Monsú

The beauty of living in the heart of a city like Philadelphia is that you can walk to almost any destination, and I take full advantage of this by walking to almost all of the restaurants and bars I visit. Unfortunately, restaurants that fall outside of the 2.5-mile radius from my house (what I consider walkable for dining) will probably never be visited, even if they are at the top of my "to-do" list.

Modo Mio, the raved-about Italian restaurant by chef and owner Peter McAndrews is just such a restaurant that has been on my "to-do" list for years, but the Girard Ave. restaurant is a bit of a hike, and getting in a car to go out to dinner in the city is against my constitution (plus someone has to abstain from drinking if driving, and that's no fun).

That's why I was very excited when McAndrews opened Monsú, a Sicilian restaurant located in the Italian Market at the location of what was his former sandwich shop, Paesano's (Paesano's got scooted down the block to 1017 S. 9th St.).

I guess McAndrews had such great success in having a second location of Paeasano's (original is on Girard Ave.), he decided to bring Italian fine dining in the line of what he's doing at Modo Mio to South Philly.

Whatever the reasoning for opening up Monsú, I certainly appreciate not having to walk from South Philly to Girard Ave. for McAndrew's Italian cuisine.

Not much changed to the bones on the corner building at 9th and Christian, but the interior got a little spiffier with plush, burgundy banquettes lining the walls, and linen-topped tables set with large chargers. I'd like to see the chargers removed, as they barely fit on the small tables, stealing valuable table-top real estate. Incongruous with the formal table setting, there are paper napkins.

Seating is tight in the small room, so be sure to make a reservation, as McAndrews and his restaurant ventures already have a good reputation. And bring a bottle of wine and cash, because Monsú is byob and cash only.Nothing on the menu is over $20, but if you don't eat meat, your entree will be considerably less. Monsú is not a vegetarian haven, but there is at least one, if not more, vegetarian selections in each menu section.

Dinner is started with a basket of bread and a tasty, if not oily, classic Sicilian eggplant caponata. Not normally a pre-dinner bread eater, I had a slice just to try the caponata, then just ate the sweet and savory caponata straight out of the dish with a fork, oil be damned. The only vegetarian selection in the antipasti section was grilled smoked Mozzarella topped with a dressed watercress salad, plated with prickly pear puree. The crispy crust on the Mozzarella gave way to warm, melted cheese with a compelling, savory smokiness. I don't think I've had Mozzarella I liked better.
We headed to the sides section of the menu to find another vegetarian starter. Curious about sweet and sour pumpkin we placed our order, and were a bit surprised to have a cold dish of pumpkin arrive. Delicious, nontheless, the cold slices of roasted pumpkin were not overly sweet or sour, but seasoned subtly with orange zest and topped with grated cheese.For my main, I went with the creamy, ricotta-filled ravioli topped with zucchini, hazelnuts, and mint. The sauce was only the bit of oil from the sauteed zucchini and hazelnuts, so no heavy oil slick here. Simple, with each component's flavors distinct but harmonious. Fabulous.The semolina cake was described as flan in cake-form, and the description does the moist, grainy, dense cake with sweet, caramel crust justice. A good, and well executed dessert, but, for some reason, did not endear even the flan-lover at our table.The vanilla cream-stuffed profiteroles with chocolate-hazelnut icing could have been great, but the pastry was a little crispy and the icing hardened in spots, tasting a bit day-old.

Overall, a pretty good first go at Monsú, and I'll certainly be back.

Menus at Modo Mio and Monsú are different, and I probably still should check out Modo Mio one day, but, dang Monsú is much more convenient for me.

Monsú also does a daily brunch which has the obligatory French toast, but skews more Italian lunch, so could be just the thing you're looking for if, like me, you are thoroughly bored with most eggs-and-French-toast brunch menus.

Monsú
901 Christian St., Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-440-0495
Cash only
BYOB

Marabella Meatball Co.

Meatball mania hits Philadelphia!

OK, maybe not mania, but there does seem to be a soft rumble in the city for the little round balls of Italian comfort food. Meatballs are making an appearance on menus around town, and Marabella Meatball Co., a quick eats restaurant specializing in meatballs, just opened up in Center City.

Marabella features beef, pork, chicken, and vegetarian meatballs that you can order in a hoagie roll, as sliders, smashed on a round roll, with pasta, or just by themselves in a bowl. Customize your order with a choice of sauce (tomato, marinara, mushroom, or Alfredo), cheese (aged Provolone, Fontina, Piave Vecchio, or Gorgonzola), and toppings (broccoli rabe, spinach, olive tapenade, sun-dried tomato, proscioutto, mortadella, Ricotta, or pesto).

If you don't feel like customizing your meal, choose one of the eight sandwich creations on the menu that Marabella has already dreamed up. A couple of salads are also on the menu.I was curious as to what Marabella's veggie meatballs would be like, suspecting they would be dense and falafel-like, but came away very pleased to see a loose ball of roughly chopped garbanzo beans and broccoli. Yes, broccoli! I just love vegetable sneak attacks.In order to try out a few of the sauces, I ordered three sliders, each with a different sauce — Alfredo, mushroom, and marinara. All of the sauces at Marabella are seasoned well, but take the safe route by skipping aggressive seasonings. You are not going to be hit over the head with garlic or pepper at Marabella.

The mushroom sauce is a base of Alfredo with mushrooms, and when both the mushroom and Alfredo sauces are paired with the veggie balls, the combination comes off as sweet, thanks to the mild sauces and sweet broccoli. For a little contrast in flavors, I'd recommend the bright and acidic marinara with the subtly sweet veggie balls.

Marabella is a great place to indulge in Italian veggie meatballs, as you won't find them at classic red gravy Italian joints in the city. Do note that the veggie meatballs are not vegan.

Marabella Meatball Co.
1211-B Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-238-1833
Mon-Sat: 11am-9pm

Gnocchi

During my (slow) exploration of Italian restaurants in Philly, I decided to drop into Gnocchi, a familiar but long-since visited byob just off South Street. I thought I remembered hearing something about an old chef returning to Gnocchi, but, at this moment, can not dig up that rumor. Perhaps I am confused.

Warm and chatty Italian servers at Gnocchi greet newcomers with open arms, while giving hugs and kisses to regulars ducking into the charming, dimly lit and narrow eatery accented by walls painted with Italian images. Gnocchi may not be a new, up-and-comer in the dining scene with innovative food, but it is clear that Gnocchi is a loved comfort spot in the Queen Village neighborhood.
A basket of complimentary Italian bread starts the evening.
A salad of baby greens and goat cheese is unexciting, but will fulfill your healthy green requirement and keep you busy until pasta, the main attraction of the evening, hits the table.Slightly more interesting is the watermelon and mozzarella salad drizzled with sweet balsamic vinegar, a salad special of the day enjoyed back when watermelon was in season.I am terrified of ordering gnocchi at restaurants, for fear of receiving little leaden, tough potato balls. Since the restaurant's moniker is Gnocchi, I figured it was safe to order the gnocchi. And it is. Three different kinds of gnocchi are on the menu — gnocchi in aurora sauce, gnocchi in three cheese alfredo sauce, and spinach gnocchi in Parmesan alfredo sauce — along with a gnocchi special of the day.

The gnocchi in creamy three cheese Alfredo sauce studded with shiitake mushrooms, radicchio, and roasted peppers is inherently heavy, but if you eat a normal portion (less than what's on the plate), you can leave Gnocchi without the remorse of an overfull belly.
Besides gnocchi, other classic Italian pasta and meat dishes are on the menu. The boy opted for a hefty portion of the seafood-heavy linguine fra diavolo with shrimp and crab in a spicy tomato sauce.

If you're in the neighborhood and want a warm and inviting, traditional Philly Italian byob experience, Gnocchi fits the bill.

Gnocchi
613 E. Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-592-8300

Mr. Joe's Café

Look at my listing of restaurant reviews categorized by cuisine, and you'll see that Italian restaurants are not as well represented as the love that America holds for the pasta, olive olive oil, and tomato-heavy fare. Every one loooves Italian food. Except me. I just merely like it.

Yet, here I am in South Philadelphia, a melting pot bubbling over with Italian immigrants and their children, and their children's children. Italian restaurants are on every other corner, and a historic Italian Market is just a few blocks away from where I lay my head.

In an attempt to search out good Italian in the city (because I really do want to love Italian food with gusto), I've made a point to ask everyone I meet what their favorite Italian restaurant is. Consensus? There is none. With the exception of the high-end Italian restaurants Vetri and Osteria by Philly's Italian maestro Marc Vetri, I rarely hear any restaurant mentioned twice.

So, with no definitive leads, I've put off my quest for Italian for far too many years. That had to end.

Where did I start? Mr. Joe's Café, and one of the best deals in town!

Across the street from the South Philly Termini Bros. Bakery, a landmark in Philly Italian food history, sit's Mr. Joe's Café at the corner of 8th and Greenwich streets in what was the original 1921 location of Termini Bros. Bakery. Mr. Joe's Café is run by the Termini clan and the name pays tribute to Gaetano Termini, the brother of Guiseppe Termini, together the two founding Termini Bros.
Inside the unassuming corner rowhouse, is a cute and sleek café and lunch bistro with 9 or so 2-top granite tables and a counter bar that seats 6. Most of the patrons are locals from the neighborhood catching up with each other and cutely kvetching (can Italians kvetch?). Employees from Termini's drop by for a drink. First timers like myself drop in and are mesmerized by the framed immigration papers and family portraits on the wall. Kitchen implements and memorabilia from Termini's early days are encased in glass behind the counter. These aren't goods bought in Europe or at overpriced salvage firms and placed by a designer to lend authenticity to a restaurant's genre — like so many new restaurants are doing — this is a museum of the Termini family's history.

And like a museum, it is best to visit Mr. Joe's Café during the day when you have lots of time to sit and stay a while. Mr. Joe's doesn't do dinner, so you really have no choice but to visit in the day.

At Mr. Joe's you'll find monstrous pannini's, huge plates of pasta, large fritatas, as well as ginormous specials of the day like eggplant Parmesan printed on the chalkboard propped up on the sidewalk, all priced from $10-$14.

But when you place your entree order you get so, so much more! Salad, bread, complimentary wine, and complimentary dessert. You're going to need a while to eat your way out of Mr. Joe's Café.
Annamaria is your newly appointed doting Italian mother who wants you to eat, eat, and drink, drink. Linger long enough — as you will with the mounds of food to get through coupled with the unhurried service — and the complimentary glass of chilled Chianti jug wine will be refilled. Pinch me if this ain't heaven!The generous side salad of mixed baby greens is simply dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette and garnished with cucumbers and tomatoes.

Slices of hearty, crusty Italian bread arrive with the salad, but save it to swipe up the tomato sauce from your pasta. You did order pasta, right?A simple tomato sauce covers ravioli filled with fluffy ricotta sprinkled sparsely with spinach.The penne arrabiata with salty and assertive capers and olives is liberally doused with red pepper, giving a nice warm heat that made my lips tingle and nose run. There's easily enough pasta on this plate for two meals.
Compliments of the iconic Termini Bros. Bakery across the street is a dessert of the day — today, slices of angel-light carrot cake. Such a nice way to end the meal, even if there wasn't room to eat any more. Seriously, slap me hard this time if this ain't heaven!

Mr. Joe's also does coffee and espressos along with pastries, if you need a small pick-me up.

So, how was that for a start to my South Philly Italian restaurant conquests? Not bad at all! Solid, classic Italian dishes are cooked up homestyle with love and history, and all for an amazing bargain. Who can not love a smiling Italian woman offering free jug wine and free dessert?

Please tell me your favorite Italian restaurant in the comments, so they can go on my list.

Mr. Joe's Café
1514 S. 8th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-334-1414
Mon-Thurs: 11am-5pm
Fri-Sat: 11am-6pm
Sun: closed

Paesano's

Meat-lovers just can't seem to get enough of Paesano's sandwiches, and the way they talk about them, it almost makes me want to order the famed roast beef or suckling pig sandwich from the Fishtown sandwich shop located just across the street from big sis' Modo Mio. Fortunately, Paesano's threw us vegetarians a bone and included one veggie sandwich in their line up of six sandwiches.

Paesano's is not large inside, but you can dine at an "L" shaped counter with a half dozen or so stools, or, if you like, sit on the sidewalk at one of the two-top tables and the friendly staff will hand the sandwich out the window when your order is up.
The Panelle is wrap sandwich filled with a Sicilian chickpea pancake, roasted tomatoes and fennel, and "godzuki" sauce (sour cream, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary and hot sauce). When asked if I wanted long hots, I said yes. I also spied some onions and lettuce in my wrap.

The tangy sauce and mildly spicy peppers contributed most of the flavor, while the very mushy chickpea patty provided bulk to the sandwich. The handmade flat bread that wrapped the sandwich was crispy and excellent. No store bought tortilla wraps here!

The Panelle is a good, cheap ($4!!) sandwich, and I'd gladly order another, but the Panelle did not make an addict out of me like some of Paesano's meat sandwiches apparently do to others.

I will give Paesano's kudos for creating a veggie sandwich that I've never seen or experienced anywhere else. Paesano's could have offered the mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwich; portobello sandwich; ALT; or hummus wrap, which all can be great sandwiches, but are so overdone that the sight of any of these on a menu as the lone veggie offering makes me weep.

I think Paesano's offers good, cheap ($4-$8 and includes a free drink), creative, gourmet sandwiches. Paesano's also offers a soup and sandwich of the day, bread, roasted potatoes (ask for them veg or else they're cooked in pork fat), and an Italian Nutella and apricot crepe. If I'm back in the area, I'm hitting up the $2 crepes!

Paesano's
152 West Girard Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19123
267-886-9556
Tues-Sat, 11am-7pm

Salento

A dinner date at Salento fell through about six months ago, when this Italian BYOB on the western edge of Center City was still fairly new. But here I am now, cashing in my rain check.

Because of my lack of enthusiasm for Italian food, and disappointment at Italian restaurants that, for the most part, dish out heavy tomato sauce and cream sauce pastas, Salento’s olive oil-based, simple dishes hailing from the Puglian region and Salentine peninsula on the heel of Italy’s boot piqued my interest. Perhaps I just need to try Italian food from another region of Italy!

Warning: bad photos ahead! The lights were very dim during the dinner service. I’ve read other reviews liken the white washed, sparse interior of Salento to a basement, but it was the dim, intermittently flickering wall sconces (electrical problem, not intentional), that really made the dining room feel like a basement – a boisterous basement of diners, though; I could barely hear anything by partner sitting across from me at our tiny two-top said all night long.

Our dinner started with complimentary bread and olives. I generally stay away from bread, or else I won’t have room for the actual meal. I pinched a corner of the bread, and ate an olive. Yep, bread and olives. Nice if you need it, but I didn’t.

We started with the pan seared artichoke in garlic and vegetable broth. These lemony flower buds floating in mild broth were tender with crispy, fried tops – quite good.

When this grilled radicchio with gorgonzola, and balsamic reduction hit the table, the first thing my partner said was, “It smells burned.” The balsamic drizzle was not sweet enough to cut the bitterness of the overly charred greens – the radicchio itself was not even that bitter. Bitter greens, carbon char, and pungent cheese do not make a good combination, in my opinion.

The boy had the grilled butterfish with shrimp (shrimp were left off per his request), roasted broccoli (you can’t see it; it’s under the fish), and roasted potatoes. The flavors were simple, with just a touch of olive oil and garlic.

Salento marks the dishes hailing from the Puglian region of Italy on their menu with an asterisk, and I did make an effort to try those dishes. Once the meat dishes were ruled out, I think there were two pasta dishes from the Puglian region to choose from, and I did choose one of those vegetarian Puglian pastas.

I ordered the linguine aglione with roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic, and shaved ricotta – a simple pasta tossed with a few roasted tomatoes, but, to my delight, many roasted garlic cloves.

Again, the flavors were simple, but good. Although, I felt like I could replicate this pasta dish easily at home, and while this is not a sign of a bad dish, I usually expect food in restaurants to exceed my own cooking abilities. Is this Salento’s fault, or the fault of a cuisine that is inherently simple?

Seeing as I ran out of steam before I could finish my generously portioned pasta, we skipped dessert.

The service at Salento was attentive, if not a little too thorough. We had a server; many different kitchen/floor boys ushering plates and filling water glasses; and a managerial-type stopped a couple of times to ask how things were.

Other than the radicchio appetizer, Salento did not disappoint; it just did not excite. But if you enjoy Italian food more than myself, have a palate for simple flavors, and are looking for something other than red sauce-topped pasta, do check out Salento.

Salento
2216 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
215-568-1314
Tues.-Thurs., 5-10p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 5-11p.m.; Sun., 5-9:30p.m.
BYOB

Riverfront Market

Wilmington has its own version of Reading Terminal Market, only it’s called Riverfront Market, and it’s miniscule in comparison.

With only twelve vendors along the two aisles in this restored historic warehouse on the Christina River and Riverfront Park, you’d be mighty disappointed if you were expecting an eating destination as large and varied as the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia.

But if the crowds at Reading Terminal Market make you avoid that market like the plaque (like I do), you’ll find the Riverfront Market in Wilmington charming.

There’s this riverfront revitalization project going on in Wilmington (like every city in the U.S.), where they put in walkways and landscaping along the riverfront and called it the Tubman-Garret Riverfront Park. At one end of this park you have a small outlet mall (don’t bother), and really cool cranes on the waterfront from WWII when they used to build ships. On the other end (almost the end) you have the Riverfront Market. In between are businesses and a few restaurants that have tied their landscaping in to the park.

About four years ago, before I even lived in Wilmington, I got intimate with the park when I, along with two other women at the landscape company I briefly worked for, spent a week hand weeding the entire park. I pull weeds all the time – and love it – but this was one of the least enjoyable things I’ve ever done.

I particularly did not enjoy having strangers repeatedly ask me if I was hot in my Carhartt coveralls (I’m never hot. Mind your own fucking business), being sexually harassed my bums (Dude, I’m dirty and in coveralls! Raise your standards.), and being leered at by people leisurely enjoying their late afternoon cocktails from patio tables (I was jealous).

This week of weeding four years ago acquainted me with the Riverfront Market. We stopped in a couple of times for hot chocolate. Once, I even forwent my bagged lunch and grabbed some sushi from the sushi stall and a cookie from the Amish bakery and deli. I haven’t eaten there since.

The week before Christmas, I stopped by the Riverfront Market on three separate days to see what a vegetarian could scrounge up. Here’s what went down:

Day 1

I circled the entire place (quick trip) to see what I could eat:

Market City Cafe – slice of pizza
Eeffoc's – coffee
Jeenwong Thai Cuisine– eggplant and tofu stir-fry, veggie fried rice, veggie lo-mein
Olde World Cheese Steak Factory– veggie cheesesteak
Lapp's Kitchen – salad
Tokyo Sushi – veggie sushi, edamame, seaweed salad
Jona Miller’s Butcher and Bake Shop – pastries, Garden Griller panini
Riverfront Produce – fresh and dried fruits, nuts, candy, bottles of fresh squeezed juice
P&S Ravioli Company – eggplant parmesan sandwich, veggie rabe sandwich, ravioli in containers from the deli case that they’d heat up.

If it were up to me, I’d eat the sushi, but I’ve already had the sushi. My blogger-self tells me to try something else. I’m not eating fruit, nuts, or pastries for lunch. I’m not eating a lame salad, or an even lamer slice of pizza.

I go for the small Veggie Rabe sandwich ($3.95) at P&S Ravioli Company. The Veggie Rabe has breaded and fried eggplant, broccoli rabe, roasted peppers, and provolone. It’s a sandwich. Very Italian. If I were to order it again, I’d ask for some tomato sauce. (I don’t know why people make sandwiches without any sauce or spread. Inconceivable!)

Day 2

I’m curious about Jeenwong Thai Cuisine. They have a small steam table with serving trays filled with the day’s offerings behind a glass pane separating your filthy face from the food. It’s mostly meat.

I ask the jovial guy behind the counter what’s vegetarian. They have an eggplant and tofu stir-fry, veggie fried rice, and veggie lo-mein. You can get some meal deal, but there aren’t enough veggie options to make a meal deal I’d be interested in, plus I don’t really need that much food.

I opt for the eggplant and tofu stir-fry, and ask for the smallest container. He asks me if I want just the stir-fry in the container, or some rice, too? I’ll take rice, too. Steamed or stir-fried? Steamed. He rings me up for $2.75!

The stir-fry contains firm fried tofu, eggplant, cauliflower, red peppers, and onions atop short grained white rice. The stir fry is very mild. If it weren’t for the lemongrass, I’d say this was a stir-fry at a Chinese restaurant. I do appreciate the rounded, short grain white rice at the bottom.

There were other dishes, like the curries, I would have rather tried, but they were not vegetarian. I do like the friendly guy behind the counter, the price, and the authentic rice.

Day 3

Am I really going back? My masochistic, semi-obsession with veggie cheesesteaks is telling me to go back and try the veggie cheesesteak at Olde City Cheesesteak Factory. Uhg, ok.

First, I peak to see what’s offered at the Thai place, since the first two days I went they had the same eggplant and tofu stir-fry. The steam table is completely different from the days before, but I don’t see any veggie option other than the fried rice and lo-mein. Bummer.

At Olde City Cheese Steak Factory, the girls at the counter are very nice. I ask what’s on the veggie cheesesteak ($6.75). Onions and peppers done up Cajun-style with cheese. If you want to add mushrooms or anything else, you can for a charge. I’ll just do it up normal with Provolone. Do you want ketchup on that? Uhhhh... How about on the side? OK.

Everyone who ordered before and after me has already gotten their sandwich. I’m thinking that veggie cheesesteak stuff (I’m assuming there’s some soy or seitan involved) must be frozen, or something. Really, it’s not that long of a wait.

What I have to wait on is a table. Tables with tops depicting historic photos of life and industry in Wilmington are clustered at the ends of the market and off the side towards the center. These tables are all full. There’s also a sweet upstairs level with seating (only plain tables here), and an open center that overlooks the lower level of the market. This is where I like to sit, and these tables are full, too.

I wait at the bottom of the stairs and P&S’s deli case to keep an eye out for people leaving from the upstairs. I notice that water is dripping from the upper shelf in P&S’s deli case onto the unwrapped plate of chicken cutlets on the bottom of the case. Gross. I know lots of unappetizing things happen in kitchens that I can’t see, and eating it makes me stronger, if not sick, but I do not like to see this.

A ten minute wait, and I’ve got a seat upstairs. I open my sandwich, and it’s grilled onions, peppers, and melted cheese. No fake meat. So much for assuming. I pick up my onion and pepper sandwich to find the bottom of the roll disgustingly soggy. It could not have been wetter if I had thrown it in the river outside.

And what’s this Cajun-style the counter person was talking about? I assumed Cajun spices, but there were no spices. I don’t think anyone from Louisiana or Philly would claim this sandwich.

I’m perusing Spark (Wilmington’s free weekly that insists on putting scary photos of local “models” on every issue cover), and there’s a piece about Riverfront Market in the dining section. How timely. They say the Garden Griller panini ($6.50) at Jona Miller’s Deli pleased the vegetarian in their crowd. Did I miss the Holy Grail?

I went downstairs for sandwich #2! One asparagus, avocado, roasted pepper, grilled onions, and pesto on grilled sourdough, please. They also throw in a pickle and a bag of Kettle Chips. I don’t eat chips often, so hate the free bag of chips deal at delis. I would have loved a cookie, though.

The bread is crisp. The pesto and avocado combo is a little odd, but tasty. The asparagus spears are awkward when you think you’ve bitten through a spear, but the whole thing pulls out of the sandwich and hangs from your mouth like a limp cigarette.

This is my favorite sandwich out of the bunch, but I don’t think I’d go out of my way to eat a Garden Griller. The asparagus also makes for technical difficulties when eating the sandwich.

Well, that was my week at the Riverfront Market. My initial instincts of eating sushi four years ago were probably right. The market is a beautiful building on a riverfront park. And the park, I must say, is a nice place to eat lunch outside when the weather is nice.

But, you wanna know why you really stop in the Riverfront Market to grab a quick bite to eat?

You’ll need some fast food after you’ve squandered your entire lunch hour at the best Salvation Army that’s directly over the bridge from the market.

This place is HUGE, well organized, and always has what I need. I’ve found ski bibs that fit me; a pretty blue rain coat (a real one) for work; a red wool pea coat; a punch bowl for a party that I’ll never use again, but that’s ok, it was cheap; don’t know how many skirts; pretty plates… oh it just goes on. They even have couches that I'd sit on.

This is one place Wilmington does have over Philly.

Riverfront Market, 3 S. Orange St., Wilmington, DE, 19801
Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat., 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sun., closed
Some vendors open at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast

Philly Italian Market Festival…

...or what I ate for lunch.

This is not my first time at the Italian Market Festival in Philly, and I must say that this festival is one of my favorite places for wedging myself amongst strangers and walking slowly behind them. Why? Because they have a great selection of food. The festival is essentially food, food, food, crappy merchandise, food, food, food, music stage, food, food, and food. This year I ate food that I had not sampled in previous years.

I started with the Mexican (Mexican? Hey, we’re all Italian, right?) corn on the cob that’s smothered in mayonnaise, cheese, and chili pepper. Oh my! I knew this was going to be good, so have avoided the Mexican corn stand that pops up on occasion at the park across from my Philly outpost, so as not to start a habit. Please don’t set up your corn stand at the park anymore. I’m afraid I’ll be seen sprinting across the park in my pj’s for your corn concoction.

Next were the Mozzarepas. These are tasteless corn pucks filled with mozzarella cheese. Keep on walking. In fact, someone stopped to ask me what I thought of these, and I said,"Not worth it." They kept walking. They can thank me later.

I was not enamored by these pesto filled agnolotti from the local pasta shop, Talluto's. I would never have guessed the bland filling was pesto, and the sauce tasted like Italian dressing from a bottle. Ick.

Free is good! The free salad with mozzarella and orange vinaigrette from Sorrento Cheese, the sponsor of the Italian festival, was actually fresh and tasty.

The boy really wanted cannoli. This $4 log of gold…uh, canolli from Isgro Pasticceria was delectable, but I’d prefer a great éclair any day compared to a great canolli. Just sayin'.

With a cup of coffee (not pictured) to top it off, we escaped down a side street, and moseyed home without a couple thousand people to impede us .

Toscana and the Fig Pizza

Pictures are poor due to low light and my refusal to use a flash at restaurants.

A while back I thought I would make a fruit pizza. My imagination and efforts resulted in a sugary pie of repulsiveness. I held hope that a fruit pizza – something other than pineapple - could be pulled off. In my next experiment, I let someone else try their hand at melding fruit, cheese, and bread into a pizza.

I’ve been thinking of trying Toscana Kitchen and Bar, an Italian restaurant in Wilmington, on recommendations from a friend. It has taken me almost two years to get there because I don’t get too excited about Italian restaurants. Why? Because I’m jaded. I once dated an Italian chef. I’ll tell you right now that, with few exceptions, food at a "great" Italian restaurant is humdrum. I don’t know if they’re keeping secrets or if they’re just churning out what Americans think is Italian food. (The one Italian restaurant that I can truly recommend is La Ruota in the tiny Chesapeake Bay town of Chestertown, Maryland.)

Back to Toscana…I had heard that the restaurant was kind of happening and could be busy on Fridays and Saturdays. The restaurant has a snazzy bar, but who doesn’t? The dinning room certainly had many diners, but was not full. This brings me to my gripe of sitting couples at two-top tables. Two-top tables are very small. Once you get water glasses, wine, and appetizers on the table, all must be arranged like a jigsaw puzzle to fit. Bring out the oversized entrée plates and you’ve got a puzzle that can’t be solved. So, please don’t sit me at a two-top unless the restaurant is truly crowded.

Toscana not only sat me and my partner at a two-top when there were plenty of other tables open, they sat us in a corner behind the wall of the server’s computer station. I’m not that ugly, nor was I inappropriately dressed.

While perusing the menu, we started with a bottle of wine that took it’s sweet time arriving. We chose an appetizer special of smoked mozzarella that the server hyped by telling us it was flown in from Italy daily. I can take mozzarella or leave it. It doesn’t have much flavor, but how could we resist really special mozzarella. The mozzarella had no smokiness that we could detect and the really fresh stuff is quite squishy.

I ordered their figaro pizza. This pizza comes with fig puree, Gorgonzola, crisp pancetta, and truffled honey. I passed on the pancetta. The pizza set down in front of me wasn’t actually mine. Another server apologized and whisked it away to return with my fig puree pizza. With the first bite I could taste and smell the honey and Gorgonzola. I actually like this combination. The honey and cheese together was subtly sweet. The fig puree did not cover the pizza entirely, thank goodness. The pizza would have been too sweet if it had. The fig puree combined with the honey was verging on too sweet for me, and I like sweet things. One of the two, honey or fig puree, needed to be removed from the pizza.

My partner had the fettuccine with English peas, Gorgonzola cream, and shaved Reggiano. There could have been stronger flavors of Gorgonzola in the sauce, as it tasted more like a bland cream sauce. Reaching for pepper to spice the fettuccine, he found no salt or pepper on the table. We scanned nearby tables thinking that our table was just too small to include such standards, but there were no shakers to be found. We had to ask for pepper and our server had to grind it for us. Please don’t make me ask for pepper and salt. Salt and pepper is not exotic, so I’m not falling for the haute image you’re trying to create. Plus, it makes me feel like a child.

Toscana – it’s an Italian restaurant. Probably better than most, but I’m jaded.

Review addendum. I changed my mind. I can do that.

Toscana Kitchen and Bar, 1412 N. DuPont St., Wilmington, DE, 19806, 302-654-8001
Lunch: Mon.-Fri. 11:30a.m-2p.m., Dinner: Mon.-Wed. 5p.m.-10p.m., Thurs.-Sat. 5p.m.-11p.m., Sun. 5p.m.-9p.m.

Wilmington Italian Festival

Just to compare Philly to Wilmington - the city I live in - I dropped by Wilmington’s Little Italy to check out their Italian Festival. It’s much quainter and has more of a neighborhood vibe. I also got to see the beautiful St. Anthony’s church, which I’ve never seen since it’s on a one-way street going the opposite way I normally drive through Little Italy.

And...I’m thrilled to report that I’m still hot in the eyes of prepubescent teenage boys. One tried to pick me up using his Spanish language skills. He threw me there for a bit. I was expecting to be picked up by some old man speaking Italian.

Enjoy!