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Chifa Gets 3 Bells

Posted by Foobooz on May 26th, 2009

Craig LaBan dines at Chifa and finds Jose Garces’ gastro-genius on display.

Overall, I find the rambling bilevel space full of odd nooks, and the ambitiously wide-ranging menu a notch less compelling than Garces’ other more-well-defined tapas emporiums. Even if it is inspired by an actual tradition (known as “chifa”) that developed organically over more than a century by Chinese laborers in Peru, one gets the sense that is merely a pretext for this chef and his talented crew to show us their creative chops – and it can feel disjointed and vaguely indulgent.

And yet, if there’s a chef in town I’m happy to indulge, it is Garces. And there are simply so many stunning flavors here, starting with the addictive yucca-flour cheese buns (pan de bono) in the complimentary bread basket, it’s nearly impossible not to leave impressed.

3 Bells – Excellent

Chifa, a Chino-Latino blend [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Chifa [Official Site]

707 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA

Related Tags: Center-City-East, Chifa, Chinese, Jose-Garces, Peruvian

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 at 11:00 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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