An Online Food Journal

Whenever I come back to New York, the first thing I ask for when I arrive and the last thing I ask for when I leave are always dim sum.  Although Philadelphia has a handful of dim sum restaurants of its own, none of them can even rival the quality, creativity, and environment of their New York counterparts. Quality can always be assessed by the freshness of the ingredients - how tender the shrimps in the har gow, or how fatty the pork in the char siu bao. On top of executing these classics, a good dim sum destination should also have a few dishes that can't be found anywhere else.  This can include dessert buns that have more of a western influence or an innovative seafood-vegetable combination. Unlike American brunch spots, which aim for a quiet, relaxed atmosphere, Cantonese restaurants on weekend mornings are bustling with the sound of steam cart ladies shouting, little kids screaming, and dishes clattering as dirty tables are hurriedly changed for the next party.  Tru...

Let's face it.  Everyone loves brunch, and anyone who doesn't can safely be deemed soulless.  In a city like New York where the options are endless and the crowds all too willing to wait, finding a brunch spot that has both quality food yet no line is almost an impossible task.  It becomes a game of weighing pros and cons.  Yes, the place makes a mean eggs benedict and good cup of joe, but is it really worth that one hour wait? Here's the trick: take advantage of free weekdays.  Most famous brunch spots will serve brunch even on weekdays, either all day or up until the late afternoon. Taking  advantage of my week off, I decided to check out two popular brunch spots in lower Manhattan that I've been reading so much about: Jack's Wife Freda and Cafe Orlin. Jack's Wife Freda: I've been gawking over photos of Jack's Wife Freda's green shakshuka for over a year now.  It's one of those photogenic dishes, with its vibrant color and adorable plating,...

Toast is usually not the highlight of a meal, but at Vernick Food & Drink it is the one thing you must get.  I'm not talking about the stale, tasteless bread slices that come with lackluster half-frozen butter. I'm talking about thick, hearty slices of Metropolitan Bakery sourdough bread that's been grilled until slightly charred and smothered with an endless combination of spreads and toppings. With an impressive history at Perry Street and at a slew of other restaurants under Jean-George Vongerichten, Gregory Vernick returned home to Philly after five years of expanding the Vongerichten empire to finally start a place of his own.  A fan of ABC Kitchen, a Jean-George restaurant that is also known for its innovative toasts, I was curious how this Cherry Hill native's creations stood against those of his previous employer. Looking at the restaurant's menu, I couldn't help but want to order everything.  The menu was the perfect length: a substantial, but n...

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the words "Japanese food"?  Most likely sushi, tempura, or maybe ramen, all dishes that have proliferated across the West and americanized to please the public's palate.  However, like any other culture, Japanese society is built upon the home cooking of mothers and grandmothers.  As eaters, we often forget the importance of the food we grew up on, food that was both nutritious yet delicious, food that nourished not just our bodies but our hearts, food that we could always go back to and be reminded of home.  In Japanese, this style of food is called "ofukuro no aji", or "taste of mom's home cooking".  Unlike kaiseki restaurants that aim to impress diners with the finesse and artistic progression of a multi-course meal, places like Ootoya emphasize balance and health through the use of simple but good quality ingredients.  Eager to try home cooking outside of home, we headed off to Ootoya's ...

There are few places I would wait one and a half hours in line for.  I'm not talking about the kind of wait where you can put your name on a list and wander around until the restaurant calls you.  I'm talking about the kind of wait where the moment you step out of line, you're out.  There's something pretentious about a restaurant that makes its customers wait like that and I usually don't respect restaurants that don't respect their customers back.  Hence, when I finally sat down inside Mu Ramen I was ready to be disappointed, ready to deem the 22-seated joint overrated, ready to wish I never wasted my time standing outside.  Only, that never happened. Mu Ramen is currently rated the number one ramen shop in New York City by yelpers, quite an impressive accomplishment considering the long-standing reign of ramen powerhouses such as Totto Ramen and Ippudo NY.  Although I'm usually not a fan of ramen (I find the broth too thick and prefer its lighter cou...

Philadelphia has a growing community of innovative, modern American cuisine restaurants, one of which is Petruce Et Al.  Having only been open for a little more than a year, this small, rustic joint has already been making a name for itself with its engaging but unpretentious takes on American classics.  With its intimate setting, open kitchen, minimal decor, and locally sourced ingredients, this newcomer reminded me of Vernick Food & Drink, one of the top restaurants in Philadelphia.  It was a unique combination of cabin warmth and modern chic. Everything on the menu sounded hearty and enticing, but decisions must be made and so we settled with the chicken liver mousse for starters.  Please note that this was not your grandmother's chicken liver mousse.  Probably my favorite of the night, this dish was unbelievably creamy and rich, without a hint of the bitterness that chicken liver usually comes with.  The perfectly buttery texture paired nicely wit...

For Mother's Day this year we went to a trendy, new restaurant in Tribeca called Khe Yo that specializes in Lao cuisine.  I admit, it was a bit of a selfish decision.  I've been going through an obsession with Southeast Asian cuisine, whether it is Vietnamese, Thai, or Cambodian, but I had yet to try Lao.  From the little I've read about it, the cuisine seemed to be similar to its bordering neighbor Thailand, and if fact, many of the popular Thai dishes Americans eat today are actually Thai versions of traditional dishes brought by Lao immigrants when they relocated to Northern Thailand.  For example, larb, a type of minced meat salad composed of fresh herbs and spices are eaten in both countries, while the same can be said about papaya salad.  However, although many dishes are similar, the manner in which they are executed are different and the specific ingredients used also vary.  Even though most Southeast Asian cuisines incorporate fish sauce into prett...

Part 1: 2013 It was 6:00 A.M. August 19th, 2013.  I thought we were early, after all, the door doesn't even open until two hours later, but the line had already wrapped around the block.  This is the price you must be willing to pay for the cronut.  A few months ago, Dominique Ansel presented this invention to the hungry, restless, awfully-fickle New York foodie scene.  Classically trained and the once executive pastry chef  at Daniel, Ansel decided to revamp the iconic American donut using croissant dough as the crux of the recipe.  Remember, this is 2013, when donuts were on the rise and cupcakes were no longer the new black.  Every bakeshop, from Donut Plant to Dough, was trying to do something novel with this morning favorite, experimenting with new flavors such as tres leches and hibiscus.  Sure, changing the glaze may be one thing, but to take the humble donut and give it a complete french makeover is something almost unimaginable.  I...