Staff Blog
THE GOOD WORD Vol. 13: Collin Flatt of Phoodie
posted by Drew Lazor
The Good Word is a weekly Meal Ticket feature where we ask Philadelphia food people questions. We’re going to start by highlighting the city’s many excellent food writers and bloggers, with eventual plans to extend beyond the scribeosphere. The questions will be different every week unless we come across a really sweet one we want to reuse. Want to nominate a future Good Word candidate (yes, you can nominate yourself), or submit ideas for questions? E-mail drew.lazor@citypaper.net.
In this installment of The Good Word, we’re chatting with Collin Flatt, editor/contributor at Phoodie. In addition to instructing at the Wine School of Philadelphia, Collin consults on restaurant beer and wine lists and represents private clients in the wine auction market.
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What are some of the most underrated restaurants in Philly right now?
I’m going with Rangoon as my underrated haunt. The only Burmese place in town, and it’s been around quite a long time. They bring the heat and have really supple and textured plates no one else can match. And I’m not just saying that because it’s the next entry in the Search For Umami. It’s been a favorite of mine for years with some one-of-a-kind vittles.
Instead of another underrated restaurant, I’m gonna give you an underrated plate. The Royal Tavern is always pimped for its bad ass burger. But what you don’t hear enough about is the chicken sandwich. Topped with prosciutto, pear, arugula, blue cheese and honey, it’s a flavorful beast and beautifully layered, texture-wise. The snap of the pear against the blue cheese is really kind of precious. I’ll order that before the burger any day of the week.
You’re a fan of, let’s say, “unconventional” eats — organs, odd cuts, stuff like that. What do you think are some good “starter” dishes for the more meat-and-potatoes diners out there?
When taking someone’s “offal virginity,” try sweetbreads. I know it sounds like it should be further down the continuum of freaky foods, but when done right, they’re special. And last year’s menu at Cochon had sweetbreads that were basically General Tso’s chicken livers. And I mean that as a compliment. They were tasty in a junk-food-accessible way. Anyone would’ve eaten those. Just don’t tell them what it is.
There’s at least one commercial winery in every state in America. As a wine guy, which states have produced some unexpectedly good stuff?
Long Island is often talked of locally as a nice wine trip, but the truth is they make some serious Cabernet Franc on the North Fork. It’s the real deal, as is their Merlot. Specifically, I would hit up the Old Field Winery, where the unoaked Chard and their Blanc de Blanc sparkler is really something special.
Washington State makes amazing Cab Sauv and Merlot. Look for bottles under $10 from the Columbia Valley. It’s gonna blow up in a few years, so buy it up now.
Gun to your head — you HAVE to start working in a restaurant tomorrow, but you get to choose your position. What’s your pick and why?
Bread guy. Zahav is my favorite restaurant and the bread makes it for me. Parc is overrated, but I’ll go there every damn day for that country bread. It’s the best baked anything in the city. Bread guy can’t lose. No one’s meal is ever ruined by the bread, but some people will leave a restaurant talking about the starchy sex that preempts every dinner.
Yes I would agree with Collin that Cochon’s Crispy Chicken Livers with balsamic reduction and spiced walnuts are like a foodie version of General Tso’s Chicken and are super tasty and certainly a great way to indtroduce your friends to the more to meat than just breast and tenderloin cuts, but keep in mind they are not sweetbreads. Sweetbreads are not chicken livers, but are the thymus gland and/or the pancreas of a calf or sometimes lamb….definitely different than chicken livers!
Ah, good to see our Collin in something other than the police blotter. Dude, you really have to stop braising people’s pets. That is clearly the thigh of a Saint Bernard you are chomping on.
FYI to Valetta/Adelizzi: Collin is not an idiot, he knows what sweetbreads are. In your rush to make a snide comment, you totally missed the point that he was making an analogy. Also, my comment about him eating dog is a joke, although a sick one admittedly.