Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Restaurant Review

27 Mar 2007

Mama's Vegetarian – Philadelphia

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4 Comments

March 21, 2007
Cuisine: Vegetarian, Middle Eastern, Kosher

18 S 20th St, Philadelphia 19103
Btwn Ludlow St & Ranstead St

Phone: 215-751-0477
Website: www.mamasvegetarian.com

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Mama’s Sandwich – Falafel served with Hummus and Vegetables ($5)

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Mama’s Vegetarian is a small Kosher restaurant located half a block from my office building. I’ve walked by this eatery at least twice a day for the past two years and finally sampled their delights last week for lunch. Although Mama’s menu is pretty limited, their offerings are masterfully executed.

Joined by my colleague Ricky, we both ordered Mama’s Sandwich. I had the large size, while Ricky had the small ($3.50). The difference between the large and small sandwich is two Falafel and half a pita. Both of us opted to have our sandwiches made with whole wheat pita with all the fixings minus the spicy sauce. Our pita pockets were filled to the brim with cabbage, tomatoes, hummus, cucumber, Tahini sauce, and of course, Falafel.

The sandwich was delicious! Each bite was filled with fresh vegetables, creamy hummus, and fragrant Tahini. The Falafel was especially memorable. It’s exterior was crisp and interior was warm and savory. I liked how the freshly fried Falafel contrasted with the cold sauces and vegetables. Ricky had never tried Falafel before and enjoyed his sandwich immensely. In fact, he purchased another one to go.

I wish I had tried Mama’s sooner.

Restaurant Review

27 Mar 2007

Metropolitan Bakery – Philadelphia

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5 Comments

March 3, 2007
Cuisine: Bakery

Rittenhouse Square
262 S. 19th Street

Phone: 215-545-6655
Website: http://www.metropolitanbakery.com/

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Rosemary Foccacia ($1.50)

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I know I’m not from Boston, but the only way to properly describe The Astronomer’s metabolism is “wicked.” He consumes roughly 4000 calories daily and weighs a mere 140 pounds. Impressive? I think so. In order to maintain his body weight, The Astronomer must constantly snack. We stopped by the Metropolitan Bakery while strolling in Rittenhouse Square to pick up some calories for the bottomless pit.

After perusing the gorgeous baked goods, The Astronomer settled on the Rosemary Foccacia. The foccacia was not shaped like traditional foccacia–it was round and bulbous rather than flat and square. Also, the outter texture was much tougher than standard faccaia. The bread reminded me of the pizza crust from Pizza Hut (in sort of a sort good way) and not the least bit rosemary flavored. The foccacia tasted decent enough, but not at all what we were reasonably expecting.

Revisited: March 25, 2007

Chocolate Cherry Roll – dark and rich chewy loaf made with sundried sour cherries and imported bittersweet chocolate ($1.25)

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I decided to give the Metropolitan Bakery another go after a mediocre foccacia experience. At the suggestion of a few readers, I tried their signature Chocolate Cherry Bread. Although I wanted to love the bread very much, it just didn’t suit me well. The tart cherries combined with the sweet chocolate was too extreme for my tastebuds. On a positive note, the bread was moist and the chocolate and cherries were plentiful.

With so many bakeries around, I may be ready to give up on the Metropolitan Bakery.

Restaurant Review

26 Mar 2007

Pizzeria Delfina – San Francisco

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March 15, 2007
Cuisine: Pizza, Italian

3611 18th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

Phone: 415-437-6800
Website: http://www.pizzeriadelfina.com/

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Appetizer I: Spicy Cauliflower – with capers, garlic and Calabrian chilies ($6)

Appetizer II: Collard Greens – with guanciale and chili ($6.50)

Pizza I: Panna – tomato sauce, cream, basil, shaved Parmigiano ($10)

Pizza II: Hen O the Woods – mushroom, thyme, Taleggio ($15)

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A trip to The Bay would not be complete without a meal with my Oaktown friends, Maria and Jessica. Jessica heard good things about Pizzeria Delfina, namely that it was tasty, vegetarian-friendly, and not too pricey. The pizzeria is an offshoot of Delfina, a high-end restaurant next door. I do appreciate fancy restaurants opening up more casual eateries with equally fabulous food such as Otto (Babbo), Osteria (Vetri), Brasserie Perrier (Le Bec Fin), etc.

Jess, Maria, The Astronomer

We started our dinner by sharing two vegetable plates–collard greens and cauliflower. Maria insisted on having leafy greens because she’s a bigger health nut than I am, while Jessica and I chose the starchier cauliflower. The Spicy Cauliflower was garlicky, just firm enough, and fried to perfection; the chilies added a sensational bite. I wish cauliflower could always be this delicious. The collard greens also included some chilies, which tied together the two veggies nicely. Neither Jessica, Maria, The Astronomer, or I had ever had collard greens that weren’t cooked to death a la Soul Food. We were all surprised by how flavorful and delicate the greens were. The guanciale (unsmoked Italian bacon prepared with pig’s jowl or cheeks) were fabulous because bacon makes just about everything better!

Unfortunately, the pizzas were not nearly as spectacular as the appetizers. Jessica, Maria, and I shared the Hen O the Woods. Surprisingly, the mushrooms were tasteless and not the least bit woodsy and as a result, the pizza fell flat. Additionally, the crust was mediocre and the thyme was missing in action. We should have listened to Maria and ordered the Broccoli Rabe. The Astronomer’s Panna suited his taste, but was pretty basic and thus boring.