Trey Popp visits Paul, the Pine Street BYOB from sisters Effie Bouikidis-Schweich and Christina Jimenez. The restaurant is named for their late father, Paul Bouikidis. Popp finds that the cooking of chef Joshua Noh would make the daughters’ father proud.

There’s a lot to like about Noh’s cooking, in particular his willingness to impart some chili heat to dishes where you might not expect it. The biggest surprise was a perfectly cooked entrée of seared skate. The fish got a speckling of fennel seeds to go with the standard browned-butter-and-caper treatment, but the revelation was in the flanking potato hash. Noh touched it with just enough habanero “to open up the tastebuds,” as he told me later on the phone. It was like a master class in walking the line between assertion and nuance with capsaicin. Within a European-American menu, I can’t think of anyone who does it better.

And don’t forget there’s a three-course tasting for $20 on Tuesdays, $30 Wednesday through Sunday.

Father’s Day [City Paper]
Paul [Official Site]

Tom Drinker’s West will be the name of the 250-seat pizzeria and pub from Avram Hornik (Drnker’sPub, Drinker’s Tavern, Lucy’s Hat Shop) set for University City this month.  Elsewhere in UCity, Sang Kee is also hoping to open this month, City Tap House is aiming for after Christmas and Landmark Americana on Drexel’s campus is targeting February. [The Insider]

The New York Times profiles Bart Blatstein and the Piazza at Schmidt’s. Most notable, Blatstein owns the liquor licenses and can evict tenants for the sin of being un-cool. [New York Times via Grub Street]

Martha Stewart dined at Pod and made her own chopstick rests. [The Martha Blog via The Illadelph]

Friday Saturday Sunday has had a wonderful $10 above cost wine list for some time. Now they’re dropping any corkage fee so diners can BYO without charge. [The Insider]

Keith Taylor’s Holy Smoke in Roxborough will be opening outlets in Quakertown and Mt. Laurel. [Gluten Free Philadelphia]

Cuong Truong, an owner of Pho Ha at 6th and Washington is looking to open a two-story noodle house and smokeless barbecue at 216-18 South Street sometime next year. [Grub Street]

A second Trolley Car Diner location is set to break ground this week. Ken Weinstein is opening this one at the “Bathey House” near Kelly Drive in East Falls. [Meal Ticket]

World Cafe Live has a new chef, Michael Breslin who will be showing off his stuff at a Victory beer dinner on Tuesday, November 17th. [Beer Lass]

On Tuesdays, Paul, the neighborhood BYOB between 11th and 12th on Pine is offering a neighborhood appreciation day with their 3-course tasting menu being just $20.

A three course meal features soup, salad or crepe to start plus a main course that last week offered a smoked pork chop, tagliatelle, waluu or chicken breast and of course dessert to finish.

Wow, Tuesdays at the Paul BYOB sound pretty good! [twitpic via bhiladelphia]
Paul [Official Site]

We haven’t done a blind item for awhile now but they’re always fun.

Care to take a guess as to what “charming BYOB restaurant” is for sale for $160,000?

Charming BYOB restaurant for sale in the University City area of Philadelphia. 7 Years established, LOW DOWNPAYMENT with Seller Financing to a Qualified Buyer! Needs to sell due to personal reasons. This is a great opportunity for a new owner operator to break into a turnkey establishment with minimal out of pocket expense. Established 7 years ago with rave reviews for food quality, preparation, freshness, and atmosphere. Great location in the burgeoning area of University City. Long term lease available, starting at only 2k per month. Employees willing to stay on. Seller willing to train. Currently seats 40 in and up to 40 people outside during warmer months. Owner not the chef, who should stay. However, some minor changes and a new owner can put their stamp on the restaurant.

Rick Nichols visits Clark Gilbert’s Gemelli and hopes the Italian “with a nod to French” BYOB in Narberth puts down some deep roots.

He is a seasoned chef, under his belt stints at the Four Seasons, Tony Clark’s short-lived Square Bar on Rittenhouse Square, Avalon in West Chester, and the elegant, now-departed Taquet in Wayne.

But he is the first to point out that the menu here, his first truly solo venture, is not the wheel reinvented: He offers a proper Caesar salad (add $2 for white anchovies), and the braised-veal-cheek-and-tuna-tartare classic called vitello tonnato. The salmon rests on ratatouille and puttanesca sauce.

Back home, with a bistro [Philadelphia Inquirer]

David Snyder checks out the latest incarnation of Marigold Kitchen and enjoys what is coming out of chef Robert Halpern’s kitchen.

Halpern proves his mettle with his strong, vivid flavors. Despite that unsettling spinach side, I was blown away by the seared squab. Braised shiitakes delivered a welcomed bass note to the light but gamey bird, and Halpern took things even deeper by combining foie gras and chocolate for an insane ragout.

The kitchen fine-chops cauliflower to mimic rice in its generously portioned New World paella. Though it could use more heat, four individual stocks combined with the smokiness of Spanish chorizo made this dish a sure thing. Elsewhere, poaching Atlantic cod gently on low heat ensured that the fish was moist and tender.

More than words [City Paper]

Koo Zee Doo has opened on 2nd Street between Spring Garden and Fairmount. The BYOB is named for the phonetic spelling of cozida a Portuguesa, a traditional Portuguese stew. The menu will of course be Portuguese and feature small bites, soups, salads, family style specialties and a section dedicated to grilled meats.
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Bibou recognizes the turn of the calendar and updates their menu. This weather has the hot mushroom cream, cured venison soup calling to us.

Complete menu after the jump.

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Trey Popp raves about East Passyunk’s Fond, heaping all sorts of praise on  the French BYOB.

It began with a teasing glance backward at summer: a shot-glass of cold watermelon soup spiced with chilies whose finish reverberated in waves of heat and sweetness for a full 10 seconds on my tongue. It ended with snow-crunch bites of lemon-poppy seed meringues. In between, Styer and Prawlucki composed a three-course ode to autumn that was nearly flawless in execution and design. Their tonal palette ranged from the watery crunch of Asian pear to the molten spill of butternut squash purée encased in ravioli, and from the intense fruitiness of passionfruit-stuffed crêpes to the revelatory bourbon backbone in a full-flavored frozen coffee-liqueur soufflé. Yet at no point did the broad span of their short menu lapse into braggadocio. The spirit invigorating this simply decorated place showed through in the adorable delight with which Prawlucki fielded praise for her desserts — as if she were almost startled by the enthusiasm they’d inspired.

Remembered Fondly [City Paper]
Fond [Official Site]

Jennifer Carroll isn’t the only guest chef for Blackfish Conshohocken. The first of the monthly events will be on Monday, November 2nd with Alex Talbot and Aki Kamozawa from Ideas in Food.

The dinners are seven courses and $85 per person.

Check out the November menu including fluffernutter, after the jump.

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