Fresh Direct

A day trip to NYC has me asking myself, why is Philly settling for bad, expensive Genuardi's (I mean, Safeway) delivery when Fresh Direct exists? If you really want to torture yourself with the lack of offerings here, go to their website at http://www.freshdirect.com/. Even the layout is amazing. Fresh Direct, if you're listening, come to Philly!

Slate

I hope Slate stays open. Ever have that feeling that you really like a restaurant, but you look around sheepishly and realize no one else has really "discovered" it (i.e., no one's there on a Saturday night)? Maybe it was the rain, maybe it was the summer weekend when so many go to the shore, but I hope Slate sticks it out. Because Slate hits the mark in atmosphere, service and, most importantly, food.

Slate is located on 21st Street on an odd block between Walnut and Chestnut. It's beautiful though, with a pleasant green exterior and a blackboard out front announcing the specials. A merry group of older gentlemen sat out front, sipping drinks, as I arrived. Chef Eric Paraskevas and owner Laurentiu Muras (who look a lot like brothers, thanking to matching goatees and bald heads) were behind the bar (thanks to Inquirer reviewer Craig LaBan for the review and pictures, allowing me to recognize them). The bar itself is fairly expansive and would make for a good pit-stop during a long evening. Everyone was friendly without crossing the line into T.G.I. Friday's lap-dog-like friendliness.

I always love a menu where I find it hard to decide among many great options. I'm not sure I could classify the food, however, although some dishes had a uniquely Mediterranean slant, it was mostly global eclectic, if I can make up a genre. Slate made choosing among options tough, but we decided on the BBQ pork spring rolls, pictured below, for an appetizer. Filled with perfectly cooked pork, they had a kick to them that was nicely balanced against the cole slaw.
The entree options offered even more choices, made more difficult by the glowing reviews of the lamb gyro. We ended up straying toward the less messy, higher end offerings. Shocked at a restaurant offering dark meat in the form of chicken thighs with "israeli cous, raspberry-apricot glaze, cucumber chive chutney," I tried it (because I generally only eat dark meat and dark meat is generally only found in low-end take-out).In a word, amazing. Tender meat (well of course, it was dark meat), interesting "cous" and an unexpected savory sweet sauce balanced nicely with the cucumber relish. My dining companion went with the duck - not only a favorite of his, but also, as he astutely noted about duck, "it's all dark meat."
The duck may have surpassed the chicken. A jus surrounding the duck provided that enhancement of the duck's inherent goodness that every sauce should, an indescribable embodiment of the meaty flavor and subtle seasoning. It's been a long time since I've tasted a dish so well executed and unique at this price point (entrees around $20).

We passed on dessert, not feeling the thought of a lavender creme brulee, but I should note that LaBan liked the desserts. Which is to say you should try Slate -- from its inviting space to its scrumptious food, it's worth a stop.

Slate is located at 102 S. 21st Street, Philadelphia, Pa, 215-568-6886.

El Camino Real

I can't tell if my take on El Camino Real is about really digging what's going on in Northern Liberties right now or about the restaurant. Because I have to tell you, the service was bad. Like hipster-slacker-mean bad. Yet somehow, I remained perfectly content there, looking out the window, taking in the scene, and even enjoying some of the dishes.

Having to pay for chips and salsa was enough of a deterrent to keep us away. Actually, the appetizer options are interesting enough that it didn't even occur to me to order them. The "barbecue mixer" app, which allows for a choice of three barbecue tastes was good; we went with brisket, short rib and seitan. Pretty tasty.

The menu is divided into "Mexico" and "Texas," ripe for some tough decision making. A plain old margarita (rocks, no salt) made the process a lot easier. As did an option of a "mixed tasting" platter of half of three burritos (yes it was a lot and yes the leftovers tasted good the next day). Of my carnitas, fish, and shrimp choices, the fish stood out as the surprise winner, the others being predictable bordering on bland. The fish was delicious and will be my choice as a stand-alone option, served with cilantro and lime.

MCRF, who has recently gone mostly vegetarian, had a lot of options from which to choose. El Camino offers many faux meat barbecue items, like wings, and plenty of grilled seitan - even in chiles rellenos. Bowing to a craving for onion rings, El Camino Real offered these delicious ones. Although it doesn't make a huge amount of sense to me for these to be on the menu, I didn't complain.

We managed to resist dessert, thanks to the call of a lovely candy and ice cream store just down the walk. And I managed to forget the rudeness of our servers and the unnecessary 45 minutes we waited from the time we were seated to when we actually received any food. If you go prepared to tolerate the debacle that passes as service there, the food actually isn't half bad. And really, you just can't beat the scene that Northern Liberties has become.

El Camino Real is located at 1040 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, Pa, www.bbqburritobar.com.

Chifa

Chifa, the latest offering from Jose Garces in Restaurant 707's old space, is, in a word, amazing. It's the type of place, much like Amada but a lot more quirky, that you happily can come in for a snack and pisco sour or, just as happily, do what we did, and go all out.

It's hard to resist going all out here, since the menu all sounds fairly wonderful. The combination of Peruvian and Cantonese is less novel than you might think; there's a large Chinese population in Peru (with my thanks to my immigration attorney friend in L.A. knowledgeable on these matters).

I am also a fan of the decor. With dark wood paneling and blue overtones, one wall is occupied by large Ming-like vases stacked neatly in alcoves spaced over two stories. The style is embodied the restaurant -- combinations that are unusual but somehow work extraordinarily well, due in part to the surprise factor.

Take for example, the ceviche offerings. At our knowledgeable server's recommendation, we began with the Hiramasa, a white fish with ginger, charred pineapple, orange and a light mustard emulsion:
Another fun option was the Desayuno, an arepa with braised oxtail, egg, bacon and panca emulsion, although I thought a little less successful in its novelty, still a basic tasty treat thanks to the perfectly done oxtail:
Two of the slightly disappointing dishes included the salt baked shrimp (huge, but I've had better in Chinatown) and what I think are the pork belly buns (forgive this memory lapse for a meal consumed two months ago, I remember the meat being delicious but the "bun" part only so-so):

I preferred Chifa's take on Peruvian fare over Chinese fare and share others' sentiment that the its scallion pancake is not as wonderful as you'd hope.

Desserts were fun. Although the green tea cake and with honeydew gelee offering was oddly dense, I enjoyed the hazelnut mocha ganache and granita. This rice krispie treat, however, came gratis and was fun and aesthetically pleasing, much like the restaurant.

I recommend Chifa with the tiny caveat to lean toward the Peruvian and not Chinese dishes. Overall, Chifa fills a void of novel, interesting, filling food - and offers a cool and cohesive atmosphere that rivals any Stephen Starr restaurant.

Chifa is located at 707 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa, www.chifarestaurant.com.

A quick word

Although not blogging as much, I have been eating out. A new job, travel and bad uploading capabilities at home have prevented me from keeping up on the blog. But I'm hopeful about a return, even if the entries are more abbreviated. You didn't want to see every dish I ate, anyways, right?? Thanks for checking back.

Maido and Miso Soup

When I returned from Japan, I was desperate to find a place where I could buy and recreate some of the wonderful food I had there. While Chinatown and Washington Ave. markets do offer some Japanese food, Maido in Narberth features only Japanese food - and is great fun.

Most of the foods offer Japanese labels (although thanks to regulations, an English "nutrition information" sticker is usually somewhere on the package) and finding the place can be tricky (follow the website directions closely), but I found that once I arrived, Maido offers the foodie equivalent of an excellent used book store - someplace in which you could get a little lost browsing.

Here are some highlights of what I purchased. My mother was coming for Easter and hesitantly agreed to try an all-Japanese meal (I sold her on the idea that it would be more healthy than ham and potato salad, which it is, although that's not saying much).

Onto miso soup! I pulled these recipes from http://www.epicurious.com/, although Martha Stewart's new cookbook also features them in almost identical form. Apparently, there are few ways to make it. Here's what you will need:

1 oz. kombu (kelp)
1 cup katsuo bushi (dried bonito flakes)
1/4-1/2 cup dried wakame (seaweed)
1/4 cup shiro miso paste (white fermented soybean paste)
1/2 pound soft tofu
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion greens

Miso soup starts with dashi, "Japanese Sea Stock." To make dashi, you put about 1 ounce of kombu, or dried kelp, into 6 cups of water and bring to a boil (pictured right). Once boiled, you add 1 cup bonito flakes (pictured left) to the mix, remove from heat and let stand for 3 minutes. Bonito flakes are a type of dried fish (skipjack mackeral, according to one website) and have the consistency of flaked prosciutto - a bit oily. They're also very pungent. (My cats go a little crazy when I open the bag). After three minutes, strain all of that stuff out with as fine a sieve as you can find. I strain mine twice, because I find the bonito to be just that strong.

And congratulations - the hardest part of making miso soup is now over for you. Once you have the stock, simply heat it up (if it's not hot already), take a cup out and mix with a 1/4 cup of miso shiro paste to blend it (pictured right). Add the blended mix to the stock, along with 1/2 pound soft tofu cut into cubes and thinly sliced scallion greens.
If you'd like seaweed in your miso, soak 1/4 cup of wakame in a warm water about an inch over the wakame until it is reconstituted and add that to the soup, too.

And voila! Miso soup, ready to serve. I think it tastes better than most restaurants to make it fresh, but it's not too different from what you might get. It's also nice to add the ingredients according to your taste preference.

Thanks to my mom for helping me with the pictures and being such a supportive taster.

Maido is located at 36 N. Narberth Avenue, Narberth, Pa., http://www.maidookini.com/.

I Heart Eric Ripert

If you think Chef Eric Ripert is too good to be true, think again. I am pleased to report that the man who is known for commanding respect while still being both extraordinarily kind and extraordinarily attractive lives up to his reputation, and then some.

Ripert appeared at his restaurant, 10 Arts, at the Ritz Carlton on March 26. Although labeled a book signing, the event was in fact a cozy cocktail hour, devoid of the assembly line drudgery of the Martha Stewart event (see my earlier entry). The Ritz lobby was wide open, well populated without feeling crowded, with people clutching Ripert's new book, On the Line. I looked to my left to see that Ripert was sitting on an arc-shaped booth, happily posing for photographs and chatting with people. There was no line. Servers were bringing complimentary canapes to people.

I was overwhelmed. Here I was going to be given the chance to sit down - not humbly ask for a signature, but sit down - with one of my all-time favorite chefs. Co-owner of Le Bernadin in New York, pal of Tony Bourdain, James Beard Award winner, Ripert captured a place in my heart with his appearances on Top Chef. Adopting a Tim Gunn-esque ability to relay insightful criticism while still being supportive, Ripert presented as a soft-spoken culinary genius who genuinely cared about both food and people.

And here he was. I reported to the host stand to retrieve my copy of the book and expressed my anxious enthusiasm. The host relayed how pleased she was about how kind he was in person, and how different that was from a typical executive chef. I attempted to queue in the small circle of people milling around Ripert's table and a kind soul offered to take my picture with Ripert. I casually replied that this would be nice, inside thinking, "yes! double yes! Thank God for you, kind stranger!"

So it came to pass that I marched up to Chef Ripert, extended my hand, announced my name with some measure of confidence, and sat next to him. Ripert leaned in as the aforementioned kind stranger took our picture. Even post-flash, Ripert remembered my name asked if I would like the book to be made out to me. Trying to get past my thoughts of "he just! said! my! name!" I responded that yes, that would be great. I asked him how he managed to stay so calm and patient with the chefs on Top Chef, to which he replied that he understood they are faced with difficult tasks and he wants to be helpful and constructive. I struggled to memorize the words and the moments, realizing how great he was.

Lest you have any doubt about the man, you need look no further than the way he signed the book -- he spelled out his name after his signature. Amazing.

10 Arts is located at the Ritz Carlton, 10 South Broad Street, Philadelphia. Ripert's personal blog can be found at http://www.aveceric.com/.