Last week, Szechuan Dim Sum Restaurant opened at 9th and Arch, taking over the Happy Restaurant space. Another newcomer attempts to make it in Chinatown. So new, that take out menus aren’t available yet. Don’t expect an Americanized menu over here, this crew is not afraid to dump a pile of peppers on you.
This winter, Kevin Sbraga (Top Chef Season 7 winner) opened his second Philadelphia restaurant, The Fat Ham, right off the Walnut Street bridge in University City. Last month, lunch service began and I was recently invited to check it out. I love Top Chef and I love new restaurants that offer lunch. I sipped a spiced pear cocktail, admired the country-chic decor, and browsed the concise lunch menu.
Posted at 2:59 pm, March 12th, 2014 under chicken, University City.
Inka Wall, a Peruvian restaurant, is one of the newer occupants of the “HMart Plaza” in Upper Darby. We don’t have a ton of Peruvian food in Philadelphia, that’s enough of a reason to make the trip west to the end of the Market/Frankford line.
Posted at 12:53 pm, January 27th, 2014 under BYOB, chicken, empanada, Peruvian, Upper Darby.
Ol’ Boys Soul Food Restaurant opened in the summer of 2013 in an area that looks a little neglected- I say this because we parked next to an abandoned house whose first floor was covered in garbage. I can’t say I have done too much dining around the 60th and Locust area. But that might change now. Obviously from the name, I knew to expect soul food and to probably not expect a salad. I also couldn’t not think about the beloved, and very violent Korean movie that Spike Lee remade last year (see the original, please).
Posted at 12:14 pm, January 15th, 2014 under American, chicken, mac & cheese, Southern, West Philly.
I hate feeling like an idiot when there is a food I hear all the good things about and it takes me forever to get after it. Such was the case with the twice fried chicken from Resurrection Ale House. As it was taken off the menu for a bit, its scarcity only intensified its cult status. But it is now available daily for lunch and dinner.
Beyond the chicken, Resurrection does the ubiquitous good beer and gastropub food thing that makes me proud to be a Philly resident. Located all the way west, on Gray’s Ferry, it has a cozy, neighborhood bar feel.
Posted at 11:19 am, January 2nd, 2014 under chicken.
Caribbean Feast Restaurant is up by the Temple Hospital area, mostly a culinary dead zone. It was the wafting smell of jerk meat from the outdoor BBQ that drew us in. We found out they specialize in Jamaican food and do not use any pork products. Inside, take out and sit down are available in an odd triangle shaped space that they dressed up with fish tanks, random sideways palm trees, and banquet hall-esque tablescapes. Those jerk smells and island tunes pumping through the speakers set the mood for some Caribbean feasting.
Posted at 2:04 pm, December 12th, 2013 under Carribean, chicken, North Philly, soup, Temple.
Not to be a brat, but it is not often that I come across a cuisine that I am completely unfamiliar with. So while browsing for restaurants in NE Philly (one of my favorite hobbies), I was excited to find there exists a restaurant that serves traditional Moldivian food. For the sake of being practical and straight forward, it’s called Moldova Restaurant. Inside, the decor is festively kitschy. Service came with a smile, though our waiter did not speak enough English to recommend any dishes for us. We were on our own.
