Delicias, a New Venezuelan Food Truck in University City

The food blogger gods are on my side in 2012... a new day job has me working in University City rather than commuting an hour away from the food haven of Philadelphia each day. That can only mean one thing: more lunches to write about!

Midtown Lunch recently highlighted Delicias, a new Venezuelan-themed food truck at 34th & Market near Drexel/Penn. These awkwardly warm winter days have been perfect for venturing out at lunchtime so I gave Delicias a try.

Choripan Sandwich - look at allll those onions!

The chorizo sandwich, called a Chorpian ($5), was great. It's a long, soft, toasted roll with several pieces of sliced, medium-spiced chorizo, covered in homemade pico de gallo and caramelized onions. Admittedly, I picked off a handful of onions so I wouldn't totally stink up the office, but there were still plenty left to enhance the flavor. The pico de gallo had a nice kick but not more than my sally-pants could handle.

Also key in food truck lunch excursions, the Choripan traveled well back to the office. It had a good 15 minute walk to survive but the tight foil wrapping worked well.

Philly Food Shed: Turning Vacant Lots into Urban Farms

It is always striking to me when I walk around Philly and see vacant lots everywhere. There is even a vacant lot right off busy Rittenhouse Square. (It would make a perfect whiffleball field!) I’m not a real estate guru, but one would think we can do more with empty lots than let them sit idle for years. From a city management perspective they are an eyesore and frankly disgraceful.

Empty lot off Rittenhouse Sq.

It was therefore a pleasant surprise to learn about Philly Food Shed, which is aiming to turn these empty spaces into urban gardens. This concept is not new, but Philly Food Shed is trying to take it one step further by combining the demand to eat local ingredients with urban farming.

The goal is to work with restaurants, stores and others to purchase produce ahead of the growing season. This "future" demand then allows community groups to develop urban farms on empty lots that grow the food to meet this demand.

It's an interesting idea and could be a big win for Philly if it works. I was curious to find out more and asked the founder, Tivoni Devor, to answer some questions.

What follows is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation.

McCrossen's Tavern, a Gastropub in Fairmount

A more casual dining experience, compelling beer and wine lists and darn good food make us frequent visitors of gastropubs. Thank goodness there's no shortage of them in Philadelphia. Since we often dine just the two of us, a gastropub makes it seem like we are not on a private date by offering an inviting, friendly vibe.

On our gastropub list for some time has been McCrossen’s Tavern in the Fairmount neighborhood. Frankly, we had never heard of the place until Craig LaBan’s review in October. If you have delayed trying McCrossen's for any reason, you should make plans to go soon.

McCrossen’s is as good as any gastropub we’ve been to. We’ll still favor our own neighborhood joint, Pub & Kitchen, but the food and atmosphere puts McCrossen’s on our short list when friends want a recommendation or we want to venture out of our neighborhood.

Between the two us, we had the steamed clams, wild boar cavatelli, braised short rib and almond tart. We licked the plate clean on each.

A Second Look at Craig LaBan's "Best of the Rest"

Craig LaBan's "Best of the Rest" were revealed in today's Inquirer, listing 25 more of his favorite restaurants in several categories. As promised, here's our run down of reviews and thoughts on the places we've visited. Yesterday we tackled his list of favorite BYOBs.

We have to second LaBan that the "stunning diversity and depth" of Philadelphia's dining scene makes our home worthy of being coined a restaurant town, and we'll defend that position to any doubter. There's also a noticeable number of suburban restaurants on his list, perhaps a sign that we need to gas up the car more often and explore. 

Best Distinctive Italian

Love the mural behind Le Virtu's bar

Amis - Loved it, The menu has changed a bit since our two visits but we have full confidence it will still be amazing. Smaller plates enable sharing but do add up on price. It's also a great spot to just swing in for a glass of wine and a bite at the bar.

Le Virtu - In haste I threw Le Virtu into a weekend roundup post in early 2011, but don't let that diminish your impression. Its "Best of Philly" pasta and goat meatball appetizer were delicious. Eating at the bar was a perfectly enjoyable experience when all the tables were full. I want to go back and sit on the patio during summer.

Melograno - Solid Italian BYOB that has never disappointed. They don't take reservations so sometimes there is a wait, but it's worth it, especially for the wild boar ragu.

Best New American Full Service

a.kitchen egg sandwich

a.kitchen - We've only been here for brunch because, despite a rave review from LaBan, literally everyone we know that's eaten dinner there gives it a waivering, "eh, it was ok." Brunch was great for us though, so at least there's that.

Barbuzzo - We went opening week and have been back since, both times to a unique and memorable meal. Smaller plates means more things to try, and sitting at the bar means fast, friendly service (and possibly more elbow room; the dining tables are tight).

Fork - I never wrote about it but visited Fork about a year ago for a birthday. Everything we ate was very good; I recall a seasonal risotto that did approach mouthwatering status. Except for that dish, most entrees are $28 so with appetizers and drinks, a full meal at Fork is an investment.

[Update, I missed this one before] Supper - We've been several times for both dinner and foodie blogger events, and walk away content with a solid meal each time. The Supper Burger is one of Bradd's all-time fav burgers and may be at near the top of my parents' list, too, after a recent visit.

Surprising omission: Sbraga - Despite a few bumps in service (that others complain about too, including LaBan) the culinary adventure of Top Chef Kevin Sbraga's menu is really impressive. Flavors and combinations you've never experienced before, beautiful presentation and just-right portion sizes make the $45 fixe price menu absolutely worth the trip.

Best Updated International
Koo Zee Doo - Hooray! One of our absolute favorites in Philadelphia. We recommend it frequently to people looking for something delicious but different, which Koo Zee Doo's Portuguese dishes consistently deliver. Go on a Friday for the suckling pig special, or else aim for the Picanha steak and baked duck rice on any night.

Kanella - Been once for dinner and sat outside on an uncomfortably hot summer night, so it tainted our experience a little, though I don't recall disliking anything. I do want to get back there asap for both dinner and brunch. The bright white/blue simplistic design reminds me distinctly of a honeymoon day in Santorini.

Best Gastropubs
Khyber Pass Pub - Yes on all accounts re: the bacon grease popcorn. The po-boys haven't totally wow'd us  but the extensive craft beer list and juke box can definitely occupy us for hours.

Shocking omission: McCrossens Tavern - We could not be more thankful to have finally eaten here just a week ago because it simply was delicious. Food-wise, we are quite surprised it missed the LaBan's list. Our review to follow this week. If you can't wait, just go and order clams, short rib and cavatelli if it's on special. Trust us.

Meritage roasted duck breast

Great Restaurants Deserving More Buzz
Meritage - Our thoughts exactly! It's been literally around the corner from us for years but we never felt drawn to go until this Fall. And good thing we did, because the food was really good and menu made me want to come back for more.

Meme - We had such an off-putting experience with the host and service here that we honestly can't even remember what we ate. Granted, that was 3 years ago but we haven't gotten over it enough to go back.

Our Take on Craig LaBan's Favorite New American BYOBs

Despite the snow, this week is a hot one for the The Philadelphia Inquirer's food section, with restaurant critic Craig LaBan releasing his updated list of four-bell establishments, as well as his top picks across a few key categories for local eaters. While an expert review from LaBan has been known to make-or-break a restaurant's immediate future, we often hear people comment that they read them with a grain of everyman salt. The majority of us aren't quite as worried about whether the chef's complex inspiration shines through or the flavors display the intricacy of a snowflake. Good food, strong drinks and pleasant service is all we ask for.

On this blog, we've always admitted to having an untrained eye and simply reporting back whether a restaurant meets the average person's expectations. In light of Mr. LaBan's newest "it list" of restaurants (which we willingly read and appreciate, with the aforementioned grain of salt), here are our takes on a few of his favorite New American BYOBs, released today. Tomorrow he'll reveal his favorite gastropubs, Italian, full service New American and more, so we'll provide a similar summary of our views.

Light, flaky skate. My favorite at Pumpkin.

Pumpkin - The menu changes each week but Pumpkin maintains a hallmark of fresh, local ingredients, lovely presentation and creative mix of seasonal flavors. The $35 tasting menu on Sunday is the best deal; check out our review for recommendations on who to take with you and other key things to know before you go.

Blackfish - I'm sorry, but it just wasn't that amazing. It wasn't bad... we had great fun with friends but the food just didn't knock our socks off like other reviews have claimed (except the beignets, I'll give 'em that). Perhaps that's why we haven't been motivated to write about it. I know, we should go back. Maybe.

Matyson - We went about two years ago and I remember it being good - and a little bit noisy - but that's about it. For whatever unrelated reason it never made the blog but yes, we can vouch that it is good. Top 5? Eh, I guess not in our book otherwise we'd remember it better.

We have not been to The Farm and the Fisherman or Fond yet. On the list.

LaBan's list only looked at "New American" BYOBs, but of course there are dozens more in Philadelphia serving international cuisine. Among our favorites are Koo Zee Doo, which we recommend to anyone who wants to deviate from the norm with rich Portuguese flavor and menu options. Melograno is also a top Italian BYOB pick, but perhaps it will make LaBan's Italian list tomorrow. Here are all our BYOB reviews for browsing at your leisure.

Be back tomorrow with the rest of LaBan's top picks...

Sunday Brunch at a.kitchen in Rittenhouse Square

a.kitchen off Rittenhouse Square has been on our brunch to-do list for quite some time. It's not very big and Sunday reservations go fast, but we managed to get seats at the 8-10 person cafe bar recently. Our two bartenders were pleasantly attentive while busy pouring generous mimosas, bloody marys and coffee, but didn't put on any pressure to chase us out quickly.

House-made english muffin, country sausage, fried egg

Craig LaBan raved about a.kitchen's house-made english muffin as "a pedestal for breakfast bliss." I can't argue with that after thoroughly enjoying the restaurant's version of a breakfast sandwich. The muffin is toasty on the outside, fluffy on the inside; the egg fresh and fried to perfection; and the country sausage made with a mix of spices to push the flavor up a notch.

It comes as an open-faced sandwich, but I recommend using your knife and fork because it will get messy. Plus you'll want to soak up all the extra runny yolk with the top half of the delicious muffin, so don't waste any on your fingers or in your napkin.

For $10 it does not disappoint on flavor, but at first glance you may lament that the sandwich looks really small. Not to worry, it has plenty of substance to satisfy your brunch cravings. Plus the side potatoes are too good to pass up, anyway.