This week in Philadelphia Magazine’s Restaurant Club Newsletter.

• Joy Manning sees Chew Man Chu in a very different light than Craig LaBan
• Joy also moseyed over to Percy Street Barbecue for some barbecue that strays a little from tradition
• Food Faceoff: Burgers
  Rouge versus Village Whiskey in a hamburger duel
• Philly Cooks Contest: Six-Word Winners
  Winners of challenge to write about favorite restaurant, chef or meal in just six words

Restaurant Club Newsletter [Philadelphia Magazine]

Philadelphia Weekly’s Adam Erace ranks his best 10 dishes from 2009 and for good measure tosses in his 5 worst.

PW’s 10 Best Dishes of 2009 [Philadelphia Weekly]

Sly Fox Pikeland Pils is named one of the best beers in a can in the January issue of Bon Appetit. [Bon Appetit]

Bon Appetit names their ten best restaurant dishes for $10 or less and Paesano’s Arista pork sandwich comes in at number 3. [Bon Appetit]

The USA TODAY comes to Philadelphia looking for cost-conscious eats and shouts out to Sabrina’s, Honey’s Sit n’ Eat, Nam Phuong, Osteria and Chifa. [USA Today]

Tasting Table, an email newsletter in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco salutes Philadelphia’s “cocktail corridor” in its latest national edition. APO Bar and Lounge, Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co., Southwark and Village Whiskey all make the list. Hmm, sounds a lot like a bar crawl we did Labor Day weekend! [Tasting Table]

Just in time for last second Christmas shopping, The Secret is Salt breaks down the Must-Buy, I Liked and Not for Me  Marcie Blaine Chocolates at Verde. [The secret is Salt]

Femme Fermental and Philly Market Cafe both check in on the early days of Percy Street BBQ. Both come away admiring the flavor though Femme Fermental has a couple of reservations. [Femme Fermental and Philly Market Cafe]

Enough about that foie gras topped burger at Village Whiskey, Veggicurious focuses on the “banging” veggie burger. [Veggicurious]

Mac and Cheese enjoys the pizza slinging show at the bar at Stella. [Mac and Cheese]

Veggicurious checks out the Coup de Taco truck for its tortilla-wrapped fusion creations in University City. [Veggicurious]

Adam Erace reviews Village Whiskey and enjoys the service and cocktails but it is of course, really about the burger.

It was rapture on a roll, starring a patty given a thicker-than-average sear, a textural victory that held all the luscious juices hostage until my first bite liberated them a trickle at a time. The droplets of fat glistened like dew, quickly absorbed by a fluffy house-baked sesame-seeded bun cradling intensely beefy beef cooked a blushing medium. It was perfect—and wasn’t even the fancy foie gras-crowned Whiskey King. My burger was the $9 Village Burger, upgraded to $13 with a fried egg and cheddar, and if it isn’t the best burger in Philly, it’s at least my new favorite.

Village Whiskey [Philadelphia Weekly]
Village Whiskey [Official Site]

Craig LaBan reviews Jose Garces’ Village Whiskey and though he finds the burger singularly special, he has some problems with the rest of the menu. But about that burger….

One can top it with shaved white Alba truffles or creamy pads of seared foie gras, or a cool salad of sweet lump crab tossed with horseradish crème fraîche. But such gilding, aside from some cave-aged Vermont cheddar or smoky Oregon bleu, is hardly necessary. The liver, in fact, actually gets in the way of the primal satisfaction this $9 wonder already gives. With its ideal seasoning, meaty tenderness, and butter-crisped bun, its flavor lingers on my taste buds with the all-day mineral shine of a far more expensive cut of beef. The sweet amber sting of whiskey only intensifies the hum.

Two Bells – Very Good

Village Whiskey [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Village Whiskey [Official Site]

Craig LaBan reviews Village Whiskey this weekend, the bar of now Iron Chef, Jose Garces. What will LaBan think of the foie gras topped Whiskey King Burger? Will the liquor prices be too rich for his blood or will he focus on the thickness of the Sly Fox Cheddar sauce served with those duck fat french fries?

 Loading ...

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]

Messy and Picky go to Foobooz fave Southwark and Picky gets the best plate he’s had all year, the barbequed smoked pork belly served with baked beans, wilted collards, and Birchrun blue cheese sauce. [Messy & Picky]

Derek Lee has his anniversary dinner in the kitchen at Talula’s Table. [The Best Food Blog Ever]

CE Phood experiences the Little Fish Sunday prix fixe. [CE Phood]

Maria Valetta breaks down the Whiskey King experience at Village Whiskey. [Sips, Bites and Sites]

Veggicurious finally makes it to Modo Mio and finds it a “delicious steal.” [Veggicurious]

On Wednesday, November 11th Jose Garces is hosting a progressive dinner through his Philadelphia restaurants. Starting with the boarding of a trolley at 5pm in front of Amada guests will stop for small plates at Distrito, then to Tinto for more small plates with a cocktail from Village Whiskey, then off to Chifa and finally back to Amada for the finale.

The meal will cost $200 per person and will include beverage pairings. Space is limited and reservations are required.

Check out what will be served at each restaurant after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »