Raw Sushi & Sake Lounge

1225 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, 215.238.1903

Raw has been getting great reviews from friends, so a group of us went for lunch today. Lunch time on a Friday was relatively empty. I've heard dinner is packed. Raw a narrow space with a bar and an outdoor patio.

They have an extensive menu that is not cheap, but the quality and freshness are superb. I had the Sashimi Lunch Platter ($16) which comes with miso soup, a salad, two pieces each of tuna, salmon, and whitefish sashimi, and 6 pieces each of spicy tuna and tuna sushi. A ton of food! I don't think I've ever eaten fish this fresh.

Friends had the Bento Box lunches and Tempura, which was a work of art. This things come with a lot of food so don't be fooled. Really, when it comes to sushi, aren't you only worried that it's fresh and quality? You simply will not go wrong here.

Chifa

707 Chestnut St. Philadelphia, PA 19106 215-925-5555

Amada is my all time favorite restaurant in the city, so when Jose Garces opened up Chifa recently I didn't need to wait a month for them to iron out the kinks before going. He brought in his best, most professional wait staff who really knew the food, a Peruvian and Cantonese fusion of sorts.

Chifa is similar to Garces' other restaurants - sharing small plates. It's a great way to try many different foods. We ordered everything our server recommended and weren't the slightest disappointed. The Bluefin Tuna special was incredible. It is now a regular item on the menu but a modified version of what we originally had. Still delicious. I sent friends there for their anniversary dinner only to hear rave reviews of the Pork Belly Buns, and everything else they had. Since then, I've been back with some friends to find some of the dishes didn't quite live up to par, while others did. You'll start with puffy fried cheese rolls with spicy guava butter - if this was all they served we would have left happy. The Bluefin Tuna ceviche rocks and the Lobster Noodles were fabulous and filling.

If you feel overwhelmed by the menu, let the chef decide. You can't go wrong.

Read other reviews here; and here.

Vintage Wine Bar & Bistro

129 S. 13th St., Philadelphia

My idea of heaven: a wine bar with over 60 kinds of wine and flights ($15) to try them. A friend and I stopped in Vintage Wine Bar & Bistro after work on a cold, cold Thursday evening and found it to be surprisingly uncrowded. That's not to say it was empty. It was definitely not that. But we were expecting standing room only. There were several open tables and we were happy to occupy one of them. The bitter cold could have kept people away.

I checked the online wine menu and it's not up to date with what we had in the restaurant, but it gives you a good idea of the variety.

It's a narrow space with a few tables up front (ideal in the warmer weather when they open the tall windows), a long bar and high tables along the wall. Comfy, casual and candles on the tables. A chandelier made out of empty wine bottles is definitely an eye-catcher. Lots of ambiance and lively characters here.

We started with the Brie en Croûte ($12), Baked French Brie wrapped in puff pastry served with caramelized pear and finished with a gastrique sauce. The brie could have been melted a bit more, but the sweetness was a nice counter to the cheese. Very yummy if you like sweet.

Keeping it light and healthy since we're still recovering from holiday gorge, we both had salads with grilled chicken (add $4). She had the Caesar ($7.5), nicely topped with fresh shaved parmesan, and I had the Vintage House Salad ($7), mixed greens, haricots verts, shallot, pine nuts and cherry tomato served with a honey truffle dressing. Not overpowering with flavor, but light. Left me plenty of room to enjoy my malbec.

Great place to try new wines.

What others say: PhilaFoodie; CityPaper

Lourdas Greek Taverna

50 N. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Bryn Mawr 610-520-0288

There are a number of restaurants near Ardmore that we keep putting on the backburner. We'd much rather head out in the city. But, it's a new year, so we thought we'd start crossing them off the To Do list.

Thankfully, I did not see the Lourdas Greek Taverna website beforehand because I would have crossed it off the list permanently. At the front door, we hesitated, noticing the brightness, lack of candles on the tables, age of diners - all my usual check points for good ambience were missing. But a friend recommended it and we were already there, so we pushed forth.

Aside from the waiter who was nearly void of personality and humor, and of course, the lack of ambience, the food was fresh and good tasting with the standard greek ingredients (olive oil, garlic, olives, feta).

We started with the Pikilia: dolmades, tzatziki, melitzanosalata, taramosalata, Feta cheese and Kalamata olives (12.95) and served with warm pita wedges. For two people, this was a lot of food. And if you're not up on your Greek, dolmades are delicate parcels made from grape leaves (also known as vine leaves) stuffed with long-grain rice, fresh herbs and seasonings. Tzatziki is a yogurt, cucumber and garlic dip. Although ours was more like a sauce--way too yogurty. Melitzanosalata is an eggplant dip (and I only know this because I looked up the word). If that's what we ate, it was sweet and our least favorite of the four. Taramosalata is a caviar spread. We enjoyed this one the most.

I opted for the pan-seared scallop special which came with wilted spinach and rice. Six huge scallops arrived nicely seared. Tasty, but again, too much food.

The whole fish special was a light fish similar to sea bass and seabream, forget the name, sorry. It was cooked perfectly, filleted tableside and included broccolini and roasted potatoes.
Everything was very good and with great sized portions for a very affordable price. In these economic times, in the burbs, this is a great option.

Cash only. BYOB.

What others say: here; here; and here.

Tequila's

1602 Locust Street, Philadelphia

A work day before a holiday is always a wash, which is why I hate to waste a hard earned vacation day. So, much of my creative team decided to take this opportunity to head out to Tequila's for lunch together.

We were greeted in Spanish by one of their friendly servers. A group of seven had no trouble getting a table. However, even for mid-day the lighting inside was too bright, which is a shame because it's oozing with charm and beautiful architectural details. They had some interesting specials one of which was a shrimp, lobster and crabmeat enchilada.

Try their margaritas which come served in cobolt rimmed Mexican blown glassware. Yummy. Tequila's is edging towards upscale Mexican with a casual attitude. Most entrees are a notch above tacos and burritos. I've been there several times, including for a New Year's Eve with a group and have always had good food. Give it a try.

What others say: here.

Buddakan

I wish I could be more specific about our experience at Buddakan recently. All I can say is everything, I mean EVERYTHING, was good. And if you don't get the Dip Sum Doughnuts (five-spice sugar mini doughnuts served warm with blackberry jam, chocolate sauce and ginger cream cheese) for dessert, you are out of your mind. They were amazing!

Chloe

232 Arch Street, Philadelphia, 215.629.2337


Chloe is one of our old standbys when we've got a play at the Arden Theatre. It's always good and we always get a table even though it's an intimate space. And since we had our first play this past Thursday, we grabbed a bottle of wine and headed there. It was close to 7 pm and there were two tables left. While we were there, there was never a line, but all tables were full.


They start you off with hummus and bread. The hummus is mild, not too garlickly or spicy. I opted for the Chloe Salad ... baked panko crusted goat cheese, mixed greens, red onion, orange chipotle dressing ($6.50) and had the Red Snapper special with sauteed polenta. It was so much food and so yummy.

We never time for dessert, but once we actually went back for it. It was worth it. And a great date place too!

Read what others think: Here, here, and here.

Pub & Kitchen

1946 Lombard St. (215) 545-0350

Before heading to Jamaican Jerk Hut, we stopped in the new Pub & Kitchen now housed in the old Chaucer's spot. We only had drinks to scout the place and it was jam-packed tight. They lightened up the decor, took the gorgeous wood off the ceiling (wah!) and opened up the windows. Nice! Definitely heading back to check out the grub.

Read what other's say: Phoodie; City Paper (photos)

Jamaican Jerk Hut

1436 South St, Philadelphia (215) 545-8644

I've been wanting to go to Jamaican Jerk Hut all summer. What could be better than hanging outside with your friends, enjoying Jamaican food and our own beverages in a super casual atmosphere with some reggae in the background?

I was incredibly disappointed and skeptical after reading some reviews. But, fortunately, we had a good experience. Although, going into it with low expectations could have made all the difference. At the very least, the food was good. Service, for the most part was fine, but started off slow. We had to find our own bottle opener and corkscrew to get ourselves started. No big deal. There's a double lot yard next door where they host live reggae bands. Unfortunately, not while we were there. But we sat outside with a diverse crowd on the covered deck and almost forgot we were in the city. Oh, and the bathroom is pretty much in the kitchen.

For appetizers we had the Coconut Shrimp. Four to a plate and loaded with shredded coconut. The flavor was nice and subtle, but the coconut wasn't as crispy all around. Jerk Wings were coated in lots of spices and left your mouth on fire. I could only handle one, and they were small.

Most of us had the Mango Chicken. Comes with rice and peas and fried plantains as sides. Chicken is bone in, lots of small parts so beware of the little bones. Good, sweet flavor. Not dried out. Others had the Jerk chicken. Same sides. Good, super spicy. Lotsa food!

By no means will it knock your socks off, but it's worth a try if you're already in the city.

Read what other's have to say.

Jose Pistola's

213 S. 15th Street, Philadelphia

We don't typically have to rack our brains to come up with a decent restaurant in Philly. But, it was after a 4 pm Phillies game and we had contingencies...it needed to be walking distance from the train station and had to be casual enough where Phillies t-shirts blended in. We ended up at Jose Pistola's in the old Copabanana II on 15th Street.
Decor is bare, much toned down from the Copa days. Dark. Exposed brick. A few tv's if you want to catch a game.

For a Saturday night, it wasn't crowded, which was fine with us. The beer selection was excellent--80 international and domestic drafts and bottled beers, including next-to-impossible to find Russian River Pliny the Elder IPA. Phenomenal. However, when we noticed the weekday happy hour featuring $2 PBR, Yuengling and Bud specials, the place when down a few notches.

We decided to get a few things to pick at so we started with the Pico de Gallo, Guacamole and some other pureed green dipping sauce that was a little tangy and sweet. Everything was fresh and flavorful with a nice kick, but not too much.

I heard good things about the Fish Tacos ($5), tempura battered grouper tossed with spicy mayo and pickled cabbage. You get two and they didn't disappoint.

Some friends showed up and they opted for a heaping plate of Chicken Nachos ($11.50) to share. It was loaded with shredded chicken, black beans, lots of cheese, tomatoes and jalapenos. There weren't many chips without something on it.

Good food. Good beer. Worth a visit.

Others say: Yelp, CityPaper, Around Philly,