restaurant week: table 31

I'm not going to lie, nor mince words here. I was genuinely excited to try out Table 31, the latest offering from Georges Perrier and Chris Scarduzio, especially after reading Craig LaBan's three bell review in the Philadelphia Inquirer. And yes, I know that you should not take a food critic's review at face value. But the timing of review could not have been any better for Table 31. And yes, I understand that Restaurant Week is a chance for people to try out restaurants that they might not otherwise visit. And that's exactly why Restaurant Week is important for restaurants; in particular, new restaurants that have been open for less than 4 months and is brought to you by the most famous chef in Philadelphia. They are a new restaurant and their goal should be to impress their potential clientele enough that guests are willing to come back and buy that $105 porterhouse or that $68 tomahawk.

Essentially, this dining experience can be summed up in one word:
FAIL.

I am aware that a restaurant may not be inclined to show off their best work during Restaurant Week. But they should at least put some effort into it. When you go to a restaurant ranked up there with the best steakhouses in the city, the steak you order should be cooked to order. But that's getting ahead of things, because before you even get the menu, you should be seated at a table for your party and not sharing a space with another group of people in the Private Dining Room (or PDR as the hostess said, trying to make it more impressive). I know that during Restaurant Week, you are cramming as many people into the place as possible. But don't force people to share a space if you aren't a family- or hibachi-style restaurant.

Second, as a steakhouse, you should be able to cook a slab of meat as ordered, most definitely when it costs extra on top of the fixed Restaurant Week menu. And certainly if you get it wrong the first time, you should get it right the second time, even if you do bring out a sad excuse for a NY strip steak and fail to provide a knife to cut into the steak to check it. And if by some chance you manage to get that sad excuse for a NY strip wrong again, you most definitely should not bring back the same sad excuse for a NY strip back out after cooking it a little bit longer while still managing to leave it undercooked.

Third, you also should be able to bring out wine listed on the menu as the suggested entree wine with the entree and not after the entree and certainly not after asking for it three times, while eating said entree slowly with the hope of being able to enjoy the wine with said entree.

Fourth, as a sad attempt to make things right, you should positively not bring out a drink at the end of the meal that tastes like Robitussin with cocoa on top of it.

And not to completely pan Table 31: the desserts were outstanding. The PBJ was delicious and tasted exactly like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The Ultimate Chocolate Cake was delightful; rich but light and smooth.

There is no excuse for a top steakhouse, Restaurant Week or not, to prove an inability to cook a steak to order - first obviously overcooked without cutting into it and second drastically undercooked. No fine restaurant should have such service as not to bring serve wine ordered with the entree after the entree was finished. Just about the only thing that was handled properly was the check, which the manager kindly amended down approximately two-thirds of the total. What Table 31 failed to do was, in any way, make us return during regular dining. Which means they completely missed the point of Restaurant Week.

nada surf live at the troc

Nada Surf. They hit it big in the mid 90's with the single "Popular" from High/Low and then essentially faded from the mainstream. Luckily for them. People think they're one hit wonders and those people are wrong. They continue to put out quality albums that are for them and their fans and not the executives at a record company. In fact, they felt so strongly about their second album The Proximity Effect that they ended up breaking their contract with the company they were with and then fought a protracted court battle to win the right to release it in the United States. Over the years they have become a quiet favorite of mine.

Small venues are my favorite places to see bands. They're more intimate, obviously, and the band often interacts with the crowd much more. For bands with small followings, the people at the show are often passionate fans that really groove with the music. It all just lends itself to a better performance. Nada Surf was no exception. The crowd was singing along, people were dancing to the tunes and the band, especially Matthew Caws and to a lesser extent Daniel Lorca, was talking to the crowd. Caws called out some kids that were on the balcony at the front and said it was great that they were at the show. He told the guy with them that he was a great dad for bringing them to a rock show.

They played a lot of music from their new album, Lucky, in the beginning of the show. The new album sounds great and I plan on buying it...from a record store at the plea of Caws. Their newer music is a little less hard and heavy. My thought is that they're mellowing out a bit as the get older. This is fine, good bands change as they grow as musicians. The effect was that the first two-thirds of the concert was a little less "rock" and a little more "roll." They played some really great songs, including the haunting "See These Bones" and my favorite "Weightless" from Lucky.

They came back for the encore - I use this term lightly...it was more of a shortened second set - and proclaimed that they had 25 minutes left to play and they had 4 songs left they had planned to play, which wouldn't take 25 minutes. The crowd shouted out some requests and "Hyperspace" (which could/should have been the single the record company was looking for from The Proximity Effect)was added to the set list. Caws said it had been a while since they played it, so we'd have to see how it went. Well, they rocked it and I think Caws and Lorca had the best time with that song in the entire concert. The encore had a different tone to it, they played all older songs and they really turned the intensity up. The concert would have been great if they hadn't, but it was incredible because they did. I left the Troc pumped and wishing they would have played for another hour.

After waiting so long to see them for the first time, I can't wait until they come around again.

philly film fest - what we do is secret

At the beginning of the film festival, I had no intention of going to see What We Do is Secret. When it was suggested, I was ambivalent and expecting it to sell out, figured that I didn't really need to see it. Saturday came around and when it wasn't sold out and I had plans to be in the city later anyway, I decided that part of what the film festival is about is to see movies you wouldn't normally see. All I can say is that I would have been upset and kicking myself if I didn't see this film. For me, it was easily the best of what I had seen so far.

What We Do is Secret is the dramatized, biographical film about Darby Crash (played phenomenally by Shane West) and his late 70's punk band The Germs. The film uses a mix of interviews, live performances and everyday life to tell Crash's story. The movie benefited from input from band members - Pat Smear was on the set for 80 - 90% of the filming according to the director. It is a hauntingly realistic view of Crash's life from his teens to his death in his early twenties.

The seriousness of the film is intense. There are light moments, but usually they last only a few seconds. The one notable exception is a band interview at KROQ in LA. The scene is light, laugh out loud funny and most remarkably, actually what happened. The transcript from the interview was used for the movie. During the Q&A after the film, the director, Rodger Grossman, noted that he had to fight tooth and nail to include this scene in the movie.

Funding for the film was limited; according to Grossman, it took over ten years to secure funding and when they finally nailed it down, they filmed 80% of the movie in 15 days. It's a shame it took so long to tell this story, but it's great that it was finally told.

What We Do is Secret
Ritz East
Philadelphia Film Festival

philly film fest - lucky miles

This cute film set in the Australian desert in 1990 teams up the unlikely combination of a Cambodian, an Indonesian and an Iraqi who have been brought together by a series of deception and mishaps, which continue to plaque them as they wander seemingly aimlessly. Their final destinations are different, one wants to go to Broome, one to Perth and the third simply wants asylum and none of them know how to achieve their respective goal.

The best scenes in the movie are those that involve the army reservists that are tracking the trio through the desert. Not quite a bumbling set, they spend their day punting the football or grilling shrimp on the engine of their truck. On the chase, they find the water hole that the trio their tracking found two days before. While taking a swim, the truck rolls into the pond. In a classic scene, the reservist responsible for the truck simply drops his head and lets out a sigh in admission of his failure.

The film suffers from a tad too much comedic fantasy. One character falls off the side of a cliff as he is being chased and the grunts he emits as he falls, unseen while the camera remains fixed at the point where he went over the edge, are laughter inducing because they last for so long and continue long after they should. But in his next scene, this man is seen without torn clothing, cuts, limps or any indication that he had just fallen hundreds of feet. The same goes for a pickup truck that is repaired from an utterly destroyed state in a matter of days. The repaired truck allows for humorous scenes, including the fact that it can only go in reverse, but it is unlikely it would ever actually be able to be restored to running condition.

Overall, Lucky Miles is a funny movie that doesn't make you think too hard, which can certainly be appreciated on the final weekend of the film festival. The audience laughed out loud on more than a few occasions and I think that should count as a successful comedy.

Lucky Miles
Ritz East
Philadelphia Film Festival

philly film fest - lovely by surprise

Frankly, I walked away from this movie disappointed. As the credits rolled, the story seemed incomplete, full of holes and questions left unanswered. The Q&A session with one of the producers wasn't very helpful, with the response, "That's a good question," leading off most of his answers. To be fair, he was filling in for the director and writer (Kirt Gunn), who had a family emergency. He only came on board the project after shooting was complete, but it seems to me that for someone in a position that can heavily influence the final product, perhaps less so in an indie flick, he knew very little about the actual substance and background of the film.

A few of the actors were terrible (Dallas Roberts as Mopekey comes to mind). Others were outstanding, perfect for the role in which they were cast (Kate Burton as Helen, Reg Rogers as Bob). There are scenes that don't seem to quite sit right within the movie. There are scenes in the film that are excellent and these are the scenes that stay with you after the movie ends.

I didn't think I had as much trouble wrapping my head around the movie as other people, but the more I think about it and discuss it with friends, the less secure I am in that thought.

As disappointing as the film was initially, two days later we were still talking about it, trying to work it out. Movies that stay with you for days afterward have done their job. They make you think, contemplate the story, dissect the scenes, search out clues to what the director or writer had in mind. They may even draw you in to watch it again and try and pick up on those little nuances that you missed the first time around.

I have the benefit of having friends to whom music is like second nature. I know what I like when I hear it, can recall lyrics and tunes from years past, but struggle to remember song and artist names. While I often feel and even see music - particularly at live shows - I am envious of my friends who can recall songs and names of small indie artists, connect familiar sounding songs with other, different artists, or generally know more about music itself than I do. I try to learn from them as much as possible. As it is, music in movies is often a background element for me, unless it's really a horrible selection. I tend to concentrate on the dialogue and settings. As the musical selections for Lovely by Surprise were discussed, I realized how well it fit in with the movie. When I think back on the film, I can remember the music, but it doesn't stand out in a glaring, obvious way. This to me is a good thing, because it didn't take away from the movie in anyway. On the other hand, I wish I could admit that it added to the film for me. I feel like I missed an important character in the film.

In the end, I'm glad that I saw this movie. And I've decided that I actually would like to see it again, this time trying to pick up on the things missed in the first viewing. I'd also like to really hear the music and connect it to the film. I wonder if I'd be as disappointed with the movie the second time around and I suspect that I won't be.

Lovely by Surprise
Ritz Five
Philadelphia Film Festival

philadelphia neighborhoods

With a friend of Jared's in town from California, we hit up a few of the best areas of Philadelphia.

We started the day in Northern Liberties, heading to Honey's for breakfast. Honey's has an interesting Southern Jewish style menu. There was 30 minute wait for a table, which I always take as a good sign for a breakfast place.



Walking in the door, I wanted pancakes, but as soon as I sat down and saw the words French, Toast, Stuffed, Peanut Butter, and Bananas on the same line of the menu, I knew that I had to try it. I wasn't prepared to forget my desire for a pancake and Jared said the latkes were really good. So along with the Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast, I ordered a buttermilk pancake and a latke. Too much food, I know, but I had to do it. I was not disappointed in the least. The peanut butter was homemade, the pancake was thick and perfect and the latke was plain looking, but so tasty.



From Honey's and Northern Liberties, we headed off to Chinatown for a little adventure. First up was the Shanghai Bazaar, where we learned how to use an abacus (sort of) and played with Chinese brain teasers, one of which was purchased and brought home.



Afterward, we ventured into a Chinese market that was below ground and the funk of fish hit you as soon as you opened the door. With no fear and a bit of anticipation, we headed down the steps to the market. We wandered around, looked at the live fish and crabs, marveled at the boneless duck feet and were astounded by the dried sea cucumbers ($89.99/lb!) but left basically empty handed. With the meter running out, we headed off to our next neighborhood, the fantastic Italian Market.

The Italian Market is filled with food, colors, culture, people, smells, tastes, and sounds and there is nowhere else like it.



The highlight of our visit was DiBruno Brothers, where we sampled Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor, a goat cheese with black truffle. Purchased. Next we sampled the Midnight Moon Goat Gouda. Also purchased. And finally, we decided that we absolutely could not pass up a chance to try a prune that had been soaked in cognac and then stuffed with foie gras. If ever a perfect food was created, this might be it. So rich, just one is more than enough, but so, so succulent. We also picked up a baguette before leaving. Moving down the block, we picked up some fresh mozzarella before heading off to South Street.

We decided to walk from the Italian Market to South Street since we had free parking and weren't really all that far. They're doing construction on South Street to freshen the look. They've pulled out all the trees, including the gum covered one, which is a little disappointing, but supposedly the "new" South Street is going to be worth it. Anyway, the goal on South Street was to get Jim a cheese steak. We passed up Jim's and moved down to Steaks on South, under appreciated and not nearly as busy as Jim's, the steaks are great. Plus they take a shot right at Geno's, which always makes me happy. We wandered around a bit more before heading back to the car we left at the Italian Market.



From there, we took Jim on a driving tour of University City and Manayunk and then headed back to the house, stopping at ACME to see if we could find some Hank's Root Beer for Jim to try. We failed at that, but decided to have a taste comparison of Virgil's Root Beer and Natural Brew Root Beer. While picking those out, it was decided that a Key Lime pie would be made for dessert. Jim's family was instrumental in the history of Key Lime pie and he insisted on making it right. With true Key Limes - the yellow ones that come from the Florida Keys and not the green ones that come from Mexico - in short supply, the only acceptable substitute is Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Juice. Luckily ACME carries it, so we were in business. We picked up some eggs, sweetened condensed milk and a pre-made pie crust (it was a long day), ice cream and milk and headed back to the house. Jim took control, prepped the filling and stuck it in the oven for 15 minutes, at which point we decided to tackle the cheese we had purchased earlier in the day. When we sampled the Truffle Tremor at DiBruno's, we didn't get a whole lot of the truffle flavor, but it really stood out when we ate it now.



Jared pulled out some dark chocolate chips and suddenly chocolate and cheese was being enjoyed. A little olive oil was put into a dish and we had a gourmet cheese plate on our hands. We busted out the root beers and decided that the Virgil's was better of the two, but the Natural Brew was made into a root beer float to be enjoyed.



A game of Kalooki while we waited for the pie to set in the fridge passed the time and before we knew it, we were finishing our day off with Key Lime pie at 12:30 am.

philly film fest - young@heart and opening night party

For the opening night of the Philadelphia Film Festival, we went to see Young@Heart, a documentary about the Young@Heart Chorus, a group of seniors that sing rock songs. The movie, while primarily uplifting, runs the full spectrum of emotions as the members of the chorus experience life and death together. Comedy and tragedy are intermixed throughout the entire movie. The chorus sings such songs as The Clash's Should I Stay or Should I Go, James Brown's I Feel Good and even Sonic Youth's Schizophrenia. The arrangements are well done and suited to the seniors' singing style.

After the movie, the chorus director, the movie director and three members of the chorus held a short Q&A session. Becca bought their CD and had them autograph it, much to her delight. The part of the CD that I heard was pretty good.



From the movie, we went to the Opening Night party, which was being held at swanky XIX Nineteen in the Park Hyatt. The party was an interesting mix of the ultra-hip art crowd, the societal elite, the elderly, and normal people. We took advantage of the limited (sponsors' drinks only) open bar, ate some of the tasty hors d'oeuvres, learned that P.I.N.K. vodka has caffeine and guarana, and generally had a good time until they turned the lights up and we were stunned to look at the time and see that it was 1:00am. On a school night.



All in all, it was a great way to kick off a cool event like the Philadelphia Film Festival. I'm looking forward to the rest the event.

philly beer week - south philadelphia tap room

As Philly Beer Week wound down, we decided to hit up the South Philadelphia Tap Room to try out Long Island brewery Blue Point's selection from the tap and the firkin. We had to wait around for a table; I mistakenly thought the waiter was going to be seating us, so I wasn't really paying attention, but apparently we had to grab our own table. I figured this out after the table Becca was going for was snagged by some other guy. Ah well, it turned out for the best because as we were waiting, the Blue Point sales guy showed up and we started chatting him up from the beginning. We scored keychain bottle openers before we sat at our table and the night was on.

First drinks were the Sour Cherry Stout, which was supposed to be the Oatmeal Stout but they didn't have it, and the Blue Point Pale Ale, which was supposed to be No Apologies, but they didn't have that either. Whatever, both were good and we didn't know what we were about to be drinking for the rest of the night anyway.

The sales guy tapped the firkin, which is a neat process involving driving wooden corks into the top of the firkin, driving the tap into the side of the firkin and spraying beer everywhere. I had never seen a firkin before; looks a lot like a small keg. In the firkin was the Rasta Rye - unofficially named at the moment, as they're talking to the Rastafarians about it. I was looking forward to trying this one out. For one, I had never had a rye before and, two, how can I resist a beer with Rasta in the name?

For dinner, we wanted the wild boar burrito, but they were out of it (somehow...) so I had to go with a steak (which was quite good and also appropriate since it was March 14th). It was seasoned really well, but the kitchen needs to work on the difference between rare and medium. This was obviously a rare steak, a happy mistake as Becca said, since rare is often a good thing. I was really in the mood for medium, though, so I was a little disappointed. But, between the steak, mashed potatoes, asparagus and a couple bites of Becca's Baked Chipotle Mac and Cheese, I couldn't finish all my food. Becca commented that the mac and cheese was a little too crunchy, so I took that to be over-baked.

With dinner, we ordered our first Rasta Ryes and wow, the taste of this beer shot out of the glass like a cannon. Becca exclaimed that it was "a taste explosion." I'm not the biggest fan of pale ales, maybe because I haven't found the right one yet, but this was delicious. The sourness of the rye really balanced out the bitterness of the hops. After the initial flavor explosion, the beer settled into simply being delicious, and I don't mean that negatively. We ended up drinking the Rasta Rye the rest of the night. The sales guy even bought us some.

We talked to the sales guy for nearly the entire time we were there. He was a really nice guy, as sales people kind of have to be, and he answered our questions about the beer. But mostly we got stories about his uncle (the rich one) and his wife (the proper one) and his ex-girlfriend (the whore) and his second business. He was awesome, made the night a lot of fun, and we "won" most of the prizes that he brought with him.

Restaurant Week - Gigi's

Jared, Heather, Tommy and his wife Jamie and I went to Gigi's at 3rd and Market to take advantage of the final night of Restaurant Week.

The weather was awful. It rained all day, it was windy, which made the wet cold. Jared and I were talking about how when we were kids, a day like this would have been all snow and we would have been sledding the next day. Global warming, I guess...

Jared had wanted to try Zot, which is a Belgian place in Old City, but by the time he got around to making the reservations they were all booked. He settled on Gigi's. He didn't know anything about it, but the menu was interesting so we gave it a shot. All in all, it was a rather good meal, but it didn't blow any of us away. In fact the best part of the night was the parking spot we got. When you get a spot right in front of the restaurant, you just have to take a photo to prove it.


Gigi's presented a four course menu, which was a little bit of a change from the three course menus that most restaurants offer. The started us out with a salad, then appetizer, entree and dessert. I picked the Belgian Endive Salad, which came with bartlett pears and walnuts. Generally, I find that pears really compliment a salad well and this was no exception. The appetizer that I selected was the cornmeal dusted calamari. The cornmeal gave a different texture and flavor to the calamari, but what really stood out about the dish were the dips. A scallion aioli and a creamy chipotle sauce were excellent. The main entree was a coffee rubbed rib eye. This was an interesting slab of meat. Coffee is not the first thing I would think to pair with a steak, but it was certainly not a bad combination. A nearly flavorless flourless chocolate cake was a disappointing finish to the meal. Jared and Tommy's lemon and vanilla flan was a much better choice.

After dinner, we went around the corner to visit one of Max and David's mashgiachs whose apartment is on top of a gallery. Since it was First Friday in the city, the gallery was had an open house with wine and sushi and these tasty little rice krispie brownie thingies. I've never been to a gallery where they performed Kiddush for Shabbas. I felt horribly under-Jewish there. Faygie gave us the tour of her apartment, which is really nice. Jared sat in an odd little chair that didn't quite fit.


The hardwood floors were beautiful, old worn wood. I suppose it is a little odd that the floors are what I remember, aside from the extremely steep and narrow stairs that would be difficult to navigate up or down while intoxicated.

It was good to get out of the house on Friday night, but sadly in our old age, we were back home by 9 pm and wondering what to do next.

rush hour on the schuylkill

Philadelphia has many problems: High murder rate, trash, crime, traffic (but honestly...what major city doesn't?), poor public transportation, corruption. Sometimes it is very difficult to embrace the city when these blights are always headlining the news.

But Philadelphia does have check marks in its positives column. Culture and arts are actually well represented here. The local music scene is nationally renowned. There is a new mayor who seems genuinely interested in turning this city around - genuinely being the key word and probably why he was elected in the first place. The new police chief has released his plan to lower the city's crime rate. The city is home to one of the largest urban green spaces in the country.

The Philadelphia skyline is striking from nearly any location in which it can be viewed. Somewhat small, but well represented, it is beautiful from the Art Museum stairs, John's Roast Pork in South Philly, the Regional Rail. Depending on where you are on it, just about the only advantage to sitting in traffic on the Schuylkill is the view. If you can't see the skyline, then really you're just wasting your time in traffic. But if you can see it, it's something to behold. For a while now, I have been waiting to be stuck* in traffic so I can take a photo of it. Tonight, just before South Street heading westbound, I finally had my opportunity. The photos didn't turn out all that great...a night shot would be better. Here they are; now you can pretend you were sitting in traffic with me.





*By "stuck," I mean literally not going anywhere. Traffic on the Schuylkill is notoriously bad, but often you're still moving just enough that a photo will be blurry in all but the brightest conditions. Just the other night, the lighting was perfect, but the stupid cars in front of me wouldn't stop long enough for me to snap a long exposure. Now...how many times have you heard of someone complaining that traffic wasn't bad enough?

Restaurant Week - Branzino's

We went to Branzino's for Restaurant Week. Outstanding from start to finish and the plan is to return, but not on a Tuesday or Wednesday because our waiter is off those days.

This is a tiny split level Italian restaurant that really packs the tables in, though that might have been for Restaurant Week. They called the day before to confirm the reservation and to kindly let us know that during this extremely busy week, diners are allotted 1 1/2 hours for dinner. The hostess was quick to point out that during normal times, patrons are given how ever long they like.

It turns out that the time provided was perfect for two people, though there was little break between courses. We brought along a bottle of Lucas & Lewellen 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon. It paired perfectly with the meal, at least to our untrained palettes. The wine was smooth, fruity...with hints of cherry? Blackberry? Imaginaberry? First course was grilled squid and beef carpaccio. The squid was smoky and lemony and the carpaccio was...well...raw. Delicious and peppery.

After a quick brush with the crumb blade, and a passing comment from the waiter that we left no crumbs - it was too good to leave even a single crumb behind, the main entrees were brought out. Salmon Dijon, of which I had a small taste (no small feat mind you...) was actually quite tasty. The Veal del Martini was sweet and smoky and the crust almost reminded me of maple syrup.

Dessert was the same for both of us, the custard, served at room temperature with blueberries and strawberries. This was so smooth and not overly rich. You didn't want the bowl to end.

On the way back to the car, we decided to venture into Naked Chocolate. After passing it three times on the street, we finally made it in to the cafe. There we enjoyed a classic drinking chocolate and peanut butter nudo, as stuffed as we already were. We shared a table with two other very nice people, who were kind enough to not be completely turned off by our somewhat inebriated attempts at coherent conversation.

The walk back to the car led us past a view of City Hall (from Walnut) that had to photographed, of course. I'll post it as soon as I download it off the camera...provided that it is a shot worth posting. I was having a tough time holding still for a longish exposure. Damn delicious wine.

The night wound down with some TV and more good conversation and The Jack playing with wire.

It was late, well past my bedtime, and I headed home, in perhaps the best mood I have been in for a long, long time. Thanks for great night.