Craig LaBan visits the Pelican Restaurant, an Italian seafood BYO in Sewell, New Jersey. What he finds are well crafted Italian seafood favorites from Bill Fischer, former executive chef at Caffe Aldo Lamberti.

Wonderfully sweet and fresh Venezuelan lump crab finds its way into many of the menu’s highlights. Tossed by the fistful into a bright tomato-basil sauce (with a little clam stock), it makes a hearty plate of capellini sing. Sauteed with lemony beurre blanc, it adds another shine of luxury to an already decadent lobster tail francese. Into a creamy pedestal of crab imperial, Fischer folds his signature zucchini, capping the top and bottom with crispy panfried cakes of the squash, whose sweet and lacy vegetal snap is a natural match for the crustacean.

Two Bells – Very Good

Pelican Restaurant [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Pelican Restaurant [Official Site]

Adam Erace visits Koo Zee Doo and even though it seems like much of what he liked is now off the menu, he’ll be returning to give David Gilberg’s take on Portuguese cooking another go-around.

Called farinheira, these clouds of smoked pork fat and wheat flour brought to mind the dumplings in chicken ’n’ dumplings, only with a piggy, Portuguese accent. The vegetables in the cozido rocked too: starchy Yukon Gold potatoes from Green Meadow Farm, tender collards and cabbage and a grab bag of sweet root vegetables.

Koo Zee Doo [Philadelphia Weekly]
Koo Zee Doo [Official Site]

It’s pure Portuguese soul at Northern Liberties’ Koo Zee Doo.

[T]his is the first kitchen I’ve experienced in the States to elevate the authentic flavors of Portugal to another level. Some dishes might be familiar to those who have explored the pork-and-clam pots of the Portuguese cantinas in Northeast Philly and Riverside.

But [Carla] Gonçalves’ husband and partner, chef David Gilberg, 30, who did decent enough work in previous posts at the Ugly American and the opening of Coquette, has clearly stepped up his game to a higher level of inspiration. An apt comparison, perhaps, is what Konstantinos Pitsillides has done for traditional Cypriot flavors at Kanella.

Three Bells – Excellent

Koo Zee Doo [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Koo Zee Doo [Official Site]

Trey Popp finds the antithesis of the small plate phenomenon at Koo Zee Doo in Northern Liberties.

[T]here was no improving on the steak. The blistered culotte, a cut from the top sirloin cap renowned more for flavor than texture, was surprisingly tender all the way through. Plus fried eggs, broccoli rabe and potato coins fried in canola oil — whose crispiness proved that duck fat isn’t always the best medium. And those entrées in particular are plenty big for two, a great value at about $13 per person.

At Large [City Paper]
Koo Zee Doo [Official Site]

Craig LaBan and Rick Nichols look back at the last ten years of the local dining scene, a vibrant and varied time. Among the bold text highlights:

• BYO Boom
• Beer
• Gastropubs
• Farm market revival
• Food bloggers
• New dining destinations
• Decline of fine dining and Walnut Street
• Steak-house explosion
• Changing of the guard
• Starr’s rise
• Garces and Vetri
• Comfort food

Changing Tastes [Philadelphia Inquirer]

French BYOB, Bibou has been named as one of Alan Richman’s 10 Best New Restaurants in the America by GQ.

Pierre and Charlotte Calmel’s Bibou came in number 7, congrats to them.

The 10 Best New Restaurants in America: Alan Richman [GQ]
Bibou [Official Site]

Craig LaBan visits the now avant-garde Marigold Kitchen where chef Robert Halpern is deconstructing and meat-gluing back together the typical idea of a meal.

Great flavor combinations abound here, like the stunningly earthy taste of the chorizo-scented broth and perfectly cooked seafood of his “New World paella,” served over a base of cauliflower (instead of rice) minced into toothy cous-cous-size bits. Or the tropical mist of bubbled banana that topped a demitasse amuse-bouche, then disappeared as a rush of intensely rich, hot butternut soup followed like a squash chaser.

Two Bells – Very Good

Marigold Kitchen [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Marigold Kitchen [Official Site]

Have you been to Fond yet? Tonight might be a good time to get into the praised East Passyunk BYOB. Table for two at 7:30 is available now via OpenTable. Get clicking!

Fond [Official Site]

Passyunk Avenue’s Fond meets Craig LaBan this weekend. The restaurant with the pedigreed staff has already received the praise of Philadelphia Weekly, City Paper and Philadelphia Magazine. Will LaBan heap praise or identify youthful mistakes?

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Grub Street has the deets on Modo Mio’s new family style Sunday dinner. We’re most happy that it means another night to eat at the Girard Avenue Italian BYOB.

Sugo Sundays Coming to Modo Mio [Grub Street]
Modo Mio [Official Site]