The Atlantic’s Ezekiel Emanuel reviews Vetri and as his title says, the Italian restaurant delivers.

Then came one of Vetri’s signature dishes: spinach gnocchi with brown butter. The four bright green gobs resting in brown liquid and covered in cheese were–as we were warned–rich. Each bite was thick and creamy and tasted like it had 1,000 calories. But even better, during the course there was a plate brought out for the “table” of another pasta–a home-made pappardelle with lamb ragu. This was brilliant–and in my view better than the spinach gnocchi. The pappardelle were perfect yellow pasta ribbons cooked just right, soft and wiggly with just a hint of crunchiness. And the lamb ragu was the right combination of rich with the lamb flavor but delicate and not overpowering.

A Restaurant Lives Up to its Hype [The Atlantic via BROG]

Trey Popp visits Paul, the Pine Street BYOB from sisters Effie Bouikidis-Schweich and Christina Jimenez. The restaurant is named for their late father, Paul Bouikidis. Popp finds that the cooking of chef Joshua Noh would make the daughters’ father proud.

There’s a lot to like about Noh’s cooking, in particular his willingness to impart some chili heat to dishes where you might not expect it. The biggest surprise was a perfectly cooked entrée of seared skate. The fish got a speckling of fennel seeds to go with the standard browned-butter-and-caper treatment, but the revelation was in the flanking potato hash. Noh touched it with just enough habanero “to open up the tastebuds,” as he told me later on the phone. It was like a master class in walking the line between assertion and nuance with capsaicin. Within a European-American menu, I can’t think of anyone who does it better.

And don’t forget there’s a three-course tasting for $20 on Tuesdays, $30 Wednesday through Sunday.

Father’s Day [City Paper]
Paul [Official Site]

Trey Popp steps back into another time at Village Whiskey where he finds the burger is king and the drink mark-ups most unkind.

Even the $9 version [of the burger] is among the best in a town with a lot of good ones. Village sources beef from “sustainable farm-raised” cattle in Maine and grinds it themselves, allowing for a loosely packed half-pound patty that gushes with juiciness. Of course the $24 specimen is what’s gotten the most attention. The main upcharge derives from its crown of seared foie gras, but that’s one thing a burger outfitted with thick slabs of smoky bacon, maple-glazed cipollini onions and a mound of Rogue smoky blue cheese doesn’t really need. If I had it to do over again, I’d nix the organs and let that unholy trinity of sweetness and pork fat and mold work its own dark miracle. Even just the cheese itself — which is cold-smoked over hazelnut shells and tastes faintly of toffee — would make for a decadent lunch.

Big Whiskey [City Paper]
Village Whiskey [Official Site]

In presumably the first case were Adam Erace excused himself from reviewing a restaurant because of a potential conflict with his forthcoming Green Aisle Grocery, we find Dan Packel visiting East Passyunk’s Fond. It’s a shame for Erace as Fond delivered again.

Entrees were just as impressive. In a technique borrowed from Perrier at Le Bec Fin, [Lee] Styer cooks his chicken breast in the oven on the bone, with the whole carcass. After the breast cooks through 80 percent of the way, he debones it then tosses it in a pan with butter to crisp up the skin. This execution, applied to an air-cooled bird from Canada’s Geanone Farm, ensured a tender breast and a soundly brittle exterior. The piperade of green pepper and onion added the welcome snap, both in texture and in flavor, that was becoming a pleasant routine.

Fond [Philadelphia Weekly]

Craig LaBan reviews the transformed Meritage and finds that the Asian influenced cuisine of Anne Coll has made the neighborhood restaurant a destination.

[W]hat separates Coll from so many other fusion pretenders is the command of Asian ingredients that allows her to draw an uncommon depth and elegance of flavors. I’ve had Thai curried mussels a hundred times, but rarely have the Kaffir lime, basil, and lemongrass popped through the richness of coconut broth like hers.

A confident use of Three Crabs fish sauce is one secret that lends these dishes a snappy backbone, whether it’s the pristine dice of tuna tartare, shined with sesame and chile oil next to a tingly froth of wasabi-soy foam, or the cilantro-ginger marinade that gives the hanger steak a subtle tang.

Three Bells – Excellent

Meritage [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Meritage [Official Site]

Adam Erace enjoys the details as he eats and relaxes at Snackbar.

As a former sous chef at Zahav, 27-year-old Taus brings a clear culinary focus that has eluded snackbar. The menu feels very American, very loose and likeable, with a collection of plates that are neither small nor large. Taus’ food is suited to grazing, but fortunately the servers don’t get all mathematical about your order. Start slow and order more when you get hungry again, seems to be the practice here, echoed by Makar, who says he actually encourages staff not to turn tables.

Eyes on the Guise [Philadelphia Weekly]
Snackbar [Official Site]

Miga brings Korean food to Center City Philadelphia and Craig LaBan wonders, what took so long.

Like many Korean restaurants, Miga’s menu is huge, with both strengths and weaknesses. The place has many of the standards down pat, including the huge pajun pancakes, their crisp outsides and soft interiors laced with everything from seafood to tangy kimchi or beef and hot peppers. There is an excellent version of jap chae, the springy, clear, sweet potato noodles in lightly sweet dark sauce that, in the veggie rendition, came with the fantastic crunch of exotic, coral-like rehydrated mushrooms. The dduk bokki, tubular rice flour dumplings that resemble soft gnocchi, came in a vivid orange sauce tinged with red pepper powder that, in combination with the dumplings’ pleasantly sticky chew, stoked Miga’s hottest glow.

Two Bells – Very Good

Miga [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Miga [Official Site]

Trey Popp ventures out to Bala Cynwyd to try out Avril, a French restaurant that he feels lacks some focus.

When not hampered by lapses in execution, though, Gatti’s cooking is full of fresh ideas. His curried carrot mousse, whose cloudlike consistency found playful counterpoint in a crust of walnuts and whole-grain farro, was a show-stealing revelation next to a simple grilled rack of lamb. The deep meatiness of his very tender wine-braised brisket got a welcome lift from more of that cherry sauce.

Firing Blanks [City Paper]
Avril [Official Site]

This week in Philadelphia Magazine’s Restaurant Club Newsletter.

• Breaking: Two New Pizza Joints for Starr
  Though Stella’s only been open for weeks, it’s already a huge hit. And Starr’s thinking we could use even more pizza. We’ve got the scoop on some of his latest pizza projects.
• First Look: November Reviews
  Joy Manning visits Avril, Fond and Sycamore
• Dish on Your Favorite Dish
  Is there a menu item that you order every single time? Email your favorite restaurant dishes.

Restaurant Club Newsletter [Philadelphia Magazine]

David Snyder checks out the latest incarnation of Marigold Kitchen and enjoys what is coming out of chef Robert Halpern’s kitchen.

Halpern proves his mettle with his strong, vivid flavors. Despite that unsettling spinach side, I was blown away by the seared squab. Braised shiitakes delivered a welcomed bass note to the light but gamey bird, and Halpern took things even deeper by combining foie gras and chocolate for an insane ragout.

The kitchen fine-chops cauliflower to mimic rice in its generously portioned New World paella. Though it could use more heat, four individual stocks combined with the smokiness of Spanish chorizo made this dish a sure thing. Elsewhere, poaching Atlantic cod gently on low heat ensured that the fish was moist and tender.

More than words [City Paper]