LAPhilaNY Food

One college student's food journey, one bite at a time.

[laphilanyfood]

Babushka's homemade vegetable medley, which reminds me a lot of baklajazhanie ikra (eggplant caviar)!! #babushka #vkusno #baklazhan #baklazhanieikra #ikra #russian #grandma #homemade #vegetables #vegetablemedley

[laphilanyfood]

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie ($4) from Levain Bakery in the Upper East Side in NYC. I've been dying to try Levain ever since I saw the pictures of their cookies on Instagram. This was honestly one of the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had. It was thick and wonderfully gooey, reminding me at times a bit of mashed banana and I loved that they put in a lot of chocolate, which was rich and melty. The walnuts also provided a nice rich crunch. Amazing and worth all of the hype!!!

[laphilanyfood]

Momofuku Noodle Bar

I’ve been hearing about Momofuku for ages now, but until recently, I had never gotten around to trying this New York City culinary staple. So when I was invited by a friend to go to dinner here, I was ecstatic to get the opportunity to try it out!

The Momofuku Noodle Bar (not to be mistaken for the Momofuku Milk Bar, which is mostly a dessert place) is located in the East Village. The interior is warm, yet modern with one long wooden table, a literal noodle bar of sorts, on one side and a few smaller tables of the same sleek material.  Except for the relatively low-key signage and storefront, the restaurant looks like the typical trendy, minimalist, modern, yet natural, new wave eatery.

(Pork Buns)

To start, my friend and I ordered two orders of pork belly buns, one order of shittake mushroom buns and one order of brisket buns (each order of buns consisting of two buns). The pork buns, one of Momofuku’s signature dishes, consisted of pillowy, yet chewy buns that enveloped rich, fatty, tender chashu (or pork belly) and what seemed to be pickled cucumbers.  Slathered with a sweet, yet savory, hoisin sauce, each bite was full of wonderful flavors and textures, the fat of the chashu melting in your mouth. The brisket with ranch sauce was chewier than the chashu buns, and provided a nice, all-American punch of smokiness.  Though I enjoyed both of the meat buns, especially the pork belly ones, perhaps my favorite of all were the shiitake mushroom ones.  The salty, crispy, fried mushrooms provided a nice balance with the soft, blander dough.

(Momofuku Ramen)

Then, for our main course, we each ordered the Momofuku Ramen (around $16), which includes a poached egg, pork belly and pork shoulder.  This was by far one of the best, if not the best ramen I have ever had.   The noodles were substantive and maintained integrity when it came to structure and flavor: they were just this amazing slimy, yet chewy consistency and they had successfully picked up the flavors of the broth.  No bland, overly floppy, on the bridge of disintegration (due to overcooking) noodles here!  Everything in this ramen was yummy.  The pork belly in the soup was of course of the same wonderful caliber as that which we found in the buns and the bits of poached egg were a nice textural complement to the noodles. 

(Shiitake Mushroom Buns)

Finally, to end the meal, I ordered a Chocolate Chip Passion Fruit Cake Soft Serve ($5) and my friend got a Blueberry and Cream Cookie (about $4) for dessert.  Both were very delicious, the blueberry and cream cookie somehow managing to actually taste creamy, and the passion fruit cake soft serve, served with chocolate chips in the middle, somehow accomplishing the feat of both offering a full fledged burst of passion fruit flavor and the thick creaminess and richness that is associated with “cake” ice creams and soft-serve.

(Chocolate Chip Passion Fruit Cake Soft Serve)

Altogether a truly wonderful, memorable meal!! 

(Blueberry and Cream Cookie) 

Have a food evening!

-AR

[laphilanyfood]

Rita’s Italian Ice

Last but not least on my list of Philly-famous foods and eating establishments was Rita’s! (I know, I know, Rita’s is not just in Philly, or even just in PA for that matter, but it seems to be quite a thing here -- Philly residents do seem to really love it, and I’d never heard of it before moving here.)  

For those of you who don’t know, Rita’s serves a variety of frozen desserts, their signature item being frozen custard.  It first came to my attention because my mom saw the sign for “Ice Custard Happiness” and it reminded her of her childhood when she used to eat frozen custard.  Determined to experience it again, she set a goal for the two of us to go.  Then, as I got to know people in the area, and the Philly food blogs, I realized that Rita’s was quite a household name out here.  Though my mom’s hopes to have frozen custard again were dashed, since due to the egg shortage, Rita’s replaced their frozen custard with soft serve for the time being, I was still committed to trying the place out.

So finally, a week before I leave Philly to go back to college, my mom and I decided to go to Rita’s.  I ordered the Gelati, which consisted of a layer of soft serve, followed by a layer of water ice and then another layer of soft serve.  For my soft serve, I requested the chocolate and vanilla twist and for the water ice, I went with the mango flavor. Though I wouldn’t necessarily say the combination of flavors was perfect, each individual part was really delicious.  

The soft serve here was truly out of this world.  As my mom said, it nearly has the consistency of peanut butter - it is thick, dense and extremely creamy.  I also like the fact that it’s not too cold. The water ice was also very good!  The first water ice I tried was in some small store in New Jersey  and it had been really lackluster, but the water ice from Rita’s was nice and flavorful with a relatively smooth texture that was neither crunchy nor slushy.  And neither the ice cream nor the water ice were too sweet, which I appreciated.  

Overall, I really enjoyed my Rita’s experience (and getting to share it with my mom) and I  feel like even more of a Philly (even PA) resident now that I know what all of the Rita’s hype is about!

[laphilanyfood]

#TBT to my visit to the Metropolitan Bakery near Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia.  I ordered their French Tarragon Chicken Salad ($11), which was very fresh and had a good amount of tarragon.  Not pictured but incredibly noteworthy was their decaf latte with soy, which was delicious, smooth and probably the best latte I have ever had in the U.S.

[laphilanyfood]

#TBT to Spring Semester, when I decided to finish off a lovely meal of yum cha (or dim sum) with some ice cream from The Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory in Chinatown, Manhattan, NY.  My friend and I each ordered one scoop of their green tea ice cream (around $4 or $5 each) and it was incredible.   It didn’t taste as strongly of green tea as most of the green tea ice creams I’ve had and it was much sweeter than I expected, but I really liked its flavor!  It was creamy and absolutely delicious, and I honestly preferred it to the gelato I got the other day in Little Italy. The store also offers a ton of “exotic” flavors, like black sesame (which I sampled and found to be very good, with real sesame seeds inside!) and lychee.  And one scoop by itself is a pretty decent size. I definitely recommend this place!!  It’s now one of my favorite ice cream places in the city!

(I took a picture of the actual ice cream itself before I ate it, but once I’d already consumed it I realized that I’d forgotten to change the settings on my camera so the pics were massively overexposed, but my friends still had some ice cream left, so here’s a picture of the cup with the dregs of my friends’ ice cream inside.)

[laphilanyfood]

#TBT to when I got scoops of Irish Whiskey and Chocolate gelati (around $5) and a chocolate chip cookie ($3) from Capogiro Gelato in Center City, Philadelphia.   The chocolate chip cookie could have been chewier and chocolatier, but the gelato was amazing -- so creamy and smooth.

capogirogelato

[laphilanyfood]

Big Gay Ice Cream, Philadelphia, PA

Today, I tried the Philadelphia outlet of New York City’s Big Gay Ice Cream shop for the first time.  Located near South St., this store is small, and minimalist in its interior design, yet airy and complete with lots of rainbow and unicorn imagery.  I have been dying to try their ice cream ever since I heard about some of their crazy specialties like this wonderful guy right here.

One of the signature sweets that I’d heard a lot about was the “Salty Pimp.” The name and the euphoric descriptions I’d heard meant that of course I had to try one.  

(Salty Pimp - $5.90)

To make the “Salty Pimp,” first vanilla soft serve is dispensed into a cone with a plastic container with a rim around it to catch any stray droplets of dairy heaven.  Then the soft serve is dotted and lined with thick salted caramel that runs down the sides, and then both the ice cream and dulce de leche are dipped in warm chocolate that cools into a thin, hard layer around the frozen treat.

I’d never believed that the “salty pimp” could be all that it’s stacked up to be, but one bite into this beauty proved me wrong.  Though I will always think that $6 for ice cream is steep, I began to understand why they can sell it at such a high price.  This stuff is just soo good.  Your first bite involves breaking through the light layer of chocolate shell to reach the incredibly smooth, creamy goodness that is the vanilla ice cream, while simultaneously getting a strong hit of the sweet salty caramel sauce, which is gooey but somewhat solid until it truly melts away in your mouth.  And the last bite, the tip of the cone, consists solely of the salty saccharine flavors of the caramel with the crunch of the cone.  

Needless to say, this was a truly memorable eating experience. There were three features of this dessert that made it particularly special and distinctive to me: the wonderfully silky texture of the ice cream (the type I’ve been searching for all summer), the perfect balance of sweet and salty, and that last surprising salty tip!  If you feel like spending $6 on ice cream, this is definitely the place to go!

[laphilanyfood]

Pat’s King of Steaks, Philadelphia, PA

Ever since my family and I moved to the Philadelphia area last fall, I’ve put a lot of effort into getting to know what it means to eat in Philadelphia, what it means to live in Philadelphia, and though I’ve picked up a lot, there is still obviously so much more to discover and understand.  I tried the Philadelphia Soft Pretzel and a made-to-order “hoagie” from Wawa, both of which I had heard amazing things about and both of which I enjoyed, and the other day I took what might be considered the ultimate step towards food initiation: I finally tasted my first Philly Cheesesteak, perhaps the most iconic of Philadelphia’s food creations, courtesy of Pat’s King of Steaks in South Philly. 

(“One Whiz Wit” -$10)

This week, a good friend of mine from out of town came to visit and I felt that given that he is also a major foodie, it was the perfect time to venture out and try some of those famous “steaks,” as the proprietors refer to them on their menus.  Having decided to try Tony Luke’s but finding that it wasn’t actually in South Philly, where we had planned to spend the day, I chose to go to Pat’s, since they were the original inventors of the Philly Cheesesteak.  

(Exterior of Pat’s King of Steaks Stand)

In a funnily shaped building that seems to sit in the middle of the road, Pat’s King of Steaks serves up all sorts of “steaks,” from cheesesteaks to pizza steaks, an item which my friend and I are still puzzling over.   (Across the street from Pat’s sits the much flashier “Geno’s,” another famous name in Cheesesteaks, which is why the corner is sometimes referred to as “Cheesesteak Corner.”  I won’t say that Pat’s classier, retro feel was not part of the draw to choose to try Pat’s over Geno’s.) Pat’s is naturally serious about their steaks, so they have two separate windows, one reserved for ordering steaks and another for getting sides, beverages, etc.  They even have a sign that explains how one orders, since there’s a specific way one is supposed to do it, utilizing specific terms.  The bottom of the sign tells you if you get it wrong, just go to the end of the line and order again.  After going through the three seconds it takes to order, you quickly receive your sandwich and sit down to devour your steak at one of the picnic tables set up outside the stand.  

(”One Provolone Wit” - $10)

My friend and I decided to split two cheesesteaks: “one whiz wit(h)” and “one provolone wit(h).”  In regular English, that translates to: one steak with cheese whiz and onions and another with provolone and onions.   Both of us preferred the one with cheese whiz, which is apparently the traditional cheese used for a cheesesteak.  The whiz cheesesteak was saltier and more flavorful, adding a nice kick to the hoagie.  After consuming our gigantic sandwiches, I realized that there were other condiments, like peppers, ketchup, etc. available at a little stand across from the ordering window.  Though I wouldn’t say the Philly Cheesesteak is my favorite food, I am definitely glad to have experienced it and Cheesesteak Corner as part of my Philadelphia initiation.

[laphilanyfood]

#TBT to Huevos Rancheros (around $14) from Community in Morningside Heights, NYC during Finals Week. The cream sauce on the side was out of this world fantastic! The tortilla was a little to dense and mealy for me though, but overall a very fresh and flavorful bruncht!!

[laphilanyfood]

Really delicious burger (around $8) from The Spot food truck the other day!! That bun was sweet, soft and chewy!!! (That's what she said.) Best burger I've had since Blend in Paris! #burger #spot #spotfoodtruck #philly #phillysbest #philadelphiafoodie #phillyfoodie #philadelphia #bun #hamburger #foodtruck #blend #chewy #food #yum #laphilanyfood #spoonfeed #burger #fastfood #foodie #dinner #worthit #nofilter #phillyfoodies @foodsofphilly

[laphilanyfood]

#TBT to the last day of finals.  In order to celebrate, my friends and I bought large pizza pies from Koronet’s.  The crust was too thick, there was too much cheese and not enough tomato sauce for my taste, but it brings back good memories of relief to have reached the end of the year.

[laphilanyfood]

#tbt to my Salmon Croque Monsieur with Green Tea Matcha bread at @MariageFreres on Rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré during my trip to Paris this time last year. I ate this amazing sandwich with two of my best friends from high school before we all separated to live in different parts of the world, on different continents even, for the year. The green tea bread was covered in melted cheese and the entire thing was just delicious and amazing. #memories #paris #besties #bffs #friends #mariagefreres #croquemonsieur #sandwich #delicieux #souvenirs #magnifique #smokedsalmon #salmon

[laphilanyfood]

Ever since I moved to the Philadelphia area, I’ve been hearing about how amazing Wawa is.  When I first asked about what Wawa was, I usually got a response that went sort of like this:“It’s like Seven Eleven but better.” I couldn’t imagine how anything Seven Eleven-like could inspire so much adoration and devotion from Philly natives, but everyone explained their love by citing Wawa’s signature made-to-order and pre-prepared foods. My curiosity about this duo-syllabic convenience store continued to grow, and when it came in as the #1 Favorite Convenience store in a recent U.S. survey and I heard that they were having a Hoagiefest (1 classic Hoagie for $4.99), I was dying to try it out.  However, it took me a while to finally muster myself to drive to my local Wawa.  But today, I found I had nothing in the house for lunch, and  I felt that today would be the day!

To begin with, the Wawa Hoagie Experience starts with a touchscreen, where you order your sandwich.  If you order a simple sandwich, like a Turkey Sandwich, you have the option to basically completely customize it.  They give you lots of options for sauce, add-ins (like pickles, peppers, lettuce and tomato),cheese, and even the type of bread and turkey!  You can even ask for more meat and more cheese for an extra charge. I ordered a toasted hoagie with oven-roasted turkey with hot peppers, lettuce, tomato, spinach, Swiss cheese, oregano, tomato pesto sauce, and added avocado (+$1.50) on a classic wheat roll (which is apparently baked in-store).  All of this cost a total of  about $6.50.  Once I finalized my order, the computer printed me a receipt and an order number, and I went to go pre-pay at the cashier.  Then my number was called I picked up my sandwich and brought it back home to eat.

The process of eating it, though less fancy than the process of ordering it, was also a very satisfying experience.  The sandwich was huge, the size of my forearm, but not overwhelmingly filling.  The wheat bread wasn’t too thick, which I liked and it wasn’t too fluffy or artificial tasting.  I also enjoyed the fact that there wasn’t too much meat, but lots of fresh, crispy pickles, peppers, lettuce, etc. .  I’m not sure if the extra $1.50 for avocado was worth it, since there wasn’t a lot of avocado in the sandwich.   I also couldn’t really taste the oregano and the tomato pesto sauce in the sandwich, but that might have been because some of my add-ins, such as pickles and peppers, naturally dominated the sandwich’s flavor profile.  All-in-all, a fun, cheap and yummy experience!!

[laphilanyfood]

Aussie and the Fox, Lancaster, PA

Aussie and the Fox is an Australian-American fusion restaurant that my family and I found while on vacation in Lancaster, PA.  We had walked into the Visitor’s Center to find a restaurant recommendation when we saw it listed as a nearby restaurant on their interactive map of the Downtown Area.  Intrigued by the concept of “Australian food,” my family and I decided to try it.  When we walked in we were immediately struck by the interesting, bold, fun decor and the open floor plan (with a bar that could fit fifteen people behind it!).  After a successful first brunch there, we ventured back the next morning for another go.  Both meals were absolute successes!  

(Aussie Brekkie - $10)

The first time around, I ordered their special, Watermelon Peach Gaspacho, and some of their “Bennys,” or Eggs Benedict, with lump crab and grilled tomato (more about that here:http://laphilanyfood.tumblr.com/post/125893169173/eggs-benny-with-lump-crab-and-grilled-tomato).  The gaspacho was a little too sweet and smooth for me, since I generally like gaspacho that resembles and tastes like Pico de Gallo, but was nice and refreshing nonetheless.  The bennys were very good and a nice mixture of flavors. 

(Peach Watermelon Gaspacho)

The second brunch I had there though definitely stole the show.  My mom ordered their crispy cauli, which is cauliflower fried with garbanzo bean flour.  Enough to serve as an appetizer for at least three people, they were really oily and yummy, though a bit bland.  And then I ordered their Aussie Brekkie ($10), which are eggs benedict with wild mushrooms, sundried tomato pesto fennel and leek fondue, Linden Dale Farms goat chevre, sherry gastrique and either a whole wheat or white English muffin.  

(Crispy Cauli - $9)

Absolutely delicious.  The sundried tomato pesto fennel and leek fondue that served as a sauce beneath the whole wheat English muffin was particularly good.  It added a nice acidic bite and an oily, umami undertone.  The wild mushrooms were cooked perfectly as well.

(Espresso Chocolate Cake - $6)

I finished off the meal with an overly salty Flourless Chocolate Cake with what seemed to be Peanut Butter and Espresso and some sort of ice cream, which I unfortunately, wouldn’t really recommend, but, of course, ate in its entirety.

(Interior)

Additionally, the service was wonderful, quick, and friendly both times, with the owners even making the rounds and checking that everything is going well.  I even got to talk with both owners, the Aussie and his father-in-law, the Fox, about the restaurant.   The restaurant is super cool, hosts a bunch of events, and looks like a great spot for bar nights in addition to Sunday brunches! 

*Pardon the quality of some of the photos which were taken by my phone and not my DSLR camera.

[laphilanyfood]

#TBT to when I got the Small “The Boyfriend” Tea (Mango and Lychee White Tea) ($2.50) from Yaya Tea Garden in Chinatown during the Chinese New Year Parade.  Very sweet but very yummy.  I also tried their small shrimp shumai rice ball ($2.50) which was very good!

[laphilanyfood]

#TBT Dim sum at my go-to place in Los Angeles, Ocean Seafood in Chinatown. This picture was taken the summer before I left LA.  Some of my classmates and I had been trying to get together to go to dim sum together for ages and we finally found a time that worked for all of us. They introduced me to some dishes that I’d never tried before! Good memories.