Restaurant Review: Mamoun's Falafel Restaurant

Since I am staying in a closet with a teeny kitchen with room only for fairies to do their cooking, I am eating out a lot.  Luckily I am living in a great neighborhood for just this type of situation.  From what I have been reading, New Yorkers and New York tourists and posing New Yorkers rave their socks off about Mamoun's falafel.  Seriously.  Even Bethenny Frankel mentioned it on her show when interviewing the Napoleon Dynamite assistant.  Anyway, tonight I went there for what is supposed to be the quintessential falafel sandwich.

First Impressions:

This place is not meant to be a lingering location.  Stand in line, walk through the narrow "dining area," exchange awkward glances with the people in front of you when it's your turn to squeeze up to the counter to place your order, order your falafel sandwich (or lamb shawarma, which will be my next choice), pay $2.50 for said falafel sandwich, and 1.5 minutes later, your lunch/dinner/late night snack is ready.

The Food:

Yum!  However much one could rave about a falafel sandwich, and even if the raving could ever be excessive, this sandwich was really good.  The falafel is not overly anything, just right, and it's nestled into a pita stuffed with shredded romaine, tomatoes, and tahini sauce.  Real green leafy stuff!  It's pretty much  worth every bit of the two dollars and fifty cents that I spent on it.

It looks messier than it is.

The Service:

Quick. Quick. Quick.  I feel like this category is almost n/a for take-out this quick.  What do I say?  The cashier's eye contact was really meaningful?  The way he took my money made me know that I was a valued customer and he really appreciated that I stood in line for five minutes? 

Food     mmmm

Service     mmm

Decor     mm 

Je ne sais quoi     mm (this place is not meant for je ne sais quoi, and for this place that's not necessarily bad)

Overall     mmmm

119 MacDougal Street

New York, NY 10012

http://mamouns.com/

p.s. Please forgive typos.  If there are ever any, I never notice them until a post is published.

About the ratings:

mmmmm        would eat there again tomorrow

mmmm           looking forward to eating there again

mmm              not in a hurry to eat there again

mm                 likely not going to eat there again

m                    would try my best never to eat there again. ever.

I reserve the right to grade on a curve for the overall score, despite the average.

Restaurant Review: Soho Sushi

First Impressions:

Even for the brief second I was in here, the place is very inviting.  Mellow green walls, simple tables, not a lot of swag.  I could happily dine in.  They have a tv showing the World Cup.  

The Food:

I just wanted a quick cheap Sunday lunch.  My roomie and I decided to share one of the lunch specials, a three roll option that comes with soup or salad.  She got two rolls, and I got a tuna avocado roll plus the miso soup.  If you want quick food that isn't pizza or a hot dog, this place is for you.  We called it in, and in five minutes, it was ready.  A huge bonus of this place is that the lunch specials run on the weekends, too.  It's hard to mess up a tuna avocado roll, I know.  Well, this one wasn't messed up.  Next time I will be more adventurous.  For today, though, this was exactly what I wanted.

The Service:

Quick and friendly.  They chatted us up about the World Cup a little.  Not much to complain about, which makes sense because it was a take out order. 

Food     mmmm

Service     mmmm

Decor     mmmm

Je ne sais quoi     mmmm

Overall     mmmm

231 Sullivan Street

New York, NY 10012

http://www.sohosushinyc.com/

p.s. Please forgive typos.  If there are ever any, I never notice them until a post is published.

About the ratings:

mmmmm        would eat there again tomorrow

mmmm           looking forward to eating there again

mmm              not in a hurry to eat there again

mm                 likely not going to eat there again

m                    would try my best never to eat there again. ever.

I reserve the right to grade on a curve for the overall score, despite the average.

Restaurant Review: Miguel's California Mexican Cocina and Cantina

A couple weekends ago I was in California, visiting family and attending services for my Grandma, who recently passed away.  Although funerals are never fun, being in California allowed me to visit with a lot of family.  Included in the family round abouts was a nice lunch with my sister, my brother, and his family at Miguel's in Corona.  He has been asking for a California entry, so here it is, much belated.  Thanks for lunch/dinner, Beebs. 

Me, Shanna, Brian, Kami, Dalen, and Christina outside of Miguel's

First Impressions:

It's pretty here.  The restaurant is situated in a promenade of shops where the scenery includes a reservoir, walking paths, and foothills in the distance.  This must be one of the reasons why people move to California.  The restaurant itself is pretty spacious and comfortably casual.    

The Food:

Since I was eating there while en route to visit with more family in Costa Mesa, I kept it pretty simple and had a spinach quesadilla.  Sidenote: we were staying with my grandpa, who keeps a pantry pretty well stocked for three Armageddons although with nary a fresh vegetable.  Back to the quesadilla.  I have to be honest and admit I wasn't expecting much except for a lot of cheese (okay by me) with a sprinkle of spinach.  I was pleasantly wrong.  My quesadilla was packed with spinach AND cheese and was the perfect mini-meal.  I even had enough left over for the next morning (it doubled as breakfast - I should have put a fried egg on top of it but didn't).  

The Service:

Kept us full and happy.  They were all very nice.  

Food     mmmm

Service     mmmm

Decor     mmmm

Je ne sais quoi     mmm

Overall     mmmm

2715 Lakeshore Drive
Corona, CA 92883

p.s. please forgive typos!

About the ratings:

mmmmm        would eat there again tomorrow

mmmm           looking forward to eating there again

mmm              not in a hurry to eat there again

mm                 likely not going to eat there again

m                    would try my best never to eat there again. ever.

I reserve the right to grade on a curve for the overall score, despite the average.

Restaurant Review: Mexico on the Square

Okay don't get too excited because this Mexican spot is not right on the square, but it's close enough that you could order your food, and five minutes later (they make it super fast!), take it with you to a sunny or shady spot in Rittenhouse Square.

When I lived in Baltimore after Hurricane Katrina, there was this amazing place that served tacos al pastor.  They had a beautiful patio with a spit where they roasted the little piggy right there (vegans, vegetarians, and weekend-atarians please forgive the imagery). But there were margaritas and a mariachi band so we hardly noticed.  Those tacos al pastor, however, were more expensive and less delicious than the tacos I discovered on Pine Street, between 15th and 16th.

First Impressions:

It's a little corner shop, it used to be a little corner deli, and they have tables outside.  There are no fusses or frills here, and the food is the focus.  The refrigerated display shelves were empty, though, except for a few cakes that didn't look like tres leches or flan.  I wanted to see some flan.    

The Food:

I only had the tacos al pastor and a cup of something that was like a coconut custard (but lighter than custard).  Both were really fantastic, but my stomach hurt a little afterward because maybe I ate my coconut treat too quickly.  The tacos have pineapple chunks in them, which made them even more delicious.  Next time I am going to get a sope so I can have some avocado.  Each of my little tacos were $2.50, and they definitely filled me up. 

The Service:

Very friendly and helpful.  

Food     mmmmm

Service     mmmmm

Decor     mmm (fill up the display!  show me some flan!)

Je ne sais quoi     mmm

Overall     mmmm

1511 Pine Street

Philadelphia, PA 19102
 (215) 732-1907

p.s. please forgive typos!

About the ratings:

mmmmm        would eat there again tomorrow

mmmm           looking forward to eating there again

mmm              not in a hurry to eat there again

mm                 likely not going to eat there again

m                    would try my best never to eat there again. ever.

I reserve the right to grade on a curve for the overall score, despite the average.

Restaurant Review: Paesano's Philly Style (Italian Market)

So I know I said that I was going to try and eat healthier now that exams are over.  Honestly, that's not really happened.  I have been eating a lot of cheese.  I have been catching up with friends at restaurants.  And I don't regret cheese or friends.  One excursion was lunch at Paesano's, which I had never heard of, but it's always been there for the past few years, across the street from Sabrina's on Christian.  It's a sandwich shop that serves what I now consider the best. sandwich. I. have. ever. tasted. Ever.  Even compared to a dressed shrimp or oyster po'boy.  

First Impressions:

Easy, breezy, beautifully placed on the corner of 9th and Christian, this place is simple to figure out.  A big chalkboard has the sandwich menu, there are menus at every table, and the cute server greets you pretty quickly.  We sat by the window, and almost all the seats are window seats here.  It's nice.  I like the chalkboards on the walls - we sat under two pigs having a duel!  I bet they were fighting over my sandwich.

The Food:

Everything's under 10 bucks, I think.  So here is another budget friendly place where you can have delicious food and not have to wash dishes afterward.  Just when I start thinking I might try being vegetarian, a menu sucks me into carnivore mode.  This menu had me at lamb, combined with sun-dried cherry something or other (it's called mustardo, but it doesn't taste at all like mustard - even BETTER!). Besides, the cherry stuff made me feel like this sandwich was a little healthier because antioxidants are in cherries.  And for those of you who'd like sandwiches, if it weren't for all that bread, the Gustaio (the official name for the lambwich) comes in a wrap-but-better-than-a-wrap, like lamb shawarma.  But this was way way better.  Even though I think my sandwich was the tops, Bon Appetit Magazine selected the Arista (pulled pork with broccoli rabe sandwich) as the third best dish in America under 10 dollars.  I don't know much about the Arista, but that Gustaio is really amazing.  There's even cheese on it - gorgonzola!  We also ordered a side of potatoes, which were tasty, but of course unnecessary.  I just have trouble avoiding rosemaried potatoes and onions. 

The Service:

Super friendly, super cute (cuteness does not factor into the service rating), lots of free refills on the lemonade and black cherry seltzer. And our sandwiches arrived super fast.

Food     mmmmm

Service     mmmmm

Decor     mmmm

Je ne sais quoi     mmmmm

Overall     mmmmm

http://modomiorestaurant.com/paesanos_italian_market_location

901 Christian Street

Philadelphia, PA 19147

p.s. please forgive late-night typos!

About the ratings:

mmmmm        would eat there again tomorrow

mmmm           looking forward to eating there again

mmm              not in a hurry to eat there again

mm                 likely not going to eat there again

m                    would try my best never to eat there again. ever.

I reserve the right to grade on a curve for the overall score, despite the average.

Restaurant Review: El Rey

I have had been trying to stay away from Stephen Starr restaurants.  You definitely tend to pay for the quirky ambiance, but over the past three weeks I have been to three: (1) El Vez for a margarita for a friend's birthday; (2) The Continental Mid-town to welcome that same friend back from Israel; and (3) most recently to El Rey, Starr's newest addition to his restaurant army, to visit with a dear, dear friend.

First Impressions:

Weeiiiiirrrd.  Either they are using everything from the old diner I think this used to be (the Mid-Town or Mid-City Diner II? - nope - it's been confirmed by grubstreet as having been the Mid-Town IV), or they bought new old-looking/cheap stuff and decorated with that.  We couldn't figure it out.  I think we finally settled on the latter.  We are talking wood paneling, chunky rock/stone walls, those rounded Christmas tree lights (not the cute little ones, the slightly tacky-but-I-still-love-them ones from the 70s/80s).  As entrance (or parting) favors, I halfway expected them to hand out any of the following: (1) bowling shoes; (2) stuffed armadillo dolls; (3) velvet elvis bobbleheads; or (4) my own summery lumberjack button-up shirt so I could match the servers.  It's like being transported to a 70s diner in the middle of the desert in El Paso, or just outside of it a few hundred miles, except the food is very, very good.

The Food:

The menu items are really reasonably priced.  And, everything sounds so good, so it's really hard to decide.  This all avocado-inspired combo was calling to me: Guacamole and chips, Nopales (cactus, pumpkin seed, avocado, and tomato), and Cabrito (braised goat with guacomole and some other stuff).  That would have been a little too much avocado, so instead I got chips and salsa (perfect and also perfectly unnecessary - like most orders of chips and salsa), chayote (a fantastic corn salad with corn, pickled onion, AVOCADO, and a lime vinaigrette), and lamb tacos (lamb = delicious almost any way you slice it).  My beverage was a mango margarita.  Marvelous.

The Service:

Except for the hostesses, each member of the waitstaff has an edgy down-on-my-luck-I-understand-the-economy-sucks look about them - dark eye makeup, messy hair, plaid shirts paired with denim, raspy voices.  Our server was really friendly and helpful, albeit a little busy.  It took twenty minutes to bring out the chips and salsa and twenty minutes to take care of the check.  This restaurant is brand spanking new, though, so once the kinks get worked out, the quality of service should improve more than a few notches.

p.s. He's reportedly opening another restaurant at 18th and Sansom, a bistro (to compete with Tria??), and I still kind of want to go to the speakeasy behind El Rey (but the entrance is on Ranstead).  Oh Stephen, I really wanted to hate you!

Food     mmmmm

Service     mmm

Decor     mmm

Je ne sais quoi     mmmm

Overall     mmmm

http://elreyrestaurant.com/

2013 Chestnut Street

Philadelphia, PA 19103

About the ratings:

mmmmm        would eat there again tomorrow

mmmm           looking forward to eating there again

mmm              not in a hurry to eat there again

mm                 likely not going to eat there again

m                    would try my best never to eat there again. ever.

I reserve the right to grade on a curve for the overall score, despite the average.