Chicken-Fried Caviar

1315 Sansom St., Philadelphia, PA

http://timerestaurant.net/

So, I had a board meeting and then time to kill before getting the train home a while back, and this place, brought to you by the Vintage folks, had just opened that weekend. It’s in the old Ludwig’s location on Sansom, around the corner from Vintage, and is a definite improvement, IMHO: I had only been to Ludwig’s once, but I was pretty underwhelmed, and I’m not against German food or kitsch.

Time is pretty remarkably quite different. It’s dark and sleek, with a great bar area at which I sat for a glass of wine and a nibble. Now, with such a small sample, I can’t make too many sweeping observations, so let’s bullet this:

• Yes it was the opening weekend, but there was no one there. OK, there were two tables and another guy at the bar. I hope someone has come by now; it would of course help if they had their website working probably.
• It’s a big bar they have, but not big enough that the barkeep could have come to visit me sooner than she did — again, there was no one there.
• As would be suspected given its lineage, Time has a very nice wine selection: I had a lovely pinot gris that was at a decent enough price of $10.
• Again, I just wanted something light, so I chose the Time Signature Salad: lamb’s lettuce, jicama, cucumber, and lardons tossed in a cider vinaigrette. The vinaigrette was not very cider-y, frankly, but the salad was nicely composed — save for lardon-fest ‘08. As I told the barkeep, I love bacon. Love it. This salad was overwhelmed by the lardons — making it almost inedible. So, in what might be a first, I did not clean my plate of any bacon-like structure. I wept.

Time has potential, and I would certainly try it again — it has the right look and price point for the neighborhood: let’s hope they get things in shape for my next visit, and lay off the lardons.

1968 W. Main St., Jeffersonville, PA

In our never-ending quest for weekend breakfast spots, we decided to try out this place in the slightly hardscrabble no-man’s land between Norristown and Collegeville.

Food-wise, it was largely acceptable: the bacon was a tad too crispy and the eggs a little too dry, but the potatoes were a good balance of crispy and not. The service was good overall, and the prices very reasonable.

Nothing to disparage really, but nothing to write home about either.

However, the menu is really the star of this place. That is, apparently Patti Jean let the world’s worst editor at her menu, because it is a never-ending source of typo fun (somehow, the takeout menu was largely saved from this). We’re not just talking misplaced commas or apostrophes, though there are plenty of those. No, we’re talking, major misspellings, including ‘omlet’ and ’scarple’. There seems to be a problem with spuds, as you can get either ‘patato skins’ or ‘mushed potatoes.’ I know ampersands can be confusing, but to replace them with percentage signs seems counterproductive, especially when it becomes a ‘egg cheese % meat sandwich’ — not exactly appetizing. Nor, frankly, is my favorite typo dish: the ‘fish filled sandwich.’ I suppose it’s better than a fish filler sandwich, but neither are good.

So, if you’d like some typo humor and decent enough food, do go to Patti Jean’s.

248 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, PA

http://www.blacklabbistro.net/

Way back when (I’m bad with dates), Black Lab arrived just as Phoenixville was turning the corner — transforming itself from yet another PA industrial burg that had seen better days to a vital, interesting town with things to do and, better yet, places to eat. When it opened, Black Lab was a casual sit-down restaurant, with a wonderful breakfast, spectacular baked goods baked in house, and dependable lunch and dinner options. We would go there fairly frequently, and took many an out-of-town guest for a weekend breakfast or casual dinner.

Then everything changed.

Phoenixville became increasingly hip, especially with the arrival of Majolica and its rave reviews in local media. So, rather than remain a dependable and even necessary component of the local restaurant scene — a go-to place that wouldn’t break the bank, Black Lab transformed itself into a fine dining establishment.

Once the change took place, I boycotted it on principle. I’m like that.

However, we had a special guest in town for work, and since Majolica is closed on Tuesdays, and we didn’t feel like hiking anywhere else, Black Lab was chosen.

The once cavernous room has been broken up by dividers and nicer furniture chosen. However, the noise level in the restaurant is still high: with only a few tables besides our own occupied, it was still often hard to hear each other. The place feels like fine dining I guess, though they still have the neon side inside with flying dogs and a really bad font. Of all the things to keep…

For my first course, I chose the frisee salad, in part because I cannot withstand the siren songs of blue cheese and prosciutto (hey guys, would it kill you to spell that word right on your own (online) menu?). The salad was very tasty, if not a bit too big for a starter salad.

Since this was a work dinner, I decided not to go crazy, and opted for the andouille penne — penne with andouille sausage, caramelized onions (yet another thing I really cannot keep myself from ordering), locatelli creme, and grilled chicken. On retrospect, I think I blocked out that last ingredient when choosing this dish, no doubt blinded by the onions. When I got the dish, I was sort of taken aback by the extent to which this dish was a CHICKEN andouille penne. There was just a ton of chicken in this dish, easily overwhelming the surprisingly bland sausage. The sauce was good, as were the onions, but it was just too meaty.

For dessert, I had a yogurt, berries, and granola concoction — I wanted something lighter. It was underwhelming. The berries were nice, but the dessert was layered as a trifle would be, jam-packed into a wine glass, making it difficult to mix everything together, as I expect one is wont to do with such a dish.

As you can tell, I may be being hypercritical of Black Lab, because of how I feel they betrayed me. However, for what they are now charging, I think they should be setting a higher standard, and I frankly don’t think they are…and I still need to have a good, non-chain, casual dining restaurant around here!

290 Main Street, Collegeville, PA

http://www.collegevillediner.com/

When we first moved to Collegeville, there was a Pizza Hut on the corner. Sadly to some, I love me some Pizza Hut, but we didn’t go often. So, when the Collegeville Diner rose from the rubble of the PH, we were pleased, though we didn’t see the absolute need for another diner, since they seem to be everywhere in this area. Within ten minutes, there are probably half a dozen places we could go for our weekend morning breakfast, the time we’re most likely to go to a diner.

However, the Collegeville Diner has pleasantly surprised us. Beyond breakfast, they offer good food at decent prices — and service is quick. Breakfast though is what we normally go there for, and so:

We each got the #1 — your basic two egg breakfast with coffee and (a thimble of) juice included, all for less than $5. The eggs were quite good: the scrambled ones weren’t soupy nor rock hard, and the over easy were good, so Rick said. The bacon is good quality as well — enough crisp that they can stand on their own, but not burnt. Also, the home fries walk that difficult line of crisp/tender well — with enough crunchy bits to keep me satisfied.

So, Collegeville Diner will remain a standby for breakfast — and any other time we need a place where anyone can find anything to eat.

224 S. 15th St., Philadelphia, PA

http://www.gooddogbar.com/

So, after taking care of my business in Philly, I had some time before choir, so I was trying to think of where to have dinner. I then remembered that I had wanted to try Good Dog for a while. From the outside, there’s nothing remarkable about the place, and the inside doesn’t have much either: it’s sort of a hipster dive bar in some ways — dark, overstuffed, with an odd mixture of old and young, men and women.

So, why Good Dog? Well, over a year ago, Craig Laban wrote a review of the place and there was a picture I will never forget of the meal I was to have:

Yes, that is the Good Dog Burger — 1/2 pound of sirloin, stuffed with roquefort, topped with caramelized onions, and barely contained by a brioche bun.

Yeah. Wow. The service wasn’t all that great, the shoestring fries (regular and sweet intermixed) were barely warm, but the burger? Holy bajeezus. It was goooooooooooooooood.

So, should I have occasion to need a humongoid burger that will kill my diet (and some nice beers on tap, including Magic Hat #9, my selection this time), then I will definitely go back.

Arf!

218 S. 16th St., Philadelphia, PA

http://www.pitapocketphilly.com/

Wow. It’s been a while; I hope you all turned over to Stonesthrow to read through my Vegas post to see my reviews of Carnevino and other dining options. Sorry!

Last week I was in the city for work, so I had occasion to eat lunch and dinner and not wolf it down as I normally do on a choir night. For lunch, I went to the Pita Pocket with Mike. I had been here before, and I was glad he chose it, as it is quite a good place.

The offerings are limited to fairly traditional pita-related fast food fare: falafel, hummus, as well as various kabobs. Both times I have had the falafel, and both times I have greatly enjoyed it. The nuggets are just crispy enough without being too charred, and the falafel itself is seasoned well. The fixings for the sandwich are indeterminate, as I just get everything — usual suspects of tahini, but also cabbage, and other sorts of good stuff.

Accompanying all sandwiches and platters is the salad bar, which has some excellent Moroccan carrots, and other Mediterranean options. All in all, it’s a good deal, and a relatively healthy option.

I also have to say that the people serving you are very friendly, helpful, and fast — considering that it has been busy both times I have been there. This might go without saying in other cities, but here? It’s worth nothing. The decor is simple, but nice and clean, and there are plenty of napkins, which you’ll need if you get everything on your falafel!

261 S. 20th St., Philadelphia, PA

http://www.twentymanning.com/ 

Dear friend Michael from chorus is heading north to raise money for that pauvre little school called Harvard (OK, the Divinity School, but still). So, Mike and I decided to treat him to dinner. Where to go? First stop was Open Table because I hate talking to people. Turns out there were quite a few tables open for Sunday, including Twenty Manning: Michael said he loved it there, and we’d never been but always wanted to, so it was a match made in heaven.

I arrived first and immediately ordered a bottle of Cava ($40) chilled to fete Michael. The boys arrived shortly and we sipped our very balanced  bubbly while perusing the menu. So, TM has two special “deals”: Sunday-Thursday there is a $30 prix fixe special that doesn’t let you choose everything on the menu, but an awful lot; tonight, they were also offering a $100 prix fixe for two that included a bottle of wine and anything off the menu. We were sort of confused as to what this would all mean for a table of three, but the waiter basically said to tack on another prix fixe (hence $30) for the third person and have at it. I lucked out with the cava already being one of the wine selections for the special, so we basically got the regular prix fixe price with our choice of entrees.

Either way, it was a steal, because everything was delicious. We started with a lovely cheese plate, with nary a figurative stinker in the bunch, accompanied by some bread, grapes, raspberries, and apple. We also shared the veggie spring rolls which were perfectly cooked and nicely flavored. This course may give an indication of the Asian influence here: if it makes sense to add Asian flavors, they do it; if not, they’d rather provide something delicious and not been hamstrung by a concept. This is not an Asian restaurant, but instead an upscale restaurant with a chef specializing in Asian cuisine. It fits.

After polishing that off, we dug into our entrees. I had a delicious hanger steak (what is my deal with beef lately?) that was in a rich, slightly fruity jus that perfectly accompanied it (the glass of Malbec I ordered didn’t hurt either). Mike devoured his duck, and Michael delicately dealt with his tuna — all raved.

I can’t even remember what the boys had for dessert because I was obsessed with my strawberry shortcake that was just fabulous — not overly sweet, with flavorful and not gritty shortcake.

The service was very good, as one would expect on a slowish night; the room is very nice — upscale but not stuffy; stylish but not pretentious.

Overall, I was really impressed. For around $200 total we were bowled over by well-prepared and flavorful food, nicely selected wines, and wonderful staff. You can’t ask for much more than that.  I can see why it’s become something of a reliable friend for many Philadelphians, and now I want to try Audrey Claire.

Four Seasons Hotel, One Logan Square, Philadelphia, PA

http://www.fourseasons.com/philadelphia/dining/fountain_restaurant.html

There have been many great battles in the Philadelphia area over many disputes. The one that interests me the most is, of course, who has the greatest Sunday brunch in the city. There are two clear disputants: Lacroix and the Fountain. My love for Lacroix has been well documented. I had yet to experience the Fountain though, so it seemed I needed to. So, before the Auto Show (where I slobbered all over the C30 and the new Mini Clubman. However, my Honda is doing just fine thank you and I have one payment left), we went at it.

We were seated promptly at a two-top and lingered somewhat quizzically over the menu.

You see, the Fountain features something of a wacky hybrid brunch: there is an appetizer buffet, then you are presented with your selected entree, and then there is a dessert buffet. Not a fan. What if you are stuck with a sucky entree? I’d rather be able to sample around the main dishes than be presented with a fully-fledged dish, at least in this context.

So, we were confused. And, our server was of no help. It was almost as if he just couldn’t be bothered. He didn’t present a wine list or offer any potent potable options (Um, hello? Mimosa? Bloody Mary?). We overheard another server tell his table that the brunch would proceed at your pace: let us know when you’d like your entree and it’d be out in 15 minutes. Well, that would have been nice to know — I was cramming my face for a while, rushing to get the appetizers in before my entree arrived. In some contexts, I can understand having a more lackadaisical serving approach at a buffet brunch, but not at these prices (our entrees ran at around $40 a piece — buffets are included in that price).

So, off to the appetizer buffet.

Beautiful, no? Yes, definitely beautiful. Notice anything missing?

Wait. Look again.

No labels.

OK, return to that menu we were given (which was whisked away after we ordered): there are a trillion options, and it might be nice to know what we’re going for. So, in that spirit, here are our plates:

As you can tell, I went a little hogwild on the caviar. I quite enjoyed some dishes (that green empanada sort of thing was filled with rabbit and was delicious; the calamari was also lovely), while some left me underwhelmed (the sweet potato soup was strangely thin). It was all well done, but nothing was transporting really. Also, the temperature was odd on some — like some ought to have been hot, but were not.

When we got to our entrees, we were actually lucky, in that they were both lovely. Rick had the crab cake (natch), and I didn’t love it because it was filled with crab, instead of the filling stuff that I love:

I went with the beef tenderloin topped with a celery root ravioli:

This might have been one of the best beef dishes I have ever had. The beef was perfect, the ravioli a nice little change of pace, and the sauce rich but not ridiculous. It was really quite delightful.

Of course, we had dessert. Again, similar problems with labels. Plus, we were pretty full (gee, I can’t imagine why), so we didn’t go off:

We both went for the apple bourbon bread pudding, and we now understood why our server didn’t offer us alcohol, because that thing was strong — too strong. I went off with the raspberries, because how often do you get lovely raspberries in February? We settled the bill and were soon off to battle the crowds at the auto show.

The room and the service were both odd. The room is relatively formal: not quite as stuffy as I expected, perhaps in part to the loads of children there (who are these people who can afford to bring children here?), but it was also a bright day that lightened the room. It was a little too hotel-y for me though, something that Lacroix makes you forget about. We had at least four different people serve us, including the hostess/manager, who was actually the most attentive of the bunch. I hate tag-team service in general because I think it’s actually inefficient and definitely confusing. Our main server disappeared for long stretches and seemed uninterested in us. Not what I’m paying for.

So, the verdict? Lacroix, hands down. The presentation, the room, the service are all far superior, and I found the food to be more inventive, interesting, and put together. So, that makes things easy: when we need to spend over $100 on Sunday brunch, we know where to go.

PS: I should have known I was in trouble when there was no bacon to be found. Duh.

315 E. Main St., Collegeville, PA

Perhaps you are unaware, but if there is a default dinner in our house, it is Wawa hoagies. That is, if I don’t feel like cooking, we will invariably turn to the dependable Wawa: Rick will get a turkey, and I’ve been turning lately to their ciabatta sandwiches. We also enjoy other places in the area, but we are a lazy people here at Stonesthrow.

So, Satchmo’s opened up last month, and last week we had our first occasion to try it. It’s owned by the people who own French Quarter Bistro in Royersford (which we’ve never been to), so it has a NoLA twist to the usual hoagies, including muffuletta, a crab and andouille gumbo (that I may have to try next time), variations on the Po Boy. Rick didn’t stray far from home and had a self-devised turkey hoagie with lettuce, tomato, sweet peppers, and mustard. I went with their menu options and selected the Roast Turkey, which is really attempting to be the Bobbie from Capriotti’s.

[Aside: The Bobbie is the best sandwich on earth. It starts with a wonderful hard roll that isn't too hard. Inside that is lovingly layered fresh roasted turkey, homemade stuffing, a generous portion of mayonnaise, and, of course, cranberry sauce. It is perfect. Simply perfect.]

The Satchmo’s Roast Turkey adds cheese, which isn’t really necessary. The sandwich was good though and is in the running with the McNabb (turkey, cole slaw, 1000 island) up at Sonny’s Limerick Deli for favorite specialty sandwich within a 15 minute drive.

I do wonder a bit at Satchmo’s prices–at $7 and up for a hoagie, they’re pricing themselves outside of Wawa, and thus outside of most of the college kids. The quality probably does make the sandwich worth the money, but we may just stick with Wawa for that spur-of-the-moment run, especially when we don’t want a 10-inch hoagie, which is actually much of the time. All that being said though, it was good, I’m up for trying more, and I hope they succeed.

Trappe Shopping Center, Trappe, PA

Obviously the first clue was us entering the restaurant and being the only people there. OK, it was a weeknight, but it was still 6 or something. We went for Rick’s birthday so he get some sushi into him, as is his wont. He had been there before; I hadn’t.

The space is actually quite nice, with the sushi bar set back but still a fixture:

The burgundy hues and dark wood are quite nice. Of course, that doesn’t much matter if no one is in the restaurant.

The server was pleasant, though not completely helpful, as he didn’t know if they had Thai iced coffee (?), but some was ultimately rustled up for me. We started with our Chinese staple, Crab Rangoon:

These were good, but it’s hard to screw up fried cheese. So, let’s get to the hard part. First, the sushi:

I’ll take Rick’s word that the sushi was underwhelming — not as fresh as it could be, nor as flavorful. You may wonder what we are doing ordering sushi near Collegeville, but Bonjung is a favorite and widely respected, so there. So, not exactly a ringing endorsement. I ordered pork with fresh mango:

Sadly, without the mango thrown in, this dish was impossible to differentiate from every other Chinese dish you get at every other Chinese takeout–nondescript vegetables in a gelatinous, salty sweet sauce.

Now, that wouldn’t be necessarily horrible, but this place is not cheap: my entree was $12, for example. That’s too much money to be spending on mediocre Chinese food.

So, apologies Jasmine: with so many other Asian places nearby to try or depend upon, I don’t think we’ll be coming back.