Adam Erace tries out the pizzas at Tiffin Etc. hoping for a food epiphany like he had the first time he tried Tiffin’s Vindaloo. Unfortunately he finds that pizza and Indian toppings aren’t the amazing partners he had hoped.

I can respect appetite outreach programs. But I wonder if it isn’t better to charm virgins with introductory-level dishes like murg makhani, rather than recasting the recipes in an adulterated form. On one pie, the butter chicken—Tiffin does it 
extraordinarily well—mingled with mozzarella and subcontinent-spiced tomato sauce shining with ghee. On another, cilantro-mint pesto was a green lawn for gingery minced lamb interspersed with more mozzarella and peas. The ingredients worked, and the crust was fine if a bit oily, but with each slice it became more evident: Pizza just isn’t the best vehicle for these flavors.

Tiffin Etc. [Philadelphia Weekly]
Tiffin [Official Site]

On Monday nights every bottle of wine at Bar Ferdinand is half-price. Get there early, happy hour is 4:30 to 6:30 and features half-priced sangria, select drafts and Claricot.

Bar Ferdinand [Official Site]

The most expensive burger in town has been the Whiskey King at Jose Garces’ Village Whiskey but starting next Wednesday, you’ll be able to pay more for the World F*cking Champion burger at P.Y.T.

In time for game one of the World Series Tommy Up will be debuting an 8 ounce venison patty topped with foie gras and served with sweet potato chips and a sparkler for $25.

In other P.Y.T. related news, Mac & Cheese gives a run down on the veggie and boozy options at the Northern Liberties burger lounge.

PYT [Mac & Cheese]
Tommy Up [Twitter]
P.Y.T. [Official Site]

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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The Swift Half has been steadily expanding its menu since opening this Spring. Check out the latest incarnation of the menu after the jump.

And don’t forget, on Mondays Swift Half offers half-pints for $2.
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Meal Ticket has the latest menu from Peter McAndrews’ Modo Mio.Among the items we’ll be considering the next time we hit up the Girard Avenue BYOB are:

• cannellono — crispy crab-stuffed prosciutto di Parma, asparagus & almonds
• gnoccho — crispy fried potato dumpling stuffed with foie gras and chicken liver, orange-fennel mostarda, shaved gorgonzola
• tortelloni — butternut squash-stuffed large navels, sage butter, amaretti
• anatra “all’apicio”— roasted duck leg, chestnut honey, spices, cunja
• guancia — braised beef cheek, salsa passito, crispy polenta, golden raisin gremolata

The menu turista , which features an antipasto, pasta, secondo and dolce for $33 is still available and one of the best deals in town.

Seasonal menu changes at Modo Mio [Meal Ticket]
Modo Mio [Official Site]

Trey Popp is disappointed by the pizzas and parathas at Tiffin Etc and he isn’t even sure if the pizzas are worth trying to fix.  At least there are the kati rolls.

The kati rolls are Tiffin etc.’s best bet. The marriage of griddle bread and fried egg gives you something substantial to bite into, and caramelized onions played a pleasantly sweet supporting role to spiced minced lamb and chicken kebabs in the two versions I tried. Yet I wished for a little more zip from the underapplied chutney in the latter — especially since pickles and chutneys are one of my favorite things about Tiffin. Both kati were also too small to be a meal on their own.

In a Tiff [City Paper]

David Snyder sings about the cooking of Sonata chef and owner Mark Tropea even if there are a few uneven notes.

Tropea demonstrates an ability to orchestrate simple ingredients into sophisticated, satisfying compositions.

The practice that demonstrates this the most is Tropea’s ability to combine earth and sea, his most adventurous combo being the lobster “mac and cheese.” Purists might dismiss marrying cheese with a lobster tail, yet a whisper of mild fontina is a harmonious partner for the crustacean, giving the dish an elegance bolstered by house-made pappardelle. It’s the addition of chanterelle mushrooms, though, that makes it a masterpiece. The match seems counter-intuitive, but the lobster stock-infused cream sauce connects these ingredients into one seamless arc.

Clef Club [City Paper]
Sonata [Official Site]

Craig LaBan enjoys Tiffin Etc.’s unexpected but tasty fusion of Italian pizza dough combined with ingredients from India.

My favorites so far have been the creamy tomato curry and tender meat of butter chicken (”Murgh Makhni”), the cuminy crumbles of ground lamb over minty cilantro-almond pesto, and the spicy creamed spinach of the saag paneer. Wash them down with a lemony nimbu pani soda (or better yet, mango lassi spiced with green chiles) and give the old pizza party a taste of Bollywood.

A slice of India in these pies [Tiffin Etc.]

Adam Erace visits Sonata and if he has one bit of advice for chef Mark Tropea,  it’s go easy on the sauce.

At times during my dinner at Sonata, it was like Tropea couldn’t help himself, that add-more reflex that afflicts lots of young chefs. It’s a real shame, since mostly he’s doing fresh things with quality ingredients at friendly prices. His pan-crisped pork belly, brined for 24 hours and cooked sous-vide for 12 more, came correct with opposing textures, and I loved the little spheres of compressed Fuji apple and the deeply autumnal calvados molasses—even if the latter tattooed the plate in passé diner-dessert squiggles.

Sonata [Philadelphia Weekly]