Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Restaurant Review

29 Mar 2007

Tokyo – Philadelphia

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1 Comment

March 23, 2007
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi

1705 Chestnut St, Philadelphia 19103
At S 17th St

Phone: 215-564-3306
Website: none

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Eel Roll – eel, cucumber ($6.99)

Edamame Salad ($3.99)

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Sushi is the one food I can eat for meals on end without any sign of palate fatigue. I would eat it more frequently if the best stuff (Toro!) wasn’t so pricey and the cheap stuff wasn’t so substandard.

The man, AKA my boss, sent me off to class last week to sharpen my skill set. For lunch one day, I decided to try Tokyo–the colorful menu on the restaurant’s front really drew me in. All of Tokyo’s sushi and salads are pre-made and packaged in to-go containers in their refrigerators. The noodle soups and hot rice bowls are prepared when ordered. I picked up an eel roll and an edamame salad, paid the cashier, and ate them on the premise.

The eel roll consisted of 12 pieces, which is fairly generous. Sadly, the ratio of rice to eel was 5:1 and the sweet eel sauce was skimpy. The eel roll was one step above the Costco California rolls with imitation crab meat that my mom used to buy me before I became The Gastronomer. The edamame salad was well seasoned and pretty good minus the pale green (read: old) endamame.

Tokyo is a prime example of substandard, inexpensive sushi. Save your pennies for the good stuff or head over to Ajia for sushi that’s palatable and won’t break the bank.

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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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.