Photos of the Week: Vietnamese Dinner at Nam Phuong

TGIF! We just hit up Nam Phuong in South Philly for the first time. It was the perfect spot for dinner after an early movie. Mind you, the place was packed at 6:45pm on a Saturday night. Must be good, right?

As relative newbies to pho and other Vietnamese dishes, we're trying to make the rounds on Washington Ave to see what we like best, especially as the weather gets cooler and pho really hits the spot. Nam Phuong is definitely on the recommended list now. Here are some highlights.

Vietnamese crepe, recommended by friends as an appetizer. Pork, shrimp, rice, veggies and other deliciousness inside.

Little Nonna's vs. The Nana Test

It's a food fight for the ages - Little Nonna’s vs. the Nana Test.

In case you live under a food rock, Little Nonna's is the new, highly-anticipated Italian restaurant from Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran, proprietors of several brilliant places along 13th St. such as Barbuzzo and Jamonera.

Romantic outdoor seating behind Little Nonna's

The restaurant's name and menu are billed as being inspired by the home cooking of an Italian grandmother, "the Nonna." Sound familiar? It should be because it is as if Turney and Safran read our introduction to the Nana Test last October and came up with the marketing for Little Nonna’s. The concepts are just about a perfect match.

Talk about a match made in heaven for the Nana Test. Let’s see how Little Nonna’s fared.

The Best Thing at Pizzeria Vetri is Not Pizza.

Sometimes you have to dig a little into a menu to find the real gems.

Recent example: Pizzeria Vetri displays a simple chalkboard menu of 8 pizza options, plus 3 house special items, 3 salads and 3 desserts. It also offers a healthy list of draft, canned or bottled beer, wine and cocktails.

Marc Vetri + pizza. What could be better than that?? I'll tell you what's better than that. The house specials. Don't get me wrong, the pizza my friends and I inhaled at Pizzeria Vetri was great. Was it noticeably better than Zavino, Stella, Osteria, Nomad or the plethora of other fancy pizza/wine spots in Philadelphia? Not really. But that's ok, they're all great.

Photos of the Week: Oodles of Noodles

There are a dozen different ways to get your noodle fix in Philadelphia. From traditional Italian pastas to centuries-old hand-drawn Chinese noodles, we wholeheartedly advocate for carb loading on a regular basis when there are so many delicious ways to do it.

Here are some photos and quick notes on some of the best noodles we've had in Philly lately.

(speaking of photos, check out all our pics from The Farmer & The Chef on our Facebook page. Great restaurant/farm pairing event in Wilmington, DE.)

Cold Sesame Noodles from Cheu Noodle Bar. (Washington West) Served with cucumber, seaweed and cilantro for just $10, they are a perfectly cool little dinner when ordered with some BBQ pig tails, pork belly buns or the best thing on the Cheu menu, the broccoli and Vietnamese sausage in peanut sauce. Cheu is also known for it's several ramen options. A trendy and casual little spot, you may have to sit at the bar but it's fun to watch them cook. Good lunch specials, too.

Go with the shaved noodles, they were the best at our table.

Shaved Noodle Soup at Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House. (Chinatown) Huge menu, dirt cheap, incredible noodle dishes with more than a century of history behind them. You can add a variety of different meats and fishes - beef, chicken, duck, ox tail, shrimp, clams, you name it - or go vegetarian. Great place to go with a group of friends, too. Bring some wine or beer and get there on the earlier side before the crowd. A must-try especially in cooler weather. You will not find noodles like this anywhere else.

Rigatoni in cream vodka sauce, shallots and prosciutto

Rigatoni Locanda at Sotto. (Rittenhouse Square) Tucked neatly in the shadows of the Walnut Street bridge on 24th Street, Sotto is an unassuming little BYOB from the much-respected owner of Radicchio Cafe. It serves traditional Italian pastas, pizzas, apps and entrees. We weren't blown away by the pizza but both our pastas, the Rigatoni and the Spaghetti Matriciana had surprisingly good sauce. If you're in the neighborhood, it's worth a stop in for a low-key, quality and affordable Italian meal.