There's ample seating, maybe for 75 or more, and we've never seen the place completely full while walking by. That might be a result of Minar Palace's customers used to delivery or takeout orders.

Messy's Shahi Paneer, from the menu:

homemade cheese cubes cooked w/bell peppers in a tomato based sauce

This dish was absolutely delicious and is now Messy's Minar Palace stand-by (along with the yummy samosas covered in chickpea and yogurt sauce — an appetizer big enough to share with a few friends). However, Messy grabbed a taste of a friends Malai Kofta (Messy's all time favorite Indian dish) and found that it couldn't hold a candle to Tiffin's.

Messy's sister's meal Saag Alu, from the menu:

Creamed spinach cooked with potatoes

Picky's Chicken Vindaloo, from the menu:

Boneless chicken cooked with morsels of potatoes in a highly spiced sauce

Picky's bouts with the vindaloo since the reopening have been varied. In the restaurant, it's been mediocre. Takeout, on the other hand, has been better. It might be his distaste for the unfinished vibe of the restaurant (hello, styrofoam and plasticware?).

The general feel of the sit-down experience, unfortunately, takes away from the meal a great deal. During the day, there is no table service — you order at the counter and bring a tray back to your table, cafeteria style. At night, there is table service but not much else is changed. Opting for the call ahead takeout (or delivery if you don't want to preemptively work off some calories) will allow you to eat on some real plates with real utensils and drink out of real cups. We also felt like our serving sizes were bigger with the takeout. You can think back to their hole-in-the-wall digs at 16th and Sansom Streets from a few years back when others would scoff at ordering from such a dive (and we'd smirk back).

Messy ***1/2
Picky ** 1/2

The final word: Good solid takeout, but where are the good solid plates and forks?

Minar Palace
1304 Walnut St
215.546.9443
Mon – Fri: 11.30am – 9pm
Sat: 11.30am – 7pm
Menu .pdf | flash

If you'd like, you can still make the trek up to 710 W. Girard Ave and buy the same spices from the source, but as of March 2009, Foster's is the exclusive retailer for Tiffin's goods outside of their orange walls. We love Foster's — Messy won a wafflemaker from them in a random drawing and we love that they feature our buddies at Fork You so frequently. However, we highly recommend getting some full meals from Tiffin itself — the malai kofta, in particular, is a must-try. Messy has never had any as good anywhere else in the world!

Tiffin
710 W Girard Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 922-1297
(215) 922-1567
Hours: Mon – Fri: 11:30am – 10pm, Sat – Sun: Noon – 10 pm

Foster's Urban Homeware
399 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 925-0950
(800) 734-8511
Hours: Mon -Sat: 10am – 8pm, Sun: Noon – 6pm

Our friendly host immediately seated us in an almost empty dining room where we were greeted by some freakishly long silverware. Pesce's dining room decor is all over the place: large stone slab fragment frescoes, mixed texture seating, wooden slat screens and opaque blue water glasses which servers couldn't possibly be able to see through and tell whether or not a diner needs a refill. Our server passed our table over at least eight times through the course of our dinner leaving Picky quite annoyed (he drinks a lot of water).

Pesce is on the higher end of mid-range restaurants with entrees topping out just under $29, with some market price items and daily specials sure to push the ceiling up a bit more. Picky was intrigued at the "market price" listing of lamb chops – he'd never seen that before.

Messy's large mozzarella and tomato stack ($10) was a nice and generous portion. From the menu:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Fresh Basil Drizzle & Balsamic Reduction

It was generous, and the pesto dressing was tasty, but the tomatoes and mozzarella just weren't that great. Granted, tomatoes are not in season, and that could account for some of their mealiness, but you can great mouth-watering mozzarella at Claudio's year-round, so there is really no excuse for the overall blandness of this appetizer.

Picky's sausage and broccoli rabe ($18) plate was a nice enough portion served in a gracefully bending rectangular dish. From the menu:

Sweet Sausage & Broccoli Rabe Sautéed in Olive Oil & Garlic tossed with Cavatelli Pasta

The dish was dusted with Parmesan with no extra in sight. Unfortunately, the flavor didn't match the size of the dish. The sausage tasted more like simple breakfast links and the whole dish was underwhelming and dry. The dryness of the dish was only compounded by the servers repeatedly walking past our table without refilling our water glasses. Picky didn't bother asking for extra Parm.

While there were a good amount of non-fish options for Picky to choose from, there were no vegetarian options listed further than the salad section of the menu. Yes, we realize we went to a restaurant specializing in fish dishes, but we've gone to similar eateries and come away with wonderful experiences; see, for example: Kisso and Morimoto.

We finished off our meal with a splurge of two desserts to share. On the left is a chocolate lava cake and at right, a tiramisu. If these two items are on a dessert list, it's a safe bet to say we're going to get them. These were pretty yummy — nothing to write home about, but not disappointing, either.

We're obviously not Joe Pesce's target demographic. But we gave the eatery a shot and they didn't seem to want our palate there. Such is life.

Messy *1/2
Picky * 1/2

The final word: You'll probably want to order the fish.

Joe Pesce Restaurant
1113 Walnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 829-4400
Mon – Thur 4pm-10pm
Fri Sat: 4pm-11pm
Sun: 3pm-9pm

Thank you Famous Fourth Street Delicatessen.

Unfortunately, it was $2.50. I'd rather take the Chinatown bus up to NYC, see some friends, walk around my old stomping grounds and bring back a baker's dozen than pay $2.50 for a single bagel with cream cheese. Good bagels are the single thing I miss most about NY.

What, for me, makes a good bagel. Step one: it can't be a piece of bread with a hole in the middle. That knocks out 95% of the "bagels" in town in the running. Step two: it's gotta have a slightly crunchy/crusty exterior for the bite into the bagel; none of that soft/mushy stuff. Step three: it's gotta be nice and chewy inside; no dryness, no soft breadyness. Step four: it doesn't need to be covered in other stuff to make it taste good – plain, lightly toasted (or fresh out of the oven), with a nice schmear of cream cheese.

Does anybody out there have a suggestion for a good bagel in town? I tried many, many, many places in the first 1.5 years here to no avail and then I gave up and stopped trying. I recently tried Herschel's East Side Deli in Reading Terminal Market. I highly advise against ordering a bagel there. Before trying a bagel at Herschel's on the suggestion from a co-worker a couple months ago, I can't remember the last time I paid for a bagel in Philly because it's been so long since I gave one a chance.

[Note: Oddly, I was meeting 9 photogs for brunch at the deli and I didn't bother to take a photo of the whole brunch. Too busy talking and eating.]

Famous Fourth Street Delicatessen
700 S. Fourth St.
(215) 922.3274
Mon – Sat: 7:30am – 6pm
Sun: 7:30am – 4pm

Keep your fingers crossed everybody. This place seems to have had more delays than your average opening. But until then, take a look at the new décor which Klein alluded to in his earlier post on Minar. We've got high hopes for this place and lots of friends just itching for an outing once it's ready. Their menu is finalized and available for download here [377KB] as a .pdf or you can click here for a zooming Flash-enabled version Picky just whipped up.

The photos above are from August 27th. We have no idea what the final signage will look like, but we're gonna assume they're going to take the old Time Video sign down at some point. [It's open!]

Minar Palace
1304 Walnut St
215.546.9443

There was a huge Dutch festival a couple weeks ago at Reading Terminal Market, where Picky happened to be working at the time. He noticed that Beiler's was set up in the main seating area frying up fresh donuts. Without any cash on him, he didn't get a chance to sample the gigantic fresh donuts. He didn't recall seeing the donuts at the bakery in the past either. After the festival ended, he ventured over to the stand and sure enough, there were donuts (and buns)! Armed with some cash, he plunked down 75¢ for a vanilla creme donut and bit into soft and flaky dough oozing with fresh creme. Sure that Messy would also be a fan, Picky decided that the next tag team visit to Reading Terminal would definitely include a stop off for more treats.

Above is Messy's pick from the rack: a chocolate covered donut. While the donut was certainly fresh, Messy is not a huge donut fan and will probably go for a different treat next time. This didn't hurt Messy's perception of Beiler's — she is a big fan of their bread and has her eye on some of their other simple-but-hearty looking treats.

Picky's second sampling was a strawberry jelly and creme filled donut, a double whammy encased in powdered sugar. Life doesn't get much better than a good donut.With Beiler's being a walk up the aisle from Picky's day job, it would be easy to have too much of a good thing so he's limited himself (so far) to one return for a frosted blueberry donut. The only other blueberry donut he's had was a sad excuse of one from Dunkin' Donuts. In contrast, Beiler's blueberry donut burst with flavor. And the texture of a fresh small batch donut is to die for.

Aside from the donuts, we've also taken a liking to their fresh sandwich loaves. Their white and wheat breads run about $2.50/loaf and come in a bag that seems to be coated with oil or butter on the inside. We're not sure exactly what it is, but it's not hurting the flavor.

While the Dutch Market hours are only Wednesday through Saturday you can benefit from this bakery making everything fresh. Get there Saturday towards closing and you'll find treats marked down to $1.50 because they'll be closed until Wednesday.

Their best offering is the pumpkin creme filled donut. It's seasonal so only around October-November. But that makes them that much more special. Get 'em while they're around!

Messy ***1/2
Picky ***1/2

The final word: Fresh, homemade inexpensive baked goods.

Beiler's Bakery
Wed: 8am – 3pm
Thu – Sat: 8am – 5:30pm
Sun – Tu: Closed
215.351.0735

We got to see e at N. 3rd and got to, briefly, meet Alex of Le Petit Cochon. Alex's take is up here. But with Picky's lost contact, and resulting headache and disorientation, we had to grab our vouchers and go, missing all the breast-inspired treats. Yes, that was vouchers plural. We thought we were going to be sharing a Franklin Fountain dessert, but we got one each!

We knew the portions would be huge. We debated inviting friends to share. But, in the end, we decided to just pig out. Our server asked us how many spoons we wanted for each sundae. "Um. . .just one," replied an embarrassed Messy. The sundae is basically delicious vanilla ice cream with a slathering of strawberries and whipped cream. Huge. Simple. Yummy. Messy wanted a few more wafers, but made do with two. Messy could only eat half, but Picky was there to finish it all off. It should be noted that Picky had the unfair ice cream eating advantage having been raised in a family that owned a Carvel ice cream store growing up (he ate a ton of ice cream between the ages of 5 and 20). Here's the recipe for the Broken Hearts sundae straight from the Franklin Fountain website:

Broken Hearts

{recipe taken from The Dispenser's Formulary, 1910}

"…put a slice of BRICK VANILLA ice cream on a 6-inch plate. Cover the ice cream with fresh, sweetened, and slightly mashed strawberries, and over these put sweetened whipped cream; top off with two whole strawberries and serve with two nabisco wafers. Sells for 20 cents. {F. Varney}

The Brothers Berley have revived a wonderful dish (which sells for a bit more than 20¢ nowadays) and selflessly donated 50% of the proceeds garnered from people ordering that delectable sundae for a good cause. We're sad we missed the festivities surrounding the evening's events, but look forward to reading about them from everyone who made it out.

Naked Chocolate has become a go to spot for quick, yummy desserts at all times of the day – they're open until 11pm during the week! You can't count on always getting a seat, as the secret has long been out about this place. On the corner of Walnut and Juniper Streets, it's not exactly a hidden treasure, especially with full length windows facing Walnut Street that offer a tantalizing view of what's inside.

Naked Chocolate has so many offerings, it's impossible to put them all into one post – we've tried numerous times, but have given up – so we're going to start off on their classics and branch out from there. They're probably most well known for their their hot chocolate. It's not your supermarket Swiss Miss powder with hot water and dehydrated marshmallows. It's melted pure, rich chocolate served up with whipped cream and a rolled wafer (or a plump marshmallow, if you wish). The sizes start off small, espresso-size, and go up. You may balk at the tiny portion at $3.50, but remember, it's all chocolate. The first time we tried the hot chocolate, we both had the middle size, which they call "Indulgent" ($5) and it was too much for Messy; Picky finished off his and gladly sipped up the remainder of hers as well. The espresso-size "Petit" will most likely be enough for most, even the especially sweet-toothed.

And then there are their nudos. An ever-changing lineup of inverted, pyramid-shaped brownies with frosting on top ($2). We've done our best to have them all, but they keep thinking up new ones and there are also many other treats to test. To date, we've tried their chocolate chocolate (with walnuts), chocolate chip, peanut (pictured below), blondie and peppermint. Of these, we agree that the peppermint is best.

They have much, much more in their store (cupcakes, tarts, and Messy's favorite "Junk in the Trunk" bar will be featured later in their own post) and yes, they do also make their own chocolates in house, sold individually and by the pound.

We've become something of Naked Chocolate addicts, and it's especially hard to resist with the current PhillyCarShare promotion: buy one treat, get one free (under $6, baked goods only).

Messy: ****1/2
Picky: ****

The final word: Don't worry if there is no place to sit down — grab a stack of treats to take home with you!

Naked Chocolate Cafe
Mon – Th: 10am – 11pm
Fri – Sat: 10am – 11:30pm
Sun: 11am – 9pm
1317 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 735-7310

The first thing we noticed was that Ariana has a very cozy atmosphere. The interior is small but not exactly cramped. There is a special no-shoes window table up front facing Chestnut Street, which appeared to seat six. The three of us had a cozy table in the back.

One of the best things about Ariana was the abudance of delicious free bread. We gobbled up so much of it neither one of us was able to completely finish our meal. We began with two different kinds of yummy sambosas, which was the highlight of the meal for Messy. When it came time to order our meals, Messy could hear her brother and sister's voices in her head raving about pumpkins, so she decided to try the pumpkin and yogurt sauce dish (Chalow Kadu, $12), even though she generally does not love anything in the squash family. The dish was tasty enough, but if you don't like pumpkins (and Messy can now confim — she doesn't) you won't particularly like this dish. It was a lot of pumpkin. Picky opted for the Lamb Corma – large cubes of lamb served with a heaping of basmati rice. All in all, this was a good hearty meal with hearty proportions. We don't know anything about Afghani food, but Ariana gave us a decent — if unspectacular — meal.

Messy ***
Picky ***

The final word: Hearty portions in a cozy atmosphere. A plus if you like pumpkins.

134 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19106-3009
(215) 922-1535

Messy had the Chef's Special, one of twelve "Vegetarian Delights" on the menu (ranging from $7.95-$12.95). The Chef's Special consisted of Indian cheese, spice rounds with tomatoes, cashews, raisins and spices. It was absolutely delectable, but not entirely cheap from our perspective, at $12.95. One part of our meal was a huge bargain, though — Messy's mango lassi was only $3 and the glass was about a foot tall. Seriously, it was enormous. However, everything we ate had an excellent price-to-value ratio, considering how yummy the food was.

Picky had the Mohan's Lamb Niyamatkhani. It was listed on the menu as "our executive chef's special" and when Picky requested that it be cooked extra spicy, it came out a normal level of spicy — which irked him a bit. The portion was right though and the dish very tasty, it just wasn't spicy enough. Next time, Picky will opt for something with some more inherent kick to it.

This was the only time in our three years or so of Philadelphia dining in which the owner of the restaurant came out and asked us how we liked the food. What a nice touch!

Messy ****
Picky ***

The final word: Really good Indian food, but maybe not spicy enough for some.

Lovash Indian Cusine
236 South Street
Philidelphia, PA 19147
T (215) 925-3881
F (215) 925-3882

Restaurant Buffet Take Out
Mon – Thu: 11 AM to 10 PM 11 AM to 2:30 PM 11 AM to 10 PM
Fri: 11 AM to 10:30 PM 11 AM to 2:30 PM 11 AM to 10:30 PM
Sat: 11 AM to 10:30 PM 11 AM to 3:30 PM 11 AM to 10:30 PM
Sun: 11 AM to 10 PM 11 AM to 3:30 PM 11 AM to 10 PM