panivorous

[cris]

"Oh, dude, they have chicharones here. I'm putting in an order of that."

I was with fsfitz amd strange_quark at Chifa, a Peruvian Chinese place in Philly. Peruvian-Chinese might sound odd until one realizes that American Chinese has its own weird and idiosyncratic adaptations. After all, it's not like anyone eats fortune cookies in Shanghai. Whether it's stir-

Comments

[cris]

Certainly, there are some Asian cuisines that eschew chopsticks. Filipino food, for example, it's either standard silverware or a banana leaf. I'm also fine with not having chopsticks at a Thai restaurant. But, a Chinese place that doesn't have chopsticks pretty much telegraphs to me that the management are catering more to Westerners than Asians, and aren't likely to make too many concessions for 'authenticity' ... which is fine in certain contexts, it's just a signal. I think it probably should've been one that we had to pick up on sooner to set our expectations accordingly.

The metaphor that I was using for someone else with the chicharones disappointment is imagine going to a TexMex place and ordering nachos, but instead of tortilla chips covered in chili, cheese and sour cream, you instead get a deep fried, thin rolled slice of polenta resting on a mound of kobe beef tartare sitting on an alfredo sauce.

Looks and sounds fancy, but ... as nachos? Not so much.

[ayun]

I had a few Chifa meals in Peru, none really blew me away. I think the time when local ingredients truly influenced the cuisine is so long gone that it's just kinda generic Cantonese, heavy on the deep frying, with the occasional local meat substitution to remind you where you are. On the other hand, I failed to do much Chowhound trolling for really interesting restaurants while in Peru, so probably missed the best stuff.

I'm really just posting to say that I've always wanted to eat at Slanted Door, been wary just because of the cost, and now kind of don't want to eat there anymore. Yay?

[cris]

dude, Mission Chinese. It's a little hipster-y and Chowhound Magnet-y (ok, a lot hipster-y and Chowhound Magnet-y) and the mammal presence on the menu is a little ridiculous, but it's so good, and totally what I'm talking about with taking all this newfangled molecular mojo bullshit and making something better.

I was a little disappointed that there was no cuy on the menu at Chifa.

[aphorisic]

Aiiee!! I missed that you were in Philly! I could have given you tens of restaurant recommendations that were a hundred times more interesting than Chifa. TENS!!!

Chifa is part of the Jose Garces Empire, the upstarts fighting the Stephen Starr juggernaut. (Good thing you didn't go to Buddakan; I'm not sure how that rates on the authenticity, but the scene alone would have made you shiv someone in the eye.) Garces' stuff is always good without being great, although I keep hearing that Amada is amazing blah blah and I was like, "anyone can shred manchego cheese over serrano ham and be hailed as a legend." (Starr's restaurants are all about atmosphere over cuisine.)

Philly doesn't do a lot right, but its restaurant scene is astonishing. Next time you're here, go to Zahav, Percy Street BBQ, Vedge, Fish, and Barbuzzo. Those are great places to start .

[cris]

(Starr's restaurants are all about atmosphere over cuisine.)

having had post Chifa cocktails at the Ranstead Room with its Playboy Bunny inspired decoration and brunch at Parc with the vintage French porn hanging over the urinals, if by "atmosphere" you mean "boobies" then, yes, I totally agree. Though, I should say: the polenta and eggs basquiase @ Parc? totally excellent.

I also missed that you had moved down there. I'm giving you the heads up if I visit again.

[aphorisic]

Parc used to be my go-to brunch, actually, so no complaints there. And you'll always get solid cuisine there. Also, the Franklin Mortgage and Investment Company is a must-see.

Two ships passing in the night...

[cris]

Franklin Mortgage was actually strange_quark's first pick, but the crazy Saturday night line was discouraging

[vestalvixen]

Slanted Door is back under a new name. I am suspicious of it.

[cris]

yeah, the family ate there twice and that was enough to peg it in a niche for an itch that we don't feel like scratching too often.

is it just a new name or is there a new concept, too?

[vestalvixen]

Same owner, but it's called Wo Hing's General Store now. Reviews say it's inconsistent, but the cocktails get good reviews.
http://www.sfweekly.com/2012-01-04/restaurants/wo-hing-general-store-charles-phan-mission-chinese-cantonese-slanted-door/

I haven't tried it yet because it seems like the fanfare is mostly about what he used to do, not what the food tastes like now. And I try to avoid the typical clientele.

[fsfitz]

I told another Filipina about that experience and still giggle over the "bao buns" - the siaopao I had for lunch last week made up for that funky sandwich.
Also, they did serve tea, but you had to ask, and it came with cream and sugar.
Wierd food aside, it was the company which made the evening :)
Your next assignment is to find Dippin' Dots.

[cris]

seriously, I wasted a good half hour last night trying to get the Dippin' Dots conversation into that post and just couldn't get it to work with the modernist food angle.

[fsfitz]

Dippin Dots is the ice cream of the future, can't get more modern than that :D

[cris]

Oh agreed. I was more struggling with remembering the sequence of how you and strange_quark tag-teamed on how deprived I was.