Big Gay Ice Cream I don’t really eat soft-serve. While the twisting turrets of machine-dispensed custard have their place (Ocean City boardwalk or spun into a DQ Blizzard consumed under the cover of night), to me it lacks the character…
Hillary Petrozziello MEAT AND GREET: Chef Saritsoglous Meat Board is inspired by the classic combo of kebabs and beer. The first time I ate at Santucci’s the first of what would be many, many times before this cozy Bella…
Hillary Petroziello CLAM BAIT: Trias riff on bouillabaisse gets a green kick from gremolata. A couple of weeks ago, I started my review of Helm in North Philly by recounting some hospitality drama at a different restaurant. That restaurant was…
You hear a lot that Philly is a city of neighborhoods. What you don’t hear is how those neighborhoods are in constant flux, swelling and contracting like a ring finger with a wedding band, altering their DNA from the inside…
You can’t swing a piñata bat in this town without hitting a Styrofoam plate of al pastor. Over the past 20 years, there’s been such an influx of immigrants from the Mexican state of Puebla, where these tacos are a…
Maria Pouchnikova POUR OVER: Olive oil poached squid at Helm. This is a review of Helm, but the night did not begin there. It started three miles to the southwest at another restaurant, a very busy newcomer across from a…
Hillary Petrozziello BEST IN SHOW: At Isot, the manti and seafood casserole shine, but the baklava is your best bet. To hear Faith Kekec tell it, earth’s best baklava is made in his hometown of Gaziantep, Turkey, a landlocked city…
Matt Zugale The first thing someone asked me when I arrived at Buena Onda was whether I wanted to try some free beer. The staffer was standing at a mobile keg tucked between the counter, where you order, and a…
Hillary Petrozziello NOM NOM: An assortment of dishes at Nom Wah, the recently opened dim sum restaurant located at 218 N. 13th St. in Chinatown. Wilson Tang doesnt want you to judge Nom Wah Tea Parlor by its soup dumplings.…
Hillary Petrozziello South Philly is thick with taquerias. This is not news. From the Italian Market to Lower Moyamensing, nearly all these eateries (and the families that own them) have roots in the central Mexican state of Puebla. The Navarro…
