Archive for the 'Reviews' Category

Red Owl Tavern Stumbles Out of the Gate

Posted by Foobooz on April 29th, 2013

red-owl-charcuterie-courtney-apple

Red Owl Tavern couldn’t put it all together for Trey Popp as the restaurant in the Hotel Monaco was the definition of hit-or-miss.

Such was the pattern: a few things to like in a dish, and then something else that marred it. Luscious house-made pastrami sandwiched in flaccid “grilled naan” without char. Exquisitely cooked sheepshead snapper over an underseasoned cassoulet. A dynamite linguica sausage—arranged on awkwardly oversized toast bites. A deep liquor list but completely forgettable cocktails. Even the beet pasta I loved at Square 1682 was gummy here. And service was a roll of the dice: swift and candid one night, clueless and interminable another.

One Star – Fair

Philadelphia Restaurant Review: Culinary Fumbles at Red Owl Tavern [Philadelphia magazine]
Red Owl Tavern [Official Site]

Photo by Courtney Apple

With Sophia’s, Christopher Lee Has Returned to Philly. Kinda

Posted by Foobooz on April 29th, 2013

sophias-sliders-jason-varney

Trey Popp reviews Sophia’s, the East Passyunk restaurant of Philadelphia’s prodigal son, Christopher Lee. What he finds is that Lee is only kind of involved.

My dinners—all of them—were incoherent and error-prone. Dishes clashed rather than complementing one another. Most of the “fun”-sounding ones were flat and boring. Carelessness afflicted too many others. Brussels sprouts were overcooked (really half-carbonized). Ice creams came in pools of their own melt. There’s a lovely apple coffee cake from Fond’s Jessie Prawlucki—but one night it turned up fridge-cold, in a kiln-hot bowl, after an inexplicably long wait.

Sophia’s spent its first month tinkering with a menu the restaurant abruptly discarded. It’s hard to imagine this second take will last much longer. And who knows? A third stab could be the charm. But for Christopher Lee to resurrect the hopes some people had for his return to Philadelphia, he’ll need to do something to reverse the impression that he’s really just phoning it in.

One Star – Fair

Philadelphia Restaurant Review: Phoning It In at Sophia’s [Philadelphia magazine]
Sophia’s [Official Site]

Village Whiskey Burger Does Not Live Up to Hype

Posted by Victor Fiorillo on April 16th, 2013

It’s taken four years, but I finally made it into Village Whiskey last night. Jose Garces’ much-ballyhooed 20th Street spot has been on my list since its opening in 2009 (and I did have a problematic drink at the Revel location last year), but my aversion to lines, crowds and hostess Nazis has kept me away. Read the rest of this entry »

Adam Erace Reviews Bufad

Posted by Alex Tewfik on April 13th, 2013

City Paper’s Adam Erace reviews Bufad, the BYOB pizza joint a stone’s throw away from Prohibition Taproom. Erace apparently experienced a different Bufad than what we’ve encountered here at Foobooz. Here’s what he had to say:

I tried two of Bufad’s pies and, sad to say, the excellent crusts couldn’t rescue either one. The “porcini cream” spread across a nightly special was more like condensed mushroom soup that liquefied in the 860-degree oven. Greensgrow watercress was a smart idea, but the past-prime leaves lacked their token zip, and piled on the wet, brown surface, gave the pizza the look of a muddy freshwater swamp. I didn’t know whether to eat it or look for beavers.

Alas, the second pizza was worse, combining two ingredients that are a logistical juggernaut to cook simultaneously: potatoes and eggs. Buried under fontina and gobs of pushy prosciutto, the former, sliced into thin rounds, had no chance of turning creamy or crisp. Cracked on top, the latter emerged with a properly runny yolk surrounded by whites so raw they should have been called clears.

Crust Fallen [City Paper]
Bufad [Official Site]

Where We’re Eating: Resurrection Ale House

Posted by Arthur Etchells on April 11th, 2013

It’s always a nervous time when a longtime chef leaves a neighborhood favorite. That was the situation at Resurrection Ale House when original chef Joe Chmiko left for New York after nearly three years at the Graduate Hospital neighborhood restaurant. But his replacement, Rhett Vellner, has done more than just stay the course. His calamari isn’t the throwaway dish found at so many lesser restaurants, but an intriguing dish of fried polenta and stewed tomatoes. The quinoa and duck confit play well together, revealing more flavor with every bite. Gone are the days of diners getting annoyed each time a dish disappeared from the menu, because now it’s just excitement over what’s coming next. Well, that and relief over knowing that the award-winning fried chicken isn’t going anywhere.

Resurrection Ale House
2425 Grays Ferry Avenue
215-735-2202

First appeared in the April 2013 edition of Philadelphia magazine

Where We’re Eating: Mango Tree Bistro

Posted by Jason Sheehan on April 10th, 2013

mango-tree-bistro

Philly is a desert when it comes to decent Thai food, but compared to the suburbs, the city comes off like Thai-food Nirvana. Which is why it’s such a pleasure to find those rare suburban places that seem to spring into existence against all odds and survive solely on the backs of those who understand how lucky they are to have a reliable outlet for spicy curry and tom yum soup.

Mango Tree is one of those—a lovely BYO Thai bistro set right off Ridge Pike in the charming commuter suburb of Eagleville. It draws a good lunch crowd, serves a lot of pad Thai and Evil Jungle Princess curry, then quiets considerably after dark. Dining in is nice enough (if a bit lonely during the dinner shift), but the place does a brisk takeout business and offers large portions of consistently good drunken noodles, massamon curry and pineapple fried rice. Provided enough people find it and commit to coming back, Mango Tree could easily (and deservedly) become the go-to Thai spot for the NW suburbs.

Mango Tree
3120 Ridge Pike
610-631-0969
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Where We’re Eating: Goat Hollow

Posted by Arthur Etchells on April 9th, 2013

goat-hollow-goat Goat Hollow is the bar you want, in the neighborhood you want. Mount Airy is known for its diversity, with black, white, young, old, rich and otherwise, all seeming to get along better than anywhere else in Philadelphia. On a busy Wednesday night, a middle-aged black couple enjoys some wine and entrées, an elderly couple gets leftover salad boxed to go, and a group of young professionals debates California IPA vs. American Brown Ale. The other end of the bar is held down by off-duty Philadelphia firemen unwinding.

I score a bar seat, select the Sorachi Ace from the list of 20 taps, and get to ordering. First up, the Goat Hollow mussels with tasso ham, caramelized onions and wit beer, prepared well, with good spice from the tasso and plump, clean mussels. Just the kind of thing you would expect from chef Adam Glickman, who made his mark at Monk’s Cafe. One of the burgers was reminiscent of Monk’s as well, prepared to a perfect medium rare and topped with drunken mushrooms and melted gruyère. Another beer or three were ordered, because who would be in a rush to leave such a warm, welcoming place?

Goat Hollow
300 West Mount Pleasant Avenue
267-428-5672

First appeared in the April 2013 edition of Philadelphia magazine

Where We’re Eating: El Vez May Be the Most Fun Restaurant in Town

Posted by Victor Fiorillo on April 8th, 2013

El Vez 2

Because I was tired of hearing overeducated food types in Philadelphia talk a ton of smack about Stephen Starr’s always-packed Mexican joint El Vez, I decided to put the restaurant to the test with a demanding Saturday-night birthday party 10-top, including some fussy suburban eaters and one each of the picky-eater and vegetarian species. We ordered beers. We ordered margaritas. We ordered a wide range of food. And we dropped $40-plus in the photo booth, where, yes, my shirt came off. (Pictures available upon request.) Not a bad plate or drink was served. The server didn’t stumble once. And we made it out the door for under $40 per person. You can hate all you want, haters, but the fact is, El Vez may be the most fun restaurant in town.

El Vez
121 South 13th Street
215-928-9800

First appeared in the April 2013 edition of Philadelphia magazine

One Bell Review for Bainbridge Street Barrel House

Posted by Foobooz on April 8th, 2013

bainbridge-barrel-house

Craig LaBan reviews Bainbridge Street Barrel House, the beer bar just a block off of South Street in Queen Village. LaBan urges readers to stick with “meals on a bun” and the beer.

[Chef Eric] Paraskevas isn’t afraid of wacky risks.

The risk is, they don’t always work. On occasion, they pay off. His “Porkenstein,” for example, is a towering tribute to pig on a bun, a house-ground pork-butt patty topped with clove-brined, apple-smoked ham, smoked pulled pork, then a slice of belly, tender from a braise and crisped on the griddle. It was a mouthful of flavorful textures that would been even better had it not been smothered in pink “special sauce.”

But the message was clear: The best bets here come on a bun. That pulled pork, on its own with a crunchy slaw, had enough smoky savor and spicy tang to catch my attention (although the rosemaried vinegar sauce needs to be toned down). The Barrel House burger is one of the more traditional efforts – but it’s also one of its best, a well-seasoned half-pound patty topped with melted Muenster and blades of bacon, whose IPA-infused mustard and spicy relish (cucumbers and habaneros) were in perfect harmony.

One Bell – Hit-or-Miss

Bainbridge Street Barrel House [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Bainbridge Street Barrel House [Official Site]

More Than Just Hype at Pizza Brain and Little Baby’s Ice Cream

Posted by Foobooz on April 1st, 2013

pizza-brain-philadelphia

Trey Popp gives us two reviews in one as he visits the “weirdos” behind Pizza Brain and Little Baby’s Ice Cream.

I’ve got a severe hype allergy. But Brian Dwyer and Joseph Hunter’s partly Kickstarter-funded brainchild—which shares space, and a cockeyed ethos, with Little Baby’s Ice Cream—had me on an EpiPen high by the time I was chasing a rosemary-scented mushroom/fontina/goat cheese pizza with dense scoops of chipotle chocolate and Earl Grey sriracha ice cream.

How did it happen? Well for one thing, nothing neutralizes a rambunctious preschooler like knickknack-crammed plexiglass display boxes. For another, this is inventive and frequently terrific pizza.

Two-and-a-half Stars – Good to Excellent

The Infamous Pizza Brain [Philadelphia magazine]
Pizza Brain [Official Site]
Little Baby’s Ice Cream [Official Site]

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Archive for the 'Reviews' Category

Red Owl Tavern Stumbles Out of the Gate

With Sophia’s, Christopher Lee Has Returned to Philly. Kinda

Village Whiskey Burger Does Not Live Up to Hype

Adam Erace Reviews Bufad

Where We’re Eating: Resurrection Ale House

Where We’re Eating: Mango Tree Bistro

Where We’re Eating: Goat Hollow

Where We’re Eating: El Vez May Be the Most Fun Restaurant in Town

One Bell Review for Bainbridge Street Barrel House

More Than Just Hype at Pizza Brain and Little Baby’s Ice Cream