Craig LaBan has been driven to haiku and song over the Good Dog so it was sure to be interesting to see what he had to say on the Swift Half, the sibling bar whose environs are almost sterile in comparison. And guess what, he likes it, finding nothing generic about the food.

Granted, there may not be any lightning bolts of bar-food brilliance on the level of that cheese-stuffed burger. But this menu is full of good ingredients and satisfying flavors, with a shade more culinary ambition and a lighter touch than the Good Dog’s comfort-food ruminations.

For starters, there is a pair of thick-cut lamb chops edged in a garlicky green marinade of mint chimichurri, fairly priced at $14. It’s easy to recall O’Donnell’s Striped Bass experience in the menu’s deft seafood items, like those gorgeous Jersey scallops with zucchini ribbons and cherry tomatoes. A simply grilled whole branzino was as plump and juicy as any I’ve had recently around town for $21. A $24 steak-frites is relatively pricey for Northern Liberties. But as meat goes, this tender strip steak glazed in jalapeño butter with good house-cut fries and a side of grilled corn was worth the cost.

Two Bells – Very Good

Swift Half [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Swift Half [Official Site]

This week’s edition of the Good Word features Craig LaBan of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Drew Lazor has seven questions for the Inquirer’s food critic.

THE GOOD WORD Vol. 12: Craig LaBan of the Philadelphia Inquirer [Meal Ticket]

This Sunday Craig LaBan reviews the Piazza at Schmidt’s Swift Half. How will the sibling to Good Dog do under Craig LaBan’s gaze. Will LaBan be inspired to song again or will he find fault in this sophomore effort?

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Swift Half Reviews [f8b8z]
Craig LaBan’s review of Good Dog Bar & Restaurant [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Craig LaBan checks out the new interpretation of the Oyster House on Sansom Street and though he finds some classics off a bit there is more than enough to recommend.

There are more than enough touchstones done right here, however, to warm a fish-house fanatic’s heart. The grilled blue fish was the freshest I’ve had, the dusky meat updated with a summer salad of limas and heirloom tomatoes in vinaigrette. The clam chowder and lobster bisque were also unthickened, but their Lancaster-cream broths were vividly rich. The shrimp and lobster cocktails were pure raw-bar decadence, far superior to the too-lightly-grilled lobster entree. Steamed soft-shell belly clams were was the definition of New England clam-ocity.

The gumbo and fisherman’s stew, meanwhile, were satisfying seafood meals in a bowl. A Pernod-scented broth for the stew was the next best thing to good bouillabaisse. And then, of course, there is that quintessential Philadelphian odd couple: fried oysters with chicken salad.

Two Bells – Very Good

Oyster House [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Oyster House [Official Site]

Perhaps former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf consulted Craig LaBan’s out-of-the-way alfresco column when he chose to dine outdoors at Savona on Tuesday. Or perhaps he just really likes the creme brulee. After all, Dan Gross tells us it is his favorite dessert.

Musharraf dines at Savona [Daily News]
Out-of-the-way alfresco [Philadelphia Inquirer]

We were involved in a conversation over the weekend regarding Craig LaBan’s ratings where we were asked what restaurants have four bells. As we rattled them off, it dawned on us that not everyone is so dorky to have them memorized. So here are Craig LaBan’s four bell reviews with links right to the reviews.

• Fountain
• Lacroix
• Le Bec-Fin
• Vetri

Update: Craig LaBan rattled these four off in his online chat today. He also said that if he could have eaten more than one meal at Talula’s Table in 6-months it would have been “in that league” and “Jose Garces is bound to land 4 one of these days – his food is there, but there’s always something that holds me back.”

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]

Craig LaBan visits Bibou where he finds chef Pierre Calmels and his wife Charlotte creating another star French bistro on 8th Street in South Philadelphia. Of special note was the “gastro-splurge” of the seven-course $70 tasting dinner.

Our meal soared from an ethereally light but vivid chilled asparagus soup to a velvety-tender slice of poached veal tongue with sauce gribiche (a decadent throwback mayo with capers, cornichons, minced hard-cooked egg, and tarragon.) There were wonderfully crisped scallops with lime emulsion, sea beans and shaved cucumber noodles, another bowl of Madeira-sauced chanterelles (which I gratefully devoured), seared foie gras, and an intensely beefy hanger steak in a light green peppercorn sauce alongside snappy plumes of black trumpet mushrooms that glistened with a butter shine.

Three Bells – Excellent

Bibou [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Bibou [Official Site]

Craig LaBan has plenty of good things to say about the interior and the service at Noble American Cookery but feels the food needs to tone it down a notch.

There’s so much to like about this restaurant in concept, from the airy, contemporary look to the unique tulip-shaped wineglasses to its mission of redefining modern American cooking with local, seasonal inspirations. And the plates are so artfully done, I expected to love Noble until the moment my fork put that art into action, only to find so many of the dots just didn’t connect. This restaurant certainly has the ability to improve its disappointing rating in my year-end revisits. But for now, the great ingredients and good instincts don’t add up enough to culinary success. This may simply be a case of a talented cook trying too hard. It can’t be easy to live up to the pedigree of a place that so self-consciously calls itself noble.

One Bell – Hit or Miss

Noble American Cookery [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Noble American Cookery [Official Site]

Noble: An American Cookery goes under the LaBan microsope this weekend. How may bells will LaBan bestow on the ambitious Sansom Street restaurant.

Before you vote, check out these other Noble reviews.

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