Restaurant Chat: Al fresco

Good afternoon, my hungry friends, and welcome back to Philly Food Chat Central. I trust you’ve stepped in from the brutal summer heat wave (an al fresco lunch? Yikes!) and have come to refresh yourselves with cool and quenching talk about how to slay the swelter Philly dining style. And so, today’s Crumb Tracker Quiz will focus on the chilly and the sippable - three cold things I slurped or spooned through last week that definitely did the trick. Name all three in order and win a signed copy of my book: 1) Japanese Thirst Quencher; 2) A smoothie made with bananas, Nutella, and a shot of espresso; 3) pistachio kulfi. Ready, set….start crumbing!

Craig...ate at Tangerine recently and was pretty impressed with the food. Was wondering about your thoughts on the place?

Rich2 - It has been a while since I last ate at Tangerine, at least a couple years, but it impressed me then as a restaurant that had successfully managed to evolve from one distinct concept (nouveau Moroccan) to a more general Mediterranean one. The chef then, Todd Fuller, was doing a really nice job with some Italian things and homemade salumi. With all the new places showing up, though, I wonder how old favorites like Tangerine are going to withstand the competition. It is the blessing and the curse of a vibrant restaurant scene - and longevity is the ultimate challenge. Can you tell us a few more details about what impressed you?

#2 sounds like Capogiro and #3 is Zahav

#3: Bindi?

Good guesses, guys, but no, no, and no....

I thought Melograno was moving to Sansom Street? I pass by every day and still see peolple happily waiting in line for a table.

Chad - Last I've heard from my colleague, Michael Klein, is that Melograno will have its last night on July 27 (yikes! that really soon!) and plans to reopen at 20th and Sansom Street in September. I will be very curious to see how this little Italian gem translates to a grander space.

#3: cafe spice?

#3: cafe spice?

Wow. I love a good Crumb Tracker Scrum! Especially when no one gets it right before the first 10 minutes are up! Those are all good guesses - those restaurants may in fact have pistachio kulfis - but it's not where I had this particularly sublime version.

How do you decide what to order at a restaurant? For example, I read a little caption for Devil's Alley you wrote along with your Bliss review. You mentioned the burgers and salads but left off what is potentially the best chicken wing (spicy dry rub wings with chipotle ranch) I have eaten in my 56 years of scouring the earth for these aviary appendages. Isn't it important that you get a taste of the real standouts at a restaurant? by the way-- I did happen to agree with your brief opinion of hte place. But in my mind there's hardly anything better than those chicken wings and a local beer at the upstairs bar while the flyers or phils happen to be in the lead.

Joseph - that's a good question, though I think you're referring to a capsule review I did recently alongside the Pearl review (not Bliss, which I haven't reviewed in years - though I'd be curious if anyone out there has a report on how the new management/kitchen is doing!) Anyway, back to your question. Typically, when I review a restaurant in the featured space, I will have tasted anywhere from 30-40 items over the course of 2-3 meals. Those Or Try These missives are usually the result of one check-up meal (after all, they're only a couple sentences). That does, however, put my menu choices at a premium. As for Devil's Alley - I think I ordered a fair selection of things - checking for their bbq quotient (liked the dry rubs, didn't taste much smoke) , burgers (OK), and big salads. I don't remember being wowed, but maybe I did miss the highlight with those wings. You've given me another reason to return.

Is #1 a beer?

No, but that reminds me of something else really cool that I drank recently: a wheat beer mojito, muddled with mint and lime. This will be our tie-breaker if needed today.

is 2 Scoop Deville? You can build anything there!

no.....

Craig, What are your very favorite al fresco dining settings mostly in terms of a decor/view aesthetic (although as always food is a concern)?

Don - there are so many great al fresco spaces in town, from cafe sidewalks to secret gardens, it would be hard to choose. I have to say a seat alongside Rittenhouse Square at the new Parc seems awfully prime right now. But I've been fascinated lately by the cool new courtyard slipped into the alley entrance beside Raw on Sansom (just behind Capo Giro). As for private gardens - I like the one behind Gayle and Southwark, Effie's. A cocktail on the deck of the Moshulu is nice. Also - the Table 31 cafe out in front of the Comcast Center is vying for the best new al fresco site - amazingly sense of cityscape with just enough trees to shield diners from JFK Blvd. It is a shame, though, that the garden next to the former M restaurant isn't being used yet. That is a gem of an outdoor space.

The best Al fresco places need to not be along a busy Septa route.

good point. better stick to roof decks and gardens, then. I recall the Cresheim Cottage Cafe also had a lovely garden for outdoor eating.

#3: Cafe Fuyla?

sorry...

# 2 cafe loftus, a favorite a mine.

# 2 cafe loftus, a favorite a mine.

is #2 Starbucks?

Those are two good guesses (I like Loftus, too, it's a great urban pocket cafe), but no. I did notice Starbucks was offering a very similar smoothie today - but theirs had chocolate, NOT nutella.

Apothecary's roofdeck is a nice al fresco pre-dinner apertif spot

Yes, that is a striking, contemporary place to grab a drink - sort of a balcony over the activity at 13th and Sansom. The "good for you" motif, though, especially associated with old pharmacies, is kind of already old.

#2: Sprazzo?

#3: Kanella

Wow. These must be really pretty tough ones today. So I'm going to give a couple hints. Number 2 was bought at a prepared foods market. Number 3 - kulfi is an Indian ice cream, very dense, very rich. Think Indian.

Philadelphia Brewing Company's Newbold IPA is delicious. Just throwing it out there!

Hi Marty - Of all of Phila Brewing Co's new beers, I don't think the IPA is my favorite. There is a LOT of competition in that category, and this IPA, while it's growing on me as I work through my mixed case, is just not quite as vibrant and complex as some of my other favorites (like Dogfish 60 minute, Hop Devil, Sly Fox, etc...) My two PBC favorites so far have been the Walt Wit and the Rowhouse Red.

When was the last time you've eaten at the South Philly Taproom?

This spring. Had a nice, interesting meal - wild boar burritos, and of course, great beers. Why?

The Philly Brewing Co. has tours and tastings every Saturday from noon till' three. They are always free.

That is a worthwhile suggestion. I haven't been to the brewery since it was Yard's, but it's a beautiful old brewery worth checking out.

#2 Union Market?

Is #2 MugShots on Fairmount?

I wish the answer to #3 would be Minar Palace because that would mean that its open.

Why do you still conceal ur identity when all of the high end restaraunts know what you look like?

Kyle - There have been pictures of me floating around restaurant kitchens since I became a full-time critic in New Orleans 12 years ago. Any critic in a reasonably savvy city has to deal with that. But that doesn't mean you make it easy for restaurants to know you're there, or that a restaurant is aware I'm there at all points during my 2-3 visits. Although I've wondered over the years, if so many restaurants know who I am - why do I still occasionally get lousy service and one bell food? The reason is that most of what an observant diner experiences over the course of a full-out restaurant review just can't be faked.

The best local IPA is no longer DFH 60 Minute, it's Dock Street Rye IPA. I guarantee it.

Joey b - I've had that rye ipa, and I disagree. I found it way too spicy from the rye, and just generally out of whack. When you're dealing with big flavors in a beer like IPA, I put more value on the balance of flavors than the pure bitter punch of hops or the spice of other ingredients. That said, it was a bit early in Dock Street's new life, so I definitely plan on going back. I know many others I respect who like it.

Craig, I took your advice and bought a case of Sly Fox Pikeland Pils. It's a very good dry, hoppy beer. I'm buying more.

Chad - I'm glad to be right about something! Yes, that is a super beer.

It's on tap at the brewery, Johnny Brendas and the South Philly Taproom

Great - now I have more places to go try it.

The rye malt brings out the dryness so well in beers with a lot of hops.

Ok, Joey b, you're losing me here. I'll try it again.

#2 - Either Spoons or Chestnut Hill Coffee, thought I had something like that at one of them

It sounds like this drink wasn't quite as original as I thought it was. One more clue - I found it in the Italian Market.

#3 Sh ere e Punjab?

No, it's not from Sh ere-e-Punjab, which is a nice addition to Media's scene. I had this gulf in the city of Philadelphia.

#3: Anthony's!

getting warmer....

what's for lunch today?

Well, I didn't have time for a big lunch odyssey today, so it was the deadline special - bean curd and broccoli with spicy garlic sauce from the little Chinese truck at Broad and Callowhill. With a bottle of water, the whole thing was $4!!! It's not gourmet, it's not even Chinatown. But for that price, it felt like a very fair food value, and reasonably healthy, too. On that note....

You ended the last chat speaking about lunch trucks. What do you consider the best lunches in the city around $5? I enjoy the Pad Thai at the Reading Terminal.

Jon - for the most part, the best value lunches in town are still ethnic spots - like the Vietnamese and Mexican kitchens around the Italian Market. In terms of lunch trucks, my favorite still has to be that Chinese classic from University City - Yue Kee - right across from Wharton. It's completely beat up. You need to call your order in about 25 minutes in advance (610-812-7189), but they make awesome ginger chicken and Beijing hot noodles, and Singapore noodles, not to mention good ma pao tofu. It's a value that's truly hard to beat.

Theres a Japanese and korean lunch truck on Temple's campus that has some great stuff.

Thanks, Michael. Temple always gets short shrift in discussions about good campus eats - but there are some good things there, too. I personally like the bulgogi wrap sandwiches at Koja, which is the storefront outlet of the Korean/Japanese truck that started on Penn's Campus (just up the street from Yue Kee)

Since my wife and I have a fetish for brand new restaurants, we had dinner at Distrito last night about 10 minutes after it opened. With the mega-caveat of "it was only the first night!" I'll just say the food ranged from solid to very good, but everything was on the heavy side (lots of cheese, cream, deep frying and spicy mayo, etc.). Highlights were the queso fundito with duck meat and the Tres Leches case (best I ever had). I do have a question about the bathroom design though... (to be continued)

So, Distrito's bathroom layout is that at the top of the stairs (in view of the dining area) there is an 8 foot long uni-sex communal sink and mirror, and behind it are a bunch of stalls with uni-sex toilets. There are no sinks in the stalls, requiring everyone who uses the bathroom to handle the knob without washing their hands first, then to go out to the common area and wash them in front of everybody (including other diners who are not far away). I'm not a germaphobe, or someone afraid to groom in public, but this seemed a bit much. What do you think of these "trendy bathrooms" (like Continental Mid-Town, Paradigm, etc.).

Django - you had me pressing "send" in the first sentence, when you mentioned a fetish you and your wife shared. But let's give Distrito a few days before we let chatters really get going on their early impressions. As for the bathroom conundrum - I've never really like the communal bathroom thing (which hit its first awkward note at Trust, now El Vez) - but now I really know why. Thanks for that appetizing detail.

#3 Palace at the Ben

2 = di bruno's Pronto 3 = Lavash? and-- yes-- I agree that koja is great. perhaps even amazing. but call ahead there too. the tofu spicy noodles are awesome.

My goodness!

Someone actually got a crumb tracker clue right! Yes, number 2 is Pronto, the prepared foods outlet for DiBruno's in the Italian Market. I loved this drink - it was rich and refreshing, and complex (all that chocolate, banana and hazelnut flavor swirling around), but with the added punch of espresso to keep it from weighing me down. Espresso is always a recommended final touch.

Craig, Is there a better sandwich it town than David Ansill's lamb oso bucco?

Don - A beef combo on the outs from Nicks Roast Beef on Jackson or in Delaware County. Hands Down.

Speaking of fetishes, the wall of luchador masks at Distrito is pretty impressive, although reminiscent of "The Gimp" from Pulp Fiction. Kidding aside, it's fantastic to have another Garces restaurant in town.

Don and Marty (and Django F) - that sounds like the beginning of a whoooole new chat, and this one, I'm afraid is pulling across the finish line. But you've given me something tasty to ponder. Actually, I've got a few weeks to ponder it. I'm heading out on vacation to the great northern state of Michigan next week, so this chat won't be back until mid-august - Aug. 12, if all goes well. Stay tuned to the board for details. In the meanwhile - here are the unanswered Crumb Tracker clues: 1) The Franklin Fountain; 2) Pronto; 3) Tiffin (this was the best kulfi I've had in a long while...), and 4) (bonus question on the wheat beer mojito): Maia. I hope everyone has a good few, well-fed weeks. Until we meet again, may you all be well and eat something worth bragging about!