the Green Monster

I have so many places to blog about before I can get fully caught up, and I'll admit, I may never actually get there, but I did want to post a quickie about this unique and delicious sushi roll I had at Raw Lounge a few weeks ago.

:: Raw Sushi and Sake Lounge :: 
address: 1225 Sansom St. Philly
what we ate: green river roll
This was just one of the most interesting and different sushi rolls I have ever tried, so I felt like it was worth mentioning here.

Green River Roll: shrimp tempura + spicy tuna roll covered in green tea tempura flakes + avocado + spicy lobster + green tea sauce + spicy sauce 

This roll had everything - spiciness, crunchiness, tangy-ness, tender and flavorful fish. Now, at $21 a pop for 8 pieces, it's not cheap, but definitely worth indulging yourself at least once.

As a semi-related aside, Soopah and I were just recently talking about how there aren't too many great sushi places left in the city, and how we hoped that the existing ones survive for years to come. Raw seems to have great sushi so I want people to know!

As another related aside, today, Foobooz posted a list of restaurants in Philly that have closed recently and it made me sad. Just goes to show that just because you get great reviews and your food is well-received, doesn't mean you'll be able to be profitable. Raw may stay top of mind because they have great outdoor space and a separate room where they throw dance parties, but remember, it seems the food is actually quite good too!

only the Kitchen Sink

Thank our lucky stars - we have been brunching more regularly again. There really are few things better than a relaxing Saturday afternoon that begins with a leisurely brunch of egg-y and meaty things with generous helpings of carby things like potatoes and bread!

Though the reliable standby has always been Sabrina's Cafe in South Philly, we have been making an effort to venture to other places since there are so many talked about Brunch offerings all over the city and we want to try them all. Sometimes, these adventures help us find true gems, like Day by Day (omg, I still need to write that review up) in Center City, but sometimes, we are left feeling somewhat unsatisfied - which is exactly what happened this past Saturday at Green Eggs Cafe. 

I had been wanting to go back to Green Eggs for brunch since I had stopped by a few months ago. Based on the croissant I had tried that day, I was concerned the food would just be MEH, and after our brunch visit, I'm not convinced it wasn't. Was that too many double negatives? Heh, I guess you could say, I'm undecided about this place, and I most definitely wasn't blown away.  

:: Green Eggs Cafe :: 

address: 1306 Dickinson St, Philly

what we ate: cheddar grits, breakfast burritos, "the kitchen sink" 

Trifecta made a big mistake on Saturday. Two of us ordered the same dish. Disast. Why would we do this?! I blame hunger, the unbearable heat/weather, and just plain short sightedness. Honestly, the lunch menu here has always sounded much more interesting to me, but for some reason, I felt like since we were brunching, I must have eggs. As a result, Soopah and I both ended up getting the breakfast burrito. 

Breakfast Burrito: flour tortilla + eggs + olives + corn + chorizo sausage + signature potato + tex mex cheese + topped with Pico de Gallo + sour cream + avocado slice + fire roasted red pepper black bean sauce

Looks like a long description, right? On the menu, they actually list all of these ingredients that are in the burrito and I was very excited about this. The burrito sounded hearty and I thought the olives and corn would be nice additions. What they don't tell you is that the "signature potato" includes huge pieces of red and green bell peppers. Which, in my hatred of that wretched vegetable, immediately makes me go EWWWWWW. 

Okay okay okay, I know that not many people agree with the EWWW assessment of bell peppers, but whatever your take on it is, it's undeniably a strong and very distinctive flavor. So, I'm sure for those folks that LIKE them, they add great flavor dimensions to dishes, but for those of us that really have a strong aversion to them, it taints the entire dish. ESPECIALLY, when they sneak up on you, like they did in the breakfast burritos. And, btw, the signature potatoes are in other dishes as well (like the kitchen sink, but I'll get to that later), so diner beware. 

I ordered mine without the black bean sauce and I think that is preferable. Otherwise, with the way it's poured onto the dish, you can't really avoid it if you find that you don't care for the flavors of the sauce.     

I want to say that if it hadn't been for the bell pepper sneak attack, I would have enjoyed this more. But then again, Soopah didn't really love it either and he digs bell peppers. 

I really wish I had stuck to my guns and ordered the Kobe Slider Trio off of the lunch menu, which sounded very tasty and interesting since it comes with 3 different styles of sliders. OR, the crunchy peanut butter stuffed french toast, which I'll be honest, I have been thinking about since my first glance at the menu. What stopped me from ordering them, you ask? Well, it's my goshdarn pickiness rearing its ugly (anti-Foodie) head. The description says that the stuffed french toast comes with a layer of cream cheese and I kept getting stuck on the idea that I'd hate it. It's ridiculous really. I have tried veal tongue and frog legs, but gave up on this dish before I even tried it because of cream cheese. I MAKE ME SAD. 

The kitchen sink: two eggs + cheese + our signature potato (!!!) + sausage + topped + homemade jumbo biscuits + sausage gravy 

If I had to break this down, I'd say the presentation definitely rocks, but the food itself was okay. The eggs and cheese part were pretty yummy - well cooked, but once again, the bell pepper factor in the potato mixture came into play here. J. Giggles hates bell peppers as much as I do, so again, too much sneak attack pepper taste. The sausage pieces were great. If anything, I wished there were a bit more of them throughout - but hey, isn't that always true? More meat, please! 

The biscuits (pretty sure there were 2 of them in there) were decent. They weren't buttery at all, so my guess is they bake these on-site just for this particular dish. I couldn't tell definitively, but I suspect if we had eaten them plain, they would have been on the dry side (like the croissant I had before!). As part of this particular dish, they were really really good. 

The REASON they were really good, however, is because of the decadent, creamy, savory sausage gravy..... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. The three of us were scooping this gravy up like it was soup. Wow, I realize that sounds gross, but it was really so good. Super rich, but not overly salty or overwhelmingly heavy. Without a doubt, this gravy makes/saves this dish. Again, mmmmmmMMMmmmm. 

Stone Ground Grits: Southern style + aged cheddar + scrapple chips

I had high hopes for this - especially after we had delicious grits at Tap House last week. I was crushed to find that the Green Eggs version were nowhere close to the tastebud jackpot we discovered in U-city. The scrapple was forgettable, at best. Even now, hard as I try, I can't conjure up enough of the flavor experience to make something up about how I felt about it. The grits were cooked well enough, but was too cheese heavy. It is surprising that I say that, but I would guess they used shredded cheddar mixed into the grits, and the result was that it thickened the grits too much. The grits, while they tasted okay, were too dense and thick and piece-y - almost lumpy - and that's not what you want. At least, that's not what I want. 

Sigh. So sad. Cheddar Grits... you could have been so good. Ah well. 

Maybe it was the choice of items, maybe not, but Green Eggs Cafe is not a place I'll be rushing to return to - especially while there is the rest of the South Philly Brunch Belt to try. Or, in Soopah's case, Sabrina's to return to. Or in my case, Day by Day. 

RESURRECTION

It's Philly Beer Week! I'm not that hip so while I have been following the beer happenings about town, I haven't actually visited too many of them events. Last Friday, though, as Beer Week events were kicking off all over this great city, Soopah and I finally made our way to Resurrection Ale House near the Naval Square condo complex.

Resurrection Ale House may (RAH!) be somewhat out of the way for those that don't live that Grays Ferry neighborhood, but other than the fact that they are a locally well-recognized craft beer bar, RAH recently got national acclaim for its Twice-Fried Chicken from Andrew Knowlton from Bon Appétit!!! Kudos of Bon Appetit caliber? YAY! Fried Chicken DOUBLE YAY!! Green Flash Brewing Company Beer Week Specials YAYAYAY!!!

And HELL YES, it was worth it. Worth schlepping to Grays Ferry AND worth walking from the parked car in 100% humidity.

:: Resurrection Ale House ::
address: 2425 Grays Ferry Avenue, Philly
what we ate: IPAs, tomato bread, pork belly sandwich, fried chicken
First of all, I really loved the decor at RAH! I would guess that they converted one of the larger corner homes and it is split level on the first floor, with dark wood and pale green color detailing.

BEERS
This girl loves me some beers - especially IPAs - and the hoppier the better. I found that the Green Flash beers were quite enjoyable. After tasting both the Imperial and West Coast IPAs, we loooooved the West Coast. The Imperial, while hoppy and intense, had aromas from the Summit and Nugget hops that were maybe too strong for us (being the amateur IPA quaffers that we are). The West Coast was apparently a winner of Gold and Silver medals for the Best American-Style Amber/Red in 2008 and 2007. According to the website, it includes "Simcoe for a unique fruitiness and grapefruit zest, Columbus for strong hop pungency, Centennial for pine and citrus notes, and Cascade for floral aroma" and it is AWESOME. Dogfish and Flying Dog are still my brewers of choice, but this was great.

Pan con Tomate: grilled homemade bread + tomato + manchego + sweet chorizo
We started with the very rustic bruschetta-like pan con tomate. Yummers. Pizza-like! Sort of. For me, the shredded manchego cheese was the best part. I don't know what it is about manchego, but it makes every dish taste so much better. I'm pretty sure this grilled bread and tomato concoction would have been pretty forgettable without it.

The sweet chorizo was definitely an interesting addition and added a yummy contrast to the tart tomatoes and greens. Not a tastebud blower, but tasty and well executed.

Hoisin Braised Pork Belly: ginger + radish + spring onion
The thick cut of pork belly came resting on top of a soft delicious ciabatta bread, topped with thin slices of radish and spring onions. Everything was so soft and tender and juicy delicious. I did wish there was a teeny bit more hoisin sauce to add that tangy-ness to the sandwich, but overall it was wonderful.

The hand cut fries were just okay. Unfortunately, they lacked the crispy crunchiness that makes fries so addicting and delectable. They did come with a very cool dipping sauce, though - it was a mix of ketchup, mayo and curry powder.... very memorable, very interesting and I liked it so much that I kept eating more of the "just-okay" fries to keep tasting the flavor. I don't think that it went particularly well with the Pork Belly sandwich itself, but it didn't detract from it.

and........... for the STAR......

Twice Fried Chicken: drizzled with spiced honey + served with warm German-style potato salad
Aside from the obvious raving about the flavors and textures that will commence, I want to say that at $11, for 2 pieces of fried chicken thighs, this is really a great deal. The skin is soooo unbelievably crispy, but very thin and not overwhelming at all. It's like the perfect ratio of batter to meat and because it's dark meat, it's super flavorful on the inside as well as out.

Man, I really wish the picture did this dish better justice, for this I apologize. The spicy drizzled honey added a little sweet kick that worked so well with the chicken.

The German-style potato salad was really like chunky mashed potatoes that had a very tart flavor to them. Our friend  Chau had said he really enjoyed them, and I think maybe the next time I try, I could have a different opinion about them. The reason is, I think we weren't really ready or expecting the flavor to be quite what it was. German style potatoes apparently include tart apples and cider vinegar, which as you can imagine, adds a substantial amount of sour/tartness to them. It was so different than any other mashed potatoes I have had and even further from the more conventional idea of potato salad we had in our minds. You certainly can't say it's boring though. The pickled okra resting on top complements the flavors of the potatoes. Haha, we did not finish the potatoes or the okra, but that might have been partly due to the fact that we had filled up on an appetizer and 2 IPAs each!

I can't wait to go back to Resurrection for the Fried Chicken. I think I'd definitely try something new the next time, rather than get the Pork Belly again, but only because the menu does have several other items that look very compelling (like the Pan Roasted Duck breast with Quinoa)!

COST breakdown
As a final note, we decided that whenever possible, we'd add a copy of our tab as well. This seemed like a great place to start since it was a relatively affordable dinner. 2 entrees, 1 appetizer and 4 beers left us with a sub $50 bill (before taxes). RAH is billed as a neighborhood bar/restaurant, and I'm pleased to say that their prices really reflect that sentiment/theme.

City Tap House - journey to university city

We don't spend too much time in the University City/West Philly area these days - much to Chiho's chagrin (he has recently discovered he has a die-hard appreciation for all things that U-City has to offer). This is mostly because we have so many places yet to try in the rest of the city and frankly, we don't really enjoy drinking with college students because it makes us feel old. Well, it makes ME feel old. Don't judge me!

Anyway, we had heard about the recent opening of City Tap House at 40th and Walnut. Admittedly, although we were intrigued at the thought of a 60-tap draft beer offering, we still needed a bit of a push to get our butts to U-City to try this place. That push came last night when Chau, one of our hippest hipster friends, told us to meet him there for a drink and snackies.

:: City Tap House ::
address: 3925 Walnut St, Philly
what we ate: too many beers, shrimp and grits, mussels with chorizo
The most impressive thing about this craft beer bar is definitely its decor/space. It's located on the balcony floor of the Radian (fancy looking student housing apartments) Building, and both the bar area and the main dining room are wide and extremely spacious, with dark wooden panels and details throughout. Even cooler still are the outdoor terraces, one of which offers long bench-style seating flanking each of the 5 rectangular fire pits. Though we wanted to sit outside, it was ungodly hot last night, so we opted to sit in the AC available bar area.

I really did appreciate how large the bar area was - the bar itself was long and rectangular as well, with seating along 3 sides, but there were also small round high tables along the whole window/wall where you could sit and get service. Which is exactly what we did.

The Beers: IPAs, Belgian-styles and more
The beer list was definitely impressive, but I was disappointed to find that there were several beers (like the Rogue Capt Sig Amber) that were no longer available. We also found that some beers were on the list, but hadn't been tapped yet. Still, the three of us were still able to find beers that we liked and enough variety to keep ordering something different each round.

Here are the downsides. Our server, who was perfectly pleasant and friendly, kept messing up our order. She had to come back and ask us repeated what we had wanted to order, she gave us the wrong beers, then assured us that she hadn't made an error, and generally was very slow tending to any requests we made. I suppose I attribute most of this to the fact that they just opened and the waitstaff still is learning. BUT, I did have a problem with one fact....

Our server was 18. She admitted she had never tasted or knew anything about the beers on the menu, which is why she had a hard time distinguishing which one was what.

I'm not really discriminating here. I worked as a server for 9 months when I turned 18 as well. I know that in PA, you only need to be 18 to be a server. The difference, and to me this is huge, is that I worked as a server in a seafood restaurant, where though they served alcohol the focus was the food. At City Tap House, their schtick is that they are a CRAFT BEER BAR. To me, it doesn't really make sense that your server at this craft beer bar cannot make recommendations, doesn't understand differences in the beers, and potentially can't even tell what beers she is delivering based on color/consistency?

It was just so surprising and disappointing because this sort of thing would never happen at a true craft beer specialty bar like Tria or Varga.

What we didn't get to try, but definitely plan on ordering on a potential return visit would be the Beer Flights that they have available. City Tap House offers 5 or so different types of flight, categorized by beer flavor profiles like Bitters or Wheats, and offer a flight of 4oz beers for $10-15 (depending on the type of flight you order).

Anyway, those complaints aside, the food seemed to be pretty good.  

King Creole Shrimp and Grits: white cheddar grits + smoked tasso sauce
Thanks to my work, I have been fortunate enough to make multiple visits to the South a few times over the last 2 years. Usually, I don't really consider this an event of GOOD fortune, but in the case of tasty food, it has definitely given me many opportunities to try the amazing regional cuisine. During my visits, I would always try to have two things: BBQ and/or Grits. Nobody makes grits better than the South. However, the cheddar grits at City Tap House were pretty freaking droolworthy.

This is considered a starter, so there were 3 jumbo shrimps and the dish was a reasonably priced $12. The shrimp themselves were perfectly cooked and nicely seasoned.

The STAR was definitely the cheddar grits, though - it was likely more the cheddar grits PLUS smoked tasso sauce combination. Tasso sauce is made from tasso ham, which apparently is a specialty of Cajun cuisine, and is a spicy, peppery version of smoked pork made from the shoulder butt. It's my understanding that tasso sauce is essentially tasso ham, butter, cream and flour. Spoon that over perfectly cooked cheddary grits and how can you go wrong.... right?! This is 100% worth trekking to University City to eat.

Pacho Mussels: spicy chorizo + tomato + garlic + fresh thyme, topped with fresh-cut fries
The fries were very good! Crispy and flavorful, plus the accompanying spicy aoli was delicious. The mussels were well cooked and a good plump size. I really enjoyed the salty and spiciness of the chorizo with the mussels, but it did make the broth excessively greasy when we were trying to dip our bread into it later on.

Because the fries are placed on top of the mussels, they will undoubtedly get soaked by the broth at some point towards the end of this dish, but surprisingly they still remained crunchy enough to still be enjoyable.

Ultimately, I think that City Tap House is definitely a bar I'd return to, but mostly for the outdoor terrace seating, the grits and fries. Let's hope the waitstaff education improves before our next visit.

Bushkill Falls: the Niagara of PA

For any of you who know us, you must recognize that we enjoy the PA versions of many things. For example, one of our favorite local places to go snowboarding is Elk Mountain, the "Vermont of PA" and South Street, the "East Village of PA." Well, please add another one to the list: Bushkill Falls, the Niagara of PA (as each of the huge billboards we passed reminded us while en route).

The Bushkills Falls are located in the Pocono Mountains and includes a network of 8 different waterfalls. Visitors can pay the $10 entrance fee to get access to the trails and bridges around the falls. There are 3 different trail options, the longest and most rigorous being the "Red Trail," which is a 2.5 mile course which will afford you a view of each of the waterfalls and provide you with an active and at times strenuous hike. The hike itself isn't too demanding, but the waterfall banks are overbuilt by wooden bridges and steep stairs that can be a bit treacherous if you're not paying attention, especially along the Red Trail course.  

Even though, the day was hot (it was 86 with a gajillion percent humidity), the hike was mostly pleasant since the trails are all heavily shaded. The only downside here is that, it was quite crowded. It was Memorial Day, and we did arrive at a peak hour (12:45pm), so we did know to expect crowds and I'm assuming that on a regular weekend day, it wouldn't be that bad. I will say that most of the time, the crowds weren't really an issue. It did get tight trying to pass through some of the more narrow bridges, but it wasn't such a problem that it took away from the overall experience.

Visitors are allowed to bring their own food and drink into the waterfalls area. So we brought plenty of bottled water and packed sandwiches for our day. There are several benches located throughout the trails and we also saw several families stop and sit on the rocks at the lower banks to have their picnic lunches.We wanted to eat by one of the waterfalls so we didn't have anywhere to sit, but it was still very pleasant

The waterfalls and trails are walled off from the rest of the park. So you actually have to pay your fee and walk through a building to enter the falls area. The upside to this is that if waterfalls or hiking aren't your thing, you can always just spend time in the main park area. You can rent paddleboats or play mini-golf, or you can just grab a table under the pavilion and cook delicious foods on one of the many grills.

I had been wanting to see Bushkill Falls for some time and it was definitely worth the trip out there. It's about a 2 hour drive from Philadelphia, but it's a beautiful place - super peaceful, lush and green. Even with the drive, the crowds, and heat, I'd still be down for a return trip.

Ekta Indian Cuisine - now also at Bryn Mawr!

Ekta has been one of my favorites in Philly for some time based on the following:

• It's arguably the best Indian food I have had. Ever. 
• The quality/taste is consistently lives up to my expectations
• The Fishtown location delivers essentially to all of metro Philadelphia. The delivery radius is actually absurd (Fishtown, Nolibs, Fairmount, Rittenhouse, Center City, Old City, Queen Village), and even though they have pulled back the boundaries a bit, it's still quite impressive.
• Relatively inexpensive.
• The leftovers reheat beautifully - almost the original state. 

Okay okay, I'll stop gushing about this place now. The reason for this post is that one day, we went online to Ekta's website and saw the flashing header had changed to say "NOW ALSO IN BRYN MAWR!" Apparently this has been true since February 2010. 

Bryn Mawr is only about 15 min from where I live, which is certainly closer than 250 E. Girard! I was ecstatic at the possibilities. I thought of all the times I craved just a bite of the amazing curries, sauces and tender meats that Ekta has to offer, but couldn't justify a long drive into the city.... seeing the convenient hours of business for the Bryn Mawr location, I realized I will never have to dismiss a craving for Indian food ever again! 

So, on Sunday, we decided to give Ekta Bryn  Mawr a whirl. Of course, we proceeded with caution. Would the Bryn Mawr location taste as good as Fishtown? Would their Tikka Masala still make us sigh contentedly and love life just a bit more at that moment? Would their Saagwala be so good that it would make us forget that Chicken Tikka Masala was actually our favorite with each new bite?

:: Ekta - Bryn Mawr :: 

address: 1003 Lancaster Ave, Bryn Mawr 

what we ate: samosa chat, chicken tikka masala, chicken saagwala, naan, pistachio ice cream

Sometimes, if I am eating Ekta cuisine with a larger group, I will try other items off of their menu. However, whenever it's just 2-3 people, we generally always order the same thing. Why mess with perfection?! The samosa chat, though, was a new addition for us. 

Samosa Chat: vegetable pastry topped + chick peas + mint + onion + tamarind + yogurt

This was soooooo interesting. I have never had anything like it. First of all, we were surprised that the dish was served COLD. It was layers of fried pastry dough that is used in samosas, flattened to form the first layer. Then around it and on top there were crumbled pieces of fried noodle-type looking things. It looked and tasted very similar to chopped up fried singapore noodles. Then, it was topped with chick peas, onions, mint, sauces, and a few slivers of ginger.

At first, it was weird trying to get used to the fact that this dish was cold, but with each extremely flavorful bite, I was convinced that the medley of flavors wouldn't be as profound if the ingredients had been heated up.  And to be quite honest, I'm not sure what part of this dish should have been heated up. Certainly, the yogurt and tamarind and sauce wouldn't have been? It was almost like a salad. Kind of.  

Chicken Tikka Masala: boneless chicken breast + creamy onion and tomato sauce

If you haven't tried Indian cuisine before, I always recommend that you start with Tikka Masala - it is definitely the most approachable intro dish. This is probably because Tikka Masala isn't really authentic traditional Indian cuisine, but rather an invention that originated with the Brits by tweaking an existing dish to friendly-fy the taste for Western palates. However it was born, I don't care, I love it. 

The sauce is usually orange in color, which is attributed to its creamy tomato base. I don't want to think about how much butter goes into this dish, but I do know it's enough to make it AH-MAAAAZING. It usually has chunks of roasted chicken throughout the spicy sauce and it's best eaten with rice or with Naan (Indian flatbread). 

I thought the Naan at the Ekta in Bryn Mawr was actually better than the Fishtown location. But, I concede it may be related to the fact that we actually dined in and had the naan fresh, rather than after it had been wrapped in foil for the better part of an hour. :)

[EDIT: Apparently, per Soopah, the "naan was hands down better than the naan in fishtown, takeout OR dine-in."

The Tikka Masala did taste slightly different than what we were used to at the Fishtown shop. I'd say it was a teensy bit less sweet, but it still tasted heavenly and I wouldn't really be able to tell you if one was better than the other - just that they were different. SLIGHTLY. 

Chicken Saagwala: chicken breast cooked with spinach + onion + tomato sauce + chopped ginger  

Saagwala is one of my newer favorite Indian dishes. It's essentially like a cream of spinach dish, with pureed or chopped spinach, excessive amounts of butter and ginger.     

The saagwala tasted the same as what we expected, thankfully. The one minor difference is that I felt like the spinach pieces may have been larger at this location? So - rather than pureed/minced, they were closer to a very fine chop? It doesn't really matter though, it was stellar. 

Pistachio Ice Cream

We don't know this for certain, but we suspect the desserts could be made on-site as well. We finished our meal with the pistachio ice cream, that appeared in this round molded shape. The ice cream tasted as though it had some yogurt in it, and was overall pretty tasty and refreshing.

About the comparison to Tiffin

When discussing options for Indian cuisine in Philly, inevitably there will be a debate about the merits of Ekta over Tiffin. The story is that the head chef at (the more well-known and well-marketed) Tiffin left the restaurant at the height of its popularity to start his own place - Ekta. Amusingly, though the owner of Tiffin has an MBA - which is evident from the masterful way he brands his restaurants - Raju Bhatterai, the chef/owner of Ekta, seems to just be mimicking Tiffin's business strategy. And appears to be succeeding!

Ekta is located a few blocks away on the same street as the original Tiffin location. A suburban outlet of Tiffin opened for business in Wynnewood. Raju opened his suburban version of Ekta a few towns down in Bryn Mawr. Personally, I wish both restaurants great success. 

If we're debating straight up food - the short version is that I prefer the fried samosas and pakoras at Tiffin, but the sauces and main dishes really shine at Ekta. 

Prices, Decor and BYOB!

Just wanted to add a note about this. Across the board, the prices at the Bryn Mawr location definitely were $1-3 more than in the city. I'm sure the disparity in rent for each respective zip code has much to do with it. It's not enough to really balk at, but did want to include that detail.

The interior decor in Bryn Mawr is actually very nice. Whereas the Fishtown location does feel very much like a makeshift dining room attached to a takeout counter, the Bryn Mawr location boasts of all the staples that are required to make a Mainline restaurant successful - cleanly and semi-formally attired waitstaff, friendly and attentive service, comfortable but solid wooden tables/chairs.

An added bonus - it's BYOB! There isn't much more to say about that.

Overall, you can't go wrong at either Ekta location. It's only wrong if you don't try it. There - I've said it. Consider yourselves judged until you do. 

Los Gallos Philadelphia, mi amor

My Memorial Day weekend started off SO RIGHT with a late lunch at Los Gallos in South Philly. Over the past few months, we have been on somewhat of an unofficial quest to find great tacos. We did manage to find some awesome ones during our NYC Fat Tour, but New York is probably just a bit too far to trek on a whim. CLEARLY, I have also been slacking in the blogging dept since we also tried Jose's Tacos and Distrito's Tacos and I have yet to write about them (coming soon, I swear). 


At any rate, at the behest of my friend Geo, last Friday afternoon we journeyed over to South Philly for a new taco adventure. 


:: Los Gallos Mexican Taqueria :: 
address: 951 Wolf St, Philly 
what we ate: tacos, of the beef, pork belly, chicken and chorizo varieties
The first thing you see when you walk into Los Gallos is a few aisles of food, snacks and sauces - at first glance, this seems to be merely a Mexican grocery store. As you walk further into the store, you realize it is certainly more than that; there are a few tables set up for diners, the tantalizing aromas authentic Mexican cuisine, and a counter at the very back where you can place your order. The second thing you notice is that the place is PRISTINE. I have rarely encountered a small proprietorship in Philly, be it restaurant or grocery store, that seemed as clean and bright. 

Geo and I ordered 3 tacos each. The menu had a selection of 6 different kinds you could select for the price of $5.50 (each taco is $2).


All tacos are topped with cheese + raw onions + cilantro and served with a spicy creamy green sauce and a spicier red sauce with more heat.

I ordered (starting from the left above) the chorizo, grilled chicken, and spicy pork with pineapple tacos. The chorizo was surprisingly spicy, and definitely had the strongest flavor of the three tacos. Of the three, I think my favorite was the spicy pork, because of the way the pineapple refreshingly added sweetness and citrusy-ness to complement the heat of the pork belly. It only won by a small margin since the chorizo really was stellar. Anyway, my only criticism of the spicy pork is that I wish the pineapple had been cut up into smaller chunks, rather than one large piece, but still, I'm really nitpicking here.

Geo had the chorizo, spicy pork and beef tacos.

The beef taco was also excellent, but we definitely enjoyed the flavors of the pork and chorizo tacos more.

We had a chance to speak with Luz (sp?), the owner of Los Gallos, for a few minutes after our meal and found him to be extremely likeable.He explained to us that he had started in on the Philly restaurant scene by working as a line chef for the popular dessert and cafe chain, Bonte's Waffles. Once he realized he wanted to really start something of his own, he decided the critical factors of his success would be authenticity of flavors and cooking styles, and the use of quality ingredients. You can see from the service, preparation of the dishes, the presentation and even from the store inventory, that these ideas dominate every aspect of food at Los Gallos.

Interestingly, Luz mentioned that he was starting to get noticed by the locals and other Philly media. Apparently, someone from Philly Weekly had been in a few weeks ago to review the shop. MORE interestingly, it turns out Marc Vetri, [EDIT: oops, apparently it was Amis' Brad Spence, not Marc himself!] culinary genius, is a fan! He had been in a few times to gobble up the tacos and had enjoyed them so much that he had recently put in a catering order of 80 tacos for a private event he was hosting.