I’m a sucker for tapas. It’s not so much the Spanish cuisine that I crave as it is the style of ordering and eating. A bite here, a bite there, a little more of this favorite, another plateful to share as a table: Small plates let you be gluttonous on the cheap, adventurous with little risk of disappointment, and — the best part — social.
Which is why we tromped on over to Yakitori Boy, which just debuted — so new it doesn’t even have it’s liquor license yet, so BYOB — on Chinatown’s 11th Street for “japas”: small, individually ordered skewers of grilled meats (most commonly referred to, of course, as yakitori), three-piece sushi rolls, mini bowls of noodles, teriyaki dishes, and various samplers. It’s a chic little spot — all dark woods and clean lines, in soothing browns and blacks and cream — and the menu is solid, featuring all the usual suspects, from the starters to the sushi to the skewers, which are tasty and well-prepared, if less than exciting.
Actually, we were supposed to be eating, a quick lunch to fuel up — and warm up — for a day of shopping in New Hope, but once we sipped Triumph Brewing Company’s Winter Wonder, we decided to settle in for a while.
The dark, cozily spiced beer is a once-a-year find. It hit the menu at the New Hope brewery a week ago, and head brewer Brendan Anderson will brew just one batch (that’s 300 gallons) this winter. (It will also be available this winter, for a limited time, in Princeton.) Hints of cinnamon, star anise, local wildflower honey and sweet and bitter orange peel give the malty brew a seasonal twist, without hitting you over the head with clichéd mulled-wine flavors. (Get there soon. Three hundred gallons is only 2,400 pints.)
I’ve often thought about moving to Northern Liberties just for lunch. The ‘hood — and its Fishtown neighbors to the north — is blessed with casual eateries that take their food, but not themselves too seriously. Taco Riendo, Tiffin and Honey’s are all midday favorites.
Now I can add Café Estelle to the list of reasons to relocate. Anchoring a converted loft building on 4th Street, the comfortable café, with its proudly industrial view, tabletops collaged with vintage recipes and waitstaff dressed in housewife aprons, turns out a craveable assortment of omelets, panini and flatbread pizzas. The well-edited (if not well copy-edited) breakfast and lunch menu features both of-the-moment ingredients — applewood-smoked ham, watercress, manchego — and homey, wholesome options like white bean and kale soup.
Even if you don’t like the not-quite-authentic, quick-serve food at the region’s two new Pei Wei, you’ve got to appreciate it from a business standpoint: The owners of P.F. Chang’s have found a smart way to expand their brand without compromising customers. They took signature sauces from their full-service restaurants (like garlicky Mongolian and sticky Mandarin Kung Pao — to be tossed with your choice of proteins or veggies and served over rice) and favorite dishes like the Asian chopped chicken salad and lettuce wraps and put them in a nothing-over-$9 modified fast-food atmosphere.
Place your order at the counter, take a number, and wait for your food to be brought to you. The sophisticated systems perfectly times appetizers and entrees, although your experience ends there — they don’t have coffee, and fortune cookies are the only dessert.
But if you are a fan of P.F.’s food, you’ll be in weekday-night-dinner heaven here. Besides the signatures, try a bowl of tangy lo mein, the sinus clearing hot-and-sour-soup or the $3.45 teriyaki chicken with noodles or rice for the pint-sized gourmets.
950 Baltimore Pike, Springfield Square, Springfield, 610-549-9060, and 4040 City Avenue, 215-594-8230, peiwei.com
Delivery options are meager, at best. Pizza or hoagies? Again? Blech. That’s what inspired Josh McCullough to start Five Star Gourmet Delivery. The Le Bec/Gayle/Blackfish vet is cooking up his gourmet meals — and delivering them to your door. How does beef brochettes scented with rosemary in a maple sweet-and-sour sauce followed by crab and wild mushroom lasagna blanketed in a roasted-garlic cream sauce sound? For $30 a person (includes appetizer, entrée, delivery and packaging) you could eat this every night.
I’m not ashamed to admit it: the real draw of the increasingly popular cooking class isn’t always the cooking – even when students are asking thoughtful questions about the origin of the ingredients. The real draw is
almost always the eating. And the demonstration kitchen at new Foster’s Homeware (399 Market Street, 215-925-0950, shopfosters.com) is far better equipped for eating – orderly rows of brightly colored chairs and side tables – than its crowded former home in the Reading Terminal Market.
The dramatic dining room in Nineteen on the, you guessed it, 19th floor of the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue is a perfectly lovely place to dine on formidable seafood presentations. But those in the know have been slipping out onto the recently and quietly opened southern balcony, which extends off of Nineteen’s more casual cafe into the open air and which is, at least until that restaurant at the Residences at Two Liberty Place finally opens, the highest place in the city for public dining.
Live music, a trendy tin ceiling and vintage Philly posters are hardly things you’d expect to see at a sandwich chain. But Walnut Street newcomer Potbelly Sandwich Works has it all, plus very un-chain-like grub. Everything is made to order, and all sandwiches cruise through a super-quick toaster, melting Swiss to tuna salad, provolone to roast beef and peanut butter to jelly. The white or wheat rolls are house-baked and aren’t too pudgy, so you won’t walk out feeling like a little piggy (sorry, I couldn’t resist) — that is, unless you order a delish shake or freshly baked oatmeal cookie (which, I also couldn’t resist). With everything on the menu under $6, Potbelly is sure to give across-the-street Cosi a run for its money.
This four-month-old “store with the hot pink door” is another sweet reason to spend time in Liberties Walk. South Jersey residents may recognize the name, because The Little Candy Shoppe used to satisfy sweet teeth in Moorestown for years. But mother/daughter owners Robin and Aliza Nahama are back again, and have laced every inch of the cozy shop with euphoric goods.
Last week on its opening night I hit up Tria’s second location, near Washington Square. (The beloved wine, beer and cheese bar’s original, pictured right, is just off Rittenhouse.) The night was so seamless that it makes one think “Hmmm … maybe I should open up a bar.” But in this case, the second’s success is no doubt due to a repeat menu and tried-and-true concept.
The wine and beer list is easy to navigate and first-rate. We happily quaffed our favorites from the Rittenhouse menu — an ‘05 Santa Barbara chardonnay (from the “smooth white” section) and an Allagash White brew — while eating a delicate truffle poached egg on thick, sweet toast and an asparagus and bean salad. Dessert was a pressed mascarpone, banana and caramel panini. The menu’s genius is its no-stove, quick-prep concept — a fact that is hidden with smartly composed dishes put together with a light hand, the freshest ingredients, and cheese from Murray’s. And by choosing an equally small and cozy location, the owners ensured that the second outpost would have the same energetic, appealing, neighborhood-y vibe as the first. Meaning that even though this new locale is an exact replica of the original, it still manages to feel as fresh as ever.
I’m a sucker for tapas. It’s not so much the Spanish cuisine that I crave as it is the style of ordering and eating. A bite here, a bite there, a little more of this favorite, another plateful to share as a table: Small plates let you be gluttonous on the cheap, adventurous with little risk of disappointment, and — the best part — social.
Actually, we were supposed to be eating, a quick lunch to fuel up — and warm up — for a day of shopping in New Hope, but once we sipped 
I’ve often thought about moving to Northern Liberties just for lunch. The ‘hood — and its Fishtown neighbors to the north — is blessed with casual eateries that take their food, but not themselves too seriously. 
Even if you don’t like the not-quite-authentic, quick-serve food at the region’s two new Pei Wei, you’ve got to appreciate it from a business standpoint: The owners of P.F. Chang’s have found a smart way to expand their brand without compromising customers. They took signature sauces from their full-service restaurants (like garlicky Mongolian and sticky Mandarin Kung Pao — to be tossed with your choice of proteins or veggies and served over rice) and favorite dishes like the Asian chopped chicken salad and lettuce wraps and put them in a nothing-over-$9 modified fast-food atmosphere. 
Delivery options are meager, at best. Pizza or hoagies? Again? Blech. That’s what inspired Josh McCullough to start Five Star Gourmet Delivery. The Le Bec/Gayle/Blackfish vet is cooking up his gourmet meals — and delivering them to your door. How does beef brochettes scented with rosemary in a maple sweet-and-sour sauce followed by crab and wild mushroom lasagna blanketed in a roasted-garlic cream sauce sound? For $30 a person (includes appetizer, entrée, delivery and packaging) you could eat this every night.
I’m not ashamed to admit it: the real draw of the increasingly popular cooking class isn’t always the cooking – even when students are asking thoughtful questions about the origin of the ingredients. The real draw is
The dramatic dining room in 
Live music, a trendy tin ceiling and vintage Philly posters are hardly things you’d expect to see at a sandwich chain. But Walnut Street newcomer 
This four-month-old “store with the hot pink door” is another sweet reason to spend time in Liberties Walk. South Jersey residents may recognize the name, because 
Last week on its opening night I hit up