Las Bugambillas, Authentic Mexican Food on South Street

Sometimes you just don't want to cook.  At times like those, I am profoundly grateful to live within walking distance of dozens of great eateries ranging from a grab-and-go falafel stand to a high end, five star restaurant.

Last week, I put down my spatula and headed to Las Bugambillas.  Their moderately-priced, authentic Mexican cuisine did not disappoint.

I started with the Nopales Salad.  You don't often see this cactus leaf-based dish on menus, so I was pleased to encounter it.  Vaguely resembling a crunchier roasted pepper, these vinegar infused strips were unique and tasty. The shrimp, avocado, red onion, tomato and crumbled queso fresco made for a great combination.

I then progressed to the Tacos al Pastor.  Las Bugambillas calls them a starter, but the generous portion which included a scoop of dressed, shredded lettuce topped with toothsome pickled vegetables was plenty for a main course, particularly when chasing the nopales.  This trio of corn tortillas, generously stuffed with perfectly seasoned, slow-cooked pork, chopped white onions, fresh cilantro and  pineapple was simply terrific.

My beef-eater son, he of the unadventurous palate, ordered a steak, plain, with rice and beans on the side. The chef generously accommodated this request, and even with the high maintenance order, there was nary a scowl from the server.  My son devoured the lot, save the chopped tomato garnishes, and heaven forbid, the guacamole.

I was delighted to see that this place was hopping on a Monday night in July.  In what is often considered the slowest night on during the slowest season for restaurants, this place was a fiesta.   Viva Las Bugambillas!

Penne Restaurant, Great Italian in West Philly

We had the good fortune to be invited to a birthday celebration at Penne last night.   We were greeted by friendly bartender who poured us aperitifs before we proceeded to our table.  We downed them,  then encountered a pleasant hostess, who seated us at a booth, and finally, our server, who was affable without being intrusive--which can be a tough balance to strike. 

One minor side note on seating:  in the future, I will request a table.   The booth's seat was uncharacteristically low and table  high, which made me feel like I needed a telephone booth to sit on, despite my respectable 5'7" stature.  But onto the food....


We started with a bowl of fried calamari.  Normally I detest this dish for its resemblance to greasy, fried teething rings.  In fact, I never eat it, but my husband, who loves it, seized the opportunity to order it for the table.  But this version was a revelation. The calamari was tender on the inside, crispy on the outside, and not at all greasy.  The sauce, a spicy tomato caper dip was a welcome departure from the typical tomato sauce that usually accompanies this dish.  I still only ate about 3 bites, but I enjoyed them.

 My husband handled the wine order, and he did an excellent job.  The birthday girl was Luisa, and husband found her namesake Pinot Grigio on the list.  Fortunately, it was the perfect pairing on a scorching summer evening for our pasta dinners.

My first course was a soup from the specials menu: sweet corn broth with tiny roasted garlic and scallion gnocchi. It was fantastic; the broth was light, but had an intense and deep flavor of sweet summer corn, and the gnocchi had a delightful crispness to them.  A really unique and seasonal dish!

Penne is known for their homemade fresh pastas.  Our table sampled a good assortment, one better than the next:

Birthday girl Luisa had the ravioli filled with zucchini, goat cheese, and potato, topped with herb pesto and pine nuts, which she thoroughly enjoyed.   I've mentioned before that potatoes, pretty much in any form, are a serious temptation to me, and their use here was unexpected and delicious.

I had the linguine with clams.  This was a bit of a departure for me, because linguine with white clam sauce is a signature dish of mine so I normally wouldn't order it in a restaurant.  But this version had some alternative ingredients that intrigued me--red pepper linguine and  bacon.  I'm happy to report that it was terrific.  The clams were tiny and toothsome, the linguine was perfectly al dente--not always easy to execute with fresh pasta, and the bacon was a great crispy-salty foil to the clams and noodles.  I don't think I'll mess with my version of the dish, but never say never.

My husband had the tagliatelle puttanesca with swordfish.  The briny capers were an excellent accompaniment to the steaky, mild fish, and the pasta was, again, perfectly cooked.

For dessert, we sampled the chocolate amaretto cannoli and the blueberries with lemon-thyme  mascarpone.  They did not disappoint!


If you hurry, you can still catch the special menu deals available through  University City Dining Days, going on now through July 26.

Spring in Talula's Garden

We had the good fortune to dine at one of our favorites last week--Talula's is firmly embracing spring and the gastronomic bounty that it offers....


The fresh pea--goat butter ravioli topped with pea shoots was a lovely start...

Ditto the gnocchi, which was seared to a crisp, laden with buffalo Taleggio and topped with baby spinach.

Our mains were equally delectable:

Halibut "Rockefeller"--with sherry bacon vinaigrette, spinach, new potatoes, nettles and chives;

Hanger Steak with candied onions, pureed potatoes and marrow bordelaise;

Farro Risotto with ramps, peas, baby carrots, garden herbs and walnuts;

and the Florida Pink Snapper with warm lettuces, grapefruit, and fingerling potatoes.

Being fans of stinky cheese, we opted for the wonderful assortment called "Bring on the Funk", which was enjoyed by all.    We followed that with the irresistible  sweet ricotta filled donuts with apricot dipping sauce, and the bacon s'mores, which were a lot better than they sound.

So the love affair with Talula's continues.

Sbraga: Art on a Plate

The Eggplant Terrine was a good looking number

Wish I'd tried the scallop with pork belly, watermelon and tabouleh!

Keri and I wanted to treat our menfolks to an upmarket dinner.

The timing was perfect.

The meal became a four way celebration of one wedding anniversary and three birthdays: two of the four of us are Pisceans while one other is guided by the dynamic star sign, Aries -- so this was a belated birthday treat for the majority of us!

We tried to get a reservation at Vetri.  No joy.  Had heard the buzz around Sbraga, and thought we'd give that a shot.  We got a table but waaaay early.  We secured a 6.15pm seating, which wasn't ideal.

Sbraga occupies a curious location.  It's a bit of dead zone for pedestrians, straddling the corner of Broad and Pine and many a restaurant has failed in this particular spot.  Still, it's been nominated for the Best New Restaurant in Philly, so we wanted to see whether it lived up to its PR...

The decor is muted.

The walls sport slabs of reclaimed wood while the wallpaper complements this with its discrete woodland theme.

The focal point of the restaurant is a sizable open kitchen with real wooden fires that burn dramatically.


The menu is a four course fixed price meal, with an option to pair your dishes with libations chosen by Sbraga's own experts.  Three of the four of us went this route.

Nice touch for openers...instead of the obligatory bread basket, we were each served our own truffle-infused popover.

This was a good start - in lieu of bread we had a popover made with truffle oil

I just had to run with the foie gras starter.  It came accompanied with wafer thin slices of melon, an almond crumble and guess what...?  

The plate was finished with a gentle melon sorbet.  It worked - beautifully.

I loved the presentation of my cod second course.  It looked like a flower growing off a stem.  The leaf was indeed a solitary bok choy leaf that had been caramelized to a crisp.  

The cod was cooked to perfection, but it lacked a certain something; it looked spectacular but seemed dull after the foie gras opener.

The lamb belly was certainly an unusual cut...

My husband had the Bronzino, which came with a crispy crust

The chocolate tart: the pistachio ice cream swayed our decision

We finished with the obligatory cheese course....

Our overall impression of Sbraga was good.  We had to wrestle with the wait staff to get a decent sized glass of wine to accompany the food.  (Unlike when you've bought the bottle yourself and the wait staff keep topping your glass up to encourage you to drink it as quickly as possible.)  Some of the drinks pairings were decidedly odd.  I'm not sure that we'd repeat that part of the meal again.  However, the food was delightful, innovative and surprising.

I'm planning a repeat visit when next my family is in from the U.K.  It does feel like a special occasion restaurant.

Salad Days

As this burst of spring weather has exploded upon us, I can't help but crave lighter, greener fare.  This is partly due to the fact that beach season is just around the corner, and after a hedonistic and gustatory winter of cooking, dining, and blogging, I may risk being harpooned come June.  But it's also due to the fact that as the warmer weather arrives, we naturally steer away from the heavy stews and braises of winter in favor of salads and grills.

We know we're not quite there in terms of veggies and fruits yet.  Butch at Iovine's, our go-to guy for all things produce, tells us that we've got some weeks to go before fresh and local become the norm on our tables.

But that doesn't mean that we can't enjoy our favorite salads, either from our own kitchens or at some of our regular restaurant haunts.  If you're making your own, we can definitely recommend Butch's winter salad and our signature Caesar.  I'm also a huge fan of baby arugula tossed in a basic balsamic vinaigrette--a wonderful refreshing side at dinner or for lunch as a healthy bed for a scoop of tuna salad, a few slices of grilled chicken, or a slab of frittata.

If you prefer to let someone else cook it, have you tried Zento's tuna sashimi salad?  Or Las Bugambilla's Ensalada Mexicana?

I adore Amada's Express Lunch--can never decided between the ensalada verde, with its gorgeous combo of greens, beans, avocado and shaved Manchego,

or the more indulgent Serrano Ham and fig salad with Cabrales (Spanish bleu cheese.)

Other strong salad combos to make at home:

• Romaine, black beans, red onions, corn, and shredded sharp cheddar with a lime and cumin dressing.
• Spinach, apples, crumbled bleu cheese, sweet onions and salted cashews with a simple vinaigrette.
• Romaine, cucumbers, tomatoes, black olives, red onions and feta cheese in oil and vinegar.

As the warmer weather arrives, what is your favorite salad?

Han Dynasty Spiced up our Day!

We have fallen in love with Han Dynasty, the Szechuan Chinese Restaurant on Chestnut Street near Front.  Desperately and dizzily in love, like a tween for Justin Beiber.

We kindled our ardor during one recent lunch.

Han specializes in Szechuan food, which relies heavily on chilis and garlic.  If you prefer a bland diet, this is not the place for you.  But the servers always ask what spice level you want on a scale of 1-10 so you have some control of your destiny; our group has a high tolerance for spice and level 3 was enough kick for us.  So, a word to the wise, err on the side of caution.

We started with the dumplings in chili oil.   These gorgeous half-moons, traditional noodle pillows filled with seasoned pork, doused with chili oil and sprinkled with sesame seeds were hotly wonderful.  And wonderfully hot.

The spicy, crispy cucumbers, sliced and dressed in a delightfully zippy dressing, could make even the most die hard carnivore turn a fork to this vegan dish.

We progressed to the dan dan noodles; again spicy, but infused with peanut, scallion, garlic, and an abundance of other lovely things that brought a complexity of flavor beyond mere chili.

Han Dynasty's main courses present flexibility, and require some decisiveness.  Each available preparation is listed with the protein options--so diners who want a garlic sauce style opt for that, and then select pork/chicken/beef/lamb/tofu/shrimp/scallops.  We chose dry pepper-style shrimp; the shrimp were crisply fried, then tossed with dried and long hot chilis.   Alas, there is no photo of this dish; we tucked into it upon its arrival at the table and by the time we remembered to shoot it there was not enough left on the plate  to fill the frame.

The vegetable sides were spectacular.  The pea leaves with garlic (admittedly my favorite green) made me long for spring even more, when these lovely sprouts are readily available at farmers markets.

And the eggplant with garlic sauce, which was a (naturally) spicy sweet and sour concoction was both scrumptious and pretty to look at.  Wouldn't you love a cashmere sweater in that purple shade?

After lunch we headed home, thoroughly full, with our tongues pleasantly tingly, sinuses clear, eagerly planning our next meal there.  And we thanked our lucky stars that we live in a neighborhood that has such a tremendous variety of high quality ethnic restaurants.

What are your new fave places in Philly?

My Malaysian Lunch Adventure

She did not wear this to lunch, but she still looked lovely in her Philly attire.

I was invited to lunch with my dear friend Farah.  She hails from Singapore, is a legendary cook and hostess, and had a hankering for a taste of home.  Banana Leaf Malaysian Cuisine at 1009 Arch St. was our destination.

The atmosphere was pleasant; lots of bamboo-esque wood,  pastel colors, and a clean, uncluttered feel.  Upon arrival,  I put myself in the hands of my friend, and she proceeded to order typical Malaysian/Singaporean dishes.  "This takes me back to childhood," she said, "We had a canteen at school that sold this type of street food and I ate these dishes for lunch every day."

We started with a Rojak, which is a cold salad of fruits and vegetables.  When Farah ordered it, the server, who obviously knew her stuff, questioned the decision.  Farah assured her that she was from Singapore, was familiar with the dish and repeated the order.  The server then looked at me.  "She wants that?  You sure?".  I thanked the server for looking out for me but insisted that I wanted to try everything the way the chef prepares it.  She politely suggested that we have the sauce on the side.  I politely insisted that I would be fine with the dish as it comes.  When the server left, I asked Farah to dish on the dish.    "It has a rather pungent sauce, sort of sweet and sour fish sauce, and I just love it" she said.    I do a lot of Asian cooking and my kitchen is equipped with fish sauce, oyster sauce, and other authentic regional ingredients, so we were confident that I would be fine with this dish.   We were wrong.  Oh, so very wrong.  Farah tucked in happily, relishing the salad of her childhood.  I gulped down a heavily sauced cucumber whole with tea and passed her the plate.

Rojak--not for everyone.

Which brings me back to restaurant rule #1:  Listen to your server.  They do, after all, know the food (and their customers) rather well.  

All I can say is that like Gefilte fish, marmite, and tripe, none of which appear in my culinary ethnicity, rojak is something that you have to grow up eating to enjoy.  Or perhaps it is an acquired taste.  I can confidently say that I will never acquire it, but different strokes for different folks.

I fessed up immediately to the wise waitress.  As she passed by, I said, "You were right.  I don't like it.  I should have listened to you."  She chuckled good naturedly and brought our remaining two dishes, which were much more to my liking.

The Sarong Barong was a "bowl" made of fried taro, which was filled with lightly sauced, stir fried pieces of chicken, corn, snow peas, mushrooms and cashews.  It is important to appreciate the true divinity of this taro bowl.  Picture deep fried mashed potatoes and you are in the neighborhood.

And finally, the Singaporean Rice Noodles...now, I've never met a noodle I didn't like and these did not disappoint.   Tossed with shrimp, egg, bean sprouts and Chinese cabbage, these lovely strands were downright addictive.

So, in the immortal words of Meat Loaf...."Two out of three ain't bad."  I would return to banana leaf in a heartbeat.  The service was great (if only I'd allowed myself to truly benefit from how great), the price was right, the food was delicious, and the place immaculate.

Thank you Farah, for a lovely lunchtime adventure.  For our next girls' day out I'll have to come up with something equally regional and evocative of my heritage--Irish, German, Czech, and Dutch.  Oh, dear.  Not the most thrilling cuisines in all the world.  I may have to lay claim to a culinary ethnicity that is not technically in my blood to feed you properly.  Suggestions welcome!

Il Pittore, Grazie

Il Pittore was a delightful choice for our final restaurant review meal of 2011.  Its exposed brick walls and beams, sizable skylight and wide planked wooden floors give the place a clean, modern air of rustic elegance.  The food echoes this trend.

We received a friendly greeting from our server, with whom we generated a cheerful rapport throughout the evening, ultimately trading trivia questions--he was a Physics guru owing to the fact that his dad taught the subject for years and he had an impressive knowledge of force, motion, and the conservation of angular momentum.

We started with a tryptic of crudos--which our waiter wryly clarified was served raw.  The tuna jalapeno was the highlight of the trio. 

Tuna Crudo

We are big fans of octopus and rarely resist it on a menu (save those fried teething rings that pass for bar food, which we strenuously avoid).  Il Pittore's version did not disappoint.

Braised Octopus with pickled peppers, potatoes and arugula

And we also tried the foie gras, which was excellent, uniquely paired with savory jams and crackers.

Foie Gras with savory pizzelles and lambrusco jellies

We split two pastas as an intermezzo--the duck agnolotti (pictured below) and the corzetti ("pasta coins") with braised goat, mint and chili oil.  Loved 'em both.

Duck-filled Agnolotti with juniper berries and duck proscuitto

We went 3 for 4 on our mains. While this would be a stunning stat for, say, Ryan Howard, we expect 4/4 at a restaurant of this quality, and if we can be a bit indelicate, price. The swordfish with chick peas and pearl onions in a smoked tomato broth was a treat. The braised veal cheeks (chosen by 2 of our group), were a special that evening. The veal was epic; melt-in-your-mouth tender, flavorful, and utterly transcendent. The one dark mark on the evening was the dourade, which our server described as a mild, flaky Mediterranean white fish similar to halibut. Alas, this description was inaccurate. The dourade was more similar to mackerel in flavor--which is a far oilier and strongly flavored fish than I would have ordered.  I consoled myself by tasting everyone else's main courses, and the waiter was supremely apologetic when I gave him my honest reaction. 



We enjoyed the brussels sprouts side,

Brussels Sprouts with pine nuts and burrata.

and always suckers for a cheese course, we didn't even try to resist the selection of Italian gems offered here....

We showed remarkable restraint on desserts, only sampling 3.   The creme brulee napoleon with pistachio tulles combined 'a few of our favorite things'--well, it was something of a holiday celebratory dinner, after all, even if we were working.  The gingerbread pear crisp was sufficiently sweet and gooey so that I did not have to deem it "breakfast", which is an insult I often hurl at desserts that pair fruit and crust but don't top off the meal with enough decadence. 

Pear Crumble

And the chocolate bomboloni, bittersweet chocolate fritters stuffed with nutella and served with vanilla sauce, well, what's not to like?

Applause to the rapidly expanding Starr Restaurant Organization for creating another jewel in the crown. We have to admit, though, that Il Pittore is an occasion restaurant, not a place you'd pop into after a movie for a quick bite. With starters in the $10-$17 range and main courses around $28, this is a special night out. The good news is that you won't be disappointed. The contemporary elegance of the food and the decor make a visit to Il Pittore most memorable.