something of a ROYAL feast

we have been hearing about the inimitable bobby flay's gift to the philadelphia burger scene in various blogs and newspapers for weeks. and since BOBBY'S BURGER PALACE opened its doors this past tuesday (4/6), foodies and fauxdies alike have been all atwitter.

supposedly the wait time has been averaging somewhere around 1 hour this week, i was fortunate enough to have a quiet day at the office this afternoon and decided to take the trip up to university city to try this newest burger creation out.

:: bobby's burger palace ::
address: 3925 walnut st, phila
what: dallas burger, napa valley burger, B&W milkshake, onion rings, sweet potato fries 

so officially, the line was out the door and equated to about 50 minutes to order food. it was probably <10 minutes for the food to arrive. they give you a number card and you place it in front of you and a server will bring you your burger. fountain soda machine, so that means free refills (and they had fresca!!)

geo and i split the dallas burger and the napa valley burger, onion rings, sweet potato fries, b&w milkshake.

overall, i was a bit disappointed! the meat on the burger itself was great; very flavorful and a good size, but the toppings (at least that we ordered, weren't stellar). important note: here they say the default temp on the burger is "pink in the center" and boy do they mean it. unlike 500 degrees where their medium rare is really a medium temp, at bobby's burger palace be prepared for an authentically medium rare preparation unless you tell them otherwise.

dallas burger: burger + bbq sauce + coleslaw + monterey jack cheese + pickles
i was sooooo excited for this burger. this was the reason i wanted to go to bobby's burger palace, but the toppings were just all MEH. the coleslaw, while providing good crunch, was flavorless! the pickles were the brightest flavor and despite my love for pickles, that is not ideal. i didn't really taste too much of the bbq sauce either. though disappointing, i'd try this again. after i try others.

napa valley burger: goat cheese + meyer lemon honey mustard + watercress
i normally love love love goat cheese, but did not like this burger. at all. didn't eat more than a few bites of it. it was heavy on the goat cheese, light on the watercress and who knows what the actual ratio of honey mustard is normally.
what i mean is, when they say watercress, they mean like 2 sprigs of it, so it may as well have been left off. AND as it turns out, they did leave the honey mustard off of our burger. sigh. i guess since their staff is still new, they are experiencing some growing pains - they completely forgot the mustard. which we didn't realize until a few bites in. i wouldn't recommend this.

*sidenote to the growing pains part, they accidentally brought out 2 to-go orders of sweet potato fries so we had those too. fortunately, that gave me more than enough to bring back to the office to share with soopah and chiho.

sweet potato fries with horseradish honey mustard
hands down, best sweet potato + condiment combination i have ever had. fries were crispy but substantial enough to have good tension. the horseradish honey mustard is AMAZING. i want to have this with me ALL. THE. TIME. it was just so interesting with that spicy kick and very slight hint of sweetness.

black and white milkshake
i only had a few sips of this, but it was made from real hard ice cream so it tasted really really good.

beer battered onion rings
HUGE rings. and THICK. these were like an inch high! that is crazy for an onion ring. but the batter tasted good and was not too thick. crunchy delish.

sante fe burger: queso sauce, jalapenos, crushed blue corn tortilla chips
brought one of these back for soopah. i will let him comment. i only took one bite of this, but it was better than either the dallas or napa valley burger and that says a lot, especially considering it wast eaten about 30-40 minutes after initial preparation. the good thing for take-out orders is that they wrap the burger in foil so it stayed warm. the queso sauce was TASTY. cheesy and just salty enough. jalapenoes gave much needed kick. and the CRUNCHIFIED-NESS was great. (ps- bobby flay servicemarked that term, crunchified SM).

just as a point of reference, the total cost for 3 burgers, 1 milkshake, 1 soda, 1 order sweet potato fries and 1 order of onion rings was: $38.20.

i would go back here. i have heard others say that the bobby's bleu burger and the miami burgers are unbelievable. definitely go because it's worth a try, but just wait til the hype dies down a bit and you won't have to wait in line for over an hour.   

much anticipated birthday dinner comes to fruition. FINALLY

last night, trifecta +1, sometimes referred to as the supersecret underground restaurant club, had dinner at ZAHAV. we had planned this dinner as a birthday celebration for soopahpit, but we had postponed it to accommodate the ailments of one miss j. giggles.

i'd say that our group had extremely high expectations going into this dinner for the following reasons:

1. zahav has been on our must-eat list for the longest period of time
2. i had been to zahav before and my experience there had firmly left its mark in my food brain as "the best dining experience i had had in 2009." bold, i know. but it truly was. it even surpassed my first time at modo mio.
3. every blogger, philly food writer, critic, had hailed zahav as the BEST RESTAURANT in philly. 

so clearly, we were anticipating an unforgettable evening.
what we found, though, was a fairly expensive meal that was somewhat disappointing. sad, i know.


:: zahav ::
address: 237 st. james place, phila
what: the ta'yim tasting menu, tempranillo wine, beer 
the four of us ordered the Ta'Yim - the $36 per person tasting menu, which came with the Salatim & Hummus and a choice of one plate from each of the three courses: Halavi (dairy), Basari (meat), and Al Ha'esh (grilled over coals).
SALATIM & HUMMUS course: definitely one of the highlights of the meal.

salatim tower included (clockwise from the upper far left corner): 
TOP TRAY: roasted shredded beets, fennel salad, tabbouleh, marinated eggplant salad
BOTTOM TRAY: pickled cauliflower, marinated pickled okra, pickled carrot salad, tomato and cucumber salad.

the hummus was so good even our +1 friend, chanpion, enjoyed it! (he was definitely not a fan of middle eastern cuisine overall though). don't think HE'll be returning. HOWEVER, extra shoutouts need to go out because he endured this exotic and less than familiar meal just to honor the friendship to soopahpit.
the laffa was thin and soft chewy and the hummus had great flavor. i thought it was a bit on the dry side, but perhaps i just wasn't sopping up enough of the olive oil with each bite.

HALAVI course: crispy haloumi (cypriotic sheep's milk cheese, dates, pine nuts), yirakot (confit of mushrooms, leeks and fennel, almonds), stuffed peppers (egyptian rice, trumpet mushrooms, walnuts), fried cauliflower (labeneh with chive, dill, mint, and garlic).
the only dishes that really stood out here were the cauliflower and the haloumi. everyone enjoyed the fried cauliflower immensely; the mint leaves a refreshing flavor with each bite of the salty garlicy-ness. personally, i enjoyed the haloumi quite a bit. it was one of the dishes i was most looking forward to on this return trip, but the rest of the group HATED it. even j. giggles, whose support i was almost certain i'd have on this, disagreed with my assessment of this cheese.

BASARI course: fried kibbe with tahini (lamb, bulgar wheat, pine nuts), short rib pastel (yemeni spice, potatoes, sesame), roasted veal bone marrow (beluga lentils, pickled lemon).
i really enjoyed the fried kibbe and the short rib pastel. the lamb kibbe tasted a lot like a deep fried empanada with ground up lamb meat, which explains why soopah did not enjoy. the lamb meat tasted very lamb-y, maybe slightly game-y, but not in a bad way. the short rib pastel was a shredded short rib stuffed puff pastry and i found the crust to be flaky and crispy and the meat to be beefy and flavorful.
roasted bone marrow was groooooooooooooooooooooooss. i think maybe this is what separates the real foodies from the fauxdies. the bone marrow was gelatinous and gooey and the fatty flavor was not that appealing to me, even with the combination of saltiness/texture of the lentils.

AL HA'ESH course: the romanian (hanger steak, charred eggplant puree, pine nuts), the farsi (duck two ways, persian rice, pistachios), the jaffa (branzino al ha'esh, fennel, olives). 
the group really enjoyed the hanger steak the most of this course. i think it's because it was just a good piece of steak, but didn't really have particularly middle eastern flavors associated with it. the eggplant purree that accompanied it was pretty tasty, though. we were split on the duck - i hated it, chiho loved it, soopah/j.giggles were ambivalent about it. the duck two ways were a) in a duck meatball and b) rolled up and grilled. i thought it was tough and overcooked, but apparently the second plate of the duck dish had been prepared infinitely better than mine because chiho enjoyed it. the rice that came with it was very fragrant - almost perfumey. i haven't really decided if i liked it or not. the branzino had a very typically branzino-like flavor/smell, so again we were split on this. 

DESSERT course: chocolate konafi (kataifi, chocolate, mascarpone, chocolet sorbet), pistachio cake (poached rhubarb, frozen salep), almond baklava (date jam, milk & honey ice cream), warm chocolate cake (tehina, spiced whipped cream.
of the four desserts that we sampled, the almond baklava was definitely the winner. i had actually ordered this the first time i went to zahav, but i swear it looked/tasted different this time around. still great, but definitely not mind/tastebud-blowing like it had been the last time. the most foreign of the desserts was the chocolate konafi, which if i had to describe it, was similar to shredded wheat formed into a thick round disc shape. i don't think it was particularly an enjoyable dessert, as getting each forkful felt like a bit of a battle - with the shredded pieces clinging to each other, trying to force you to take the entire thing in one bite. the pistachio cake was pleasant. the chocolate cake was gooey, warm, rich and delicious, but i could have done without the tehina and spiced whipped cream. to be honest, i found myself eating the cake around the cream, avoiding that top part of the cake altogether.

OVERALL, i'd say that my initial zahav experience was so wonderful, that i'd definitely warrant a return trip despite being a bit disappointed last night. i'm not sure if soopah, chiho or j. giggles would return though. obviously, there are many more places we'd prefer to visit before we come back to zahav though.

next time, i'll go back to the tried and true classics: chicken freekah, spinach borekas... and of course, the haloumi! yummmmmmmmmmmm.

EASTER, GREASTER, and a weekend recap

FRIDAY
the friday day of fat (i mean food fun) continued on with a brief stop at green eggs cafe. i was hanging with geo and we had an hour or so before we had to meet up with the rest of trifecta + 2 for bebe'a bbq dinner, so we discussed getting a coffee and perhaps a fried potato snack. thankfully, the kitchen had closed by the time geo and i arrived around 4pm, so we spared our bodies the starchy goodness for the moment. we did order a croissant to share with our drinks though. i really liked the decor here - lots of dark and black wood, with steel finishes, green walls and interesting art. the space felt very airy and open throughout the restaurant and the coffee lounge area. the barstool type seating along the dickinson side of the street is perfect for people watching while sipping on your coffee.


:: green eggs cafe ::
address: 1306 dickinson street, phila
what: croissant, coffee, tea

the menu looks awesome here, for brunch or lunch, so definitely want to head back to eat a full meal. the croissant, though, was a bit on the dry side. i hope that the reason was just because it was late in the day and it had been sitting out, with the light breeze coming through all day, but we'll see. coffee = heavenly.

:: bebe's bbq ::
address: 1017 south 9th street, phila
what: pulled pork, beef ribs, pork ribs, coleslaw, mac'n cheese, scalloped potatoes, collard greens oh myyyy.
for dinner we had bebe's bbq, but our group of fatties were so excited to dive into our food that we ravaged every container of food before we could even think about taking a picture. so, though there is no proof, we ate a feast of meats and sides. arguably the best pulled pork i have had, in philly or elsewhere. the coleslaw was a bit too finely chopped and maybe a touch too sweet, but i welcomed the cold crunchiness as a contrast to the sweet and smoky meats. the pork ribs were just meh and a little tough, but the beef ribs were divine. these were part of the daily special, so may not be available all the time. definitely definitely get the collard greens, but the scalloped potatoes and the mac and cheese tied for my favorite side. as a bonus, bebe's delivers to washington square, graduate hospital, bella visty, center city east areas. we did wait excessively long for the food to arrive, though. we were some grumpy people.

SATURDAY
:: maru global takoyaki ::
address: 255 south 10th street, phila
what: octopus takoyaki, crabcake ball with fries, beef curry burrito, almond and chocolate takoyaki  
i found the octopus takoyaki to be a bit too mushy and really found myself wishing that they had used larger pieces of octopus, but still - a pretty good option. the crabcake balls i could have done without. they weren't anything special at all, just standard crabcakes, but the fries that accompanied them were pretty stellar.

the beef curry burrito was definitely the best of the dinner items we had. the curry was smoky and beef was tender and it had just enough rice to be filling and balance out the saltiness of the meat/sauce. soopah claims he would get this at least once every three weeks if it were closer to him. i don't know about that frequency, but i'd definitely order this again.

 we knew the dessert takoyaki were supposed to be great, but i was surprised by how much i enjoyed these almond chocolate ones. they come with fresh whipped cream on the side, which i abstained from (bleh) but soopah spooned up enough to more than make up for it. we need to go back for the chocolate chip dessert takoyaki. honestly, i couldn't really taste the chocolate in them, but they were still pretty awesome.

SUNDAY

:: harris family greaster ::

location: invite only, so this is undisclosed

what: grilled lamb, lasagna, string beans, roasted potatoes, asparagus, baklava, cookies, brownies etc.    

i LOVE greaster. [edit: greaster is also known as GREEK EASTER, as in Easter of the greek orthodox church. it is their most holy of days and deserving of the most fanfare. for non-greeks, it is amazing because it, without a doubt, guarantees the availability of the most amazing foods all brought together under one roof and all-day feasting]. love love love it. in my memory, it has always been loud, fun, full of delicious smells, and exotic looking delicacies - like a LAMB or a PIG on a spit! apparently, though my memory is terrible because the last time there was actually meat on a spit, we were just children. sigh. also, this year because greaster was competing with regular easter, it was a low-key affair - which meant the harris' yard was not teeming with greeks of all ages and there was no meat on a spit. anyway, despite the lack of spinning meat, and even without the grilling of the lamb's head (they apparently gave it away for soup for the church's celebration WHY WHY WHY), greaster was still a wonderful time. plus i got to actually sit and chat with julie! 

i am always surprised by how juicy and non-game-y the lamb turns out. it's one of the few rare places where i can actually enjoy lamb and helped myself to several pieces. the lasagna was so tasty that i helped myself to a quarter of the pan. it was embarrassing, but not enough to put back some of the portion. i wish i had gotten a picture of j. giggles' plate because hers had quite a few more veggies as well. special shoutout for julie's baklava- i though it was very flavorful - with good crunch, good sweetness and plenty of DEPTH!

:: varga bar ::

location: 941 spruce st. phila

what: roasted brussel sprouts, pot 'o pickles, kobe beef sliders, drinks!

because we are fatties, newly self-identified foodies, and probably alcoholics, we decided to head over to varga bar after our day of greaster delights. soopah and i can proudly claim that varga bar is our new favorite. we will probably bicker over who claimed it first. of course, i will win. i always win.


anyway, the bar itself is so great. located on the corner of 10th and spruce, it has wide windows along both the street side walls, so the space feels very airy and spacious. when i first read about this place, i thought the "pinup girl" theme would be a bit kitschy, but actually it's quite well done. the only real place you see the pinup girl art is on the ceiling and occasionally on the menus.


the number and quality of beers they have on tap is outrageous. i was won over by the availability of 4 or 5 IPAs/pale ales on tap, then absolutely in love once i saw the "flying dog raging bitch belgian style pale ale."

though trifecta only tried a few menu items, it is very very very very clear we need to go back. the kobe beef sliders were one of the best burgers i have eaten. they were topped with applewood-smoked bacon, caramelized shallots, boursin cheese and accompanied by house-made onion rings with smoked paprika aioli. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-mazing.

we also tried the pickled vegetables (can you pick the pickled peppers out of the pot 'o pickled vegetables? yes, i said this out loud. hahahaah hate pickled peppers!) and the brussel sprouts with aged balsamic vinegar, lemon, parmesan, olive oil. the balsamic vinegar was a bit extreme on some of the sprouts, but overall still a really great dish.

NEW FAVORITE BAR. 
this was a fabulous (yes, i said fabulous) weekend. more fun to come this week.

ZAHAV on wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2nd Round of Goodness

Unfortunately the Trifecta was broken up today due to office distances, but the best part of us breaking up for the day, you get double the pleasure! mmmHHHmmmm! Yeah, that's right!

Sooooo...Here we go...

Location: Franklin Square, 6th & Race

What: Square Burger

Long line...umm....

crap! fuggit!

Two ppl = line waiting FAIL. They ended up bailing bc they had to get back to work by a certain time. boofriggittyhooo!!

Jake and I decide to stay...SUCKAS!!! When we finally get a little closer, we decide we're gonna split everything up and just get one of each bc when we look at the menu we want to try everything.

FINALLY(!!!) we get to place our order after a lil over half an hour of standing in direct sunlight! (I better not get a farmers tan!) The sun was beating down my back making me 'pit out' (not happy)

And now onto the food...and the people who made our food

classic cheeseburger - american cheese, pickles, onions, ketchup and mustard

overall rating - it tastes like a regular burger - absolutely NOTHING special about it whatsoever!

:sadface:

i really think i can make better burgers than what just went into my mouth....actually i KNOW i can....

philly dog - kosher dog wrapped in kosher salami, plum tomatoes, pickles, onions, cherry peppers, mustard

Have to admit that we weren't really excited about it...but then thought about it and we were both like...if we waited this long and for it being our first time...let's go balls to the walls!!!!I am so glad we got this...it really made up for the sad burger that I had just consumed. Salami to hot dog ratio...never tasted anything like it...the salami became one with the hot dog and it seemed like it was a new breed of 'dog!' (haha) Pickles had us confused for a bit that Jake had to go back up to the menu to see what it was that we were tasting. These were bigger chunks than what was in the burger...it was quite pickled garlicky goodness and that "vlasic' type of crunch! haha!

Overall rating - lets go get one right after work!!

Fries - the skinny ones...nothing great..would have liked for them to come out hotter.

"Cake Shake" - We were contemplating on whether or not we should get this...gave in and said fuggit...so the fatties that we are...we get ONE (2 straws..haha)

nice dollop of whip cream on top.....OMNMN!! There were bits of tastycake cake in this friggin shake.......for those of you that know that i'm not a big fan of sweets...umm..i probably may have finished the ENTIRE shake MYSELF!!! I KNOW, right??? The bits of cake were such a pleasant surprise that it kinda just made my day....also, an ENTIRE shake may not have done a pretty one for my tummy!! HAHA (tmi??) Yeah, I don't care!

I would return just for the dog and cakeshake...that's about it....too many kids running around that I wanted to pick them up and throw them in a damn strapped down seat and electric tape their mouths shut!

It's a beautiful day out guys!!

Happy Easter!

mission: MUST EAT LIST superspeed round

Gonna be a good food day....
Friday lunch: Honest Tom's Taco Truck
Friday dinner: Bebe's BBQ

Oh yeah,
Friday breakfast: McDonald's.

Don't hate - I am just keepin' it real.
*******
honest tom's taco truck: fish tacos

whitefish (probably tilapia) with pineapple chunks, homemade guacamole, red onions, lemon juice and hot sauce.  at 2 tacos for $4, this is an awesome deal.

the lemon juice really brought out the bright and sweet flavor of the pineapple, but didn't overpower the mild fish. i asked for "a little bit of guac" only and it was perfect. might have gone a bit overboard with the hot sauce, but personally, i like it HOT.

every wednesday/friday? i'm so there.

raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

oh wait, no. raindrops on noses and bacon on burgers. YES, that's better. burgers are one of my FAVORITE things. so, despite the torrential downpour and gusting winds, my band of downtrodden, corporate drones will be trudging over to 500 degree burgers for a tasting of the rouge-inspired burgers and truffle fries.

pics and review to follow.

:: 500 degrees ::
address: 1504 sansom st, phila
so we arrived and quickly scampered into 500 degree burger, seeing shelter from the unrelenting rain. the space is on the small side, with only only 2 wooden rectangular tables that could probably seat about 8 max, each. additional seating available with wooden shelf-style ledge along the far wall and along half of the front window.

we arrived at 11:55am, and apparently JUST missed the lunch rush because as soon as we put our orders in, a line formed behind us, 17 deep. (i would have snapped a pic of that too, but i was too busy chomping down on my first bite of deliciousness).

okay, now that those details are out of the way... onto the MEAT of this entry:

burger:
what i like so much about burgers is the wide range of flavors and textures that are possible even when using basic burger parts - ground beef, cheese, bun, various veggies. size-wise, this was the perfect burger. i know there are food reviewers lamenting over the portions given, but i thought it was just enough.

   
i ordered the 500 degree burger: bib lettuce, tomato, cheddar, bacon and special sauce. pickles come on the side. the bun was probably about 4-4.5 inches in diameter, and the burger itself was round and about 1.5-2 inches thick. the special sauce seemed to be some sort of infused truffle oil + mayo type concoction. i surprisingly enjoyed this (obvs a surprise since i dislike mayo). added the pickles and a bit of ketchup and went in for the first bite.

the meat was well seasoned and the cheese added nice creaminess. usually lettuce doesn't to much for me, but bib lettuce was a nice, clean, crispy touch. the tomato added a nice slight sweetness, and the pickles added an extra layer of tart to the mix. i ordered this at medium rare temp, which is what is recommended. from the pic, it truly does look medium rare, but i would say that it actually was cooked more to the medium end. 

if i had to criticize this burger, i'd say that the bacon was a bit lost. the burger meat was so thick that the burger to bacon thickness ratio left something to be desired; you almost forgot there was bacon in the thing. also, you usually expect the bacon layer to exhibit either crispiness or chewiness, but i found that this bacon did neither. it may have been because it was so subtle that it was hard to notice, but whatever the reason, i say, MORE BACON, please. 

i am undecided about the bun at the moment. in theory, i liked it... with its fluffy airiness, but thickness that was substantial enough to support this creation. but, if i had to be honest, it wasn't particularly memorable. 

fries:

of course i got the truffle fries. i was expecting these to be very similar to the ones at rouge. however, they weren't identical. for one thing, they don't include the grated parmesan that rouge's offering boasts. but, they were thin and mostly crispy, with that awesome truffle flavor. there were quite a few soggy-ish fries, but i kind of enjoyed the mix of crunchy and soft fries - made it a bit more interesting. but that's just me.

my coworker ordered the spicy fries, which are accompanied by a spicy sauce that tastes very much like a spicy chipotle remoulade. i liked - it is definitely worth a try - assuming that your friend or burger devouring partner in crime orders the truffle fries and is willing to share those with you. 

milkshake:

i did not order this because i dislike shakes. HOWEVER, they have vanilla, chocolate or black and white shakes and the good thing is that they are made from real hard ice cream, not soft serve. i have been told this makes all the difference. so i will defer to the milkshake experts on this. 

OVERALL

all in all, i'd say 500 degrees is totally and definitely worth a, or many, return visits. the burger establishment i'd say is the most comparable alternative would be five guys - these places clearly fall in the same category of burger purveyors. the 500 degree burger is meatier and i'd say it feels more "made to order," whereas sometimes five guys burgers can tend to feel/taste mass produced. the five guys burger feels greasier than the 500 degree burger. and definitely, 500 degree fries ftw over five guys. 

let's go again!

   

AMIS: fried artichokes

one of the 2 highlights of our experience at Amis. Overall, largely disappointing Vetri venue.