Category: restaurant review

review: that sugar bomb…

Ring Ring Le Bec Fin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Four years ago, I couldn’t hear my food the music was so loud. Stiff, stilted, out-dated, and aloof, the food and service on my first visit to Georges Perrier’s vaunted Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia had me vowing never to return. But I’m a firm believer in second, […]

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review: that sugar bomb…

Ring Ring Le Bec Fin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Four years ago, I couldn’t hear my food the music was so loud. Stiff, stilted, out-dated, and aloof, the food and service on my first visit to Georges Perrier’s vaunted Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia had me vowing never to return. But I’m a firm believer in second, […]

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travel: brotherly love…

Escalivada and White Sangria Amada Philadelphia, Pennsylvania I’m behind. I recently took a trip to Philadelphia in search of the perfect plate of pasta. I found it. But I also found a lot of other great things, like the perfect roast pork sandwich, and the perfect cheese and chocolate pairing, and many perfect scoops of […]

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travel: brotherly love…

Escalivada and White Sangria Amada Philadelphia, Pennsylvania I’m behind. I recently took a trip to Philadelphia in search of the perfect plate of pasta. I found it. But I also found a lot of other great things, like the perfect roast pork sandwich, and the perfect cheese and chocolate pairing, and many perfect scoops of […]

Continue

review: an expensive fairytale…

Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek Dallas, Texas John Tesar had some big shoes to fill when he took the position of executive chef at The Mansion on Turtle Creek following Dean Fearing’s departure. I’m not sure he’s grown into them (or found his own pair), quite yet. But I think he’s on his way. The […]

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review: an expensive fairytale…

Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek Dallas, Texas John Tesar had some big shoes to fill when he took the position of executive chef at The Mansion on Turtle Creek following Dean Fearing’s departure. I’m not sure he’s grown into them (or found his own pair), quite yet. But I think he’s on his way. The […]

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review: to feel amid the city’s jar…

North Pond Chicago, Illinois Looking south over the North Pond of Lincoln Park is like being one of the Pevensies – Edmund, Lucy, Peter, and Susan – looking back into the wardrobe. Okay, so the tree-framed vignette of Chicago’s skyline is much grander than a closet full of musty coats. But the effect is the […]

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review: to feel amid the city’s jar…

North Pond Chicago, Illinois Looking south over the North Pond of Lincoln Park is like being one of the Pevensies – Edmund, Lucy, Peter, and Susan – looking back into the wardrobe. Okay, so the tree-framed vignette of Chicago’s skyline is much grander than a closet full of musty coats. But the effect is the […]

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review: hot tamale…

Lanny’s Alta Cocina Mexicana Ft. Worth, Texas “Go,” they urged. Everyone I talked to about my trip to Dallas told me to go to Lanny’s Alta Cocina Mexciana. It would be worth the detour to Fort Worth. A slight mishap from outdated directions from a major online orienteering guide aside (they need to do a […]

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review: hot tamale…

Lanny’s Alta Cocina Mexicana Ft. Worth, Texas “Go,” they urged. Everyone I talked to about my trip to Dallas told me to go to Lanny’s Alta Cocina Mexciana. It would be worth the detour to Fort Worth. A slight mishap from outdated directions from a major online orienteering guide aside (they need to do a […]

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review: the perfect plate of pasta…

Vetri, Philadelphia Is there anything more pleasing than a perfect plate of pasta? Perhaps. But not much. I can pinpoint the day and hour of my last plate of perfect pasta. It was corzetti, and it was more of a taste, rather than a plate. I ate this standing up, negotiating armfuls of *stuff* – […]

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review: the perfect plate of pasta…

Vetri, Philadelphia Is there anything more pleasing than a perfect plate of pasta? Perhaps. But not much. I can pinpoint the day and hour of my last plate of perfect pasta. It was corzetti, and it was more of a taste, rather than a plate. I ate this standing up, negotiating armfuls of *stuff* – […]

Continue

review: big as texas…

Fearing’s at the Ritz Carlton Dallas, Texas Dean Fearing has been called the “Father of Southwestern Cuisine” and garnered much praise and attention during his 20-year tenure as the chef of the fabled (Rosewood) Mansion on Turtle Creek, including being awarded the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest in 1994. In August of last […]

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review: big as texas…

Fearing’s at the Ritz Carlton Dallas, Texas Dean Fearing has been called the “Father of Southwestern Cuisine” and garnered much praise and attention during his 20-year tenure as the chef of the fabled (Rosewood) Mansion on Turtle Creek, including being awarded the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest in 1994. In August of last […]

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review: beat of a different drum…

Wild Sockeye Salmon Lola’s Tasting Room Lola’s website certainly does not comport with the level of the food being served at the restaurant. Neither does its service – at least, not in the Tasting Room where I recently had dinner with a good friend. But neither website nor service really stood in the way of […]

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review: beat of a different drum…

Wild Sockeye Salmon Lola’s Tasting Room Lola’s website certainly does not comport with the level of the food being served at the restaurant. Neither does its service – at least, not in the Tasting Room where I recently had dinner with a good friend. But neither website nor service really stood in the way of […]

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review: moving gotham…

Lamb Tartar L20, Chicago The producers of “The Dark Knight” aren’t the only ones moving Gotham to Chicago. Rich Melman has also done it with L20, Laurent Gras’s new “modern seafood” restaurant in Chicago’s tony Lincoln Park neighborhood where I recently had a memorable meal. It’s undoubtedly one of the most important restaurant openings to […]

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review: moving gotham…

Lamb Tartar L20, Chicago The producers of “The Dark Knight” aren’t the only ones moving Gotham to Chicago. Rich Melman has also done it with L20, Laurent Gras’s new “modern seafood” restaurant in Chicago’s tony Lincoln Park neighborhood where I recently had a memorable meal. It’s undoubtedly one of the most important restaurant openings to […]

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review: critic proof…

graham elliot Chicago, Illinois I had forgotten that chicken could taste this good. Although the menu indicated that it was poached, I suspect it had undergone some kind of Hogwarts treatment. It was the most tender and flavorful plate of chicken I’ve had in too many years. Even my friend, who has a hard and […]

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review: critic proof…

graham elliot Chicago, Illinois I had forgotten that chicken could taste this good. Although the menu indicated that it was poached, I suspect it had undergone some kind of Hogwarts treatment. It was the most tender and flavorful plate of chicken I’ve had in too many years. Even my friend, who has a hard and […]

Continue