sex on the Bay oysters are delicious!" she exclaimed, and she was correct. They were, indeed, one of the best East Coast oysters I've ever had. The turtle soup was hearty and flavorful. The sliced hard-boiled quail egg and sherry cream were nice touches. The fried belly clams were very good, more lightly battered but more strongly seasoned than Oyster House. If we stopped our meal there, it would've been a very nice little pre-dinner meal, easily four-star quality. "I'm from Maryland and the crab cake is one of the best I've ever had!" our server explained. Unfortunately, the crab cake was not excellent or even good. The thin cake was coated with too many breadcrumbs. The "fresh crab" tasted like the oily, mealy crab meat I didn't like. I could've made a better crab cake at home using jumbo lump. Chris' steamed clams in garlic and white wine were too salty and overpowering. They were possibly the worst steamed clams I've ever eaten. I overheard a woman at the table behind me tell our server about how bad the fish and chips were. I almost ordered that. I'm glad I didn't. How could the appetizers be so decent and the entrées be so poor? Inconsistent food like this boggles my mind. Perhaps it was a little presumptuous to think that this place might be great for dinner. At this point, it might be a nice pitstop for snacks and drinks and nothing more.

During my yoga teacher training in March 2015, my yoga family and I dined at Arigato, one of the best sushi restaurants in Santa Barbara. I got the Ultimate 10, which included O-toro, kampachi (yellowtail), tai (sea bream), aji (horse mackerel), hototegai (live scallop), mirugai (giant geoduck clam), snowcrab leg, ankimo (monkfish liver), uni (sea urchin), and ikura (salted salmon roe). Each piece used high-quality ingredients. Sushi was such a refreshing change of pace from the strict vegetarian diet we maintained throughout the week. I savored each piece of fish as if it were my first and last. The negatives? The gunkanmaki were sloppily made and except for a small inedible bite in the aji, every piece of nigiri was perfect, fresh, and nicely presented. I saved the O-toro, the best, for last. You will be in sushi heaven with the Ultimate 10.

The long lines should give you an idea of the popularity of this place. A gentleman who stood ahead of us in line suggested my friend and I get the Dungeness crab omelet. Not wanting to pass up on a good thing, we ordered it. I had also heard about the French toast from our friends and a Yelp reviewer who claimed that the French toast was so good, he'd trade his mother to Al Qaeda for it. The Dungeness crab omelet and banana nut French toast are the bomb! Lots of sweet, firm crab meat in my omelet. The side of mixed fruit was a nice touch. Unfortunately, the homemade biscuit wasn't very good. It was dry and not fluffy. Strangely, I felt a Popeye's biscuit was better than this. Strangely, the scones are spot on. The coconut pineapple one tastes like a soft cake. I loved my friend's banana nut French toast. The orange juice was a little tart. Two weeks later, my friends and I went here again and this time I had the Lobster Benedict. So so good! Don't miss these delightful seafood options.

Voted Best Thai Restaurant in Santa Barbara, Zen Yai offers authentic Thai cuisine. I had the much acclaimed pumpkin curry with chicken, a fiery hot, savory green curry with big chunks of red peppers, potatoes, pumpkin, and basil. It was delicious. I also got to try a little of each of my friend's dishes: Vegetable Pad Thai, Poorman's Noodles, and Tofu Red Curry. All were delicious. I'm from Philadelphia where we have our choice of several amazing Thai restaurants. Zen Yai easily compares to the best in Philly.

I had the salsa verde pork burrito twice here and both times it was great. The accompanying rice, salad, guacamole, and sour cream were awesome. The portion sizes were huge and delicious. The free chips and salsa are a great bonus. Once your order is placed, expect your meal to be ready in mere minutes. This is truly as good as it gets. Unfortunately, the lines to get in can be long. Be prepared to wait for this excellent food. This will definitely be one of my go-tos if I visit Santa Barbara again.

My friends and I went to a funny-looking little turquoise blue taco shack called La Super Rica Taqueria for dinner. Super Rica was the late Chef Julia Child's favorite Mexican restaurant in Santa Barbara. The Super-Rica Especial is the item to get. Roasted chile peppers stuffed with cheese and marinated pork on top of three fresh corn tortillas. The tortillas are made by hand just before they are placed on the grill. It doesn't get much better than that! I also got a pork tamale, but it wasn't as good as the one I got from a little truck called Grandma's Tamales.

Chef Kevin Sbraga knows fried chicken. My first exposure to his succulent birds was the hot chicken at The Fat Ham. Lo and behold, his lavender honey fried chicken tops its spicy cousin. The chicken is brined in buttermilk, dredged in seasoned flour and sits for ten minutes. It's then coated with a second round of flour and dropped into the fryer. The chicken (breast, wing, thigh, drumstick) is drizzled with lavender honey and sprinkled with salt and ground pink peppercorns. It comes with a buttermilk biscuit, whipped honey-thyme butter, and red bliss potato salad. It is some of the best fried chicken I've eaten in a long time. Crunchy, crispy coating on the outside with a juicy, moist inside. The sweet honey glaze is truly outstanding and finger lickin' good. The biscuit is awesome. I would definitely order this dish again and again. I got the salty but delicious fried smelts with chili pepper aioli as an appetizer. My friend Chris W got the filet mignon and butter poached king crab surf and turf. For dessert, I had a slice of salted pecan pie and he had the ice cream sundae. Every dish at Juniper Commons was top-notch. Chef Sbraga does it again!

If you're on a budget and can't afford to dine lavishly all the time, have no fear. Philly has a large number of affordable places for frugal foodies. Sometimes you can find something that's quite reasonable on your wallet in a restaurant that typically offers entrées for $10 and up. Mama's Vegetarian on the corner of 20th and Ranstead offers a small falafel sandwich with three falafel and mixed veggies in a pita for $4. Add a soda and the meal comes to $5. A delicious kati roll with egg omelet and Indian spices can be had for $4.50 plus tax at Spice End. Desi Chaat House offers some delicious Indian street food in the form of chaat for $4.99 plus tax. Some delicious meals can be had from the city's gourmet food trucks. There are a number of halal food trucks serving tasty $5 meals that come ith your choice of lamb gyro, chicken, and falafel on top of rice and salad with a soda. Some halal trucks give you a scoop of chickpeas in a tomato-based sauce as a bonus. Your five-spot also pays for a short rib burrito, lemongrass pork banh mi, or tofu over rice dish at Tyson Bee's. Splurge a little to get the curry of the week for $6. For all you Chinese food lovers, Ting Wong offers your choice of meat over rice dishes at $5.50 each. And let's not forget good ol' American fare. A Shake Shack hamburger with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onions is just $4.19 plus tax. There are free cups and a water machine for those of you who truly want to spend no more than $5 there. A slice of specialty pizza and a soda costs just $5.50 at Joe's Pizza. Be sure to check out the slices of pasta and meatballs or ravioli!

My friend Chris W and I decided to take our culinary adventures to an upscale comfort food restaurant and bar on East Passyunk Avenue this week. For my appetizer, I had the Montreal Poutine, a big plate filled to the brim of freshly cut fries, corned beef, squeaky cheese curds, and brown gravy. Chris had the Moules Frites, an equally huge plate of mussels, spinach, tomato, garlic, and freshly cut fries. For dinner, we each had a plate of Lobster Ravioli, six big pillows of delectable lobster meat sitting in a tasty sea of brandy lobster sauce with three jumbo shrimp. Everything was delicious, well-executed, and well-prepared. The fries were beautifully done. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. The cheese was super stringy as it should be. The corned beef in brown gravy was delicious. Chris' mussels dish was delicous as well. We both enjoyed our lobster ravioli. It reminded me of the lobster ravioli Upstairs at Varalli used to serve.

Chef Geno Betz's "Relevant Elements" theme combines "techically driven and unexpected compositions." My only problem with this title is most every Dinner Lab chef is going to wow us with techically driven and unexpected compositions, so you don't have to say it. I sat with some interesting people. Jackie and Matt, a medical school student and advertising professional, sat to my left. Pete and Beth, an older couple originally from Chicago, sat to the right. We all came together today because of our love for food. Our first course, a Fluke Torchon in a hibiscus broth with raspberry tea, shaved beets, red vein sorrel, and puffed farro, was very bland. The fish was very fresh, but needed more seasoning. My tablemates and I kept thinking that a slice of jalapeño pepper and a little tangerine or other citrus fruit would've helped. Our second course, a Brown Butter Roasted Sunchoke with spring onion confit, broccoli purée, and artichoke-Parmesan espuma, a nice little salad, was so much better than the first. The play here is combination of artichoke heart that everyone's familiar with and the Jerusalem artichoke, or sunchoke. Both artichokes were soft in texture, in contrast to the nice crunch of the spring onion. Plus, how can you go wrong with the rich, decadent taste of brown butter? The espuma was one of my favorite parts of the dish. Everything tastes better with nicely seasoned foam. Our third course, Lobster and Shrimp Sausage with almond foam, asparagus, and braised young leeks, was the dish everyone was waiting for and it did not disappoint. Moussed lobster and shrimp formed into a long tubular shape baked to a golden brown. It was very Asian, like the shrimp and scallop meatballs in Chinese cooking or the crab cake from Le Bec Fin, which Chef Betz no doubt was inspired by during his time there. Our fourth course, Sweetbread Casoncelli with English peas, pearl onions, and seared trumpet mushrooms, was a kickin' little ravioli dish with a lot of nice flavors and textures. A couple of my tablemates and I felt the pasta filling could've been a less puréed to add more texture to the filling. Chef Betz already has a sweetbread ravioli on his Paradiso restaurant menu, so his pasta making expertise is clearly established. Our fifth course, Strawberry and Rhubarb Sucrée with white chocolate crémeux, lime zest, and basil, was a nice ending to a nice meal. One of the sous chefs commented that it was "the best Oreo cookie he's ever had," to the delight of the audience. Chef Betz made his rounds with his guests thanking each one and answering questions about his food and culinary style. I motioned him over for a picture with me and Jackie and asked Matt to take the picture, to which both he and Matt gladly obliged. I also complimented him on his seafood sausage and asked him for more of it, to which he replied, "Sure!" Jackie was amazed at my bravado. "Oh my God, you're awesome!" Jackie said. "It never hurts to ask," I said. The special cocktail of the night was an Old Fashioned, which I didn't like because it was too strong. The drink pairings (Montes Cherub Rose of Syrah 2012 and a Rhubarb 75) with the seafood sausage and dessert were nice, but I liked my Aranciata Rosa San Pellegrino soda better.

I tried the combination platter with three entrées as recommended by various reviewers on Yelp. I selected the Javanese beef stew, shrimp with potatoes, and the TTP (sauteed tofu, tempeh, and sator with chili peppers). "The beef tastes like Dinty Moore," my partner noted. I couldn't agree more. The tough pieces of overcooked meat sat in a flavorful sauce, but the meat was low quality. The shrimp with potatoes was also in a flavorful sauce and I didn't mind so much that the shrimp still had their shells on, since the shells were somewhat edible, but the shrimp tasted overcooked and old like dried shrimp. The potatoes were good. The TTP was probably the best dish of the bunch, but the soy products were all too firm for my tastes. I chose to eat here to prepare for the Indonesian meal I would have the next day with my friend Chris W.

Highly praised by Yelp reviewers, the principle reasonings are good, cheap, and accessible. This is not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, but decent Indonesian comfort food. The portions are big and you can eat dinner for less than ten dollars. My friend Chris W admitted that if he lived in the city, he would be eating here every day. That's a little far-fetched to me, because while the food was good, it wasn't that good. I liken it to my favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Chinatown. The fried wontons are good and for just $3 are worth a try, but nothing to write home about. Item "N2 Seafood Homemade Egg Noodle/Mie Seafood" had some delightful pieces of seafood in its curried broth, but way too many noodles. The balance didn't seem right. My friend Chris W had a similar noodle dish with beef which seemed to have a better protein to noodle ratio. I love noodles, but to make that 80% of the dish isn't good. Perhaps the sleeper hit of the bunch is the item not listed on any online menus... Batagor. It was a curious dish with hard boiled egg, fried tofu, and fried "fish" soaked in peanut sauce. I put the word in quotes because I wondered what exactly the fish was. From its jelly-like texture and consistency, I concluded it was fish maw, or the gas bladder of a fish. Whatever it was, it was good and I came back the next day for another order. Unfortunately, I experienced a queasy feeling the second time I ate it, so I categorize this dish as a sometimes food. Too much of a good thing can be bad.

Expect to be amazed at Monte's Trattoria in Greenwich Village, NYC. Chef Pietro Mosconi is well-known in the culinary world and we had the pleasure of meeting and being greeted by him as he walked by our table carrying a large platter full of fresh homemade pasta. "Made it just now!" he said with a happy, smiling face. You can just tell that he loves his work. He takes pride in it and that's the kind of authentic Italian cooking you'll get at Monte's Trattoria. The cozy little dining room is the perfect setting for a romantic dinner. The old-school Italian waiters give the place an even more authentic feel. Robyn and I thoroughly enjoyed our entrées. She had the Filet Mignon Marsala, two large, juicy slabs of filet mignon with hearty mushrooms smothered in a red wine reduction. I had the Veal Palliarde, a pounded-to-paper-thin slice of tender, succulent veal sautéed in butter and garlic. Heaven on a plate. Our manicotti with ricotta was good but soupy, perhaps cooked a little more than we're used to. We will surely be back and can't wait to try more of their delicious food.

My friend Chris W and I stopped in for a drink at Brigantessa one evening before dinner at Izumi, a sushi BYOB just down the block. Little did we know that this place was already given glowing reviews by food critics around town. Somehow Brigantessa totally escaped our radar. I was already familiar with highly praised Chef Cicala's work at Le Virtu having dined on plenty of his amazing ragu dishes in the past. Does Brigantessa stand up to the hype? Indeed. The Gulf Coast rock shrimp "con la conza" with toasted almonds, garlic, parsley, and white whine was absolutely divine. I've eaten so many dishes of rock shrimp tempura that have clouded my judgement of how good rock shrimp can be without the crunchy coating. The toasted almonds supply an added crunch factor that is superior to any Panko crust coating out there. The succulent morsels of rock shrimp stand up on their own in this perfectly cooked dish. Highly recommended. The wood-grilled calamari with black Pugliese chick pea hummus and Neopolitan pita was innovative and delicious. The last time I saw a dish this interesting was at Jose Garces' Amada where I enjoyed the Seafood Paella personally prepared by Chef Garces himself. The beet green "briganti hats" with dry-aged Lancaster beef ragu and Parmiggiano Reggiano was decent and unassuming. The homemade pasta was nicely prepared al denté and the ragu was delicious. I like the inspiration for the dish (you'll have to Google search "briganti hats" for more on this). The pièce de résistance of the night was the Stella pizza, a starfish-shaped pie with San Marzano tomatoes, sheep's milk ricotta, buffalo mozzarella, and pork sausage. True to what our server said, it was half pizza and half calzone. The crust was folded in such a way as to encapsulate the fluffy pillows of ricotta cheese. The center portion highlighted the wonderful juiciness of the tomatoes and the flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth pieces of sausage. If all of Brigantessa's pizzas are like this, then I might make this place my favorite pizza place in the city. If there was a disappointment on the menu, it was the sea urchin bruschetta. The 24 month Prosciutto di Parma and olive oil overpowered every other flavor in the dish. The sea urchin could only be tasted if I ate the generous slices of prosciutto on the bread first and even then it was a subtle taste. Perhaps the dish can be renamed "Bruschetta with 24 month Prosciutto di Parma, olive oil, chives, and sea urchin butter." The centerpiece should be the ham, which is already amazing. The sea urchin butter simply adds a little nuance of richness to it.

Marrakesh gives you access to a large Morrocan feast for the small price of just $25 per person. There are seven courses in all and each one ranges from good to awesome. Before you eat, you are offered a towel and warm rose water to sanitize your hands.

You will need to do this because there are no utensils; you eat with your hands. Trust me, this is not as bad as it sounds. You are given another towel to cover your lap because eating this food can be messy. The first course is a vegetable platter with pickled carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and roasted eggplant. I know people who don't normally like eggplant and they love this eggplant preparation. Our server offers each person three pieces of pita for their meal. You tear off pieces of pita and pick up the veggies with the pita. This course was absolutely delicious. The second course is a chicken bastilla pie. A light, crispy pastry shell conceals savory chicken, egg omelet, and sweetened nuts. A garnish of powdered sugar and cinnamon adds to the fabulous blend of flavors. I liked this dish; my partner thought it was good, but felt it was more of a dessert than an entrée. The third course was "spicy chicken," a roasted and baked half bird sitting in a sea of wonderful fiery hot spices. We both loved this dish. The chicken melted off the bone. The fourth course was cous cous with a stew of baked chicken, carrots, potatoes, and raisins. It was good, but not great. The dish came with utensils. The fifth course was beef kabobs. We opted for the beef over the lamb because I figured my partner wouldn't want to pick through all the lamb bones I've seen in numerous photographs of this dish. We liked it, but felt the meat was a bit tough. The sixth course was a fruit basket with giant green grapes, strawberries, an apple, an orange, and a tiny banana. Our sixth course was baklava with mint tea. I liked the baklava. She was full and couldn't eat any more. Perhaps the only thing I miss about this place from my previous visits five and twenty-five years ago is the servers used to pour the tea from teapots into your glass at ungodly heights. It was a little gimmicky, but I loved it. Oddly, these guys haven't changed the price of their prix fixe meal in years. It is truly one of the best values in town and a fantastic place to bring a date. You can tell a lot about a person by seeing if he or she is willing to sit comfortably on a couch-like seat and eat with his or her hands in front of you and others. Drink prices are very reasonable at $5 per mixed drink or glass of wine and there is an 18% gratuity charge added to your bill. Definitely give this place a try. You won't be disappointed.

A gourmet hot dog place is going to have mixed reviews because not all of the combinations work for everyone or are equal, so your enjoyment will certainly vary every time you order a different sandwich. Underdogs uses quality ingredients, including plump hot dogs, big Cacia's Bakery rolls, and tasty toppings without artificial colorings like other places. Just look in the back. They chop a lot of the veggies themselves! The fries and drink make your sandwich a meal and getting the meal saves you a little money if you truly want the fries, which are cooked in refined peanut oil. The Back in the Day is a solid sandwich. A hot dog and cod fishcake with mustard and onions... so yummy! The Chicago is also good, but I happen to love Chicago style hot dogs. The Georgia Bulldog is okay. I think they gave me coleslaw instead of pepper hash. Pero Caliente is okay, too. The idea of a hot dog in mole sauce is quite original. Big style points for that idea! The California Dreamin' is quite tasty. The idea of avocado on a hot dog grossed out a friend of mine I told about, but don't diss it until you've tried it. It's good! The Adonis is okay. To me, it tasted like a Greek gyro. The Marrakesh is a spicier version of the Adonis. The 9th Streeter is quite good. The onions and peppers are big diced cuts that are quite juicy. The Chihuahua was a little underwhelming. Lots of onions. Maybe too many. I liked the queso sauce. I wasn't a fan of Haute Dog Parm, either. Perhaps some mozzarella would've made it more complete for me. The Smoker is a nice spicy hot sausage sandwich with pepper hash, relish, and ketchup. The Tryp is awesome. It's like a Thanksgiving meal in hot dog form. Warsaw Packed is real good, too. I like mine with a little ketchup. The Brats is also real good. Perhaps my favorite dogs are the My Thai and The Tryp. For specials, do try "The Pope Dog", a chorizo sausage with chimichurri and red onion salad (red onions and tomatoes). It was absolutely divine! (5 stars for this one). Another fantastic special is the Maui Wowee, a hot dog wrapped with ham and covered with pineapple salsa. Underdogs uses local favorites Czerw's (Andrew Zimmern-endorsed) and Martin's for their kielbasas and hot sausages. I've eaten all 23 hot dogs and sausages for my very own fist icon on their Wall of Fame!

My friend Cherise and I enjoyed appetizers of Sal's beef meatballs and swordfish meatballs with creamy polenta, pinenuts, and raisins and entrées of roasted lamb with potatoes and rigatoni with beef bolognese and spinach. Unbeknowst to me, I ordered the same items I had four years ago when I first dined here. We found the swordfish meatballs to be superior to the beef ones. The lamb was a bit dry and tough from the pan-frying process. The rigatoni with beef bolognese was good, but unexceptional. The accompaniments of polenta, pinenuts, and raisins and potatoes were prepared perfectly.

First course: Venison Tartare with Jerusalem artichoke purée, Cholula pickled shallots, rye bread
Second course: Scallop Crudo with Cholula pineapple emulsion, herb jus, cucumber
Third course: Roasted Squash Melange with butternut squash emulsion, blue cheese fonduta, candied pepitas
Fourth course: Braised Lamb with celery root purée, pickled grapes, fried brussels sprouts
Fifth course: Poached Apple with cinnamon cream, apple caramel, semolina crumble (a deconstructed apple pie)

My friends, Chris W and his wife Christine, joined my friend Philip and I for a baby suckling pig roast at Amada. Chef José Garces brines each suckling pig for 24 hours in a salt water and sugar solution, to ensure the meat is tender and flavorful. He then confits the pig in pork fat for up to three hours. After roasting it at 250 degrees for another hour to crisp the skin and lock in its natural juices, it's finished with sea salt and arbequina olive oil. The skin is crispy bacon-like and very tasty. The cheeks were tender, moist, and almost reminded me of a custard. We didn't get to try the neck or the brains like last time because they took the head away too quickly. The meat itself was oh-so-tender, so soft, juicy, and moist and even tasted great the next day after being nuked in the microwave. The meal also included four sides: Charred Green Onions, Herb-Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Chickpeas with Spinach, and Rosemary White Beans with Ham. Our favorite was the white beans and ham. The amount of food we received was enough for four more people. We will definitely be piggin' out again sometime in the future.

My friend Philip and I dined at Las Bugambilias, a traditional Mexican restaurant with an array of entrées that will satisfy even the pickiest eater's palate. I found it uniquely ironic that meals this large could be served in such cramped spaces. The restaurant is small and cozy with not much room between seats save for the one golden table for two next to the bookshelf of knick-knacks that we were fortunate enough to acquire. I had a hard time deciding between the ribeye and the langostinos, but, in the end, seafood won out. Five beautiful langostinos sat on my plate each split down the middle and stuffed with a generous portion of fresh garlic, herbs, and other spices. "The whole restaurant smells like your langostinos... it's making me so hungry!" our waitress admitted. The dish was extraordinary. All of the flavors were awesome. The confetti rice and black beans were standard staples more for tempering the spices than actual taste. A curious cabbage and red beet salad was also included, but I barely touched that. The langostinos were sooo good and were the focus of my meal, so much so that I forgot to give props to the rest of the meal, the marvelous ceviche mixto of shrimp, crab meat, and flounder and my friend Philip's juicy and flavorful filet mignon, by far the best filet mignon served outside of a steak house... and for half the price, too! For the longest time, I've been confusing the word "langostinos" with "langoustines," often using them interchangeably. The two species of sea creatures are actually very different from one another.Langostinos are commonly used in the restaurant trade to refer to the meat of the squat lobster, which is neither a true lobster nor a prawn. It is more closely related to porcelain crabs and hermit crabs. Crustaceans labeled as langostino are no more than three inches long and weigh no more than seven ounces. By contrast, langoustines are slim, orange-pink lobsters that grow up to ten inches long. They are more related to true lobsters, but cannot be marketed as lobsters according to the FDA. Both langostinos and langoustines have creamy soft tail meat that is much more flavorful than shrimp and lobster.

My friend Philip and I went to a new trendy little restaurant in Rittenhouse Square called a.kitchen, which is on the ground level of the luxurious AKA Hotel. Yelp gave it mixed reviews, so here's my take on it. I seldom order the least adventurous thing on a menu like most people do, so I decided against getting the pork belly risotto fritters. Instead, I ordered the razor clams for my appetizer and the leg of lamb for my entrée. The razor clams arrived four on a plate and were smothered in a generous amount of garlic, herbs, and oil. The texture of the clams was like the stems of straw mushrooms and the garlic flavor was very strong and punchy. One Yelp reviewer complained that the food was bland. He must've eaten at a completely different restaurant because the food was anything but bland. The lamb was tender, juicy, and flavorful with a black olive chutney next to the radicchio for an extra kick. We sat next to a couple who complained about their meal the entire time they were there. The husband complained to his wife that the bread was stale (it was sourdough bread), questioned why there were three instead of four pieces of food on a sharing plate (did anyone ever teach him how to cut something in half?), and requested A1 steak sauce to go with his flank steak (never ask for A1 unless you're in a diner). Our drinks were comped because a.kitchen was still in the process of obtaining its liquor license, so while the restaurant can't legally sell alcohol, they can give it away for free. All in all, a good first experience. I look forward to more of the same.

My friend Philip and I went to 10 Arts for a special tasting menu prepared by Chefs Eric Ripert and Jennifer Carroll. It's hard to find a more incredible and complete meal with many of my favorite meats and seafood. The striped bass was moist, savory, and delicate, perhaps the best preparation I've experienced in several years and my favorite dish of all. The other five fishes were good to great.The lamb was competing head to head with the fish, but in the end it's all about taste and presentation for me. A striped bass filet rolled up into a cylinder is a treat that most fried seafood eaters will never understand and enjoy. Too bad. The octopus salad had the most tender pieces of cooked octopus ever. It was a joy to eat. The roasted asparagus with soft poached egg was a pleasant surprise. It is so simple, but the combination tasted great. The thinly pounded salmon with foie gras and toasted brioche was very good. The dessert was merely good. It was a deconstructed lemon meringue pie with cardamom yogurt sorbet and cashews tracing a path across the plate. It's been a while since I had my picture taken with a celebrity, so here's me with the two world-renowned chefs. Many chefs consider Jamison Farms lamb to be the best and if you've been to as many fine restaurants as I have, you'll notice the size difference between Jamison Farms lamb and the imported stuff from New Zealand. They grow them big and fat in these parts. Top Chef contestant Jennifer Carroll did a good job with her roasted lamb preparation and included a quinoa and feta tabbouleh, an exotic addition to an otherwise traditional dish. The pomegranate sauce was really good and elicited a smile from my face. I almost forgot to mention the amuse bouche at the beginning of the meal, a little raw oyster with a big flavor. God, I'm still thinking about how good the striped bass was. Chef Terence Feury prepares great striped bass and Matyson does a very good one, too, but Chef Ripert is the seafood master. His bio includes being annointed a coveted three-star Michelin rating for his extraordinary food at Le Bernardin, which I've had the pleasure of experiencing.

I tried a Paesano's Arista sandwich (whole roasted suckling pig, Italian long hots, broccoli rabe, and sharp provolone) and it was so good it made me cry. "Oh, my God! This is so good, I can dream about this," I said to the two coworkers who were with me. I closed my eyes. I was in pork heaven. The meat was so tender and juicy and the broccoli rabe added more delicious juiciness to it. The long hots and sharp provolone, two things I normally don't like, actually worked well with this meat and vegetable combination. When we finished our sandwiches and were about to leave, I walked up to the front counter and told one of the cooks, "This is the best roast pork sandwich I've ever had." "Oh, thank you, thank you," he exclaimed in a heavy Italian accent, "and thank you for gracing us with your beautiful face!" That made me giggle and blush. Carpuccio's Meats, right next door to Paesano's, sells fresh homemade sausage. I wanted something different, so I bought two kinds of veal sausage, veal with garlic and veal with green peppers and onions. An older man next to me took my lead and bought some veal sausage, too. He turned to me and said, "If we don't like this, whaddaya say we come back here next week and beat the owner up?" He chuckled and I laughed in response. When I returned to my office, I cooked a small piece of the veal with pepper and onion sausage in my microwave for 30 seconds and --- oh --- my --- Gawd! --- it was the best sausage I've ever tasted. Chunks of ground veal, diced onions, and diced green peppers with black pepper for flavor. It was so good! I look forward to enjoying it with the veal canelloni my friend Philip and I bought from Talluto's.

My friend Philip and I went to a new Thai restaurant called Sawatdee for dinner. We started our meal with an appetizer of fried puréed chicken and shrimp cake, which tasted a lot like chicken nuggets infused with shrimp flavor. For my entrée, I had a dish that was like a crabmeat quiche with bok choy on the side. It was unique in that I had never had Thai quiche before. It was good, but not exceptional. The real winner was my friend Philip's roasted duck in coconut milk curry, cherry tomato, pineapples, and Thai basil. That was awesome.

My friend Philip and I went to Le Virtu where we enjoyed appetizers of fazzoletti ("handkerchief pasta") with braised duck ragu and entrées of seafood stew and seared dorade filets. I always order the fazzoletti because it is quite simply one of the best pasta dishes in Philadelphia, second only to the incredible pasta dishes at Vetri. My seafood stew included tender pieces of monkfish, prawns, calamari, oysters, and clams. The stew had a delicious tomato and roasted red pepper broth, much like a nice cioppino. I could forgive the burnt toast that was included with my stew only because the bread at the beginning of the meal was very good. Not everything is great a Le Virtu, but I've been happy with the handful of dishes I've ordered there.

My friend Philip and I had dinner at Indian Restaurant, which is the absolute dumbest name for an Indian restaurant, but the food is good and appears to be a carbon copy of the highly regarded King of Tandoor located in another part of town. We ordered the Bengali shrimp appetizer and lamb korma, which were quite delicious. I expected the Bengali shrimp, served with steaming hot puffy bread, to be quite spicy, but it turned out to be mild and flavorful. The lamb korma was mild and sweet, not the sweetest I've ever had, but it tasted great with the tender cubes of lamb. We got a free rice pudding dessert, perhaps because we were the only customers seated between the hours of five and six or perhaps because the young Indian boy wanted to check out my cleavage. Whatever the reason, we enjoyed the free dessert.

If you've never had a burger at Village Whiskey, you're in for a real treat because these are gourmet burgers with the highest quality ingredients that can be enjoyed by everyone. You can even spruce up your burger with haute cuisine toppings, such as foie gras and truffled mushrooms if you'd like or plain with lettuce and tomato. This is the first burger I've ever eaten that doesn't need ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, or some other condiment because the burger patty is so juicy. The only thing that sucks about this place is getting a table. The place is tiny, so seating is limited. You can't make a reservation and will likely be greeted with a 30 to 45 minute wait on most evenings. Sunday brunch might be the best time to try to get a seat. On a few trips there, we ended going to Tinto as our backup plan because we couldn't go to Village Whiskey.

My friend Philip and I had dinner at Bibou tonight. My foie gras ravioli and roasted bone marrow were delightful. If you've ever had French style roasted bone marrow before, it is typically prepared as a jelly that you spread onto toast points. Bibou's version, at least the one I had tonight since they change their recipes weekly, had the toast points in crumb form with the marrow spread, chanterelle mushrooms, butter, and seasonings blended together and presented in a big . I give Chef Pierre Calmels an A+ for making this version of bone marrow accessible to the masses. It was like Thanksgiving Day turkey stuffing... beefy, earthy, juicy, buttery, and crunchy in every bite. So what is traditional roasted bone marrow like? One person describes the experience as "bread soaked with meat juices and fat." It is similar to taking a piece of bread and soaking up leftover juices from a beef dish, except the bread is nice and toasty and the marrow is more robust than the leftover juices from any dish. Another says bone marrow is "sumptuous, decadent, and unarguably meaty. I absolutely love the stuff." Wow, these are some pretty nice pictures taken with my iPhone camera!

My friend Philip and I heard that Zama and Pierre Calmels of Bibou created the Bibou Roll that features French white snails sautéed with shallots, butter, edamame, soy sauce and a dash of cream. The escargot is delicately placed atop a thin green bean and raw fennel roll wrapped in red shiso paper. We ordered that and Questlove's Drum Roll, a Washugyu beef and provolone cheesesteak roll also wrapped in red shiso paper sprinkled with chili flakes. Both were delicious. The Bibou Roll is definitely a winner.

My friend Philip and I went to Oyster House after work for some awesome seafood. I had the Roasted Oyster Sampler that includes six small oysters in three different preparations, including 1) spinach, pernod, and herb butter, 2) lemon and ginger breadcrumbs, and 3) garlic parsley butter and lardo (the fat in bacon). The oysters were small, but had so much flavor in them! For my entrée, I ordered a plate of Fried Ipswich Clams. As any New Englander will attest, whole belly clams are the only way to enjoy clams. The bellies are packed with so much yummy flavor similar to lobster tomalley or crab hepatopancreas. Cape Cod Times says: "Fried clams with bellies or without? The age-old question of how to eat these deep-fried bits of summertime goodness may never be answered, but as local clam connoisseurs will tell you, those with guts enough to eat them whole get the benefit of the full flavor. The line between those who do and those who don't seems clearly drawn in geographical terms. Real Cape Codders either eat the bellies or are too ashamed to admit they don't."

My friend Philip and I went to 5 N 2 Tokyo. We tried two of their appetizer specials, the Tuna Martini and the Uni Shot, and three rolls. The Tuna Martini is a long piece of tuna sashimi delicately wrapped around a bed of imitation crab "noodles," topped with two kinds of caviar, and marinated in ponzu sauce. The Uni Shot is a sea urchin sitting in a quail egg with sesame seeds was also good, but didn't have the long-lasting satisfaction of the Tuna Martini. The Lobster Roll is a lobster claw and mayo "salad" with avocado wrapped in rice and soy paper. The World Series Roll is a soft shell crab tempura roll with tuna and eel on top. Both rolls were okay, but not without flaws. Every time I think of a lobster roll, I think of Pod's Lobster Roll and, while it may be an unfair comparison, it is worth noting that if you want to call what you sell a lobster roll, it should have a lot of pure, unadulterated lobster in it, not lobster and mayo salad. The World Series Roll was a little disappointing because I thought the eel and tuna toppings were great, but the soft shell crab tempura middle had too much bready-type breading and not enough soft shell crab meat. We saw a lot of leg meat, but where was the body meat? The strange thing is these premium rolls didn't compare to the pure, unadulterated taste of the yellowtail and scallion roll that was only one-quarter the price of the premium rolls! It is amazing that you can have lunch, a roll and a Pepsi, at 5 N 2 for less than $5. It's not a place I'd run back to again soon, however.

South Street Souvlaki finally opened its doors after a month-long hiatus. The owners take a vacation for a month in July to August, so it leaves foodies like me with one less option for Greek fare. "We only have sandwiches and salads right now, but we're slowly cooking more and we'll have the full menu as the day goes on," the owner said with a smile and a wink. When a stranger winks at you, you know there's something about you he likes. We ordered a small combo appetizer platter and that could've been our entire meal due to the generous portions of hummus, baba ghanoush, tzatziki, red beets and garlic dip, grape leaves stuffed with rice, Taramosalata (whipped roe sauce), feta cheese and olives, but we also indulged in lamb gyro sandwiches. Everything was delicious and nutritious, but, alas, Greek food makes your breath stink like something crawled out of Hades.

My friend Philip and I had lunch at Smith & Wollensky where we each had a Wollensky Butcher Burger. I felt the burger meat compared favorably to Village Whiskey's burger meat and the bonuses of cheddar cheese and bacon along with a fistful of fries sweetened the deal. The only thing bad about the burger was the bun, which tasted stale. By contrast, Village Whiskey's burger has a very soft bun. I don't judge a burger by its bun, so for me Smith & Wollensky's burger is my new favorite. Butcher & Singer is our next burger destination. After lunch, we drove down to South Philly's Italian Market to buy some fresh pappardelle pasta at Talluto's, fresh lamb and garlic sausage at Carpuccio's, and fresh tortilla chips from Tortilleria San Roman. I sampled a warm tortilla fresh off the grill. It was amazing!

My friend Philip and I dined at Fish where I had blue bay mussels soaked in Thai coconut curry and spanish mackeral with fava beans, smoked eggplant, lamb breast, artichokes, cucumber, pistachio, and harissa. He had raw oysters on a halfshell and crispy sardines with tomato consumée. We enjoyed our oysters and mussels and were looking forward to our fish entrées, but both failed as something we'd order again. My first bite of mackerel was filled with a lot of bones and I was afraid to offer a piece to Philip because of this. How can a nice restaurant charge $30 for a fish entrée with bones in it? Philip's sardines dish was the epitome of bone-in fish dishes. I would never be able to eat that. Beyond my first bite of mackerel, the rest of it and the accompanying vegetables and bite-size piece of lamb were very good. Still, it wasn't enough to make me gleefully jump up and down over it. My exotic cocktail of amaro, simple syrup, and Mexican cola tasted like tamarind soda one moment and medicine the next.

My friend Philip and I went to Devon Seafood Grill where we had delicious Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes with Creolé remoulade and mango tartar sauce and I had the Macadamia Crusted Opah with orange buerre blanc sauce, grilled asparagus, and seasonal berries. I am normally deathly allergic to macadamia nuts, but I took a chance and am so glad I did because the fish was heavenly, so much better than the Spanish Mackerel I had at Fish the night before. I would definitely order the opah again.

My friend Philip and I went to Supper for dinner where we had mini lobster rolls, boneless lamb shank, deviled eggs, and hush puppies. I loved my lobster roll and the lamb was totally divine, tender and flavorful meat that was cooked just right.

My friend Philip and I went to Chabaa in Manyunk for dinner. We shared the appetizer sampler platter, which included chicken satay, spring rolls, fried tofu, and fried dumplings. He had the razor clams with egg noodles and I had the egg crepe filled with shrimp pad thai. I liked the ambience; it's a nice date place. The only problem was the food was bland and didn't have any kick to it. Philip's razor clams were a bit overcooked. It doesn't take much time to turn a heavenly razor clam dish into a rubbery one.

A group of us from my workplace headed to Chinatown to eat lunch at Ocean City, a recently renovated restaurant under new ownership. We enjoyed the following dishes: spicy jellyfish; beef with wide flat noodles; jumbo shrimp with walnuts; fried tilapia, tofu, spinach, and mushroom hot pot; Hunan pork; and the special of the day, mixed seafood with calamari, scallops, and sea cucumber. The six of us got to sample all of these great dishes for just $16 per person. Afterwards, we went to a little Vietnamese bakery down the street where we got these almond cookies that are so good I swear they are laced with crack. It is the best cookie you can buy for a dollar.

My friend Philip and I went to Tinto for a nice dinner of soup and tapas. I loved my Sopa de Castaño, a truffled chestnut soup with duck and mushroom hash, fried quail egg, and pistachio. I also had the duck confit and pork belly. The pork belly was delicious. I also tried one of my friend Philip's spiced meatballs, which was very nice. He discovered the secret to Village Whiskey's tasty burgers through an article he read: the restaurant adds pork to their burger meat! Now why didn't anybody else think of that?

Tonight's meal at Zama was so good, it really livened up my dampened spirits from an otherwise exhausting day. A three-hour management class, a two-hour meeting, various little tasks in between, and three hours spent with my children can certainly tire a girl out! My ex asked me to help our seven year old with his homework, so not only did we finish one day's worth of homework, we went through and did the entire week's homework in one sitting. He's ungodly smart like me, but he's also unmotivated. He'd rather play with his LEGOs instead. I urged him to do his counting exercise, from 0 to 50, and he did so with some reluctance. "I already know how to do that," he'd say. "You have to count without making a mistake," I said. My two year old started counting along with him. It took three tries, but my seven year old counted to 50 on his own on that third try. "You don't know how happy this makes me feel," I said hugging him. Two weeks ago, he couldn't fathom a number beyond 20. His normally bored look was suddenly transformed to one of cognizance, as if he had acknowledged that I was happy. At Zama, my friend Philip and I ordered sushi a la carte. We shared a Black Spider roll (soft shell crab maki topped with black roe) and a Toro Scallion roll and each ordered pieces of nigiri sushi, including uni (sea urchin), tomago (egg), Albacore tuna, Tasmanian salmon, whole scallop, tuna, Red Snapper, and more. It was a late-night meal, but the restaurant still looked bright and beautiful inside. I actually have many friends who love sushi and some of my favorite friends have dined here or are about to dine here soon.

My friend Philip and I had dinner at the The Farmers' Cabinet, a new restaurant that received rave reviews for its food and ambience. The place was dark - very dark - and the flickering overhead lights, long wooden tables and benches, and mounted deer heads looked more like a set from a horror movie than a fine dining establishment. The menu had Restaurant Week selections on one side and a subset of its regular menu on the other. "We have a new chef," our waitress said. Perhaps that was a warning of things to come because the food was not as fantastic as the reviews had led us to believe. Our escargot appetizers were bland, lacking any of the marvelous flavor of such fine French establishments as Bibou or Bistrot La Minette. Our pork chop entrées were also bland and overcooked. One bite had a briny taste to it, much like ham. Yuck. Pork chop is not supposed to taste like ham! I have to give my entrée high marks for at least looking like a tasty pork chop. Ironically, the Restaurant Week menu had more interesting-looking selections than the regular menu and perhaps we should've seen that as a major warning sign. For dessert, I got the vanilla custard and Philip got the strawberry rhubarb pie. The desserts were actually good. We went to Sampan for drinks afterwards. There was nothing sophisticated about Farmer's Cabinet and it was ironic that the couple behind us were saying, "Oh, I can't go in there. That looks too cool for me." If all it took to look cool was to turn off the lights, more restaurants would be doing it.

My son, my friend Philip, and I walked around Rittenhouse Square to see the Fine Art Show the next day. Over 160 artists exhibited their work, everything from paintings to sculptures. There were art professionals of all levels. Some of the work was outstanding while others looked like my seven year old could paint better. It dawned on me that almost anyone could be in the show provided they had a portfolio of work and could pay the booth fee of $400. The closest I saw to a photography exhibit involved mixed media art. I wonder how much work actually gets sold. I saw lots of people looking, but nobody buying. We went to Parc for brunch. My son had the Macaroni Gratin, a shell pasta and cheese casserole, which he really liked. I had the 1/2 Pound Lobster, chilled lobster meat expertly de-shelled and cut into delicious bite size pieces. I like how Parc took the concept of chilled seafood one step beyond any of the fine steak and seafood restaurants. Philip had the Cheeseburger, which he thought was a really good alternative to Village Whiskey's burger. After brunch, we went to Capogiro for gelati. Later in the afternoon, I went to my nail salon and got my nails done in a peach shade called Romantique.

On Sunday evening, my friend Philip and I went to Fork for dinner. I ordered the Crispy Lamb Confit and Lightly Smoked Duck Breast. Both were great dishes. The pearl onions accompanying my lamb and the carmelized onions, turnips, and Bosc pear accompanying my duck were nice accents to the main meat. My lamb confit had the same textures as a nice piece of pork belly. My duck was perfectly cooked, from the aromatic, flavorful layer of skin to the juicy, succulent medium-rare meat. Oh, you can order your duck any way you like, but if you order it medium-well like the dummies sitting next to us, your duck meat will taste very different from the way it was meant to be enjoyed. I had the Assortment of Cookies for dessert, which is the cookie off of every one of the available dessert selections. There were some hits and some misses like any cookie assortment, but overall I liked the variety.

My friend Philip and I went to Le Virtu for dinner tonight. We each ordered the fazzoletti "handkerchief" pasta with braised duck and beef ragu for our first course. It was sooooo goooood!!!!! Philip had the whole rabbit "porchetta" style with braised lentil and chestnut ragu for his second course. I had the lamb loin with lentils and artichoke cream. The lamb was also prepared porchetta style. A lot of fine restaurants prepare their meats this way (think Daniel and James, two awesome but defunct eateries in Philly, and Babbo in NYC). There were three textures represented in my cylinder of meat: tender and juicy, firm and salty, fatty and flavorful. I enjoyed each one. This place enjoys waves of popularity, so be sure to make a reservation if you go.

I looked super hot last night, I'll admit. I wore the kind of top that absolutely requires nice breasts to wear and I paired it with long, flowing slacks for a very sleek, dinner babe look. To complete the look, I even drove my little black BMW to our dining spot, Bibou, and, yes, I got a number of glances from drivers pulling up next to me. If there's one place I wouldn't mind eating every week, it's Bibou. The food is outstanding, the servers are very nice, and it's a BYOB so you can bring your own alcohol. It even has free parking! Plus, how many restaurants give you the opportunity to talk to and thank the chef after your meal? Chef Pierre Calmels and his wife and hostess Charlotte are the nicest people and they're always genuinely happy to see you. Be forewarned, though. Because Bibou is so good, you will likely not get a table without a reservation and, even if you do, you'll have to be happy with whatever table you get because the place is small, cramped with too many tables in its space, and is as popular as Le Bec-Fin used to be. Why? The obvious answer is Chef Calmels. He is possibly our area's finest French chef having been executive chef at Le Bec-Fin for five of his eight years there. His sous chef at Bibou was also a chef at Le Bec-Fin. Bibou serves extraordinary French food at reasonable prices and without any of the pretentiousness that turns off a lot of people from French restaurants. My friend Philip and I each ordered the Foie Gras Duo for our appetizers. Can you believe it? Two preparations of foie gras! Foie gras port wine crème brulée and seared foie gras with sautéed fig in a red wine, campari gastrique sauce. The taste of the crème brulée might be a turnoff for those expecting their crème brulée to be the usual boring sweet vanilla variety, but this was a marvelous version made with my favorite organ meat. The seared foie gras sat atop a small piece of sweet toast that was very much like French toast. The accompanying sauce tasted very much like maple syrup. Both preparations reminded me of a decadent breakfast. For our entrées, I had the braised veal cheeks, rutabaga purée, turmeric spaetzle, fava beans, and sundried tomato, and he had the poached red snapper roulade with pasta au gratin, baby arugula, and almonds. I sampled the red snapper and it was delicious, prepared in a porchetta style. Add Bibou to the list of places that serve items in an elegant porchetta style! My veal cheeks were simply the best entrée I've ever had the pleasure of eating at Bibou... and I've had quite a few meals here. I have to say that their Pied de Porc, which is braised pig foot stuffed with foie gras, has gotten plenty rave reviews, but is not my thing. There was just too much gelatinous fat for me and too many lentils in the dish. I've had the distinct pleasure of enjoying Bibou's soft shell crabs, a summer dish, on three occasions with marks of good to excellent each time. I've also had their bone marrow, a divine entrée that only a foodie like me will understand. Craig Laban of the Philadelphia Inquirer calls it "caveman cuisine at its most decadent, and so primally good, like eating Satan's stuffing." As good as all of these entrées were, none compared to the gorgeous dish in front of me last night. Oh, it is an ugly-looking dish by most standards, this braised veal, but it is gorgeous in its flavors, textures, and aromas that simply define good comfort food for the soul. Chef Calmels told me he wanted to make it more stew-like for the season. I like his thinking. If only I could eat this while sitting in front of my television watching the Eagles on Sundays!

Tonight my friend Philip and I went to Tashan, an upscale Indian restaurant on Broad and Catharine Streets. The place immediately reminded me of Buddakan with low ceilings. "One of the chefs is from Buddakan," my friend Philip said.That statement alone told me that this place was serious about its survival. Unlike Buddakan's feeling of spaciousness, Tashan's space didn't bother me so much because everything about the decor was meticulously presented. A statue of Ganesha, the Elephant God, is the first thing you see when you walk in. "Wow, I like this place already," I said to myself. The hostess was tall, model-like, and had a pleasant smile when she greeted us. It was like a nice Rittenhouse Square restaurant teleported a few blocks too southeast. The servers were very nice and mostly attentive, although one of them seemed out of sync with her cohorts, as if she were trying to find things to say or do to prevent from getting fired. The bar and lounge area looked very nice. If the couple behind me at The Farmer's Cabinet last week thought that that place was too cool for them, they would never feel comfortable in this place. This place is dark and clubby and plays Bollywood-style techno music in the background. It's definitely the kind of place you take your hot girlfriend to and not the wife you'd rather hide at home. The food is really good and I would've said excellent had our first dish, the King Crab Tak-a-Tak, not been a huge miss. It was too salty for my liking. Things were looking gloomy at the start, but then it got a whole lot better when our Tandoori Jumbo Shrimp arrived. They were big, juicy, and full of flavor. The preparation was unlike any Tandoori meat or seafood I've had at other Indian restaurants. Suddenly, this was feeling like an Indian Buddakan again and I was sipping my specialty cocktails with delight rather than dread. Next up were the Mangalorean Sausages, or house made chicken vindaloo sausages. It was actually just one big fat sausage rather than a few smaller ones. It was very good. I could definitely taste the quality of the freshly cooked ground chicken in every bite. The Tandoor Chaamp Lamb Chops and Fennel-Scented Diver Scallops arrived together. The scallops were good, but the lamb chops... oh, my God... this is hands down the best lamb I've ever had in any Indian restaurant! The lamb was covered with a rub that was just otherworldly good. The Peshawari Naan stuffed with nuts and raisins was the best stuffed Indian bread I've ever eaten. Previously, Gobi Paratha or Garlic Naan were the stuffed breads of choice for me. The lamb, shrimp, and peshawari should be enough to convince even the most food-challenged idiot to like Indian food, but I detected some trickery involved. Was this really Indian food? Or was it Indian Fusion cuisine? Tashan's owner says no to the latter. "It's Modern Indian," he says. It's a trick, I say. Mr. Buddakan behind the grill infuses his Stephen Starr knowledge into the food and it largely works somehow. They should've named the restaurant Tashanakkan. For dessert, we ordered the Kulfi Trio, three different flavors of Indian ice cream, and the Gulab Jamun Créme Brulée. Alas, I give the nod to Philip's dessert for the fusion of two popular desserts into something more enjoyable than each alone. It was raining like crazy tonight, so we stayed inside for another drink. The Jashan drinks I've been sipping have a slice of torched peach in them. A warm, crispy, bruléed snack inside a drink... cool!

My friend Philip and I went to Zama for sushi. We each had sushi and a specialty roll. He ordered the Bibou Roll and I ordered the Zahav Roll. The Bibou Roll is a tempura haricot vert bean and fennel maki topped with escargot sautéed with edamame beans, shallots, and shiso in a soy dashi butter. I like the Bibou roll, but sadly missing are the lobster mushrooms used in the escargot dish in Chef Calmels' restaurant. The Zahav Roll is a hand roll made with Shiso flecked soy paper, Albacore Tuna, shiso, and black sesame hummus. The hummus is made from edamame beans, sesame oil, lemon juice, black sesame paste and water. The roll is served alongside falafel made from edamame beans, flour, water, Za'ater, and togarashi. It's also comes with a non-traditional Tzatziki sauce made with yuzu juice, sour cream, and créme fraîche.

The next day, we went to Smokin' Betty's for burgers and ribs. This place came highly recommended by one of my coworkers who always looks for a good value for his money. I ordered the Betty Burger, a half-pound sirloin burger with pork belly, avocado, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, fried egg, and roasted garlic aioli. It was good, but the pork belly meat was almost nonexistant and I have my doubts that the burger actually weighed half a pound before cooking because I've never been able to finish a half-pound burger with all of its toppings. Not at Village Whiskey, Smith & Wollensky, 500 Degrees, or the greasy spoons I used to order burgers from in my youth. This was more like a five-ounce burger. I like the barbecue sauce, which was very sweet. I requested a little cup of it to use as a dip for my sweet potato fries, which were soggy good. He had the St. Louis style ribs prepared with a dry rub. I tried one and I found myself constantly using the barbecue sauce to add flavor to it. I like my ribs wet. We went to Talula's Garden for drinks after dinner. The restaurant is in the former Stephen Starr-owned Washington Square space. I ordered the bartender's special of the night, a muddled pear juice cocktail. I woke up the next morning at around 4:30am with a terrible case of nausea and coughed up a lot of my Betty Burger. Smokin' Betty's must soak their burgers in lard or something because the meat was so rich tasting. No more Betty Burgers for me!

My friend Philip and I ate lunch today at Distrito. I almost forgot how good this place is! The flavors are very nice, the portions are just right, and everything is made with really fresh ingredients. We had the guacamole with cotija cheese and shrimp ceviche with plaintains for appetizers and the mahi mahi tacos and the mushroom, queso, and truffle huarache (it's like a flatbread pizza) for entrées. Yummy in my tummy!

I was curious about the homemade Italian meatballs I saw on Sunday evening when we stopped by Di Bruno Brothers for a look. I asked the man behind the counter for two meatballs and never would've guessed that they weigh almost half a pound. The ingredients were nothing special: ground beef, egg, pecorino romano cheese, garlic, parsley, french bread, whole milk, salt, and pepper. I heated them up along with some baked ziti I made at home. How did they compare to my famous meatballs? The parsley gave it an extra dimension of flavor. The problem was there's a little too much parsley. It was almost a meat and vegetable ball. The french bread probably makes this meatball special for most people, but as crazy as it may sound, I think crushed Cheerios is a better bread filler than any bread you can use. If you're a meat purist, I think my meatball is actually superior to Di Bruno Brothers' meatball. The oats in Cheerios gives my meatball a better texture. If I just added a little parsley and cheese to it, it would be the ultimate meatball.

My friend Chris W and I had dinner at Tashan. We feasted on Tandoori Jumbo Shrimp, Tandoori Chaamp (lamb chops with ginger and paprika), Wild Venison Loin, Muscovy Duck with yogurt, spices, and saag paneer, Butter Chicken (Tandoori chicken in a tomato-butter cream sauce), and garlic, onion, and coriander naan. The lamb chops were out of this world. My second favorite was the duck, which was basically a duck tikka. It was a fantastic upgrade to the chicken version of the dish I've had a zillion times in the past. Perhaps my third favorite was the venison, gamey but tender slices of I-don't-know-where-this-deer-came-from-but-it's-good kind of thing. We went to Square 1682 afterwards for cocktails by the fireplace in the Hotel Palomar lobby.

My friend Chris W and I had dinner at Devon Seafood Grill last night. Chris had the Coconut Curry Mussels and Grilled Salmon Panzanella and I had the Roasted Duck Flatbread Pizza and the Seared Scallops with Meyer Ranch Shortribs with pappardelle pasta, shiitake mushrooms, leeks, and spinach. The duck pizza was stupendous, easily the best flatbread pizza I've eaten anywhere. Imagine roasted duck meat in a fig barbecue sauce with three cheeses (fontina, provolone, gorgonzola), red onions, granny smith apple slices. Awesome! We had drinks at Parc and Sofitel afterwards.

My friend Chris W and I went to dinner at Koo Zee Doo, a Portuguese BYOB in Northern Liberties. The food is really good and is a fun way to introduce yourself to Portuguese food. We each ordered the Chef's Tasting Menu, five courses for $50. Each of our courses, except for the soup, was different and overall we tried ten different things. Here is what we had:

First Course: Appetizer

Salt cod sashimi with rabe puree, olives, basil
Potato and salt cod croquettes

Second Course: Soup

Puréed potato broth with collard greens and chorizo sausage

Third Course: Seafood

Creamy salt cod, carrots, onions, and potato casserole
Whole grilled sardine with roasted peppers

Fourth Course: Meat

Picanha steak with presunto (dry-cured ham), fried egg, and fried potatoes
Roasted Suckling Pig with crispy pig skin and salad

Fifth Course: Dessert

Cinnamon rice pudding
Coconut tart with chocolate whipped cream
Chocolate-covered mission figs

We liked everything but the third course. The casserole was too salty and the sardine was too bony. My favorite dishes were the picanha steak followed by the roasted suckling pig. Koo Zee Doo is a play on the word "cosido," which means "cooked" in Portuguese. Everything has a comfort food quality to it. I can picture myself sitting in front of a television watching a movie or sports game and eating any of these dishes.

One of the ladies in my office was extolling the virtues of authentic Southern fried chicken. I talked about the fried chicken recipes I saw on the Food Network that call for buttermilk and breadcrumbs. She looked at me like I was crazy. "Fried chicken don't have no breadcrumbs or buttermilk! Real fried chicken is rolled in spices and then in flour. You put the chicken and the flour in a paper bag and shake it up. You then fry the chicken. That's all there is to it. I'm from the South. You think the slaves got breadcrumbs and buttermilk from their masters? No, the breadcrumbs would be a side dish, an accompaniment to go with the fried chicken! And the buttermilk would be served in a glass for the family to drink! Ain't no damn buttermilk and breadcrumbs in fried chicken!" she said. I asked her where I might find authentic fried chicken in West Philly, home of a lot of bad fried chicken places. She pointed me out to a gourmet food truck I'm already familiar with for jerk chicken and oxtail. "Gigi's has the closest thing to authentic fried chicken that I'm used to," she said. So I walked over to Gigi's for lunch, got the wings, and they were great. A small order with three huge wings and two sides costs seven dollars. I chose cabbage and yams. Other selections include red beans and rice, fries, and mac and cheese. Everything at Gigi's is really good. They have another truck near Amtrak station and a sit-down restaurant in West Philly.

My friend Jim took me out to dinner at Il Pittore, Stephen Starr's newest restaurant focusing on Northern Italian cuisine. Chef Chris Painter, Starr's culinary director, designed the menu that at first glance looks like a marriage between a Marc Vetri and Mario Batali menu. The gnocchi was the wonderfully soft, melt-in-your-mouth experience I've had at restaurants like Tangerine (now defunct) and Vetri. Ironically, Chef Painter worked at Tangerine at the time I experienced the said gnocchi, so this was a reunion of sorts for me. The duck agnoletti was my favorite dish. It so reminded me of Babbo in New York. A big curtsy to Chef Painter. The foie gras was in a torchon form and served in one of those silly little jars like at Farmer's Cabinet, but it was a good amount of it, so I'm not complaining. The octopus salad had a sweet and sour flavor to it, very much like relish, so this was the only iffy dish for me, but I still enjoyed it. The scallops were delicious and I'm convinced that acorn squash and chanterelle mushrooms can catapult any meat or fish to a heavenly status. My second favorite dish was the suckling pig with its melt-in-your-mouth tender meat and crispy skin. The baby Bugs Bunny carrots and cavalo nero (Tuscan Kale) gave it a stew-like quality. The pear mostarda had hints of sweetness to it and not too overbearing. The cavalo nero is worth mentioning. I thought it was collard greens at first and it kind of is because both are from the cabbage family, but this had an unbelievably smooth texture to it. All in all, Chef Painter rocks! The drink menu has new and innovative drinks, such as The Fall of Rum, a mix of Flor de Cana Anejo Rum, Allspice Dram, lemon juice, honey syrup. The best way to describe it is WOW! The service was attentive and first-rate. Perhaps the service was a little syrupy as our waitress seemed to love every selection we chose, but older folks would certainly appreciate her enthusiasm. The servers were excellent. They went on to describe each dish in detail and were exceptionally nice to me. The hostesses were great. They help you put on your coat like they did at Striped Bass, another Starr-owned restaurant. Starr needs to make sure this happens consistently at Buddakan. I wish more restaurants did this simple gesture because it adds class and a nice thank you for your patronage.

Chris and I went to na'Brasa, a Brazilian steakhouse, for dinner. We tried all 15 meats and sampled items from their salad bar that features Di Bruno Brothers coldcuts and cheeses. We were disappointed that the hostesses knew nothing about the sampler platters that were advertised on their web site. It was as if they thought we were speaking some alien language when we tried to explain what we saw on their web site to them. Of the 15 meats, I liked about three of them. That's typical of places like this. I liked the picanha, beef ribs, garlic sirloin, and bacon-wrapped filet mignon. I wouldn't say the picanha is the "melt-in-your-mouth experience" their site advertises, but it's quite good because of the layer of fat covering the meat. It reminded me of ribeye steak. The beef ribs actually come in a large pot roast form. That was certainly a melt-in-your-mouth experience. I got two servings at different times during the night, but the second was not as flavorful as the first. I think all of the meats are a hit or miss every time you get them. The lamb chops, for example, were very salty on the outside, but perfect on the inside. The Di Bruno Brothers fare didn't impress me as much because I live in the city and visit Di Bruno Brothers often.

Don't let these little Stella pizzas fool you. You can get filled up pretty quickly. Chris got the Pistachio, which also has red onions, rosemary, and fontina cheese. I got my favorite, the Tartufo, which is black truffle, egg, and fontina cheese. I've always been curious about their Pistachio pizza and now I'm a convert. You can actually get full on this because the pistachios are basically the "meat" of the pizza and there are a lot of them. My pizza was more like a girl pizza, a cheesy flavored bread that I admitted smelled quite bad but tasted so good.

Did you ever have a meal where each course was better than the previous one? That's what it's like at Little Fish. Raw Kumamoto oysters followed by grilled octopus with chorizo and carrot slivers followed by black cod with miso, shallots, rice, garlic ravioli, and royal trumpet mushrooms. The grilled octopus was among the best I've ever had. More tender than Waterworks, on par with Girasole. The black cod miso had more dimension to the dish than Morimoto's or Buddakan's version. The fish was tender and meaty. The skin was crispy perfection and so flavorful. It was in stew form so everything was decadently immersed in sauce. Yummy! I personally thanked the chef for this wonderful dish. My friend Chris W liked it more than the black cod miso at Buddakan. My first food experience at Little Fish (before the renovations) wasn't very memorable and Fish is a crapshoot, but this meal was really stellar. Chris and I went to Saloon and Beau Monde for drinks afterwards where we had some interesting eye-opening conversations.

I've recently learned that the pan-fried turnip cakes I love are actually not made of turnips, but daikon radishes. I also love bean curd rolls and rice noodle rolls. I miss going to dim sum places with large groups of friends. It's fun to sample many different dishes in one meal. I love variety in my meals. This is why I love Morimoto, Vetri, Amada, Tinto, Zama, and any Chinese dim sum restaurant.

Memories of delicious langostinos lured me for a return visit to Las Bugambilias. There is something truly exquisite about a giant prawn butterflied on a plate with lots of spices covering its delicious lobster-like meat. Combine it with rice, salad, and black beans and you have a wonderful, filling meal. My friend Chris W and I thoroughly enjoyed our langostinos. Our queso with with shrimp and crabmeat appetizer could've been better as there was hardly any seafood in it, but that didn't matter because the langostinos were the focus.

If you're in the mood for Spanish paella, Karina's Ristorante has the awesome Paella Balenciana, a blend of mixed seafood and tomato-saffron rice with chicken and Spanish sausage. The shrimp (three different sizes), scallops, calamari, mussels, and clams were all cooked to perfection. The rice was delicious. The sausage was very good. The chicken was a little dry. The paella could easily stand on its own without the chicken and sausage. It's better than the paella at Mixto and very near the greatness of the paella at Amada, although Amada isn't a fair comparison since it has Langostines in it, black squid ink, calamari with tentacles, and costs much more. My friend Chris and I went to Stir afterwards for cocktails.

I've always ignored this food cart because I saw Asian people running it, but I decided to try it today and am amazed at how good the food is and how much you get for your money. Casablanca's sandwiches are among the largest that you can get from a food cart. I got the kefta (seasoned lean beef) with an additional topping of a grape leaf. There are tomatoes in the sandwich, which is rare for a food cart. Everything was fresh and tasty. The spicy sauce has a good kick to it. The flavors are right up there with Ali Baba, Magic Carpet, and others. Judging by the proliferation of Middle Eastern food carts on the Penn campus, I'd say Middle Eastern food has now topped Chinese food in popularity.

A longtime favorite of mine, Magic Carpet offers an all-vegetarian menu with fresh ingredients and sauces. Don't let that discourage you, however. The tofu meatballs and seitan pepper steak will satisfy most meat-eaters' tummies. Depending on your rapport with the person preparing the food, you can get quite possibly a very large sandwich. The heavy sauces and high carbs in most of the sandwiches make me question how healthy this food really is. I think the emphasis is on taste and not on diet because eating a pound of anything is going to make you gain weight. I always go for the veggie burgers on Fridays. These are not the usual supermarket Boca burgers, but homemade patties containing ground corn, peas, carrots, and broccoli. The patty is stuffed into a pita with tomatoes, bean sprouts, fontina cheese, mixed garden salad, and a sauce laced with crack.

My first experience at The Farmer's Cabinet was less than stellar and I couldn't understand what the hype and rave reviews were all about. The escargot was bland and the pork chop was dry. I gave the restaurant a bad review on Yelp and the manager promptly responded by asking me to give the food another try. I'm happy to say that my second experience was much better. I recently fell in love with bone marrow, especially from places like Bibou and Adsum, so I ordered that as an appetizer. It was every bit the buttery, gelatinous goodness you'd come to expect from this popular delicacy. My entrée was the Duo of Elk with celery root puree, nebrodini bianco mushrooms, and elk jus. The duo, or pairing, is actually New York strip and tenderloin. The tenderloin was tender and juicy. I wish there were more of it. The strip steak was the more flavorful meat. It was much more tender than any beef steak I've had. Every bite was mouth-watering and exploding with crazy, awesome flavors. It was like a close your eyes, mind-wandering, multiple orgasm experience. I absolutely love gamey meats, such as duck, lamb, mutton, and wild boar, having been exposed to all of it in my childhood. Everyone compares elk to venison, but I'm not a venison expert, having eaten it just a few times in my life, so I really can't compare. All I know is elk is good and I want more soon. Like Amada, the cocktails all have long names here, such as Hot Rain on Twelfth Street and Breakfast in the Eye of a Hurricane. The bar staff did a good job of making drinks you won't find anywhere else and although drinks tend to be more on the bitter, sour side, my Powder Horn punch was sweeter and more to my liking. I'm not a fan of the rustic picnic tables and bench seating, but it adds to the cabin in the woods atmosphere.

My friend Chris W and I dined at Lotus Farm to Table in Media, PA before our holiday party at Thursday Night Tgirls. I enjoyed my duck confit appetizer and venison entrée for their gamey, earthy flavors. The duck came with diced poached pears, hazelnuts, bleu cheese crumbles, and grilled radicchio. The duck skin was crispy like Peking Duck and the meat was very tender. The venison came with delicious hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, a spaghetti squash fritter (slivers of squash in an egg omelet), and carrot velouté (technically, a soup but used as a sauce here). The leafy green veggies were crisped and edible, too. This has been an incredible week for me because I had elk and venison in the same week! Chris liked his potato dumpling appetizer and roasted chicken entrée. It was a BYOB, so in place of alcohol, they had an assortment of Asian teas and natural juice spritzers.I had a spritzer with fresh fig purée. It was very refreshing and surprisingly good. There are many nice restaurant options in the little town of Media, PA. Hopefully, they will be comparable to this one.

This tiny satellite storefront brings Center City West a taste of the same great barbecue meats as their flagship restaurant on South Street. Authentic Texas-style beef brisket, pulled pork, boneless pork ribs, barbecue chicken, and smoked turkey all come in sandwich form and at very reasonable prices. I absolutely love their pork sandwiches, mac 'n' cheese, collard greens, and pecan pies.

This little spot should honestly be a lot busier because it has damn good burgers with really tender, juicy beef. I enjoyed their truffle fries, too. Be sure to check out the specials and extra toppings that are not listed on the main menu. Watch out, though, because the toppings could really add up.

While the farm-to-table concept isn't exactly new to the Philly dining scene, this past year has brought a huge influx of new farm-to-table restaurants, including The Farm and Fisherman, The Farmer's Cabinet, and Talula's Garden. FARMiCia opened its doors long before these imitators. I've walked by the place many times never even once considering a meal there because I was puzzled by the name and the chalkboard sign on the sidewalk that advertised it as the Metro Café. It wasn't until I delved more deeply into the history of the place that I realized that Metropolitan Bakery, arguably the best source of bread in the city, co-owns it. Teamed with Chef Kevin von Klause of White Dog Café and I have to wonder how this place escaped my radar for so long. My pan-seared jumbo lump crabcake resembled a smaller version of the one at The Fountain, basically mashed jumbo lump crabmeat with bits of parsley held together with egg and sitting on green goddess sauce. My duck breast in orange glaze was deliciously moist and tender and had perfectly crisped skin. I didn't care for the accompanying braised endives and wild rice pilaf, but the duck was quite memorable. My friend Chris J had the crabmeat and Asian pear salad and pan-crisped Meadow Run chicken breast. Both were delicious. We went to Monkey Bar and National Mechanics for drinks afterwards.

My friend Chris W and I had an excellent meal at Philly's only Burmese restaurant, Rangoon. We had the Thousand Layer Bread with Curry Potato Dip, an appetizer sampler with spring roll, Burmese samosa, and crispy onions, Pagan Beef (stir-fried beef with cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, onions, potatoes, and coconut and peanut sauce), and Jungle Shrimp (stir-fried shrimp with assorted vegetables and lime leaves in a coconut green curry sauce). Everything was delicious. One of the servers had a little conversation with me and asked me if I was Thai. For some reason, Asian folks think I'm everything but Chinese. I've been thought of as Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, and black. Yes, black! Nobody in my family wants to divulge all the details of our ethnicity, so I may never know what different kinds of Asian I am. Chris and I went to Talula's Garden afterwards where I enjoyed a couple of Haymaker cocktails (muddled pear, citrus, clove, and pear vodka).

I've read many good reviews about Alyan's kibbe and falafel, so my curiosity was quenched recently when I took my son there for lunch. Sadly, it didn't live up to my expectations. I love Middle Eastern food, but the kibbe was quite bland and the falafel didn't have the soft, crumbly texture of many other places I like. The bread and vegetables were good and fresh, but there wasn't anything really special about the food. Mama's Vegetarian, a sit-down cafeteria-style restaurant, has much better falafel and bread. Ali Baba's Magic Food, a food truck, has kibbe and falafel with more authentic flavors. If I were to put my finger on something, I'd say the food lacks soul and is meant as a kind of beginner's Middle Eastern food for people who aren't used to the spices. Two nice ladies sat next to us and one of them told me how beautiful my son was. I thanked her and she asked me if I was Korean. She immediately concluded that my son must be part Caucasian to which I said yes. She said her husband was Filipino. When it was time to leave, I said to her, "Thank you and have a wonderful day!" She thanked me and wished me the same.

My friend Chris W and I ate at Pura Vida, a Latin American BYOB that received lots of rave reviews on Yelp. We ordered the Guatamalan tamales, ginger chicken soup, and salsa and chips for our appetizers and two entrées called the Playo Gaucho and El Playero. The Playo Gaucho was uninspiring as I felt the steak from overcooked and tough and the shrimp lacked any flavor. Both items sat atop a big bed of shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes soaked in too much vinegar dressing. The El Playero was a complete opposite. It had large flavorful shrimp and homemade ravioli filled with lobster and ricotta cheese in a magnificent sauce of garlic, butter, and cilantro. I couldn't stop eating it. We found ourselves dipping the relatively bland Playo Gaucho beef and shrimp in the wonderful sauce of El Playero. We went to Buddakan for drinks afterwards. That was fun.

Good Italian comfort food is a great belly filler on cold weather nights. My friend Cherise and I had dinner at Amis where we enjoyed appetizers of seafood frito misto (fried calamari and shrimp) and swordfish meatballs with creamy polenta and pinenuts and entrées of roasted lamb with potatoes and roasted head-on shrimp with smashed chickpeas and watercress. Everything was really good as expected from a Marc Vetri restaurant.

I met John, a Canadian network design consultant, at a party and when our conversation turned to cachaca (Brazilian sugarcane liquor), I quickly mentioned Rum Bar and the good food I had there. "Is it open now? Are you hungry?" he asked. That's like asking me if cows moo. I called Rum Bar, but nobody answered. John asked me what else could be open at 11:30pm. "Do you like sushi?" I asked. "I love sushi. Everything but sea urchin," he replied. "Then you haven't had good sea urchin," I said. "Where can we get good sea urchin?" he asked. "Fuji Mountain!" I said without hesitation. I called Fuji Mountain and discovered they were open until 1:15am. We took a cab there and enjoyed some wonderful sushi, including kampachi, scallop, white albacore tuna, fatty tuna, king crab, sweet shrimp with fried shrimp heads, sea urchin, eel, and red snapper. Until recently, the thought of eating shrimp shells disgusted me, so I was surprised to discover how much I enjoyed the fried shrimp heads that accompanied our sweet shrimp sushi. The light, crunchy tempura coating and rich, creamy innards are a perfect contrast and the flavors and textures of the shrimp heads reminded me of lightly fried soft shell crabs. "I can eat a bunch of these with a bowl of rice," I admitted. We shared a bottle of Nigori Creme de Sake, which is similar to a coconut sake version of Bailey's Irish cream. I learned something new from John, that it's impolite to pour your own drink when eating with others in Japan. You pour your companion's drink and your companion pours yours. We did this and ended up holding hands and enjoying each other's company. He walked me home after our late night meal and we ended the night with a kiss.

My friend John and I had dinner at Buddakan where we had Malaysian Spicy Lobster, Hot and Sour Scallops with Chinese sausage, sweet corn, tofu, and black mushrooms (similar to Ma Pao Tofu, which I love), Dungeness Crab Sticky Rice, and Chinese Eggplant and Garlic Sauce. Everything was sooo... goood... yum... John loved it and thanked me for the suggestion. We stopped by the Roxy Theater to see what was playing and we would've seen the new Sherlock Holmes movie had we known that the last showing was 7:30pm on a weekday. We took a stroll through Rittenhouse Square Park and went to the lounge at Sofitel for drinks and stimulating conversation that left me with a very good feeling about him.

My friend Chris W and I had dinner at Blackfish. We had appetizers of applewood smoked Scottish salmon with crispy potato and fried egg and roasted bone marrow with brook trout roe. For our entrées, Chris had the lancaster county poulard with butternut squash, cipollini onions, and shittake mushrooms and I had the roasted Scottish salmon with trumpet mushrooms. It was a very nice meal, much like my first Blackfish experience back in October. I liked both salmon dishes although a bit more lemon would've cut down the fishy smell more. My bone marrow was more like jelly whereas Chris' bone marrow was more like butter. Both were good and the portion size of each bone marrow dish was huge compared to other places. Surprisingly, I thought Chris' poulard (spayed hen) dish was a winner. The crispy skin had plenty of flavor and the meat was juicy and tender. We went to my Thursday night party after dinner. One of my guests told me I have a gorgeous smile and that my smile "lights up a whole room and makes others want to smile."

My friend Chris J2 (I know way too many Chrisses) and I had lunch today at a little South Philly sandwich shop called Paesano's, which was featured on Bobby Flay's Throwdown. Last time I ordered the Arista, a roasted suckling pig sandwich with Italian long hots, broccoli rabe, and sharp provolone. This time I ordered the Paesano, a beef brisket sandwich with horseradish mayo, roasted tomatoes, pepperincino, sharp provolone, and a fried egg. The rolls used in all of their sandwiches are seeded Liscio rolls, which I find more enjoyable to eat than Sarcone rolls. Alas, one of these sandwiches is way too big for me. I found myself eating just the insides of the second half of my sandwich. For just a dollar more than a Pat's or Geno's cheesesteak, you can get a highly memorable gourmet sandwich at Paesano's.

There's something ultimately satisfying about a Benihana meal. I've always loved hibachi-style cooking, especially when the show of utensil acrobatics is as good as the fresh vegetables and meats cooked right in front of you. While it is fun to sit at a table of eight, the experience cannot compare to the having your own chef for two. My friend Chris and I enjoyed selections of hibachi steak and colossal shrimp and seafood diablo (shrimp, scallops, calamari with noodles in a spicy sauce). For the first time ever, my steak was prepared the way I like it, medium-rare, and my shrimp was not overcooked as in previous visits. At the Benihana in Plymouth Meeting, we waited a few minutes before our server decided that nobody else was going to join our table. The Benihana in Pennsauken would've made us wait until our table had eight people before starting the grill.

I'm a big fan of Chef Erin O'Shea's pulled pork and pork belly meats, so I was delighted to see pork cheeks served with sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts on Percy Street BBQ's new menu. It was damn good! The pork cheeks were cut into small bite-sized pieces, marinated, and cooked like all the other wonderful barbecue meats. I've had pork cheeks from baby suckling pigs that tasted like custard and really soft meat. These pork cheeks, presumably from an older pig, were much firmer, similar in texture to filet mignon. The bitter flavor of the brussel sprouts was a stark contrast to the sweetness of the sweet potatoes. I would've preferred a vegetable that was a lot less bitter. I tried all three sauce choices - Sweet Thang, Old Faithful, and Hot Mess - and found the hot sauce to be pretty intense. My favorite was the sweet sauce.

Morton's is my favorite steakhouse because it not only has great steaks, but fantastic appetizers. Their crabcakes are made of all jumbo lump crabmeat with no bread crumbs. Their Colossal Shrimp Alexander, basically panko-crusted fried shrimp sitting in a butter sauce, is to die for. The hosts and servers at the Philadelphia and King of Prussia locations all remember me and that's a wonderful, welcoming feeling that should exist at any restaurant. If the bar had lots of people, I'd definitely frequent it, but the big problem is Morton's is not in a very scenic area and there's no concept of window views. My friend Chris W and I shared a crabcake, a plate of Colossal Shrimp Alexander, a double cut filet mignon, and mashed potatoes. It was a fabulous meal. "I could eat this every day," Chris remarked. I could, too, but then I'd weigh 400 pounds.

My foray into pork continues at Baby Blues BBQ where I had a lunch platter with pulled pork, beef brisket, and a sausage link with a side of sweet mashed potatoes and cornbread. Four sauces were available - Sweet, BBQ, Hot, and XXX. The Hot and XXX sauces were nowhere near as spicy as Percy Street's Hot Mess. Sweet was close to Percy Street's Sweet Thang. I found the pork to be tasty enough to not require any sauce, but I always try to take my food in different taste directions during the course of my meal because I get bored sick of the same old thing all the time. I went to Baby Blues with five of my workgroup mates to celebrate my birthday.

My friend Chris J treated me to an amazing dinner at my favorite French restaurant, Bibou, recently minted a prestigious four-bell rating by Philadelphia Inquirer food critic Craig Laban. Our first course was a complimentary amuse bouche, a crème de chou-fleur cauliflower cream soup with croutons and saffron cauliflower florets, that was delicious. Our appetizers of pork rillettes and foie gras Bergamot crème brulée and seared foie gras with grapefruit were equally outstanding. When I first ordered this Foie Gras Duo, I was sad that the portion of seared foie gras was halved in order to make the foie gras crème brulée, but the crème brulée is such an amazing dish on its own that I would miss it if it were stricken from the menu. For our entrées, Chris had the sautéed dorade fillet with fennel compote and watercress emulsion and I had the duck leg confit and duck sausage with sauerkraut, bacon, and tourné potato. I often compare French and Chinese cooking because they actually use many of the same ingredients and I usually favor the cuisine of my heritage, but Chef Calmels' makes amazing duck and his homemade duck sausage easily eclipses the Chinese version by a long shot. One of the nice experiences of any restaurant is when the chef walks around asking his patrons how they liked their food. Chef Calmels and his wife Charlotte stopped by twice because I had the great fortune of dining with an old restaurant friend of theirs. Chris J happens to be the former restaurant manager of Brasserie Perrier, a sister restaurant of Le Bec-Fin. The three of them reminisced of their days working for gastronomical giant, Georges Perrier. I was sad that bone marrow wasn't offered as a special that night. "We did offer it," Chef Calmels assured, "but it went so fast. We always prepare ten every night. If you call next time, we can reserve a bone marrow for you." Awesome. Bone marrow here is not like bone marrow anywhere else. It's stuffed with chanterelles and Scottish partridge in Madeira sauce. For dessert, I had the banana tartin with honey ice cream. The tartin was like a flattened banana cake soaked in a sweet sauce. Prior to Bibou, Chris J and I went to Buddakan for drinks. My hair looked pretty amazing that night.

Most people think negatively of food trucks, but the fact is some of the most amazing food in the world can actually be had from a food truck and I'm not referring to the proverbial hamburger. World-class Korean tacos, authentic Jamaican jerk dishes, and fabulous falafel sandwiches can be experienced for a fraction of the price of expensive restaurants. And so it is with Philly Delicias, a Venezuelan arepas truck new to the Penn/University City scene. The ladies who run the truck prepare authentic food from their native country. Not wanting to stray from what the truck is known for, I ordered an arepa filled with chorizo sausage and pico de gallo. Es muy delicioso! An arepa is a corn patty that is lightly toasted and piping hot. You can have it filled with shredded beef, chicken, chorizo sausage, or veggiesw. The only negative is they're not that big, so two would make a satisfying meal, but ten dollars is pretty pricey for a food truck.

There's really no good reason to order the spicy squid bowl when the spicy pork bowl gives you more food and the same great flavor. Aside from a couple of gristly pieces, the pork actually tastes better, too. The spicy sauce didn't help my conversational abilities as I was chatting with a guy I liked at my party. It was pretty embarrassing to be burping up the stuff throughout the evening, but what can you do? I'm as real as you can get.

"Mmmm! Chicken and foi gras, two of my favorite things in one dish!" commented a woman a few seats away when she saw my entrée. My friend Jake and I spoke briefly to her and her dinner companion during the course of our meal. We sat at the kitchen bar watching the chefs expertly prepare our meals while Chef Bryan Sikora supervised the entire operation. I had read rave reviews about the Fried Chicken and Foie Gras dish at a.kitchen. I knew I had to have it, but let me preface what I'm about to say by stating that I seldom order chicken in a restaurant. I'm a culinary snob when it comes to food. When you're raised in an Asian household where your mother cooks up five or six unique dishes every night to be shared with the entire family, you get spoiled. Chicken? Why not duck? Steak? Why not lamb? Flounder or salmon filets? Why not the whole goddamn fish? You can see why I look at simple meals with great disdain. Simple is not good in my life. That's why I'm always seeking the next great dish. I have my favorites, but finding that next great dish is like discovering a piece of Heaven. Everyone knows I love foie gras for its taste, texture, and decadence. An ounce is not enough. Two is fine. Three is grand, but a heart attack on a plate. The amount of foie gras in Chef Sikora's dish is probably somewhere between one and two ounces. It's not a lot. It's there to make a statement, that you're eating a more decadent version of a Southern-style giblet gravy. The fried chicken is actually a chicken breast rolled up, formed into the shape of a golf ball, dipped in buttermilk and cornmeal, and deep fried. It was phenomenal! The rave reviews were all correct. This was the best chicken I've ever had. It was so soft my knife cut through it as if it were jello. How do they do this? The little bed of "winter slaw" was there for decorative purposes, to give you the much needed veggies in your diet. I also had the Fish Stew which was absolutely delicious. Calamari cut like noodles, diced swordfish, tender scallops, and a chunky tomato broth with saffron. It was Heaven on a plate. I'm a big fan of cioppino or fisherman's stew. My dessert of almond macarons with chopped nuts, creme fraiche, and yuzu jam was a nice ending. Jake had the seared scallops, duck with corkscrew pasta, and pomegranate semifreddo. He let me pick his meal for him so he could try new things. He enjoyed everything, too. I thanked the two chefs who prepared my meal. I told them the food was awesome.

Today I tried one of LivingSocial's daily deals, a $5 special for the Erawan Thai Cuisine appetizer sampler that is normally $8 plus tax. The sampler includes a spring roll, a fried shrimp, a skewer of chicken satay, two spicy veggie fritters, and two fried dumplings. Everything was really good and it was an excellent value. Even the usual $8 price is a bargain for this. The big negative is almost everything's fried.

My friend Jake treated me to a wonderful meal at Zama where we shared appetizers of miso black cod, red snapper crudo, and king crab tartare, sea urchin with quail egg sushi, a Philly Style maki roll (premium Japanese Washugyu beef, provolone, spicy mayo, rice, and bibb lettuce wrapped in red pepper flaked soy paper), and a Bibou maki roll (escargot sauteed with shallots, edamame beans, and shiho in a soy dashi butter set atop tempura haricot vert and fennel maki). One of the things I like about Jake is he's open-minded and adventurous like most of my guy friends and I'm incredibly fortunate to be able to attract the kinds of guys who make good dining partners. What I never like to hear is a negative response from someone who doesn't even dare try a new food because of built-in prejudices that keep him from experiencing Jake and I went to Square 1682 for a drink afterwards. We stayed until closing, which was 12:40am. I like Jake because he's unpretentious, calming, and very easy to talk to. There must be something in the stars because every decent man in my life right now is around my age. That's so cool.

My friend Chris W and I each ordered a delicious filet mignon and colossal shrimp combination meal at Benihana. Somehow we finished our miso soup, garden salad with ginger dressing, grilled shrimp appetizer, grilled zucchini, onions, and mushrooms, and our steak and shrimp with not much food left over. We felt so full afterwards and yet somehow I ended up losing weight the next day because the scale said 133. I'm liking my body again.

Whoaaa... I rarely praise fast food, but Popeye's Butterfly Shrimp Tackle Box is not to be missed. I've never had good fast food shrimp. Even Sid Booker's shrimp stand in North Philly doesn't make shrimp as good as this Popeye's special. There's something about the seasonings that add just the right amount of flavor and spiciness to the shrimp. You're supposed to get eight pieces in a serving, but I got nine both times I ordered it. Be sure to ask for the Confetti Sweet & Sour sauce as your condiment, however, the shrimp is so good on their own you won't need it. Substitute the fries for a small red beans and rice for a more satisfying meal. God damn, this is good! Anyone on Drexel's campus should try the Cap'n Crunch Tilapia Burrito from Cucina Zapata. I turned a couple of coworkers on to this secret find! I also love the chorizo, egg, and cheese arepas from Philly Delicias. (No, don't read this as a way to take me out on a cheap date.)

It's funny when a seven year old who has shown very limited food inclinations in the past year suddenly becomes adventurous. "Can I have that?" my son asked, pointing at the pink fish maki roll in front of him. "No, you can't. It's raw and, besides, you might not like it," I said. He looked at it with greater interest, the raw pink yellowtail tuna and scallion roll glistening under the lights. It was too pretty not to eat. I nodded, so he took the piece and ate it whole, chewing it curiously as I watched, thinking to myself, "Oh, no, I'll bet he's going to ralph it up onto the plate." Then he did something I sometimes do, which is perhaps the reason why so many guys enjoy taking me out and watching me eat. He closed his eyes as he chewed and swallowed, as if he were thoroughly enjoying the experience. He opened his eyes and said, "That was good!" I have to give credit to the little guy for his willingness to try something new. It was his first time eating authentic sushi. He sampled a little bit of the sea urchin, too. "It doesn't taste like anything," he commented. "It's kind of like sea custard," I said. He tried the fish eggs and scallions next, nodded, and said, "Mmm, good." I didn't dare let him try the salmon nigiri even though he wanted to. It was just too much raw fish for a young boy. He enjoyed his shrimp nigiri and shrimp tempura maki roll, two sushi items with cooked shrimp. We went to Cookie Confidential next where he had chocolate chip cookies and I had the cheesesteak cookie and strawberry shortcake cookie. The cheesesetak cookie was very weird. "Cookie" is a bit of a misnomer in this case because it was more like a piece of flatbread, a salty flat piece of cheesy dough with chewy bits of beef in it. It was akin to a cheese arepa studded with beef bits. The cheesesetak cookie was smaller than the other cookies, but priced higher. The strawberry shortcake cookie was a treat to eat. My son and I played at Starr Garden Playground for a while before we headed to our dinner destination, Blackbird Pizzeria, for a slice of seitan sausage and Daiya cheese pizza. His eyes bulged as he ate it. "This is good!" he exclaimed.

My friend Jake asked me where I wanted to go to dinner and I suggested Las Bugambilias because every meal I've had there was always super fresh and delicious. The prices are very reasonable and you get a lot for your money. I love the Langostinos and jumbo shrimp dishes. I love the Carne Tampiqueña, a skirt steak wrapped around a jalapeño pepper filled with chihuahua cheese covered with coriander sauce and served with a chicken mole enchilada, rice, beans, and guacamole. We stayed until closing. We went to Xochitl for drinks afterwards. The bartender clued us in that the best margarita on the drink menu is actually the cheapest and most basic one. "I've been working here for nine years, so I know how to make a great margarita," he said. That was indeed true. Jake talked about his long hours each week to build up his chiropractic business. He felt kind of down because he was working so much. "Come here," I whispered, motioning him to move in closer. I closed my eyes and pressed my lips onto his slowly, deliberately. "This is what you have to look forward to each week," I said. "I like that," he said, smiling. I like Jake for the simple fact that he's good for me. He's levelheaded, easygoing, and unpretentious. He's willing to try new foods and he likes comic books. He has a daughter whom he's helping his ex-wife raise so he knows responsibility. These are all things that work in his favor. Jake and I talked and talked and stayed until closing again. Not wanting the night to end, Jake suggested we check out Dark Horse Pub, an Irish pub housed in the Old Plough Tavern off of South Street. We had another drink and did some peoplewatching. Hopefully, we'll go out again soon.

Devon Seafood Grill's bar was full so I was determined to find another place to eat a nice, quiet meal. I was going to go to Tsuki, but then I remembered Chef Zama's Facebook announcement about a new fish of the day he had at his restaurant called aka yagara, or red trumpet fish. It's super mild and sweet. Each piece was $7, but you only live once! It tastes a lot like red snapper, my server said, and I agreed. Better things could be had for $7, but I'm glad I tried it. My sushi combination platter included pieces of white tuna, bluefin tuna, kampachi, king yellowtail, yellowtail, Scottish salmon, red snapper, kingfish, and shrimp. The surprise for me was the tenth piece, a rectangular block of egg omelet. The omelet, made of eggs and sugar, is usually eaten at the end of the dinner as a dessert. You also get a simple maki of your choice. My server suggested spicy tuna, but I wanted yellowtail with scallion. I chatted with two businessmen who were sitting at the sushi bar next to me. They ordered the omakase meal, the chef's choice multi-course meal where you trust the chef to prepare dishes that are sometimes not on the menu. The omakase is not listed on the menu, but goes for anywhere from $45 to $120 depending on the number and quality of the dishes. The fresh, made-to-order wasabi makes your meal well worth the price. The three of us shared stories of trendy restaurants we've dined at. It was refreshing to meet people who were foodies, too. It's a shame they were married because the one sitting next to me and talking to me more was trés handsome. I'm glad my life has been filled with lots of men who've taken me to nice restaurants because that just adds another dimension to my experiences as a woman.

I met my friend Tammy for lunch at 500 Degrees and we shared a truffle burger and fries. I wanted a combo meal, although there technically wasn't a combo meal for the truffle burger because it was a speciality burger. My server, whom I believe is the manager of the restaurant, punched up the truffle burger, fries, and drink. "So there really is no combo for a truffle burger..." I said to him. He paused. "No, there isn't. Is that okay?" he asked. "That's fine. Can you throw in a topping or something?" I asked with a big grin. He deducted the cost of my drink from the bill. "There, that's better," he said. "Cool! Thanks!" I said with glee. He told me he recognized me as a past customer and thanked me for my great review on Yelp. The lines and wait were long, but worth it. Their burgers are really good and much cheaper than Village Whiskey. Apparently, 500 Degrees is a very popular lunch spot because when I arrived at noon, there was a line running out the door.

Who says Conshohocken is barren of good restaurants? My friend Chris W and I went to August Moon, a Korean Japanese restaurant where we feasted on wasabi pork shumai, seafood scallion pancake, seafood stone bowl bibimbap, and a platter of sushi and sashimi. The shumai left me teary eyed from the sinus explosion. "Oooh, that's like so good!" I admitted to Chris. The scallion pancake was good, too, but there was very little seafood in it. If you used a magnifying glass, you might find bits of squid and whitefish. I expected more seafood. The helping of seafood in the bibimbap was also quite sparse. It was certainly the best hot bibimbap I've ever had. The vegetables were all fresh and juicy and the rice was excellent in both its steamed form and the stuff stuck to the bottom of the stone bowl giving it a chewy, crispy texture. We liked it a lot more than Miga's version. The sushi and sashimi fish was totally fresh and beautifully prepared. I liked the flowers made of sashimi. The white tuna and salmon were especially good. We had enough leftovers for a small meal that our friend Madeline gladly ate. "Oh, my God, this is really good!" she exclaimed. August Moon also has a list of sakes and specialty drinks. I especially liked my Sen Saketini, a drink resembling something I could get at any posh Asian Fusion eatery in Philadelphia.

It's a shame when nearby Drexel University has better food trucks than Penn. My coworkers and I walked over to the Drexel food truck row where we ordered our meals from Cucina Zapata, an Asian fusion food truck that serves the delicious Cap'n Crunch Tilapia Burrito. Their menu selections are limited, but each item is done so well that it doesn't really matter. Today I got the Thai Short Rib Tacos. The moment I chewed my first bite, I swear I had an orgasm. The freshly sliced avocado, lettuce, tomato, guacamole, and sprinkling of crushed peanuts were enough to give me sensory overload. They were pretty nice size tacos.

You have to love a restaurant named after a type of Japanese theater that uses crossdressed male actors. Kabuki is a nice little sushi BYOB in the Philly burbs housed in what looks like someone's home. The decor is plain and simple, the staff is friendly, and the food varies from good to great. Appetizers such as the sunomono (sliced octopus, imitation crab, and shrimp seasoned with vinegar dressing), scallop katsu (tempura batter scallops), and sashimi cocktail (tuna, salmon, whitefish) were all awesome. Oddly, the sushi was just okay. Sushi rice is a large part of what makes great sushi, but, unfortunately, Kabuki's rice falls short. The king crab, normally a favorite of mine, was saltier and darker than it should've been and not the beautiful, fresh cut that you can get from a place like Fuji Mountain or Zama. The yellowtail sushi made me feel like I was just eating a slab of fish on top of plain rice. There is a synergy missing where the right amount of sticky rice, water, and rice vinegar complements the seafood item it is adhered to. Look at my picturess from Fuji Mountain and Zama and you'll see that something like yellowtail is supposed to engulf the rice, not lay flat on top of it. As much as the rice didn't work in the regular sushi, it worked surprisingly well in the softshell crab handrolls. Nicknamed "Couple of Spiders," the temaki (handrolls) contained copious amounts of soft shell crab with minimal amounts of rice, lettuce, tobiko (fish eggs), and sauce. The soft shell crabs had one of the best tempura batters I've ever tasted and the crabs themselves were big and juicy with plenty of tomalley. "Couple of Spiders" is not on their menu. You have to special order it, but you'll be glad you did.

After much anticipation, there is now a place for authentic Hakata style Tonkotsu ramen in Philadelphia. Nom Nom Ramen boils selected pork bones for more than 24 hours to extract the rich, savory flavors from the marrow, cartilage, and meat. Fresh scallions, marinated bamboo shoots, crunchy kikurage mushrooms, and mouth watering chashu pork belly sprinkled with sesame seeds are added to create an amazing bowl of Tonkotsu soup. The noodles are the Hakata style ramen noodles that you will find in high-end ramen noodle restaurants like Ippudo in New York... but now I don't have to travel to New York and pay $15 to enjoy a bowl of delicious ramen. The atmosphere is very basic and no-frills, but what it lacks in decor it more than makes up for in fabulous food. The only thing that was off was the pork, whic needs a little more fat, but the health nuts will appreciate the lean cuts. The Shoyu and Shio ramen are awesome and only $8 each! The Miso ramen is even more flavorful with its black garlic and sesame sauce. My son and I thoroughly enjoyed our bowls.

Robyn pulled out all stops and took me to Chef Nobu Yamazaki's Sushi Taro restaurant, reputed to be one of the finest Japanese restaurants in the United States. We looked like gorgeous lipstick lesbians in our dresses and high heels. I wore a sleeveless pine green halter dress and high-heeled sandals that made my body look very inviting. She wore a three-quarter length sleeve burgundy belted dress with alligator-embossed high heeled-sandals. With a little makeup and hair spray, my girlfriend looked amazing. It took us a little while to get to the restaurant because of recent storm damage, but we just made our reservation. Robyn ordered the kaiseki tasting menu for us and it was outstanding. The fish was super fresh and expertly prepared to create eight exquisite dishes. The centerpiece, the Hassun tasting platter, was an assembly of various fishes, jellies, fruit, tamago, and banana leaf-wrapped veggie sushi. One of the items was tuna and sesame seeds stuffed into lime wedges made to look like little watermelon slices. The house-made sake was so good, we ordered more glasses of it. Every table was reserved, but we managed to get moved to a booth partway into our meal because we wanted to sit next to each other. Sitting next to your loved one at a restaurant is the nicest feeling in the world.

Sushi Taro Kaiseki Menu, June 30, 2012

house-made sake (palate cleanser)
soft tofu topped with sea urchin, miso, and wasabi
oyster and Japanese mackerel with ginger jelly in a halfshell
seared salmon and amber jack sashimi
shrimp ball miso soup
softshell crab tempura dipped in squid ink with tempura vegetables
Hassun tasting platter
three-piece sushi
deconstructed risotto with sea bass, quail egg, and vegetables

"This must be the amuse bouche and this other dish must be the salad course," Robyn commented. Whoa. Few people I've met or known know what the hell an amuse bouche, kaiseki, or full-course dinner is! Our kaiseki was easily one of the finest kaiseki/omakase meals I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing and the company made it so very enjoyable.

Chef Kevin Sbraga, winner of TV's Top Chef Season 7, has worked for such culinary giants as Georges Perrier and José Garces before opening Sbraga last October. The four-course prix fixe menu has items to satisfy everyone, although bigger eaters who may balk at the portion sizes. "Plate sizes start off small and get progressively larger by the third course," our server said. What is larger? "The meat portions are about five ounces," he assured. My first course, the fried green tomato, smoked sweetbreads, and cumin aioli was excellent. My second course, the parsley risotto with escargot, garlic cream, and prosciutto was out of this world! "I should've ordered three of these," I joked to Chris W. My third course, the lamb with onions and pita, fashioned to look like a deconstructed gyro, was a bit too salty for my taste. The quality of the meat was excellent, but it didn't need all the salt! Chris let me sample his selections. I liked his salmon sashimi with frozen yogurt shavings and also his scallop and pork belly with jalapeño tabbouleh dishes. The pork loin was the best of his three courses. All six dishes looked like little works of art. Although Sbraga could definitely be a date place for the well-heeled, I saw people dressed in all manner of casual and dressy clothing there, so I like the unpretentiousness. I attribute that to the open air kitchen concept much like a.kitchen, Little Fish, Osteria, and Amis. On the whole, I love the food here. It really tickles my senses. Chris W enjoyed watching me eat, which is a unique experience that a small number of lucky souls have ever had the pleasure to see. Food is a very sensual experience for me. It's not just sustenance like many people I know see it as. A big hamburger or steak does nothing for me, but the parsley risotto at Sbraga really entices me.

It may not look like much, but Alla Spina's Pig Pot Pie is an otherworldly delight. A hearty pork, potato, and mushroom stew topped with puffed pastry bread, this belly warming dish is full of savory goodness with every bite. My friend Chris W and I enjoyed our pies. We liked the bibb lettuce and pig trotter wraps, too. I wish there were more than two. We felt that the poutine with guinea hen bolognese and mozzarella curd was a bit too salty. The decor feels a lot like Osteria with its seating arrangements facing a bar and open air kitchen. A big pig hangs over the bar tempting you to try any of Alla Spina's porcine delights. It wasn't until I later that I learned that what I had enjoyed was an Italian Gastropub experience, so if beer is your drink of choice, this is the place. Even my prosecco, vodka, and lemon sorbet cocktails were fashioned to look like champagne glasses of beer with froth on top. The restaurant felt a little like Amis and a little like Osteria. All in all, a nice, comforting meal without the need for dessert. Right next to Alla Spina is Route 6, a Stephen Starr restaurant I'd like to try sometime.

My first visit to Gunning's Seafood with Robyn included a mix of awesome hard shell crabs, crabcakes, and crab soup. We made our dinner more manageable this time by skipping the hard shells. The two crabcake platter that comes with two sides and a garden salad was more than enough food. Each crabcake is seven ounces of jumbo lump crabmeat with very little filler. The crabmeat is very high quality with little to no shells. If I could eat these crabcakes every day for a week, I would. They're that good.

It's been ages since I've eaten at The Continental. My friend Chris W and I looked at the new Asian fusion menu and decided it would be a good dinner spot one night. His calamari salad was huge and the rings of batter-fried calamari were prepared perfectly.My Thai chicken lettuce wraps, considered a small plate on the menu, was enough to be my entire meal. I ordered an extra plate of Bibb letuce so I could finish the wrap filling as intended. Being the food snob that I am, I normally don't order chicken dishes at restaurants, but I took a chance on it and was pleasantly surprised. It was sooooo gooood!!! I would definitely order it again. Chris liked his lobster mashed potatoes. I was struggling to find lobster meat in my scoops, but the seafood flavor in the potatoes was very satisfying and memorable. My Buffalo soft shell crab was big and juicy. The Buffalo sauce was good, but not needed on a soft shell crab of such high quality. We discovered that the mojito martinis were an excellent value. You get more than one drink's worth in each martini. The restaurant was pretty busy for an off night. I like the atmosphere, which is basically that of a nice diner. Our buxom blonde server was someone Chris had met on his vacation in Rehobeth Beach. Whatever negative impressions I had about The Continental's food in the past have disappeared. This is good stuff.

Beck's Cajun Cafe in 30th Street Station has the same great food as its sister foodstand in Reading Terminal Market. I finally got to try the gator gumbo with white rice. It was really good! I think their chicken and andouille sausage gumbo is still the best, but it was nice to be able to finally try gator sausage in Cajun spices. I also like their jambalaya, red beans and rice, and praline cookies. The jambalaya bowl is the best value because it has huge chunks of chicken and sausage and the servers really fill the takeout container with it. The crab and shrimp etouffée is a big miss. I tried samples of it here and at Reading Terminal and both had hardly any seafood in it.

The decor of Route 6, Stephen Starr's newest seafood dining spot, is much like a nice shore dining spot, but without the all-you-can-eat specials. My friend Chris W and I enjoyed appetizers of fried ipswich clams and steamed mussels and the entrée specials of the wild ivory king salmon and barbecue shrimp. Sadly, the shrimp was overcooked, dry, and not quite Stephen Starr quality. The other items were well prepared. I enjoyed the clams and mussels and loved the salmon. I'm not normally a huge fan of cooked salmon, but it was excellent. The corn, red pepper, and butter bean medley was a great complement to the salmon. The cocktails were really good, too, because they contained fresh fruit compotes and purées.

On my second visit to Route 6 approximately one year later, my friend Chris W and I ordered appetizers of New England clam chowder, fried ipswich clams, and fried lobster tails. The chowder was good, the clams were awesome, and the lobster tails were even better than that. The lobster and clam bake was excellent. The lobster was cooked perfectly. The sausage and corn on the cob were nice and the clams and mussels were very flavorful. The clams are the authentic steamers with the big feet that you will find in traditional New England clam bakes. The broth was a light tomato-based broth with just enough flavor to be tasty but not overpower the taste of the seafood. If I were to complain about anything, it would be the grittiness of the salt in the clams, but, overall, our meal was a big yums up!

I love lamb, beef, pork, duck, chicken, and all kinds of fish and shellfish, but I also love great preparations of vegetables, too. Being Chinese, there's no way I could escape not eating some lovely combination of meat and vegetables in the same dish. I find it fascinating to see so many younger folks be anti-meat. I understand their philosophies on not wanting to dine on animal flesh, but if you grow up used to a certain thing - or, in my case, everything - then restricting yourself to a this or that diet doesn't quite work.Robyn and I agreed to be meat-free on Sundays, so I researched and found New Harmony Vegetarian's dinner buffet. $12 for a buffet meal is a great deal, especially when it comes with appetizers, entrées, and fillers. The bean curd skin rolls filled with bamboo and other vegetables were fantastic, about as good as any I've had with meat. The two kinds of vegetable dumplings were filled with a flavorful mix of finely chopped vegetables, but were too doughy. The pork lo mein was okay. I thought the noodles with water chestnuts and mushrooms were good, but the diced "pork" tasted like Spam. The broccoli with fried bean curd was a hit and miss. The bean curd was too firm. I've had this dish dozens of times before and know that the bean curd should never be firm. The walnut "shrimp" is touted as the main attraction by many reviewers. I've already tasted it at this restaurant before, so I wanted to see if it tasted the same in buffet form. It did. It's neither good nor bad. I'd rather eat real shrimp, which tastes better. My question is where were the walnuts? I could retrieve the broccoli and pineapple from the other buffet trays, but no walnuts could be found anywhere in the buffet. Overall, the food is good, there's plenty of variety, and there's virtually no line since the restaurant isn't very busy around 6pm on a Sunday.

The Art of Making Sushi is a six-part, three-hour course taught at Headhouse Bar by Madame Saito, a veteran sushi chef and teacher for almost thirty years. The class' twenty-six students were taught to make a cucumber roll, a pickled radish roll, a California roll (8 pieces), a spicy tuna hand roll, a grilled salmon hand roll, a shrimp tempura and fish super roll (10 pieces), spicy tuna gunkanmaki (small handwrap roll), and tuna, salmon, white tuna, shrimp, and Japanese sprout nigiri. The fish was super fresh and the sushi rice was phenomenal, perhaps the best I've ever tasted. Making something that tastes just as good, if not better, than what I can get at the best sushi restaurants is simply amazing. Nothing beats sushi that you can eat moments after it is made. I found the class fun, informative, and filled with nice people. We learned how to make three different kinds of maki rolls, the classic hoso (regular), ura (reverse, or rice on the outside), and temaki (hand roll). We learned how to make different shape rolls, such as round, square, and triangle. We also learned how to create a "super roll," which is a larger than normal roll with premium ingredients and a little design in it.

The design is basically a little curl showing in the roll. Madame Saito demonstrated how rolls can be arranged with ginger or edible flowers to improve their aesthetic appeal. My Mercer sashimi knife was perfect for the class and impressed several students around me who found it to be superior to their Crate & Barrel version. "Whoaaa!!! That's a real sushi knife!" they said. Well, sort of. Mercer is an American company using German steel. "Is it easy to cut the rolls with it? I've been going back and forth, back and forth with my knife," one student asked. "Oh, yeah, one slice cuts right through it," I replied. It was especially good for slicing thin pieces of sashimi, its intended use. Madame Saito mentioned that any interested students could enter her sushi competition held every year in April. While everyone focused on making monster-sized pieces of sushi, I made much smaller, more delicate pieces that reminded me of the sushi I've enjoyed at Morimoto and other authentic sushi restaurants. Sushi isn't supposed to be big mamma-jamma he-man sized. It's supposed to be small and pretty, made with tiny hands like mine. "Never use sriracha mayo with raw fish, only for tempura," Madame Saito warns. "Mayonnaise with raw fish not good. Cannot taste the fish. Use only sriracha," she said. It makes sense and now I see why I never liked all of those little holes in walls that Yelp reviewers love so much. Those inferior restaurants always drizzled sriracha mayo on everything. I was loving every piece of salmon, white tuna, and red tuna sashimi I sliced. None of the fish needed any seasoning at all. The class basically includes a make-your-own meal for $185. Actually, two meals, as Robyn and I dined on all of the items I made and stored in my Tupperware container. With a little bit of practice, I'm confident I could make better sushi than most places that charge $25 for a sushi dinner entrée. "Mmmm!!! That looks delicious!" my eight year old said when he saw the sushi.

You gotta' love it when you live right across the street from a world-famous French chef. Every now and again, I see his wife taking care of a small makeshift garden right outside a parking lot. A sign over the plants says, "Do you like fresh basil? Take some home if you do!" I picked a plant for myself, washed it throroughly, and added it to my pasta sauce. Whoa, it's so good and so fragrant! Nothing beats fresh basil handpicked from a garden just moments before cooking. I'll be picking more of these plants for my future culinary creations.

Four or five slices of London broil, one slice of pepper jack cheese, one leaf of iceberg lettuce, one slice of beefsteak tomato, and mayonnaise in between two slices of potato bread. Better than a Philly cheesesteak. I researched what London broil is and it turns out it is usually a broiled, marinated flank or top round steak and its origins are not from England. The slow-cooking process turns these typically tough meats into soft, juicy heaven. If you want a prime example of how tender and juicy flank steak could be, look no further than a good Chinese restaurant.

This weekend reminded me of how much I miss Indian food. Nothing beats a good lamb saag or chicken korma, but it wasn't until recent years that I began enjoying chaat, an Indian snack often found in the appetizer sections of Indian restaurant menus. Chaat usually has some element of boiled and fried items masterfully blended and connected with yogurt and a delicious tamarind sauce. It is a crazy mix of flavors that simply dance in your mouth. Chaat is surprisingly inexpensive, too, usually around $5 for a portion that serves two. My favorite chaats are the classic papri chaat and vegetable samosa chaat. Papri chaat is a mixture of crispy fried dough wafers made from refined wheat flour, chickpeas, and boiled potatoes and topped with yogurt, tamarind, mint, and cilantro chutneys, and sev (crispy noodles). Samosa chaat might be more familiar to many of you because everyone who has delved into any kind of Indian food has probably tried a vegetable samosa, a fried dumpling filled with curried potatoes and green peas. Like papri chaat, samosa chaat is smothered in yogurt and tamarind sauce.

My friend Chris and I went to Morimoto for happy hour where we enjoyed cocktails and appetizers of spicy lobster skewers and rock shrimp tempura. We walked a few doors down to Chifa where we had an extraordinary dinner with tasty duck tacos, an amazing red curry with jumbo lump crab, coconut, tofu, and eggplant over rice, and the incredible Chinese 5-spice pork. Six condiments, six soft taco shells, and four leaves of Bibb lettuce accompanied the roast pork shoulder. There was more than enough meat for all of the taco shells and lettuce leaves and it was damn good! We went to The Farmers' Cabinet for eclectic cocktails afterwards. I had the The Farmer's Cup (Pimms #1, bergamot simple, cucumber, ginger, mint, lemon, soda) and The Kentucky Firing Squad (Buffalo Trace bourbon, lemon, tamarind molasses, angostura bitters).

I've eaten at the Sansom Street location several times for good reason. The food is good, inexpensive, and a terrific value for the money. I love the classic masala dosa and the selection of chutneys. For $5 to $8, you get the equivalent of two small meals, especially when you order the chicken tikka roll, which contains a savory filling of marinated chicken cubes and roasted green peppers in a mildly spicy tomato-based curry. Yes, the spices have been toned down to suit the typical American palate, but it's tasty enough to be much more enticing than your usual hamburger or chicken sandwich. Bademiya it isn't, but it's the closest we have to my beloved food cart. The dosas at Philadelphia Chutney Company are huge. I've seen Indian families of five share two. I've been to India and can attest to the size of the dosas at some Indian fast food eateries. I don't know of any other Indian fast food dosa restaurant quite like this. Perhaps the closest thing is The Kati Roll Company in New York, but they only sell kati rolls, not dosa.

My second time at Han Dynasty was as pleasurable as the first. I went with my coworker friends, Robert and Ingrid, a couple who share my love for authentic Asian food. We each ordered and shared our family style dishes of Dan Dan Noodles, Spicy Beef Noodle Soup, and Taiwanese Sausage Fried Rice. Whoa... these dishes were simply amazing! Plentiful portions packed with so much heat, they were fine examples of how spicy hot food can be quite enjoyable. I've had the Dan Dan Noodles here before and recommended it to Robert. He and Ingrid loved the dish. Ground bits of pork, peanut sauce, and chili oil. So simple and yet so addictive. My Spicy Beef Noodle Soup tingled my lips with its exotic flavor that was equally as addictive as the Dan Dan Noodles. The beef and tendon chunks were very tender. I just wish there was more meat. The Taiwanese Sausage Fried Rice was the most ordinary of the three, but it was like the superior quality fried rice you get at Chinese weddings. "This is one the best meals I've had in my entire life," Robert admitted. "Even better than our wedding?" Ingrid challenged. "It's right up there with that," he replied. That's the best endorsement you can get! I returned to Han Dynasty over the weekend to get Dan Dan Noodles before an Eagles game. The takeout portion is a lot larger than the dine-in portion. I feel there's a bit of pomp and circumstance with the Dan Dan Noodles when you eat them in-house. Your server brings out the noodles unmixed and mixes the ingredients in front of you. No other dish on their menu is like this. My fifth time there I was with my friends, Chris W and his wife, and we had a veritable feast with Dan Dan Noodles, Dumplings in Chili Oil, Double Cooked Pork Belly, Hot Sauce Chicken, and Kung Pao Chicken. The pork belly was sliced thin like bacon and was my least favorite dish. I picked it, but I didn't have anything to reference it to other than its simple description. Had I known it would be thinly sliced, I would've passed, but the flavors of the dish, like all the others, was outstanding. The Hot Sauce Chicken was especially tender and juicy. I had that dish twice and it was great both times. I used to not like spicy Szechuan food, but I've grown to enjoy it over the years.

Craft & Claw is Philly's newest spot for craft beer, seafood, and crab legs. There are all-you-can-eat specials of Alaskan Crab legs on Mondays and hard shell crabs on Wednesdays. Daily menu selections include per-pound plates of Alaskan Crab legs, Dungeness Crab legs, and King Crab legs. Despite the nearly packed room, the sound was amazingly quiet, a testament to the acoustically tempered design. "The type of wood they used and the sound baffling on the walls help," my friend Chris said. We started with appetizers of Tempura Fried Blue Crab Fingers (actually claws) and Crab Cake Sliders. Both were good, but not exceptional. I didn't like my crab fingers until the second one, which was meatier than the first. It got addictive by the fourth and before I knew it, they were all gone and I wanted more. We both agreed that the crab cake in the sliders would not stand well on their own. They were made with shredded, mushed lump crab. I could only guess that the crab they used in the appetizers were products of Vietnam. Chris' pan-seared salmon was very good, but my Dungeness Crab legs served "Baltimore Style" (Old Bay seasoning) were absolutely phenomenal. It brought back fond memories of my time in San Francisco. Now the big dig... they took away my Margarita before I finished it! It was more than half full! That, and a hostessing blunder, knocks it down two stars in my book. Yeah, that's right, Craft & Claw would've gotten my coveted five-star rating if their servers did better.

I had my heart set on the Short Rib Sandwich, but they no longer offered that on their lunch menu. The servers recommended the Wagyu Cheesesteak so I ordered that. The restaurant is beautiful on the inside, the servers are all friendly, and there's plenty of free parking. With its multiple dining rooms, the place reminds me of someone's house rather than a restaurant. It's almost Deux Cheminees-like. My cheesesteak was good, but represented another fine example of what not to do with Kobe/Wagyu beef. Why make it well done? The ciabatta roll was top notch. The carmelized onions were delicious. The cheese was a bit salty and overpowering. The side of potato chips instead of the traditional fries was inexplicable. $17 for a sandwich that isn't phenomenal is a bit pricey. I'm left with mixed feelings about the place. I'm willing to try it again and go for a sit-down steak dinner next time.

When you get Craig Laban's attention, you know you're good and while I don't always agree with Laban, I bow to his knowledge of the almighty burger. Imagine if you will what your idea of a fantasy burger might look like. Now be prepared to be amazed as some dreams do come true. Josh Kim, owner of The Spot, grinds the meat himself and uses the finest ingredients in each meat-lover's masterpiece. Huge, pillowy soft buns, generously thick slices of tomatoes, juicy, slow-cooked spinach, tangy teriyaki sauce, or whatever strikes your burger fancy... it's all here and, frankly, I don't know where they store it all. The Spot is cute, too. Freshly painted in yellow with red accents, Kim's family might also own Kami, the red with yellow accented Korean food cart parked right next to it. I've always believed that a limited number of menu items ensures specialization and the highest quality because if you're not good at making those three or four things, you may as well not be in business. At $6.50, Kim's burger prices are higher than everyone else's, but you're getting a restaurant-quality burger. I walked my burger five blocks to return to my office at Penn and it still kept its thickness. Now I'm jealous that Drexel has better food carts than Penn!

I've always thought of Rouge as a posh lounge with an award-winning burger, but little did I know that a fantastic meal can be had here, too. My Steak Tartare and Seared Tuna were really good and my friend Chris' Pan Seared Duck Breast with chorizo, corn, and potato hash and morel mushrooms was excellent. I was particularly impressed with the accompanying black rice with maitake mushrooms in my tuna dish and the hash in Chris'. A top chef always cares about the side items that accompany the featured item. The flavors in each dish were very nicely done. The drinks were very good, too, not the usual jet fuel they serve to patrons sitting and drinking under the canopy. Rouge exceeded my expectations. I had doubts, but my doubts were totally obliterated. After Rouge, Chris and I went to Vango for drinks. We met a friendly black gentleman at the rooftop lounge. He and his friend opened a box of cigars. It was starting to rain and we offered to let them sit under the canopy with us, since our table was the only one under the canopy. They said "No, no, that's okay" and I said half-jokingly, "Are you sure? Because I was kind of hoping you'd give us a cigar!" He smiled and took two out of his box and offered them to us. They smelled like chocolate! Chris and I enjoyed the smell. It was the first time I ever smoked a cigar. We had a second dinner in Chinatown at midnight where we had fried tofu stuffed with minced shrimp at David's Mai Lai Wah. Drinking and cigar smoking made me hungry.

I often wonder about the design choices of certain buildings, restaurants, and food carts. Kami is a new food cart on the Drexel campus that's bright red in color with a caricature of a duck wearing a chef's hat and holding a cooking spoon. Kami translates to "god" in Japanese. What did Kami's owners mean by that? Enter the bugogi kimchi cheesesteak with your choice of provolone or cream cheese. At the suggestion of a fellow food reviewer, I got both. I opened the foil wrapper. It smelled really good. I sunk my pearly whites into the most tantalizingly juicy sandwich I've had in a long time. The hoagie roll was pillowy soft like the buns used at The Spot. The marinated meat was perhaps the most tender meat I've ever, ever, ever had from a food cart or sit-down establishment. The mushrooms and onions enhanced the beef's flavor. Only a sparse amount of kimchi was used, but it was just enough to give the steak a little kick. I didn't taste the provolone, but I did taste the cream cheese and it really gave my cheesesteak an interesting texture component as well as curbing the spice of the kimchi. What a great combination. This is hands-down the best cheesesteak I've ever eaten. Now I know what Kami refers to. This is God's sandwich... for just $7.50. The free salad was a nice touch. Kami offers only three menu items - chicken bulgogi, bibimbob, and bulgogi kimchi cheesesteak - ensuring specializaton and high-quality preparation and ingredients. I wish it wasn't Friday because I'd love to go back there again for lunch tomorrow. In my earlier review of The Spot, I mistakenly believed that Kami's owners were somehow related to them. They're not. "They helped get us started," the young woman manning the grill at Kami said. The cordial, older woman taking food orders reminded me of the same setup as The Spot. Having a separate money handler and allowing the cook do what he or she does best is a winning formula. Both Kami and The Spot are setting new cleanliness standards for food carts. For this reason, you can't call them food carts anymore. The more proper term should be mobile kitchens. Kami is a frickin' awesome mobile kitchen.

I've twice eaten at Philadelphia's newest ramen spot, Ramen Bar, on the west end of the Penn campus and both times were fabulous. It is now my favorite ramen spot in Philly. I thought Nom Nom was good, but it doesn't compare to this. Super fresh noodles, marinated chashu pork belly, kikurage mushrooms, menma bamboo, red pickled ginger, sesame, and scallions sit in a pork broth that is slow cooked for 20 hours. Nom Nom gives you three slices of pork, but the one slice of pork at Ramen Bar is about the same amount of meat and is twice as tender and flavorful because of the fat component. It truly is a delicious bowl of ramen. My only "beef" with Ramen Bar is the way they seem to nickel and dime you on every additional ingredient. Most bowls of ramen soup elsewhere include a slice of fish cake. It's 50 cents more here. A shot of spicy sauce is also 50 cents. Nori (seaweed) is also an option. The soft boiled egg for a dollar is reasonable since everyone charges a dollar for the egg, but the other three items should be included in the so-called Tonkatsu as a matter of course. Just how much does fish cake cost anyway? It comes in big sausage-like links for five dollars a pound! A piece of seaweed shouldn't kill their budget, either. Right now, their prices are higher than everyone else's ramen bowls so it would be nice if they gave a little more than less.

It's been ages since I've had the pleasure of eating Chef Daniel Stern's R2L Style Veal Stew, an exceptional bounty of veal goodness in every bite. Tender chunks of veal breast, a cylindrical formed melt-in-your-mouth veal tenderloin, and a small cube of savory veal meatloaf sit in a delicious sweetbread gravy filled with fingerling potatoes, onions, spinach leaves, and fried eggplant. I'm glad I saw it on the menu because it wasn't listed on the online menu. I urged my friend Chris to order this dish, too, and he did and he loved it. Before our entrées, we shared an appetizer of foie gras and duck confit spring rolls with Asian-inspired cole slaw. It was a heart attack in a roll, but so worth it. Our window seat overlooking a gorgeous nighttime view of the city. We had drinks at Smith & Wollensky afterwards. I noticed that the general manager at Smith & Wollensky who outed me earlier in the year has been replaced by a new person. Good riddance to a discriminatory piece of shit. He claims to be stepping down from his post to take time off to write a book. Let's all hope his book bombs. We thought he bar was pretty barren on a Monday night, but within fifteen minutes, a large group of men and a few women walked in and livened the place up to the point of being quite noisy. We left after our drinks and went to Dandelion for another drink. There I had a very unusual drink containing Bacardi rum, orange marmalade, Young's Chocolate Stout, and nutmeg. If I were to drink beer, it would have to be flavored like that. There's a chicken and duck liver parfait and a duck, foie gras, and pistachio terrine that I'd love to try.

Joe Spud's, you win. I thought The Spot had the best gourmet burgers from a food truck, but your Cheesy Joe burger bested the two burgers I had from there. Kudos to you for using big, soft, glazed-top buns from Le Bus, high-quality beef, two kinds of cheese, thick tomato slices, and fresh lettuce. Bigger kudos for topping your burger with a small amount of fresh-cut fries. Whoa!!! This is an evil sandwich, my friends, and it's your fault you've made me gain another pound or two. $8 is a hefty price to pay for a Cheesy Joe, but it's well worth the money. The no-frills decor of most of the food trucks on my college campus won't fly anymore as newer trucks start invading the neighborhood.

Have a hankering for quality Lebanese food? Manakeesh will satisfy your Middle Eastern cuisine cravings. Delicious sandwiches on homemade pitas, extraordinary side dishes of baba ghanouj and grape leaves, and delicately sweet filo dough pastries are just a sampling of the wonderful menu items. The moment I tried their baba ghanouj at one of my office lunches, I had to go back for more that day for dinner. I've also enjoyed their wonderful gluten-free platter containing hummous, baba ghanouj, grape leaves, falafel, and salad, and several of their pastries. With a couple of pitas, this could be three meals. The only problem is this kind of food really makes your breath stink!

I did some research and had my heart set on eating at The Kati Roll Company, but a few recent bad reviews made me look for another place. I found Masala Times, another Indian fast food place that serves kati rolls and shows a quirky sense of humor in their in-restaurant signs. "What a fucking weird place," I thought to myself, "but it's clean and the food is good." I ordered a lamb bhuna roll, which brought back fond memories of the Bademiya food cart in Mumbai. It was spiced nicely, but nowhere near as hot as my beloved Bademiya's lamb bhuna roll. What would've been a nice experience ended up kind of iffy as one of the employees took a liking to me and sat and talked to me for the entire length of my meal. Starting off like any other guy hitting on me, he wanted to know where I was from, what I was doing in New York, and how long I'll be staying. "Where's husband?" he asked. I didn't want to have to explain that I'm a lesbian, so I responded, "At home, working." "In Philadelphia?" he asked. I nodded. He grinned like a Cheshire cat. Like most lecherous guys, I caught him sneaking glances at my boobs. At some level, I like being seen as desirable, but not while I'm eating! Eating is sacred to me. He told me he was from New Delhi and I told him about my trip to India, which included a stop at New Delhi. He asked me if I would go there again and I said I definitely wanted to, but I didn't have any money. "I pay for trip. You and me to India," he said, smiling and bobbling his head. One of these days I should take some guy up on his offer, but I fear the worst in that the experience would end up resembling a live version of a Benny Hill chase scene. "Don't tell your husband. I pay for your hotel room to stay here extra night!" he said slyly. "No, no," I said, shaking my head, "I'm faithful." "Oh, sorry," he said, "many American girls have open hearts." I think he meant that most of us are easy.

I really liked my lamb bhuna roll and I wanted another one, but I couldn't bear being in his presence any longer. I left and walked down Bleeker Street and noticed all the Indian stores and restaurants. I then realized I was in the heart of Little India. I found The Kati Roll Company and decided to give it a try. It was right next to a shop called Tastee Curritos, yet another Indian burrito place that also sold hoagies with Indian spiced meats in them. Weird. The Kati Roll Company is just like I had envisioned it, a hole in the wall with no restrooms. It looked like a shack, but it wasn't as bad as the reviews from the dumb suburbanites on Yelp made it sound. The shack-like aspect of it is fabricated and quite comical. I ordered an Unda Aloo Roll, a spiced potato, green pepper, onion, and scrambled eggs roll. It was awesome! It was like a breakfast burrito with a little kick to it. My Kati Roll Company roll was definitely smaller than the one at Masala Times, but that could've been because of the ingredients. I'm not exactly comparing the same items. It wasn't too spicy, but my breath and hands reeked of Indian curry after eating it. Unfortunately, one of the things our teacher told us to avoid, in order to have an optimal voice, is spicy foods.

Want some authentic Chinese dumplings and pastries? Be careful what you wish for. The servers don't speak much English. I'm Chinese and even I had trouble communicating with them. You know you're in the wrong place when the servers don't know what a Coke is and it's right in their refrigerator! The place is filled with locals who only speak Chinese. Yes, they will poke fun of you if you don't know as much Chinese as them. I took my children there for a weekend lunch and we ordered several dishes: shrimp dumplings, bean curd rolls filled with beef and mushrooms, dried shrimp and scallion rice rolls, and turnip cake. I found a dead bug on my plate of rice rolls. I would've alerted the server to it, but she probably wouldn't understand me. Perhaps the best part of the meal is what they truly do best, the pastries. The pineapple buns are soft and delish and only 80 cents. The ones down the block have custard in them for the same price. The bill was just $12.05 for this substandard food, but it was filling.

As a Yelp elite reviewer, I get invited to some really cool parties with free food and drink. Their latest soiree at the Penn Museum had a two halls filled with delicious bites from City Tap House, Circles, Fat Jack's BBQ, Fuel, Basic 4, Soy Café, The Tomato Bistro, Cake and the Beanstalk, and The Sweet Life Bakery. Alcoholic beverages included several local breweries serving beer, flavored wine, moonshine, apple cider liqueur, and more. My favorite items were the seared scallop and mushroom risotto from City Tap House, the Thai pumpkin soup from Circles, the shrimp canape from Fuel, and the BBQ pork from Fat Jack's. My friend Tammyrae accompanied me. We weren't in theme with the Egyptian motif, but we weren't the only ones. One of the highlights of the party was a very informative tour of the mummy exhibit led by one of the museum curators who impersonated the female pharoah Hapshetsut. The promo cards asked guests to not make a meal out of the finger foods, but it was hard not to. Nine food vendors plus getting seconds from three of them made for a very filling meal. I was somewhat disappointed that nobody recognized me. After the Yelp party, my friends, Chris and Chris, picked us up and we all went to the Henri David Halloween Ball at the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel. I don't think there were more than a couple hundred costumed attendees. It wasn't the massive two thousand person affair it usually is, perhaps because of the aftereffects of Tropical Storm Sandy. Plenty of people all over the Philadelphia area recently got their power back after a recordbreaking 350,000 homes and businesses lost power. The storm really didn't affect the city much. My condo has experienced much worse rainstorms, so I was fortunate. My friends and I stayed in the lobby bar sipping cocktails. A couple dressed as hillbillies bought me a drink. I managed to catch the eye of a couple of nice-looking, younger guys as I passed them by, so that was cool. I stayed with my friends Chris and Chris in their Bethlehem home and we went to a couple of good Asian restaurants, CJT and Prince Palace Dumpling House, the first day. In between lunch and dinner, we toured the Sands Casino and Lehigh University. We watched the horror film, High Tension, at night. The next day we went to the Palace Diner for lunch, visited a comic and gaming store called The Portal, walked around The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley, toured Allentown where Chris works, sipped cocktails at Bethlehem Brew Works, and enjoyed dinner at Edge, a restaurant awarded "Best Fine Dining" in the area. Chris and his wife had the calamari, pear salad, and pork tenderloin. I had the seared foie gras and grilled mahi mahi. My foie gras sat atop banana nut bread and drizzled with honey. It felt good to taste foie gras again. My grilled mahi mahi sat atop a bed of carrot risotto. Aside from the corners, which were a little salty, the bulk of my fish was fantastic and buttery soft. Cocktails were unique, too, and reminded me of the kinds of drinks I could get in fine restaurants in Philly and New York. My Key Lime Martini (Stoli Vanila, pineapple juice, a splash of rose's lime, and cream) was fantastic. It actually tasted like key lime pie complete with ground graham cracker crust lining the edge of the glass. I also had the Caipirinha (Cachaca, muddled lime, and sugar), which was a bit heavy on the lime. Chris' wife had the Lychee Martini (Absolut, lychee juice, and splash of champagne), which was really good. Chris and his wife each ordered the pork tenderloin. I sampled some and it was absolutely fantastic. If I didn't know it was pork, I would've assumed it was prime rib. We had vanilla créme brulée and pistachio dusted goat cheese for dessert.

Vegan places are notorious for spicing up their foods to hide the fact that soy proteins don't exactly taste like animal proteins. I took my sons to Blackbird Pizzeria this weekend to get them to try "fake pizza," as I like to call it, because it has Daiya cheese instead of mozzarella. Some crazy vegans will insist that it tastes like mozzarella, but the texture and consistency is more like cream to me. They liked their plain slices. I liked my assorted mushroom slice. I also ordered fries and buffalo wings. The wings were fried seitan smothered in a fiery hot citrus-based buffalo sauce. Fried compressed bread. So I'm really eating sauce on bread, which is silly. I like soy chicken better.

My friend Chris and I did a little food and drink tour around South Street and Chestnut Street. We had drinks at Dark Horse Tavern first and then dined at Xochitl, a restaurant that serves delicious Mexican-inspired dishes. We shared the guacamole, which we customized with Spanish onions, cilantro, roasted garlic, cotija cheese, and crabmeat. We had appetizers of Duck Pelliscada and Crab Ceviche. Chris' duck pelliscada was really good. Tender duck confit sat atop a baked masa cake with white bean and bacon purée, caramelized fig, and chipotle and fig sauce. My crab ceviche was okay. The crab tasted like Chicken of the Sea crabmeat. I absolutely loved my Shrimp Chili Nogada, a huge roasted poblano pepper stuffed with shrimp, rajas, queso mixto, mexican red rice, and topped with a walnut and canella cream sauce, pomegranate seeds, and micro cilantro. The quality of the shrimp was not as high as a place like Las Bugambilias, but it worked in this dish. I also didn't like the soggy green peas in the rice. I thought I'd mind chewing on pomegranate seeds, but I was fine with them. Chris' Fish Tacos contained marinated chunks of walu fish. The fish was really good, but I didn't like the accompanying Mexican cole slaw. We went to Bridget Foy's for a drink, shot a game of pool at Buffalo Billiards, and had a drink at Monkey Bar. On our way to the final drink spot, we met a guy in the street who asked me for directions to a place with dancing and single girls. "Vango," I said. I told him that we were going to go there earlier. "Come join me?" he said. If I was single, I would have.

I wish I could say all good things about this place because I was really enamored with their sample offerings at the recent Yelp food and drink party, but I can't give it a great review because my first experience there wasn't good. I ordered the Fuel Sampler, which gave me a choice of three items from a list of guacamole, black bean and tomato salsa, hummus, and sweet pea mash. The sweet pea mash was incredible, but the salsa and guacamole were too salty. The guacamole was especially salty and I let my server know that. She tried to rectify the situation by giving me a substitute of hummus, but that, too was too salty. Why was this place awarded "Best Hummus"? I can certainly appreciate the fact that it's freshly made, but something in the guacamole, hummus, and salsa just didn't taste right. That aside, if I had just ordered the sweet pea mash or perhaps the shrimp canapes that I tried from the Yelp party, I would've given this place four or five stars. I'll give it another try before I dismiss it. I'm sure the wraps and salads are good. I did like my Zen smoothie (cucumber, mango, pineapple).

Chris and I dined at Cuba Libré where we enjoyed the "15 Tastes of Cuba," a special 15-course tasting menu designed by internationally renowned Chef Guillermo Pernot. I've have had many fine meals at Cuba Libré so I was very excited when I saw this new menu addition. My expectations were met, even exceeded in some cases. The pressed Cuban bread with mango butter is always delightful. I'm a big fan of bread that eats like a pastry. We were served two plates of appetizers. The first plate included black bean hummus, rum-cured smoken marlin salad, and salsa with plantain and malanga chips. These were just fillers, nothing extraordinary. The salsa was kind of runny. The bean dip was plain. The marlin salad was chicken-chewy. The second plate included a shrimp cocktail of four large shrimp soaked in an avocado salsa, empanadas filled with chopped chicken, corn, sweet peppers, and jack cheese, potato croquettes filled with beef picadillo and topped with crispy onions and Manchego cream, and fritters made of purple taro root, garlic, and cilantro. Everything on this plate was delicious. Nothing really stood out. These were all very tasty comfort food items. I liked the shrimp cocktail the best. We each received our own plate of three mini entrées of grilled skirt steak with mushroom salad, BBQ grilled shrimp with guacamole and mango salsa, and a Mahi-Mahi filet on top of squid ink black rice with calamari rings.

A third plate sat in between us with sides of sweet plantains, black beans, and white rice. I liked the plantains. They were sweet and crispy and made just right. The beans and rice were just fillers. The steak was nothing special. It was the kind of tough steak made to taste tender through marinade and tenderization methods. I didn't care for the layer of onions on top that reminded me of White Castle onions. The shrimp was very good. I wish there were more than one. You can't go wrong with shrimp in mango salsa. The fish was probably my favorite of the three. It was very nicely done and my only criticism of it is it didn't really taste any different from the way it would've been prepared at, say, Devon Seafood Grill or Legal Seafoods. In other words, it didn't taste very exotic. It was very good, but not very exotic and the whole point of coming to a place like Cuba Libré is to sample something exotic. We each received dessert plates of flan with citrus salad and a tres leches de caramelo cake. The flan was okay. The cake was good. Is the food great? Yes, it uses very high-quality ingredients prepared in a well thought out manner. Is the service great? Yes, our server was reasonably attentive. Is the decor great? Oh, hell, yeah. This place looks like it belongs in Walt Disney World. So, what's wrong with it? It's missing the real taste of Cuba. I want the real deal, not the watered down stuff that suburbanites who visit Philly want to eat. Give me the tentacles with my calamari. Give me the spices. I want to experience the spices... and if it's ever too spicy for me, it's my own fault for wanting the spices. I don't necessarily want spicy hot spices, but the authentic spices that most people who are used to eating fast food hamburgers and steakhouse steak would never dare consider.

Chris and I went to Zama for dinner. We enjoyed plates of seaweed salad, Black Cod Dice, Garces Chirashi Bowl, and the sashimi sampler. My personal favorite was the Black Cod Dice, miso marinated black cod with pickled vegetables and Belgium endive. Chris remarked that this version tasted better than Buddakan's Black Cod Miso. It did. The sashimi was delicately sliced and very tasty. My chirashi bowl was a disappointment. I felt that they skimped on the ingredients and the chorizo and avocado gave a hokey Tex-Mex feel to the dish. A look at the first version of José Garces Chirashi Bowl revealed that chorizo and avocado were not even used. They should've kept it that way. This is chirashi, not fried rice! I liked the head-on shrimp. They were beautifully done. The rest of the jumbo shrimp was included as well as scallops, squid, giant clam, and sea bass. Chris ordered the sake flight and we each took turns sipping the three sakes. Only one tantalized our tastebuds, the Rihaku Dreamy Clouds Nigori. My Pomegranate Green Tea Martini (green tea vodka, Pama, simple syrup) was very good. Chris is going to drive me to my surgeon's recovery suite to check in the day before my surgery. He took half a day off work and was willing to drive an hour and a half to my place to be there for me. For that, I told him I love him because I know I could count on him. I let him hear the song I wrote, sang, and dedicated to Robyn. He loved it. "Is there anything you can't do?" he said. "No," I said, smiling. After Zama, we went to Rouge where we sat outside on the warm November evening sipping cocktails and enjoying their Truffle Parmesan Pomme Frites. We decided to walk off our drunken stupor and got a gelati ice cream sandwich from Capogiro along the way home.

My friend Chris and I enjoyed a fine meal at Zahav where we each ordered the Tayim, a multi-course tasting menu with your choice of hummus, two appetizers, entrée, and dessert. The bonus course is the salatim, a daily selection of eight salads served in little tins, much like Indian thali. We ordered the Turkish hummus, a fluffy, whipped hummus mixed with butter and garlic that is served warm. The homemade laffa bread was extraordinary and I was quite full after the salatim and hummus. Next came our mezze, or appetizers. We each chose two from a menu of thirteen selections. Never wanting to try the ordinary, we ordered grilled duck hearts, sweetbread schnitzel, smoked salmon with latke, and smoked sable with Challah toast and egg, which I affectionately call "fish French toast." The appetizers were incredible, especially the fish French toast. Chris loved the duck hearts. For our shipudim, or grilled skewer entrées, we ordered the stuffed quail and duck sausage over rice. Yummy! Our desserts of halvah mousse and pumpkin cake were also outstanding. About the only thing I did not enjoy was the creepy manner in which the servers and busboys appeared out of nowhere to serve our food or pick up empty plates. I'm usually great at sensing when people are sneaking up behind me, but I couldn't detect them at all. So, what are you waiting for? Go get Tayim'ed as soon as possible at Zahav! Chris and I went to the Sheraton Philadelphia Society Hill Hotel bar around the corner for cocktails before we retired for the night.

My friend Chris W and I had dinner at Fuji Mountain, our favorite sushi spot in Philly. Unbeknownst to me, it was Restaurant Week in the city and Fuji Mountain was offering a five-course meal for the incredible price of $35 per person. Each course had an ample number of selections to satisfy any palate. The two soup selections in the first course were miso and kinoko soup. We were already familiar with miso soup, so we decided to try the kinoko, a clear broth that includes four different kinds of mushrooms. What a delicious bowl of soup! The four salad selections included seaweed salad and salmon skin salad. The salmon skin was nice and crispy, but nothing extraordinary. The four selections in the third course included beef negamaki and lobster ravioli. My beef negamaki - scallions and asparagus wrapped in thinly sliced beef - was juicy, tender, and delicious. Chris' lobster ravioli had lots of lobster in them. We had a choice of three hot or three cold entrées, so we each ordered the Fuji Premium sushi and sashimi combo, a safe bet, since sushi is the reason why people go to this restaurant. The "premium" label was so given for its inclusion of scallop, squid, and red snapper. The usual pieces of tuna and salmon were included for completeness. The dessert was your choice of three ice cream flavors. We chose green tea, a perennial favorite. This was a fantastic value for the price and, best of all, I somehow lost weight eating all of this because I weighed 133.8 the next morning. I ate a restaurant-quality burger from Spot Gourmet Burgers for lunch and a provolone cheesesteak from Sonny's Famous Steaks for dinner and I weighed 133.6 the next morning. Oddly, I still have a belly even though my weight is at a recent low. Perhaps I'm ready to dip below 130 soon.

Foo Truck may very well be the next Tyson Bee's. Before Chef Tyson Ophaso left the truck bearing his iconic name, Tyson Bee's was a culinary gem on the Penn campus with its Asian-inspired tacos, burritos, and rice dishes. Foo Truck has filled the void and satisfies the culinary adventurer's desire to obtain a high-quality meal with premium ingredients at a reasonable price. Every sandwich at Foo Truck is a unique experience, from the highly-praised spicy green curry with roasted vegetable medley to the savory, mouth-watering braised meatballs. On my repeat visits to Foo Truck, I tried the roast pork sandwich filled with Chinese roast pork, steamed rice, pickled vegetables, cucumbers, and crushed peanuts. It's like a Vietnamese pork hoagie in burrito form. I also thought the pork belly sandwich with shoyu potatoes, tea egg, and Chinese greens was crazy good and quite satisfying, definitely worth the wait. The flank steak sandwich with onions, water chestnuts, and mustard greens is another winner. I found myself unable to stop eating it. Before I knew it, I finished the sandwich and didn't even need a sip of my beverage.That's the sign of really good food. I also must give props to Foo's braised meatball sandwich. It is, quite simply, awesome. The combination of meatball and napa cabbage is genius. I don't know what kind of culinary pedigree Chef George has, but he clearly knows what he's doing. The pork belly, flank steak, and braised meatball sandwiches clearly make this a five-star truck. Highly recommended.

Hip City Veg is a veggie lover's paradise for delicious homemade meatless sandwiches and salads. Like any fast food place, everyone has their personal favorites. Mine are the Philly Steak and Udon Noodle Salad. The Philly Steak is Hip City's answer to a Philly cheesesteak. Let me forewarn you that this sandwich won't taste exactly like the kind of cheesesteak you're used to. The texture of the "meat" is more like mushrooms. The sandwich includes lettuce, tomato, mushrooms (yes, mushrooms to go with the mushroom-like meat, onions, and a mayo sauce that brings it all together). It's a great sandwich and I urge you to try one with an open mind because you will probably love it. The Udon Noodle Salad is one of the more popular menu items and it's easy to see why. The salad is filled with lots of good stuff: spicy glazed soy chicken, udon noodles, sprouts, arugula, carrots, cabbage, daikon, peanuts, and black bean dressing. It was delicious. I didn't even realize the chicken was soy until I was more than halfway through! The Bistro Bella is a big portabella mushroom sandwich. Many vegetarians will claim that portabella mushrooms taste almost exactly like beef. It doesn't. It's good, but to call it beef would be insulting to both beef and mushrooms. The Bistro Bella is a nice, hearty sandwich filled with plenty of red onions and artichokes, a couple of slices of beefsteak tomato, arugala, and olive tampenade all in a big multi-grain roll. Be forewarned, your breath will stink of onions when you're done, but it's sooo good. The Fajita Wrap with its blackened soy chicken, peppers, onions, pico de gallo, and avocado is a little more forgiving. For less zesty selections, try the Hip City Ranch or the Jerk Caesar Salad. It's not exactly a sit-down place as there is limited seating, but on a warm, sunny day, I can think of few places around Rittenhouse Square that can provide you with a more satisfying quick meal that you can enjoy while sitting in the park people-watching.

They aren't cheap at $2 each, but where else can you get such heavenly donut flavors as cherry almond, pistachio, French toast, or maple bacon? Certainly not from the usual donut chains or even some mom and pop shops. The cherry almond is to die for. The cherry coating tastes like the outer coating of a candied apple. The almonds are fresh and crunchy. You will get hooked. I'm warning you now. Federal Donuts also sells Korean-style twice-fried chicken in different seasonings or glazes. I've tried their honey ginger glaze, which is very good. An order of half chicken isn't really a half chicken, since it's missing the wing, but the chicken breast is big and meaty and I couldn't finish all four pieces anyway. The free honey donut is a nice bonus.

Nom Nom Ramen is not the best ramen soup joint in Philly, but it's certainly the best in Center City. The broth is thick, rich, creamy, and tasty. Topped with fresh scallions, bean sprouts, marinated bamboo shoots, crunchy kikurage mushrooms, and mouth watering chashu pork belly. The ramen noodles are okay. They look almost like the ones in the little packages, but they're fresh, not freeze-dried. Today's special was a "premium chashu pork" that claims to melt in your mouth. It was a few dollars more than the standard bowl, but it included extra pork with a sesame fish sauce drizzle, pickled veggies, and a marinated soft-boiled egg. To say that it was delicious would be an understatement. The pork was indeed melt-in-your-mouth. The entire meal was comfort food and very appropriate for the cold weather.

Sammy Chon's is a Korean BBQ restaurant with four locations (actually three and a food truck) that serves authentic Korean cuisine. Let me warn you that you will not walk out of this place hungry.Every entrée comes with five to seven assorted side dishes of kimchee, shoyu potatoes, fishcake, broccoli, cucumbers, green beans, and sweet corn. Chris W and I ordered appetizers of potato-wrapped shrimp and honey BBQ Korean fried chicken wings and entrées of kalbi (beef short ribs) and soon dubu (tofu stew with your choice of meat or seafood). The fried chicken exceeded my expectations. Each piece had a crunchy coating with tender, juicy meat inside. The honey BBQ sauce was delicious. The potato-wrapped shrimp were medium-size shrimp encased in a firm potato ball (or is fishcake?), hand-wrapped with potato strands, and flash-fried. I thought they were pretty good, but not something I'd crave again. The kalbi had excellent flavor. The meat itself was very fatty, which was good for about half the dish. There were both lean and fat portions, but overall it was a little too fatty. I'm thinking that the more expensive three-inch short ribs might alleviate the fat problem, but it was quite pricey at $38.99 compared to all of the sub-$20 entrées on the menu. The seafood soon dubu was mostly soft tofu and straw mushrooms with three pieces of shrimp, two clams, and a raw egg on top. If I were to get this again, I would go for all shrimp. I actually enjoyed this dish and found comfort in dumping my white rice into the stew to make it more hearty. I ordered my spice level to be medium on a 1 to 7 scale, but our server sized me up and said I should get a "2". Chris ordered a "4" and our server asked, "You sure?" to which Chris nodded and said, "Hell, yeah!" Our drink was a carafe of soju wine mixed with lychee juice. That was yummy! Our server presented us with a small bottle of tangy yogurt drink as a dessert at the end of our meal. We went to Dandelion and Sofitel for drinks afterwards. I had a vodka martini with two olives stuffed with black truffle and cream cheese. Amazingly, I didn't have a hangover the next morning.

My friend Chris W and I enjoyed a fantastic omakase meal at Morimoto. As usual, the servers asked us if we had any food allergies and I replied, "No sardines." I'm not allergic to sardines. I just hate them, even if they were prepared at Morimoto. "It's my birthday and I've had the omakase here over twenty times, so please surprise me," I said. They assured me that they would try to accommodate me, but that some dishes may appear again by chance. That was fine. The only food request I made was to have us both start with the toro tartare. If you enjoy raw tuna, the toro tartare with garlic, fried shallots, and tobiko is not to be missed! My omakase meal also included a sea urchin and oyster cream soup, seared sockeye salmon in a parmesan cheese brulée, wagyu steak with truffle butter salad, poached lobster salad, "fork tender" kobe beef short rib, seared Schooner salmon filet with straw mushrooms and spinach foam, a sushi platter with chu toro, fluke, yellowtail, mackerel, and orange clam, and a yuzu meringe tart with apricot chutney. Chris' omakase included raw Kunamoto oysters, a yellowtail salad, yellowtail sashimi in citrus soy and sizzling oil, poached lobster salad, "fork tender" kobe beef short rib, eight-spice lobster, a sushi platter with chu toro, fluke, yellowtail, mackerel, and orange clam, and a chocolate pot de creme. We enjoyed some wonderfully unique cocktails, including an oolong colada, a clementine martini, and a pear and elderflower martini. Major props to our servers, a young bearded fellow who was very nice and a tall, bald fellow whose course descriptions made even our small intermezzo courses sound divine.

I love Middle Eastern food almost as much as Asian food. You can say I grew up on it, having feasted on wonderful Middle Eastern sandwiches and platters for over 25 years. The first time I tasted something from Manakeesh, I was floored. The office staff and I helped ourselves to some leftovers from one of the conference room lunches. I tried Manakeesh's baba ghannoush and it was love at first bite. For several months, I made occasional trips into the heart of shady West Philadelphia to retrieve some of that precious baba ghannoush as well as Manakeesh's delicious filo dough pastries. It was only recently that I decided to try one of their namesake entrées, the manakeesh, a Lebanese flatbread pizza. I tried it with kafta (a ground lamb, beef, and parsley meatloaf) and I have to tell you that the kafta is something special. "I could eat two of these," my friend Chris W said during lunch one day. "I know, right? I got one for takeout and was eating it on my drive back home. It was soooo good!" I exclaimed. I was lucky I didn't crash my car from food orgasm. Did you ever eat something that was so good, it felt as if you were whisked away to a place far away from where you currently are? That's the magic of this kafta with its special combination of heavenly spices that tickle the senses. I could not make a better meatloaf myself.

"No way can a truck charge ten dollars for a roasted lamb pita!" I thought to myself, but they do and it's roasted lamb and not cheap gyro meat like the Mediterranean carts serve. The pita is a homemade gordita pita. The salad greens are fresh. The feta cheese adds a thick, creamy texture. A creamier cheese would've been more appropriate. There's a tasty orange sauce sparsely mixed throughout. I don't know what it is, but it tastes good. I'm left with a nice feeling in my belly, like I just ate something wonderful that's not too light and not too heavy. I feel a craving for more lamb and that's a nice feeling. I'll save it for another time. Street Food Philly is part of a new generation of mobile kitchens serving quality food to the masses. I think I just found a new spot to go to.

Mac 'n' cheese from a cart? That takes guts to do, especially since everyone who has any kitchen sense has their own version of it. I'm one of those "try anything once" kind of girls, so I got the BBQ in a Bowl to satisfy my curiosity. The pulled chicken was delicious. The BBQ sauce was sweet as I like it. The cornbread and potato crisp crumbles were delicious. The mac 'n' cheese was very nice with perfectly cooked pasta and creamy smooth cheese. It was almost like eating a dessert. My problem with it is there was too little topping and too much mac 'n' cheese. The medium size bowl is pricey at $8, so having a bit more chicken would've been nice. Maybe a 50/50 ratio would be fair because a savvy eater who has his or her choice of food carts from this block will say to him or herself, "Hmmm... mac 'n' cheese for $8 or a Spot burger (that has more meat) for $7 or Street Food Philly tacos (that have more meat) for $5." Still, I commend Mac Mart for being the first truck to sell gourmet mac 'n' cheese in our city. The truck is real pretty to look at, too.

Sculptor Zbigniew Chojnacki's highly praised La Dominique Creperie food cart has gotten many rave reviews, so it was time for me to find out for myself if the reviews were accurate. Even though this is a fast food cart, Chojnacki takes his time preparing each crepe. I appreciate when a fellow artist prepares my food because there are certain details that artists consider that non-artists who are just out to make money do not. Chojnacki slices fresh tomato on top of my crepe, drizzles a delectable sweet sauce on top, garnishes it with scallions, and carefully places a dollop of sweet butter in the center. I take a whiff of my lunch as I walk down the street. Wow... good stuff! I ordered the spring crab crepe after reading many reviews. It was a bit of a letdown that the crab was imitation crab, but here's the crazy thing... it tasted good. Real good. I ate the entire crepe. I normally can't finish an entire crepe or sandwich! As I enjoyed each bite of fake crabby goodness, I kept thinking to myself, "How the hell is he using so much crab meat? I know it's imitation crab, but even imitation crab in large quantities is not cheap!" The cream cheese, cucumber, and imitation crab combination was delicious. His crepe was nicely prepared, too. Soft and chewy in the center and crispy and flaky on the edges.There were hints of spices in the sauce that I couldn't quite place and they were quite agreeable with me. In any other food venue, I wouldn't dare give four stars for an imitation crab dish, but this one truly impressed me.

A spectacular film about the life and philosophy of Jiro Ono, the greatest sushi chef in the world. After you gaze upon the succulent pieces of sushi this shokunin (Japanese for craftsman or artisan) creates, you will never look at sushi the same way again. Here are a few words of Chef Jiro's wisdom: "Once you decide on your occupation, you must immerse yourself in your work. You have to fall in love with your work. Never complain about your job. You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill. That's the secret of success and is the key to being regarded honorably."

My friend Ingrid was going through her closet in preparation for a move and found the beautiful red dress she wore at her wedding reception. "I thought of you when I found this dress. Do you want it? It doesn't fit me anymore," she said. I quickly nodded. Never pass up an opportunity to get a good dress! I asked my friend Chris W to accompany me to Yelp's Angels and Demons party at Fire and Ice. Chris looked dashing in his tux and I looked... ummm... let's just say Chris' endorsement speaks for itself: "Any guy who wouldn't want to be with you tonight is an idiot." The buffet included braised beef short rib, seafood chowder with shrimp and crab, chicken curry stew, truffle mac 'n' cheese, artichoke dip, and bananas foster. I liked all of the selections, but the chowder and mac 'n' cheese were awesome. It turns out this party was an intro to the restaurant and not like the previous party that had samples from many different restaurants. We met Michelle C, the organizer of the party, and her boyfriend. Her boyfriend told her, "You HAVE to meet that couple. They win the award for the best dressed couple at the party!" Lots of girls complimented me on my dress. I did Ingrid proud. "I'm glad you were able to get a use out of it," she said.

Morimoto's omakase has been my undisputed choice for my last meal on Earth for as long as I could remember. Why do I love Morimoto so much? The food is outstanding Asian fusion cuisine that's accessible to the masses. However, aside from exotic fishes, sea urchin is probably the most exotic thing Morimoto will serve you. I love Morimoto's omakase, but Zama's omakase just takes it to another level. Throughout our meal, my friend Chris W and I reminisced of Chef Todd Dae Kulper's omakase at the now defunct Ro-Zu. It wasn't fair to keep comparing Chef Zama's food to Chef Kulper's right in front of Chef Zama himself, but by the end of the meal I had a newfound respect for Chef Zama. If this is what a real omakase is supposed to be like, I want more of it! The fantastic thing is it's priced less than Morimoto's omakase and geared more towards foodies. The omakase is not listed on the dinner menu. It's a special offered only from Sunday to Thursday and you must inform the restaurant in advance if you want it. You are urged to sit at the sushi bar where Chef Zama prepares your meal in front of you. The hot dishes that include cooked seafood are prepared in the kitchen, but everything else is expertly and delicately prepared by Chef Zama himself. Why am I so high on this omakase? The symphony of flavors built up dish by dish like a crescendo, fell back again to let us catch our collective breath, and then rose again with a second peak and fell back once again to a soothing yet satisfying ending. The first course, poached red snapper and crisped root in ponzu sauce, just nailed it for us. "If everything else is this good, I will be pleased," Chris said. The textures we experienced in the second dish moved from the familiar to the unfamiliar. The soft, tender black moss (seaweed noodles) I'm familiar with in Chinese cooking to the slightly firm oyster, the firmer shrimp, and the still firmer crunchiness of the codfish roe all showcase a range of seafood textures. The sashimi platter had an elegant assortment of fine seafood. Its centerpiece was the live scallop on a halfshell. You haven't lived until you've tried live scallop. It's such a clean, pure taste, almost like sea jello. The soft shell head-on shrimp and accompanying sweet shrimp provide a perfect contrast of crispy and soft. The fluke ceviche also deserves special mention for its wonderful taste and texture. My first moment of nirvana was when I tasted the monkfish liver, sometimes known as foie gras of the sea. Monkfish liver is a prized Japanese delicacy and I felt honored to be able to enjoy this treat in my own city. It is truly delicious, but not for the faint of heart. A monkfish is damn ugly, but it tastes good. Who knew it had a liver that tasted good, too? My second orgasmic moment was the delicious hamachi collar with its delicate pieces of buttery soft meat falling off the bone. The entire experience was like finding every morsel of juicy meat on a chicken thigh. The lobster salad maki was akin to a sweet palate cleanser that prepared you for the brown buttery goodness of the snow crab claws. In the words of another foodie friend, "It's just perfect." The sushi platter had red snapper, squid, salmon belly, mackerel, chu toro, and sea urchin. The sea urchin came freshly packed in sea water before being made into sushi. Only at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon in New York's Four Seasons Hotel had I experienced better sea urchin. Chef Zama capped this fantastic meal off with a piece of sea eel and an SST (shrimp and scallop tempura) handroll. The eel was freshly cut and seasoned. "This is the best eel I've had yet," Chris admitted. I agreed. The SST handroll was technically our last course, fitting because it was shaped like an ice cream cone. We also sampled Chef Zama's delicious tomago (sweet egg omelet). At the end of the meal, I told Chef Zama, "I had the omakase at Morimoto three weeks ago. This is much better." He smiled and thanked me. The incredible thing was this fantastic meal was less than the price of the omakase at Morimoto! The omakase is priced at $75 and up per person. Your price is determined by how many courses are served. Expect to pay from $75 to $100 per person for the omakase. It's totally worth it.

Last August, I took a course called The Art of Sushi Making taught by Madame Saito, a veteran sushi chef and teacher for almost thirty years. I found the class fun, informative, and filled with nice people. We learned how to make three different kinds of maki rolls, the classic hoso (regular), ura (reverse, or rice on the outside), and temaki (hand roll). We learned how to make different shape rolls, such as round, square, and triangle. We also learned how to create jumbo-sized "super rolls" and how rolls can be arranged with ginger or edible flowers to improve their aesthetic appeal. Madame Saito recently offered her second class, The Art of Sushi Making Advanced Level 2, so I was quite excited when I heard that it was being offered. There were three of us and the first two hours of the class was basically a refresher of everything we learned in the first class. What was disappointing was Madame Saito had all of her Level 2 students sit in the same room as the much larger Level 1 class, so her focus and energy was on the larger class. The Level 2 students received hardly any instruction during the first two hours. "You are all semi-pros. Just go ahead and make the sushi on this list," she said. We were asked to make a vegetable roll, an inside-out roll, a super roll, two handrolls, and six pieces of nigiri, and to arrange the sushi in a decorative way. The three of us were just winging it, trying to remember what we did months ago when we took the Level 1 class. I tried making my inside-out roll, but didn't cover my nori completely with rice. It was a mistake, but when Madame Saito looked at it, she complimented me by saying, "Wow! You're really good! Your sushi is really decorative and looks so nice!" She sprinkled sesame seeds on my roll and that was basically our first "lesson" in two hours. My classmates and I were really miffed. We spent all this money to learn how to sprinkle sesame seeds on rice? I decided to make the most of my situation. I made a volcano out of angle cut maki. My sushi knife was sharp enough to easily cut maki this way. Nobody taught me how to do this. I just did it. I arranged my maki pieces in interesting patterns. I made my nigiri have wasabi eyes and lined them around the perimeter. They were the guardians of my make-believe sushi island. The three of us were asked to present our creations to the Level 1 class. We received plenty of oohs and aahs. We were also photographed with Madame Saito. "See what you could do in Level 2?" Madame Saito announced to her Level 1 class. We wanted to reveal to them that we didn't learn anything new yet. The next two hours were more interesting. She taught us how to make a teardrop roll and methods for arranging the teardrop roll. We were asked to make three teardrop rolls and arrange them in a decorative manner. I made a tree out of mine.

Madame Saito taught us how to make a Rainbow Roll in the last part of the class. "First, make an inside-out California roll using crabstick, avocado, and cucumber. No sesame seeds! Lay the fish on top, slightly overlapping the pieces, straight or at an angle," she instructed, "and wrap the roll in plastic wrap and cut. To make a Dragon Roll, just make a Rainbow Roll and add decoration."

My friend Chris W and I enjoyed the tasting menu at Sampan where we selected Shrimp and Lobster Dumplings, Lobster Ceviche, Kobe Beef Satay, Crab Tacos, Veal Skirt Steak, Ahi Tuna, and Shrimp Pad Thai, all for the incredible price of $45 per person. Some of the dishes were quite delicious. I especially liked the crab taco and veal skirt steak with the kobe beef a close third. My only complaint was the fried rice that the veal sat on top of had bits of rice that were a little too crisp. The shrimp pad thai was excellent. If you just order these four things off the normal menu, it would cost you more than $45, so the tasting menu is a great deal. Be prepared to gain a few pounds from all of the food.

"Matyson is so nondescript on the outside that you'll probably walk right past it," I told my friend Chris W, and sure enough we did just that. We also didn't realize it was a BYOB until we arrived, but luckily there was a wine shop around the corner. This pretty little New American restaurant offers a weekly tasting menu with five courses for $45 that everyone should try. The week's theme was "Finger Foods" and the menu included four meats (shrimp, pork, fish, and duck) prepared in four different cuisine styles (Vietnamese, Korean, Brazilian, and American). Whoa, I say! This has got to be one of the more innovative menus I've come across in a long time. The summer roll is a familiar staple in my diet, since I go to Vietnamese restaurants quite often. It tastes like every good Vietnamese summer roll I've had. Fresh shrimp, pickled veggies, and noodles wrapped in a paper thin chewy rice roll... good stuff. The BBQ pig tails are crazy good. Fork tender meat falling off the bone... or tail bone to be exact. For some reason, I felt a bit queasy about eating a tail, but that was quickly assuaged by the delicious sweet BBQ sauce. By the time I finished my two tail pieces, I was ready for four more. The same goes for the pacu ribs. If you've ever had the pleasure of eating pacu fish, you'd know it is truly a divine experience. The meat is sweet and melts in your mouth. Dealing with the bones is a frustrating experience at first, but by the end of the second rib, you'll want four more of these, too. The foie gras burger is made with one-third duck meat and two-thirds foie gras. It is topped with bacon, a slice of shitake, and a thin layer of foie gras. It is the most decadent slider you'll ever eat. I fell in love with it after the first bite. The truffled parmesan fries were delicious. The ice cream sandwich trio included three bite-size cookie sandwiches with chocolate cookies and strawberry ice cream, peanut butter cookies and banana ice cream, and oatmeal raisin cookies and maple ice cream. My fave was the oatmeal one. Chris and I shared a bottle of German reisling with our meal. I would love to go Matyson again. It's not quite Bibou, but it's great in its own right.

In my first attempt at making sushi outside of a classroom environment, I won first place at the Ninth Annual Madame Saito Amateur Sushi Contest. Representatives from Subaru and the Cherry Blossom Festival were present as judges. Philadelphia area chefs, including Chef Dan D'Angelo, Culinary Instructor and President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Culinary Federation, were also present. There were seven contestants, two of whom entered the previous year. One contestant brought his own little bridge, Japanese figurine, and edo sushi plate. I thought for sure he'd win because his final plate was the most decorative, but he placed third. In the end, my plate won on concept, execution, and taste. I made a variation of Morimoto's shikai maki, a Valentine's Day heart maki, and sushi fruit, an orange, apple, and pear coated with roe and filled with salmon, tuna, and avocado, respectively. The shikai sushi is designed to look like a stainglass window. It is a very large roll that requires assembling a roll within a roll that is then quartered and arranged to create a diamond shape in the middle. Whereas Morimoto's version uses five strips of tuna and four strips of tomago (egg), mine had four strips of tuna, four strips of yellow radish, and one strip of salmon in the middle. The contest was not only about design, but taste. Honestly, I had no idea what my sushi tasted like. My primary goal was to make decorative rolls. I'm a foodie first, cook second. Having dined at dozens of sushi restaurants, I had a good idea about the proper proportions of rice, fish, and veggies to use so my rolls wouldn't end up being overwhelmed by any one ingredient.

"Mmmm, this tastes like a salad," one judge commented about my shikai maki. Everyone gathered around me, took lots of pictures, and asked lots of questions when I assembled my shikai. Had I had more time, my shikai would've looked more precise, but it was a great first attempt. "This is a very complex maki roll to make," a chef from a private women's club said, "but you did a great job of executing the concept." The chef had entered Madame Saito's contest eight years ago. I made my heart sushi have rose designs inside each piece. My roses actually looked better than most of the roses in pictures of heart sushi I found on the Internet. The judges thought my heart sushi tasted good, too. It had the right amount of tuna, avocado, wasabi, and Japanese sprouts. My sushi fruit were rice balls filled with fish or avocado and Japanese sprouts sticking out of the top to resemble the leaves of each fruit. Each rice ball was coated with fish roe. I used orange roe for the salmon, red roe for the tuna, and black roe for the avocado, since Madame Saito didn't have green roe available. I shaped each rice ball to resemble an orange, an apple, and a pear. I knew that the flavor of roe is an intense experience for some people, so I didn't try to overwhelm the judges' taste buds with any other intense flavor, such as wasabi. It was hard making the sushi fruit because the sticky rice kept falling apart on me, but I quickly learned that the oily quality of the fish roe was the secret to keeping the sticky rice together. When I made my third and final sushi fruit, I closed my eyes, held it close to me, and mouthed the words, "I hope I win." In truth, my competition wasn't that fierce, but the challenge was to prepare everything within 40 minutes and field questions by the judges and spectators during that time. "Tell me what your theme is for your presentation today," one judge asked me at the start of the competition. "Why do you wet your knife before each cut?" another asked. "Are you a professional chef?" a few people had asked me. I shook my head, smiled, and said no. One group was surprised that it was my first time at the competition. "You must be an artist," one woman said. I nodded and replied, "I am." "Ahh, that explains it," she said. The six other contestants had experience of varying degrees, but few showed a high degree of creativity. I believe that my experience dining at some of the finest sushi restaurants in Philly and New York and my ability to research and discover unique sushi on my own really helped me win. My prize was a sushi boat serving tray, the shiny black and red lacquered one you see in sushi restaurants. Yay!

My friend Chris W and I enjoyed some nice small snacks and bruschetta at Tria, a wine and cheese bar, in Rittenhouse Square. We had the Pistachio Herbed Ricotta with Lavender Honey, the Warm Tuscan White Bean Spread with Paprika Toast, the Truffled Egg Toast with Fontina Fontal, and the Sliced Italian Meats with Sweet Red Pepper, Pickled Onion Mostarda, and Spicy Garlic Oil. "What? No honey?" I said to the server. The sliced meats plate normally doesn't come with honey, but he brought over some lavender honey to appease me. You can't have sliced meats without trying a slice or two dipped in honey! The pistachio cheese spread was sweet and yummy like a dessert. I loved it. The white bean spread reminded me of hummus but without all the garlic. That was good, too, especially with the cracked parmesan on top. The truffled egg toast reminded me of Stella Pizza's amazing Tartufo pie. The piece de resistance, our sliced meat platter, featured four different kinds of meat. I loved the prosciutto ham dipped in honey or topped with roasted red peppers. Drinking wine is dangerous because you seldom feel as if you're drinking too much until it's too late. I had a glass of Torrentés white and two glasses of German Reisling. Good stuff. We walked off our buzz around the park and then went to the rooftop lounge at The Continental for a couple more cocktails.

I had my culinary sights set for a small chain of Cuban restaurants in New York called Sophie's. I was ready to try some oxtail stew when my server shook her head and warned me, "It's too soft right now." I asked her what most people order when they eat there. "The baked chicken is really good," she suggested. Oddly, it was the cheapest item on the menu. I chose yellow rice and sweet plantains for my sides. I can honestly say that I have a renewed appreciation for chicken now. Chicken is not something I normally marvel over at a restaurant, but this was really good. My Yelp peers suggested I try the green sauce and I found it to be a perfect spicy, creamy complement to the spices already baked into the chicken. The green sauce was so good I found myself putting more on the rice and eating it like a curry. The plantains were carmelized and slightly crisp on the outside just like I like. What an awesome entrée for nine dollars!

My first impression of Fond, a contemporary American bistro run by three Le Bec Fin and Lacroix graduates, was "What a lovely little restaurant!" I specifically requested the table smack dab in the center of it all because I like to see and be seen. My date, Jack, liked the decor as well, but was put off by the aroma of seafood that was no doubt emanating from the open air kitchen in the back. Was it the skate wing, the cod, or the soft shell crabs on special that night? No matter, the food is what I'm reviewing here and Fond did not disappoint. The Seared Foie Gras with Greek yogurt, strawberries, cashews, and tarragon was orgasmic, so much so that we ordered it again for dessert. Did you ever enjoy something so much that when you close your eyes, you enter another state of consciousness that you don't want to end? That's what good food does to me. Foie gras, how I've missed thee! It paired beautifully with a glass of Riesling. The Thai-based Tuna Crudo with red curry, avocado, and coconut was a pleasant improvement over the classic tuna with avocado combination. The Lobster Risotto with hazelnuts and truffle oil was out of this world yummy. "Food is like sex to me," I admitted to Jack. I wish I had ordered the entrée portion of this fabulous dish because it felt over before I got started. The Greek Style Escargot with feta cheese, bread crumbs, and fennel was also a nice update to a classic dish. I have never tried escargot this way, but I enjoyed it. The Soft Shell Crabs with papaya salad, tamarind, and crispy shallots were delicious. Chef Lee Styer has a knack for creating unusual combinations that work. Service was excellent. I felt that everyone was working in unison to provide us with an extradordinary experience. Like Bibou, Fond seems to be going for the Lacroix style without the high prices. The portions are tiny, designed to give you just a taste rather than belly bust your tummy. I love a hearty meal as much as anyone else, but hearty meals are best at home. Fond is tastefully decorated and the bar at the front just beacons you to sit for a drink. A private dining room with an oak table and eight seats serves as a chef's table, much like that at Lacroix. I've always liked the exclusivity of such rooms as they add a deeper level of intimacy to be shared among friends. I would love to do the tasting menu at the chef's table someday. After dinner, Jack and I took a little stroll down Passyunk Avenue to find a place with outdoor seating for drinks. We chose Cantina Los Caballitos where we enjoyed a pitcher of blood orange marguerita. It was a nice 76 degree night, a hint of the scorching hot summer that will surely come.

The words "greasy" and "oily" are normally not associated with "savory" and "delicious," but that's the best way to describe the Gustaio at Paesano's, a South Philly sandwich shop that's been lauded by such cooking show luminaries as Bobby Flay, Anthony Bourdain, and Adam Erace. Imagine homemade lamb sausage, sun-dried cherry mostarda, roasted tomato, carmelized fennel, gorgonzola spread, and arugula all wrapped in a grilled pita. Sinking your teeth into this mighty beast is like eating a fine stew. The damn thing is so messy and so good that I didn't miss eating their seeded roll sandwiches, such as the signature Paesano (beef brisket) or the Arista (suckling pig). The combination of salty, sweet, and zesty was incredible! The Gustaio is now my second favorite Paesano's sandwich after the Arista.

Let me just say that you have not lived until you try beef tongue in a taco. No, seriously. You haven't lived. Oh, sure, you can get an order of delicious carnitas pork tacos from this neat little taco truck, but that's boring. Truth be told, Taqueria La Veracruzana across the street is better, but it's unfair to compare a sit-down restaurant to a food truck. What Tacos El Rodeo does, it does well. Getting "everything" on a taco is the way to go. You get lettuce, tomato, avocado, two sauces, a lime, and a slice of pickled carrot. It's all yummy. I must remind you not to look up what a beef tongue looks like, because you probably won't want to eat it, but it can be prepared in ways that make it look rather yummy. Beef tongue is a multidimensional taste experience. You get chewy pieces and meaty pieces. It's like eating a good sausage. When I didn't know any better, I thought Honest Tom's and Los Guapos was the bomb. It wasn't until I tried tacos from La Lupe, Los Taquitos de Puebla, and the aforementioned Taqueria La Veracruzana that I saw the light.

Visit #1: Stephen Starr has always been a name I trusted for fine dining. Morimoto, Buddakan, Pod, Alma de Cuba, and... you get the idea. Occasionally, there will be a misstep on their menus. Pod and their Crab Pad Thai with the missing crab meat and the stupid waiter who tried to convince me that the crab was really in it. Route 6 and their barbecue shrimp that was too dry. Unfortunately, I will have to say that there was more bad than good in what my friend Chris and I ordered at Fette Sau, Starr's dry rub barbecue restaurant located in the rather unscenic, up-and-coming Fishtown area. The Duroc St. Louis Pork Ribs were dry. "It tastes like pork jerky," my friend Chris commented. The Black Angus Beef Brisket looked juicy when the server sliced it, but was also dry, no doubt due to overcooking. Thankfully, the Black Angus Bone-In Short Ribs were moist, tender, and juicy. It was the one saving grace in our meal. The Roasted Mushrooms were good, but Danté's German Potato Salad was not. We ended up drowning our dry meat in the sweet and spicy barbecue sauces to make them edible. Overall, a very disappointing meal given our expectations of Starr restaurants. It's a shame because I really wanted to like this place.

Visit #2: After my bad review of Fette Sau, Stephen Starr's management contacted me to apologize for the food and treat me to my next meal. It was a very generous offer and I accepted. I was able to sample every meat on their menu that day, including the beef brisket, pork ribs, pulled pork, chicken, and sausage. The bone-in short ribs, my favorite item from my first visit, was curiously absent, but I know it's great, so I don't need to review it again. The brisket looked especially good. The cute guy behind the counter was slicing some for the customer ahead of me. "Looks real juicy," I remarked. He looked up, nodded with great approval, and said, "Oh, it's very juicy today... and real good." I knew I was in for a treat. My friend Chris and I thought the difference between our two Fette Sau visits was like night and day. "Damn, we don't even need sauce for these meats," he said as he dug right in. He was right. Good barbecue doesn't need sauce, but if you like sauce, their sweet variety is excellent. Unlike last time, the brisket was positively outstanding. It was like eating long, tender slices of prime rib. It even held up well to next-day reheating. The pork ribs were still a bit firm, but much better than last time. The pulled pork was good, also better reheated. The chicken was delicious. Its breast meat was tender and juicy and the seasoned skin was absolutely perfect. The sausage reminded me of a good pepperoni with a mild initial spice kick to it that gradually creeps up on you. We wondered about the huge difference between our two visits. Every restaurant probably has good and bad days and we just chanced upon a bad day our first time. In some ways, Fette Sau's barbecue is better than Percy Street, Phoebe's, Baby Blues, and Sweet Lucy's. Why? Well, I never really enjoyed beef brisket until now. That's saying a lot. Dinic's in Reading Terminal Market is good, but this brisket blows Dinic's away. My one recommendation is to stop using paper plates. The paper just absorbs and robs all of the precious juices in the brisket. Thank you, Stephen Starr, for giving me the opportunity to sample your food again. You probably know I've been to Morimoto more than 25 times and the reason I keep returning to Morimoto and your other restaurants is consistent quality. I love good food. I live for it. I'll return to Fette Sau soon for more brisket.

Visit #3: Perhaps even more amazing than the Black Angus Beef Brisket is the Pork Belly that was available on my third visit. Pork belly usually includes a thick layer of fat, which I like, but they trimmed most of it off so you get a layer of lean meat, a layer of lean but melt-in-you-mouth meat, and a thin layer of fat that's there but charred on the outside to give it some texture for the fat-haters. It is truly an extraordinary preparation. I recommend getting this and the beef brisket as your two main meats on any of your visits.

Spring Mill Café is truly a hidden gem in boring little Conshohocken. The restaurant occupies the ground floor of a charming little house that welcomes you into what appears to be a rustic dining room with a library full of antique books. My friend Chris and I ordered the Pâté Tasting for our appetizer. This is a plate of three homemade pâtés: shredded pork and duck, chicken liver, and country pâté. I love paté and this plate easily exceeded my expectations. I was in the mood for steak and our server pointed out the difference between the two offerings of filet mignon. "The regular filet is good, but the grass-fed filet is out of this world," she said. I took a chance on it and I'm glad I did. It was ungodly good! You bite into each piece and the most aromatic steak juice in the world fills your mouth. Oh, my God, soooo delicious! This, my friends, was better than Morton's, Smith & Wollensky, Ruth's Chris, and The Palm. It was sex in my mouth. In Conshohocken, no less! Chris had the Rack of Lamb. Normally, I go crazy for lamb, but today the steak was the winner. We were offered a free glass of wine with our meal, which was a nice touch. The only miss was dessert, a huge slice of Daffodil Cake, a light angel food cake with citrus cream, toasted coconut, and
freshly grated lime. It had way too much cream in it.

One of the more daring and endearing sandwiches found on any fast food menu is "The Kitchen Sink," a burger with every popular topping imaginable. I was a fan of The Kitchen Sink at Ted's Montana Grill when it was open in Philly. Most women will never admit to wanting a big ass burger like that, but I'm no ordinary woman. I'm a 400 pound behemoth trapped inside a 129 pound body. Never did I think The Kitchen Sink would make it into my hands once again... until now. Enter the Hamburgao, a delicious sirloin steak sandwich with smoked ham, sizzling bacon, melted cheddar, fried egg, corn, green onion, lettuce, tomato, potato sticks, and "special mayo" on a Kaiser roll. My mouth waters just thinking about it. That's how much this sandwich has affected me. I barely sipped my beverage while I ate this. That's how juicy it was. The sirloin was seasoned, cooked on a churrasco rotisserie, and prepared medium-rare, just the way I like it. "That looks like a dirty truck," my son commented. "Yes, but some of the best food in the world comes from food trucks like that," I said. He nodded and agreed. When he ate his half of the hamburgao, his eyes lit up. "This is sooo goood!!!" he said. BrazBQ, you have made my little boy and me real happy. Thank you for your excellent food!

Finally there is a reason to go to Chinatown for ramen soup! Like New York, some of the best ramen soup restaurants are scattered throughout Philly. Unlike New York, there is no real "Japantown" for all things Japanese. We have our areas of Korean and Vietnamese concentration, but Japanese people appear to be underrepresented in downtown Philly. Why that is is a mystery to me considering all of the sushi restaurants that exist. I know, I know, many sushi joints are owned by Chinese and Koreans who are cashing in on the sushi craze. The uninitiated will eat anything drizzled with spicy mayo on it. How authentic are ramen soup joints? Aren't they also owned by Chinese and Koreans? Maybe. Even so, some of them are making amazing food. Look at Terakawa. They claim "our chef's recipes originate from the Kumamoto region of Japan. The broth is simmered for two days. Due to the extensive cooking period, our broth has a deep, well developed flavor that can only be described by experiencing it." Their noodles are handmade and cooked al dente. I ordered an appetizer of Takoyaki, also known as octopus balls. These takoyaki are lightly fried Japanese mountain-potato balls filled with octopus. They're topped with Japanese barbeque sauce, Japanese mayo, and shaved fish. The dish was a delight to my senses. The signature Terakawa Ramen is filled with Heritage Berkshire Pork bone soup topped with roast pork, bamboo shoots, kikurage mushrooms, red ginger, chopped scallions, and a seasoned boiled egg. The broth is a bit saltier than Nom Nom and Ramen Bar, but the quality in the ingredients and preparation is all there. You also get a lot more food for your money at Terakawa. I give it a big thumbs up.

One of the injustices of the world is when a relatively unknown restaurant gets stomped on by reviewers because of its high prices. When it comes to food, you don't always get what you pay for. Most foodies should know that. Prices are adjusted according to location. The sad fact that Asianoodle, a little fast food cafeteria-style restaurant, is attached to the Valley Forge Casino forces its prices to be higher than most Asian-style restaurants. The prices are flat-out preposterous for some of the menu items, but study the menu more closely and you will discover a hidden gem in the $18 Rack of Lamb with mushrooms and broccoli. It is a wonderfully prepared dish. The lamb chops are cooked first, seared, and cut in the wok. Portobella mushrooms and teriyaki sauce are added and, when the stir-fry is done, the mixture is placed next to a heaping mound of white rice. The broccoli is steamed to perfection and so tender you could cut the spears with a plastic knife. The spears are not part of the stir-fry, but could've been. The dish looks more Americanized that way. The lamb is cooked medium, a little warmer than I'd like, but the taste is magnificent. Where else can you get rack of lamb for $18 these days? The mushrooms and sauce are very flavorful with hints of aromatic sweetness. I feel that the three Asian chefs behind the counter know what they're doing and are providing great-tasting Asian-inspired fare. Never mind that it's not authentic Chinese or Japanese or cheap. The fact is my dish tasted great and that's what any foodie should be basing his or her review on.

I've put off going to Ela for too long because I never got over the fact that it was once Ansill, one of the few reasons I'd venture into the South Street area, a neighborhood known more for its bars and drunken reverie than for its exquisite food. Two years and two ex-partners later, I finally had my chance with my good friend and fellow foodie Chris W. Chef-owner Jason Cichonski prepares menu items with as much creativity as anything you'd find on a menu at Lacroix. This is no coincidence as Chef Cichonski was once Executive Chef of Lacroix at the tender age of 24. If this man were not a chef, he could be an underwear model because he has an exquisite physique. But I digress. I didn't even know he looked gorgeous before I researched him. The menu is presented as small plates, from first to third bite, each "bite" larger than the previous. We shared a Kampachi Tartare with yuzu, radish, and black rice cracker for our first bite. This dish was as good as anything we've had at Morimoto or Buddakan. The tender, flavorful shards of kampachi were accented with a sweet and spicy finish. The black rice cracker reminded me of fried shrimp chips, a favorite snack of mine from childhood. For our second bite, Chris had the Pork Belly Dumplings and I had the Diver Scallop "Noodles" with white corn, watercress, saffron, and fried shallots. The golfball-sized dumplings were outstanding. Their sweet outer dough is the same used in Chinese sesame rice balls. Combined with the tender, succulent pork filling and it was like eating a decadent haute cuisine-style Munchkin. The diver scallop noodles were everything I had hoped for. I had read the reviews for Ela and this was one of the most popular choices and - HOLY FUCK - it was good! It is quite simply the most fantabulous way to indulge in diver scallops ever.

The corn chowder that the noodles lay in was slightly salty, but added the needed flavor to the scallop noodles. It was also an excellent dipping sauce for the focaccia bread, but only if you've had enough of their delicious homemade olive oil. Fuck it, I had both on my bread and it was great! For our third bite, we shared the Crispy Confit Peking Duck with black beans, bok choy, whipped coconut, and plum. Chris commented that it was the best duck he's ever had. It was certainly the most elegant and carefully prepared duck I've ever had and it made me think, "This is Lacroix food for the times when you don't want to dress up for Lacroix," and that's what makes Ela excellent. For dessert, also called the "final bite," Chris had the Whipped White Chocolate with Verbena Blueberry Jam and Granola and I had the Goat's Milk Cheese with Corn Honey. Chris wasn't very impressed with his dessert. I liked mine because the corn honey was unique. We normally don't go for dessert, but we were curious. I never base my review of a restaurant on its desserts anyway, so my recommendation is you will probably love this place more if you simply ordered another plate off of the regular menu and skip dessert. I normally don't mention drinks unless they're memorable, so I'd like to make special mention to the drink I had called Flying at Tree Level, a blend of vodka, lemon, blueberry, lavender, and soda, which was really nice. I liked the two candied blueberries that served as a garnish.

Sometimes a little hole-in-the-wall can make some surprisingly decent food. Dasiwa is a little neighborhood coffee shop and sushi joint. Coffee, cakes, and biscotti are still sold on the premises, but the sit-down menu is mostly sushi. I ordered three nigiri items: ika (squid), albacore tuna, and hotate (scallop). These were good, but completely unseasoned, perhaps catering to the tastes of its neighborhood clientele. Strangely, the spicy sauce accompanying our Shrimp Shumai and Sashimi Salad proved otherwise. The shumai tasted like every other shumai, but with the addition of sesame seeds and a nice sweet and spicy sauce. The salad had some nicely seasoned shards of fish in it. The Naeng Myun (buckwheat noodles served in a chilled tangy broth made from beef, pickled radish, and chinese cabbage and topped with kimchi, assorted vegetables, spring mix, beef, and half of a hard boiled egg) was a total miss. I hated it. The noodles were good, but where's the beef?! We didn't find any. The chunks of flavored ice sitting on top of the noodles was especially unnerving. The best item on the menu was the Dasiwaki, a shrimp tempura, avocado, and mango maki roll topped with salmon, avocado, unagi sauce, and spicy mayo. The combination of sweet, spicy, chewy, and crunchy was truly fantastic, an example of how simple ingredients can taste great together. The Spider Monkey, a tempura fried soft shell crab and asparagus roll topped with spicy salmon, tobiko, and scallions wasn't as good. I didn't like the fried batter on the soft shell crab. The crumb coffee cake was 60% crumb, just the way I like, and it wasn't overly sweet, making it a good dunker in milk or coffee. Our server was very nice and attentive and my friend Chris W and I liked the quaint atmosphere of this BYOB.

Eat Street, a Cooking Channel show about North America's tastiest, messiest, and most irresistible street food, interviewed me today for my high opinions on BrazBQ, a food truck I frequent. The film crew asked me questions, got me on film eating a hamburgao steak sandwich in normal and slow-motion (my foodie friends call this "food porn"), and saying words of praise to the owner of the truck. The man in the baseball cap interviewing everyone is Calum MacLeod, past host of Road Hockey Rumble and employee of Paperny Entertainment. At the end of the segment, I was cued to say, "Thanks for all the yummies!" The show will air in six months!

This odd little beer bar/restaurant in the heart of the theater district offers what purports to be New Orleans-with-a-twist cuisine via Chef Paul Martin of Café Nola fame. My appetizer was the Fried Green Tomatoes with lump crab, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and ravigote dressing. I had seen pictures of this on various web sites and I must forewarn you that it will likely be one of the nicest things you'll ever sink your teeth into this summer. The cornmeal dusted tomatoes are so juicy and flavorful. The combination of the crab, cucumber, tomatoes, and dressing is simply euphoric. Every bite is delicious. My friend Chris ordered the Duck and Sausage Gumbo with Carolina rice, tilefish, and green onions, a hearty stew filled with all kinds of goodness. I love it. For our entrées, Chris had the Shrimp Arugula Salad, which was underwhelming. Seasoned, grilled shrimp are added to a plain salad. Nothing fancy. I had the Crispy Pork Belly with maque choux and blackeye pea salad. The pork belly was lightly crisped on the outside and deliciously moist on the inside. Each bite was full of intense pork flavor, from the crispy rind-like skin to the tender, pull-apart white meat. Maque choux is a mixture of corn, green peppers, cherry tomatoes, and onions. Strangelove's version contains diced roast pork. I wouldn't mind eating this dish again and again. The Big Ass Brownie also deserves special mention. A jumbo-sized cut of dark chocolate brownie slathered with drippy cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut was an instant hit with us.

Calle Del Sabor is the latest Mexican food truck to hit the University City area and may be the first true contender to Don Memo's for Mexican food supremacy. There are plenty of taco trucks that have come and gone, including José Garces' Guapos Tacos (now called Distrito), but they simply cannot compare to the excellent taste of a Calle Del Sabor meal. If you want boring tacos for people with no tastebuds, eat at a truck with nary a Mexican cook on their staff. If you want tacos with meat and seasonings that are full of flavor, eat here. You won't be disappointed. I'm a big fan of their pork having tried it in the quesadilla and Cuban sandwich. The quesadilla is cut into five pieces and sprinkled with a generous helping of sour cream and pico de gallo. It is so simple yet so good at the same time. The secret to the pork appears to be the inclusion of fat, which help add flavor to the meat. Some of my non-foodie friends have an aversion to meat fats or non-traditional meat by-products yet these same sillyheads have no problems eating a common hamburger or sausage! Calle Del Sabor, don't change a thing because I love the bits of fat in the pork! Encanta el sabor del calle del sabor!

On a recent trip to New York, I had the great pleasure of eating some delicious kati rolls. A kati roll is a street food originating from Kolkata, India. Its original form was a kati kabab enclosed in paratha bread, but over the years many variants have surfaced and are also classified as kati roll. My ex-boyfriend always poked fun of kabobs, especially Middle Eastern kabobs, for their "tough meat." That's what happens when you grill meat too long over an open flame. There's something very satisfying about Indian methods of slow cooked meat marinated in spiced stews. The meat is so tender it literally falls off the bone and the bones are slow-cooked in the stew, too, for added flavor. The chicken tikka roll is simply outstanding. The chicken has a robust and hearty flavor. The lamb roll is more like a meatloaf than cubes of lamb, so you might be disappointed if you were expecting whole meat. Like the chicken, it is nicely seasoned, perhaps even more so than the chicken tikka, but my money is on the chicken. I initially balked at the price for one, since New York prices are a dollar cheaper, but these are a tad bigger. The size of these rolls is probably designed so you can order one for lunch or two for dinner. Everything from the paratha bread to the chicken to the accompanying vegetables is really high quality and packaged nicely so that a six-block walk back home won't affect the taste. I will definitely return for more.

Few things in life compare to a thick and juicy slab of meat prepared well. Twenty Manning Grill prepares an amazing pork chop complete with grilled peaches, seared brussel sprouts, and a rich, delicious melted gorgonzola cheese sauce. Everything else my friend Chris W and I ordered just paled by comparison. His duck confit salad was okay, a bit too crispy for my liking. His tuna sashimi was good, but not any different from what you might find in a decent sushi restaurant. My day boat scallop ceviché had some good morsels of seafood in it, but the marinade was a bit much halfway through. Ah, but what an amazing pork chop! The meat nearest its bone really delivers a lip-smacking goodness that you would only find in a steak with an upgraded sauce from a high-end steakhouse. There is no doubt that I will order this prized piece of Petunia Pig again. It has exceeded my expectations as few restaurants in recent memory do.

The Purple Parrot's Infamous 1/2 Pound Crabcake Sandwich was good, but nothing to write home about. Their promotional material proudly displays a quote from some devotee named Bob that says, "Best crab cakes I ever tasted. Fun place to go!" I don't agree with Bob. The crab had a slight aroma and taste that didn't was more fishy than sweet. I found myself slathering on a lot of tartar sauce to mask the fishy taste. My friend Chris W's Crisfield Maryland Soft Shell Crab sandwich, on the other hand, was excellent. The Ours, Not-Chos (nachos) were good, but light on the chili. Not exactly a food lover's paradise, The Purple Parrot appears to cater to the cheap booze crowd as Pinnacle is their best vodka. I've eaten here twice before when I was younger and was similarly unimpressed.

If crabcakes with huge chunks of jumbo lump crab is your thing, you've come to the right place. The crabcakes are small five-ouncers, but they're really packed with good crabmeat. My only criticism, albeit minor, is that the crabcake could've been seasoned a little more. Still, the firmness of the crab and the delightful flakiness of each piece will win your heart. My Cherrywood Bacon and Crabcake Wedge salad had a heaping portion of nicely flavored, crispy bacon and bleu cheese dressing piled on top of a small wedge of iceberg lettuce. The crabcake alone is $14, so for just $2 more you get a very filling salad. On my second visit, I ordered the crabcake with Ceasar salad and hand-cut fries. The salad had big, crunchy, well-seasoned croutons, thick shavings of parmesan cheese, and a small amount of dressing on top of plain lettuce. The fries were soggy by the time I walked them back to my room two blocks away. My friend Chris W's mac 'n' cheese side was decent. The bar atmosphere might be a turn-off for some, but I'm basing my rating on the marvelous crabcake.

My friend Chris W and I shared an order of K2 (soft shell crabs with kani salad and tuna avocado salad) that we thought was very good. The breading reminded me of sweet and sour meats from a cheap Chinese restaurant, but the quality of the crab made up for it. My Mt-Fuji Roll (kani, avocado, cucumber inside, topped with oven baked shrimp, jumbo lump crab, fresh scallop and Japanese cheesy sauce baked on top) was a little salty, but good. Two of my friends ordered chicken teriyaki, which was okay. I tried the jumbo shrimp from a third friend's entrée and that was good. Perhaps the best part of the meal were the innovative drinks, such as the Blue Lagoon Fizz, and the decor, otherwise this is just an okay restaurant.

The Greene Turtle is an Irish pub chain that purports to be "the perfect spot to grab friends to call a huddle over a basket of wings." Like most bar restaurants, the food can be a hit or miss. My Chesapeake Burger Seasoned with Old Bay seasoning and topped with crab dip, smoked bacon, and American cheese was a huge disappointment. The best way to describe the quality of the crabmeat is soft and mushy. I hated it. The burger was soft and tender, but had no flavor in it at all. It tasted like it was boiled in water. My friend Chris W had the beef and bean chili, which was actually very good. He's a chili connoiseur and gave it rave reviews. Unfortunately, he wasn't as impressed with the Seared Ahi Tuna, which, in his words, "tasted like they were prepared in Shake 'n' Bake." His wife's fried pickle spears were okay and her Fish Tacos contained nicely seasoned blackened tilapia. Overall, it's a sports bar experience. Nothing more and nothing less. The bar was brightly lit so you could actually see what you were eating.

My friend Chris W recommended I try the Bangers and Mashed Potatoes, two large grilled jumbo Irish sausages served over a generous helping of garlic mashed potatoes covered with Guinness gravy and caramelized onions. All five people at our table ordered it. True to his word, the entrée was extraordinary. The sausages were juicy and flavorful. The mashed potatoes were nice. The sauce was so good I could simply dip my dinner roll into it and call it a meal. The Gaelic Garden Plate with its roasted red pepper hummus, homemade black bean dip, seasonal garden vegetables, and toasted flat bread was solid. We liked the hummus and bean dip, but the sausages just won the hearts of everyone at our table.

One of the best places to eat breakfast in Ocean City, Maryland is Happy Jack. Just as its name implies, pancakes are Happy Jack's specialty. They usually come in stacks of three, but our server was nice enough to inform us that we could order two for a dollar less. I got to try my friend's baked ham and potatoes with onions and both were excellent. I also got to try a bite of the other flavors of pancakes the other ladies at the table ordered. All were excellent. I got pecan. My friends got blueberry and banana. The servers are friendly. The portions are big. The food is good. I'm sold!

Run, do not walk, to this new donut truck. These guys make unbelievably good donut creations. The base donut is simple enough. "It's a vanilla favored donut," donut designer Michael explains, "and you could get any combination of dunk, dip, and swirl toppings on it. My Fatty Frank (Chocolate Dunk, Maple Swirl, Chopped Pecans) and my friend's Black Forest (Raspberry Dunk, Coconut, Chips of Chocolate) were sooooooo (multiply the "o" 50 times) good and addictive we made a promise to go back again. On return visits, I got The 420, a chef's choice anything-goes combination. If you like everything sweet, just trust their good judgement. Trust me, it'll be good! My first 420 was a half chocolate and vanilla with caramel and sea salt topped with walnuts. Whoaaa, baby!!! My second 420 was a mango-injected donut topped with vanilla cream, strawberry and caramel swirls, apple crisps, crushed Lemonheads, and powdered sugar. Double-deelicious!!! My third 420 was vanilla and chocolate dipped and topped with raisins, granola, and powdered sugar. My fourth 420 was a Monkey Chunk on steroids... delicious raisins, crushed Lemonheads, and banana chips on top of the usual banana cream dip, chocolate chips, and ground walnuts. My fifth 420 was a chocolate-injected donut topped with banana cream, peanut butter swirl, and bacon bits sitting on top of a pool of mango sauce. Good Lord, this is a complete breakfast in a donut! Picasso on a plate! My sixth 420 was peanut butter dipped with colored sprinkles and hearty chunks of Reese's Peanut Butter Cup on top. It's a peanut butter lover's dream! The Nutty Professor is a delicious chocolate dipped donut with slices of banana and walnuts on top. Great work, Michael and Jude!!! I thought Federal Donuts were good. These donuts take the concept of crack donuts to a whole new level.

When I first heard about Pizzeria Vetri, I wondered why Chef Marc Vetri wanted to open YAPP (Yet Another Pizza Place), especially since they already had a good pizza spot like Osteria, but one look at the décor and I knew that this was a place I was going to like. You don't have to get dressed up to go here and the food is as good as any Vetri establishment. This is not the type of pizza place with 20 different pizzas that all taste like some variant of greasy parmesan cracker bread. Uh uh, this place is the real deal with its Renato AR/700S wood-burning oven calibrated by Renato Riccio himself. (I learned something new today: Wood-burning ovens are used to make traditional Neapolitan-style pizzas. The characteristically blistered, "leopard-spotted" (charred) crust owes something to the intense 900-degree heat of the wood-burning oven. The pizza is fully cooked in about 90 seconds.) My partner Robyn and I each ordered the slice of the day, a big Silician-style slice of culinary heaven topped with sliced homemade meatballs containing beef, pork, and pistachios along with chunky tomato, basil, ricotta, and mozzarella. The best part of this gastronomical goodness is the crust that was both chewy and crunchy at the same time. You could really taste the quality ingredients in every bite. For some people, Silician slices always conjure up bad memories of school lunch pizza. Don't worry, this is not that crap! Most of you, even the non-foodies, will likely find this to be one of the best slices of pizza you've ever had. Prior to the slice, we shared an order of cookies called "The Cookie Jar" that contained two each of pignoli, almond cookies, chocolate biscotti, and pistacchio gnocchi. The pignoli and pistacchio gnocchi were my favorites. I also had the Rotolo, a dumpling made with pizza dough, mortadella, ricotta, and pistacchio pesto, and the Italian Sloe Gin Fizz, a nice summer beverage made with limoncello, sloe gin, and Americano wine.

Cochon, a small Queen's Village BYOB that features a variety of pork dishes on its menu, has somehow escaped my radar for a very long time. My partner Robyn and I met our fellow foodie friend, Hal, there for a nice dinner paired with glasses of Riesling. Cochon means "pig" in French, and while the food was decent, it didn't knock my socks off like I thought it would. My crispy chicken livers had that wonderful balance of crunchy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. The plum sauce the livers were smothered in was quite good. I had hoped that Cochon's signature dish, roasted suckling pig with lentils, brussels sprouts, plum tomatoes, and a fried egg would be otherworldly, but it wasn't. My initial bite of meat was tough, not tender as a well-prepared suckling pig usually is. Subsequent bites didn't wow me, either. This isn't Amada, I know, but it ain't Koo Zee Doo, either. Koo Zee Doo did their suckling pig right. It was tender, flavorful, and not salty. Cochon's pig was a big salty for my taste. My two small chunks of meat and one chunk of gelatinous fat, if prepared better, would've been satisfactory, but I was left with a feeling of too many lentils, too many brussels sprouts, and not enough pig. Robyn's Trio of Pork was stupendous. I loved the mouth-watering pork belly and the juicy spare ribs. The sausage was good, too. She was more impressed with the potatoes and sauerkraut than the meat. I thought her appetizer of pig's feet was very good. It was prepared to resemble a small cylindrical sausage patty. She didn't like it, but I appreciated the multidimensional flavor and textures in it. If I could trade my meal for her's, I would. Hal's ravioli with roasted duck and mushrooms was good, but nothing spectacular. Overall, a disappointment for me.

My partner Robyn is right when she said that most people don't eat like me. They want "normal food" that they can identify and even though they may have had the same food elsewhere dozens of times, they appreciate eating the same thing prepared with the finest ingredients and cooked with gourmet sensibilities. That is what Jerry's Bar is all about. "These are some of the best mussels I've ever had," my friend Chris W commented. My beef, pork, and veal meatballs were equally amazing. They were so good they tasted like my slow-cooked meatballs and that's saying a lot because I've had meatballs from many restaurants and they don't taste as good. To put it in perspective, most yuppies would think that a DiBruno Brothers meatball tastes good, but I think their meatballs leave a lot to be desired. Chris' pork milanese was another winner. The light dusting of breading was crispy crunchy and the pork was tender and juicy. I enjoyed my homemade veal breast pastrami. I especially liked the accompaniments of rye spaetzel, braised cabbage, and 1000 island dressing. It was simply the best pastrami I've ever had. Alas, the big portions kept us from ordering any desserts. You will gain a few pounds from eating the wonderful food here, I guarantee it.

After much food review fanfare, my friend Chris W and I knew that it would only be a matter of time that we'd try Serpico one day. That night came soon after listening to Chef Serpico's very entertaining interview. If you're ever curious to see how hard a successful chef works, I urge you to go to an open air kitchen restaurant like Serpico or a.kitchen. These places have to be kept spotless because everything is under careful scrutiny. At times, Chef Serpico's team of sous chefs moved in unison and resembled a well-oiled machine. He's a very hands-on chef and I liked the fact that he had a hand in preparing every dish. There was an intensity in his gaze that immediately told me that this man was serious about his food. He wanted to make the best dish possible to please his guests. Not only are his dishes beautiful, but they're good, too. Chris and I ordered six items and there wasn't a loser in the bunch. If I were to complain about anything, it would be that our first course, the Beef Consumme, was quite bland. The Duck Liver Mousse was delicious. I only wish there were more of it. I would've liked a crustless bread so I could really enjoy the flavor of the mousse and pomegranate. The beef consumme reminded me of Vietnamese pho soup without the noodles. Unfortunately, it's hard to beat a good bowl of pho with its powerful taste of a dozen spices. The Cope's Corn Ravioli was zesty, flavorful, and quite savory. It's once of those dishes that feels like good comfort food. I would love to eat something like this while watching a football game. The Hand Torn Pasta is one of those yummy wow dishes that nobody else has. Snail sausage? Crispy chicken skin? Who would ever think to make pasta with these ingredients? Now wait... is the sausage made with snails or is it pork sausage that's coiled to look like a snail? I'm not sure. Whatever it is, everything about the dish was really frickin' delish. It reminds me of the fazzoletti dish at El Virtu, but with different ingredients. The Duck Breast was yummy in my tummy. The honey and shallots really worked together to bring out a powerful taste in the duck. Last, but not least, the Caper Brined Trout, a dish that looked like an upscale Chinese porridge, was otherworldly good. The generous amounts of crab and roe complimented the trout perfectly. It wasn't quite orgasmic like some of Morimoto's dishes, but it was almost there. Although Serpico doesn't get five stars from me (yet), I feel that the best is yet to come. Keep a close eye on this place and make return visits again and again because I'm sure it's just going to get better and better.

Without a doubt, sushi has become a very popular dinner choice among Americans. There are dozens of sushi restaurants in Philadelphia. Some are good, but most are just okay. Some try to reel in diners with gimmicky rolls or fusion flavors from other cultures. Fat Salmon does a lot of things right and wrong. My friend Chris W and I liked the cool vibe of the restaurant. It looks like a lot of thought went into the decor. The special maki rolls are very unique and artistic. There's a lot to be said about chefs keeping with the Edo-style sushi traditions, but fushion sushi can be good, too. My Naked Gyoza, for example, was delicious. Who would've thought to combine Mexican pico de gallo salsa with spicy salmon on a fried crisp? Chris liked his Grilled Baby Octopus. I thought it needed a lot more octopus. Everything was just drowned in too much pungent sauce. The Fancy Sushi was good. I don't know why they mixed the panko crumbs with slivers of radish. The panko would've been better inside the roll. The Lipstick Trace was okay. Chris doesn't like cucumber and, unfortunately, the crunch of the cucumber was probably the one thing missing from this vegetarian roll. The Lobster Roll was a complete miss. The lobster was dry and had no flavor. Chris joked that it should've been cooked in butter. I was very disappointed with it. The Sea Urchin nigiri was very good. It tasted delicate and fresh, like "flowers from the ocean," as an old friend used to say. Perhaps the saving grace of all of the rolls was the Hako Roll, a square sushi made with eel and spicy tuna. It was tasty, well-balanced in all of its flavors - sweet and spicy, soft and crunchy - that I feel compelled to give it its own rating apart from my overall rating. Yes, my friends, the Naked Gyoza and the Hako Roll deserve five stars. If you go to Fat Salmon, these are my two yummy recommendations. Unfortunately, everything else ranged from bad to just okay.

This Indian street food restaurant has become a source of nourishment for me on football Sundays. Chaat is basically an Indian snack consisting of Chex mix-like grains on top of a creamy potato salad with chickpeas and lentils added for extra oomph and don't forget the nice bonus of fruits and nuts and sweet and spicy sauces mixed in. It's really filling and good comfort food on a cold day. Even though there are over a dozen chaats on the menu, I couldn't tell you what the big difference between any two are. Aside from the ones with vegetable samosas or black gram dumplings, the rest kind of look and taste the same to me. This is a good thing because no chaat here is bad. I like the Kashmiri Chaat for its mixture of nuts and raisins. I like the Bengali Chaat for pretty much the same reason. I like the <whatever> Chaat for the same reason. Are you catching my drift? If you're undecided,the Crazy Chaat is great for people new to chaat because it contains seven different types of crispy cereals from different regions of India. You get a little taste of Andhra, Mumbai, Utter Pradesh, Shahi, Kashmiri, Mastana, and Punjabi in every bite. Whatever, baby, it's all good. The next time you go, just show the man behind the counter the picture to the right and ask him to make you a Chaat that has your favorite cereal mixture in it. I like the dried noodles on the upper left. There are also vada pav sandwiches (fried potato ball burgers), pav bhaji (vegetable stew sandwiches), and biryani (Indian fried rice) on the menu. Give this place a try. The owner, Hasan, is fantastic and the food is pretty authentic as evidenced by the number of Indians eating there.

Before I became entranced with fusion Japanese restaurants like Morimoto and Zama, I was a very simple girl with simple tastes. I loved classic Edo-style sushi done well and this is what Hikaru gave me with every visit. There are no flashy cuts of fish, day-old fish drowned in excess spicy mayo, or mammoth nigiri pieces fit for a typical chunky-sized American. What you have at Hikaru is how sushi and sashimi is supposed to be done, I'm told time and again by people who've been to Japan. The Hamaguri Butter Yaki (butter-fried clams) were very, very good and the Negimaki (beef wrapped scallions) were excellent as usual. My Super Deluxe Nigiri platter contained a wonderful balance of familiar (tuna and salmon) to the exotic (sea urchin and salmon roe) with a wonderful little eel roll that is so much better than the plain tuna rolls in nigiri platters in other sushi restaurants. My friend Chris' Assorted Sashimi Combination was a feast for two even though it was meant for one. The octopus was especially good. Sometimes the classics are the best and Hikaru is truly a classic.

It's not a fine dining sit-down establishment, but Seafood USA always delivers the goods. It has also been my go-to place for its delicious seafood-based comfort meals at affordable prices. My partner Robyn and I each had a Deluxe Combination Platter with a jumbo lump crabcake upgrade, filet of fish, sea scallops, clam strips, fries, and cole slaw. "We have places like this at home!" Robyn reminisced of her roots in Florida. I remember fondly of my days working in Radnor and going to the Wayne location (there is also one in Paoli) for a quick lunch. "I'd like a six-ounce piece of Chilean sea bass fried and made into a sandwich with fries and cole slaw," I said one day or "I'd like a soft shell crab and crab cake platter" I said on another. Indeed, the beauty of Seafood USA is its unpretentious atmosphere and the feeling that anything on display can be cooked up into a meal. That, my friends, is a rare kind of place and the kind of place I've always liked.

Just off the Binghamton exit of I-81 lies Spiedie & Rib Pit, a fast food joint that serves a sandwich as popular to that region as a cheesesteak is to Philadelphia. That sandwich is called a spiedie, a marinated shishkabob served in a hoagie roll. Spiedies are the invention of Italian immigrants who moved to Upstate New York in the early 1920s. Traditional spiedies were made from spring lamb, but most commercial restaurants now use chicken or pork. Robyn, Chris W, and I stopped in for a combo meal, which includes our choice of a sandwich, fries, and drink. I picked the Spiedissimo, a spiedie with provolone, roasted green peppers and onions, and a tangy sauce with lots of olive oil. Perhaps the only thing that would make this sandwich even better is roasted red peppers. The meat and veggies were juicy good and flavorful. It was like a chicken cheesesteak with chunks of chicken instead of sliced chicken loaf. In my opinion, that makes a spiedie better than most chicken cheesesteaks I've experienced. The fries were crisped the way I like. Other spiedie choices include Buffalo chicken, bleu cheese chicken, and chipotle. There are also baby back ribs available. I'll save these for future trips.

Asian stir fry using top shelf ingredients could never be bad. In fact, it can be frickin' delicious! Oh, my God, there are FLAMES shooting straight up and around the wok, just like how my mother used to cook! Whoever taught these guys how to use a wok truly deserves a pat on the back. My wok noodles (fresh lo mein) with angus beef and creamy nut sauce was one of the tastiest meals I've ever had. The beef was brimming with flavor. The mixed veggies (carrots, cabbage, bean sprouts, onions, and egg) gave nice texture contrasts to the soft lo mein. Oh, and that delicious peanut sauce! Is it massaman curry? I find myself nodding my head with every satisfying bite. This is good stuff. I don't want it to end. That's how you know a curry sauce is really good. Besides lo mein, there are four other noodle or rice options, including chow fun, soba, steamed rice, and quinoa. There are six protein options, including farm-raised chicken, my wonderfully tender Angus beef, thick-cut and smoked bacon, roasted pork, wild-caught shrimp, and tofu. There are seven veggie options, but I'd suggest skipping those unless you're a vegetarian because mixed veggies already come with your entrée. There are eight different sauces from green curry to oyster sauce. To top it all off, there are also a variety of side dishes, such as pork belly buns and edamame dumplings.

When I'm in the mood for good, inexpensive sushi in my neighborhood, three places come to mind: Vic Sushi Bar, Mizu Sushi Bar, and Tsuki Sushi. Vic is arguably the best of the three, but it can be frustrating eating there because their small number of seats fill up quickly. I'm not really into many of the "creative rolls" that are simply the same cuts of tuna, salmon, and eel drowned in lots of spicy and sweet sauces. Unfortunately, I think that's what most of Vic's fans love about it. Mizu is also very good, but Tsuki is a bit better. I like all three in that none of them create "super-size" nigiri that is popular with some people. Sushi is not about value for your money. Sushi is about nice, well-crafted nigiri and rolls that actually taste good. Sauce should be used sparingly so you could taste the delicate flavors of the sea. This is why I love nigiri so much. You get a slice of pure, unadulterated deliciousness resting on top of a small bite of perfectly seasoned rice. Maki rolls are a hit or miss. I really don't care for the "happy island sunshine rolls" or similar nonsensical adjective/noun/noun names, especially since they're all variations of the same six ingredients: tuna, salmon, eel, whitefish, avocado, cucumber. At some point, you have to ask yourself, "What makes one sushi joint better than the others?" Unfortunately, few sushi joints carry anything original. Such is the case with Tsuki. They make good sushi that some say is bland, but that's because they don't put any wasabi in their nigiri. I'm willing to bet they did this to satisfy the average person. Their specialty rolls are the nonsensical combinations like everyone else's. I prefer the simpler rolls with two or three ingredients that taste good. Give me a good yellowtail with scallion roll over a "big rockin' volcano dynamite roll" any day. Execpt for the slivers of fish bone in my red snapper nigiri, the Sushi For Two plate that my partner Robyn and I shared was quite enjoyable. You get ten pieces of nigiri with tuna, salmon, whitefish, red snapper, yellowtail, white tuna, and shrimp. You also get three maki rolls: spicy salmon, eel with cucumber, and shrimp tempura with avocado. The fish was fresh and tasted great. The rolls were delicious. The standout was the shrimp tempura with avocado. It tasted as good as any of the best softshell crab tempura rolls I've eaten. I also think Tsuki's tuna roll blows Mizu's out of the water. The secret is simple. Tsuki uses a little more tuna than other places. If you crave good sushi for decent prices, go to Tsuki. It's good stuff. Just be sure to tack a little wasabi onto each piece of nigiri to make it taste better.

I've eaten at Garces Trading Company many moons ago when they still had their daily specials. I'm glad it's morphed into a full restaurant now rather than the half cheese shop, half rustic diner that it used to be. The menu hasn't changed much because the food has always been good classic European bistro fare. Charcuterie (yum!), duck salad (double yum!), seafood, and macarons! The duck salad was possibly the best salad I've eaten all year. Pop the egg yolk and let it seep onto and into every part of the salad for an orgasmic experience. Duck, potatoes, spring mix, egg yolk, more duck... oh my God!!! Trust me, you will never want to eat salad any other way after this. The bouillabaisse had its ups and downs. The sea bass was absolutely delicious. The prawn was good. However, the mussels elicited an "I've had better" from my dinner companion, Chris W. The saffron rouille sauce tasted more cheese wizzy than it should've. We went to The Tavern later to try Chef Mackenzie Hilton's garlic aioli fries and her garlic aioli beats Garces' saffron rouille. The scallop risotto was good. The scallops were a bit salty, but the risotto was perfect. The macarons were awesome. Suspiciously, they looked like the Trader Joe's Assorted Macarons except these included pomegranate and salted caramel flavors. Whereever they're sourced from, they're delicious. Chris educated me on the virtues of adding Metaxa to red wine, which seemed to cut the bitterness of the wine.

The conch fritters were seriously good, better than my partner Robyn's lobster tail tempura and my jerk dolphin dishes, both of which were fine dishes. On a sunny day, the deck out back is the best place to eat and enjoy the marina scenery. The drinks were a little watered-down, the worst of which is their "special" Cool-ossal Toxic Pocket Punch, a fruity neon green concoction with a gummy shark floating among the ice cubes, no doubt a play on Florida's toxic algae problem.

Sonny's BBQ is a chain BBQ restaurant originating from Florida and comes highly recommended by my partner Robyn. We were so enamoured with the place that we ate at three different Sonny's locations during our week in Florida. I have tried the baby back ribs, the St. Louis ribs, the pulled pork, the beef brisket, and the smoked turkey. The winner among the pile is the tender baby back ribs. Paired with the Sizzling Sweet sauce, this is quite simply an extraordinary combination. Kudos goes to the sweet corn fritters, nuggets of sweet corn fried to a golden brown and topped with powdered sugar. You will fall in love with them as I did.

I'm a big fan of the Philly Delicias food truck on the Penn campus. It's the only truck that purports to have authentic Venezuelan food. The original owner, a Venezuelan woman of Chinese descent, made some incredible arepa sandwiches. Not long ago, the truck and its business was sold to a new owner who continued the tradition of serving the same food and maintaining its high quality. Because the truck has done so well, it befuddles me why the restaurant serves basically the same food for higher prices. Shouldn't a restaurant give a chef an opportunity to really shine at his or her craft? The Pabellon, marinated flank steak served with black beans, cotija cheese, and plantains, tasted exactly like the food truck version. By itself, the steak was chewy, stringy, and tough. About the only thing saving it was the broth it was sitting in. Combined with the beans and plantains, the toughness of the meat is masked, just like the food truck pabellon sandwiches. I will say that the beans and plantains are nicely done and the arepas and empanadas are very good. We ordered a beef and a fish empanada. The beef one contained the same tough pabellon meat. The fish, a salmon and vegetable mixture, was actually quite excellent. The restaurant itself is located in the old 5N2 sushi restaurant space. I know this because the layout of the restaurant is the same and the old pair of pants that serves as a curious decoration still adorns the right wall. I feel that Delicias is still new and searching for its identity. There is no question that the food is good, not great, so now the owners need to create dishes that will take their restaurant to the next level.