TCNF’s [Thai Chef & Noodle Fusion] dishes have the depth of flavor to allow it to stand tall among its peers. All it has to do is recalibrate its barometer as to how much spice we can take. That would be hot.

Into the Mild [City Paper]

Adam Erace visits Mt. Airy’s new “village green,” Earth Bread + Brewery. Erace is impressed with EB+B’s environmental awareness but less so with its pizzas.

Earth’s pizzaoilas use King Arthur flour for the flatbread dough, which imparts a wholesome aroma and flavor, but what’s on top brought them down: squash and eggplant roasted to mush, bland cubes of potato that added little to a pesto-dressed pie. The black bean-and-corn-studded Mexican was the exception, deceptively spicy from its jalapeño-and-smoked- paprika-spiked marinara.

Slice of Strife [Philadelphia Weekly]
Earth Bread + Brewery [Official Site]

The Brew Lounge and Lew Bryson report back from opening night at Local 44. [Brew Lounge, Seen Through a Glass]

Foodzings checks out Ms. Tootsie’s on South Street and has plenty of good things to say. [Foodzings]

There’s tea for two at Chadds Ford’s specialTeas Tea Room. [StellaLand]

The Beer Lass has a very beery-eyed look back at 2008. [Beer Lass]

I Am Beer Wise made it to the opening of Limerick’s Craft Ale House. [I Am Beer Wise]

Artisan Boulange Patissier garners raves for their “flaky, chewy, airy buttery and melty in the mouth” croissants. [Fries with that Shake]

Foodzings visits the huge Wokano on Washington Avenue. [Foodzings]

David Snyder finds that South Philadelphia’s Lucky 13 Pub is dishing out some good grub.

I appreciated that Johnson paired a sausage and peppers app with a minty couscous, but it was the depth of flavor in his herbed tomato broth, along with the deliciously spicy merguez from D’Angelo Bros., that made this dish special. I liked the contrast of the rich tempura batter on the Mexican wild shrimp against the bitter orange zest in the glaze. Johnson deserves props not only for putting a sustainable seafood choice like bluefish on the menu, but also for taming its oily texture with a crispy cumin and coriander rub and a tangy puttanesca-style sauce.

Luck of the Draw [City Paper]
Lucky 13 [Official Site]

Bon Appetit’s ranking of Little Fish as one of the country’s top seafood restaurants has sent local writers to the tiny South 6th Street eatery. Last week it was Trey Popp who belatedly made it into the restaurant and this week Adam Erace visits, finding the pint sized spot can put off cravings for summer seafood.

Swimfan [City Paper]
Little Fish calms stubborn seafood cravings [Philadelphia Weekly]
Little Fish [Official Site]

Craig LaBan tastes lots of potential in Jonathan McDonald’s British inspired menu at Pub & Kitchen.

And I’ve tasted more than a few plates of evidence that McDonald is the real deal, from his mastery of the beer batter to the house-cured bacon that gives his burger luster, to what might be the best gnocchi in town, those airy Parisian choux dumplings tossed with wilted radicchio and herbed mascarpone. His bar snacks show a knack for giving a creative spin to good ingredients, whether it’s a silky duck liver pâté, fresh chips dusted with vinegar powder, or blue cheese with caramelized Guinness.

Two Bells - Very Good

Pub & Kitchen [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Pub & Kitchen [Official Site]

Trey Popp has been eagerly waiting for the arrival of Earth Bread + Brewery for a year now. And unlike most things with such a build-up, the beers and pizza deliver.

My favorite one [pizza] bore another simple name: Seed. Sesame seeds, pine nuts and pepitas studded a crust that had been painted with garlic-infused olive oil and topped with cheese. The smell alone had me salivating like one of Pavlov’s dogs trapped in a bell factory, and the sourdough crust was just perfect between the teeth.

A pungent pesto topped the crust of another flatbread, garlicking up a cargo of cubed potatoes that would send one of Atkins’ acolytes running for the nearest mound of meat. I loved the double dose of carbs. It reminded me of a pie topped with fettuccini Alfredo that still colors my memory of Key West 15 years after the fact.

Hearth of Gold [City Paper]
Earth Bread + Brewery [Official Site]

It might take forever but Adam Erace finds that Cafe L’Aube is worth the wait.

Feather-light and tissue-thin, L’Aube’s lovely crepes washed out the bad taste. Cooked on a traditional circular griddle, blended wheat and buckwheat batters formed the sweet and savory canvases for ham, mushrooms and Swiss; sliced turkey, crushed walnuts and a drizzle of honey; simple cinnamon-sugar brightened with lemon; and the classic crepe trio: strawberries, bananas and the cure to all the world’s problems, Nutella.

Daily Grind [Philadelphia Weekly]
Cafe L’Aube [Official Site]

Craig LaBan puts Jake’s casual sibling, Cooper’s Brick Oven Wine Bar through its paces

There are the pizzas, of course, which are excellent, their heat-blistered crusts (more crackery flatbread than stretchy pizza dough) laden with well-parsed toppings. The margherita was a fine version of the minimalist classic, its basil-tinged tomato brightness spotted with milky clouds of Claudio’s mozzarella. The “spicy meatball” dialed the zestiness up a notch, with a twinge of chile-flake heat beneath tender veal meatballs and creamy Mancuso ricotta.

Two Bells - Very Good

Cooper’s Brick Oven Wine Bar [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Jake’s Restaurant [Official Site]

David Snyder dines at David Katz’s Mémé and is taken back to a world less complicated.

For Katz, “rustic” and “simple” are not terms of limitation — they’re opportunities to impress. While the kitchen builds all of its plates with elements that have compatible chemistries, Mémé is at its best when it applies a technique in an inventive way to make classic flavors taste even better than you remember.

A Lasting Mémé-ry [City Paper]
Mémé [Official Site]