Where to Eat This Weekend: Somewhere Comfortable

Dae Bak’s soondubu | Photo by Michael Persico

So here we are again with the gray skies and rain and cold. It’s February. I get that. But that tease of 70-degree days and sunshine was so nice that to lose it has cracked my spirit just a little.

So, in order to make ourselves feel better, this weekend we’re focusing on nothing but comfort foods. And while granted, everyone is comforted by different things, this is where the Foobooz team is going to be eating this weekend.

Hummus for what ails you

Chef Ari Miller of Food Underground is a master of the pop-up. He’s done them all over town, in a variety of venues, and this weekend he’s going to be setting up shop at W/N W/N coffeeshop and serving hummus. With musical accompaniment. No, seriously. It’s part of Miller’s Hummusic series, so he’ll be serving his hummus from 5pm-7pm on Sunday while Ami Yares plays some Middle Eastern-inflected American folk music to set the mood. You can check out more details right here.

Pork soondubu at Dae Bak

Upstairs at the Chinatown food hall is Dae Bak — one of the best Korean restaurants in the city. And at Dae Bak, you can get yourself a bowl of pork soondubu, which is absolutely the most comforting bowl of anything you’ll find anywhere. It’s a stew with chile-spiked tofu broth, pork and a raw egg bobbing in the center. You pierce the egg, mix the yolk into the stew, add some rice and the whole thing gets warm and thick and silky-smooth. Grab a table by the big windows looking out over Chinatown and just camp there for a little while. I promise you’ll carry the warmth with you for hours.

Vista Peru is opening this weekend

You know what’s going to be a big deal in the future? Peruvian food. Know how I know that? First, because Peruvian food is awesome. And second, because a 90-seat Peruvian restaurant and pisco bar is opening on South 2nd Street in Old City. It’s coming from the team behind El Baloncito, but will be decidedly more high-end. So if you’re looking for a place to get whole-lobster ceviche, a beautiful causa layered with sole ceviche, Chinese-style fried quinoa or 13 brands of pisco, this is going to be a very good weekend for you. Vista Peru opens on Friday night.

Comfort food never changes at Jones

How long has it been since you’ve been to Jones? Too long, right? Because seriously, on a weekend like this, what a lot of us are looking for is a place where the kitchen are experts at making pierogie, deviled eggs, chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, turkey pot pie and Thanksgiving dinner every night of the week. Seriously, all that (plus just about every other regional classic comfort food you can imagine) lives on the same menu, and that menu is only served at Jones.

Lapin roti at Bistrot la Minette

Speaking of places you don’t think about often enough, what about Peter Woolsey’s original French bistro? Seriously, there is nothing in the world quite as comforting as lapin roti a la moutarde — as tender rabbit braised in mustard and cream, served over pasta — and Woolsey’s version is among the best in Philly.