Year In Review: March
We’ll be looking back at the year in Foobooz. Next up is March, 2009, the month where Philadelphia emphatically said, “we are America’s best beer-drinking city.”
News
- Rick Nichols pays an early visit to Chifa and tries to figure out just what Peruvian-Chinese cuisine.
- The Metro heads out to find the ultimate six-pack on the eve of Philly Beer Week.
- Kanella gets 3-bells of love from Craig LaBan.
- Fried pickles tickled our fancy and we listed some of our faves.
- Beer Week was full of highlights. Hitachino Nest night at Jose Pistola’s, Brewer’s Plate and the Rare Founders Beer Dinner at South Philadelphia Taproom stand out has blurry favorites. And then there are those events that we missed.
- The beloved Jose Garces managed to stir up a hornets nest of comments with word that he was partnering with the PLCB.
- Tony Luke announces frozen sandwiches and Rick Nichols takes them for a spin.
- Barclay Prime adds a pub menu and Philadelphia gets a new great burger.
- Craig LaBan isn’t happy with Del Frisco’s Steakhouse.
Dish of the Month
Katsiki Stew at Kanella
[F]ew things excite this chef quite like the possibilities of goat, which he receives whole from a local kosher butcher. It’s the centerpiece of his signature “katsiki” stew, served with toothsome wheat berries and fried okra. As one of the most expensive items ($25) on this otherwise reasonable menu, it seemed pricey for a peasant’s plate of scraggly cuts in gravy. But the flavors, unfurling in complex layers, made it one of the most profound dishes I’ve eaten all year. Craig LaBan, Philadelphia Inquirer
Smackdown of the Month
It was some of the female guests who were really turning heads, with so many surgically enhanced, body-glittered bosoms on display, the only thing missing was a brass pole. – Craig LaBan, Philadelphia Inquirer
Notable Openings
Girasole, Holy Smoke, Ladder 15
Notable Closings
North by Northwest, Old Original Bookbinders
