Mike’s Steaks has replaced Frank’s Old Philly-Style Sandwiches in the Comcast Center. Mike’s offers burgers, hoagies and hot dogs in addition to steak sandwiches.

Fuel has opened at 1917 E Passyunk. Q102’s Rocco Cima is the man behind the 500 calories or less storefront. [Meal Ticket]

Rouge sous chef Dustin Chalermkittichai is set to become the chef at El Camino Real. [The Insider]

D.P. Dough passes another hurdle, calzones are coming soon…. [D.P. Dough]

Ambler gets a kick as a branch of Lafayette Hill’s From the Boot has opened. Additionally the posh looking Dettera has also opened on Butler Pike. [The Insider]

Grub Street has a slideshow of Square 1682, the hotel restaurant opening at 17th and Sansom on October 14th. [Grub Street]

Restaurant Week hinted that Ly Michaels’ was going to become Tazia. And now we know the details. Tazia will be a restaurant specializing in tapas sized Asian bites. [The Insider]

Del Frisco’s takes Craig LaBan’s advice and installs a stripper pole. [Philly Chit Chat]

Fish is looking to open next week (licensing permittiing) in the former Astral Plane on Lombard Street. Michael Klein has some details on the under $20 menu. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

The Piano Bar closed at 20th and Arch. We’re only surprised it lasted as long as it did. [The Insider]

There was talk of a big party for Top Chef contestant Jennifer Zavala complete with a broadcast of the first episode of the Bravo series on the big outdoor screen at the Piazza at Schmidt’s, just across from her El Camino Real. But today we find out from Michael Klein that she’s out at the Northern Liberties border bar.

“Top Chef” hopeful Jennifer Zavala leaves El Camino Real [The Insider]

Update: Zavala to join Xochitl [The Insider]

Which of Philadelphia’s contestants on Top Chef will go further? Will it be Jennifer Carroll of 10 Arts by Eric Ripert or will it be Jennifer Zavala of El Camino Real?

The first five seasons of Top Chef were devoid of Philadelphia chefs but season 6 is looking to make up for that oversight. Premiering Wednesday, August 26th on Bravo and taking place in Las Vegas, three chefs with Philadelphia ties will be competing.

• Jennifer Carroll of 10 Arts by Eric Ripert
• Jennifer Zavala of El Camino Real
• Michael Isabella of Zaytinya in Washington DC but with experience at El Vez, Alma de Cuba and Washington Square.

Top Chef [Official Site]

Craig LaBan turns down shots at El Camino Real and suffers through the kitchen’s inconsistencies. 

 

The raucous pace of which also seemed to unsettle the kitchen, where culinary ambitions were too often sacrificed to sloppy execution. The homemade chips were so greasy, I could see a reflection. The guacamole had the dull olive gloss of avocados mashed too long before dinner. The nachos were ordinary. The desserts? Fried buñuelos as heavy as leaden dough. Gelatinous cobbler. “Seasonal” shaved ice featuring watermelon and pineapple. (Stick with the pecan pie.)

There were a number of promising dishes gone wrong. The cheese-stuffed enchiladas, supposedly baked to order, were so dried out from the heat that their crusts buckled up around the edges like an orphan forgotten in the oven too long. Still, the flavor of the chile-stewed gravy was spot-on earthy with roasted ancho and guajillo peppers, tomatoes, and Coke (a.k.a. “Mexican demiglace”), a reminder that this chef has the right ideas even when the execution doesn’t hit. Similarly, I loved the taste of the meaty Texas chile, with its habanero kick and sassy cinnamon-cumin kiss. It’s a shame it wasn’t adequately reheated.

 

One Bell – Hit or Miss

El Camino Real [Philadelphia Inquirer]
El Camino Real [Official Site]

We almost forgot to play the wildly popular For Whom The Bells Toll. This weekend Craig LaBan will be reviewing Northern Liberties’ El Camino Real. It should be interesting as the weeklies had wildly differing opinions of the place.

While we were doing our Around the Web links bonanza we pulled Veggicurious’  best fried pickles post aside because we’ve kind of become obsessed with fried pickles.

Veggicurious unabashedly declares the Memphis Taproom’s the finest in the city. We’re also fans of the cornmeal crusted discs at El Camino Real and the crunchy side served with the pulled pork at Pub & Kitchen.

Are we missing any standouts? Where do you find your favorite fried pickles?

Adam Erace enjoys the ‘cue at El Camino Real.

The better half of El Camino’s menu pays tribute to pit-style West Texas barbecue, with Zavala smoking nine cuts of meat (plus seitan for the vegans) over applewood mesquite in the restaurant’s twin 250-pound smokers. The pig wings, three smoked and deep-fried pork shanks, are my new drinking buddies. They packed all the hot, buttery satisfaction of conventional wings, plus the falling-apart texture of braised short ribs.

Priced by the quarter-pound and served with pickles, buttered thick-cut Texas toast—Baker Street bakes the Wonder-like loaves exclusively for El Camino—and spicy or sweet house-made barbecue sauces, the smoked meat entrees brought out the best in the kitchen as well as the bartender.

Keepin’ It Real [Philadelphia Weekly]
El Camino Real [Official Site]

El Camino Real may not serve anything on skewers but City Paper’s Trey Popp brought his own.

Margaritas are so sickly sweet they’d embarrass the bartender at a sorority social. The thick sludge masquerading as a michilada was “like drinking Old Bay,” one companion marveled. Too much of the meat was fatty and/or tough. Straight through to a final cobbler made by someone who had evidently mistaken salt for sugar, it did not get better. Forgotten side dishes, inexplicable delays, inconsistent portion sizes: By night’s end, it was hard to avoid thinking that dinner at El Camino Real verged on fraud.

Tex-Meh [City Paper]

Marc Vetri says Philadelphia is comfortable and that there’s nothing wrong with red gravy done right. [Meal Ticket]

Big John’s in Cherry Hill has a pickle bar that certainly looks “world famous.” [Phoodie]

Uncle Jimmy says when you’re hankering for Israeli, make it take out from Mama’s Vegetarian. [Uncle Jimmy Eats]

The sweet potato fries stole the show at Ants Pants Cafe. [Foodzings]

Pho & Cafe Viet Huong is the perfect place to spend a freezing cold day. [Foodzings]

It’s a appetizer heavy look at  El Camino Real. [Veggicurious]

Foodaphilia has plenty of pretty pictures of Uzu in Old City. [Foodaphilia]