The steakhouse craze hasn’t been confined to Center City Philadelphia. Firecreek seeks to bring the steakhouse blitz to Downingtown. Craig LaBan finds food and service both need some help.

When things go right, I see Firecreek’s appeal. The N.Y. strip, at $34 the most expensive entrée, was perfectly cooked and tender, with a hearty smoked-bacon and potato hash and a traditional red-wine gravy. A New Orleans-style “BBQ” shrimp was also satisfying, its buttery Worcestershire-tanged sauce and summer succotash of corn and limas hitting the spot. The seared tuna steak with mango salsa over bok choy was perfectly fine in a 1990s-fusion kind of way.

But this kitchen needed far too many tweaks – big and small – to make these dinners work.

One Bell – Hit or Miss

Firecreek [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Firecreek [Official Site]

Mac & Cheese spotted the for rent sign in the window of what was to be the new restaurant from Aimee Olexy and Bryan Sikora of Talula’s Table yesterday. Now, Michael Klein has gotten the details.

The couple has not been able to secure a loan for the restaurant they had planned but are hoping to get a loan for a “more modest restaurant.”

With all of the restaurant openings being announced and Olexy and Sikora’s track record of success, we have to say we’re a bit bewildered.

Talula’s expansion plan is scaled back [The Insider]

Rick Nichols scoops us all, with word that Aimee Olexy and Bryan Sikora of Talula’s Table will be opening a 60-seat cafe at the shuttered Kennett Cafe, just a few steps away from Talula’s.

It was in a handsome sandblasted brick building (circa 1810) with a peak-roofed second-story porch that gives it the aspect of something far more Southern: “Were you thinking New Orleans?” Sikora asked, clearly thinking that himself.

It was gutted inside, the subflooring dotted with pigeon droppings, burly, rough-hewn rafters exposed, windows covered with flimsy plywood. But in Olexy’s rendering, there was a wall of wine bottles at one end, a whirl of tables and counter seating looking in at Sikora sweating it out in the open kitchen.

In the basement, the concrete floor would be broken out and lowered six inches for a cozy wine bar.

To further whet the appetite here’s another recent rehash of dinner at Talula’s Table.
Coming Together: An Evening at Talula’s Table [Best Food Blog Ever]
Talula’s Table [Official Site]

Craig LaBan heads to West Chester for an intimate dinner at the chef’s table in the Northbrook MarketPlace.

Tellez and Boone, who took over Northbrook in the summer with their wives, pastry chef Leslie Tellez and catering director Christine Boone, come to this outpost outside Unionville with an impressive pedigree, including stints for both at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago (where Tellez was chef de cuisine) and, most recently, Striped Bass. Their food is gorgeously presented, inventively tuned to seasonal ingredients, and, though I had my quibbles, it was on the whole a fair nine-course bargain for $75 a person.

Two Bells – Very Good

Northbrook MarketPlace [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Northbrook MarketPlace [Official Site]

The web site West Chester Dish amazes us with the amount of content they produce for such a small borough.

If you know West Chester, you know ordering pizza is a way of life. Trash night could be renamed pizza box removal day. West Chester Dish seeks to find which of the 15 or so pizzerias has the best in the following categories:

• Scrumptious Crusts
• Savoriest Sauce
• Luscious Cheese
• Kid’s Pick
• The Yummiest

We’ll give away the ending here, West Chester Dish chose Culinary Deliveries number one.

No Mess. No Stress. Who’s got the Best? [West Chester Dish]
Culinary Deliveries [Official Site]

First Rick Nichols does a review of Zahav and now he’s on the Creole beat. We guess this leaves more time for Craig LaBan to be the subject of odd fiction pieces but times are tough in print. Craig don’t let your bud get in on your space, we worry.

And oh yeah, Cajun Kate’s, can you say road trip?

Tears of joy, not stinging [Philadelphia Inquirer]

David Snyder has his first review for City Paper today and it is at the hardest table to get in America, Talula’s Table.

A key factor that sets Talula’s apart is the care Sikora and Olexy put into sourcing their ingredients. Like many area chefs, Sikora stays fresh and local. But the couple take it a step further — clipping fresh tarragon from their personal garden for the rich summer squash lobster tart; foraging a local trail for epazote, a pungent Mexican herb Sikora uses to make oil that accompanies a mushroom and goat cheese papusa, a humble tower of maitake and white beech mushrooms and cakes made from masa harina, a traditional Mexican flour.

But there’s a bigger reason Sikora’s food stands out: He has an innate ability to construct dishes that excel on two levels simultaneously. On one hand, he’s able to create a forum on a plate that allows each ingredient to grab a bit of the spotlight — their identities are surprisingly clean and crisp, each component delicately expressing its voice at just the right time. But as the flavors continue to layer, they roll into one clear, unifying composition. The result: dishes that are remarkably deep without sacrificing simplicity.

Talula’s Table [City Paper]
Talula’s Table [Official Site]

Craig LaBan heads to Downingtown and the New American BYOB, Jasper owned by chef Nick DiFonzo.

Deceptively light tubes of gnocchi came in a delightfully bisquey tomato broth infused with olive oil. Crab cakes filled with sweet meat and bound with a delicate seafood mousse took on a confident Asian flair beside a glass noodle salad blushing sweet and spicy with caramelized sriracha.

Crepes came elegantly rolled around a mushroom puree so rich, it had the intensity of a good rich soup. And the perfume of mini-kobe Rossini burgers splashed with demi-glace was so heady, the entire table inhaled their truffled aroma when those foie gras-topped sliders landed before me.

Two Bells – Very Good

Jasper
Jasper [Official Site]

Lew Bryson reports on the reopening of Victory’s restaurant and bar yesterday and fellow beer scribe Jack Curtin does him one better with a series of photographs of the revamped space.

Snatched from the jaws of defeat… [Seen Through a Glass]
The Day Victory Re-Opened [Liquid Diet]

Today the brew pub at Victory Brewing Company in Downingtown reopens. The doors swung open to the revamped space at 11:30.

Among the improvements are a new bigger kitchen, BBQ smoker and an event room with room for 70. The main restaurant and bar area will fit 150. And of course there will be Victory beer pouring forth.

And even better news to anyone who finds themselves in the area on a weekday, Victory will now be open for lunch every day. Free Wi-Fi can even make it a “working lunch.”

Victory Brewing Co. [Official Site]