I hailed a cab from work at RTM in the pouring rain in late October to head to Bluecoat gin (by Philadelphia Distilling) sling: lemon, thyme infused simple syrup, sparkling mineral water and a big lemon slice; their take on a gin fizz. These were good. It had a nice tang to it with sugary sweetness. Landon and I had 3 or so of these by the end of the [long] night – they were so easy to drink.

But the gin fizzes weren't the only alcohol on tap for the night. We had a keg of Yards Brawler on tap with Yards brewer Tim Roberts pouring away. Tim was seated to my left with his lovely wife across from him. Every time our Bell Mason pint jars were about half empty, Tim would top them off and refill the pitcher. Our other tablemates Drew Lazor from City Paper and Foobooz himself, Art Etchells, were putting away pints as quickly as Tim could refill them. I think I had about 6 pints to go with my 3 gin fizzes. I was tanked when I got home even with all the food we downed.

There were some pickled cucumbers (full sours, bread & butter) tomatoes and beets on the tables for everyone to nosh on before the courses started pouring out. Landon previously did not like pickled beets or bread and butter pickles. After trying these he changed his mind about the beets but not the bread and butters. I'm picky about my pickles (duh) and the full sours were good and pickled tomatoes are something I've recently been introduced to and definitely like. Above, the chefs for the evening. From left to right: Chef Tim McGinnis, Chef Brian McManus and Chef Brad Jennings aka, the Baldy Fella (Tim told me to call you that!).

The first course was Suzuki Peruvian ceviche (black sea bass, citrus, tamari romesco sauce, rice cracker) served in one of those pho spoons. I took mine down in eager 2 bites, first with the cracker and then without. Ceviche is one of those things I'm now branching out into eating; I've recently vowed to eat more adventurously. Landon was a fan of the rich and oily spoonful.

Next up were Tempura green beans (blackening spice, cajun remoulade). Our table of 8 got 2 baskets and we ripped through them like drunks at a bar. They were good, but they had us wanting the versions at Grace Tavern or Prohibition Taproom. Landon suggested that if the spices were incorporated into the batter and not added afterwards, it might have changed his opinion. It should be noted that Landon is a frying maestro. He and his housemates hold an annual Fry Fest – I went this year, it was awesome.

The shrimp pho cocktail (Vietnamese court bouillon, tiger shrimp, Asian slaw, Thai basil, hoisin, peanut) was something I was really looking forward to as I had never had pho outside of a hole in the wall Vietnamese spot. I had my spot in NYC I used to go to and now I have my spot here in Philly. But a fancified version?! Landon thought the shrimp had a really wonderful flavor from the fennel rich broth that it was cooked in, but the peanut sauce was a little too much overwhelming the shrimp. I thought the sauce was a bit thick especially considering the portion. The noodles had a great heat to them.

Chefs Jennings and McGinnis slaving over a super hot grill top preparing the next course.

The next few dishes were a trio of sliders. The reuben (house-brined brisket, Sriracha 1,000 Island dressing, Gruyere, homemade rye) had me worried as it could've been the one thing I didn't want to eat since I'm not a fan of 1,000 Island dressing. Landon took a lick of the toothpick holding it together and, before taking a bite, thought it was a winner. He assured me I'd like it and the dressing was light. Grilled hard, the strong, flavorful rye held up well. The dressing was light and was barely noticeable as Landon promised – I think everyone had at least 2 (or 3).

Fiorella's sausage being grilled.

Our next slider was a Fiorella's sausage (fennel and fig mostada, taleggio, arugula, Parc baguette). Hunks of fig/fennel mostada and bunches of rocket filled out the slider. Landon liked building these little sandwiches, they had to give us at least a little something to prepare since we were sitting in the kitchen. He wishes that the fennel and fig mostarda lived in my fridge his home. I gotta agree, the fig and fennel mostada was great. I might not dislike fennel so much anymore.

The final slider was my favorite part of the meal lamb shoulder (lamb and veal demi-glace, Parc baguette). Afterwards, Landon said that the simple pairing of the lamb shoulder with tarrgon was unexpected and delicious and I couldn't agree more. These and the Brawlers just kept coming and they were really complimentary. Landon felt like one could perpetually eat these little guys so long as there was a fresh Brawler in hand, but alas that theory did not pan out as he passed out promptly after dinner. Messy can attest to me passing out promptly after arriving home as well – I think I had 3, maybe 4 of these? They'd come around with a little wooden cutting board full of sliders and egg us on to just have one, two, three more.

What's a polpo pizza(octopus, marinara sauce, Claudio's smoked mozzarella) I wondered when I initially read over the menu, and then there it was. I'm not a big fan of octopus but this marked the second time this year I'd had it. Landon would've opted for simply having the chunks of octopus and smoked Claudio's; I would've opted for everything but the octopus. Unless it's cooked just a certain way, I just can't get into it. I'm also not the biggest fan of pizza that's not simply by the slice, but this was good. Claudio's has Messy and Picky's favorite mozzarella in the land.

And for dessert – what? Dessert?! – was Stock's pound cake with pear and mint applesauce and Capogiro's Fior di Latte gelato [Milk gelato. Milk from an Amish family's single herd of hormone free, grass fed in Lancaster County. Crazy good.]. Stock's is a bakery in the NE and, apparently, they have the goods when it comes to pound cake. It was heavy, but not too buttery. Landon thought it was good but after a meal that inspired several references to "just one mint, it's waaaafer thin," pound cake, gelato, seriously. His taste buds and stomach were worn out – too stuffed to appreciate dessert even though he ate all of it. Growing up in a family that owned a Carvel ice cream store, I always have room for ice cream. I downed it, but was also feeling the heft of the entire meal.

We thought that was it, but there was one more treat. Apparently, Market Cafe is also a PKS user and they left a big tray of their caleles for us to enjoy with our meal. I had heard about these for some time. Some of the other diners hadn't heard of them. I've had the ones Metropolitan Bakery makes which are lovely, but these were that much better. Smaller, denser, with more of a crust to them. The creamy center makes you contemplate your life pre-canele for a bit.

I can't thank Tim, Brian and Brad and their crew of significant others and friends who rounded out the crew for having us. Tim mentioned that they're thinking of doing more of these tasting menu events in the future – perhaps even an all veg affair!

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

For Messy's birthday, we decided to go. By drinking water (not that we're normally guzzling bubbly and martinis) and sharing an appetizer, we were able to keep our bill under $50. We were surprisingly so full we didn't even need dessert to satiate our sweet tooths.

Their freshly baked bread and herby olive oil was so yummy! It's one of the many reasons why this place is packed from open to close every single day – reservations for the upstairs dining area are strongly recommended. We got there just before 9 p.m. on a Thursday and were told the dining room was full until about 9:30p.m., but we got lucky and a table for two opened up and was bussed within a few minutes.

We started off with spicy chipotle seitan and black bean enchiladas, and they were absolutely fabulous. Vegan cheese almost never tastes good, and this was terriffic. Whatever their secret is, it's worth the trip. In fact, this appetizer could make a suitable dinner. Picky ordered the Yucatan chopped spinach salad and Jamaican BBQ seitan for his meal (both appetizers). Messy had the grilled seitan which comes with Horizons famous yukon mash potatoes. (We both really, really like seitan. Our favorite way to eat it is with Horizon's "zesty chipotle" recipe). It was all delicious.

The Yucatan salad was quite creamy with tons of avocado holding the guts of the chopped salad together. The smoked black olives were a lovely touch adding unexpected little bursts of flavor. It's a salad big enough to share and we did – along with everything else. Our server was helpful and accommodating to our request to have our food brought out of traditional order (we ordered appetizers, an entrée and sides) so that we could create our own pace. Picky's Jamaican BBQ seitan was tasty, but not as good as the "zesty chipotle" version in the cookbook. Horizons threw a little curveball and the seitan had a distinctly smoky flavor to it which was different from the cookbook's directive, but very well done and balanced with a spicy scotch bonnet crema. (Prior to this meal, Picky was feeling lukewarm about Horizons. He had previously had the take-out version of the Pacific rim grilled tofu which just didn't cut it flavor wise. It didn't pull the Korean-Japanese meld they were going for. But that was over a year ago and maybe the recipe has been tweaked since.)

Messy had the grilled seitan with Yukon mash, horseradish cream, grilled spinach and red pepper tapenade. The portion was generous and everything was just incredibly tasty and filling. Messy had this meal when we got take-out last year and she'll continue to get it every time we return to Horizons, because it is awesome. (It is so awesome, Messy is breaking her own personal rule of trying everything "interesting" on a given menu before repeating orders.)

We're quite happy that Horizons made their move from the 'burbs a few years ago. Knowing it's close by is comforting. But saving up to dine in makes visits about as frequent as if they were still located outside of Philly. However, saving up some coin to make the trip is well worth it for special occasions — especially if you're a vegetarian.

Messy ****
Picky ***

The final word: Delicious upscale vegan food that is out of our budget. Get the cookbook!

Horizons Philadelphia
611 S. 7th St
215.923.6117
Tue – Thu: 6pm – 10pm
Fri – Sat: 6pm – 11pm

Golden Empress offers a full vegetarian menu as well as a full carnivorous menu. Overwhelmed by all the options, Messy went with the stand-by vegetarian General Tso's chicken. In order to qualify for delivery, Messy added an order of scallion pancakes and the people over at Golden Empress threw in a huge bag of fortune cookies — there were probably about eight in there. Messy managed to turn this order into four meals. Everything was good: the General Tso's were a little dough-y, not very spicy but strangely addictive and the scallion pancakes were just greasy enough to be delicious.

After Messy's first successful encounter with Golden Empress, the two of us decided to try another round of takeout. This time Messy went with the vegetarian sesame chicken, which was tasty and very similar to the vegetarian General Tso's in texture and lack of spiciness. Picky went with the regular General Tso's (his favorite Americanized Chinese dish) and also received nice healthy portion. Since Messy had warned him to order it extra spicy, it came out just right. It was nice and crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, with a good amount of sauce on the plate for extra dipping and mixing in with the rice. (Picky dislikes a scantily sauced dish!) The portion was enough for three solid meals, but Picky overstuffed himself and only managed to stretch it into two.

After these two pleasant experiences, we decided to head to Golden Empress for a sit-down meal. The interior is tiny, and kind of dingy, but the service and the food were delightful. We were treated to crispy noodles and Chinese pickle salad. Messy ordered the vegetarian pineapple duck, which was a very different consistency from the vegetarian chicken dishes. It was layer-y, kind of like a fake meat baklava. It was good, but a little too sweet for Messy. Picky, who sticks with a good thing once he finds it, had the General Tso's once more.

Messy's opinion changed slightly during the a sit-down meal. Actually, the sit down meal was fine, it was the bathroom that was particularly. . . um, unsavory. But if you do stick around for a sit-down meal, you'll be treated to some in-house comedy. From what we gather to be the owner or co-owner of the establishment, we were treated to constant banter with what seemed to be regulars to the Garden.

Aside from the bathroom, we have just one tiny complaint: the take out menu indicates that both duck sauce and hot mustard are 40 cents extra. This actually isn't the first time we've seen this here, and we have to wonder if this a Philadelphia thing. Neither of us has ever had to pay extra for duck sauce in our home states of Connecticut and New York.

Messy ***
Picky *** 1/2

The final word: Get take-out.

Golden Empress Garden
610 South 5th St
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 627-7666
M – Th: 11:00 am – 11:00 pm
F – Sa: 11:00 am – Midnight
Su: 11:30 am – 10:30 pm

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

We've been to Jamaican Jerk Hut twice, both times for outside gatherings on beautiful days. Although the inside of the restaurant is somewhat cramped, the patio and garden are spacious and welcoming. On our first visit, we were served free chips and some kind of spicy mango salsa-esque dip.

There aren't a ton of vegetarian options on the menu, but Messy lucked out on the first try with a delicious and just-spicy-enough vegetable Roti. She also had a super-strong, authentic ginger beer. (They also offer the less intense, and less expensive, bottled kind– but the homemade version is worth it.) On our second trip, Messy had just a vegetable pattie as a snack, but it was sadly mediocre. On second thought, Messy realized she should have ordered a side of cornbread instead — one of our group gobbled down three giant pieces. The side menu at Jamaican Jerk Hut offers plenty of smaller snacks, like bread baskets and fried plantains.

Picky had a jerk chicken breast — a large helping of chicken served with some nice and spicy Jamaican jerk seasoning. A bed of delicious rice and two sweet plantains joined the main portion on the plate. All of the items were served atop a steamed banana leaf. On the second visit, he tried a beef pattie which came out just about instantaneously. It too was nicely spiced. Just a little kick to add a little extra flavor to the treat. It's a good size as well. A good fulfilling snack if you've had a little to eat beforehand and are headed over with a six-pack to meet some friends who have already started munching.

Both of the groups we went with brought along beer, which our server gladly placed in buckets of ice. (There is an uncorking fee, and a 20% gratuity was included in the price for a large group. We didn't mind the extra charges that much, since we have no spacious garden of our own in which to entertain large groups of people.) Members of both groups enjoyed the jerk chicken and jerk shrimp, although some people found the jerk shrimp too spicy. The seafood cerviche did not receive such high praise. All in all, the quality of the food did not matter so much as the great atmosphere.

Messy ***1/2
Picky ***

The final word: A great outdoor space, especially in the summertime.

1436 South Street
Philadelphia, PA 19146
215-545-8644
Mon – Th: 11am – 11pm
Fri & Sat: 11am – 3pm
Sun: 5pm – 10pm

We ended up at the Pontiac Grille because there was a man outside handing out 10% off coupons. Messy was seriously craving a frozen margarita, and there was a sign out front proclaiming margarita were only $4. With open air windows looking out on South Street, it seemed like the perfect choice. Unfortunately, after being seated at the window, we learned that no frozen margaritas were available, although they did have every conceivable flavor of the non-frozen variety. Messy opted for the pina colada flavor, and it was really good, in an overly sweet, artificial kind of way.

We wanted to make it home in time for the White House Correspondent's dinner, so we decided to just order appetizers and a sandwich to take home for later. Messy ordered the Tex Mex nachos with guacamole. They were quite good and certainly big enough for a group to share with cups of sour cream and salsa to go along with the guacamole. Picky had the chicken fingers. They were not as crisp as he'd like them, but the honey mustard and bbq dipping sauces more than made up for that.

We took home an open-face turkey and swiss cheese sandwich with cranberry mayo, greens, tomato and red onion. It came with what seemed like hand-cut potato chips and a pickle. Unfortunately, we were so full from our appetizers that we put it away in the fridge and forgot about it until the next day, at which point it was incredibly soggy.

We were there for an early dinner on a Saturday night and could've stayed for a lively music set afterwards, but we had to jet home. Maybe next time.

Messy ***
Picky ***

The final word: Quick and tastey bar food with a view.

Pontiac Grille
304 South St
Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-925-4053
Daily: 5pm – 2am

We went to La Fourno on a particularly cold night, and we were immediately warmed up by a brick oven hard at work. Our friendly hostess lead us past a large counter with tons of pizzas into the rear portion of the dining room which was very cozy — intimate, even! — with barely any lighting aside from candlelight bouncing off of the exposed brick walls.

The first thing we noticed about the menu was the lobster ravioli special, listed as "It don't get better than this." We took them at their word and didn't order any of it. We did, however, order an appetizer off the special menu: the farinatta bread, which was a hard (not quite biscotti-textured) chickpea flour bread. It came with roasted red peppers and sharp Italian cheese. We both pronounced it "interesting" but not excellent. We also got a basic salad with each of our meals, which comes with only the choice of oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.

Picky ordered the chicken valdostana which was stuffed with yummy delights, including prosciutto. Messy had the gnocchi gorgonzola, which came in a humongous portion. Messy unwisely ate all of it, save for a few bites by Picky, and suffered from severe agita afterwards. It was tasty, but Messy isn't the biggest fan of gnocchi, although she is a huge fan of gorgonzola (Picky loves gnocchi!).

Our meal was supplemented by a gift certificate from 12th St Gym when Messy re-joined for a year using Picky as a referral – they give out dinner for two vouchers with each referral. But you won't need to worry about cost too much, everything is reasonably priced. Our entrees combined were under $30.

Messy ****
Picky ****

The final word: Cozy, yummy Italian food in the middle of a bustling South Street block.

La Fourno
636 South St
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 627-9000
Mon – Thur: 11.30am – 10pm
Fri – Sat: 11.30am – 11pm
Sun: 12.30pm – 10pm

We ended up at Alyan's due to lack of seating space at Maoz Vegetarian on South Street — and we're very glad we did! We dined with our two vegan friends and we're happy to report that all of our meals (three falafels and one shawarma, a lamb and turkey rotissere broil sandwich) were delicious. (Guess who had the shawarma?) The hummus and falafel sandwiches were hefty enough on their own, and they were served with mixed salads on the side. We can't imagine how big the 'platter' size, which costs $4 more, is in comparison. The schwarma was also a huge sandwich, overflowing out of the foil wrapper. It partially exploded over Picky's hand.

But the true highlight of the meal was the large side order of Alayn's Fries: French cut potatoes mixed with hot peppers and onions. They were perfect! Not too greasy. Not too spicy. Not too anything. Everyone liked them. They are more like homefries, with chunks of potato instead of thin strips or wedges.

It was semi-cramped at our table in the front room, but there is a larger back room as well as more seating upstairs; we didn't venture into either of those rooms so we can't verify how spacious they are.

The menu is quite extensive and the prices, not expensive. The total bill for four was under $25, a miracle in Center City! We were all quite full too– no room for baklava, the only dessert on the menu.

We went back to Alyan's a second time and found the service to be especially slow, but the food was just as good. Picky had the same sandwich and was not disappointed. Messy branched out and tried a "small" Greek salad, which was certainly big enough to share as a side and filling enough to be a meal on its own. She also tried the spinach and mushroom pie, a delicious, almost pastry-like concoction.

Messy ***
Picky ***1/2

The final word: Great, Middle Eastern eats at diner-like prices.

603 S. 4th St
215-922-3553
Sun – Thur: 11am – 11pm
Fri – Sat: 11am – Midnight

First off, we gotta say that Lazaro's slices are huuuuge, even by our standards. They're also pretty tasty: our only complaint is that the sauce is way too sweet. But otherwise, the pizza is very good, especially for Philadelphia.

All size pies have eight slices. A small plain [read: cheese] starts at $6.50 and gourmet pies start at $8. The first tier gourmet pies include the BBQ Grilled Chicken, Eggplant & Tomato and Hawaiian [Pineapple & Ham]. We haven't had any of their gourmet pizzas, nor their calzones or other offerings which include six vegetarian sandwiches, four of which are slightly different variations of the veggie burger, but we have been back twice for their plain slice– which says a lot for us. Of course, we were really, really hungry both times. We'll have to give Lazaro's a try sometime on a fuller stomach.

Picky would put Lazaro's right up there with NYPD's and Two Red Boots's slices. Lazaro's is not really a destination– if you order, order takeout as there are only a few stools to sit on inside. Picky would like to amend this post and say that he's had enough of this sweet sauce after a couple trips. For the first couple of bites, it's good, then the sweetness is just too much, no amount of garlic powder can help. NYPD is king!

Messy ***
Picky * 1/2

The final word: Big, sweet slices.

1743 South St
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 545-2775
Mon – Th: 11am – 10.30pm
Fri – Sat: 11am – 11.30pm
Sun: Noon – 9.30pm