Back in March of this year, we noted that NoLibs Indian Tiffin Store was looking for a location in Northwest Philly.

Now it's official. The Clog reports that a new Tiffin Store will open in the old Hamlet Bistro space in Mount Airy:

Munish Narula, founder of Girard Avenue's Tiffin/Tiffin Store, announced plans for his second location in a July 6 e-mail blast. The new branch of the infinitely popular Indian takeout/delivery/sitdown will be 7105 Emlen St. in Mt. Airy, a space that housed Hamlet Bistro until this past April. Lunch/dinner delivery and online ordering options will open up to the Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill neighborhoods; there will also be a 28-seat dining room.

Here comes Tiffin 2 [The Clog]

Disgusting. The 44-year-old owner of North Philadelphia's Carnival Pizza was shot to death last night while closing up shop. The killer, Cordell Adams, lived on the same block as the pizzeria and was a personal acquiantance of owner Aly E. Elkaied and his family.

Adams is a convicted drug dealer who is on probation and also had two pending drug-dealing cases in the dock. According to the Inquirer:

Cordell Adams, 23, lives on the same block as the pizza shop and was known to employees. When the gunman announced the robbery, he looked at Elkaied and said, "Aly, give me the money," said Homicide Capt. James Clark.

Elkaied, a father of four, and the gunman got into a struggle, prompting other employees and family members to intervene, said Officer Tanya Little of the Public Affairs Unit. The others at the store at the time got the handgun - a silver .380-caliber semiautomatic - and subdued Adams until officers arrived, police said.

Elkaied was an Oxford Circle resident who had lived in the United States for the past 17 years. Meanwhile, the usual pious words will be uttered and we'll have to read about another senseless, pointless Philly death in the papers tomorrow. Whatever. PPD, step up to the ball.

North Philadelphia pizza-shop owner killed; famiily captures suspect [Inquirer]

[Photo: Carnival Pizza via April Saul/Inquirer]

Sad news to report about a three-year-old Northwest Philly standby. Mount Airy's Hamlet Bistro is closing on April 23. According to owners Janis Weiner and Jonathan Schmalzbach:

"Hamlet Bistro will be serving its last meal in Mt. Airy on April 23. It has been an honor to be a part of Hamlet and to watch our extraordinary chefs, Raul and Jennifer, create this intimate world of food and warmth. Now they are embarking on a new life in another state, so please come and wish them well on their impending nuptials, uncork a final bottle of wine with one of your favorite meals, and say farewell to Celeste and Lynn, outstanding servers and orchestrators. Our warm thanks to this great community that embraced us and made this last three years so memorable."

Back in 2007, we wrote about Schmalzbach's side job as a crossword puzzle writer for the New York Times. We'll miss 'em.

Hamlet Bistro [MenuPages]
Hamlet Bistro [Official Site]

Good magazine just published their list of America's Tastiest Streets — and Philadelphia is nowhere to be seen on it.

The winners were Queens, New York's Roosevelt Avenue (Korean-style fried chicken, tamales, Cuban food, Filipino cafeterias, northern Thai food and the esteemed Arepa Lady), Houston's Travis Street (New Texan restaurant T'afia, Mexican standby Tacos A Go-Go, kitschy AM joint the Breakfast Klub and plenty of Vietnamese food), Seattle's Fremont Avenue North (Thai, Greek, Japanese and Puerto Rican), Chicago's Broadway (seafood restaurants, Thai bakeries and ethiopian cuisine) and quite a few more in Miami, Nashville and Los Angeles.

So that got us thinking... What are Philadelphia's tastiest streets?

Our choices:

1) Bustleton Avenue

The Northeast does not nearly get the love it should. Just off the top of our head... Angelo's Pizza Kitchen is a killer old school Philly-style pizzeria that for some reason has a healthy sideline in barbecue ribs. Cafe Zohar is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it Israeli restaurant that's so authentic that even their website is registered in Israel. Steve's Prince of Steaks is the archetype of neighborhood Philly cheesesteak spots. And then there's Stolovaya, a Russian shrine to all things deep-fried. Fried potato and deep fried chicken in garlic crust? Yes, please.

2) North Fifth Street

Yeah, we were thinking of that episode of Parking Wars where that parking inspector stops at a random corner in the Badlands to pick up grilled chicken sticks for a dollar from some Puerto Rican lady. We admit it. A drive (or SEPTA run) up North Fifth Street means a drive from San Juan to Santo Domingo to Mexico City to Seoul. Over by Girard Avenue, Taco Riendo bridges the gulf between Boricua and Mexicano with pork chop tacos. Further up, Porky's Point keeps the faith with mofongo, tostones and PR-style roast pork sandwiches to go. Tierra Colombiana is an upscale restaurant whose menu combines South American and Caribbean items. Then as you get closer to the MontCo border, Korean restaurants like Jong Ja Jip suddenly pop up.

3) South Ninth Street

We're saving the obvious choice for last. But for optimum deliciousness, this is the place to be. A fresh-baked Italian loaf or homemade broccoli rabe pizza from Sarcone's Bakery. Chicken parmigiana from Villa di Roma. Pepperoni slices from Lorenzo Pizza. An Angelo Cataldi sandwich (extra Armenian cheese and grilled chicken, please) from Bitar's. The heart-stopping La Lupe torta with beef milenesa, chorizo, roast pork, mozzarella cheese and American cheese (!) from La Lupe. A combo banh mi from O Sandwiches. A pain bagnat and cafe au lait from Rim Cafe. And a cheesesteak from Pat's King of Steaks. Face it people, this one wins hands down.

Have a better idea for Philadelphia's tastiest street? Let us know.

America's Tastiest Streets [Good]

The Philadelphia Inquirer set Craig LaBan and Rick Nichols lose in Koreatown (you know, North Fifth Street beyond Boricua territory) for a two-fer of food goodness this week. Regardless of our differences with LaBan, these pieces are primo. You hear us? Primo.

Nichols penned a guide to dining in Koreatown. Tell us that this doesn't sound good:

They are on the sidewalk of a strip mall at 67th Avenue and Fifth that houses a health-food kimchi outlet; two Korean barbecues; the "Chinese cuisine bistro" called Dragon; and an inviting Korean-owned but French-accented bakery-coffee shop. Yu Jong owns Cafe Soho around the corner on Cheltenham. And it is here that you get a first taste not only of the most extraordinary chicken wings in town - twice-fried, the second time driving out the fat and leaving the skin as crispy and glazed as a Peking duck's - but also of the churn that is changing Koreatown's relentlessly traditional offerings. (Let us be clear before moving on. These wings - ubiquitous in Korea under the names Buffalo Wings and Donkey Wings, and gaining ground in New York - have beaten the Colonel at his own game. They are fresh, not frozen, jumbo wings; breaded with special homemade crumbs; the meat rendered fluffily moist from deep-frying in two 10-minute shifts; then brushed at the end with light sweet-soy or tangy hot sauce. A bowl of pickled radish cubes takes the place of celery. But the pitcher of beer, as likely as not, is domestic American.)

Hell, it makes us hungry. Meanwhile, LaBan just stopped by a newly opened Korean barbecue place in Olney that sounds amazing. Just read it and thank us later.

This versatile kitchen's flavors sing [Inquirer]
Korean Evolution [Inquirer]

Is there even more trouble for the recently-shuttered Grape Street Pub? It looks like it. Over at the Daily News, Dan Gross reports that Imperial Security, who provided the 'Yunk venue with bouncers for shows, is suing the owners of GSP for more than $15,000. Relevant excerpt:

The lawsuit, filed Feb. 12, seeks $15,082.50 from C&C Music Industries, the company that owned the club. Jim Tobin, president of the security firm, alleges breach of contract and fraud over what it says are unpaid fees for security work provided by his firm.

The suit charges that C&C issued two checks to Imperial, both of which bounced. C&C Music Industries partner Bob Coyle confirmed that Imperial worked for the club for several months last year and says Grape Street relieved Imperial of its duties, for reasons he declined to reveal.

Grape Street Pub sued [Daily News]

We can't explain why, but this YouTube commercial cracks us up inside.

LeBus Manayunk [MenuPages]
LeBus Manayunk [Official Site]

An eyewitness has provided new details in the slaying of cop Chuck Cassidy, who was killed when checking up on a North Philadelphia Dunkin' Donuts. A Dunkin' Donuts employee was using the bathroom when Cassidy was shot and aided the fallen cop immediately afterwards:

On Oct. 31, Beckwith was in the Dunkin' Donuts bathroom when Lewis allegedly again entered. After she heard a gunshot and saw Cassidy fall against the window, she "grabbed paper towels and tried to apply pressure to [Cassidy's head] wound and tried to help him," prosecutor Selber said after the hearing. Lewis also allegedly robbed the Dunkin' Donuts on Torresdale Avenue near Kensington on Sept. 21; the Dunkin' Donuts on Frankford Avenue near Shelmire on Oct. 13; Oasis Pizza on North 5th Street near Annsbury on Oct. 20; and Feltonville Pizza on Rising Sun Avenue near Front Street on Oct. 25. Lewis was a frequent customer at Oasis Pizza, testified countergirl Yahaira Melendez.

Accused murderer Jon "Jordan" Lewis, a prolific criminal, is currently in jail. As he should be.

Witness describes Cassidy shooting [Daily News]

One of this region's better Persian restaurants, Shundeez, just got the Craig LaBan treatment. Shundeez is located way, way up there in Chestnut Hill. The restaurant generally got a good review (with two bells - which ain't too shabby at all for a neighborhood ethnic spot like Shuneez), but LaBan was kinda sorta fixated on the tadik:

Tadik is the dangerously addictive cracker of toasted basmati that forms a golden crust at the bottom of a proper pot of Persian rice. And a plate of it, poised one recent Saturday night atop the open kitchen's counter at Shundeez in Chestnut Hill, was going really fast. Oh yes, I ate my share, snapping a sheet of deeply browned rice against the softness of a juicy chicken kabob, sweeping it into the tangy darkness of a pureed pomegranate and walnut sauce called fesenjon. Tadik is the dangerously addictive cracker of toasted basmati that forms a golden crust at the bottom of a proper pot of Persian rice. And a plate of it, poised one recent Saturday night atop the open kitchen's counter at Shundeez in Chestnut Hill, was going really fast. Oh yes, I ate my share, snapping a sheet of deeply browned rice against the softness of a juicy chicken kabob, sweeping it into the tangy darkness of a pureed pomegranate and walnut sauce called fesenjon.

Then he goes on to criticize the restaurant for "quickly stale store-bought" pitas and an "easily dried-out swordfish." Whatevs.

Shundeez [Inquirer]
Shundeez [MenuPages]
Shundeez [Official Site]

We're normally very jaded, but news of what happened at the cop-slay Dunkin' Donuts in South Philly yesterday ended up taking us aback. Someone stole the donation jar for the family of slain police officer Chuck Cassidy from the North Philly fast food restaurant where he was shot:

A donation jar for the family of slain Philadelphia Police Officer Chuck Cassidy was stolen yesterday morning from the Dunkin' Donuts where Cassidy was shot in October, a police spokesman said. Security video shows a man crawling through the drive-through window of the West Oak Lane doughnut shop at about 3:30 yesterday morning. Once in the shop, he snaked across the floor and stole the jar off the counter. He fled shortly afterward. The donations were to benefit the slain officer's family. The jar contained about $30 in cash, police said.

Another donation jar for officer Cassidy was stolen from a WaWa in Northeast Philly. Cassidy was killed while making a routine check on the Dunkin' Donuts. An armed robber panicked and shot the unaware officer as he entered the restaurant.

Donations for slain officer's family stolen [Inquirer]

[Image via Inquirer]

This shot of a breakfast meal of scrapple at the Trolley Car Diner was found courtesy of Phillyist.

Scrapple for Breakfast [Bluesocks78 / Flickr]

Our very own Infusion Coffee & Tea (with locations in South Philly and Mount Airy) just released their first television commercial.

Infusion Cafe Commercial [YouTube]

Our friends at Gridskipper recently drove down to Philadelphia to eat a hell of a lot of cheesesteaks. Their take on the city's icons:

• Tony Luke's: "With its drab gray exterior and location beneath an I-95 overpass, Tony Luke's resembles an ironclad urban military bunker fending off South Philly intruders with massive cheesesteaks."

• Pat's King of Steaks: "Posted ordering instructions acclimate… tourists to the regional lingo -- "Wiz wit" = Cheez Whiz and onion -- while expert grillsmiths serve Pat's steak chopped to perfection."

• Jim's Steaks: "The service is harsh at Jim's South Street location -- so much so that I witnessed an elderly man get berated for not ordering fast enough. But make it through the line unscathed, and you'll feast on one of the… finest chopped-style cheesesteaks in the city."

• Geno's Steaks: "The cheesesteaks are choice, but owner Joey Vento's… in-your-face right-wing patriotism (the speakers blare the Star Spangled Banner) and highly publicized views on immigration (his strict "English Only" ordering policy is a point of political and moral contention in Philadelphia) can be as unappetizing as huffing an economy sized can of Whiz."

• Sonny's Famous Steaks: "Sonny's is slightly more polished than the average Philly steak shop. The storefront's devoid of neon, the service is friendly, and the bathrooms are clean."

• John's Roast Pork: "Famous for their signature roast pork sandwich and generously portioned cheesesteaks, John's has been feeding Philadelphia's dock workers since 1930. More recently, this take-out lunch counter has caught on with… the masses thanks to well-seasoned meat and perfectly crusty rolls from the Carangi Baking Company."

• Chubby's Steaks: "Families fill the booths and locals line the bar at this minute cheesesteak shop in Roxborough."

• Campo's Deli: "With its thinly sliced ribeye, freshly baked Sarcone's bread, and carved wooden hoagie sign, Campo's is a touch classier than your typical neon-lit cheesesteakerie."

• Rick's Steaks: "Compared with the rest of this list, Rick's isn't all that impressive. Their meat is fatty and a tad gristly, and -- at least on my visit -- the cooks were way overzealous with the Whiz."

• Vesuvio: "Despite what the Today show says, Vesuvio's Cheesesteak BLT is not the best sandwich in America. But the combination of sliced filet mignon, carmelized… onions, provolone, and jalapeño aioli on ciabatta is decent -- in a TGI Friday's kind of way."

A New Yorker vs. Philly's Best Cheesesteaks [Gridskipper]

Over at Foodzings, they just stopped by Tierra Colombiana. I have to say... This food looks damn, damn good. Read the whole story here.

Tierra Colombiana [Foodzings]
Tierra Colombiana [MenuPages]
Tierra Colombiana [Official Site]

We hate to write about another crime in a restaurant, but a police officer was shot at a Dunkin Donuts in West Oak Lane this morning. Officer Charles Cassidy, a 25-year veteran of the Philadelphia PD, was shot when he unknowingly walked into a robbery in progress at the Dunkin Donuts on North Broad St & 66th Avenue. The shooter was described as a heavyset African-American male in his 20s, approximately 5'11"-6' tall, with a dark hoodie, tan khaki pants, striped tan boots and a spider tattoo on his left hand.

La Salle University has cancelled all evening classes as a result.

Phila. Police Officer Critical After Shooting [CBS 3]

Add pizza delivery guy to your list of high risk occupations. Five robberies of delivery persons have taken place in the last month on a 2-block stretch of North Philly's Glenwood Avenue. From the Daily News:

Police are seeking the young, hungry gunmen who have robbed pizza delivery people at least five times in one month on a two-block stretch of Glenwood Avenue in North Philadelphia. In two cases, the thugs took off with the pizza. The five robberies have netted them a combined $475 in cash, three cell phones and other items they stole from their victims. The heists, all between 23rd and 25th streets, occurred at 2:13 p.m. on Sept. 11; 9:46 p.m. on Sept. 13; 8:12 p.m. on Sept. 19; 12:28 a.m. on Sept. 30, and 9:45 p.m. on Oct. 11. In two cases, the robbers were described as juveniles. In most cases, they were wearing dark clothing and hoodies. Tipsters are urged to call Central Detectives at 215- 686-3047.

High Risk Zone For Pizza Deliverers [DN]

For Cresheim Cottage Cafe owner Donna Robb and her partner Lizza, there's not much seperation between work and home. They live in the apartment above the restaurant. The Inquirer just did a trend piece on them:

Now, Donna Robb can slip downstairs in her pajamas, before the restaurant opens, to repair a butcher-paper bracket in the kitchen. Spencer can flit through the dining room, delaying bedtime by saying goodnight to all the customers. And Lizza, a graphic designer who works from home, can find the ideal balance between solitude and company.

"We were intimidated by moving into such a small space," Lizza, 31, says after a quick tour of the family's living quarters: sitting room, master bedroom, Spencer's room (with the former wine closet converted to a sleeping nook), a tiny office and tinier kitchenette (previously a servers' station).

"Then we found we were actually small-space people, and we loved it. Also, Mount Airy was a great compromise between the city and outdoors. We knew this could be home."

Living above store? Works for them [Inquirer]
Cresheim Cottage Cafe [MenuPages]
Cresheim Cottage Cafe [Official Site]

This week's Craig LaBan review takes us to the frat boy-filled corridors of Manayunk for a look at Chabaa Thai Bistro. LaBan is all about it:

Homemade sai grog sausages are among the more unusual items, the garlicky pork links sparked with lemongrass and a touch of jasmine rice in the northeast Thai style. Krapugthong has resisted the urge to give them the racier kick of fermented fish typical of her northern Thai heritage. But she may indulge what she calls her "wacky" side with more cutting-edge items (like pig-ear sausages) at a new Thai lounge, Mango Moon, planned for next year nearby at 4161 Main Street. Chabaa's focus, meanwhile, remains on producing more familiar Thai favorites with good ingredients, including spot-on skewers of chicken satay, and one of the best pad Thais in town.

Now will someone finally open an Isaan-style restaurant in Philly? For a city with a southeastern Asian population of our size, we deserve one.

Chabaa Thai Bistro [Inquirer]
Chabaa [MenuPages]
Chabaa [Official Site]

[Image via Inquirer]

Philly's Latino bakeries just got the Daily News treatment, with a look at the Colombian Bakery:

It's a Saturday morning around 10 at the Colombian Bakery, and Angela Benitez could use another set of hands. Customers are lined up to the door in this tiny storefront, which serves authentic Colombian and Mexican breads and pastries to a largely Hispanic clientele. Benitez, a Colombian native, has worked at the bakery since it opened five years ago. And business is good. A tray of warm triangles of puffed pastry stuffed with cream cheese and guava makes it to the counter, but barely. With most items priced between $1 and $3, and the coffee as dark, strong and potent as you might imagine, breakfast hours are a busy time here. Benitez works efficiently, smiling brightly and calling most of her customers by name or amor ("love" in Spanish). The atmosphere is warm and convivial, and the customers seem to hail from all walks of life, from landscapers and contractors to business people sitting at tables in the back with their breakfasts reading Spanish-language newspapers amid all the hubbub. A happy toddler with a smear of guava jelly on her face wanders underfoot.

Only... the DN forgot to mention where the Bakery is. The Colombian Bakery is located at 4944 N. 5th St. Check it out.

Aroma of home [Daily News]

[Image via Daily News]

Talk about a special delivery! Police arrested the manager of an Andorra pizza shop yesterday after they found that he was using his delivery men to run a drug operation on the side. Undercover cops spent several weeks studying Giuseppe "Joe" Stellato and the extra toppings he allegedly peddled while he worked at Argento's Pizza, said Narcotics Capt. Chris Werner. Stellato, 36, of Erial, N.J., was charged with drug possession and possession with the intent to deliver. Werner said investigators confiscated $5,000 worth of prescription drugs, including Oxycontin, from Stellato's car, which was outside the pizza shop on Henry Avenue near Port Royal Avenue. "Basically, he was directing drivers to his car, where he kept the narcotics, and they would make drug deliveries while they were out on their routes," Werner said.

Meanwhile, the health inspector bandit is finally going to trial:

Former city Health Inspector Clarence Morris was supposed to be checking the place. But according to witnesses, he did more than look around the North Philly Chinese take-out eatery last July.

Witnesses said Morris swiped $1,200 from the restaurant, assaulted a store employee, then ran over the foot of a female witness as he attempted to make his getaway in his city-issued vehicle.

Yesterday, Morris, 33, was held for trial on charges of robbery, simple assault and reckless endangerment after a preliminary hearing before Municipal Judge Patrick Dugan. Wearing a charcoal, pin-striped suit and pink shirt, Morris sat motionless during the hearing, occasionally leaning over to whisper into his attorney's ear as the restaurant employee testified through a Mandarin-speaking interpreter. As she identified Morris from the witness stand, the employee told Assistant District Attorney Evangelia Manos that she became suspicious of Morris when he warned her husband not to follow him around the Erie Express Chinese Restaurant, on Broad Street near Venango. "He went to the front, middle, back, everywhere," she said of Morris through interpreter Alex Wong. "After he walked around the refrigerator [where she stashed the money in a box], I couldn't see the money anymore."

Cops: Pizza shop 'sauce' of drugs [Daily News]
Ex-Health aide faces trial in theft, assault [Daily News]

It turns out that the Weavers Way Food Co-op has a really good blog. Who knew?

Straight from the Farm [Official Site]

Mount Airy's Geechee Girl Rice Cafe is a unique restaurant. The majority of the menu is based on the cuisine of the Gullah, an African-American people who live on the Barrier Islands of South Carolina. We just stumbled on this article on Gullah cooking over at Gourmet:

Over the last few years, though Gullah culture has been under attack from the forces of real estate development. The islands of St. Helena, Daufuskie, and Edisto--historically Gullah strongholds--are rapidly being transformed into vacation destinations. However, it's still possible to find traces of Gullah culture, especially if you're willing to look in out-of-the-way places. On the island of St. Helena, Frogmore stew--a boil-up of assorted seafood, pork sausage, and corn on the cob--is still popular. It's named after the town of Frogmore, a crossroads of the most visible Gullah settlement on the island.

Forgotten Cuisines of America [Gourmet]
Geechee Girl Rice Cafe [MenuPages]
Geechee Girl Rice Cafe [Official Site]

Ask MenuPages is an irregularly-featured feature dedicated to answering readers' Philadelphia food questions. If you have a question regarding Philadelphia's dining scene or restaurants, contact us at philly_editor@menupages.com (and let us know if we can use your name or not). As long as its a question we're able to answer online, We'll be glad to offer our knowledgable assistance. After all, we're the ones sitting here working with menus all day.

"I was planning on going to a show at the Liacouras Center on Saturday ("Super Stomp 2007" -- national stepping championships), and I figured you would be able to tell me where some good places to catch an early bite beforehand might be. I might end up eating in Center City and then just taking the train up, but if there's someplace up around Temple that you recommend, I might want to check it out."

After the jump, good eats at Temple.

Continue reading "Ask MenuPages: Temple University Dining?" »

Our friends at Chow are offering a Persian food primer. We recommend you check it out and learn about one of the world's great cuisines:

"Both exotic and familiar, many Persian dishes overlap with Greek, Turkish, and Indian food: naan-like flatbreads, kebabs, and stuffed vegetables, for instance. But Iranian cuisine’s aromatic spice combinations are instantly recognizable and uniquely their own. Kebabs are marinated in saffron and lime-infused yogurt, making them both succulent and perfumed. Fowl is stuffed with rose petals. An herbal stew is studded with floating dried limes, giving it a mysterious sweet-tart flavor. Fresh herbs like mint, basil, and tarragon are lead players. And many dishes, unusual for most Americans, are revelations: stews and dips made with the classic Persian combination of walnuts and pomegranate, for example, simultaneously rich and delicate. Tasting Persian food for the first time is like eating your first great Indian thali. You’re thinking: "Where have you been all my life? And when can we meet again?"

Here in Philadelphia, we like to head to Chestnut Hill and the nearby MontCo 'burbs for the Germantown Avenue/Germantown Pike strip of Caspian Grille, Persian Grill and Shundeez.

Persian food [Chow.com]

[Image via Chow.com]

Korean fried chicken is, in a word, awesome. The secret first got out when the New York Times did a piece on NYC's (freakin' extensive) selection of Korean fried chicken restaurants:

"In the New York area, Korean-style fried chicken places have just begun to appear, reproducing the delicate crust, addictive seasoning and moist meat Koreans are devoted to.

“Food in Korea is very trendy,” said Myung J. Chung, an owner of the Manhattan franchise of Bon Chon Chicken, a karaoke-and-chicken lounge that opened in December. “Other trends last two or three years, but fried chicken has lasted for 20 years,” he said.

Platters of fried chicken are a hugely popular bar food in South Korea — like chicken wings in the United States, they are downed with beer or soju, after work or after dinner, rarely eaten as a meal... Korean-style chicken places here serve mostly wings (true connoisseurs can specify either the upper “arm” or the “wing”) and small drumsticks. The chicken is typically seasoned only after it is fried, with either a sweetish garlic-soy glaze or a hotter red-pepper sauce that brings the dish into Buffalo wing territory.

But do not look for blue cheese and celery sticks, or even biscuits and gravy. The typical accompaniment to Korean fried chicken is cubes of pickled radish and plenty of beer or soju; the combination produces an irresistible repetition of salt and spice, cold and hot, briny and sweet, crunchy and tender."

And there's Korean fried chicken in Philly too. A Chowhound tipster reports that a branch of Bon Chon Chicken is now open on Cheltenham Avenue. Fried chicken lovers, rejoice.

Soho Korean Restaurant - Fried Chicken [Chowhound]
Koreans Share Their Secret for Chicken With a Crunch [New York Times]

Checking out the seaside goodness at The Inlet on Somers Point. [Blogalicious]

Art Museum-style classics on the go at Rembrandt's. [Foodaphilia]

Exploring Philly's seedy underworld of vegan donuts. [Living On The Vedge]

A anthropological field trip to North Philly for tortas from Jose's. [Foodzings]

Eating at the reopened Silk City Diner. [Mac & Cheese]

[Photo via Mac & Cheese]

Click To Play

This week, the Cheap Dates crew is vlogging their day in Manayunk.

Cheap Dates Manayunk [blip.tv]

• Let's welcome new French restaurant Coquette to town. [Blogalicious]

• Tapas at Bar Ferdinand. [Foodaphilia]

• Thai food, suburban style. [Foodzings]

• The dark chocolate creme brulee is killer at Chick's Cafe & Wine Bar. [Mac & Cheese]

• Baklava, Middle Eastern style at West Philly's Makkah Market. [Uwishunu]

[Image via Metroblogging Philadelphia]

• New Samosa's got some problems at the buffet: "just about everything is overcooked until it's a homogenous slurry."

• Obscure Old City sushi spot Uzu: A soundtrack from "Cat Power to Cyndi Lauper" and some "good maki."

• East Falls' The Set Table is a neighborhood cafe that's at war with Sunoco coffee.

• City Grange, a new restaurant dedicated to serving local products from the Philadelphia area, is scheduled for an August opening.

• Philly's top five summer cocktails.

• Tinto's San Sebastian-style baked crab is awesome.

• Philly's got hookah bars, too.

Stay classy, Philadelphia. A health inspector stole $1200 from a Chinese restaurant in North Philly. During a routine health inspection, the wife of the owner of the Erie Express restaurant found $1200 missing from a hiding place in the back of the restaurant. Her and her husband confronted health inspector Clarance Morris -- who fled to his city-owned jeep.

Then Morris physically assaulted the restaurant owner's wife and ran over the foot of an onlooker who tried to stop him from fleeing. Aftermath of the event? It turns out Morris was hired as a probationary employee in April and the city of Philadelphia had not bothered to investigate his background. Whoops.

Health inspector charged in theft [Inquirer]

• Trying out the pies at Soho Pizzeria. [Foodaphilia]

• Havertown has a new thai restaurant. [Foodzings]

• The garlic sauce at Maoz is so good that a blogger licked it up out of a bowl. Seriously. [Mac & Cheese Review]

• Sarcone's Deli makes some damn fine hoagies. [Metroblogging Philadelphia]

• Sampling the espresso at Academia Del Caffe. [Pure Coffee]

[Photo via Metroblogging Philadelphia]

• Ouch. The CP gave Tavern 17 the smackdown in their review.

• Center City's new Ethiopian restaurant, Almaz Cafe, got plenty of love. But strangely... the Ethiopian items on the menu are hidden?

• How about some balsamic vinegar fudge? You can pick it up at Mugshots.

• Liberties Walk is getting a new restaurant and a microbrewery is opening in West Philly. Does a microbrewery on 50th and Baltimore mean something significant in the Philly gentrification stakes? Dunno.

• A guide to superior hummus in the Delaware Valley.

• Hey, Turkey Hill Ice Cream started a ice cream blog.

Fans of Indian food in Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy are in luck. Tiffin just announced that they now offer deliveries to those neighborhoods. Enjoy!

Tiffin [MenuPages]
Tiffin [Official Site]

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]

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]

• 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.

• Govinda's Gourmet To Go has some damn fine vegan cakes. [BeXnlog]

• Checking out the brunch and mojitos at Azure. [Foodaphilia]

• Some superior bar food courtesy of the Manayunk Brewing Co. [Foodzings]

• A spirited discussion of the best bars in Philadelphia. [Johnny Goodtimes]

[Photo of Azure's mojitos via Foodaphilia]

Originally known as GolDongBan (”rice mixed with stuff”), Bibimbap is basically rice mixed with vegetables, usually some type of meat, and gochujang. But that’s the simple of it. Each one of the ingredients is something special in itself. It’s like a bunch of little salads and meats individually and carefully prepared placed on shiny rice in a bowl.

It's also easy to find in Philadelphia if you know where to look. Olney's Jong Ja Jip does an excellent rendition. Center City's Tampopo mini-chain allows guests to customize their bibimbap with their choice of proteins (want caviar bibimbap? you've got it). Upper Darby's Naq Won Garden does a stunning array of variations, including bibimbap with raw beef. But, ultimately, we have to say that Giwa's bibimbap has a special place in our hearts—and is one of the best Center City lunch options around.

"All Over You Like Egg on Bibimbap" [ZenKimchi]
Jong Ja Jip [MenuPages]
Tampopo 1 [MenuPages]
Tampopo 1 [Official Site]
Naq Won Garden [MenuPages]
Giwa [MenuPages]
Giwa [Official Site]

[Photo via Zenkimchi]

Gridskipper recently ran their list of Philadelphia's best diners, with ten picks from throughout the city (Disclosure: The editor of this blog also writes for Gridskipper). There are some quality picks, including the Down Home Diner, Little Pete's (where the 24-hour coffee refills get props) and, of course, the Melrose Diner. However, we'd have to quibble with the inclusion of the Marathon Grill as a diner—to us, it's always seemed to lack the breadth of menu and early/late hours one would expect from the genre. To their list, we'd like to add two diners to the list of iconic Philly disco fries & cheeseburger deluxe spots:

• South Philly's Oregon Diner is as Philadelphian as restaurants get. Late, late hours and a crowd that, at a recent visit, included both priests and face-painted Eagles fans.

• The Oak Lane Diner is one of the last things you see on Broad Street before North Philadelphia suddenly jolts into the Montgomery County suburbs. Not only does the diner have a great atmosphere, but their breakfasts are some of the best car-friendly eats in the city before preparing for the chain restaurant profusion of the Philly suburbs.

Down Home Diner [MenuPages]
Down Home Diner [Official Site]
Little Pete's [MenuPages]
Melrose Diner [MenuPages]
Melrose Diner [Official Site]
Marathon Grill [MenuPages]
Marathon Grill [Official Site]
Oregon Diner [MenuPages]

[Photo via Mr. LeMaster @ Flickr]

Hey, it's an Inquirer review of a restaurant not in Center City, Bella Vista or the Main Line! We kid, of course. Craig LaBan traveled up to the reborn Cresheim Cottage Cafe, which he admits had a longstanding reputation for the "charm of period ambience and a lovely garden terrace served with a side of dull food." As for the current restaurant, operated by Donna Fitzgerald Robb and Joan Gigliotti, both ex-of late Queen Village favorite Judy's Cafe? The consensus is that the lunches are great and the dinners, well, a bit less so.

You can also find some vestiges of the Judy's culinary comfort canon on Cresheim's menu: a strong focus on salads, a regular meatloaf twist. But it's clear that Robb, also a veteran of Sam's Morning Glory Diner and Penne, has grown since her Judy's days and worked to modernize and broaden her eclectic palette, from ancho wing rubs to African tea marinades.

If only the kitchen's finishing touch were more careful, a meal at the Cottage would at last be a sure bet. My experiences, though, were frustratingly inconsistent.

The Cresheim first caught my eye with an impressive lunch. No, I didn't love the fact that I was seated as the only diner in the empty back room while the main room next door bustled with a lively crowd and the crackle of the fireplace. And it's true, the service was sporadic and stern.

[...]

The loaflike house pate, though, was a mess of shabby charcuterie, the soggy puree of liver and meat reeking of cheap brandy.

Entrees were equally unpredictable. I enjoyed the neat muffin-shaped chicken meatloaf, its lean meat enriched with molten blue cheese. But the onion rings on top were the highlight, their billowy beer-batter crisps focusing the onion's sweetness. A simple lamb stew with chickpeas was satisfying (even if the meat was a little dry), its gravy scented with North African spice. I also appreciated the homier flavors of the roasted chicken breast with gnocchi and roasted mushrooms, though more tender, housemade dumplings would have been preferred.

Cresheim Village [Inquirer]
Cresheim Cottage Cafe [MenuPages]
Cresheim Cottage Cafe [Official Site]