Giwa

1608 Sansom St, Philadelphia, PA

In my never-ending for pre-rehearsal dining, I wandered about the Sansom Street area. I contemplated Ladder 15, but it was too crowded; I then happened upon Giwa and thought it might be a nice venture, especially since I wanted to redeem Asian food from the recent bad experience at the Pad Thai Shack (just not good pad thai).

The space is tiny, with a handful of tables and a counter area. I scanned the options and chose the buckwheat noodle special, thinking I would be eating healthy since the little description said I would be doing so. I sat at the counter and read, and soon my food was up: a heaping mound of noodles and veggies with little accompaniments of what I think was kimchi and some nut-like things that were probably the cousin to a soy/edamame hybrid. I don’t know.

What I do know is that the noodles were great. They packed a spicy punch, but still had lots of flavor. The noodles also were cooked well, which can sometimes be a problem with buckwheat noodles (they tend to get sticky I find). Adding to the flavor of the meal was just a pleasant and friendly atmosphere: the service was speedy but lovely, so that I didn’t feel stressed but pleased to be there.

Certainly not a life-changing restaurant, but it appears to be dependable and efficient…and tasty and relatively cheap (I think I got out of there under $10). So, add it to the list of options.