Chima vs. Fogo - and don't forget Picanha

An excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat:

Reader: I am a huge fan of Chima Brazilian Steakhouse. Is there any advantage of trying Fogo De Chao over Chima's?

Craig LaBan: I've traditionally preferred Fogo over Chima (which I haven't been back to for a couple of years). I find Fogo's meat to be better. But it's also an ambience choice - the contemporary feel of Chima vs. the refurbished grandeur of a classic Philly space at Fogo. Personally, I'd rather head north to the more authentic, charcoal-grilled flavor of Picanha in the Northeast, though it's a less upscale experience. The food there tastes homemade.

Reader: I know Morimoto is very seldom there, but my wife and I had a fantastic omakase meal there last week. Lots of courses of extremely fresh seafood with excellent presentations and exciting flavors. Excellent service as well, so it's nice to see that, in our view, it still is a culinary destination.

CL: Thanks for this Morimoto memo. It remains, I think, near the top of our sushi food chain in terms of quality ingredients (though it now has competition from Zama).

Reader: I agree the omakase at Morimoto is amazing, but I have to disagree in regards to the creativity. My wife and I have been there twice. But on our second visit over a year later, the dishes were almost exactly the same. We were hoping for a completely different experience, and even told our waiter we had dined there before. The meal was delicious, but it makes me think twice about ordering omakase again. Is it unreasonable to expect the dishes to change; am I setting my expectations too high?

CL: I absolutely agree with you here. I think the quality of the food at Morimoto has always been top-notch. But over the years, it just hasn't evolved much creatively, which is where a place really suffers from not having its namesake genius on site. You want to talk about a creative Japanese chef who's still accessible? Try Matt Ito's multicourse kaiseki meals over at Fuji in Haddonfield. I've eaten about six of them over the years, and not only are they very much on par with Morimoto, I've never had a repeat dish once.

Reader: What is the fate of the Domenico's space in Blue Bell? Are they closed for good?

CL: According to Michael Klein's blog The Insider, Domenico's closed after about eight months. The site of the former Blue Horse Tavern, it's been a challenged location since its heydays as Marabella's. . . .

Reader: What can you tell us about Starr's new venture in Queen Village? Is he eyeing the old Ansill place? Hope so.

CL: That space at Third and Bainbridge (which most old-timers remember as Judy's Cafe) is slated to get new life soon as Il Pittore, Starr's Italian showcase for Chris Painter, the talented company chef who has overseen the opening of several Starr hits, from Tangerine to Angelina and Stella. Maybe Angelina didn't rise to hit status - but Painter will take another stab at Italian here, hopefully with more lasting success. Scheduled for September opening.

Reader: After hearing about Honest Tom's Tacos for two chats in a row, I went to try it Friday around 1 p.m. and they weren't even there. Very disappointing.

CL: One of the downsides of the gourmet truck movement is that they're still trucks - and they're prone to roll away, or down the street, or simply not show up at all. In this case, I know what you're talking about - because my editor was hoping to make a trip to HT's before I checked the truck's status on HT's Facebook and Twitter pages, where, they did, in fact, inform the Facebook faithful that there would be no tacos last Friday. Still worth a try, but consult your computer first.

Reader: What's the deal with Washington Square restaurant? I read that Starr and co. are doing "pop-ups" there? Hmmm . . . a great space in need of a great chef.

CL: Starr has been lining up guest chefs for his fallow Washington Square space, a clever idea for booking visiting acts. First up last week was the crew from Talula's Table. (See Rick Nichols' column on the subject on the front of this Food section.) Next up is Konstantinos Pitsillides of Kanella, then Top Chef cheftestant Angelo Sosa.

Correction: In discussing dining on City Avenue, my mention of Franco's Osteria in Presidential City may have incorrectly implied that the original Franco's Trattoria in East Falls had moved or closed. It is still where it's always been the last three years, posed beside the Schuylkill in the cool shade of the Roosevelt Boulevard overpass at 4116 Ridge Ave. Franco's Osteria was opened nearby across the river this year by former employees of the Trattoria (including former GM and namesake Franco Faggi and chef Luca Sena, son of the Old City restaurateur). But, other than the shared staff histories and similarly Franco-ized names, the Trattoria's owner, Mark Sherman, says the two restaurants are not connected.