Adam Erace is a bit dissapointed that chef/owner Han Chiang didn’t live up to his tempestuous reputation but he had no complaints about Han Dynasty’s Sichuan cuisine.

The fire starts with a spark, in this case the seashell-shaped dumplings made fresh daily. The supple sesame-freckled pork-and-cabbage purses only earn a 4 on Chiang’s spice scale, but a red aurora of chili oil—neutral oil-infused with red pepper, nutmeg, star anise and other secrets—is doing its thing while you eat on blissfully, thinking, this isn’t hot at all. Halfway through, you’re feeling it. I’m feeling it. And it’s not uncomfortable by any measure. The heat was less angry assault, more plaid blankets and fireside brandies at your hunting estate in the English countryside. Warm, comforting.

Han Dynasty [Philadelphia Weekly]
Han Dynasty [Official Site]

Adam Erace reviews the new Paesano’s at 9th and Christian. He recounts the well-known sandwiches of the original Girard Avenue location and crowns his favorite at this Italian Market newcomer.

That distinct honor belongs to the Gustaio—which is more wrap than sandwich—featuring house-made merguez. The Sriracha-laced lamb sausage is a minefield of citrusy coriander seed that puts its flatbread fellows in sharp relief: gently tangy Gorgonzola dolce, seriously spicy arugula, caramelized fennel, gourmet Gushers of dried cherries rehydrated in balsamic vinegar. Even the flatbread, sourced from Al Aqsa, an Islamic grocery near Modo Mio, is distinctive: chewy and soft, introducing a faint whiff of the grill into the fray.

Earl of Sandwiches [Philadelphia Weekly]
Paesano’s Italian Market [Official Site]

Adam Erace gets raw shrimp in his ceviche but Avenida does a good job on the grilled menu items.

I also loved the el biche. It’s short for biche de pescado, a mesmerizing fish stock-based Ecuadorian soup spiced with cumin, coriander and celery seed. A wedge of lime sat on the rim of the chic blue glass bowl, as if the biche was some tropical cocktail. I certainly could have drunk it like one—and for the record, the shrimp, scallops and red snapper were all cooked, succulently so.

Raw Deal at Avenida [Philadelphia Weekly]
Avenida [Official Site]

Adam Erace loves both the beer and the breakfast at Bella Vista’s Hawthornes,

The pancakes—and the pairing—didn’t disappoint. Wide as the business end of a ping-pong paddle with a quarter-inch of lift, the buttermilk flapjacks arrived triple-stacked. There was butter. There was syrup (always maple and occasionally fortified with Ballast Point Victory at Sea Imperial Porter). There were sighs of contentment—and surprise.

Hawthornes [Philadelphia Weekly]
Hawthornes [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]

Adam Erace risks his Asian food cred as he ventures into the unknown at the Cambodian Kavei in South Philadelphia.

Surely I’m not one of those people, I reasoned. The bone-and-fat-fearing, the spice-averse. Had Cambodian food outed me? (I did enjoy the PG Kavie dumplings filled with pork and water chestnuts, after all.) Usually, servers smile and nod in approval when I order at their restaurants. Here, my friendly, sweet and informative waitress called the outrageously flavorful grilled beef skewers basted in coconut milk I ordered—and loved!—“approachable,” or some equally disconcerting adjective. The nerve.

Kavei [Philadelphia Weekly]

Adam Erace falls for fish, the Center City South sequel to Mike Stollenwerk’s Little Fish.

Take the meaty mahi-mahi, posed unexpectedly over a smashing Red Bliss potato salad mined with explosives of citrusy coriander. Or the Mediterranean cruise souvenirs—cracked Picholine olives, silvery anchovies, Spanish gigante beans big as the buttons on a peacoat—that electrified a smart, modern play on vitello tonnato involving thin-pounded veal wrapped (via meat glue) around bigeye tuna loin that was the prettiest shade of lilac.

fish. [Philadelphia Weekly]
fish [Official Site]

Adam Erace starts his review in the restroom at Vietnam Cafe, rarely a good sign but Erace does indeed dig the French Colonial dining room at Vietnam’s West Philadelphia sibling. He also finds plenty to like about the food.

Exhibit A: heavenly summer rolls I recommend swirling through the house nuoc mam, a salve of sweet white vinegar, garlic and funky fish sauce. There’s mahogany hoisin too, topped with crushed peanuts, and a vicious chili oil bloody with crushed peppers. Despite the aggressive condiments, the smokiness of the marinated and chargrilled pork inside the rice paper bundles came through, freshened by fragrant bursts of mint and basil.

Vietnam Cafe [Philadelphia Weekly]
Vietnam Cafe [Official Site]

Adam Erace enjoys the vegetarian and carnivore fare at Resurrection Ale House but it’s the grilled spicy shrimp with white gazpacho that he goes on and on about.

The Geuze also matched well with a voluptuous white gazpacho that would have definitely made my 10 Best Dishes of 2009 list if I’d only eaten at Resurrection a week earlier. I could’ve eaten a whole bowl of it, but the cool pool was more of a sauce for four skewers of grilled shrimp than a proper soup. Still I spooned the creamy, complex puree of house-made country white bread, almonds, garlic, olive oil and sherry vinegar finished with a sweet little salad of fat purple grapes. The Sriracha and sambal-licked shrimp, perfectly cooked, also happened to kick ass.

Resurrection Ale House [Philadelphia Weekly]
Resurrection Ale House [Official Site]

Philadelphia Weekly’s Adam Erace ranks his best 10 dishes from 2009 and for good measure tosses in his 5 worst.

PW’s 10 Best Dishes of 2009 [Philadelphia Weekly]