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![My Hot Clam Summer: I was spooning through a beautiful chowder the other day highstreetphl admiring the deeply savory hunk of smoked monkfish at the bottom of the milky bowl whose subtle, rustic whisper was taking the place in chowder usually reserved for bacon. But the reason this delicious soup was so irresistible was also because of all tthe little clams scattered around the bowl like tiny jewels of oceanic savor, just waiting to be plucked and devoured. It made me realize that this summer has been all about my growing love of bivalves, whose bold flavor, delightfully meaty textures and seaside charms are too often overlooked. From the Jersey Shore to Chinatown and Center City, those briny little beauties have made so many meals sparkle with dreams of surf and sun. So, here’s to the best, grit-free clam moments of 2025.
-the clam bake pollysdock ; dug from the bay right beside this Beach Haven clam shack. Was I supposed to *share* this massive pan of 50 clammies in garlicky wine broth? Oops.
-smoked monkfish clam chowder at High St.
-these dark allium ash fusilli friday.saturday.sunday were poached in luxurious lobster stock; but the clams on top took it all for a deeper dunk in ocean brine.
-spicy clam pasta oderossupperclub : classic but the chef does all the picking for you and adds a dose of Calabrian chili heat
-more steamed clams, but polished Avalon-style cafelorenavalon
-meaty middlenecks on the half-shell smittysclambar; elemental Shore Clams 101
-half-and-half chowder at Smitty’s: chowder blasphemy? or best of both worlds (my vote)?
-clams with ground pork and hot chilies tailakerestaurant in Chinatown
-clams oreganata angelonisclubmadrid
-littlenecks and fresh fettuccine martinas.trattoria
-seafood Trapanese mammalenasventnor
What was your favorite clam dish this summer?]()
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2025-08-11 04:12:40
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![I’ve definitely been called crabby before. But for a brief moment at Tai Lake in Chinatown, I was nearly at one with an actual crab when I grasped the spiky arms of a magnificent 10-pound king, which had paused beside our table on its way to the kitchen, and lifted it high so we could see each other eye-to-blinking-eye and I could thank it personally for its deliciousness. Less than 20 minutes later, it returned from the kitchen in parts.
A massive platter of split crab legs arrived cradling plumes of glistening white meat that were infinitely more succulent than the pre-frozen buffet variety. Then came the crab’s body, chopped into deep-fried meaty chunks sealed inside a crackly salt-and-pepper crust. Finally, a heap of fried rice jeweled with more crab, egg and scallion, overflowing the hollow of the crab’s deep shell, repurposed as a bowl. This three-course feast for 8 was a major splurge, at $75-per-pound for the crab alone, which had been fished from Alaska and flown to the East Coast alive and kicking. The meal was a grand way to celebrate with friends. But it was also a beautiful reminder of just how skilled Tai Lake’s kitchen remains after 37 years, including the last 25 under chef Jie “Jack” Zheng.
That dinner opened the door for several return visits (& my recent review phillyinqfood ) to further explore this traditional Cantonese seafood menu, and also see how deeply this classic is ensconced in Chinatown - and Philly, in general - as an invaluable neighborhood touchstone. Our historic Chinatown is too often underappreciated. We should hold these classics dear because we’re lucky to have them.
Tai Lake’s menu is vast - and generally far more affordable than that king crab (see: whole lobsters for $34!) Here are several other dishes I enjoyed.
-live shrimp, both steamed and raw as sashimI
-eel in X.O. sauce
-pan-crisped whole flounder
-clams with spicy pork and chilies
-snow pea leaves (in broth with two kinds of eggs)
-the shoe-sized one-pound steamed oysters in ginger soy dressing
-lobster stir-fried with sticky rice]()
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2025-07-20 20:29:58
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![I went to Inukjuak in the Canadian Arctic for an Inuit village feast of “country food” to celebrate a movie premiere. But first there was the hunt and a “canoe surfing” journey across the choppy Hudson Bay. And then unforgettable lessons from an incredibly resilient community on how they battle climate change from the front lines of a landscape that’s melting away before their eyes - and fight to save their culture, too.
I was incredibly honored to be allowed to visit this community (through a vote of elders) with phillyinquirer photographer monicaherndon. We met incredible people who allowed us into their homes and took us out on the land to share their food and traditions: Willia Ningeok (who thankfully did not let me fall into the Hudson Bay; also got to visit his sled dogs!), Anna Ohaituk (the country food queen whose warm bannock bread and cloudberry jam are sublime), sarahsamisack (the talented seamstress, throat singer and movie producer who knows where the crowberry treasure trove lies), young Hosea Aculiak and his entire family, and so many others.
A very special thanks to Kirk French, the pennstate anthropologist (boozeandculture) whose corvastudiolab.pennstate documentary with nealnealorangepeel, a Century after Nanook, is the reason we came. (“Do I have a food story for you!” he said over our first drinks and tales of fermented walrus at chumleys_bar, the State College gem where my son artmax11 introduced me to one of his favorite professors.) That was an understatement. I’m incredibly grateful to my editors phillyinqfood (mattbuchanan + margareteby ) for letting me go!
Please hit the link in my bio to read the story, which also has incredible photos from Monica, including this cover shot here. The rest of the pics in this post are mine. Remember: “What happens in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic.”]()
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2025-03-09 19:26:35
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![Fat Burger Perfection and a Philly Classic: It’s been more than a quarter century since paulkimport and williamstandard opened standardtap in Northern Liberties for what was Philly’s - and quite possibly America’s - first gastropub focused on local beers and handcrafted food. It’s one of the foundational places that helped jumpstart this city’s rise as a culinary (and drinking) destination. So, it was heartening to revisit the Tap after a long time away to see it’s still thriving, its rambling, historic spaces still moody and cool, and the chalk board draft list still showcasing some of our region’s best brews: I *loved* my pint of Nemo, a dark mild from bonnplace in Bethlehem, that was the perfect pairing for the cold weather comforts of our meal. The tap also has a surprisingl thoughtful wine list and very skilled bartenders, like Kourtney K., an excellent server who also made us an outstanding Hemingway daiquiri upstairs.
Most importantly, the Tap’s kitchen remains in good hands with robertwestjr - an old friend from his days as an Inquirer page designer who’s spent the past several years becoming a fine chef, most recently at the Beard-nominated thedebruce in Upstate NY, before returning to Philly a year ago. He’s maintained some of the Tap’s most beloved food traditions, like the puff pastry flower-bedecked beauty of the Chicken Pie (created by Kimport). He’s added some fresh touches like a new farro salad with English peas, mint and goat cheese that tastes an optimistic burst of spring flavors, despite the lingering cold outside.
What I can’t stop thinking about, though, is West’s artful update to the Standard burger: 7 oz. of prime PA beef char-grilled to a, crusty exterior and uniform pink inside throughout (nicely rested!), with house pickles, tender bibb lettuce and cheddar on a pretzelized milk bun from lostbreadco. In a world now dominated by smash patties, this plump beauty is once again one of my top burgers in Philly. It’s also good to note that we visited on West’s off-night, so his team is solid.
PS - the grilled pound cake with poached pear and creme anglaise is a stellar dessert.]()
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2025-03-04 20:16:28
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![Xīn nián kuài lè! Happy Lunar New Year! I was thrilled to be included in a splendid Chinese New Year banquet celebration at baiwei1038 - and especially honored to share it with susannafoo. The legendary Philly chef acknowledged as the Godmother of Asian fusion cooking, whose eponymous Walnut Street restaurant earned my first four-bell review over 25 years ago, retired many years ago - but this was the first time we’d ever met in person.
My family has long patronized Bai Wei (and Sakura-Mandarin before that) as one of Chinatown’s best all-purpose restaurants, with a menu that excels in specialties from multiple regions. But this was one of our best meals there yet, as veteran chef Wenhe Wang (in pic 2, alongside chef Foo) put on a multi-course feast I’ll remember for a long time. I was especially delighted by the delicacy of the pinecone-style fish (a.k.a. “Squirrel fish”) done with branzino. But there were so many other great dishes:
-mixed cold dishes (marinated shiitakes; rock sugar lotus roots; chilled scallion chicken; soy-braised peanuts)
-truffled soup dumplings
-steamed vegetable dumplings and pan-fried chicken pillows
-Peking duck
-walnut shrimp
-kung pao chicken and cumin filet mignon (w/lots of cilantro stems!)
-Chinese vegetables with pan-fried shrimp cakes
-Yang Chu fried rice (but I was so full by the time this arrived…)
Also, shout-out to Rittenhouse Market for carrying lots of lucky tangerines with stems and leaves, so I could gather a proper gift to thank our host.]()
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2025-02-06 19:16:05
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![I just had my first taste of an unclegussteaks sandwich and, well, I’m thrilled to *finally* have a legit cheesesteak I can recommend rdgterminalmkt ! High quality beef was griddled (and seasoned) fresh to order. It was tucked still dripping with juices into a fresh and crusty sesame seed roll from angelos_baking_co - which is obviously one of the key partners at this new stand along with the RTM veterans tommydinics and pearlsoysterbar . But they all know how to build a serious sandwich. Add an oozy core of Cooper Sharp cheese, long hots for fire and some real roasted mushrooms on the side (for that extra earthy umph) and this was one of the best cheesesteaks I’ve had in months. And yes, I’ve been sampling the full roster of new guard steak contenders across town in recent months.
If I had one small criticism, the pre-cooked caramelized onions were too wet from sitting in a bucket on the side, and then not very well incorporated into the sandwich. Another caveat: this was a rare moment when Gus’ had literally no line. I doubt that is the norm, especially with a big event (like this weekend’s auto show) coming to the convention center, so I’ve yet to see how consistent is during a rush. One more: wrapping this up to risk steaming that beautiful roll to softness. Do yourself a solid: sit down at Center Court behind Philbert the Pig, eat this beauty on site and know you’ve had one of the best cheesesteaks in Philly. But FYI: you're probably going to need a nap afterwards.]()
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2025-01-10 02:24:36
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![“Eat anything special lately? Stupid question…”
A chef recently asked me this and it wasn’t really a stupid question. Yes, I’d just published a list of my favorite 30-plus dishes, chefs and restaurant experiences of 2024 phillyinquirer phillyinqfood. But that was last week! The hit parade of stellar dishes has since continued unabated, including, yes, another one of the most special things I’ve eaten all year. This Italian drinking chocolate from fiorefinefoods is a gift from the Hot Cocoa Gods. It’s the kind of elixir that touches your lips on a cold December day and lights a Christmas tree of pleasure bulbs inside your brain, a festival of cheerful lights powered by dark chocolate magic from amedeitoscana & cacaobarryofficial. Float a fluffy cube of the house marshmallow on top and watch it melt sweet vanilla creaminess into every sip. There’s a lot of great hot chocolate in Philadelphia, but Fiore’s justinemacneil sets the sweet standard.
Meanwhile, just in case you missed my list of top bites from 2024, I’ve also included just a few of the highlights here:
-Dish of the Year: dry-aged toro bibimbap royal_sushi_omakase
-Best New Restaurant: littlewaltersphilly and its house-smoked kielbasa
-Best Dumplings: all the momos nepalimomokitchen
-Best Single Meal: Salvatore’s Counter irwinsupstairs; so many good things, but this red snapper tail salt-cured with clove like a ham, then roasted with guanciale and Marsala was incredible
-Best Hot Dog: prohok dog at mawnphilly
-Best Pasta: squid ink crêpe over lobster in Américaine sauce at illata_philly
-Best (Beef) Burger: the Ramly (w/curried chips) kamparphilly
-Best Oyster Feast: all the dozens of NJ oysters phloysterhouse artfully opened by _gshucks_
-Best Cheese Course: perrysteaddairy Moonrise ice cream sandwich provenancephl]()
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2024-12-30 18:30:00
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![Pretty Bird!
I had to invoke a bit of Ocean City summer magic with shade from our beach umbrella to make sure I got the Big Green Egg lit and smoking despite the rain. But I’ve cooked Thanksgiving dinner outside in far worse conditions, for sure. This year’s turkey still turned out to be a beauty, and though our crowd was smaller than in year’s past, and we missed all the relatives who couldn’t travel this year from the Midwest, the celebration was still joyful - and for me, full of thanks.
There’s just something I love about the gathering of family and the rituals of this holiday: shopping rdgterminalmkt with my daughter alicelaban (the baking genius behind all the gluten-free biscuits, brownies and baked brie in #gf puff); clinking whiskey glasses with my brother Terry, and son artmax11. The annual whetstone sharpening of my knives. Filling the kitchen with tangy smoke as I char several pounds of Brussels sprouts with sherry vinegar. Keeping track of buttercupofrittenhouse under the table. I got to watch my birthtown football team, the Lions, actually win a Thanksgiving 🏈 game for the first time in 8 years (with a 🔥 halftime show by shaboozey to boot)! And, of course, the Reading-style potato filling & world’s best pumpkin pie from elizabethlaban (😘)! This year also came with a special bonus: I was gifted a framed vintage Edge City original themed to Thanksgiving created by my cartoonist bro (breakthroughvisuals) and sister-in-law patriciarichconsulting in 2001, shortly before they moved from Chicago to Philly - and the whole tradition of me cooking this holiday began. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! And cheers to many more to come!]()
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2024-11-29 20:35:24
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![In Montréal, on the eve of a great adventure, my travel partners & I came to celebrate vinmonlapin and wow, what a feast of Québécois wonders. The ambiance is pure modern bistro joy. The wine list is world class, with a focus on new guard producers from Catalonia to Jura, Alba and Canada, including a bold Gamma-Rays red blend from Québec I can’t stop thinking about. Ordering wine here is a *conversation* that’s informative without pretense, and the passion for these bottles - and this menu - is infectious.
As for the food, sooo many highlights:
-radishes potted in chicken liver mousse
-the most extraordinarily delicate little sea urchins from the waters of Québec placed over grated Serrano chilies, green tomato and horseradish cream (1st pic)
-capery beef tartare with sunchoke butter and fried sunflower 🌻 blossoms
-green tomato & ground cherry salad in tomato water splashed with a depth charge of beef fat
-duck cappellacci dumplings wrapped in perfect pasta + gnocchi fritti draped in salami & 🍅 (that’s my colleague monicaherndon chomping into one)
-Badger Flame beet tarte Tatin with tender duck hearts, perfectly roasted duck breast, Flamande pears and broccolini with dill flowers in green cabbage butter
-Spectacular desserts, too, including a cassis sorbet and a honeyed buckwheat cake that was both earthy and sweet, unlike anything I’ve ever eaten, and delivered on the pedestal it deserves.
Merci l’équipe Mon Lapin!]()
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2024-10-21 19:17:28
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![“I’m a grown-ass man with my own restaurant and all I want to do is cook a good hot dog,” jokes chef philapans. Although he really isn’t joking.
Phila Lorn seriously makes one of the best hot dog combos around mawnphilly, which is major weiner news in a town not known for its hot dog prowess. But Lorn’s Cambodian chili dog is absolutely worth the trip for lunch. At first glance, it looks like a Detroit Coney dog (yay!) mashed-up with the pile-it-on pickles of a Chicago dog, the snappy natural casing of a NYC weiner and the South Philly comfort of a Sarcone’s roll. But it is the funky, chunky topping of wild boar prohok, the lemongrass fragrant ground pork Cambodian dip usually served with crudité and cabbage, that distinguishes this dog as special. It is the Frankenfurter fantasy of the Cambodian-South Philly childhood that informs so much of what Lorn cooks on the rest of Mawn’s menu.
It’s also an added bonus to lunch, which, as a walk-in only service (Thurs-Sat), is your best shot to spontaneously get into Mawn, which has become next-to-impossible to reserve for dinner. This was one of my favorite new restaurants of 2023, and a fine successor to Kalaya’s original BYOB space on S. Ninth St. And it as only gotten better as Rachel and Phila Lorn have continued to settle in and fully express this restaurant’s irresistible personality.
You can taste it in the juicy savor of the sat koh beef sticks that evoke the smoky grills of the nearby seamarket_fdrpark (but with super tender ribeye), or the herb-blasted salads and noodles (loved the spicy miso peanut noodles at lunch), the fish sauce-splashed ban chow crêpe salad or the deep-fried head-on shrimp in fish sauce caramel. If you do manage to snag a table for dinner, you can also taste some of the specials that show Phila’s growth as a chef, most memorably at my dinner,a crudo of buttery prawns in fiery chili oil, and oysters with minty rau răm and black pepper Cambodian vinaigrette. Even the dessert, a banana rice pudding topped with mango chantilly cream, was a fluffy, tropical dream.]()
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2024-09-24 03:28:05
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![I’d like to thank my friend margareteby for reminding me how much I loved scannicchios_italiano and urging me to revisit. I reviewed this South Philly standby in 2019, and lauded its staying power as one of the best of the neighborhood’s “post-red gravy” style. These second- and third-generation Italian restaurants emerged in the 1980s and ‘90s and embraced the prosperity upgrades of a slightly fancier pantry - from balsamic to radicchio, good olive oil and big stuffed chops - that added another chapter to the meatball classics of Villa di Roma, Dante’s & Luigi’s and Ralph’s.
Well, talk about consistency in the face of epic disruptions. My recent dinner was a picture perfect throwback to the meals I enjoyed before the pandemic, down to the Sinatra soundtrack and dining room patter of brother Marc Varalli (“get the pork chop with fig sauce…”) guiding us back through the menu highlights cooked by his brother Christian Varalli, and his business partner Michael Gibson.
I got that thick double-cut pork chop, of course, and it was so perfectly juicy despite its girth and glossed in the dark sweetness of a sauce with fresh figs and crumbles of gorgonzola. But also a Caprese with actually ripe summer tomatoes (thanks, no doubt, to a novel ripening place!), Philly’s sauciest stuffed artichoke (covered in cheesy bread crumb sauce that we devoured), a contender for top chicken Parm, some zesty fried meatballs and oh, yes, those zesty minced clams Casino topped with a broiler-crisped chip of smoky bacon.
Thanks to the Scannicchio’s crew for also correctly spelling my last name (a rarity) while quoting my review of those clams on the menu: “Best in the City.” I’m happy to re-endorse. The proclamation is still valid.]()
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2024-09-07 03:27:59
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![My Hot Platter Summer🔥: I’ve had so many fantastic meals over the past couple months that came to me on a tray. Abundant, festive and always created to share, these combo platters of good flavors, taken in sum as a collection, celebrates the breadth of communal dining experiences that make eating Philly a joy.
Roll highlights…
-the incredible $75 pierogi feast for two mommomnomnom with pickle soup, 2 kinds of pierogi (farmer’s cheese and kapusta), super-crisped czerw_kielbasa links, kraut, golabki, beets, cucumbers, apple sauce, buttered kaplans_new_model_bakery rye + two beers from carboncopyportrichmond
-”High on the Hog, Wit all the Fixins” BBQ platter main event for the July “Untitled” tasting menu honeysuckle_provisions
-Goat charcuterie and cheese platter heavy_metal_sausage215 with a goat mortadella & salami cotto that’s one of the best things chef_alfiero has ever made
- Pollo asado platter with orange-garlic mojo, mofongo (and a side of excellent lechon asado, not in pic) bolo_phl
-Maple Arch Farm lamb three ways anthonyandiario - wood fire-grilled chops, roasted shoulder and braised neck - with purgatorio beans grown in the chef’s backyard
-Banana leaf-wrapped roasted Balinese chicken with long bean coconut curry ricensambal
-Karahi goat kabobeesh
-the Fujianese feast with bittermelon and scallion soup at Kitchen 88 in Chinatown
- Lamb chops and kebabs uzbekistan_restaurant
- dry-aged duck forsythia_philly]()
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2024-08-19 17:48:14
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![Softies are here today, gone tomorrow. So I made sure not to miss the latest fleeting appearance of soft-shell crabs to grab these extraordinary tacos elchingonphilly, where a plump crabby whale was tempura crisped and divided over two cilantro-infused tortillas with papalo aioli and ripe plum salsa.
Of course, chef jcarlosaparicio’s modern Mex creativity did not stop there. The smoked scallop aguachile was a wonder, its serrano-lime marinade sparking with sour heat against the sweet bay scallops, whose softness contrasted with the earthy pop of pozole corn. There were chicken albondigas in a mixiote steamer pouch, and a cemita classica, of course, with breaded chicken Milanesa layered in to the stack of shredded quesillo, chipotles in adobo and herbs so perfectly on the house-baked cemita roll.
And it’s also chile en nogada season, with walnuts brought in fresh from San Mateo de Ozolco, Aparicio’s hometown in Puebla. The added white sauce richness to this plump poblano pepper stuffed with pork, beef and sweet fruits, but…ALSO… this amazing chile en nogada ice cream, a blend of green pepper ice cream with a walnut swirl. The sweetness really brought out the fruity flavor of the pepper itself. But it was somewhat outshone by the burnt tortilla ice cream, which reminded me of cookies and cream, and a mezcal ice cream perfumed with orange zest that lived up to its smokey/boozy name.
Fabulous meal from Philly’s most exciting and surprising Mexican restaurant.]()
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2024-08-12 01:14:44
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![I came for the prahok kteah, the classic Cambodian dip of ground pork jazzed with aromatic spice, fire and fermented mudfish paste served with crudité that sophieskitchenphilly does better than anyone. But wow…those crispy chicken wings!? Encrust these beauties (in pic 2) in lemongrass and kroeung and hang them in the museum. They are that good. Some of the most electric wings in all of Philly.
Then again, I have come to expect vibrant flavors in everything that chef-owner _fia_neth, her husband dukdanny and their family serves at this standout Khmer kitchen on Washington Avenue near 6th Street. It’s no surprise that the Cambodian ambassador to America brought a host of his fellow ambassadors here from Washington D.C. a few weeks ago – including emissaries from Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei - to taste this bold and genuine cooking.
I didn’t bring the Secret Service detail that came with this entourage (complete with snipers for extra protection), but we feasted on so much good food, we still felt like VIPs. We had…
-green papaya salad bok lahong + nhoam sach mohn cabbage salad
-chha kroeung lemongrass stirfry
-chha l’pau kabocha stirfry with pork
-beef & chicken skewers
-somlaw machu kroeung sour lemongrass soup
-coconut curry stew (also good over those chicken wings!)
-Cambodian iced coffee with an extra-long steep for Cafe du Monde intensity
If you haven’t been yet to Sophie’s Kitchen, this remains one of Philly’s true gems.]()
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2024-08-05 03:22:12
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![No, that wasn’t a black hole on my plate illata_philly, but another stunning example of chef Aaron Randi’s distinctive peek-a-boo cuisine. Slice open that supple crêpe tinted jet black with squid ink, and luscious chunks of lobster in bisquey sauce Américaine spill out…so good!
It was just one of several fantastic dishes I ate the other night, including some particularly stellar pastas, that make me think Illata continues to be one of most distinctive kitchens in town. So focused. So minimalist. But with vivid flavors and a playfulness that brings it all to life.
I also loved…
-a delicate tortellini special filled with eggplant in a roasted tomato water laced with basil oil
-stuffed caramelle pasta with sweet peas and creme fraiche dappled with mint oil
-poached shrimp in chilled chrysanthemum broth with cooked and raw zucchini
-rainbow trout, an Illata standby, also served peek-a-boo-style with shiso leaves covering a fricassée of artichokes (and another trout fillet).
So nice to see this charming and spirited BYOB keep growing and refining its style. This is one restaurant that does not taste like the others.]()
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2024-07-24 03:18:23
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![If you have the patience to wait in line for one sandwich this summer in Philly, it should be the epic BLT middlechildphiladelphia. The MCBLT season just opened this week, my very smart colleague jrladd reminded me, and this year’s edition is a gloriously over the top garden juice bomb 🍅 💣 - as always. It’s a real tribute to the mid-summer wonder of urbanrootsphilly heirloom tomatoes, which are as good as it gets and come sliced extra thick so you can sink your teeth into the ripeness of their rainbow garden hues.
But this thing is also a wonder of sandwich architecture, perfectly stacked atop toasted merzbachers.bakery rye, with thin-cut bacon on the bottom for an easy snap, a generous “Got Twang!” helping of dukes_mayonnaise, and arugula on top for peppery balance and grip. (That’s sandwich technician alexmcaswell doing his best Arugula Bae confetti toss of greens while cranking out dozens of these wonders at an admirable clip)....
All of it comes wrapped-up inside a tidy paper package to keep every last drop of this seasonal wonder feast contained until, suddenly, it’s all gone.]()
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2024-07-19 18:03:29
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![I’ve been revisiting a lot of favorites this summer - and gamarjoba_restaurant still rocks! Philly’s best Georgian restaurant remains worthy of a trip to the Northeast, where its spacious and airy beer hall is a perfect spot to saovr spot-on renditions of traditional dishes like…
-the khachapuri Ajaruli (mix that egg yolk into that salty, stretchy cheese) whose crust is so thin and delicate
-cold eggplant and green bean salads with the most amazing walnut sauce (who knew pureed green beans could be so good?!)
-juicy lamb khinkali dumplings with unfiltered, Georgian-style beer
-chvishtari corn cakes with cheese, the ultimate polenta cake!
-ostri beef stew, tender and slowly simmered, but also intricately layered with flavors, from the fenugreek perfume of khmeli suneli spice blend to the spicy green snap of fresh hot pepper rings on top
-shqmeruli, cornish hens in garlicky milk sauce
-ground lamb lula kebab nd marinated chicken mtsvadi, perfect with a side of tkemali plum sauce]()
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2024-07-13 22:47:41
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![I got to visit barbacoachef for the first time since she moved and combined her South Philly Barbacoa into the casamexicophl space right next door. Her lamb barbacoa - available Friday through Monday, starting early - is still one of the most profoundly soulful things to eat in Philly. The sublimely tender chunks of steamy whole lamb, piled onto super fresh tortillas alongside a pile of chile-spiced pancita sausage, beside a lamby bowl of consommé, is the definition of weekend comfort on Calle Nueve.
The bonus of combining these two restaurants into one is the ability to also taste so many other distinctive dishes that chef Cristina Martinez makes, including…
-one of my favorite pozole rojos in Philly
-citrusy shrimp ceviche
-stewed chicken encacahuatado, a peanut sauce that is simply magnetic
-also the quesadillas, and not only because you can really taste the intense corn flavor of the house-nixtamalized masa, but because there is an extra sweetness to the house-pulled quesillo cheese. Be sure to get it with squash blossoms, or fresh huitlacoche, when it is in season.]()
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2024-07-06 18:27:15
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I got to visit barbaco..
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![Growing up in Metro Detroit, we just called it “pizza.” Like in Scotland, where the local spirit is simply known as “whisky,” not Scotch. I had no idea the hearty, cheesy pan pies with crispy edges was anything unusual until I moved east to the Thin Crust Coast. If anything, had you asked me a few decades ago, I’d have said the most logical representation of “Detroit-style pizza” were the mass-produced conveyor belt pies I made at my first job at Little Caesar’s. Assembly line pizza! Along with Domino’s (from Ypsilanti), that’s one notable but ignominious Michigan contribution to American pizza culture.
Thankfully, it’s that *other* style that’s become known as “Detroit-style pizza” now celebrated for its square pan heft and crispy cheese “frico” from Brooklyn to Philly. So, what luck on my recent trip back to see my folks that I got to visit Loui’s Pizza in Hazel Park. Founded in 1954 by Louis Tourtois, a longtime cook at Buddy’s (the pioneer), this is one of the original Metro Detroit pizza parlors - and it’s preserved like a time capsule. Empty Chianti bottles dangle from the ceiling like a straw-wrapped bottle forest. The decor is pizza sauce red and white. And the pies? The elemental template of the style, with sweet puddles of chunky red sauce atop an oozy basin of molten brick cheese, whose subtle tang is accentuated by the caramelized edges that wrap the pie in a greasy crunch. Note: this is not the airy, modified focaccia dough with trendy toppings now common elsewhere. This OG pie has no airs. It’s more like a pan-shaped barge of sturdy crust and cheese with basic bits of pepperoni, peppers & mushrooms.
We were lucky to have k.culter as our server, a longtime Loui’s vet. I owe her for suggesting baked cappelletti, a tortellini-esque dumpling snug beneath more molten cheese. Also the Loui’s Special, an odd but notable variation on a Philly-style steak, but on Texas toast with BBQ sauce and an essential side of pickles.
Bonus: I poured myself a frosty Stroh’s for the 1st time since college, completing my back-to-the-future pizza journey! Thanks for the suggestion serenamaria36 !]()
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2024-06-24 03:42:55
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![The big prize for me has always been the pursuit of a great story. It almost always begins with the simple pleasure of tasting something delicious. But it becomes far more interesting once I begin to pull the reporting threads and begin to unspool some extraordinary tale of how someone arrived somewhere, found their voice in the kitchen, or garden, or at the still, and began making something important to nourish their community.
Food is a powerful portal to the wider world, and I’ve been so lucky the past few years to travel across the globe in pursuit of great food stories - each one a Philly food story! It’s such a privilege to do this for a living. Being acknowledged for doing it well occasionally by esteemed colleagues is also an undeniable thrill. So THANK YOU beardfoundation for these recent honors. It’s been a while since I crossed the finish line from being a nominated finalist (a true honor in its own right) to actually hold one of these shiny medals. They are beautiful! And I had such fun celebrating with friends in Chicago.
Thank you especially to the inspirations for my series - chef nichojimenez and davidsurop - for sharing your stories and taking me & photographer jessicagriffin_photo to your cherished corners of Mexico. Thank you to my editors phillyinquirer for supporting such an ambitious project. Thank you jamilarobinson for your editing (& acceptance speech!)
And thank you to my incredible wife elizabethlaban for everything you do to allow me to go.
I’m especially thrilled to share these stories w/gift links, since they’re usually behind the Inquirer paywall. (Reporting like this costs money! Please still subscribe to support local journalism!)
An Inspiring Journey Home: https://www.inquirer.com/food/craig-laban/inq2/chef-dionicio-jimnez-cantina-la-martina-philadelphia-kensington-mexico-20230501.html?utm_source=social&utm_campaign=gift_link&utm_medium=referral
Mexican Spirits, Philly Energy: https://www.inquirer.com/food/craig-laban/inq2/tequilas-philadelphia-restaurant-david-suro-mezcal-20230504.html?utm_source=social&utm_campaign=gift_link&utm_medium=referral]()
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2024-06-17 09:24:17
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The big prize f..
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![Have you ever eaten an oyster in the waters where it was grown? It’s a special opportunity to gulp down that little jewel of tender meat, let its salty burst of surf and minerals wash across your tongue and then look up to see the very place that nurtured its character. There’s a lighthouse in the distance. Crystal clear waters reveal sandy bottoms in the waist-deep shallows below long neat rows of floating oyster baskets, and when the sun hits the water just right it takes on a jade green hue from wavy fringe of jade green eel grass and bright sea “cabbage” swaying just below the surface. Blue crabs scuttle across the bottom. Schools of fluke and stripers swim nearby.
I got to see just this scene the other day on a perfect afternoon in the middle of Barnegat Bay when I visited laughinggulloysters where Christopher Carroll and his wife Lauren (seassunshine ) lovingly work their “garden” of floating bags and are part of the bright new generation of aqua farmers energizing the revival of New Jersey’s oyster industry.
This place, whose bay-protected waters in the shadow of Barnegat Light produce some of the briniest oysters New Jersey has to offer, is very special.
“I feel like these waters are magical,” says Lauren, who notes they can shift from Caribbean clear to stormy Nor’easter white caps in the blink of an afternoon.
I’m grateful I got to visit in its calmest light - all the better to crack open more a few of the oysters atop the floating raft where the Carrolls sort their harvest into bags. I’d slurped these same oysters in Philly not long ago, and while they were lovely and well-seasoned then, they were startlingly more briny today - in a good way - because of the lack of recent rain. It was a fascinating reminder that these mollusks area vivid snapshot of a moment in the waters where they live and breathe, and it’s ever-changing.
I’ll have a lot more to say about New Jersey’s rising oyster scene very soon. But this was an awesome afternoon filled with the best kind of reporting. The Carrolls even managed to hire a few seagulls for my visit to land on some nearby oyster bags, feast on the tiny mussels encrusting their edges, and laugh, laugh, laugh.]()
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2024-06-03 18:50:57
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![“It is *crazy* how long people are willing to wait in line!”
Our intrepid doughnut scout, elizabethlaban, had disappeared for a concerning amount of time in search of morning sustenance today. Nearly one-and-a-half hours later she returned from the Ocean City Boardwalk with a box of a dozen precious brownsocnj doughnuts. They were so hot and fragrant and we hadn’t even yet opened the box. But when we did, they were perfectly crisped, golden brown, glossy with vanilla glaze, crunchy with cinnamon sugar and soaked with so much Bucks County honey (my favorite) I could see a honey ring had resonated deep into the pastry when I took a bite.
They did not last long.
“So, was it worth it?” I asked.
“Mmmmm,” she said dabbing some vanilla glaze and crumbs from her lips. “Yes.”]()
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2024-05-26 21:43:46
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![I’ve been dreaming of Islay smoke - and in love with Scotch - since my first sip of laphroaig decades ago. So it was a thrill to take the ferry from Kennecraig to this southernmost Hebrides island to see the peat fires for myself & taste the drams on site. And boy, did wee. With artmax11 as my companion for this unforgettable father-son trip we kept up a determined pace, sipping our way through four distilleries in our 36 hour visit. And, well, that was fun.
We bopped to the center of the island off Loch Indaal for a visit to bruichladdich , whose next-gen style ranges from no peat at all (using all Islay barley) to the peat bomb of Octomore, which is basically like drinking a campfire. The next day, then, was dedicated to skimming Islay’s southeastern coast, where 3legendary distilleries - laphroaig , lagavulinwhisky + ardbeg - are situated along one of the most picturesque paths I’ve ever seen, the rolling, rocky green fields dotted hundreds of grazing sheep and Highlands cattle, the gleaming ocean on the other carrying a whiff of salt air on the breeze. I highly recommend renting bikes from islayewheels to make the jaunt more manageable provided you don’t get caught in the near-daily Islay rain. (It’s also worth noting designated drivers are not allowed to drink - at all).
We loved all the distilleries as we began to discern differences between approaches to incorporating peat smoke, but also so many other factors in the distilling and aging process as we explored multiple barrel finishes on various warehouse tours. The proximity to the ocean, though, is ever present in the background of anything that touches that marine-steeped peat smoke.
Pics:
-Warehouse No. 1 at Laphroaig
-peat bricks smoldering in the hearth at Laphroaig
-malted barley drying in the smoke at Laphroaig
-whisky aged in virgin French oak, warehouse tasting
-Arthur, a few drams into our experience @ Lagavulin, calling home on the peat brick phone
-an 1881 mash tun rake, still in use at Bruichladdich
-Arthur, pedaling to Ardbeg
-Ardbeg’s twin spires
-the octagon dining room @ Balaclava Byre Farm restaurant
-Hello, Sheep! Just outside Port Ellen]()
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2024-05-19 14:40:17
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![Here’s a mother’s day tribute only jesseito can make - a bibimbap royal_sushi_omakase that’s unlike any other: meltingly rich pink slices of 24-day dry-aged toro layered over nori rice with creamy plumes of Hokkaido uni and crispy rice puffs hidden below for a secret crunch, all bound together with the golden custard of a cured Jidori egg yolk. I’ve written a lot about the influence Jesse’s Japanese father, chef Masaharu “Matt” Ito, on his son’s journey to becoming one of America’s best sushi chefs. But Jesse’s Korean mom, Yeonghui, has also been a powerful influence for the multi-James Beard-nominated chef. And this dish is a true homage to one of his favorite childhood comfort foods, properly upscaled for its starring role on Royal’s current $300 omakase.
It’s one of several new composed dishes that have added some heft and more complexity to the 16-course tasting menu over the past year, all while Jesse kept upgrading his rice (the pearl-like Hitomebore), nori and other ingredients, I. particular experimenting with a new dry-ager to intensify the luxurious flavors of fattier fish, like that bluefin tuna or coveted nodoguro (blackthroat seaperch), whose skin takes on an extra snap with age. The exquisitely cut and hand-pressed bites of other imported Japanese fish were as extraordinary as ever, from the seasonal sakura masu cherry trout to the kinmedai, madai, lime zest-dusted scallop and Ito’s signature saba, topped with fresh ground sesame.
But I was particularly fascinated by the new composed dishes, such as the cured bonito splashed in vinegared dashi, or the chawanmushi with caviar, or especially the lightly torched botan ebi, still half-raw, which luxuriated with jewels of salmon roe in the creamy tang of buttermilk dappled with ramp oil. Firefly squid, morsels of lobster and custardy Murasaki uni (paler and milder than Hokkaido urchin) were a vivid seafood ode to spring over gingered asparagus puree.
With the incredibly informed service and stellar drinks (serving Philly’s best Japanese collection and perfectly paired sakes), and then a cheesecake for dessert crowned with coveted Oishii strawberries, Royal Sushi somehow keeps getting better.]()
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2024-05-13 02:25:14
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![It was a perfect re-opening night for the 2024 season revivalkitchen, which is probably the best tasting menu restaurant in PA most people haven’t been to. That’s likely mostly because it’s 30 minutes outside of State College in Reedsville. But also because it’s only open during the 6-month local growing season from May to October, and the first three months have already been entirely sold out in a matter of minutes.
Lucky us, to be able to taste chef Quintin Wicks’ gorgeous first plates of the year:
-Opening nibbles of rhubarb aguafresca (topped with lime foam and chili salt), a strawberry-baslamic pickled beet with dark chocolate and macadamia nuts, + a French breakfast radish dipped in smoked butter, dusted with morel salt
-Wild leek billi bi soup with PEI mussels, lovage and homemade oyster crackers (so light, yet so flavorful!)
-Merium’s spring green salad - vibrant and crunchy! - in a cashew green goddess I’ll need the recipe for
-Foraged stinging nettle cavatelli (1st pic!) with carrot butter and smoked stracciatella (Alt-GF version was stinging nettle risotto!)
-Foraged spruce tip sorbet intermezzo drizzled with pine cone syrup (like eating the forest in a frozen scoop)
-Pretzel-crusted pork scallopini with pickled ramps and rhubarb mostarda (pretzel crust ‘cause PA, of course, but whoa, so good)
-A sort of deconstructed baklava with crispy phyllo and cardamom-scented pistachios showcasing a compote of rhubarb with yogurt and honey
It was so great to see Chef Q back in action after recovering from a thumb injury. His food has such a vibrant and crisp point of view. And the restaurant, set in a charming old house, also has a gracious backyard with a sycamore tree, a roaring grill fire and plenty of room for buttercupofrittenhouse to roam (& alicelaban to swing!) Liz Wicks’ charming service team, meanwhile, did a perfect job keeping the GF alternate plates straight and the evening flowing smoothly. I’m so glad she left the last 3 months of reservations available on a rolling 90-day advance basis, so you’ll have a shot to maybe eat here this year, too.]()
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2024-05-04 00:22:48
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On average, Craig LaBan gets 1.3K likes and 30 comments per post. (Historical)
