From the first item at Cochon’s new menu you know today is the first day of Fall. Check out what joins Butternut Squash Soup on the Fall menu.

Read the rest of this entry »

For the entire month of September (except Saturdays) Queen Village’s Bistrot La Minette is offering a $30 3-course prix fixe menu, $42 if you would like wine pairings with the first two courses and coffe with dessert.

Also happening at the quaint French bistro, or is that bistrot? Today is their one year anniversary and everyone who dines with them will receive a free Kir Royal.

Restaurant Month Menu after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Candy has its prayer to mighty Philly restaurant gods answered with the authentic West African tastes of Tastee D’s from Nigerian native Adedotun (Dot) Adepoju.

Dot got his culinary start in his mother’s kitchen, cooking traditional dishes for his family. Now he’s bringing recipes like jolof rice (cooked in an onion-, tomato-, and pepper-based sauce, and served with fried plantains and meat); moin moin (black-eyed peas in a pepper-based sauce with corned beef); and efo elegusi (cooked spinach with ground melon seed) to his small, bright orange resto.

Tastee Treat [Daily Candy]
Tasty D’s [Official Site]

We can’t say we were surprised when we received word that Gayle will be closing on Friday, September 4th. There have been plenty of rumors swirling and dropping the liquor license turned out to be the writing on the wall. What was a bit unusual though was that the news didn’t sneak out via a disappointed employee but rather was released by a big-time New York PR agency.

Daniel Stern has a lot of big plans for the Fall. He’s looking to open R2L and MidAtlantic. He even has a Daniel Stern Restaurants web site (complete with three letter acronym, DSR). We hope this is one step back and two steps forward for the talented chef.

Complete release after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Coquette’s Cary Neff drops us a line that Jared Fraser, former Chef de Cuisine at Pif is now running the kitchen at Coquette.

It’s just the latest twist for the French bistro at the corner of 5th and Bainbridge which has seen a litany of kitchen changes since its opening. By all accounts though Fraser is a good one, so here’s hoping he sticks around a bit.

Coquette Bistro & Raw Bar [Official Site]

How much does Rick Nichols like the Korean tacos at Ansill? Well he was spotted eating the strange hybrid after his Thursday story ran about the “astonishingly good” tacos!

Tacos with a Korean twist [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Ansill Food + Wine [Official Site]

Every Tuesday throughout the summer is crab night at Gayle.

In Gayle’s typical succinct manner, the $35 menu is described as house salad, hard shell crabs and apple pie.

Gayle [Official Site]

 
There are some bargains to be found among the French-Mexican-Thai dishes found at Coquette but the menu lacks the cohesion that its decor has nailed.

Coy Toy [Philadelphia Weekly]
Coquette Bistro & Raw Bar [Official Site]

Craig LaBan enjoys the ambitious talent of chef Nicholas Cassidy even if he isn’t a big fan of the name of Saute.

[H]is menus reflect that restless curiosity, changing significantly from week to week, and ranging widely in influence from Latin seviche to house-made French charcuterie to the Asian-Italian fusion of seared tuna over soba carbonara, the buckwheat noodles tossed in a Parmesan froth with bacon and edamame.

With a few exceptions, Cassidy showed the sensibility, skill, and commitment to no-shortcut cooking that made these disparate flavors work.

Two Bells – Very Good

Saute [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Adam Erace visits Saute and has lots of good things to say about the cooking but he’s got a gripe with the menu’s lack of seasonality. Although these potatoes sound great, no matter the month.

As a sidecar to the new American entrees, fingerling potatoes arrive with a shiny duck-fat gloss that glints under the soft hazel lights of the former La Creole. Poached at 200 degrees in Talbot’s lube of choice, the potatoes are possessed by an intensely ducklike essence. Each bite brings a slick of aromatic grease; a burst of papery, cast iron-crisped skin; a smush of creamy, slow-poached spud; a fleeting finish of concentrated wild game flavor. Topped with chives and a dollop of Daisy, these charmingly misshapen fingerlings are perfect. For December.

Simmer in the City [Philadelphia Weekly]