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Just a quick reminder to head down to Penn's Landing this weekend for Taste of Philadelphia. A full food roster is available online. Check it out.

The great Philadelphia restaurant cull of 2007 continues. The Astral Plane's last day in business will be Sunday, July 1. They're shutting down after Sunday brunch. The restaurant, a 34-year-old Center City/Graduate Hospital institution, is closing its doors due to a decline in sales.

Astral Plane [MenuPages]
Astral Plane [Official Site]

Do you think you love bacon? Jill Barron of Chicago's De Cero restaurant and this guy probably have you beat.

Chef d'Oeuvres [New York Times]
Aaron's Tattoos Are More Awesome Than Yours [A Full Belly]

[Photos via Tom Schierlitz / New York Times & A Full Belly]

Click To Play

Mark and Audrey of Cheap Dates just put out their latest video guide to (yup) cheap dates in Philly. On the agenda this week: Penn's Landing and the Moshulu.

Cheap Dates [blip.tv]
Moshulu [MenuPages]
Moshulu [Official Site]

One of America's oldest breweries is for sale on Craigslist. Well... it might be. Joe Sixpack has some background info over at the Daily News on the "was it a brewery or wasn't it" question about the house in Burlington County, NJ:

The evidence is sketchy.

There is nothing in the house that shows any sign of beer-making. It's possible the brewery was razed completely and this old house was built in its place.

But Kimmel points to the location of the original main entrance, on the side of the house, as proof of its age. If it was a re-built house, he said, you'd expect the door to face toward the street and the scenic river. Instead it faces toward the location of what historians believe was the old malt house.

Could this really be America's oldest standing brewery?

"If it's true, it's certainly very exciting," said Dale Van Wieren, an area beer historian and author of "American Breweries II," a chronology of American breweries. Currently, he said, the title of oldest standing brewery goes to the Patrick Creagh house in Annapolis, Md., circa 1749.

Gregg Smith, an author who has written about American beer history, said it's possible Kimmel is on solid ground. "But then again," he said in an e-mail, "most substantial farms and settlements had one and could in one way or another make the same sort of claim."

Either way, the Craigslist post makes a great read. Recommended.

Did this old house make brewing history? [Daily News]
The Oldest Brewery Building in the United States, 1690s [Craigslist]

[Photo via Curt Hudson / Daily News]

There's something to be said about old fashioned, hardshell ground beef-and-cheddar-cheese tacos. We just found a fun little ode to tacos at a blog called The Homesick Texan. Here in Philadelphia, El Azteca II and Johnny Manana's are our go to spots for American-style tacos.

The good, the bad & the puffy [Homesick Texan]
El Azteca II [MenuPages]
El Azteca II [Official Site]
Johnny Manana's [MenuPages]
Johnny Manana's [Official Site]

• The cooking at tiny Conshohocken BYOB Blackfish garners comparisons to Thomas Keller and Alice Waters. Rather impressive.

• Center City's newest sushi restaurant, Vic, gets high marks.

• Cacia's Bakery just opened a branch in Northern Liberties. This one has more than tomato pie: It also has a full restaurant menu and (gasp!) seating.

• Fight leukemia at Penn's Landing by eating ice cream.

• Philly's top five non-traditional watermelon preperations.

• How to turn your child turning vegetarian into a newspaper article.

• Food & Wine and Philadelphia magazine recently co-hosted a reception at Osteria.

• A whole host of new restaurant openings.

With Disney's Ratatouille arriving in theatres, it makes perfect newspaper food section sense to write about ratatouille. The Daily News rescues us with their piece about the Provencal vegetarian classic:

The title dish is rib-sticking, peasant vegetarianism. Simply cook tomatoes, zucchini and other squash slowly in a stove-top skillet with the glories of the South of France: olive oil, peppers, onion and herbes de Provence, especially thyme. (The dried herb blend, which usually includes rosemary, marjoram, basil, bay leaf, thyme and sometimes lavender, is available in the spice aisle of most grocery stores.)

Ratatouille (pronounced ra-ta-TOO-ee) is nearly idiot-proof. In all the years it has been a staple in our house, with many ad hoc variations, it has gone wrong only if I hurried the cooking down to 10 minutes.

Do Ratatouille Right [Daily News]

Quick news from Michael Klein over at the Inquirer: Felicia's in South Philly (Italian) and Restaurant M (New American) in Center City are both closing. Felicia's will be replaced by a bar and the former Restaurant M space will be used by the Morris House Hotel for private events.

Inqlings [Inquirer]
Felicia's [MenuPages]
Restaurant M [MenuPages]

• MP: Boston is getting retro with Jell-O.

• MP: Chicago found a damn fine beet salad.

• MP: San Francisco reports on the goings on at the California Culinary Academy.

• The firecracker roll is the dish to get at Uzu.

• Let's give a hearty welcome to the Headhouse Farmer's Market.

• Examining the dietary habits of construction workers.

The Korean food at Upper Darby's Pojangmacha just got some love from Philadelphia magazine:

After testing my shot protocol a few too many times, the men announced that we needed some food with our drinks. Like its Korean compeers, Pojangmacha sells cheap booze and street food, the point being not to eat dinner but to put something in your stomach to brace for the drunkenness. I was completely at the whim of my new friends, who could have ordered “fish bone water,” “some kind of curly thing from a shell,” and “barbecued cow tongue, like steak,” my best understanding of some of the items on the menu, written only in Korean. These foods may be common on the other side of the world, but they’re about as rare in Philadelphia as an experience like Pojangmacha. We settled, instead, on budae jigae, or “troop stew,” a spicy, brothy noodle dish studded with hot dogs and Spam. I’m not a hot dog fan, and I’d only tasted Spam once before in my life, but I finished my bowl and went back for seconds. The men kept asking if I liked it, smiling when I told them yes. I was convinced I was ready to brave the carts of Dongdaemun Market, 7,000 miles away.

Seoul, Upper Darby [Philadelphia]

[Image via Gianluca Foli / Philadelphia magazine]

Now here's something. Stephen Starr is opening a restaurant in Florida. The Starr Organization has inked a deal with Starwood Hotels that will bring one of his properties to the upcoming W Fort Lauderdale. Word is that the restaurant will be either a branch of either Buddakan or the Continental.

Starr is a busy man. He's also busy at work opening a New York branch of the Continental and, we hear, in negotiations to open yet another restaurant in the upcoming W Philadelphia.

Starr Heads South [Down By The Hipster]

The Melrose Diner, which has supplied generations of Philadelphians with greasy morning breakfasts and 2am burgers, has a new owner. Richard Kubach, Jr.—whose family founded the restaurant in 1937—sold the Melrose to local diner magnate Michael Petrogiannis. Petrogiannis also owns the Mayfair Diner, the Country Club Diner, Tiffany Diner, the Warminster West Diner, and the Michael's chain of diners.

Melrose Has New Owner [Inquirer]
Melrose Diner [MenuPages]
Melrose Diner [Official Site]

Service Tuesday is a new weekly feature where the MenuPages Blog scours the classifieds for industry jobs of note in the Philadelphia area. Without further ado, here's the goods...

• CC sushi standby Fuji Mountain is hiring servers.

• Servers with a background in wine have an opportunity over at the London Grill.

• Metropolitan Bakery in Fishtown needs a pastry assistant and some bakers.

• Rouge on Rittenhouse Square is hiring line cooks.

• Lastly, if you've got Excutive Chef chops, Stephen Starr has your number.

As Starbucks continues their steady rise to global dominance, the coffee chain has been keeping up by regularly adding new menu items. After this past spring's introduction of hot breakfast sandwiches, Starbucks decided to up the ante. Ladies and gentlemen, may we introduce Starbucks salads?

Nationally, the company will offer a pair of salads: a tomato mozzarella salad containing fresh mozzarella cheese, grape tomatoes and basil and a Southwestern variety containing roasted corn and black bean salad topped with grilled chicken.

The new series of salads are currently undergoing test marketing in the midwest but are expected to make their way to the east coast shortly.

Salads to perk up Starbucks menu [Chicago Tribune]

Chow decided to go for the obscure international wines with a look at the wines of Israel. It turns out that to go after the international market, many Israeli winemakers have been producing non-Kosher wines (that are subject to much fewer restrictions) that can compete with other regional wines from Italy, Greece and Cyprus on their own terms. The Yarden brand creates a high quality blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc called Katzrin. Also recommended are the Pinot Noirs of Galil Mountain Winery. Most of these wines are available through state stores in Pennsylvania.

Here's to the Holy Land [Chow]

Local smokers are going to have things a bit easier. According to Inquirer reports, Harrisburg has put major curbs in Philly's smoking ban. So what does this mean for your average Philly smoker? Basically, you're now free to light up in cigar bars, private clubs, bars where food makes up one-fifth or less of gross sales (!), charitable fund-raises where cigars are sold and one-quarter of the gambling floor at slots parlors. All in all, good news for dive bar-loving Philly smokers.

Senate acts to curb Phila. smoking ban [Inquirer]

• The fish and chips at Aspen? They're damn good. [Foodaphilia]

• Do Koreans make blood sausage? Yes. Yes they do. [Foodzings]

• Drinkin' at the Moshulu. [La vie a Philadelphie...]

• It's old-school style Queens Village upscale bar food at For Pete's Sake. [Mac & Cheese]

• Reviewing the upscale Indian of Palace At The Ben. [Philly Style]

[Photo of Aspen's mac & cheese fish & chips via Foodaphilia]

It's not overgeneralizing to admit that New Jersey's liquor laws are far better than Pennsylvania's. Unlike here in Pennsylvania, Jersey residents do not have to depend on a state monopoly of liquor stores and can even shop for beer at grocery stores. But some parts of New Jersey still have restrictive liquor laws in regard to restaurants and bars (what are called "consumption licenses") and are working to change it. The Inquirer reported on Moorestown's efforts to revoke the town's dry status. Encouraged by the example of Cherry Hill, they hope to attract high-end, Stephen Starr-type restaurants to town.

More towns catching liquor-license buzz [Inquirer]

Man, the Inquirer just can't get off the foie gras beat. Their newest contribution to the ongoing foie gras-mania of 2007 is a piece on the possible health risks of foie gras. The London Grill's Terry McNally is quoted.

Is foie gras a health hazard? [Inquirer]

Center City Basque pinxto/tapas bar Tinto just got the full review treatment courtesy of Craig LaBan and it made him want to say wow. Here's the deal:

Even short of that trip to Paris, I had to restrain the urge to leap up from my chair. "Wow!" was the word most commonly uttered between bites over the course of my meals, from that first flaky taste of the complimentary phyllo tubes infused with Mahon cheese that came with smoked tomato cream dip to the last sugar-rolled cube of jellied Txakolina wine.

Tinto [Inquirer]
Tinto [MenuPages]
Tinto [Official Site]

Over in the Inquirer, there's a nice little eulogy for the Wynnewood Pharmacy. One of the last old-fashioned pharmacy lunch counters in the Philly suburbs, the Wynnewood is a bit of pre-war culture that survived into the new century:

The soda fountains behind them are original, made by the Fischman company of Philadelphia, their swan necks a graceful reminder of an era when the city was a manufacturing giant. All around, the walls and machines track time's passage. An old ad touts Tab. A soda dispenser has a label for Lemon-Up.

Here, you can still order an egg cream, the classic soda-fountain concoction that contains neither eggs nor cream. Grilled cheese with bacon? Coming right up. Sliced-egg sandwich? Sure. And you can have any kind of salad you want - as long as it's tuna or chicken.

Regulars come for the food, but not just for that. Though the lunch counter doesn't possess anything that might pass for fine-dining ambiance, it abounds with friendliness.

The Wynnewood Pharmacy closes for good at 5pm today.

One last lunch together [Inquirer]
Wynnewood Pharmacy [Philly Magazine]

[Photo via Jonathan Wilson / Inquirer]

• MP: Boston makes us hungry for Portugese food.

• MP: Chicago reminds us that Mrs. Salman Rushdie is hot and gets Midwestern with a walleye pike sandwich.

• MP: San Francisco has the scoop on Food & Wine's top 100 chefs.

Mark Bee, proprietor of the newly reopened Silk City Diner and North Third, just sat down with Citypaper to discuss his venture:

When the Bees moved here in 1980, it was a rough neighborhood.

Silk City was still DeeDee's Diner — a truck stop that closed by 3:30 p.m. The bar was nothing but a hole serving booze breakfast and liquid lunch.

The Bees were a Kensington-born (B Street and Allegheny Avenue) family who lived for a spell in Atlantic City and Margate (Mark went to Holy Spirit High School in A.C.) before returning to Philly and new digs below Spring Garden.

"Actually I went to a vo-tech in Margate," says the bearded Bee, with a grin, about specializing in the most dangerous but profitable brand of plumbing: underground stuff. "I figured college would've been wasted on me."

Not so coincidentally, we now have Silk City's menu.

Mark'd with a Bee [Citypaper]
Silk City Diner [MenuPages]
Silk City Diner [Official Site]

[Photo via Citypaper]

How to order coffee in Spain [Chez Pim]
Apamate [MenuPages]

[Photo via Chez Pim]

Marge: What's brunch?

Jacques: You'll love it. It's not quite breakfast, it's not quite lunch, but it comes with a slice of cantaloupe at the end. You don't get completely what you would get at breakfast, but you get a good meal.

The Simpsons love brunch and so do Philly chefs. The Daily News polled local chefs including Rae's Dan Stern (who is a big fan of the Royal Tavern in Bella Vista), Todd Fuller of Tangerine (whose brunch of choice is at Standard Tap) and Andy Brown of the White Dog Cafe, who digs Sabrina's Cafe. Surprise of the day: Both Michael Solomonov (Marigold Kitchen) and Marc Vetri (Vetri) picked dim sum spot Lakeside Chinese Deli as their go-to brunch.

Chef's brunch faves [Daily News]

• Does NE Philly's Sweet Lucy's Smokehouse have some good barbecue? Hells yes. [Foodaphilia]

• There's no jerking around at the Jamaican Jerk Hut. [Foodzings]

• A taste test of potato chips from the UK. You know, crisps. [Mac & Cheese]

[Photo of jerk chicken platter at Jamaican Jerk Hut courtesy of Foodzings]

It's a t-shirt smackdown, and only one may survive.

T-Shirt Smackdown [Epicurious]

Breaking: First Look at the Comcast Center's Table 31 [The Illadelph]
Philly Skyline [Official Site]

• Dear Citypaper, please never reference Bartles & Jaymes in a review of a winebar again. Thanks.

• What's the food like over at Smith's? It's pretty good, actually.

• Snackbar chef Jonathan McDonald is making on-demand food video for Comcast.

• Your new gastronomic trend for summer '07? Sliders.

• What to drink at Port Richmond's Veteran Boxers Association.

• Ch-ch-ch-changes: Over on South Street, The Table is gone and Ly Michael's is going to become Billy Wong's.

• The Mann Center has a new caterer.

• Where to go for a good picnic basket in Philly.

• MP: Boston tipped us off that Zach Braff is gonna direct a Dunkin Donuts commercial starring Naomi Campbell. Wait... Naomi Campbell eats donuts?

• MP: Chicago gets all William Safire with a discussion on Pinot Noirs vs. Pinots Noirs.

• MP: San Francisco checked out a rather fine Chinese bakery.

Times wineblogger Eric Asimov is feeling pretty surly. His newest post? A list of personal dislikes. Among them? The word "crispy", grill marks, plastic seltzer bottles with ridged bottoms and frozen margaritas with salt on the rim. It's like an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm", only in blog form. Needless to say: blog bitterness is awesome.

Some Things Should Change [The Pour]

• The verdict on 707 isn't too good: Brian McManus says it looks great but "dinner's a bust."

• It's time for Swedish food with umlats at Midsommarfest.

• An overly-comprehensive guide to karaoke in Philadelphia.

Take one cheesesteak from Ishkabibble's Eatery. Wrap it in a slice of pizza from Lorenzo's and Sons. What do you have? The result is the local specialty known as the "Philly Taco". Over at Cho-Tabetai, they photoblogged eating the Philly Taco. Need we say it's amazing?

The Philly Taco [Cho-Tabetai]
The Philly Taco [Slashfood]
Ishkabibble's Eatery [MenuPages]

Ardmore's Suburban Square shopping center (home to the Ardmore Farmer's Market, Trader Joe's, Plate and others) has been sold for $210 million. Meanwhile, John Street is trying his best to make sure that Michael Asbell does not serve prison time for the Pier 34 tragedy. Disney is promoting their new Ratatouille with a contest whose grand prize is dinner for two at Brasserie Perrier. The kids are gonna love that! The comments threads over at Philadelphia Will Do are pretty damn weird and Metro has the scoop on a hard-shell crab fest at Gayle.

Service Tuesday is a new weekly feature where the MenuPages Blog scours the classifieds for industry jobs of note in the Philadelphia area. Without further ado, here's the goods...

• The Oceanaire Seafood Room needs a sous chef.

• BYOB Pumpkin is hiring servers.

• Tria's new branch has openings for cooks and host/hostesses.

• Manayunk's Couch Tomato Cafe is hiring counterpeople.

• Derek's needs a manager.

Over at Chow, they've put together a guide to diner lingo. It covers some well-worn territory... but if you don't know what a "whiskey down" Or "whistleberries" are, this is the time to find out. Best of all, they include pictures of San Francisco's Dottie's True Blue Cafe as well. Here in Philly, we have plenty of diners for your greek omelette & cheeseburger deluxe loving purposes.

Decoding Diner Lingo [Chow]

It looks like the University City District is getting in on the tourism blogging game. They just launched Breakmyroutine.com, an online guide to West Philly attractions. It looks like they already have plenty of food-related content up... and they asked one of the questions that has always been bugging us: Why the Wurst House is now the Best House. Brilliant punnage aside... We miss it.

Breakmyroutine.com [Official Site]

[Photo of Koch's Deli via Bridge & Tunnel Club]

South Philly dive bar The Dive (yup) is in trouble with Licenses & Inspections. A bar patron on Phillyblog reports:

It was a pissed off neighbor, called L & I and got him shut down for some faulty wiring and some code issues with the 2nd and 3rd floor, he was able to open back up just the 1st floor by building a wall to cover the stairs to the 2nd and 3rd floors, those two floors will be closed probably for about 2 months while they get the wiring and everything up to date. The neighbor apparently complained that the patrons wasted parking spots, (most of the customers there either walk or ride bikes) and that they were loud and causing problems outside the bar... which I think was VERY rare at that bar. In any case, the bar is open again.

So if you're down by Passyunk Avenue and feel the need for cheap drinks and Adult Swim, please be good.

The Dive [MySpace]
The Dive is closed... [PhillyBlog]

Everyone's favorite food critic, Craig LaBan, has some problems. Several months ago, the Inquirer critic mentioned City Avenue steakhouse Chops in a sidebar to a review of another steakhouse and said he had a bad meal. LaBan really didn't like the strip steak there. He called it "miserably tough and fatty."

So what did Chops owner Alex Plotkin do? He sued Craig LaBan, saying that the critic really had a "steak sandwich without bread." The case has dragged on for the past couple of months, but LaBan was forced to give a videotaped disposition for the public record on June 5th— without a disguise. As you might gather, that is rather bad for a food critic, who depends on anonynmity to fairly judge restaurants. Both the Philadelphia Weekly and Philafoodie are offering detailed rundowns on the case. In the Weekly, Philafoodie author (and lawyer) David Snyder notes the disposition is a savvy move on the part of Chops:

"To me, as a lawyer, this looks like a tactic—it was a tactic for them to take his videotaped deposition. If you know the guy on other end of the lawsuit needs to protect his identity, this is a great way to put your thumb in the wound to try and leverage some kind of settlement, and that’s troubling."

If anything, that restaurants take such pains to identify LaBan, and the best they can come up with is a 10-year-old photograph, may prove just how valuable a commodity his anonymity really is. It also suggests that if a current video of LaBan talking and answering questions were aired in a public courthouse—as one could be in the near future—restaurateurs figure to pack the seats.

Craig LaBan Unmasked? [Philadelphia Weekly]
An Update on the Chops v. LaBan Lawsuit [Philafoodie]
Chops sues LaBan [Daily News]
Serving You Tonight Will Be Our Lawyer [NY Times]
Chops [MenuPages]
Chops [Official Site]

[Image via Philadelphia Inquirer / Philafoodie]

We keep wondering what a biscut bowl would be like. Photo is courtesy of Phillyist of the KFC at Broad St. & Girard Ave.

Proofreading Philly [Phillyist]

Sunday's Inquirer includes a piece on meatball offerings at different Philadelphia restaurants. Amada's albondigas, llama meatballs at Bridgewater's Pub, Deuce's veal meatballs and London Grill's "Meatball Mondays" (with chicken-prosciutto meatballs) all get the nod. But the article seemed a bit familiar... Where did we see something about meatballs just a week or two ago? Oh, that's right.

Made-over meatball rolls back on the scene [Inquirer]
The Expanding meatball Universe [New York Times]

The Inquirer journeyed out to Chester County to take a look at Brandywine Prime. BP's chef Keith Rudolf recently got to cook at New York's James Beard House, but Inky food critic Craig LaBan ended up having some serious issues with both the service and the food:

From the service to the food, our meals were a disappointment. The waitstaff, dressed in silly uniforms of white chef coats and baggy jeans, is friendly enough. But our young servers were so inexperienced, they looked terrified and uncertain as they brought food to our table, tongues pinched between their lips in concentration as the china rattled in their hands. I saw more fumbled wine glasses shatter in a single night at Brandywine Prime than in six months of prior meals combined.

[...]

So many other ingredients, though, seemed to be wasted on the pretense of fussy fixings. If a chophouse goes to the trouble to serve an excellent cut of beef - and Brandywine's dry-aged cuts were good, but shy of exquisite - why drown its flavors with heavy-handed sauces and garnish? Brandywine Prime lays all of its steaks over a pool of fruited demiglace as thick as motor oil, then tops them off with a slice of oozing herbed butter the size of a credit card. And they're all so strong, you could hardly taste the meat. It didn't help that the rich gravy had already acquired a skin and gone tepid, as had the cookie-cutter vegetable garnishes.

Brandywine Prime [Inquirer]
Brandywine Prime [Official Site]

[Photo via Gerald S. Williams / Inquirer]

Here at MenuPages, we'll admit that we have a Proustian yearning for Entenmann's cakes. Their chocolate cakes, apple pies and donuts showed up in many people's childhoods here on the east coast. But did you know that the Entenmann's family owns a vineyard on Long Island that actually makes some quite passable wine? The Martha Clara Vineyards are owned by Robert Entenmann. No word as of yet on whether PA state stores stock any of their wines; interested parties might have to travel to New York for purchase. Their current offerings are quite extensive.

Martha Clara Vineyards [Official Site]
Donuts, and Cakes and Grapes, Oh My [Gothamist]
Entenmann's [Official Site]

[Photo via Gothamist]

Over in State College, the Penn State Creamery is the local ice cream institution. Owing to Pennsylvania's heritage as a largely agricultural state, PSU has the largest university creamery in the nation. The Associated Press' Robin Crawford just interviewed Tom Palchak, the manager of the Creamery:

Recognizing a good thing, the Creamery got busy coming up with new flavors - 10 to 12 a year for the next 10 years or so. Some, like pumpkin pie, were good; others, like carrot cake, were not so great and were quickly retired. Today, there are more than 150 flavors of ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet and no-sugar ice cream on file at the Creamery, but only 25 or so on the menu at any given time.

That seems to be plenty for customers, who buy more than 750,000 hand-dipped cones at the store each year (45,000 are sold during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts alone). All told, 180,000 gallons are consumed just on campus every year.

If you can't live without a daily dose of Death by Chocolate, give Palchak a call and he'll give you the recipe. "The formulas are public," he said. "It's a public university, so technically, they belong to the public."

Although you'll have to travel to State College or order by mail to sample the Creamery's wares, we do have one local import from the town—Center City restaurant the Pita Pit.

Meet the man behind good taste at Penn State [Inquirer]

[Photo via Nabil K. Mark / AP]

Glenmorgan Bar & Grill on the Main Line just got a visit from Classic Wines. In the video clip above, sommelier Tara Sindoni talks about her restaurant and how extensive wine lists aren't just for the city.

Glenmorgan Sommelier Interview with Classic Wines [YouTube]
Glenmorgan Bar & Grill [MenuPages]
Glenmorgan Bar & Grill [Official Site]

Here's a surprise you don't want to find in your home-cooked dinner. A South Philadelphia resident found a snakehead in a can of green beans. The head was found in green beans that were canned by Seneca Foods and sold at a Pathmark:

Even the Jolly Green Giant might think twice about changing his diet if he found a snakehead in his beans.

Hartman said he found it between the chicken breast and buttered noodles he was serving for dinner Wednesday night and that it came out of the green beans can.

"When I sat down, I noticed something didn’t look right. It didn't loot like a green bean," he said.

Snakehead Found in Green Beans Can [WCAU]

Popular South Philly Vietnamese restaurant Nam Phuong got a visit from Uwishunu, who enjoyed the curried shrimp in dry lemon coconut sauce:

It was refreshing to eat such fresh and flavorful shrimp and vegetables out of the context of a creamy coconut milk curry. The light sauce and the basil leaves added all the needed seasoning, and I found myself not even using very much of the requisite bowl of jasmine rice, because the peanutty hints of the curry itself tempered the flavor, and the portion was big enough to be filling.

Would You Like Fresh Basil With That? [Uwishunu]
Nam Phuong [MenuPages]
Nam Phuong [Official Site]

This bacon placemat is completely useless... and also the coolest thing we've ever seen.

Mmm... bacon.

Bacon Placemats [Instructables]

The reopened Silk City Diner just got some coverage on Chowhound. Here's the scoop on the restaurant:

Silk City officially re-opened Thursday June 14 as a bar more than a restaurant, though food is available. The booths have been updated, nicely upholstered seats, and they look to be more roomy than their predecessors but the place is definitely no longer a diner (no shake machine, dessert display, table jukeboxes, breakfast). The lights are dim and the walls painted red and behind the counter the afore mentioned shake machine and dessert display are replaced by rows of liquor bottles. It appears it will only be open for dinner until 1am (not sure if it's Mon-Sun or if they're closed on any day) and maybe brunch on Sundays. Am sorry to say I did not try any of the food and only stopped in for a drink. I did grab a copy of the menu on my way out. Soups are $6 (three choices), salads $7-$9 (4 choices), apps $9-$12 (7 choices), sandwiches $9-$12 (4 choices), entrees $14-$19 (6 choices), all sides are $4 (4 choices), and all desserts are $6 (3 choices). They've 6 beers on tap, 18 bottled beer, 6 white wines, and 5 reds. Here is a somewhat interesting list of one from each general offering (soup, salad, app, sandwich, entree, side orders, desserts): Spicy Black Bean Chili with cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa and tortillas $6 (listed under soup but sounds more like an app); Bibb salad, apples, red onions, endive, goat cheese, spicy walnuts, mustard dressing $9; barbecued pork empanadas, cilantro cream, pineapple salsa, paprika oil $10; hot roast beef sandwich, gruyere, caramalized onions, horseradish, au jus $11; black pepper and thyme crusted tuna, mushroom and brie risotto, red wine sauce $19; sides are mac&cheese, mashed potatoes, french fries, and applesauce $4; desserts are blueberry crisp, choc chip bread pudding, and banana split w/pineapple, chocolate, strawberries and nuts $6. Sounds great to me. I hope the portions are large. I'll make it a point to eat there when I am back in the area but if anyone else tries let us know what you think.

Silk City Diner to close in April [Chowhound]

Hey! The Silk City Diner is back. Dan Gross has the scoop: The Diner's new owner is North Third's Mark "The Dude" Bee, hours are 4pm-2am and there are plans to add breakfast and lunch in the future. New changes: A full bar on the diner side, full menu availability in the club/bar area and five new bathrooms. We'll have the menu shortly, but in the meantime Philebrity has pictures of the new Silk City.

Silk City Diner reopens [Daily News]
Silk City Re-Debuts [Flickr]

[Photo via Philebrity @ Flickr]

There are only two weeks left to check out the exhibition on Jewish-American food at the National Museum of American Jewish History. Vintage Kosher cookbooks? Check. Kitschy bar mitzvah decorations? Check. Vintage ads? Check. Here's the official line:

Forshpeis! A Taste of the Peter H. Schweitzer Collection of Jewish Americana reveals different aspects of American Jewish life by looking at food and its practices in a range of settings: in the kitchen, during celebrations, at the deli. The exhibition explores the role food played in helping immigrant Jews adjust to life in the United States and illustrates how Jewish foods, like American Jews themselves, have become a part of the American mainstream.

The flavors of American Jewish life include dishes that American Jews brought with them, primarily from Eastern Europe, during the great immigration between 1880 and 1924; cuisine that Jews coming from other parts of the world ate regularly or created when they came to this country; and foods connected to Jewish rituals and practice.

Forshpeis! Taste of the Peter H. Schweitzer Collection of Jewish Americana [NMAJH]

• Chestnut Hill's Cafe Barcelona gets panned: It's "the pain in Spain" and suffers from "awkward service and inconsistent cooking."

• Vietnamese chain Pho Hoa's got some good eats.

• A Philly baker is now offering artisan peanut butter cups.

• Fishtown's getting a new sandwich shop.

• The weather might be a bit chilly today but who cares when you have a list of summer beers.

• Let's go drinking in Kensington.

• How about some adventurous kiddie menus at restaurants.

• The magic of Thai iced coffee.

Yup, we got a brand new CityPaper food issue. This time around the format is "culinary tour[s] through some of the city's most appetizing neighborhoods." Fishtown, Fairmount, Graduate Hospital, Northeast Philly, South Philly, Washington Square (is that even a neighborhood?) and West Philly all make the cut. Below, our succinct guide to the finds.

Fishtown: The old guard of Sulimay's and Byrne's Tavern gets props, while Johnny Brenda's and the M Room are the places to go if you "don't want to become retarded from lack of vitamins." Their words, not ours.

Fairmount: The coffee at Mugshots is damn good, L'Oca is popular for northern Italian and hey, there's even an Ethiopian restaurant!

Graduate Hospital: G-Ho's got the Israeli coffeeshop La Va Cafe, longtime favorite Bob & Barbaras and gastropubs. A whole lot of gastropubs.

Northeast Philly: The diners are slipping downhill and portions are much smaller at the Country Club, but immigrants are bringing in good ethnic restaurants like Paloma and Manila Bay to break up the pizza & Chinese monotony.

South Philly: God bless the CP, they send a vegetarian to cover South Philly, where cheesesteaks and chicken parm both make up their own food groups. Everyone loves the pretzel factory and the Penrose Diner. Meanwhile, Marra's really does have killer pasta.

Washington Square: Welcome to Stephen Starr country. Morimoto? Washington Square? Yup. The big news is recent Indian opening Palace At The Ben.

West Philly: West Philly is the "home of the cheap." There's $1.50 Trinidadian doubles from the Brown Sugar Bakery, Ethiopian classics at Abyssinia and the Laotian cuisine of Vientiane Cafe.

Summer Restaurant Guide '07 [CityPaper]

• The Cheesecake Factory is opening in Willow Grove, Tria is opening a new branch and Stephen Starr's opening a Florida restaurant.

• It's time for Craig LaBan's barbecue sauce taste test.

• How to make a clambake at home.

• Here's something different: Grilled lettuce.

• MP: Boston rounds up the city's best frisee salads and points out that, indeed, it's rhubarb season.

• MP: Chicago checked out a Sicilian wine dinner examined the finer points of McDonald's blogging efforts.

• MP: San Francisco let us know where to buy black and white cookies and gave us a tour of Indian wine country.

Food & Wine may employ countless criteria to define us a great food city, but the more pressing question is how we define ourselves. Does forsaking the blue-collar icons that put us on the map in the first place in favor of chrysanthemum gelato, sea urchin crostini, single-origin chocolate and bone marrow gelee make us a bunch of elitist sell-outs? Or is sticking to cheesesteaks, soft pretzels, Yuengling, water ice, scrapple and Tastykakes a one-way street to stagnation?

Food & Whine [aroundphilly]

Oh, Frankford Avenue: Everyone's favorite microcosm of Northeast Philadelphia. The Daily News is honing in on changes on the avenue, including the reopening of the Devon Theater and new openings like Ida Mae's Bruncherie in Fishtown. Our favorite part, however, is the paper's Frankford Avenue beer tour, including stops at the Yards Brewing Company (technically not on Frankford Avenue, but whatever), Johnny Brenda's and the Grey Lodge Pub.

Avenue landmarks [Daily News]
The Frankford Ave. beer & nostalgia tour [Daily News]

After Danny Devito's legendarily drunken appearance on The View (fueled by limoncello), the natural next step was for DeVito to market his own vanity brand of the liquor. So what did the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" star do? He created Danny DeVito's Premium Limoncello. The Inquirer has the scoop:

With the View video getting monstrous hits on YouTube, DeVito began receiving boxes of lemons and limoncello from all over the world.

Ka-ching!

"I figured with all that publicity, I would start my own line. What the hell? It was karma. My role will be to visit my lemons in Italy. Anybody can squeeze my lemons. They're really big lemons."

Danny DeVito's Premium Limoncello [Official Site]
DeVito's scene on 'View' had its sweet resolution [Inquirer]

• National Mechanics: "an oasis of punk-rockish unpretentiousness in a sea of ninnyish affectation." Say that ten times fast.

• Celebrate Juneteenth at Geechee Girl Rice Cafe.

• Enter the Reading Terminal Market blog.

Service Tuesday is a new weekly feature where the MenuPages Blog scours the classifieds for industry jobs of note in the Philadelphia area. Without further ado, here's the goods...

• Like the Nuevo Latino? Alma de Cuba is looking for a line cook.

• If you know your Open Table, Morimoto is hiring a host/reservationist.

• Live the chain brewpub life as a manager at John Harvard's Brew House.

• Rittenhouse Square wine/cheese standby Tria is looking for a cook for their new location.

• Patou is hiring front of house staff.

June 16 is Bloomsday, aka grad student Mardi Gras. The day, dedicated to James Joyce's June 16, 1904 set novel Ulysses, is getting the full on Philadelphia treatment. A "Bloomsday 101" is scheduled for 6pm at Fergie's and drink specials will be available at the Irish Pub, Nodding Head, McGlinchey's and McGillins Old Ale House (a free beer for anyone with a James Joyce book). The "official" Bloomsday celebration will convene at the Rosenbach Museum.

Bloomsday [Wikipedia]
How To Celebrate Bloomsday in Philadelphia [Uwishunu]
Fergie's [MenuPages]
Fergie's [Official Site]
Irish Pub [MenuPages]
Irish Pub [Official Site]
Nodding Head [MenuPages]
Nodding Head [Official Site]
McGillins Old Ale House [MenuPages]
McGillins Old Ale House [Official Site]
Rosenbach Museum [Official Site]

Let's turn our attention away from restaurants for a moment. Phillyist editor Star Foster passed away last December of a pulmonary embolism. We just found out from Phillyist that a plaque in Foster's name was just dedicated in Rittenhouse Square:

Yesterday (her birthday), Star, known in the online world as Sarcasmo, completed a piece of her world-domination plan when a memorial plaque was dedicated in Rittenhouse Square, placed across from "the frog," Star's beloved statue. Little shrines have been popping up around it; stop on by the next time you're in the neighborhood.

New Stop on the Rittenhouse Square Tour [Phillyist]

The man staring down Tony Soprano in the final scene of "The Sopranos" (and keeping America's television critics employed) is a Bucks County pizzeria owner. Paolo Colandrea, owner of Paul's Penndel Pizza, plays the "mystery man" inside the restaurant where the Soprano family are eating their meal who gives Tony Soprano a hard look from the counter and walks into the bathroom just as the screen turns to black. Colandrea spoke to the Bucks County Courier Times about appearing on "The Sopranos":

So how does a pizza shop owner with no previous acting experience land a role on the final episode of the most acclaimed program in cable television history?

Right place, right face, really.

Earlier this spring, Eileen DeNobile, owner of the Lawrenceville, N.J.-based Noble Talent Management, was looking for an Italian man, about 6 feet tall, between the ages of 30 and 50, for a part on “The Sopranos.” She stopped into Penndel Pizza for dinner one evening, saw the framed photo of Colandrea pouring a glass of wine and thought she might have found her man.

Slice of mob life [Courier-Times]
Paul's Penndel Pizza [MenuPages]

Robert Rodriguez isn't just a great director ("Sin City", "Grindhouse"), but the man can cook as well. It's time for everyone's favorite YouTube viral video, Robert Rodriguez's 10-Minute Cooking School. This episode features breakfast tacos, "Sin City" style.

10-Minute Cooking School [YouTube]

• Horizons not only has amazing vegan food, but it's also M. Night approved. [beXnlog]

• Our favorite chalkboard menu joint, Johnny Brenda's, gets the foodblog treatment. [Foodaphilia]

• It's time for the vegetarian cheesesteak taste test at Gianna's Grille. [Mac & Cheese]

• Hey, there are good eats in the suburbs after all. [Philly Style]

[Photo of porcini & blueberry stuffed tortelloni at James via Philafoodie @ Flickr]

A rundown of live music venues with good food is on tap over at Chowhound. Fishtown's Johnny Brenda's gets a shout out for their food, as does Tritone, Warmdaddy's and Ortlieb's Jazzhaus.

Which Music Venues in Philly Have Better Cuisine [Chowhound]
Johnny Brenda's [Official Site]
Tritone [MenuPages]
Tritone [Official Site]
Warmdaddy's [MenuPages]
Warmdaddy's [Official Site]
Ortlieb's Jazzhaus [MenuPages]
Ortlieb's Jazzhaus [Official Site]

Holsten's [Official Site]
NJ Dining: Holsten's [Off the Broiler]
Holsten's Since 1939, Stage of Sopranos Final Scene [Eater]

[Photo via Off the Broiler]

Scrabble at cafe? [Phillyblog]
Kaffa Crossing [MenuPages]
Kaffa Crossing [Official Site]
Race Street Cafe [MenuPages]
Chapterhouse Cafe [Official Site]
Cafe Mocha [Myspace]

After South Philly standby (12 years and counting!) BYOB Tre Scalini moved to 11th & Tasker, the question for Craig LaBan was whether the food stayed the same. It turns out that they're still cooking the same trattoria fare as ever, only better:

I've always loved the food at Tre Scalini, whose straightforward trattoria menu is neither trendy, seasonal, updated, nor frequently changing. It is an authentic repertoire of worthy family recipes passed down as is, and prepared each day with a ritual simplicity that helps fine ingredients shine, be it an Esposito veal chop, or Talluto's fresh pastas.

But I could actually taste a difference in my recent meals from my visits a few years ago. There's an extra focus and clarity to the flavors, a certain restrained grace that only comes from the patient care of a nonna's touch.

Take the chicken Veneziana, for example, a dish that many chefs would turn into rubber bits buried in a mound of mushrooms. DiRenzo's chicken, though, was velvety tender, the meat radiating the sweetness of roasted garlic and good olive oil.

The special eggplant Napolitana appetizer was another stunner in simplicity, the delicately thin rounds of pan-fried eggplant napped with bright marinara and just a dusting of Parmigiano - not the typical oozy lid of molten mozzarella. It is almost as good a starter as the restaurant's signature square of grilled polenta topped with garlicky broccoli rabe.

Tre Scalini [Inquirer]

[Photo via Peter Tobia / Philadelphia Inquirer]

In case you haven't seen it, Time magazine's What the World Eats is one of the most interesting food-related photoessays of 2007. Adapted from the book "Hungry Planet", fifteen families from around the world are shown with their typical weekly diet. Japan's Ukita family spends $317.25 a week feeding four people a menu rich in sashimi and potato chips; the six member Aboubakar family of Chad gets by on a refugee camp diet of $1.23 a week and Germany's Melanders spend $500 feeding four people a whole lot of beer and plenty of frozen foods. If a Philadelphia family was included in the photoessay, we think we know what would make it onto the menu.

What the World Eats [Time]

[Photo via Peter Menzel]

Center City slice spot NYPD Pizza might want to have a good lawyer on hand. An unrelated Florida chain by the name of NYPD Pizza was just sued by the New York Police Department. The Florida chain was named in honor of the NYPD by owner & ex-Queens resident Robert Russo; the (real) NYPD claims the pizzeria "intentionally and purposefully" designed its logo to look like the police department shield. The chain, whose NYPD stands for the somewhat cumbersome "Pizza Delicatessen Taste of New York" (PDTNY?), is hoping to reach a settlement with the city of New York. As if this wasn't complicated enough already, there is also another NYPD Pizza chain in Arizona as well.

Florida pizza chain draws NYPD's ire [AM New York]
NYPD Pizza [MenuPages]

Whole Foods, everyone's favorite organic food mega chain, just opened a branch in London. It's their first overseas location, and—hey! Their complaints are just like ours. You see, the food is overpriced there too:

But ...well, I'm just a bit ambivalent about it. I've been to several of their stores in America, and they are great - but then, they have brands we don't have, labels we don't recognise. Which automatically makes things seem more exciting (the converse is presumably true, though it's hard to imagine anyone visiting this country getting a thrill of excitement from a bottle of HP Sauce). I can happily while away the hours in New York's Union Square branch, people-watching with a smoothie. But somehow the Kensington location just reinforces the fact that this is wholefood for people with very whole bank balances.

Whole Foods Market: a missed opportunity [The Guardian]

[Photo via Ian West / PA]

Over at Uwishunu, they're declaring the tomato pie at Gianfranco Pizza Rustica to be the best in Center City. We have previously written about tomato pies in Philadelphia and we understand that it's simply not that hard to be Center City's best tomato pie. After all, that almost-pizza is more the province of South Philadelphia and the Great Northeast. Has anyone else had a good tomato pie in Center City?

Gianfranco Rules Center City Tomato Pie [Uwishunu]
Gianfranco Pizza Rustica [MenuPages]

Ah, Philadelphia... Where else would the opening of a new sandwich chain be deemed newsworthy by the local all-news radio station? KYW Newsradio just reported that Potbelly Sandwich Works is opening two Philadelphia locations in July. Of course, we'll have their menus as soon as the two restaurants open.

Chicago Sandwich Chain Bringing Stores to Philadelphia [KYW]
Potbelly Sandwich Works [Official Site]

• Tapas, little plates, whatever you want to call them: They're popular.

• Damn, those anti-foie gras protestors aren't going away.

• A new Ethiopian coffeehouse just opened in Center City.

• You know, you can drink red wine cold.

Action movie icon Bruce Willis cursed out a fan at Smith & Wollensky Tuesday... who wanted him to take a picture with her baby. The Daily News' Dan Gross reports:

A thirtysomething local attorney who wishes to remain anonymous, dining at the steakhouse inside the Rittenhouse with her sports-agent husband and their son, said she waited to approach the actor, who was eating with friends, until he had finished his meal.

With her 2-year-old son in her arms, she joked with the Jersey-raised actor that her son kept asking her if that was Bruce Willis across the room. "No he didn't. No he f---ing didn't," Willis said, the mom tells us, to which she replied, "You're his favorite actor, and he'd love to take a picture with you."

"He doesn't know who the f--- I am," the actor said while "jumping up in a rage as though I had said he was the worst actor on Earth," she told us yesterday.

When the shocked mom told Willis she was only joking, the actor replied, "I don't have a sense of humor anymore."

Stay classy, Bruce. The actor was in Philadelphia as part of a press tour for "Live Free or Die Hard."

Fan: Willis dinner dialog rated X [Daily News]
Smith & Wollensky [MenuPages]
Smith & Wollensky [Official Site]

Pasion, Center City's first Nuevo Latino restaurant, closed this past Sunday. We reported earlier that Pasion's chef, Guillermo Pernot, was poached by rival restaurant Cuba Libre. Even though Pernot maintained a financial stake in Pasion, restaurant co-owner Michael Dombkoski told the Inquirer's Michael Klein that he blames Pernot's absence for the restaurant's failure:

"Everyone knew he wasn't in his kitchen," said Dombkoski, who also cites a lack of convention business, heightened competition (including the city's crop of BYOBs) and a burgeoning trend to more casual dining.

Klein also reports that a Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House franchise will open in the former Packard building in a space formerly slotted for House of Blues.

Inqlings: The fires are out at ¡Pasion! [Inquirer]
Pasion [MenuPages]
Pasion [Official Site]
Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House [Official Site]
House of Blues [Official Site]

• The owner of new Puerto Rican/Mexican restaurant Cobre is a busy, busy woman.

• Hershel's East Side Deli in the Reading Terminal Market? It's "not the Lower East Side."

• Want to stuff yourself at an all-you-can-eat buffet? City Paper has a battle plan.

• A new Cuban restaurant is opening in the former Abilene space.

• Old City is going Deutschland with spargelzeit at City Tavern.

• For West Philly punk rock nostalgia, how about the New Angle Lounge?

• CityPaper's definition of waterfront restaurants includes a restaurant with an aquarium. Interesting.

• Where to find made-to-order Caesar salads in Philadelphia.

• MP: Boston knows all about catching hamburgers on video.

• MP: Chicago found some really good tuna.

• MP: San Francisco discovered the extremely creepy self-serve wine dispenser.

Remember when restaurateur Susanna Foo was arrested for allegedly assaulting a meter maid? Of course you do. Her six-month probation period under the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program is over and the Daily News spoke to Foo about it. The 63-year-old Foo still maintains her innocence. After performing the required 50 hours of community service, her arrest record and simple-assault charge are expected to be expunged. However, Foo was attacked by a mentally ill inmate while in a holding cell at Police Headquaters, the Daily News reports.

'Didn't touch' ticket writer, Susanna Foo insists [Daily News]
Susanna Foo [MenuPages]
Susanna Foo [Official Site]
Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen [MenuPages]
Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen [Official Site]

• Hey, guess who didn't do a restaurant review this week? that's right, the Philadelphia Weekly.

• An ode to the awesome tacos al pastor at Los Taquitos de Puebla. Mmm... pork.

• Philly's best bloody marys.

• How to make easy prepared food for the summer.

Over at the Metro, Arthur Etchells has a rundown of Wednesday happy hour specials. Why Wednesday? The Center City District just kicked off Center City Sips, a new event with $1 appetizers, $2 beers, $3 wine, $4 cocktails and free parking at over 30 restaurants and bars. Highlights include $1 oysters on the half shell from Oceanaire Seafood Room, Bistro St. Tropez's chicken brochettes with gruyere fondue, $2 Mojo IPAs and Victory Prima Pils courtesy of Tavern 17 and a $4 "Brasserie Lemonade" (vodka and muddled lemon-basil mixed with lemonade) from Brasserie Perrier. We also recommend trying out the $4 Leblon Caiprinhas and Blini Martinis at Davios and, also at Tavern 17, $1 snap fried calamari steak.

The Bite: Happy hour haunts [Metro]
Center City Sips [CCD]

Logan Square post-work standby the Public House just opened a new location in New York. Thrillist reports that the restaurant (which also has a branch in Denver) opened in a 400-capacity space just one block away from Grand Central Terminal.

As for the Philadelphia branch of the Public House, Friday is build your own martini night.

The List [Thrillist]
Public House [MenuPages]
Public House [Official Site]

[Photo via Thrillist]

Service Tuesday is a new weekly feature where the MenuPages Blog scours the classifieds for industry jobs of note in the Philadelphia area. Without further ado, here's the goods...

• Have a way with seafood and an experience with restaurant backend? The Oceanaire Seafood Room is looking for an executive chef.

• LaScala's needs a sous chef.

• Mmm... Buffalo wings. Moriarty's is hiring servers.

• Like dance music and need an extra gig? Mantra needs DJs for eight hour shifts.

• Over in Manayunk's, Jake's is hiring servers for am & pm shifts.

• Something's afoot with the grilled cheese sandwiches at Deuce in NoLibs. [foodaphilia]

• Was it improper for Judge Linda Carpenter, wife of the owner of Yards Brewing, to advertise on Yards' pint glasses? [Metroblogging Philadelphia]

• There's going to be a new blog devoted to the Reading Terminal Market. [Philly Future]

• Hot dog contests and the Somali conflict: Odd juxtaposition? Yup. [Philadelphia Will Do]

[Photo of grilled cheese sandwich at Deuce via Foodaphilia]

Finding Philly just posted an excellent guide to Italian bakeries in South Philadelphia. All the classics are there: Termini Brothers, Cosmi's Pastries, Isgro Pastries and Varallo's. Although we can easily think of another ten bakeries scattered throughout South Philly, this serves as the best starting off point we've seen yet.

Italian Bakeries in South Philly [Finding Philly]
Termini Brothers [Official Site]
Cosmi's Pastries [Official Site]
Isgro Pastries [Official Site]

[Photo via mattohara @ Flickr]

Uwishunu took a trip to Phoebe's Bar-B-Q. Keywords from the review: "pulled pork," "porcine altar," "heaven on a bun." Phoebe's is one of the two barbecue restaurants on South Street west of Broad. Ron's Ribs is the other.

Ribs with Attitude [Uwishunu]
Phoebe's Bar-B-Q [MenuPages]
Ron's Ribs [MenuPages]

[Photo via Uwishunu]

Two new Indian restaurants both opened in Center City over the past few months. One is a reincarnation of a popular budget restaurant and the other is a high-end spot where dinner for two can easily top $60. Palace At The Ben and New Samosa both fulfill very specific niches in Philly dining and we like it that way. New Samosa is an all-you-can-eat Indian buffet opened by new owners in the Walnut Street space that formerly belonged to the beloved Samosa. The food is different though—the buffet now steers towards South Indian cuisine (dosas, iddlis) with the occasional oddball Caribbean or East Asian dish thrown in. But they still have the usual samosas and saag paneers and are just as popular with office workers on a budget, students and the Jefferson Hospital lunch crowd. Palace at the Ben, on the other hand, is a branch of a New Jersey Indian restaurant that sells a less-greasy, higher priced take on Indian food. The menu sticks to classic Indian-American cuisine—no Indo-Chinese, nouveau curries or tandoor tofu is to be found—but the dishes are lighter and more delicately spiced than at most of Philly's Indian restaurants. Not to mention they offer lunch thalis and South Indian food at brunch as well.

Palace At The Ben [MenuPages]
New Samosa [MenuPages]
New Samosa [Official Site]

[Image via Michael T. Regan / CityPaper]

Which celebrities are bad tippers? The New York Daily News lists a few, thanks to Ben Widdicombe's Gatecrasher gossip column. Apparently, Gwyneth Paltrow tips below 15% and Paul McCartney was once so drunk he was incapable of leaving a tip. But then there is the elusive deadbeat club: Rupert Everett, Parker Posey, Madonna, David Byrne, Tobey Maguire, Barbra Streisand and Kelly Preston all apparently are bad tippers.

Gatecrasher [NY Daily News]

Foie gras. It's contentious. It's delicious. It's banned in Chicago. It has even sparked scuffles outside of Le Bec-Fin. The controversy over foie gras all hinges on the force feeding of ducks or geese in order to create the specialty: Is it animal cruelty? Activists say it is... and they are working with City Councilman Jack Kelly to ban foie gras in Philadelphia. A new bill facing the Licenses and Inspection Committee will ban the sale of foie gras; the dish will be outlawed in California after 2012 as well. Protests against restaurants selling foie gras in Philadelphia have stepped up as of late, mainly due to the efforts of a West Philadelphia activist group called "Hugs for Puppies". The Inquirer wrote a piece examining both sides of the issue, interviewing Hugs for Puppies, chef David Ansill of Ansill, Stephen Starr and Terry McNally of the London Grill, which serves a truly delicious hanger steak drizzled with foie gras butter.

City's foie gras foes put heat on chefs [Inquirer]

This Sunday's Inquirer kicked off a new bar review column in the Image section (Tangent: Am I the only one who really misses the old Inky Sunday magazine?). The initial installment is a look at G-Ho live music and pierogie standby Tritone, written by scenester around town A.D. Amorosi, who knows his bars. Tritone owner and bartender Rick D. passed away last month. A long time institution in Philadelphia's music community, Rick's bar still has those $3 PBR-and-Jim Beam combos, deep fried Snickers bars and a intimate live music room that's hosted a who's who of the local indie rock, jazz and blues communities.

Scene: Tritone [Inquirer]
Tritone [MenuPages]
Tritone [Official Site]

[Photo via Peter Tobia / Inquirer]

It turns out there was a beer-lovers convention at Monk's Cafe that flew under the radar. The restaurant held a dinner for beer expert and cookbook author Lucy Saunders that centered around high-end canned beers. It turns out that these days advances in polymer film have made it possible to remove the metallic-taste problem from beer cans. Microbreweries have rapidly been turning towards offering canned beer:

Expectations were raised. Style was elevated. Thus, when you belly up to the venerable bar and order a featured Pikeland Pils, the exquisite, German-style pilsner from Sly Fox, the Phoenixville brewer, there is one thing you are not in any way conditioned for: The stuff, my friend, comes in a can. You heard that right: Craft beer(s) in a can.

Can Do - Craft Beers Kicking Glass, Going Metal [Inquirer]
Monk's Cafe [MenuPages]
Monk's Cafe [Official Site]

[Photo via Akira Suwa / Inquirer]

Over at the Inquirer, Craig LaBan decided to try the distinctly traditional Belgian cuisine at Society Hill's Zot. So it turns out the name is pronounced "zult" and it's Flemish slang for "madman." As for the food, recommended picks include the characuterie, stoempf (Belgian-style mashed potatoes) and, of course, mussels. But LaBan had a bone to pick with the restaurant's beer selection:

It's a good thing there are 300 or so beers available to calm the nerves - though that's actually a middling selection by local Belgian bar standards. And Zot doesn't have the proper glassware for most of them. But Dehaene stresses that the beer cellar is still in serious growth mode, with plans for as many as 500, and a new 36-tap draft system on the way to replace the current meager four. Zot also has a surprisingly more serious wine cellar in the works than most beer bars tend to bother with - 130 labels, heading up to a well-rounded 300, and a growing focus on by-the-glass flights and half-bottles.

There are already plenty of good libations to choose from, though, whether you're looking for a bracing DuPont saison, a big bottle of Van Steenberge's spicy-sweet Piraat golden strong ale, or a Flemish sour brew imported by crosstown rival Monk's Cafe. It turns out that Monk's owner, Tom Peters, was actually Dehaene's inspiration for coming to Philadelphia from suburban Washington, D.C., where he operated a Belgian restaurant called Mannequin Pis for eight years.

Zot [Inquirer]
Zot [MenuPages]
Zot [Official Site]

[Photo via Ed Hille / Inquirer]

Over at Abbraccio in West Philly, they have the best special we've heard of in a while. Each Monday, the restaurant offers a starving artist special: A prix-fie three course dinner with wine for the big bad price of $14. Given the neighborhood's huge population of hungry college students and cash-deprived bike messengers, we think this qualifies as a Very Good Thing. The regular menu has some gems too, including a great portobello & polenta dish.

Abbraccio [MenuPages]
Abbraccio [Official Site]

Click To Play

If you're anything like us, you miss the Silk City Diner in Northern Liberties. A classic 1950s-style diner with a nightclub attached, it helped give us many a fun night of dancing to obscure 60s psych rock followed by awesome pancakes the next day. The latest episode of Cheap Dates focuses on the western half of Northern Liberties and includes a sneak peak at the new, soon-to-reopen Silk City. San Francisco-style Central American joint Pura Vida is featured too. Check it out.

Cheap Dates :: West NoLibs [blip.tv]
Pura Vida [MenuPages]

It's summer. Lobster roll season. The Food & Wine magazine blog recently polled several restaurateurs on what makes the perfect lobster roll. We think the answers are own worthwhile in their own way. Here in Philly, there are plenty of places to get a good lobster roll, but we think that Philadelphia Fish & Co., Legal Sea Foods and the irregularly offered at the bar version at McCormick & Schmick's all stand out from the crowd.

What Makes a Perfect Lobster Roll? [Food & Wine]
Philadelphia Fish & Co. [MenuPages]
Philadelphia Fish & Co. [Official Site]
Legal Sea Foods [MenuPages]
Legal Sea Foods [Official Site]
McCormick & Schmick's [MenuPages]
McCormick & Schmick's [Official Site]

[Photo via Roadfood]

With all the talk lately about Tinto, let's take a break and sneak a peak at our other recently opened tapas restaurant: Isla Ibiza. Phillyist recently stopped by the NoLibs restaurant for chorizo butter-cooked scallops and live music and also gave a shout out to the bread basket of fresh-baked date bread with homemade almond-date butter.

Isla Ibiza [MenuPages]
Foodsday Tuesday: We're Going to Ibiza [Phillyist]

An anti-chicken fingers manifesto of sorts popped up in the New York Times recently. Food writer David Kamp's complaint? Restaurants of all sorts always offer children's menus featuring chicken fingers with french fries. Not just chicken fingers—but macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled cheese and even the dreaded pizza! The worry here is that in opting for the path of least resistance, parents aren't exposing their children to new varieties of food.

But what about nouveau takes on chicken fingers? We just remembered that Cajun spot Nora Lees Cafe in Folsom offers Cap'n Crunch-coated chicken fingers with vanilla-infused mayonnaise on their children's menu. If that's not finer eating, we don't know what is.

Don't Point That Menu at My Child, Please [Times]
Nora Lees Cafe [MenuPages]
Nora Lees Cafe [Official Site]