PYT

Last weekend we decided to go ice skating at Penn's Landing. To grab a quick bite en route, we tried PYT, a burger joint that ironically opened right around the time of Michael Jackson's death, inciting rumors that it was named after his famous song (aka Pretty Young Thing) but I never heard if that was true or not.

PYT was just what it claims to be - a burger joint, bar and lounge. It's right inside the infamous Piazza in Northern Liberties, still a neighborhood we need to explore more. The Piazza intrigues me because I've yet to be there when it wasn't a borderline ghost town, but maybe I have to check it out in nicer weather.

We both got their basic PYT burger, which has cheddar, bacon, tomato, lettuce and a "special sauce" on it I would say is kinda like ranch but different in a tastier way (and I looooove ranch). Burgers were not too big, not too small and the bacon was cooked all the way (undercooked bacon is a foodie pet peeve of mine) so all told it was one of the tastier bacon cheeseburgers I've had in Philadelphia. At $8.00 thats not a bad deal. They come with chips but we also got "Probably The Best Onion Rings You've Ever Had" for $4.00. And they were quite delicious.

You could be a lot more adventurous than us and get some of their other fun burgers - and if you're really hungry try the "The Big Mic" with THREE patties on it. That sounds gross to me, but know plenty of guys who would try it. PYT serves a few non-burger options like a hot dog, cobb salad and my fav Peanut Butter Jelly Time (loved that random video passed around circa 2003). There are also $5 milkshakes and $10 "adultshakes" that I would try next time.

Atmosphere was ok. Cool, chill bar, a little reminiscent of a Stephen Starr bar, but then the couple tables/booths were really casual. If I lived at the Piazza I would consider going just for the bar to grab a drink or two. When I went to the bathroom, I also noticed there is a back room and a slightly shady sign hanging there advertising a party or club-ish nightlife scene back there. Pretty random, but maybe if I knew someone who knew someone who'd been there before, I'd check it out.I also started following the owner on Twitter and he's pretty funny - @tommyup.

I think the Piazza and surrounding area is really cool and a great new nightlife/shopping destination for Philadelphia. Especially because it has the room to offer a lot of outdoor seating and look just like the piazzas we saw in Venice. I hope it really takes off as Northern Liberties grows, but like I said its usually a bit empty when I've gone over there, save for Bar Ferdinand which is really popular. Maybe I go at the wrong times, who knows.

Good job by PYT regardless.

Taqueria Veracruzana

The so called Taquerias (aka taco shop) of South Philly have been receiving a lot of attention in recent years. We decided to check one out before heading to the movies. It was tough to pick one after an exhaustive search on the web. Everyone seems to have an opinion. Guess we will have to visit them all so we can give ya'll our opinion. We chose Taqueria Veracruzana.

It is on Washington right near the Italian Market. It is a no-frills taco shop. Those unfamiliar with a taqueria can compare it a no-frills pizza joint. You don't go for presentation or service.

I thought about trying the alambre, but went with the chicken burrito. Kristy got three tacos (all beef or steak). The burrito was very good. It is not what you get at a Qdoba. Less cheese and it was huge. I thought it would have more spice to it, but you can just add salsa to your liking.

The tacos were definitely no frills. They came in soft not as hard tacos. No cheese. Kristy didn't really like it mostly b/c she had flash backs to a previous mexican place we went (she got ill). I thought the tacos were quite good and enjoyed the no-frills aspect. The tortilla was soft and I liked the spice of the meat. I would have liked to try the pork tacos.

In the end, Taqueria Veracruzana was what I expected. Nothing too special. Just simple food. I'd go back again and looking forward to trying some of the other nearby taquerias.

On another note, I love seeing these taquerias sprout up and take hold in Philly. They represent what is great about our country. It's no different than italians coming here not being able to speak any english and congregating in neighborhoods with other italians in South Philly. I can imagine being in South Philly many years ago and seeing all these pizza places opening as the italian immigrants moved in. This is what is happening with the hispanic culture near the Italian market. When you go to a taqueria you are learning another culture as they aim for their slice of the american dream.

Zahav lives up to being Philly Mag's #1

Zahav was named Philadelphia Magazine's best restaurant for 2009. I was a little apprehensive to try it, really having no idea what Israeli food would be like, but I like hummus and heard it was the best thing in town, so why not. Plus they post their menu online with explanations of what the dishes are, which wins major points in my book because I like knowing what I am getting myself into - both in food and in price. 

First good sign: I've discovered my new favorite drink in Philadelphia: the Jerusalem Cocktail at Zahav: a tasty delight that makes you want to drink 7 of them, although I think that probably wouldn't be a good idea. I had one. It's a mix of sparkling wine and sabra fruit, which I'd never heard before. To me it was fruit-punchy, but not like Hi-C fruit punch, more like $9.50 high-class fruit punch, with bubbles. I also tried the Adom Rimon, your average pomegranate martini. Bradd had the sweet Lemonnana (which you can get by the glass or pitcher and is sort of like a fancy Mike's Hard Lemonade), but liked the Goldstar Lager better, an Israeli beer.

Second good sign: I love restaurants with small plates so you can try more things. We'd read and been told over and over that you can't go to Zahav without trying the hummus, so to start we got deliciously warm and garlicy Turkish Hummus along with their Salatim, a group of 8 salads. I meant to take a picture of the presentation - it comes out in this two tiered stand with 8 little plates/servings on it - we had spaghetti squash, parsley salad, eggplant, cucumber, carrot, okra, and some others. I couldn't tell you what each of these ingredients was mixed with to create the "salads" but they were all great. I liked the spaghetti squash, parsley and cucumber the best. You don't get to pick them though - its a daily selection.

We split 5 small plates, which was plenty of food. They recommend 2-3 per person. Fried Kibbe with Tahini (fried balls of ground lamb meat - like the pic in the wikipedia entry) were UNREAL. You only get two, but I could have eaten a plateful of them. Second favorite was the Fried Cauliflower. Note: if my mother or brother ever finds out I ate cauliflower at a restaurant I will never hear the end of it, so don't tell them. For 20 years I threatened war if they made me eat it, and to this day won't touch it, but Bradd wanted and man was it good!!! The mint, garlic, chive and dill sauce you dip it in makes it even more wonderful.

Monsieur Merguez was also excellent - its a housemade sausage with cous cous and some red sauce over it. Slightly spicy, very tender and extremely tasty. I had merguez once before at Novita Bistro and wasn't totally impressed, but now I feel like my first experience was way over-cooked because Zahav's was awesome.

Bradd loves cheese. You've probably figured that out by now. So naturally he loved the Crispy Haloumi, a fried sheep's milk cheese. He thought it was incredible, but personally, the cheese was too hard for me. I prefer concession stand mozzerella stick-style fried cheese but I suppose that's not really how Philly Mag top restaurants roll.

Lastly, the Chicken Freekah was fun to say, but not that great. It wasn't bad but paled in comparison to the rest.

Ambiance at Zahav is great - cool view out two whole sides of windows, cozy half-open kitchen feeling, and very friendly staff. I am always amazed at restaurants that send random people to your table to deliver food/drinks, instead of just your waitress. It must keep places that serve tapas-like food more efficient. I would definitely go back just to sit at the bar with Jerusalem Cocktail and one/two small plates, or grab a table with friends and go to town on more of the amazing-sounding hummus, salads and menu items. Make a reservation though - calling day-of on a Saturday, we could only get in at 5:45, but it was worth skipping lunch for the early dinner. Without several $9-$10 drinks, the price isn't bad either. It depends on how much you eat... and of course how many Jerusalem Cocktails you fancy that night.

MidAtlantic

Considering Gayle was one of our favorite places, we have been itching to give Daniel Stern's new place MidAtlantic a go. It is a different experience than Gayle. As a restaurant/tap room, MidAtlantic is not as intimate and as expensive as Gayle. Nonetheless both of us enjoyed and would recommend.

The decor is interesting with big windows and an open kitchen. Youthful vibe. There is a decent sized bar and small table seating along with a standard dining room. You can also sit at seats in front of the kitchen, which seems to be the new trend. It also looked like you can get private seating for a bigger party if desired. The service was good.

The one drawback is the location. It is at 37th and Market Street and seemed all alone. It is a desolate area with not much activity in the neighborhood on a Saturday night. There is really no reason to be in the area besides going to MidAtlantic. I would have liked to see Stern pick a location closer to Distrito and The Bridge, which is a nice area and another quality restaurant like MidAtlantic would only add to the scene.

The appetizers were delicious. We had the MidAtlantic pig "wings" and the rarebit fondue and soft pretzel. You have to get the pig wings. I guess you can call them the daniel stern take on wings. They are not spicy hot, but rather bbq flavor. The "wings" are basically pieces of pork fried.

The Stern take on scrapple is supposed to be really good, but we didn't have.

I had the burger, which was quite good. The burger at Village Whiskey is much better, but you definitely will not be disappointed. The roll was good and the burger was cooked perfectly. I would have another any time. The MA fries were good, but not the best. Above average for sure.

Kristy had the bean and potato salad. She labeled it ok. I think it was more poor selection than the salad not being good. The "salad" was more bean than salad and potato and the vinaigrette was not her style. That said, the couple next to us had the beet salad and that didnt look to good. So maybe stay away from the salad and stick to the real food.

The beer selection was excellent although I am tiring of every place having all the standard local brews (yards, sly fox, etc). Don't get me wrong I like all those beers, but could use a bit more variety. They did have Lionshead, which is rare. Good cheap beer.

Verdict. It is a place worth checking out. I am not itching to go back especially considering the location. It is isolated, hard to get a cab and not much else to do. I would certainly go more if it was in the neighborhood like Pub & Kitchen (a comparable place). MidAtlantic is certainly not Gayle, but it is a different type of place.

I'd go for the apps, beer, atmosphere and a quality tap room meal. And tell Stern to serve the Breakfast dessert!