Eat This Now: Spring Lettuces Salad @ Strangelove's

Sometimes we just have that one killer dish that we want to share.  Last night we had a quick dinner at Strangelove's, which we've enjoyed previously.   After a lot of Thanksgiving indulgences, we were both in the mood for a serious salad, and Strangelove's has a few offerings on their "Greenery For Your Scenery" section of the menu.  I got a repeat dish- the Russian Kale Salad, which is still a really refreshing bowl of crunchy kale, sweet roasted beets, edamame, and lots of nutty farro and pecans.  A creamy dressing takes a little bit of the earthiness out of the kale.

However, we also tried the Spring Lettuces salad, and while seemingly out-of-season, it makes for a killer meal.

The combo of soft baby lettuces, crunchy fennel and radishes, cherry tomatoes, and green olives offers a ton of texture and flavor.  A sharp sherry vinaigrette adds that necessary acidity.  Although random, a perfectly cooked chicken breast slathered with cilantro-heavy guac is just... really darn delicious.  Eat this ASAP!

Strangelove's 
216 S 11th St

Fall Menu at P.F. Chang's

Remember a few months ago when we made a visit to our closest Pei Wei to try some of their new menu items?  The restaurants PR folks kindly sent us a gift card to try it out, and we were happy to do so-- they are still serving those delicious, fresh lettuce wraps too!  Although Pei Wei is a solid spot, it's more of a quick weeknight dinner kind of place.  P.F. Chang's represents the company's more upscale offerings, with 20 years of "Asian-inspired" eats across the country (and world!).  Typically found in or near a shopping mall, I think of P.F. Chang's as the Asian version of the Cheesecake Factory- seats hundreds, is just as friendly for a date, a group dinner with friends, or a family meal (kids meal included), and offers more options than you will ever be able to eat.

Not my picture (source), but those horses impressed me!

This has been a crazy year, so apologies if I haven't kept you up to date- my husband and I now live about 45 minutes from the city, significantly closer to NJ than Philly.  Thus, our nearest P.F. Chang's is in Princeton.  This restaurant also came with another Cheesecake Factory classic- a wait.  You can make reservations in advance, which I was unaware of, so we ended up waiting about 40 minutes for a table for 2.

The PR folks were nice enough to send us another gift card, this time to try the newest Fall menu additions.  These are highlighted in a special section of the enormous menu, making it easy to hone in on them- and they sounded so delicious that I hardly looked at the regular options.  We started with an order of Crispy Korean Chicken Wings ($10.95 at the Princeton location).  The menu picture of these is seriously irresistible, plus who doesn't like wings AND Korean flavors?

Korean Wings; P.F. Chang's Pic

Korean Wings, the real deal

Somehow the chefs finagle the wings so that the meat is bunched at one end, and the bone becomes a cleaner handle.  Great in theory, but somehow it made the amount of meat seem very small-- and the "crispy" portion thus took over a bit.  Although the batter:meat ratio was quite high, the flavor more than made up for it-- the sweet, sour, spicy mix that Korean food gets just right.  You also get 8 wings for the price- a great deal.

I also chose a Fall menu addition for my entree, the Citrus Mustard Prawns ($17.95).  Tail-on shrimp are very lightly battered and wok-fried with a mix of vegetables, including zucchini noodles, which kind of blew my mind.  I knew that you could make this magical vegetable pasta, but have never actually had it.  I honestly believed that my plate had noodles AND zucchini ribbons until I was eating the leftovers the next day.  It's all made from the green squash!

Although the plate wasn't the prettiest, I loved every bite.  The dish came with at least a dozen large shrimp. making it too much to handle in one sitting.  The mustard sauce might have been the best part-- made with a significant amount of that delicious nose-tingling Chinese mustard.

My date (also known as my husband) took his Sweet and Sour Chicken duties very seriously (he also ordered this picky-eater's-favorite at Pei Wei over the summer).  P.F. Chang's version is- not surprisingly- very similar to Pei Wei's, although you pay $4 more ($12.95 vs. $8.95).  I ended up eating the leftovers a couple days later, when it was probably even better (more time for the flavors to meld).  However, the dish came with many chunks of candied ginger, dyed red (a bit of a surprise to bite into-- I thought they were syrupy cherries at first!).  Although this wasn't a seasonal menu item, it's a good dish to try to get a feel for the basic talents of an (Americanized) Asian restaurant.

I wish we had more room to try additional items-- the autumn menu even includes dessert, such as Caramel Apple Wontons- hello!  P.F. Chang's does a good job at reinventing some comfort favorites with an Asian twist.  For you city folk, the nearest restaurant is probably in Cherry Hill, NJ, so next time you're at the Cherry Hill Mall, take the opportunity to satisfy your Asian cravings.

P.F. Chang's

**Thanks again to Karwoski & Courage PR for the gift card.  This is not a sponsored post, and all opinions are our own.**

Brunch at Dandelion

Did you guys know I'm obsessed with brunch at Parc (warning: link to an OLD post!)?  I think I've mentioned it a few times :)  There's just something magical about the combination of delicious food, authentic atmosphere, and really great service (something you can always count on at the Starr establishments).  Just a few blocks down the street, another Starr spot delivers an equally magical brunch experience: the British-style pub, The Dandelion, provides a very fun experience with delicious eats.

When you're catching up with a few girlfriends, an order of scones for the table is a necessity to start ($9.25).  Round, dense, and crumbly, they're pretty darn near perfect (minus those pesky raisins, which I admittedly childishly picked around).  The house-made raspberry jam was a key component, adding a bit of bright sweetness and additional moisture to each bite.

We split a couple of dishes between the two of us since we struggled to decide what to order from the fairly expansive menu- always a problem with us.  The English Breakfast ($16) is filling enough for two, since almost every item on the plate is particularly hearty.  It includes two eggs (any style; over easy for us), a fat, juicy Cumberland sausage link, baked beans, crispy bacon, fried brioche toast, a small side of roasted tomatoes and mushrooms, as well as a piece of black pudding (for the more adventurous of us.. not my favorite).  That's a heck of a lot of food!  I might be one of the few people I know who actually wants to eat baked beans in the morning-- I think I'd fit in well in England.

To accompany that hearty breakfast dish, we also split a bowl of the fresh tomato gazpacho, which I don't believe is currently offered on the menu-- it's such a summer dish!  It was a wonderful counterbalance, with lots of acidity and nice garnishes of crispy toast with olive tapenade, watercress leaves, and some high-quality olive oil.  Super refreshing and light, and can I please comment on how adorable the china is?

Another super popular dish at The Dandelion is the burger, which both of our friends ordered.  I've actually reported previously on the burger (found here), which has gone through some transformation since that first visit long ago.  A little pricier at $16.50, but a LOT better.  This is definitely one of the best in the city, with all of the best burger components served just right- a buttery bun, shredded lettuce, thinly sliced red onion, bacon, pickles, and a "Churchill" sauce (alright, that's a new one).

The burger comes with a cute little tin of triple cooked "chips" or thick steak-cut fries (my favorite!).  Even though there are so many authentic British dishes on the menu, this burger is seriously worth an order here.

Although I didn't fall in love with The Dandelion when I first went for dinner (almost three years ago), I'm completely sold on the brunch experience.  The intimate spaces and bright sunshine streaming in the bay windows is a completely different atmosphere than the dark, "pub-y" nighttime vibe.  Take your girlfriends, your mom, or your lover here for brunch, and pretend you've woken up in England if just for a couple hours.

The Dandelion Pub
18th and Sansom Streets

Noord

Since the parents became native Philadelphians, they've wasted no time diving right into the restaurant scene.  Although my dad is currently taking a "concentric circle" dining approach- eating at restaurants starting as close as possible to their Rittenhouse condo and moving outwards from there- I recently convinced him to take a nice walk down to Passyunk Avenue with me.  His half-Finnish heritage made Noord, the new-ish Scandinavian restaurant, a good choice.

 

The owner, Joncarl Lachman, has a very noticeable presence in the dining room, checking in on patrons and even pouring water.  He showed us to a small two-seater smack in the middle of the restaurant- a longer, narrow room that seats 35.  Nice weather allowed wide-open windows and a nice breeze, though the noise levels did get a bit high with the outside traffic and inside BYOers.

We were treated to a big hunk of house-baked barley bread and soft butter chock full of roasted garlic.  The haphazard shape gave it an uneven char and required some slightly awkward ripping, but we were glad to get our hands dirty.  Dense and ever so slightly sweet, this crusty loaf is a good enough reason to pop in.

The menu has plenty of options and had us stymied for quite some time.  Almost every entree was a contender, but unfortunately there were just two of us and decisions must be made.  And honestly, the menu is VERY approachable.  It really isn't all herring and lingonberries. 













However, we did start with a couple of rather "traditional" appetizers.  The bitterballen ($10) are advertised as fried pork meatballs, but forget ground meat.  A thick, crispy, hush-puppy-like outside gave way to a creamy, nutmeg-scented pulled pork filling.  A sharp, grainy mustard sauce and a few sprigs of baby lettuce finished the plate. These aren't IKEA's Swedish meatballs by a long shot.

 

My dad has an affinity for pickled herring, so the Holland Sliders ($9) were an easy choice.  Lachman sources his herring from the local purveyor Samuels & Son, already packed in a wine sauce.  Here, the fish is served simply on fluffy potato rolls with a sweet, crunchy bread and butter pickle.  A little plain for my taste- I try not to order things at restaurants that I could make at home.

For the main course, we compromised and decided to split one fish dish (seafood makes up half of the options) and the braised pork shank ($23), a dish I would expect to see at Cochon.  A huge piece of slow-cooked, super tender, bone-in pork is nestled in a pile of firm brown beans and cider-braised collards.  Comfort food at its finest, with pieces of a potent vinegar-infused apple gastrique revitalizing our tastebuds from time to time.  Lachman told us that this was standard dinner fare growing up in South Philly, separating his family's identity from that of their lasagna and meatball-eating Italian neighbors.

Choosing a fish was difficult- they all sound amazing- but we settled on the stuffed rainbow trout ($25), complete with head and tail.  The flaky white meat was easily accessible under the thin skin, complemented by artichokes and sweet onions layered between the fillets.  Braised collard greens made another appearance here, but the best part by far was the dill and white wine broth.  The creamy concoction really showcased every flavor, soaking up essence of fish, sweetness from the onion, and just an overall richness without being overpoweringly buttery.  This fish and that bread and I'm all set. 

The best part of the experience, apart from the delicious food and casual four mile round trip stroll from Center City, was the interaction with Lachman.  He is the definition of friendly, with a genuine smile, warm laugh, and engaging personality.  Even though he was constantly attending to other diners, checking on food before send-out, and generally running the show, he took a few minutes to chat with us without seeming at all in a hurry to rush off to something else.  It truly made the dining experience memorable.

Noord
1046 Tasker St. (corner of 11th and Tasker)

The Turf Burger at Billy Murphy's

A few months ago philly.com published a reader-voted "Best Burger in Philly" list.  I'm typically very wary of those types of lists, but the fact that they had 75 burgers from across the city and surrounding suburbs up for a public vote made it slightly more credible. Slightly.  Four of the top five ended up being never-heard-of places in the 'burbs, with the lone Center City winner coming from Village Whiskey.  Since A has temporarily been living in East Falls, we decided we might as well check in on #1: The Turf Burger at Billy Murphy's Irish Saloon, aka The Saloonery.  Extra bonus?  The burger is only $5 on Tuesdays.

The place is the definition of a dive, and the few men at the bar gave us suspicious looks when we walked through the doors. Clearly we weren't regulars.  Thankfully the waitress was nice enough and brought us big pint glasses of water.

Source

We let her know we were just in to try the burger (typically $7.75), but since it doesn't come with fries, we ordered a large basket to split.  Our waitress informed us they were hand-cut, which was somewhat surprising considering the dive atmosphere.  When our burgers were delivered, one of the first things we noticed was the little tag, encouraging us to go vote for the burger on phillymag.com.  If they used a similar tag for the philly.com vote, they may have had an advantage in the competition simply by notifying their customers that such a competition was even ongoing.

The other thing we noticed was that this burger is a beast.  It includes a ridiculously (inches!!) thick Black Angus slab patty topped with bacon, American cheese, fried onions, pickled jalapenos, and a generous dollop of chipotle aioli on a really dense "country white" roll.  Pickles on the side.

Between the thick patty and the thick bun, eating this required quite the physical feat.  However, we simply pulled out some of the breading from the top of the bun, and it nestled right on top- still intense, but edible.  While the toppings definitely had a lot of spicy pizzazz, the star of the sandwich is definitely that Black Angus. They advertise an 8 oz serving, but I beg to differ- it has to be larger.  Even better, it was somehow a perfect medium-rare throughout, making for a really flavorful, juicy meat without relying on char or a heavy handed seasoning. 

While the burger was very satisfying (as were the fries), it's a stretch to say it's the Best Burger in Philly.  However, it certainly wins the award for Biggest Bang for Your Buck!

Billy Murphy's
3333 Conrad Street
cash only