Staff Blog
NoLibs food details: more, more, more
posted by Felicia D'Ambrosio
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| Dol-sot bibimbap |
| thehikari.blogspot.com |
Taco Riendo has heeded its (apparently party animal) customers’ call to add weekend brunch — which they dub Cruda Weekends. “Cruda”, they write on the Northern Liberties message board, “is the hangover that results from drinking lots of beer or alcohol while having a great time.”
The Fifth Street taqueria sits just beyond Girard Avenue — the driving edge of Northern Liberties — and has made a name for itself serving exceptionally fresh salsa, enchiladas and any kind of taco you could wish for. The Cruda Weekend brunch menu introduces scrambled egg tacos with add-ins like chorizo, oaxaca cheese, jamon and nopales (prickly pear); chilate, a “super spicy chicken soup”; and a thick atole chocolate-based drink called champurrado, served hot.
Meanwhile, over on Liberties Walk, Hikari is adding traditional Korean items to its existing Japanese menu. The dol-sot bibimbap is an tempting medley of rice, egg, mushrooms and vegetables served in a flaming hot stone pot, the dol-sot. The dol-sot is lightly lubricated with sesame oil, and the rice in contact with the hot pot gets toasted and crispy. That crunchy layer of rice, called noo-roong-jee, can be mixed with water or hot barley tea and eaten as a soup to end your meal. Korean barbecued ribs and vegetarian jap-che noodles are also featured on the new menu.
We got Mexican for breakfast, we got Korean for lunch, and we don’t need to go below Poplar to get it.
Taco Riendo, 1301 N. Fifth St., 215-235-2294
Hikari, 1040 N. American St., #701 on Liberties Walk, 215-923-2694
